Social gains from the public relations voice of activist investors: The case of Herbalife and Pershing Square Capital Management

This peer-reviewed journal article investigates the purpose, practice and outcome of the financial public relations (PR) of activist investors, which is framed as the exercise of the activist voice.

The project investigated the organizational discourse of the activist hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management during an investment position it took in the health products firm, Herbalife, from 2012 onwards. Pershing Square spent $50 million dollars (USD) on investigations and campaigning and this public relations output was interpreted using a combination of organizational discourse analysis and narrative analysis.