Social movements, identity and disruption in organizational fields: Accounting for farm animal welfare

McLaren, Josie; Appleyard, Tony

doi:10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102310

Cited by 16 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Social movement and collective identity theory offer a perspective for understanding how calculative practices influence collective behaviors, both directly and indirectly, and how they can bring informal networks of interest to life. Accordingly, social movements stand up as novel phenomena of interest for accounting research because it is through this lens that we can examine how the new power of informal networks is emerging and is being shaped (Heimans and Timms, 2018; McLaren and Appleyard, 2021). Thus, social movement theory opens up new avenues for future accounting research to examine the effects of accounting technologies on shaping collective behaviors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, recent accounting studies examine how corporate disclosure mobilises collective actions and pressures (Islam and van Staden, 2018). McLaren and Appleyard (2021) examine the social movement as a new source of normativity in a changing organisational field, while Michelon et al (2020) uncover the ideology of activism in shareholders. Recent research also demonstrates how a social movement like #metoo can change the dynamics of accountability and its power relations (Goncharenko, 2021).…”

Section: Social Movements Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Calculative practices, social movements and the rise of collective identity: how #istayathome mobilised a nation

Torre

Tullio

Tamburro³

et al. 2021

AAAJ

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PurposeThe Italian government addressed the first wave of its COVID-19 outbreak with a series of social restrictions and calculative practices, all branded with the slogan #istayathome. The hashtag quickly went viral, becoming both a mandate and a mantra and, as the crisis played out, we witnessed the rise of the Italian social movement #istayathome. This study examines how the government's calculative practices led to #istayathome and the constituents that shaped this social movement.Design/methodology/approachThe authors embrace social movement theory and the collective identity perspective to examine #istayathome as a collective action and social movement. Using passive netnography, text mining and interpretative text analysis enhanced by machine learning, the authors analysed just over 350,000 tweets made during the period March to May 2020, each brandishing the hashtag #istayathome.FindingsThe #istayathome movement gained traction as a response to the Italian government's call for collective action. Thus, people became an active part of mobilising collective responsibility, enhancing the government's plans. A collective identity on the part of the Italian people sustained the mass mobilisation, driven by cohesion, solidarity and a deep cultural trauma from COVID-19's dramatic effects. Popular culture and Italy's long traditions also helped to form the collective identity of #istayathome. This study found that calculative practices acted as a persuasive technology in forming this collective identity and mobilising people's collective action. Numbers stimulated the cognitive, moral and emotional connections of the social ties shaping collective identity and responsibility. Thus, through collective identity, calculative practices indirectly influenced mass social behaviors and the social movement.Originality/valueThis study offers a novel theoretical perspective and empirical knowledge to explain how government power affects people's culture and everyday life. It unveils the sociological drivers that mobilise collective behaviors and enriches the accounting literature on the effects of calculative practices in managing emergencies. The study contributes to theory by providing an understanding of how calculative practices can influence collective behaviors and can be used to construct informal networks that go beyond the government's traditional formalities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Social Movements Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Calculative practices, social movements and the rise of collective identity: how #istayathome mobilised a nation

Torre

Tullio

Tamburro³

et al. 2021

AAAJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Our second issue, farm animal welfare, is also a prominent site of experimentation with new techniques for translating ethico-political concerns into ESG risks. In 2012, farm animal welfare became the focus of the first dedicated ESG rating system for food businesses, the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), and in 2014 the GICFAW – the first investor network focused on livestock issues – was launched ( Amos et al, 2021 ; McLaren and Appleyard, 2022 ). Both issues have thus accreted dense networks of calculative devices designed to establish them as ESG risks which should concern institutional investors.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since at least the 1990s certain UK-headquartered financial institutions have offered funds that exclude companies involved in animal testing from their portfolios, targeting clients who consider these activities morally objectionable ( Sparkes, 2010 ). However, sustained efforts have been made to economize the issue of farm animal welfare since the launch in 2012 of BBFAW which – much like Forest 500 – assesses the quality of major food businesses’ animal welfare policies and of their public disclosures regarding animal welfare practices within their supply chains ( Amos et al, 2021 ; McLaren and Appleyard, 2022 ). As Thomas – a responsible investment professional who had participated in developing BBFAW – recounted in an interview, this benchmark was designed explicitly to broaden the rationale for taking farm animal welfare into account within investment and shareholder engagement processes beyond purely ethical considerations: we interviewed investors, we said, “What would it take to make [farm animal welfare] of relevance to you?” and they said, “Well it's not financially material.…”

