Movements, Markets and Fields: The Effects of Anti-Sweatshop Campaigns on U.S. Firms, 1993-2000
Keywords
social movement, corporation, sweatshop, sales, stock performance
Abstract
How do social movements influence corporations? Recent work suggests that movements can inflict material damage on their targets and shape categories of evaluation in organizational fields. Extending these ideas, we examine the effects of anti-sweatshop campaigns on sales, stock performance, reputation and specialized ratings of U.S. firms, using fixed-effects regression models and event study methods. The analysis demonstrates that social movements can in some circumstances shape both the markets and fields that firms inhabit. Specifically, anti-sweatshop campaigns (1. had negative effects on sales (though only among certain types of firms), (2. influenced stock prices, and (3. shaped specialized ratings of corporate responsibility. They also diminished previously positive corporate reputations (to a modest degree) but did not radically alter reputational hierarchies in the business community.
Original Publication Citation
Bartley, Tim and Curtis Child. 2012. “Movements, Markets, and Fields: The Effects of Anti-Sweatshop Campaigns on U.S. Firms, 1993-2000.” Social Forces 90(2):425-451.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Bartley, Tim and Child, Curtis, "Movements, Markets and Fields: The Effects of Anti-Sweatshop Campaigns on U.S. Firms, 1993-2000" (2011). Faculty Publications. 3882.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/3882
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2011-12
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6692
Publisher
Social Forces
Language
English
College
Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Department
Sociology
Copyright Use Information
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