Duane Windsor

Corporate Social Responsibility: Three Key Approaches

Corporate social responsibility remains an embryonic and contestable concept. This paper assesses three key approaches and offers a perspective gauging little prospect of theoretical synthesis. Ethical responsibility theory advocates strong corporate self-restraint and altruism duties and expansive public policy strengthening stakeholder rights. Economic responsibility theory advocates market wealth creation subject only to minimalist public policy and perhaps customary business ethics. These two viewpoints embed competing moral frameworks and political philosophies. Any theoretical synthesis must discover some subset of ethical principles yielding corporate competitive advantage. Corporate citizenship language invokes a political metaphor providing neither true intermediate positioning nor theoretical synthesis. Two conflicting interpretations abandon responsibility language without adopting the economic viewpoint. An instrumental citizenship interpretation expands philanthropy as a strategic lever for increasing corporate reputation and market opportunities while retaining managerial discretion. An ideal citizenship interpretation restates ethical responsibility into voluntarism language intended to influence managerial discretion concerning universal human rights. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2006.

A Critique of The Costs of Sprawl

Abstract This article critiques the methodology and conclusions of The Costs of Sprawl. That report does not determine the least costly housing pattern for a given population; it merely projects the costs and impacts of typical suburban development patterns. These projections are highly misleading. The principal flaw lies in the very conception of the prototype methodology adopted. The critique analyzes the sources of cost savings to show how the results are derived from the assumptions. It reanalyzes development costs and impacts using more appropriate assumptions, which produce very different results.

Toward a Global Theory of Cross-Border and Multilevel Corporate Political Activity

A proposed global theory of corporate political activity (CPA) analyzes the complex resource allocation choices involved in integrating politically relevant cross-border and multilevel strategies for multinational enterprises (MNEs). Cross-border CPA is “horizontal” allocation of scarce corporate resources by MNEs to politically relevant strategies across multiple countries. Globalization reshapes CPA among multiple levels functioning below, at, and above national governments. Subnational communities and international policy regimes, supranational quasigovernmental institutions, and supranational nongovernmental organizations all affect businesses. Multilevel CPA is “vertical” allocation of scarce corporate resources to politically relevant strategies among subnational, national, regional, and global levels. Furthermore, in each country and at each level, business-relevant policies are determined in multiple policy arenas, shaped by widely differing nonmarket institutions, corruption conditions, and stakeholder demands for corporate social responsibility. Multiple policy “arena” allocation adds to the analytical complexity of the CPA strategizing problem. Implications for scholarship and practice are presented.

Multinational Enterprises in the Global Economy

The international trade and investment linkages that have evolved since World War II have been importantly influenced by, and have in turn greatly influenced, the growth of multinational enterprises (MNEs). We use the term enterprise rather than any more restrictive term, such as corporation, to refer to organizations engaged in business activities such as production, service, and sales, regardless of their legal form or type of ownership. In particular, both investor-owned entities and state-owned entities are included, along with various hybrid combinations. The appearance and growth of hybrids-both private-government partnerships and multinational joint ventures and strategic alliances—is a particularly significant feature of the contemporary international business environment. We follow Dunning in defining a multinational enterprise as one that “owns and controls income-generating assets in more than one country” (Dunning, ed., 1974, p. 13), or more recently as “a coordinator of value added in two or more countries” (Dunning, 1991, p. 3; see also Dunning, 1979). More elaborate terminological distinctions among such enterprises, such as those suggested by Porter (1986, 1990), Bartlett and Ghoshal (1989), and others (see Hoogvelt, 1987, for a comprehensive compilation) are useful for some purposes, and are introduced as relevant below.

The rules of the game in the global economy : policy regimes for international business

I. The Context of International Policy Regimes.- 1. Complex Linkages in the Global Economy.- 2. Trade and Investment Linkages.- 3. Multinational Enterprises in the Global Economy.- 4. International Regimes: Issues and Analysis.- II. International Regimes: Case Studies.- 5. Global and Comprehensive Regimes: The UN System.- 6. Regional and Associative Regimes.- 7. Trade, Exchange, and Investment Regimes.- 8. Sea and Air Transport Regimes.- 9. Environmental Regimes.- Epilogue: The Future of International Policy Regimes.- Appendices.- A. Proposed text of the draft UN code of conduct on transnational corporations.- B. Note on data and sources.- References.- C. Appendix tables.

Regional Market Integration and the Development of Global Norms for Enterprise Conduct The Case of International Bribery

Moving toward a possible transatlantic free trade area (TAFTA), the European Union (EU) and the United States reached an accord in December 1995 to collaborate on 150 policy issues. Regional market integration arrangements involve the acceptance of international policy regimes defining conditions for cooperation and harmonization. Because multinational enterprises (MNEs) will likely increase in size and global scope, regional and global regime development efforts for defining corporate social responsibility and performance norms will be needed. In light of these trends, this article focuses on a case study of an emerging, global anticorruption norm among countries of diverse cultures, interests, and values. Although, historically, a norm against the bribery of domestic public officials has been virtually universal, there was little prohibition against bribery by business of foreign public officials. Regionally adopted anticorruption norms require national implementation and enforcement, and they must operate globally to be effective. Implications for other norms are considered.

