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Product cover image for Michael McCain: Tweeting on the Maple Leaf Foods Account

Michael McCain: Tweeting on the Maple Leaf Foods Account

Gerard Seijts; Stephen R. Foerster; Kersi Antia; Lee Watkiss; Jana Seijts

Product #:9B20C050
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Organizational Behaviour/Leadership, Sustainability
Setting:Canada, 2020
Details:Case (PDF) • 2 pages • 2020-11-17

Subjects:

LeadershipSocial mediaBrandingWeb-based technologiesBrand managementMarketing communicationsSales and marketingOrganizational cultureLeadership and managing peopleOrganizational behaviorManagement

Industries:

Goods, trade, and consumer services

Geography:

North AmericaCanada
Your Price:$9.71

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On January 12, 2020, Michael McCain, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., posted four tweets on the company's social media platform, venting his anger at the US administration over a civilian airplane shot down in Iran. Specifically, he expressed his anger at the loss of life—including that of the wife and 11-year-old son of an employee of Maple Leaf Foods—which, according to McCain, stemmed from “a needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran. McCain cast blame on US president Donald Trump for escalating tensions with an ill-conceived plan to divert focus from political woes. Should McCain, as CEO, have expressed his personal views on Maple Leaf Foods' Twitter feed? Would his tweets damage the company's brand and destroy shareholder value?

Learning Objectives

The case is written for undergraduate-, graduate-, and postgraduate-level courses on finance, strategy, leadership, communications, or marketing. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to
  • understand the role and expectations of modern business leaders in the face of social problems;
  • appreciate the overlapping nature of personal and corporate values and consider how to effectively balance personal views with the duties of being a corporate leader;
  • identify a firm's goals and assess how the goals are affected by the goals, perspectives, and role of various stakeholders; and
  • identify the risks of corporate leaders engaging in activism and develop a responsive communication plan.
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    Case Study: Michael McCain: Tweeting on the Maple Leaf Foods Account (English version) | Ivey Publishing