This article explores the mechanisms by which corporate prestige produces distorted legaloutcomes. Drawing on social psychological theories of status, we suggest that prestigeinfluences audience evaluations by shaping expectations, and that its effect will differdepending on whether a firm's...

Organizational scholarship has become increasingly interested in the relationships between corporate social responsibility, reputation, and movement activism. Activist groups target corporations in order to pursue their social change agendas. These groups are not only motivated to alter...

In this paper, we explore the extent to which firms targeted by consumer boycotts strategically react to defend their public image by making prosocial claims: announcements of the firm's engagement in activities that demonstrate its commitment to socially acceptable norms and values. We argue...

Empirical studies of contracts have become more common over the past decade, but the range of questions addressed by these studies is narrow, inspired primarily by economic theories that focus on the role of contracts in mitigating ex post opportunism. We contend that these economic theories do...

Corporations have faced a rising tide of activism by social movements over the past generation. Consumer boycotts, protests, divestment campaigns, shareholder proposals, and employee insurgencies have all become near-daily occurrences. At the same time, the range of issues that have become fair...