Meaning Cocreation and Social Influencers in a Digital Racial Crisis A Social Network Analysis of Starbucks’s Racial Crisis in Philadelphia

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to explore how the public shaped the race-related discourses during Starbucks’s racial crisis in Philadelphia and examine the role of social influencers in the crisis. Using semantic network analysis to analyze race-related social media discourses, this research found that the social media discourses focused on Starbucks’s racial training, racial identity, and other celebrities who received racial critiques. Mainstream media, celebrities, and activists were the primary social influencers in the Starbucks crisis.