From God to market: Study of meaning-making strategies as responsible investments became mainstream

“Socially responsible investment” has existed since the 18th century in the form of religious investors avoiding investments in certain “sin” business activities. Over the last two decades, the socially responsible investment movement has moved from a small niche to the widespread translation and adoption of its practices by the mainstream investment community across the globe. In the process of this widespread adoption, the movement’s frames have changed significantly to adapt to the changing institutional environment of mainstream investors. This study focuses on how social movement actors have engaged in the (re)construction of field-level meanings in order to adapt the ideological frame of the original movement with the institutional demands of incumbent organizations. In addition, this study attempts to provide a better understanding of how social movement actors cope with the emerging conflicts between their convictions and the “pragmatic” framing needs of the movement to appeal to incumbents. This paper introduces three ideal types for meaning making work during mainstreaming: the hybridization of logics with the mainstream (financialization of SRI), the move from negative to positive incentives and the increased use of participatory frames.