International virtual teams: Opportunities and issues

Widely accepted forecasts expect globally networked virtual teams cutting across firms and disciplines to become the dominant enterprise form of the 21st century. This chapter critically reviews concepts, experience, and evidence bearing on this new approach to business in the digital and global economy. Key aspects of the available literature (academic, consulting, and practice) are identified. It is important not to conflate an evolutionary theory of the firm with an interpretation of the causes, logic, and effects of a particular stage of that evolution. While recent forecasts are reasonable projections of the opportunities opened by advanced communication technologies and likely falling prices for communication, the projections tend to be general inform. Detailed knowledge concerning forming, maintenance, and use of global virtual teams is slender. How to address global networking and virtual teamwork should be considered in light of various cautions being published about various kinds of change management approaches. Technology and human skill and motivation development investment are essential.

A Typology of Moral Exemplars in Business

Abstract Purpose A proposed typology of moral exemplars in business highlights instances selected to illustrate standards for inclusion. The typology distinguishes among champions, heroes, and saints as different kinds of business exemplars. The typology reflects variations in both specific decision conditions and moral value emphases of business actors. The typology also differentiates moral exemplars from moral neutrals (i.e., amoral actors) and moral sinners (i.e., moral value scofflaws). The objective is to advance understanding of moral character and moral courage in business settings. Methodology/approach The methodology combines original conceptual argument and brief case summaries taken from available literature. The chapter is not a systematic survey of literature but cites key works. Construction of the typology involved iteration between conceptual development and case interpretation. Findings The chapter separates business cases into private business and public business, and applies Adam Smith’s distinction between citizenship and good citizenship. An additional distinction is made between extreme conditions and normal conditions. Moral heroism in business is restricted to life-and-death or strongly analogous situations in extreme conditions such as hazardous whistleblowing. Moral sainthood in business involves extreme maximization of a single value going far beyond simple compliance with legal requirements and typical ethical norms – Smith’s definition of citizenship. Moral championing in business concerns some degree of lesser self-sacrifice in defense of important values reflecting Smith’s definition of good citizenship. Research Limitations and Implications The chapter is a selection of literature undertaken in iteration with the conceptual development effort. The original research aspect of the chapter is thus quite limited. The author is not positioned to judge the accuracy of published information, for or against a particular instance. The classifications thus depend on whether the instance would, if the generally reported facts are basically accurate, serve as a reasonable illustration of standards for inclusion. Criticisms have been made concerning some of the instances discussed here. Practical Implications The emphasis is on providing standards for defining moral exemplars for business to suggest how much can be accomplished in business through moral influence. Originality The conceptual contribution is original, although drawing on the philosophical literature debate about saints and heroes. The chapter treats exemplar as the overarching construct, separated into three kinds: heroes, saints, and champions. Sinner is implicit in the notion of saint. The chapter adds moral champions and moral neutrals to isolate moral heroism. The cases exist in the literature, but have been combined together here for the first time.

Moral activism and value harmonization in an integrating global economy

An interdependent global economy increases the practical and scholarly importance of international business ethics. This paper examines the relationship between transnational moral activism and international value harmonization in this context. Moral activism, while often grounded in mixed motives, is some effort to correct a perceived wrong in outcomes and/or the values and/or conduct of others. Economic interdependence increases contact among arguably very different cultures and values. The paper focuses on two specific examples: (1) increasing international cooperation for the suppression of bribery and other forms of corruption in private and governmental conduct; and (2) actual or proposed U.S. economic sanctioning of countries regarded as oppressive or terroristic. The role of the U.S. as a first or sole mover in such issue arenas is examined. The U.S. government and business sectors appear to be coming into increasing disagreement over foreign sanctions, as such sanctions affect business opportunities exploited by other members of the OECD. The practical importance for U.S. firms resolves into three key dimensions: (1) relaxation of U.S. policy controls affecting U.S. business activity abroad; (2) implications for corresponding business activity by foreign firms into the U.S.; and (3) what is typically characterized as global corporate citizenship.

Long-range planning in a politicized environment

Abstract The environment of the American corporation is becoming politicized by a variety of trends in the specific sense that social, political and legal developments are assuming greater strategic importance relative to market competition. As a result, long-range planning at the level of enterprise strategy is increasingly important. This paper examines two major illustrations of such politicization in the context of commercial law (the Westinghouse uranium crisis) and environmental regulation (Consolidated Edisons Storm King Mountain project). The paper concludes with a brief investigation of the implications of such politicization for long-range planning procedures.