This volume brings together new research that bridges the domains of stakeholder theory, non-market strategy and social movement theory. Although these three research domains have developed via relatively distinct academic communities, they speak to a common set of phenomena at the intersection of business, markets, civil society, and the state. This collection sets an agenda for a more holistic theory of business and society – a theory that takes seriously the various kinds of stakeholders that make up society and have claims over business, that incorporates the goals and objectives of businesses to survive and thrive, and that places an important role on the process of mobilization and contentious interaction between actors whose goals inherently conflict. Using a range of quantitative and qualitative methods, contributors focus on a phenomenon at the intersection of business, civil society, and government. Examining markets shaped by heavy stakeholder involvement and contention, chapters explore topics such as markets for electric vehicles, medical marijuana, municipal drinking water, and cigarettes along with controversial business practice, including employment practices for LGBT workers and racial/ethnic minorities, and working conditions in global supply chains.
Forrest Briscoe is Professor of Management and Organization, and Frank & Mary Jean Smeal Research Fellow, in the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University, USA. He has published widely in journals including
Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Industrial and Labor Relations Review and
Strategic Management Journal. He currently serves as Associate Editor for
Administrative Science Quarterly.
Brayden King is the Max McGraw Chair of Management and the Environment, a Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA and also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Sociology at that institution. He has published in the American Journal of Sociology, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review and Organization Science amongst others. He is currently a Senior Editor at Organization Science.
Jocelyn Leitzinger is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, USA. Drawing on organizational theory, she studies the impact of social movements on markets through three streams of research. Her work examines the role that social movements and activists play in facilitating the emergence of new industries, instigating practice change within industries, as well as how incumbent firms strategically respond to activist pressure. Her work has been recognized with a number of awards, including Outstanding Paper from the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability.