Section: Immaterials Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immaterial animals and financialized forests: Asset manager capitalism, ESG integration and the politics of livestock

et al. 2022

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This article uses interviews with responsible investment professionals to examine the extent to which institutional equity investors, and specifically ‘universal owners’ with highly diversified shareholdings, engage with public issues associated with livestock agriculture. As share ownership becomes increasingly concentrated, and the market for Environmental, Social and Governance investment products grows, these investors are increasingly involved in governing the activities of publicly traded corporations (including leading agribusinesses). This paper brings together political economy and marketization studies research to explore how universal owners become concerned about particular environmental and ethical problems, why they overlook other public concerns, and in what ways their selective engagement with ethico-political issues might be altering the content of food politics. Comparing universal owners’ engagements with farm animal welfare issues and with tropical deforestation within animal feed supply chains, we argue that these institutions engage with tropical deforestation because it presents a financially material risk to firms across multiple industries. By contrast, the specificity of farm animal welfare issues to agribusinesses means that they do not pose a material risk to the overall performance of universal owners’ highly diversified asset portfolios. Efforts to concern universal owners about livestock agriculture's social, environmental and health impacts thus generate a food politics which focuses primarily on risks to global economic systems and renders animals themselves distinctly immaterial.

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“…These lawsuits are always time-consuming, costly, and exhausting. Instinct tells us that launching such kind of lawsuits is worthwhile for we see can strategic litigations here and there in the courtroom to create broader and proper changes in society [2][3][4][5][6] and animal welfare advocates need to disseminate their willingness thus inspire more people to protect animals [7][8][9]. However, there might be other messages sent to the public by these animal protection lawsuits: animal abuse exists, and this infringement is so serious that judicial action is required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is One Health a Viable Strategy in Animal Health Litigation: Evidence from Civil Lawsuits in China

Chen

et al. 2021

Animals

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Several litigation strategies are used to gain support from courts in order to protect animals. While the emerging litigation strategy themed in One Health stimulates judicial protection in the animal health sector, little is known about whether and how such strategies are supported by courts. In this article, we investigate how animal welfare litigation strategies influence judge’s choices within their discretion. We argue that litigators equipped with the litigation strategy themed in One Health are placed in an advantageous position in animal health cases, but that this tendency varies markedly across zoonoses. Specifically, we suggest that litigators utilizing One Health’s litigation strategy are associated with higher probabilities to win, whereas normal litigators are not. Further, we propose that litigators equipped with the One Health litigation strategy are awarded more damages from judges. We test and find support for our predictions using a cross sectional dataset of civil lawsuit cases centering on the animal health industry in Chinese mainland. Our findings indicate that courts indeed were persuaded by the One Health litigation strategy, even when bound by the discretion rules. At the same time, we suggest that for advocates who would like to litigate for animal welfare in the animal health sector, the litigation strategy themed in One Health might have potentially positive implications.

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Social movements, identity and disruption in organizational fields: Accounting for farm animal welfare

Cited by 16 publications

References 75 publications

Calculative practices, social movements and the rise of collective identity: how #istayathome mobilised a nation

Calculative practices, social movements and the rise of collective identity: how #istayathome mobilised a nation

Immaterial animals and financialized forests: Asset manager capitalism, ESG integration and the politics of livestock

Is One Health a Viable Strategy in Animal Health Litigation: Evidence from Civil Lawsuits in China

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