Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Link Between Social Movements and Corporate Social Initiatives: Toward a Multi-level Theory

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article offers a first step toward a multi-level theory linking social movements to corporate social initiatives. In particular, building on the premise that social movements reflect ideologies that direct behavior inside and outside organizations, this essay identifies mechanisms by which social movements induce firms to engage with social issues. First, social movements are able to influence the expectations that key stakeholders have about firms’ social responsibility, making corporate social initiatives more attractive. Second, through conflict or collaboration, they shape firms’ reputation and legitimacy. And third, social movements’ ideologies manifest inside the corporations by triggering organizational members’ values and affecting managerial cognition. The essay contributes to the literatures on social movements and CSR, extends the understanding of how ideologies are manifested in movement-business interactions, and generates rich opportunities for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. This is evident both in practice, as “few managers today can publicly question [the dictum] that their job is to maximize shareholder value” (Ghoshal 2005, p. 79), and in management scholarship, with the “the prominence of performance, productivity, and efficiency as the dependent variables of most interest” (Pfeffer 2016, p. 4).

  2. For a historical overview of social movements, see Tilly and Wood (2009). For recent reviews of the relationship between social movements and firms, see De Bakker et al. (2013) or Soule (2009).

  3. Analogous arguments can be offered for other social movements, such as the fair trade movement, the disability rights movement, several indigenous people’s movements, the anti-plastics movement, etc.

  4. Others have used the concept of corporate social action (Marquis et al. 2007; Roulet and Touboul 2014), which I see as equivalent.

  5. This essay builds on the conception of a mechanism as the explanation of how two concepts relate to each other (Whetten 1989; Bacharach 1989). For related conceptions of mechanisms that underlie social systems more generally, see Elster (1989), Hedström and Swedberg (1996), and Mayntz (2004).

  6. This group of stakeholders is not considered at the individual level, as our interest here is in the population of prospective employees who are outside the boundaries of the firm and thus constitute part of a firms’ organizational field.

  7. Clearly, this relationship is not unidirectional. Certain types of ideologies will lead to certain types of activism, and activists will draw on pre-existing ideologies in their framing attempts (cf. Zald 2000, p. 9). My interest here, however, is on how movements ‘shift’ or ‘use’ ideologies.

  8. Most scholars associate this view with the work of Milton Friedman. My reading of his work does not resolve the persistent ambiguity as to the moral or ethical expectations required from managers. In his popular New York Times article, Friedman (1970) argued that managers have the responsibility to “make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom” (1970, p. 33). In his book Capitalism and Freedom, Friedman describes the ‘rules of the game’ more narrowly, as “open and free competition, without deception or fraud” (2002, p. 133). He goes on to argue that “few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundation of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible” (2002, p. 133) and that it is the responsibility of the rest of us to establish a framework of law such that each individuals’ pursuit of self-interest will benefit society. Overall, what Friedman considers to be the ‘rules of the game’ is unclear, or at least debated (Cosans 2009). Yet, the “most common reading of Friedman is that his analysis minimizes any moral duties beyond following the law” (Cosans 2009, p. 391). This reading is congruent with the widespread idea that, at least within the bounds of the law, managers are somehow freed from “any sense of moral responsibility” (Ghoshal 2005, p. 76).

