Date of Award
5-2016
Degree Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Dual Degree Master of Business Administration/Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy (MBA/ESP)
Department
Graduate School of Management
Chief Instructor
Zhenyang Tang
Second Reader
Halina Brown
Keywords
proxy voting, institutional investors, corporate governance, climate change, sustainability
Abstract
One of the key rights shareholders retain is the right to vote on issues affecting the companies in which they invest. This voting right is seen as one of the primary means of exercising diligent corporate governance (Cole 2003, Fairfax 2009). Only 28 percent of individual investors vote in corporate elections compared with 91 percent of institutional investors. Informed voting decisions at corporate elections can be very information intensive, and theories of rational apathy and the free rider problem may explain a lack of participation from individual investors.
Many shareholders cannot attend annual corporate meetings, so they can use the proxy voting process. Several proxy voting websites have been launched to increase engagement among individual investors in the voting process, but most have failed. Through case study analysis of Moxy Vote, the United States Proxy Exchange and ProxyDemocracy, this research identified major hurdles in regulatory constraints and funding models and opportunities to engage progressive institutional investors and millennials. This research also explores the link between shareholder voting and corporate disclosure on climate change and sustainability.
Recommended Citation
Miller, Robin, "Shareholder Advocacy In Corporate Elections: Case Studies In Proxy Voting Websites For Retail Investors" (2016). Sustainability and Social Justice. 52.
https://commons.clarku.edu/idce_masters_papers/52
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Corporate Finance Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons, Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons
