Beyond Collective Action: Heterogeneous Stakeholders’ Influence on Firms in the Digital Age
反驳了数字媒体削弱利益相关者影响力的观点，提出异质性收敛概念，即不同利益相关者虽保持差异但能围绕变革诉求形成合力，从而对企业施加压力。
Have stakeholders increased their influence over firms’ behavior in the digital age? In a recent article in this journal, Barnett, Henriques, and Husted (2020) suggested that, contrary to expectations, digital media has limited the influence of stakeholders on firms as information overload and heterogeneous demands make it difficult for stakeholders to synchronize their interests and achieve one coherent and persistent voice. In this exchange we contend that, while the evolution of digital media has made it harder for stakeholders to achieve synchronicity, it has made it easier for them to achieve what we refer to as heterogeneous convergence. Heterogeneous convergence entails the progressive coming together of heterogeneous stakeholders around a broader demand for change while maintaining different identities and views. We argue that, through heterogeneous convergence, secondary stakeholders can exert strong pressure over firms.