References

  • Albinger, H. S., & Freeman, S. J. (2000). Corporate social performance and attractiveness as an employer to different job seeking populations. Journal of Business Ethics, 28(3), 243–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argandoña, A. (2003). Fostering values in organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 45(1), 15–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argenti, P. A. (2004). Collaborating with activists: How starbucks works with NGOs. California Management Review, 47(1), 91–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Athanasopoulou, A., & Selsky, J. W. (2012). The social context of corporate social responsibility: Enriching research with multiple perspectives and multiple levels. Business and Society, 54(3), 322–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baba, S., & Raufflet, E. (2014). Managing relational legacies: Lessons from British Columbia, Canada. Administrative Sciences, 4(1), 15–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bacharach, S. B. (1989). Organizational theories: Some criteria for evaluation. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 496–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, S. B. (2000). Whose land is it anyway? National interest, indigenous stakeholders, and colonial discourses: The case of the Jabiluka uranium mine. Organization and Environment, 13(1), 3–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, S. B. (2008). Corporate social responsibility: The good, the bad and the ugly. Critical Sociology, 34(1), 51–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal, P. (2003). From issues to actions: The importance of individual concerns and organizational values in responding to natural environmental issues. Organization Science, 14(5), 510–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal, P., & Roth, K. (2000). Why companies go green: A model of ecological responsiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 43(4), 717–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, J. H., & Karson, M. J. (1987). Personal values and business decisions: An exploratory investigation. Journal of Business Ethics, 6(5), 371–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, D. P. (2001). Private politics, corporate social responsibility, and integrated strategy. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 10(1), 7–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartley, T., & Child, C. (2011). Movements, markets and fields: The effects of anti-sweatshop campaigns on US firms, 1993–2000. Social Forces, 90(2), 425–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, T. N., & Aiman-Smith, L. (1996). Green career choices: The influences of ecological stance on recruiting. Journal of Business and Psychology, 10(4), 445–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benford, R. D. (1997). An insider’s critique of the social movement framing perspective. Sociological Inquiry, 67(4), 409–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A. (2000). Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assesment. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1), 611–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bitektine, A. (2011). Toward a theory of social judgments of organizations: The case of legitimacy, reputation, and status. Academy of Management Review, 36(1), 151–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Böhm, S., Dinerstein, A. C., & Spicer, A. (2010). (Im) possibilities of autonomy: Social movements in and beyond capital, the state and development. Social Movement Studies, 9(1), 17–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brammer, S., Jackson, G., & Matten, D. (2012). Corporate social responsibility and institutional theory: New perspectives on private governance. Socio-Economic Review, 10(1), 3–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briscoe, F., Chin, M. K., & Hambrick, D. (2014). CEO ideology as an element of the corporate opportunity structure for social activists. Academy of Management Journal, 57(6), 1786–1809.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. (2005). Where do we stand? Common mechanisms in organizations and social movements research. In G. F. Davis, D. McAdam, W. R. Scott, & M. N. Zald (Eds.), Social movements and organizational theory (pp. 41–68). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Caprara, G. V., Schwartz, S., Capanna, C., Vecchione, M., & Barbaranelli, C. (2006). Personality and politics: Values, traits, and political choice. Political Psychology, 27(1), 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caroll, A. B., & Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 85–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castaldo, S., Perrini, F., Misani, N., & Tencati, A. (2009). The missing link between corporate social responsibility and consumer trust: The case of fair trade products. Journal of Business Ethics, 84(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cosans, C. (2009). Does Milton Friedman support a vigorous business ethics? Journal of Business Ethics, 87(3), 391–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crossley, N. (2002). Making sense of social movements. London: McGraw-Hill Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crossley, N. (2003). Even newer social movements? Anti-corporate protests, capitalist crises and the remoralization of society. Organization, 10(2), 287–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, S., Cornwell, T. B., & Coote, L. V. (2009). Expressing identity and shaping image: The relationship between corporate mission and corporate sponsorship. Journal of Sport Management, 23(1), 65–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dacin, M. T., Oliver, C., & Roy, J. P. (2007). The legitimacy of strategic alliances: An institutional perspective. Strategic Management Journal, 28(2), 169–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, G. F., & Marquis, C. (2005). Prospects for organization theory in the early twenty-first century: Institutional fields and mechanisms. Organization Science, 16(4), 332–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Bakker, F. G. A., & den Hond, F. (2008). Introducing the politics of stakeholder influence: A review essay. Business and Society, 47(1), 8–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Bakker, F. G., den Hond, F., King, B., & Weber, K. (2013). Social movements, civil society and corporations: Taking stock and looking ahead. Organization Studies, 34(5–6), 573–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Den Hond, F., & de Bakker, F. G. A. (2007). Ideologically motivated activism: How activist groups influence corporate social change activities. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 901–924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Den Hond, F., de Bakker, F. G., & Doh, J. (2012). What prompts companies to collaboration with NGOs? Recent evidence from the Netherlands. Business and Society, 54(2), 187–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doh, J. P., & Guay, T. R. (2006). Corporate social responsibility, public policy, and NGO activism in Europe and the United States: An institutional-stakeholder perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 43(1), 47–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dowling, J., & Pfeffer, J. (1975). Organizational legitimacy: Social values and organizational behavior. Pacific Sociological Review, 18(1), 122–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J. E., & Duncan, R. B. (1987). The creation of momentum for change through the process of strategic issue diagnosis. Strategic Management Journal, 8(3), 279–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, B., & McCarthy, J. D. (2004). Resources and social movement mobilization. In D. A. Snow, A. A. Soule, & H. Kriesi (Eds.), The Blackwell companion to social movements (pp. 116–152). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eesley, C., & Lenox, M. J. (2006). Firm responses to secondary stakeholder action. Strategic Management Journal, 27(8), 765–781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrgott, M., Reimann, F., Kaufmann, L., & Carter, C. R. (2011). Social sustainability in selecting emerging economy suppliers. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(1), 99–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elster, J. (1989). Nuts and bolts for the social sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Flammer, C. (2015). Does corporate social responsibility lead to superior financial performance? A regression discontinuity approach. Management Science, 61(11), 2549–2568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, P., & Jones, M. T. (2012). The end of corporate social responsibility: Crisis and critique. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M. (1970, Sept. 13). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits (pp. 32–33). New York Times Magazine.

