Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2015-1
Shifting,broadening,and diversifying: How gay pride organizations are reshaping their mission to build crucial relationships in a complex 21st century stakeholder network
This study explores the 21st century context of ‘Gay Pride’. Leaders of gay pride organizations in major US cities revealed through in-depth interviews how they plan and execute what have become major events that attract millions of visitors annually. These leaders emphasized how their mission has changed over time. Forty years of progress toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) equality has helped create a more inclusive environment that demands more from today’s gay pride organizations. Accordingly, the leaders detailed how they are adjusting their operational and communication strategy to better forge and maintain productive relationships among today’s immensely complex stakeholder network. The findings contribute to social movement scholarship and offer insight regarding the intersection of relationship management theory and stakeholder theory.
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