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How Scandals Act as Catalysts of Fringe Stakeholders' Contentious Actions against Multinational Corporations

Author

Listed:
  • Thibault Daudigeos
  • Thomas Roulet
  • Bertrand Valiorgue

    (CleRMa - Clermont Recherche Management - ESC Clermont-Ferrand - École Supérieure de Commerce (ESC) - Clermont-Ferrand - UCA [2017-2020] - Université Clermont Auvergne [2017-2020])

Abstract

In this article, we build on the stakeholder-politics literature to investigate how corporate scandals transform political contexts and give impetus to the contentious movements of fringe stakeholders against multinational corporations (MNCs). Based on Adut's scandal theory (2005), we flesh out three scandal-related processes that directly affect political-opportunity structures (POSs) and the generation of social movements against MNCs: convergence of contention towards a single target, publicisation of deviant practices, and contagion to other organisations. These processes reduce the obstacles to collective actions by fringe stakeholders by pushing corporate elites to be more sensitive to their claims, by decreasing MNCs' capability to repress contentious movements, by forcing the targeted MNCs to formalise a policy to monitor and eradicate the controversial practices and by helping fringe stakeholders find internal and external allies to support their claims. This conceptual model of scandals as catalysts of contentious actions contributes to a better understanding of stakeholder politics by unveiling the role of the political context in the coordination of fringe stakeholders.

Suggested Citation

  • Thibault Daudigeos & Thomas Roulet & Bertrand Valiorgue, 2020. "How Scandals Act as Catalysts of Fringe Stakeholders' Contentious Actions against Multinational Corporations," Post-Print hal-03041023, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03041023
    DOI: 10.1177/0007650318756982
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03041023
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    Keywords

    stakeholder politics; scandals; political-opportunity structures; multinational corporations; fringe stakeholders;
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