Shareholder activism consists of both dialogue and formal shareholder proposals, also known as shareholder resolutions.
Dialogues often occur over the course of months, or even years.
If shareholder dialogues prove unfruitful, shareholders often turn to a formal resolution or proposal process. In the United States, securities laws govern a process by which a shareholder has a right to introduce formal proposals, have the proposal circulated to all of the company's shareholders, vote upon the resolution, and present it in person at company annual meetings. Shareholder rights and the ability of shareholders to offer proposals differ from country to country. Historically, the shareholder activism process is an attempt by investors to get information out of a firm and points of view into a firm that otherwise wouldn t be there. Through shareholder activity, investors are constantly demanding more information from companies, and building on past efforts to gain greater transparency, democracy, and responsibility in Corporate America.