International Business-Society Management: Linking Corporate Responsibility and Globalization

by van Tulder; Rob

• ISBN13: 9780415342407
• ISBN10: 0415342406
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2006-01-13
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The number of books on Business-Society Management, Business Ethics and Corporate Communication has seen an exponential growth, but most do not treat the issues, strategies and societal interaction in a homogenous manner. At last, here is a book that does just that. International Business-Society Management covers conflicts in which primarily large multinationals were targeted by non-governmental organizations. The conflicts surrounding Burma, blood diamonds, child labor, oil spills, food safety, patents on HIV/AIDS medication and labor rights, have resulted in a large number of disciplining activities. The authors formulate clear conditions for effective functioning of the reputation mechanism and of (self) regulation. Drawing on a wealth of experience both in research and teaching, the authors have developed a text that integrates reputation, responsibility, ethics and accountability. Clearly constructed around a carefully designed framework including an in-depth analysis of theissues, fascinating cases to illustrate the theory in practice and providing the reader with a strategic point of view, International Business-Society Management is a must-have book for all those studying or teaching business ethics, reputation, public relations, corporate social responsibility or corporate accountability.

Table of Contents

List of figures	ix
List of tables	xi
List of boxes	xii
List of abbreviations and acronyms	xiii
Website	xvii
Preface and acknowledgements	xix
Part I RIVALRY IN A CHANGING SOCIETY	1	(128)
Rival Institutions: Society as Triangular Relationship	7	(19)
Introduction: rival institutions, rival organizational forms	7	(1)
The societal triangle: separate institutional spheres	8	(4)
Societal complexity: hybridization	12	(12)
Conclusion: deciphering societal complexity	24	(2)
Rival Models: Interactions Within and Between Societies	26	(18)
Introduction: identifying successful models	26	(1)
Balancing spheres, interactive principles	27	(2)
The role of culture	29	(1)
A hidden dimension: institutional openness	30	(3)
Selecting successful economies	33	(1)
Rival success formulas	34	(5)
Conclusion: model and institutional rivalry in the twenty-first century	39	(5)
Rival Trends: Advancing Business, Towards Globalization?	44	(17)
Introduction: on mapping trends	44	(3)
The rise of multinational enterprise: understanding motives	47	(3)
The rise of multinationals: deciphering rival international trajectories	50	(6)
Mergers, market concentration and overlapping industry boundaries	56	(1)
Growing instability and insecurity	57	(1)
Privatization and the commercialization of technology	58	(1)
Conclusion: multinationals, carriers of globalization?	59	(2)
Rival Trends: An Advancing and Increasingly Emancipated Civil Society?	61	(12)
Introduction: assessing a largely qualitative phenomenon	61	(1)
Civil society and the ambiguous nature of interest articulation	62	(1)
Levels of interest articulation: the rise of a `global civil society'?	63	(4)
The partial demise of traditional NGOs	67	(3)
The rise of the subsidized NGO: from GONGO to BINGO	70	(1)
Technologization: in support of individualization and control	71	(1)
Conclusion	72	(1)
Rival Trends: A Receding State?	73	(19)
Introduction: a certain trend, is it?	73	(2)
Factors contributing to retreat	75	(2)
A smothered trend: re-regulation and re-privatization	77	(2)
The re-appraisal of a `trend': sustained importance of states	79	(3)
The reconfiguration of states: trading-off unilateralism, bilateralism, regionalism and multilateralism	82	(7)
Conclusion: levels of restructuring, levels of Business--Society Management	89	(3)
Managing Rivalry: The International Bargaining Society	92	(13)
Introduction: the advent of a `bargaining society'	92	(3)
Legitimacy: who represents whom for what?	95	(4)
Relationship dilemmas: are bargaining outcomes optimal?	99	(2)
International: playing field of the strong and single-issue movements	101	(2)
Conclusion: the challenges of the bargaining society	103	(2)
Managing Rivalry: The Challenge of Societal Interface Management	105	(24)
Introduction: on interfaces and positioning	105	(1)
Government and governing roles	106	(13)
NGO roles on the interface with firms	119	(7)
Conclusion: the challenges of Societal Interface Management	126	(3)
Part II INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY	129	(144)
The Logic: The Multifaceted Notion of Corporate Responsibility	133	(23)
Introduction: on firm boundaries and historical responsibilities	133	(2)
Contemporary approaches to CSR	135	(8)
Four approaches to CSR	143	(3)
CSR as hype or as lasting phenomenon: a guru guide to Societal Interface Management	146	(7)
Conclusion: from Triple-P (CSR) to Triple-E (interface)	153	(3)
The Occasion: Issues and Issues Management	156	(14)
Introduction: on the occurrence of issues	156	(1)
Framing issues	157	(2)
Issues management, crisis management?	159	(3)
Issue life cycle: from discontent to settlement	162	(6)
Conclusion: towards a reappraisal of Public Affairs	168	(2)
The Stakes: Firms -- Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?	170	(29)
Introduction: identifying issues, assigning responsibilities	170	(1)
Stretch issues and primary responsibilities	171	(6)
Institutional issues and interface responsibilities: firms as partially responsible	177	(15)
Agenda-setting issues and indirect responsibilities: firms as part of the solution?	192	(7)
The Mechanism: Reputation and Correction	199	(21)
Introduction: `Reputation, reputation, reputation -- the immortal part of men'	199	(1)
A temple of reputation	200	(3)
General functions of reputation: ties that bind	203	(4)
Reputation and CSR	207	(6)
Reputation and correction	213	(2)
Indicators of reputational damage	215	(2)
Conclusion: the trade-off between correction and disciplinary measures	217	(3)
The Context: Rival CSR and ICR Regimes	220	(32)
Introduction: from CSR to ICR	220	(1)
National CSR regimes	221	(9)
International interaction: principles and practices	230	(5)
ICR regime development -- the 1970s and 1980s	235	(5)
ICR since the 1990s -- searching for new governance principles	240	(8)
Conclusion: the shape of the ICR regime	248	(4)
The Process: ICR as Managing Distance	252	(21)
Introduction: on the importance of distance	252	(2)
Geographical distance	254	(2)
Cultural distance	256	(5)
Stakeholder and institutional distance	261	(8)
Conclusion: the challenges of ICR	269	(4)
Part III THE INTERNATIONAL BARGAINING SOCIETY IN ACTION	273	(113)
Do it Just -- The Nike Case	279	(10)
The Ocean as Rubbish Dump? -- The Shell Brent Spar Case	289	(9)
Provocative Bras from Burma -- The Triumph International Case	298	(6)
`Do More, Feel Better, Live Longer, But Only If You Can Afford It?' -- The Glaxosmithkline Case	304	(14)
A Changing Climate for a Sleeping Tiger? -- The Exxonmobil Case	318	(16)
Lessons in Reputation	334	(25)
Introduction: verifying the reputation claim	334	(1)
Correction in practice	335	(7)
Disciplining and self-regulation in practice	342	(3)
Lessons in correction and disciplining	345	(11)
Conclusion: on the effectiveness of reputation	356	(3)
The Way Ahead -- Towards a Strategic Stakeholder Dialogue	359	(27)
Introduction: on the reputation trap and the limits of confrontation	359	(1)
The principle: rise of the stakeholder dialogue	360	(4)
Experience with stakeholder dialogue: five cases	364	(3)
The process: preconditions of an effective stakeholder dialogue	367	(6)
Contents and components of a strategic stakeholder dialogue	373	(12)
Epilogue: the process determines the result	385	(1)
Notes	386	(15)
Bibliography	401	(23)
Index	424