  • Friedman, M. (2002). Capitalism and freedom (40th Anniversary edition). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Garner, R. (1996). Contemporary movements and ideologies. McGraw-Hill humanities, social sciences & world languages. Irwin: McGraw-Hill.

  • Georgallis, P. G., Dowell, G., & Durand, R. (2014). Firm density, social movement support, and government endorsement of nascent industries. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014(1), 15269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4(1), 75–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, R., Kouhy, R., & Lavers, S. (1995). Corporate social and environmental reporting: A review of the literature and a longitudinal study of UK disclosure. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 8(2), 47–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, R., Suddaby, R., & Hinings, C. R. (2002). Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 58–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guth, W. D., & Tagiuri, R. (1965). Personal values and corporate strategy. Harvard Business Review, 43(5), 123–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hahn, T., Figge, F., Pinkse, J., & Preuss, L. (2010). Trade-offs in corporate sustainability: You can’t have your cake and eat it. Business Strategy and the Environment, 19(4), 217–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A. (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 193–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawn, O., & Ioannou, I. (2015). Mind the gap: The interplay between external and internal actions in the case of corporate social responsibility. Strategic Management Journal, 36(7), 1053–1081.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedström, P., & Swedberg, R. (1996). Social mechanisms. Acta Sociologica, 39(3), 281–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hensmans, M. (2003). Social movement organizations: A metaphor for strategic actors in institutional fields. Organization studies, 24(3), 355–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, A. J. (2001). From heresy to dogma: An institutional history of corporate environmentalism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, A. J. (2009). Shades of green. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 7(2), 40–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard-Grenville, J. A., & Hoffman, A. J. (2003). The importance of cultural framing to the success of social initiatives in business. Academy of Management Executive, 17(2), 70–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Julian, S., Ofori-Dankwa, J., & Justis, R. (2008). Understanding strategic responses to interest group pressures. Strategic Management Journal, 29(9), 963–984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juris, J. S. (2008). Networking futures: The movements against corporate globalization. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • King, B. G. (2008). A political mediation model of corporate response to social movement activism. Administrative Science Quarterly, 53(3), 395–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, B. G., & Pearce, N. A. (2010). The contentiousness of markets: Politics, social movements, and institutional change in markets. Annual Review of Sociology, 36, 249–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, B. G., & Soule, S. (2007). Social movements as extra-institutional entrepreneurs: The effect of protests on stock price returns. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52(3), 413–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer, R., Whiteman, G., & Banerjee, B. (2013). Conflict and astroturfing in Niyamgiri: The importance of national advocacy networks in anti-corporate social movements. Organization Studies, 34(5–6), 823–852.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, T. (2002). Mobilizing public opinion: Black insurgency and racial attitudes in the civil rights era. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, D., & Scully, M. (2007). The institutional entrepreneur as modern prince: The strategic face of power in contested fields. Organization Studies, 28(7), 971–991.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liedtka, J. (1989). Value congruence: The interplay of individual and organizational value systems. Journal of Business Ethics, 8(10), 805–815.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, T. P., & Maxwell, J. W. (2003). Self-regulation, taxation and public voluntary environmental agreements. Journal of Public Economics, 87(7), 1453–1486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, T. P., & Montgomery, A. W. (2015). The means and end of greenwash. Organization & Environment, 28(2), 223–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKay, B., & Munro, I. (2012). Information warfare and new organizational landscapes: An inquiry into the exxon mobil–greenpeace dispute over climate change. Organization Studies, 33(11), 1507–1536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madsen, P. M., & Rodgers, Z. J. (2015). Looking good by doing good: The antecedents and consequences of stakeholder attention to corporate disaster relief. Strategic Management Journal, 36(5), 776–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, S., Hardy, C., & Lawrence, T. B. (2004). Institutional entrepreneurship in emerging fields: HIV/AIDS treatment advocacy in Canada. Academy of Management Journal, 47(5), 657–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margolis, J. D., Elfenbein, H. A., & Walsh, J. P. (2009). Does it pay to be good… and does it matter? A meta-analysis of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1866371.

