Corporate Accountability, Social Media Aggression and Stakeholder Well-being
Published: 20 January 2026
Jan Breitsohl’s research examines harmful online communication and social media aggression in online brand communities, where identity investment and materialistic goals can drive consumers to bully others. He analyses hostile interactions in corporate-affiliated communities, where a small minority of comments become aggressive but often remain unaddressed, undermining trust, belonging and digital wellbeing.
Using netnography and long-form observation, Dr Breitsohl develops grounded typologies of bullying forms and participant roles, based on systematically coded comments in both brand-hosted and consumer-hosted spaces. Large-scale datasets are used to quantify the scale of harmful interactions and associated sentiment effects.
He also conducts scenario-based experiments with online brand community users to test intervention strategies. Across these studies, non-intervention consistently performs worst for image, loyalty and word-of-mouth. Matching responses to severity is essential: warnings or removals are appropriate for severe cases, while “soft power” measures such as sequestering discussions or distracting the community are broadly effective and perceived as fair.
Corporate accountability in the age of online conflict
Dr Breitsohl leads the programme Corporate Accountability, Social Media Aggression and Stakeholder Well-being, funded through the Adam Smith Business School Grand Challenges scheme. It examines how organisations can use their values to take an effective and authentic stand against harmful comments in social media environments.
The work addresses authentic values messaging, well-being impacts, behavioural change, regulatory considerations and responsible leadership. Corporate-affiliated communities reach millions, offering opportunities for trust-building but also exposing users to abuse and harassment; around 10% of comments are harmful, yet many go unaddressed due to concerns about censorship, tokenism or reputational risk.
The programme comprises three interconnected pilots: (1) a database study comparing harmful comments with organisational value statements; (2) an online simulation experiment testing interventions on well-being and pro-social outcomes; and (3) a lab experiment examining behavioural and physiological responses. These pilots are supported by internal and external symposia and a virtual public event, designed to generate early evidence, co-develop solutions with partners and prepare future funding proposals.
Real-world relevance and impact
Dr Breitsohl’s work delivers impact for charities, regulators, industry and the wider public. He provides rapid diagnostics of bullying patterns, intervention playbooks, evidence-based message libraries for moderators, and training for community teams to assess severity and choose proportionate, accountable actions.
The Grand Challenges programme embeds ongoing engagement through symposia, feedback sessions and an advisory group of external partners. Outputs include policy briefs, pilot study summaries and a prototype message library to support organisations responding to harmful online comments. The aim is to build sustainable partnerships with charities, regulators and industry to reduce online harms and improve digital wellbeing.
For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk.
First published: 20 January 2026
Related links
- Dr Jan Breitsohl
- Marketing & Consumer Behaviour cluster
- Research paper: Coalition formation and firm representatives’ answers to complainers on social media: Their interplay and the coalition ripple effect (2025)
- Research paper: Outcomes of cyber-victimization and bystander reactions in online brand communities (2022)
- Research paper: Investigating consumers’ motives for consumer brand-cyberbullying on social media (2021)
- Research paper: Corporate conflict management on social media brand fan pages (2020)
- Research paper: Consumer Responses to Conflict-Management Strategies on Non-Profit Social Media Fan Pages - Denitsa Dineva, Jan Breitsohl, Brian Garrod, Philip Megicks, 2020