MNC responses to international NGO activist campaigns: Evidence from Royal Dutch/Shell in apartheid South Africa

Corporate Responses to Social Activism: A Review and Research Agenda

“…This conceptual omission may hold promise to explain why firms respond differently to social activism-a crucial unanswered question in the literature. Third, regarding the decision-making step of acting in response to activism, extant literature has predominantly focused on empirically investigating the relationship between social activism and the array of strategic choices that firms make in response to it (e.g., Hadani et al, 2018;McDonnell & Cobb, 2020;Minefee & Bucheli, 2021;Piazza & Perretti, 2020;Reid & Toffel, 2009), assuming away the search process that leads to a behavioral response (cf. Posen, Keil, Kim, & Meissner, 2018).…”

“…First, there has been a notable shift in research focus, from how firms defensively repair the damage caused by social activism (e.g., Delmas & Toffel, 2008; Smith, 1996) to how firms proactively collaborate with activists to address the grand challenges of our times (e.g., Bridoux & Stoelhorst, 2022; Odziemkowska, 2022). Second, research methodology has changed from a predominantly quantitative approach (e.g., David, Bloom, & Hillman, 2007; Reid & Toffel, 2009) to a more qualitative orientation (e.g., Buchter, 2021; Minefee & Bucheli, 2021).…”

“…In the literature on how firms frame the implications of activist challenges, we identify two separately evolving research streams, wherein firms see social activism as either a threat (McDonnell & King, 2013; Minefee & Bucheli, 2021; Rao et al, 2011) or an opportunity (Durand & Georgallis, 2018; Haveman, Rao, & Paruchuri, 2007; Hiatt et al, 2009). In our review, we find that extant research tends to conflate the diagnostic analysis and framing outcome of activism implications.…”

“…For example, Luo et al (2016) found that Chinese firms that are ranked lower regarding their donations to disaster relief are more likely to feel reputational pressures, which creates the impetus for society at large to question their socially responsible image. In contrast to economic threats, legitimacy threats impose social sanctions (as opposed to economic costs) on the firms under activist attack (Minefee & Bucheli, 2021; Tian et al, 2021), which could ultimately impose indirect economic costs on the firms if they ignore such threats (Odziemkowska & Dorobantu, 2021). Recent research also suggests that legitimacy threats posed by activism campaigns can provoke uncomfortable dissonance for corporate insiders, resulting in the turnover of elite employees (McDonnell & Cobb, 2020).…”

“…Targeting firms to elicit stakeholder-friendly changes can also raise public awareness of the issues related to activism campaigns (Lee, 2009), such as climate change (Ansari, Wijen, & Gray, 2013; Schifeling & Soderstrom, 2022), diversity and inclusion (Akchurin & Lee, 2013; Chuang, Church, & Hu, 2016; Wang, Whitson, King, & Ramirez, in press), and human rights (Bird, Short, & Toffel, 2019; Minefee & Bucheli, 2021). By raising public awareness of certain issues, social activism stimulates new cognitive frames (M. D. King & Haveman, 2008; York, Hargrave, & Pacheco, 2016), promotes new categories (Hedberg & Lounsbury, 2021; Schneiberg, King, & Smith, 2008), and even facilitates supportive regulation for positive changes (Fremeth et al, 2022; Lee, 2009).…”