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Management Responses to Social Activism in an Era of Corporate Responsibility: A Case Study

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  • Katinka Cranenburgh
  • Kellie Liket
  • Nigel Roome

Abstract

Social activism against companies has evolved in the 50 years since Rachel Carson first put the US chemical industry under pressure to halt the indiscriminate use of the chemical DDT. Many more companies have come under the spotlight of activist attention as the agenda social activists address has expanded, provoked in part by the internationalization of business. During the past fifteen years, companies have begun to formulate corporate responsibility (CR) policies and appointed management teams dedicated to CR, resulting in a change in the way companies interact with social activists. This paper presents findings from a longitudinal case study of managerial responses to social activism targeted at a company with relatively well-advanced CR practices and reputation. The case describes the unfolding of the internal processes over an 8-year period, including the role played by different managers and the tensions in the decision-making processes. The findings emphasize how values and beliefs in the company interact with economic arguments and how those are mediated through functions and relationships in the company and beyond. The paper shows how critical managers’ understanding of the motivations of activists behind the campaign is in shaping their actions. It reveals the paradoxical outcomes that can result from social activism at the level of the firm, the industry, and the field. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Katinka Cranenburgh & Kellie Liket & Nigel Roome, 2013. "Management Responses to Social Activism in an Era of Corporate Responsibility: A Case Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 497-513, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:118:y:2013:i:3:p:497-513
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1597-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jonathan P. Doh & Terrence R. Guay, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Public Policy, and NGO Activism in Europe and the United States: An Institutional‐Stakeholder Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 47-73, January.
    2. Wim Vandekerckhove & Jos Leys & Dirk Braeckel, 2008. "A Speech-Act Model for Talking to Management. Building a Framework for Evaluating Communication within the SRI Engagement Process," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 77-91, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Marc Goergen & Salim Chahine & Geoffrey Wood & Chris Brewster, 2015. "Public Listing, Context and CSR: The Effects of Legal Origin," John H Dunning Centre for International Business Discussion Papers jhd-dp2015-09, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
    3. Ntim, Collins G., 2016. "Corporate governance, corporate health accounting, and firm value: The case of HIV/AIDS disclosures in Sub-Saharan Africa," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 155-216.
    4. Ulrike Reisach, 2016. "The creation of meaning and critical ethical reflection in operational research," EURO Journal on Decision Processes, Springer;EURO - The Association of European Operational Research Societies, vol. 4(1), pages 5-32, June.
    5. Peter Seele & Irina Lock, 2015. "Instrumental and/or Deliberative? A Typology of CSR Communication Tools," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 401-414, October.
    6. Steven Chen, 2023. "A counterinsurgent (COIN) framework to defend against consumer activists," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(4), pages 275-301, July.
    7. Mieneke Koster & Ana Simaens & Bart Vos, 2019. "The Advocate’s Own Challenges to Behave in a Sustainable Way: An Institutional Analysis of Advocacy NGOs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 483-501, June.
    8. Goergen, Marc & Chahine, Salim & Wood, Geoffrey & Brewster, Chris, 2019. "The relationship between public listing, context, multi-nationality and internal CSR," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 122-141.

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