Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T04:50:41.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Corporate citizens and the UN Global Compact: explaining cross-national variations in turnout

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Patrick Bernhagen ,
Neil J. Mitchell  and
Marianne Thissen-Smits
Neil J. Mitchell
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy, University College London
Marianne Thissen-Smits
Affiliation:
Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Aberdeen
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Business and public partnerships in socially responsible behavior have become a central pillar of global governance, but one that is unevenly developed in different countries. Despite the transnational character of business operations, national context is of theoretical as well as policy significance. To explain cross-country variation in corporate commitment to social responsibility we investigate the political conditions that encourage firms to participate in the United Nations Global Compact. Drawing on a theory of corporate social responsibility as motivated by self-interest and external pressure, we examine the influence of external actors and the locally specific mobilization of bias. Analyzing participation levels in 145 countries, we find that a democratic regime and Global Compact participation by countervailing groups are associated with higher levels of business participation in the program. Contrary to earlier studies relying on smaller numbers of countries, we find no evidence that a country's relationship with the UN or the domestic political strength of environmental interests account for cross-national variation in corporate engagement with the Global Compact.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business and Politics , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , April 2013 , pp. 63 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © V.K. Aggarwal 2013 and published under exclusive license to Cambridge University Press 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baron, D. P. 2010. Business and its environment. 6th ed. London: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Baron, D. P. 2009. “A positive theory of moral management, social pressure, and corporate social performance.” Journal of Economics and Management Strategy 18 (1): 7–43.Google Scholar
Bernauer, T. and Koubi, V. 2009. “Effects of political institutions on air quality.” Ecological Economics 68 (5): 1355–1365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, J. M. 1999. The new liberalism. Washington, DC: Brookings Institute.Google Scholar
Bennie, L., Bernhagen, P. and Mitchell, N. J. 2007. “The good corporation and the logic of transnational action.” Political Studies 55 (4): 733–753.Google Scholar
Brammer, S. and Pavelin, S. 2005. “Corporate community contributions in the United Kingdom and the United States.” Journal of Business Ethics 56 (1): 15–26.Google Scholar
Bueno De Mesquita, B., Cherif, F. M., Downs, G. W. and Smith, A. 2005. “Thinking inside the box: a closer look at democracy and human rights.” International Studies Quarterly 49 (3): 439–458.Google Scholar
Christmann, P. and Taylor, G. 2006. “Firm self-regulation through international certifiable standards: Determinants of symbolic versus substantive implementation.” Journal of International Business Studies 37 (6): 863–878.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Commission of the European Union (1995). “Corporate social responsibility.” Retrieved July 28, 2011, from http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=331&langId=en.Google Scholar
Crane, A., McWilliams, A., Matten, D., Moon, J. and Siegel, D. 2008. “The corporate social responsibility Agenda.” In: Crane, A., McWilliams, A., Matten, D., Moon, J. and Siegel, D. (eds.) The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 3–15.Google Scholar
Davenport, C. and Armstrong, D. A. II. 2004. “Democracy and the violation of human rights: a statistical analysis from 1976 to 1996.” American Journal of Political Science 48: 538–554.Google Scholar
Doh, J. P. and Guay, T.R. 2006. “Corporate social responsibility, public policy, and NGO activism in Europe and the United States: an institutional-stakeholder perspective.” Journal of Management Studies 43 (1): 47.Google Scholar
Edelman, M. 1964. The symbolic uses of politics. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Galbraith, J. K. 1954. “Countervailing power.” American Economic Review 44: 1–6.Google Scholar
Gallagher, M., Laver, M. and Mair, P. 2011. Representative Government in Modern Europe. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Getz, K. 1997. “Research in corporate political action: integration and assessment.” Business and Society 36 (1): 32–72.Google Scholar
Grossman, G. M. and Krueger, A. B. 1995. “Economic growth and the environment.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 110: 353–377.Google Scholar
Hamid, U. and Johner, O. 2010. “The United Nations Global Compact Communication on Progress Policy: Origins, Trends and Challenges.” In: Rasche, A. and Kell, G. (eds.), The United Nations Global Compact: Achievements, Trends and Challenges. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hansen, W. L. and Mitchell, N. J. 2000. “Disaggregating and explaining corporate political activity: domestic and foreign corporations in national politics.” American Political Science Review 94 (4): 891–903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardin, J. W., Schmiediche, H. and Carroll, R. J. 2003. “Instrumental variables, bootstrapping, and generalized linear models.” Stata Journal 3 (4): 351–360.Google Scholar
