Dubbla signaler om havret de maler : En studie baserat på Oaltys PR och karismatisk legitmitet

Oatly is a Swedish food company and one of the leading manufacturer of plant based dairy alternatives based on oats. They encourage people to consume their products because they are more environmentally friendly than cows-milk. Oatly’s two new co-owners, China Resources and Blackstone Growth, have caused Oatly tons of criticism since both co-owners have a reputation of not being environmentally friendly. The purpose of this study is to examine how Oatly is using public relations (PR) to meet young adult’s expectations in conjunction with the criticism regarding their new co-owners. The study also strives to investigate if young adults accept Oatly’s PR and therefore if Oatly’s charismatic legitimacy remains. It aims to answer two research questions, which read as follow: 1. How is Oalty using PR to remain their charismatic legitimacy among young adults? - What seems to be the purpose with the PR? 2. Do young adults accept Oatly’s PR? - Is the company’s charismatic legitimacy remaining according to young adults since Oatly’s new co-owners? The study is based on the theory of legitimacy by Max Weber (1938) interpreted by Arild Wæraas (2018), with main focus on the charismatic level of legitimacy. A critical discourse analysis focusing on two texts published by Oalty themselves, complemented by focusgroup discussions will be implemented to achieve the purpose of the study and answer the research questions. The study shows that the participants in the focusgroups don’t accept Oalty ́s PR since they thought Oalty could have responded more professionally to the criticism. Despite this the young adults disagree regarding if Oatly’s charismatic legitimacy remains. The study contributes with knowledge about how young adults think critically about hypocrisy and how this affects their attitude towards a company. Especially due to how they identify themselves with the company