Shareholder activism for corporate social responsibility What do we know英文文献.pdfVIP

Sustainable Development Sust. Dev. 16, 141–154 (2008) Published online in Wiley InterScience () DOI: 10.1002/sd.361 Shareholder Activism for Corporate Social Responsibility: What Do We Know? Emma Sjöström* Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden ABSTRACT There is a growing body of research on shareholder activism for corporate social and environmental responsibility. This paper maps and synthesizes research on this topic during 1983–2007. Five key themes emerge. (1) Several studies address shareholder proposals in the US, including proposal topics, voting results, and typical targets for such activism. (2) Other studies focus on the effects of shareholder activism on cor- porate policy and practice. Further, studies have been conducted on shareholder activism by (3) NGOs, (4) unions and (5) pension funds respectively. Based on this review, missing perspectives are identifi ed and suggestions are made for future re- search directions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. Received 31 August 2007; revised 19 November 2007; accepted 28 January 2008 Keywords: activism; shareholder proposals; corporate social responsibility Introduction ORPORATIONS ARE INHERENTLY CONNECTED TO THE WIDER SOCIETY THROUGH THEIR OPERATIONS, FOR example through their use of natural resources, the people they employ, the welfare to which they contribute and the pollutants they emit. The impacts of corporations can be favourable or detrimental, large or limited. Due to the centrality of corporations in our society, and their C potential and actual influence on va