  • Margolis, J. D., & Walsh, J. P. (2003). Misery loves companies: Rethinking social initiatives by business. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(2), 268–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marquis, C., Glynn, M. A., & Davis, G. F. (2007). Community isomorphism and corporate social action. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 925–945.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J. (1985). Organizational culture. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J. (1992). Cultures in organizations: Three perspectives. Oxford University Press.

  • Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2008). Implicit and explicit CSR: A conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 404–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maurer, C. C., Bansal, P., & Crossan, M. M. (2011). Creating economic value through social values: Introducing a culturally informed resource-based view. Organization Science, 22(2), 432–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayntz, R. (2004). Mechanisms in the analysis of social macro-phenomena. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 34(2), 237–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAdam, D., McCarthy, J., & Zald, M. (1996). Introduction: Opportunities, mobilizing structures and framing processes. In D. McAdam, J. McCarthy, & M. Zald (Eds.), Comparative perspectives on social movements (pp. 1–20). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, J., & Zald, M. (1977). Resource mobilization and social movements: A partial theory. American Journal of Sociology, 82(6), 1212–1241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell, M. H., & King, B. (2013). Keeping up appearances reputational threat and impression management after social movement boycotts. Administrative Science Quarterly, 58(3), 387–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell, M. H., King, B., & Soule, S. (2015). A dynamic process model of contentious politics: Activist targeting and corporate receptivity to social challenges. American Sociological Review, 80(3), 654–678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McWilliams, A., Siegel, D. S., & Wright, P. M. (2006). Corporate social responsibility: Strategic implications. Journal of Management Studies 43(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, H. L. (1962). On the “Chicago School of Economics”. Journal of Political Economy, 70(1), 64–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., & Wood, D. J. (1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853–886.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrill, C., Zald, M. N., & Rao, H. (2003). Covert political conflict in organizations: Challenges from below. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 391–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munro, I. (2014). Organizational ethics and Foucault’s ‘art of living’: Lessons from social movement organizations. Organization Studies, 35(8), 1127–1148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ocasio, W. (1997). Towards an attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 18(S1), 187–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, P. E., & Johnston, H. (2000). What a good idea! Ideologies and frames in social movement research. Mobilization, 5(1), 37–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J. (2016). Why the assholes are winning: Money trumps all. Journal of Management Studies. doi:10.1111/joms.12177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piven, F. F., & Cloward, R. A. (1979). Poor people’s movements: Why they succeed, how they fail. New York: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M., & Van der Linde, C. (1996). Green and competitive: Ending the stalemate. Harvard Business Review, 73(5), 120–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raeburn, N. C. (2004). Changing corporate America from inside out: Lesbian and gay workplace rights (Vol. 20). Minessota: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, H. (1998). Caveat emptor: The construction of nonprofit consumer watchdog organizations. American Journal of Sociology, 103(4), 912–961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rindova, V. P., Pollock, T. G., & Hayward, M. L. (2006). Celebrity firms: The social construction of market popularity. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 50–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roulet, T. J., & Touboul, S. (2014). The intentions with which the road is paved: Attitudes to liberalism as determinants of greenwashing. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(2), 305–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rucht, D. (1999). The impact of environmental movements in western societies. In M. Giugni, D. McAdam, & C. Tilly (Eds.), How social movements matter (pp. 204–224). Minessota: University of Minessota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sagebien, J., Lindsay, N., Campbell, P., Cameron, R., & Smith, N. (2008). The corporate social responsibility of Canadian mining companies in Latin America: A systems perspective. Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 14(3), 103–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santoro, W. A., & McGuire, G. M. (1997). Social movement insiders: The impact of institutional activists on affirmative action and comparable worth policies. Social Problems, 44(4), 503–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25(1), 1–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scully, M. A., & Segal, A. (2002). Passion with an umbrella: Grassroots activists in the workplace. