Translating ideologically based concerns: how civil society organisations use the financial market to protect human rights

Facilitators and impediments for socially responsible investment: a study of Hong Kong

“…A change toward such fi nancial framing can, for example, be achieved by educating investors about the fi nancial materiality of environmental and social issues, or by foreign, SRI-oriented shareholders expressing environmental and social expectations of Hong-Kong-listed companies, or by local shareholder activists shifting much of their current focus from moral to fi nancial arguments (Sjöström, 2007). NGOs may perhaps not infl uence the logic of business and fi nancial actors, but through more activism directed at Hong-Kong-listed corporations, NGOs may infl uence the extent to which environmental and social aspects become part of the business and fi nancial agendas.…”

“…A second factor which spurs SRI, according to previous research, is the presence of NGOs on the fi nancial arena (Waygood and Wehrmeyer, 2003;Guay et al, 2004;Sjöström, 2007). Environmentally and social-justice-oriented NGOs may share many concerns with SRI-oriented investors, with regard to corporate responsibility.…”

“…Environmentally and social-justice-oriented NGOs may share many concerns with SRI-oriented investors, with regard to corporate responsibility. In some Western markets, NGOs are involving themselves in SRI by persuading a critical mass of shareholders to engage in an issue, by building coalitions with shareholders (e.g., co-fi ling resolutions), and by temporarily becoming shareholders themselves and exercising shareholder rights (Waygood and Wehrmeyer, 2003;Guay et al, 2004;Sjöström, 2007).…”

Shareholder activism for corporate social responsibility: what do we know?

“…Several of the studies purport that shareholder activism by NGOs is increasingly common, and contend that NGO intervention on the stock market can be successful in changing business strategy (Waygood and Wehrmeyer, 2003;Guay et al, 2004;Sjöström, 2007). Waygood and Wehrmeyer (2003) develop a taxonomy for capital market intervention, where NGOs can use the fi nancial market either directly by becoming share owners themselves, or indirectly by levering the power of fi nancial institutions, and where their efforts are directed either at specifi c companies or investors, or at regulators.…”

“…Guay et al (2004) point out that due to the public profi le and stakeholder status of NGOs they may infl uence corporate strategy to a degree disproportionate to the shares owned. Sjöström (2007) focuses on NGO shareholder activism for human rights, and makes the point that NGOs can successfully translate their ideologically based concerns into fi nancial terms, thereby making the issue relevant for actors who have more power to push for a corporate change (Sjöström, 2007). Riyanto and Toolsema (2007) have developed a theoretical model about different scenarios of environmental and social activists' pressures on shareholders to engage in corporations' handling of their social responsibility.…”