Search

Article Information


The Power of Activism: Assessing the Impact of NGOs on Global Business
Spar, Debora L., and Lane T. La Mure
45/3  (Spring 2003): 78-101

Recent decades have witnessed the proliferation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the emergence of activism across a wide variety of issue areas. On topics ranging from human rights to labor conditions, NGOs and activists represent an increasingly important constituency in a firm's non-market environment. This article explores the different ways in which firms manage NGO pressure, noting instances of preemption, capitulation, and resistance. The article considers three case studies-Unocal, Nike, and Novartis-and evaluates a series of hypotheses about the economic and non-economic factors that drive variation in firms' responses to NGO activism.

 

California Management Review

Berkeley-Haas's Premier Management Journal

Published at the University of California for more than sixty years, California Management Review seeks to share knowledge that challenges convention and shows a better way of doing business.

Learn more
Follow Us