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 19, 125–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, D. A., & Benford, R. D. (1992). Master Frames and cycles of protest. In A. D. Morris & C. M. Mueller (Eds.), Frontiers in social movement theory (pp. 133–155). New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soule, S. (2009). Contention and corporate social responsibility. Cambridge studies in contentious politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Soule, S. A., Swaminathan, A., & Tihanyi, L. (2014). The diffusion of foreign divestment from Burma. Strategic Management Journal, 35(7), 1032–1052.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spicer, A., & Böhm, S. (2007). Moving management: Theorizing struggles against the hegemony of management. Organization Studies, 28(11), 1667–1698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spicer, A., & Fleming, P. (2007). Intervening in the inevitable: Contesting globalization in a public sector organization. Organization, 14(4), 517–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strang, D., & Meyer, J. W. (1993). Institutional conditions for diffusion. Theory and Society, 22(4), 487–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strang, D., & Soule, S. A. (1998). Diffusion in organizations and social movements: From hybrid corn to poison pills. Annual Review of Sociology, 24(1), 265–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, S., Spicer, A., & Böhm, S. (2011). Becoming global (un)civil society: Counter-hegemonic struggle and the Indymedia network. Globalizations, 8(5), 703–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilly, C., & Wood, L. J. (2009). Social movements 1978–2008. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turban, D. B., & Greening, D. W. (1997). Corporate social performance and organizational attractiveness to prospective employees. Academy of Management Journal, 40(3), 658–672.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich, P. (2008). Integrative economic ethics: Foundations of a civilized market economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich, P., & Sarasin, C. (Eds.). (1995). Facing public interest. The ethical challenge to business policy and corporate communications. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Steen, E. (2010). On the origin of shared beliefs (and corporate culture). The Rand Journal of Economics, 41(4), 617–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, T. A. (1998). Ideology: A multidisciplinary approach. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyke, N., Soule, S., & Taylor, V. (2004). The targets of social movements: Beyond a focus on the state. In D. J. Myers & D. M. Cress (Eds.), Authority in contention (pp. 27–51). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, E. T. (2014). Grassroots for hire: Public affairs consultants in American democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, J. P., Weber, K., & Margolis, J. D. (2003). Social issues and management: Our lost cause found. Journal of Management, 29(6), 859–881.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, K., Heinze, K., & DeSoucey, M. (2008). Forage for thought: Mobilizing codes in the movement for grass-fed meat and dairy products. Administrative Science Quarterly, 53(3), 529–567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, K., & Soderstrom, S. (2012). Social movements, business, and the environment. In P. Bansal & A. J. Hoffman (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of business and the natural environment (pp. 248–268). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, K., & King, B. G. (2014). Social movement theory and organization studies. In P. Adler, P. Gay, G. Morgan & M. Reed (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of sociology, social theory, and organization studies: Contemporary currents, Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199671083.013.0021.

  • Whetten, D. A. (1989). What constitutes a theoretical contribution? Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 490–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. (1973). Introduction to social movements. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zajonc, R. B. (1968). Attitudinal effects of mere exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9(2), 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zald, M. N. (2000). Ideologically structured action: An enlarged agenda for social movement research. Mobilization, 5(1), 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zald, M. N., & Berger, M. A. (1978). Social movements in organizations: Coup d’etat, insurgency, and mass movements. American Journal of Sociology, 83(4), 823–861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the guest editors and two anonymous reviewers for their guidance. Susan Kayser and Tatiana Sokolova also offered helpful comments. Financial support for the authors’ research from the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, the Energy Institute, and the Dow Sustainability Fellowship program at the University of Michigan is greatly appreciated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise & Energy Institute, University of Michigan, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Panayiotis Georgallis

Authors
  1. Panayiotis Georgallis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Panayiotis Georgallis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Georgallis, P. The Link Between Social Movements and Corporate Social Initiatives: Toward a Multi-level Theory. J Bus Ethics 142, 735–751 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3111-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3111-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation