NGOs and Other Stakeholders Groups’ Influence as Participants in AGMs
WP 2026-03
NGOs and other stakeholders developed different kinds of interactions with companies. Many are at the same time shareholders of these companies, providing NGOs the same shareholder rights as other shareholders. Little is known about how NGOs and stakeholders make use of these rights. With different case studies this stakeholder behavior as shareholder is explored. First, their voting engagement and voting behavior is compared with that of institutional and retail investors showing both similarities and differences. Second, the NGOs’ use of the question right in the general meeting is analysed and correlated with companies’ commitments. Third, NGOs as initiator of shareholder proposals is studied. Those stakeholder initiated shareholder proposals are seldomly approved but the indirect investees’ effects should not be underestimated. All cases show that NGOs and stakeholders’ behavior as shareholders differs often from the other kinds of shareholders.