Ripple Effects: How Collaborations Reduce Social Movement Contention

Abstract

Research suggests firms can reduce stakeholder contention (e.g., lawsuits, protests) by collaborating with threatening stakeholders. We propose that by tapping into stakeholder networks and identities, collaborations also produce ripple effects beyond the firm’s partner to attenuate contention from a broader set of stakeholders. Using variation in firms’ and stakeholders’ willingness to collaborate exogenous to contention to account for selection, our examination of contentious and collaborative interactions between 136 environmental movement organizations and 600 U.S. firms corroborates our arguments. Firms face less contention when they collaborate with a better-connected stakeholder motivated to share affirming information about the firm, or with a more contentious and authentic stakeholder. Our findings generalize to stakeholder criticism beyond movement organizations, suggesting collaborations are powerful tools for fashioning less contentious environments.

Keywords: social movements, cross-sector collaborations, cooperation and conflict, co-optation