Contention and Corporate Social Responsibility

Sarah A. Soule is Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She received her BA from the University of Vermont in 1989, her MA from Cornell University in 1991, and her PhD from Cornell University in 1995. Before joining the faculty at Stanford, she was a faculty member at the University of Arizona and Cornell University. Her most recent articles have appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Annual Review of Sociology, Social Forces, Social Problems, and Mobilization. She has just completed another book (with David Snow) entitled A Primer on Social Movements and was a co-editor of The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Understanding social movements, contentions and private politics and their consequences; 3. Anti-corporate protest in the United States, 1960–1990; 4. The effect of protest on university divestment; 5. Private and contentious politics in the post-1990 era; 6. Conclusion.

'Social movements often target corporations rather than governments as a more direct means to achieve social ends, from economic equality and civil rights to product safety and accountability for negligence. Sarah Soule's Contention and Corporate Social Responsibility examines why corporations are targeted, what combination of tactics is used, and with what effect on corporate practices and performance. This engaging book will be of interest to scholars, activists, and business people alike.' Jerry Davis, The University of Michigan