NGO Activism: Exposure vs. Influence

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Fioretti, Michele, Saint-Jean, Victor, Smith, Simon C.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Fioretti, Michele
Saint-Jean, Victor
Smith, Simon C.
author_facet Fioretti, Michele
Saint-Jean, Victor
Smith, Simon C.
contents This paper studies how the timing of NGO activism shapes its effectiveness in influencing corporate behavior. Using data on 2,500 campaigns targeting U.S. firms, we show that campaigns timed at annual general meetings (AGMs) generate large visibility gains but little contemporaneous influence, while campaigns launched before the AGM significantly increase shareholder proposal success and improve firms' environmental and social performance. We develop a dynamic model in which NGOs trade off awareness building and credibility formation, generating a lifecycle in activism from visibility-seeking to influence-oriented engagement. Therefore, NGOs' objectives evolve endogenously to coordinate stakeholder pressure and shape corporate behavior.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_06875
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle NGO Activism: Exposure vs. Influence
Fioretti, Michele
Saint-Jean, Victor
Smith, Simon C.
General Economics
Economics
This paper studies how the timing of NGO activism shapes its effectiveness in influencing corporate behavior. Using data on 2,500 campaigns targeting U.S. firms, we show that campaigns timed at annual general meetings (AGMs) generate large visibility gains but little contemporaneous influence, while campaigns launched before the AGM significantly increase shareholder proposal success and improve firms' environmental and social performance. We develop a dynamic model in which NGOs trade off awareness building and credibility formation, generating a lifecycle in activism from visibility-seeking to influence-oriented engagement. Therefore, NGOs' objectives evolve endogenously to coordinate stakeholder pressure and shape corporate behavior.
title NGO Activism: Exposure vs. Influence
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.06875