Shareholders are an important group of stakeholders influencing management and corporate activity through the two channels of shareholder activism and socially responsible investing. The main ways shareholders engage corporations on their social performance have undergone changes since the 1960s, both in their prevalence and their characteristics. In addition to providing essential background information on the two shareholder engagement strategies, this paper draws parallels with and connections to the overall historical development of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This paper also highlights those organizations or events that have been pivotal in the historical development of the shareholder-CSR relationship to indicate future avenues for more in-depth research
