We thank for their helpful comments Steve Callander, the participants in the Business and Social Environment Conference and the Conflict and Cooperation Conference at Northwestern University, seminar participants at New York University and Stanford University, and two anonymous referees.
1530-9134/asset/JEMS_left.gif?v=1&s=044301077731a3bd4968fead04d6c41d0d90d5c3)
Strategic Activism and Nonmarket Strategy
Article first published online: 26 JUL 2007
DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-9134.2007.00152.x
Additional Information
How to Cite
Baron, D. P. and Diermeier, D. (2007), Strategic Activism and Nonmarket Strategy. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 16: 599–634. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-9134.2007.00152.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 26 JUL 2007
- Article first published online: 26 JUL 2007
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Activist NGOs have increasingly foregone public politics and turned to private politics to change the practices of firms and industries. This paper focuses on private politics, activist strategies, and nonmarket strategies of targets. A formal theory of an encounter between an activist organization and a target is presented to examine strategies for lessening the chance of being a target and for addressing an activist challenge once it has occurred. The encounter between the activist and the target is viewed as competition. At the heart of that competition is an activist campaign, which is represented by a demand, a promised reward if the target meets the demand, and a threat of harm if the target rejects the demand. The model incorporates target selection by the activist, proactive measures and reputation building by a potential target to reduce the likelihood of being selected as a target, fighting a campaign, and credible commitment.