Institutional Change in the Making - The Case of Socially Responsible Investment

Abstract

This dissertation explores the mechanisms of institutional change in practice. The institutional change under study relates to the progressive penetration of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) criteria into conventional investment funds, a phenomenon which appeared during the 2000s, known as SRI Mainstreaming. The dissertation aims to explain why SRI Mainstreaming has expanded into France and to identify its impacts on the practices of the French asset management sector. It mobilizes a three-year (2006-2009) longitudinal case study of a French asset management company, conducted as an SRI analyst. Research methods rely on the pragmatist concept of inquiry and combine participative observation, semi-structured interviews and documentary evidence. The dissertation comprises three articles that should be considered together. They explore 1) the origins of the SRI Mainstreaming phenomenon, 2) how asset management companies have transformed their practices in response to SRI Mainstreaming and 3) why practices have been transformed in a different way in fixed-income investment, compared to equity investment, respectively.This dissertation received three awards: > Best Thesis Award European FIR-PRI (French Socially Responsible Investment Forum & Principles for Responsible Investment) 2011.> Highly Commendable dissertation in the EFMD Emerald 2011 Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards in the Interdisciplinary Accounting Research (category sponsored by the Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal).> Second prize in the 2011 European EDAMBA (European Doctoral Programmes Association in Management and Business Administration) Thesis Competition.