Haufler, V. 2001. A public role for the private sector: industry self-regulation in a global economy. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Hayter, S. and Stoevska, V. 2010. Social dialogue indicators. Trade union density and collective bargaining coverage. International Statistical Inquiry 2008–09. Technical Brief. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
Hillman, A. J., Keim, G. D. and Schuler, D. 2004. “Corporate political activity: a review and research Agenda.” Journal of Management 30: 837–857.Google Scholar
Hoffman, A. 2001. From heresy to dogma: an institutional history of corporate environmentalism. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Janney, J. J., Dess, G. and Forlani, V. 2009. “Glass houses? Market reactions to firms joining the UN Global Compact.” Journal of Business Ethics 90: 407–423.Google Scholar
King, B. G. and Pearce, N. 2010. “The contentiousness of markets: politics, social movements, and institutional change in markets.” Annual Review of Sociology 36: 249–267.Google Scholar
Kohler-Koch, B. 2011. Explaining convergence and variations in EU lobbying, Paper presented at the 41st Annual UACES conference, Cambridge, 5–7 September 2011.Google Scholar
Li, Q., and Reuveny, R. 2006. “Democracy and environmental degradation.” International Studies Quarterly 50 (4): 935–956.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lim, A., Tsutsui, K. 2012. “Globalization and commitment in corporate social responsibility: cross-national analyses of institutional and political-economy effects.” American Sociological Review 77 (1): 69–98.Google Scholar
Marshall, M. G., Gurr, T. R. and Jaggers, K. 2010. Polity IV Project: Dataset Users’ Manual. MD: Center for International Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://www.systemicpeace.org/inscr/p4manualv2009.pdf.Google Scholar
Matten, D. 2009. “Review Essay: ‘It's the Politics, Stupid!’: Reflections on the Role of Business in Contemporary Nonfiction.” Business & Society 48 (4): 565–576 Google Scholar
Mitchell, N. J. 1989. The generous corporation: a political analysis of economic power. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
North, D. 1990. Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Pauly, L. W. and Reich, S. 1997. “National structures and multinational corporate behavior: enduring differences in the age of globalization.” International Organization 51 (1): 1–30.Google Scholar
Perez-Batres, L. A., Miller, V. V. and Pisani, M. J. 2011. “Institutionalizing sustainability: an empirical study of corporate registration and commitment to the United Nations Global Compact guidelines.” Journal of Cleaner Production 19: 843–851.Google Scholar
Perkins, R. and Neumayer, E. 2010. “Geographic variations in the early diffusion of corporate voluntary standards: comparing ISO14001 and the Global Compact.” Environment and Planning A 42 (2): 347–365.Google Scholar
Potoski, M. and Prakash, A. 2005. “Green clubs and voluntary governance: ISO 14001 and firms’ regulatory compliance.” American Journal of Political Science 49 (2): 235–248.Google Scholar
Potoski, M. and Prakash, A., (eds.) 2009. Voluntary programs: a club theory approach. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Prakash, A. and Potoski, M. 2006. “Racing to the bottom? Globalization, environmental governance and ISO 14001.” American Journal of Political Science 50 (2): 350–364.Google Scholar
Richards, D. L., Gelleny, R. D. and Sacko, D. H. 2001. “Money with a mean streak? Foreign economic penetration and government respect for human rights in developing countries.” International Studies Quarterly 45 (2): 219–239.Google Scholar
Ruggie, J. 2004. “Reconstituting the global public domain–issues, actors, and practices.” European Journal of International Relations 10 (4): 499–531.Google Scholar
Schattschneider, E. E. 1960. The semisovereign people: a realist's view of democracy in America. New York: Holt.Google Scholar
Schuler, D. A., Rehbein, K. and Cramer, R. D. 2002. “Pursuing atrategic advantage through political means: a multivariate approach.” Academy of Management Journal 45 (4): 659–672.Google Scholar
Simmons, B. A. 2009. Mobilizing for human rights: international law in domestic politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Soule, S. 2009. Contention and corporate social responsibility. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
UN Global Compact Office. 2011. “Corporate sustainability in The World Economy.” Retrieved June 27, 2011, from http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/news_events/8.1/GC_brochure_FINAL.pdf.Google Scholar
Nations, United. 2009. “Global Compact Principle Three.” Retrieved April 7, 2009, from http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/principle3.html.Google Scholar
United Nations Global Compact. 2004. Annual report 2004: Forum des Amis du Pacte Mondial en France. Retrieved May 31, 2011, from http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/networks_around_world_doc/6.6/rep2004_france.pdf.Google Scholar
United Nations Global Compact. 2010. Local Network Report 2010.Google Scholar
Nations, United. 2011. Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie: Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, Human Rights Council, Seventeenth Session, A/HRC/17/31.Google Scholar
Vogel, D. 2008. “Private global business regulation.” Annual Review of Political Science 11: 261–282.Google Scholar
Waddock, S. 2008. “Building a new institutional infrastructure for corporate responsibility.” Academy of Management Perspectives 22 (3): 87–108.Google Scholar
Whelan, N. 2010. “Building the Global Compact local network model-history and highlights.” In: Rasche, and Kell, G. (eds.), The United Nations Global Compact: Achievements, Trends and Challenges. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 317–339.Google Scholar
Ziegler, O. 2007. “Global compact membership in Europe and the US: a case study of the automobile industry.” Journal of Corporate Citizenship 26: 55–68.Google Scholar