Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Notes on contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Globalization and its challenges
- Part I Leading the global organization
- Part II Global market participation
- Part III Managing risk and uncertainty
- 11 Cross-border valuation: the international cost of equity capital
- 12 Managing risk in global supply chains
- 13 Global recombination: cross-border technology and innovation management
- 14 From corporate social responsibility to global citizenship
- 15 Colliding forces: domestic politics and the global economy
- 16 Global implications of information and communication technologies (ICT)
- Part IV Implications and conclusions
- Author index
- Subject index
14 - From corporate social responsibility to global citizenship
from Part III - Managing risk and uncertainty
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Notes on contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Globalization and its challenges
- Part I Leading the global organization
- Part II Global market participation
- Part III Managing risk and uncertainty
- 11 Cross-border valuation: the international cost of equity capital
- 12 Managing risk in global supply chains
- 13 Global recombination: cross-border technology and innovation management
- 14 From corporate social responsibility to global citizenship
- 15 Colliding forces: domestic politics and the global economy
- 16 Global implications of information and communication technologies (ICT)
- Part IV Implications and conclusions
- Author index
- Subject index
Summary
Multinational companies must participate in the life of multiple countries, with different cultures and expectations for their citizens. At the same time, these companies are facing new demands to address global issues such as environmental concerns and poverty. In this context, what does it mean to be a “corporate citizen”? The author examines the emergence of the concept of corporate responsibility and citizenship, including the long-standing debate about whether a company owes its allegiance primarily to shareholders or to a broad community of stakeholders. He then considers what these concepts mean in a global context. While citizenship in a single nation has typically been defined by geography or ethnicity, global citizenship is a much more uncertain concept. The author discusses some of the challenges that face business in meeting conflicting national demands for citizenship, such as the troubles faced by Yahoo! when US users of its online auctions offered Nazi memorabilia on its website, accessible in France. The sale was protected under US First Amendment rights but banned under French law. The author also discusses the emerging concept of “cosmopolitan” or “global” citizenship. It is clear that companies must address global concerns, but each individual company must determine how to define global citizenship for itself and how to balance this identity with responsibilities that it may have to various local, national, and regional communities.
In February 2002, thirty-six large multinational corporations (including Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Siemens) issued a statement pledging a renewed commitment to “corporate citizenship.”
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The INSEAD-Wharton Alliance on GlobalizingStrategies for Building Successful Global Businesses, pp. 331 - 352Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004