@article{WaegerMena, author = {Waeger, Daniel and Mena, S{\´e}bastien}, title = {Activists as moral entrepreneurs: How shareholder activists brought active ownership to Switzerland}, series = {Research in the Sociology of Organizations}, volume = {63}, journal = {Research in the Sociology of Organizations}, issn = {0733-558X}, doi = {10.1108/S0733-558X20190000063017}, pages = {167 -- 186}, abstract = {Action from activists is at the origin of many initiatives that end up injecting moral concerns into the way companies operate. In such instances, activists function as moral entrepreneurs that lastingly change the definition of what constitutes morally acceptable corporate behavior. Yet, in order to have such a lasting effect on companies, activist efforts need to pass through multiple stages that deal with both the effective mobilization of their own constituents and the triggering of corporate responses that can induce broader change in the economy. In the present chapter, the authors study how local shareholder activists initiated and helped sustain the process that led to the establishment of active ownership in Switzerland between 1997 and 2011. Active ownership refers to the active engagement of shareholders with firms to push them toward considering environmental, social, and corporate governance criteria in their decision-making. The case illustrates the processual nature of moralizing dynamics initiated by activists and emphasizes the long-term and cumulative nature of many moralization projects.}, language = {en} } @article{MenaWaeger, author = {Mena, S{\´e}bastien and Waeger, Daniel}, title = {Activism for corporate responsibility: Conceptualizing private regulation opportunity structures}, series = {Journal of Management Studies}, volume = {51}, journal = {Journal of Management Studies}, number = {7}, issn = {1467-6486}, doi = {10.1111/joms.12092}, pages = {1091 -- 1117}, abstract = {In this article, we examine how private regulatory initiatives (PRIs) - which define standards for corporate responsibility (CR) issues and sometimes monitor their application by firms - create opportunities and constraints for activist groups aiming to push firms towards more stringent CR activities. Drawing on social movement theory, we conceptualize how private regulation opportunity structures affect such CR-based activist groups' targets and tactics at both the firm and field levels. At the field level, we argue that both radical and reformative activist groups direct most of their time and resources towards PRIs with comparatively more stringent standards. At the firm level, while radical activist groups are likely to target firms participating in more stringent PRIs, reformative activist groups target firms participating in less stringent PRIs, or those that do not participate in PRIs at all. When facing unfavourable opportunity structures, CR-based activist groups tend either to advocate the creation of new PRIs or to shift their activities to pressure other focal points. This article contributes to moving beyond extant literature's emphasis of PRIs as settlements of contentious firm-activist interactions towards also viewing them as starting points for activist groups aiming to push firms towards a more substantive CR engagement.}, language = {en} } @article{WaegerMena, author = {Waeger, Daniel and Mena, S{\´e}bastien}, title = {The diffusion of contested practices across environments: Social movements' boundary-bridging role}, series = {Best Paper Proceedings of the 2013 Academy of Management Annual Meeting}, volume = {2013}, journal = {Best Paper Proceedings of the 2013 Academy of Management Annual Meeting}, number = {1}, issn = {2151-6561}, doi = {10.5465/ambpp.2013.193}, abstract = {We examine the diffusion across country institutional environments of a corporate practice that is contested by potential adopters. We show that the diffusion process is in crucial ways driven by the mobilization of social movement activists in favour of the corporate practice in the target institutional environment. We further show that social movement activism is particularly relevant for the pioneering introduction of a foreign practice into a new institutional environment in the early stages of the diffusion process, while more conventional institutional pressures become relevant at later stages of the process. Results from the study of the adoption of the corporate governance practice 'say on pay' by Swiss companies between 2007 and 2012 largely support our hypotheses and underline the boundary-bridging role of transnationally connected social movement activists.}, language = {en} }