NGOs, Activism and Sustainability

Frank de Bakker and Frank den Hond

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: In this chapter, we examine the role of NGO activism as a driver of sustainability. Such activism offers opportunities and poses challenges to firms; examining the role of activism is important to appreciate the broader question of what makes businesses more sustainable and more socially responsible. We provide an overview of what activist NGOs are and explore ways by which they seek to influence corporate policies, ranging from collaboration and partnerships to contestation and protest. We then discuss which firms are more likely to encounter NGO activism as not all firms are equally susceptible to NGO activism. Firm size, industry and visibility to consumers are important elements, as well as their historical record on CSR and sustainability issues. Finally, we discuss how firms may respond to NGO activism. For a firm to take responsibility implies that it moves beyond the defence of its own economic interests, to consider the questions of what kind of corporation the firm wishes to be, what role in society it aspires to fulfil and how to relate to its various stakeholders. Ultimately, these are questions of ethics.

Keywords: activism; NGO; stakeholder; stactics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-03-30
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in Andreas Rasche (ed.); Mette Morsing (ed.); Jeremy Moon (ed.); Arno Kourula (ed.). Corporate Sustainability: Managing Responsible Business in a Globalised World. 2nd edition., 13, Cambridge University Press, pp.248-270, 2023, 9781009114929

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04137259

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().