A norm entrepreneur is someone interested in changing
social norms
Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into rules and laws. Social normative influences or soci ...
.
Cass Sunstein
Cass Robert Sunstein (born September 21, 1954) is an American legal scholar known for his studies of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, law and behavioral economics. He is also ''The New York Times'' best-selling author of ...
coined the term in his 1996 paper ''Social Norms and Social Roles''. He notes there that existing social conditions can frequently be more fragile than is typically supposed as they depend on social norms to which many may not be strongly allied. Sunstein identifies a category of people, who he calls ''norm entrepreneurs'', who are interested in changing social norms. If they are successful in their endeavors they can produce what he calls ''norm bandwagons'' and ''norm cascades'' which lead to substantial changes in social norms.
[Sunstein, Cass R. (1996) Social Norms and Social Roles, ''Columbia Law Review'', Vol. 96, No. 4, May, pp. 903-968]
See also
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Moral entrepreneur A moral entrepreneur is an individual, group, or formal organization that seeks to influence a group to adopt or maintain a norm; altering the boundaries of altruism, deviance, duty, or compassion.Pozen, David E. 2008. âWe Are All Entrepreneurs Nowâ ...
References
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Sociological terminology