Shareholder activism for corporate social responsibility: what do we know?

There is a growing body of research on shareholder activism for corporate social and environmental responsibility. This paper maps and synthesizes research on this topic during 1983–2007. Five key themes emerge. (1) Several studies address shareholder proposals in the US, including proposal topics, voting results, and typical targets for such activism. (2) Other studies focus on the effects of shareholder activism on corporate policy and practice. Further, studies have been conducted on shareholder activism by (3) NGOs, (4) unions and (5) pension funds respectively. Based on this review, missing perspectives are identified and suggestions are made for future research directions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]