Social Movement-Corporate Coalitions: How divisions between corporations within an industry present opportunities for environmental social movements

Abstract

In this study I investigate coalitions between advocacy organizations and corporations with respect to the government regulation of appliance and equipment energy consumption. In general, corporations tend to oppose government regulation because it may require appliance and equipment manufacturers to redesign their products and modify their manufacturing process. In contrast, energy efficiency advocates, who are part of the broader environmental movement, typically support government regulation because it can lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from energy production. Advocates and corporations engaged in government regulation leads to unequal power relations because the corporations have greater research and expertise resources to influence the policy process. This study examines the ways in which advocacy organizations leverage divisions between corporations on opposing sides of the regulatory process to bring about change. They do so by forming strategic alliances, called social movement-corporate coalitions, with selected corporations or industry segments that can stand to benefit from increased regulation. This study investigates the formation of alliances between advocacy organizations and corporations to develop a contribution to the literature on social movement theory by expanding the current theory of the industrial opportunity structure.