TITLE:
Algorithms, Activism, and Agility: How Networked Youth Movements Reframe Corporate Risk in Emerging Markets
AUTHORS:
Raymond Nwinkom Dumeh, Lucy Agyepong
KEYWORDS:
Algorithmic Salience, Dual-Coercion, Agile Risk Governance, Youth Activism, Corporate Crisis Management, Emerging Markets, PCSR, Boundary Conditions
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.5,
September
18,
2026
ABSTRACT: The rapid rise of networked, algorithm-driven youth movements across Africa is fundamentally disrupting established corporate risk management paradigms. Focusing on Nigeria (#EndSARS) and Kenya (#RejectFinanceBill), this study investigates how decentralized digital activism reframes board-level risk perception and executive decision-making in emerging markets. Drawing on Stakeholder Salience, Executive Sensemaking, and Political Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR) theories, we deploy a comparative qualitative multi-case design analyzing banking, fintech, telecommunications, and FMCG firms heavily exposed during these socio-political flashpoints (
N=28
informants: 24 corporate executive interviews and 4 movement strategist interviews, triangulated with 142 corporate/regulatory records and historical trend data). We reveal a paradigm shift: corporate boards face a Dual-Coercion Squeeze, forced to balance autocratic state mandates against coercive, algorithmic consumer boycotts. We show that digital platform mechanics generate Algorithmic Salience: allowing leaderless youth networks to rapidly gain high Power and Urgency without formal institutional Legitimacy. We articulate key theoretical boundary conditions (such as B2C vs. B2B operational exposure and hybrid political regime intensity) and demonstrate that under extreme temporal compression, traditional quarterly risk registries fail, driving leadership toward Agile Risk Governance characterized by real-time social listening, cross-functional crisis war rooms, and strategic operational neutrality. Ultimately, this study provides an integrative framework for navigating the intersection of state authority and digital youth power in developing economies.