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Concertive control (CC) theory has primarily been applied to traditional offline, work-based, closed membership teams. New organizational forms such as online communities have opened up additional sites in which CC processes may operate. This article makes several contributions to CC theory and research. First, it increases the applicability of CC theory by extending it from offline to online, work to non-work, and closed to open membership contexts. Second, it increases our understanding of CC processes by elaborating on three mechanisms of CC (group autonomy, group identification, and generative discipline) and how they operate differently in online work/non-work and closed/open contexts. Third, it develops propositions about how these mechanisms interact with three prominent media affordances (visibility, persistence and editability) within those contexts. Extending CC theory to online communities helps to explain individuals' responses to normative group pressures online, which is highly relevant in our increasingly culturally and politically polarized society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study analyzed Twitter posts from the #JusticeForBradsWife campaign against the Cracker Barrel (CB) restaurant chain. Participants in the counterinstitutional movement employed diverse message strategies of humor and resistance in using social media as a site for discourse. Thematic analysis of the most influential users revealed humor strategies including: connecting to popular culture, political comic relief and using hyperbole. Participants' resistance strategies included: making calls for action, critiquing CB products and business partners, attacking CB patrons, critiquing CB's social media management, and offers of support from outside organizations. These strategies reflected collective trolling, where trolling behaviors created a hidden and public hybrid form of collective resistance from nontraditional stakeholders who had contradictory goals. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]