Construction and validation of new scales of advocacy and activism (2019)

Advocacy and activism play significant roles in the success of many types of organizations, and the study of these concepts has gained increased prominence within communications and public relations research. While advocacy and activism have been defined and examined by focusing on strategic communication strategies from advocacy groups and nonprofit organizations, more recent studies have explored the two concepts from many sides (e.g., by looking at corporate advocacy or activism, individuals’ involvement in social movements, and digital activism). Although scholars in various disciplines have examined activism and advocacy, none of these scales provide standard indicators to measure the dimensions of activism and advocacy in strategic communication or public relations. While these scales have focused on behavioral perspectives and targeted certain populations, this project will consider both behavioral and psychometric properties targeting a general population in the context of strategic communication.