Abstract
No good deed goes unpunished: Investigating the effect of corporate social performance on socially oriented shareholder activism
Academy of Management Proceedings
2016
DOI: 10.5465/AMBPP.2016.212
Abstract
The bulk of prior research on corporate social performance (CSP) has overwhelmingly viewed higher levels of CSP as a desirable firm attribute. In this study, we challenge this truism by examining whether greater CSP can lead to potentially undesirable outcomes such as becoming a target for socially oriented shareholder activism (SOSA). We compare the contrasting predictions offered by agency theory and social movement theory regarding the effect of changes in a firm’s CSP on SOSA targeting the firm. Testing our hypotheses on a sample of 841 S&P 1500 firms, we find that as firms’ CSP increases, SOSA increases, and that the relationship is stronger for larger rather than for smaller firms, suggesting that SOSA resembles a form of social movement rather than a form of market discipline. We discuss the implications of this study for further research on firms’ interactions with stakeholders.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- No good deed goes unpunished: Investigating the effect of corporate social performance on socially oriented shareholder activism
- Creators
- Abhijith G. Acharya - Singapore Management UniversityDavid M. Gras - Texas Christian UniversityRyan A. Krause - Texas Christian University
- Resource Type
- Abstract
- Publication Details
- Academy of Management Proceedings
- DOI
- 10.5465/AMBPP.2016.212
- ISSN
- 0065-0668
- eISSN
- 2151-6561
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2016
- Academic Unit
- Management and Entrepreneurship
- Record Identifier
- 9984936815502771
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