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Cited by 335Management and Organizational StudiesPolicy Transfer and LearningInnovation and Knowledge Management

The Nixon-in-China Effect: Activism, Imitation, and the Institutionalization of Contentious Practices

Briscoe, Forrest, Safford, Sean·2008·Administrative Science Quarterly
DOI 10.2189/asqu.53.3.460
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Abstract

This paper seeks to understand how contentious practices spread from initial targets of activism to become accepted by organizations in the mainstream. Using a dataset on the diffusion of domestic partner benefits in the Fortune 500 from 1990 to 2005, we show that widespread adoption among mainstream firms was triggered by the prior adoptions of companies known to resist activism. We also find that employee activist groups within firms played a different role depending on the company's orientation toward activism. Employee groups increased the likelihood of adoption in activism-prone firms, but in mainstream firms, they increased the susceptibility of the firm to prior adoptions by others. These findings support a view of institutionalization as a contested process and suggest an alternative mechanism through which social networks influence that process. Like the effect of Cold-War President Richard Nixon's surprising visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972, which led other countries to open relations with China, adoption of a practice by activism-resistant firms signaled to mainstream firms that an advocated practice had lost its contentiousness. Rather than providing pressure toward conformity, adoption events in a firm's environment can be seen as a cultural resource that supports or undermines the arguments made by proponents of change inside organizations.

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Crossref · 10.2189/asqu.53.3.460

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144 of 145 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The value of a certification is socially constructed and becomes useful as an impression management tool only after achieving legitimacy through collective understanding and acceptance among audience members.

    “The value of a certification, like other new practices, is socially constructed (Berger and Luckmann, 1966) and thus becomes useful as an impression management tool only after achieving legitimacy in the form of collective understanding and acceptance among audience members”

    From Strategic Silence: Withholding Certification Status as a Hypocrisy Avoidance Tactic (2018) · cites this paper as Briscoe and Safford, 2008

  • Prior work indicates that prominent organizations, especially those known for resisting activists, drive the spread and institutionalization of socially responsible practices by adopting progressive policies.

    “Prior research has found that the diffusion and eventual institutionalization of socially responsible practices is largely driven by the adoption of progressive policies by prominent organizations, in particular by those that have reputations for or histories of being resistant to activists' requests”

    From Strategic Silence: Withholding Certification Status as a Hypocrisy Avoidance Tactic (2018) · cites this paper as Briscoe and Safford, 2008

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 147 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 22

  1. 10.5465/amr.1996.9602161572 · DOI · Paper page
  2. Alinsky S., 1989, Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals
  3. Baron D. P., 2004, “Strategic activism: The Rainforest Action Network.”
  4. Bianco A., 2001, BusinessWeek
  5. Buchholz R., 1992, Business Environments and Public Policy
  6. Cukierman A., 1998, American Economic Review, 88, 180
  7. 10.1086/210044 · DOI
  8. Elswick J., 2001, Employee Benefit News
  9. Hoffman A. J., 2001, From Heresy to Dogma: An Institutional History of Corporate Environmentalism, expanded ed
  10. Human Rights Campaign, 2000, The State of the Workplace for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Americans
  11. Human Rights Campaign, 2003, Corporate Equality Index
  12. Iannuzzo C., 1991, “Benefits for the domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees at Lotus Development Corporation.”
  13. Isikoff M., 1986, Washington Post, A1
  14. Kochan T. A., 1994, The Mutual Gains Enterprise
  15. Lippmann W., 1922, Public Opinion
  16. Mouawad J., 2006, New York Times, C1
  17. Raeburn N., 2004, Inside Out: The Struggle for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Rights in the Workplace
  18. Rothaus S., 2000, Miami Herald, July, 2E
  19. Ryan C., 1991, Prime Time Activism
  20. Schneider M. B., 2007, Indianapolis Star, A1
  21. Turner J. C., 1991, Social Influence
  22. Yoffie D., 1987, Business Strategy and Public Policy, 92

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Related

Authors
Briscoe, F., & Safford, S.
Affiliations
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
  • University of Chicago (US)
ORCID
Venue
Administrative Science Quarterly
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2008-09
Volume
53
Issue
3
Pages
460-491
ISSN
  • 0001-8392 (ISSN-L)
  • 1930-3815
DOI
10.2189/asqu.53.3.460
OpenAlex
W2158260430
Semantic Scholar
151aa9a2728fd5d524d5eee195bef1037886140b
Cited by
335
References
147
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 16
FWCI
15.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Administrative Science Quarterly (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policy Transfer and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Innovation and Knowledge Management
Keywords
diffusion of practices, institutionalization, activism, domestic partner benefits, Fortune 500 companies, social networks, organizational change, organizational culture

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