Of small steps and big leaps: Collaborators impact on confronters' ability to influence corporate responsibility

Arbeitspapier

In their efforts to influence corporate responsibility, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are increasingly focusing directly on companies - either by entering into collaborative relationships with, or by exerting public pressure on them. While both approaches can be instrumental for NPOs with respect to influencing corporate responsibility, the way in which these two approaches interact has not been extensively researched. Drawing on institutional change and social movement theory as well as nonprofit-business collaboration literature, this qualitative study sheds further light on how more confrontational NPOs experience the value and disvalue of collaborative approaches by more collaborative NPOs with respect to their own ability to influence corporate responsibility - i.e. how they experience "collaborator effects". The results indicate that collaborative approaches can support confrontational ones in re-institutionalization efforts surrounding corporate responsibility, but have a negative bearing on their efforts at de-institutionalization. The type of NPO involved in collaborative efforts with companies exerts an important influence on perceived collaborator effects.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CEPS Working Paper Series ; No. 19

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft
• Subject: corporate responsibility ; nonprofit-business collaboration ; nonprofit-business confrontation ; institutional change ; radical flank effects ; collaborator effects

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Arnold, Nicholas
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): University of Basel, Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS)
• (where): Basel
• (when): 2021

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/243235
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET