1st Edition
International Business-Society Management Linking Corporate Responsibility and Globalization
In the twenty-first century, as traditional divides are redefined, bargaining over corporate responsibilities has increasingly centred around corporate reputation and the question of whether businesses are part of society’s problems or part of their solution. This ground-breaking book treats issues, strategies and societal interaction in a homogenous manner and analyzes the nature of the international bargaining society as it has matured.
Discussing and contextualizing contemporary debates on international corporate social responsibility, globalization and the impact of reputation, this key text integrates them into a new and coherent framework: Societal Interface Management. Using this unique framework, it explores the interfaces between international corporations, governments and civil society representatives.
Analytic and revealing, the text applies the framework to in-depth studies of Nike, Shell, Triumph International, GlaxoSmithKline and ExxonMobil. It investigates the conflicts surrounding Burma, blood diamonds, child labour, oil spills, food safety, patents on HIV/AIDS medication and labour rights that have resulted in a large number of disciplining activities. An accompanying website (www.ib-sm.org) contains additional case studies, as well as issue dossiers on the challenges confronting international firms.
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, it is a must-have book for all those studying or teaching business ethics, political economics, economic geography, public relations, and corporate social responsibility.
PART I – RIVALRY IN A CHANGING SOCIETY
Chapter 1 – Rival Institutions: Society as Triangular Relationship
Chapter 2 – Rival Models: Interactions within and between societies
Chapter 3 - Rival Trends: Advancing Business, towards globalisation?
Chapter 4 – Rival Trends: An advancing and increasingly emancipated civil society?
Chapter 5 – Rival Trends: A receding state?
Chapter 6 – Managing Rivalry: The international bargaining society
Chapter 7 – Managing Rivalry: The challenge of Societal Interface Management
PART II - INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Chapter 8 – The Logic: the multifaceted notion of corporate responsibility
Chapter 9 – The Occasion: Issues and Issues management
Chapter 10 – The Stakes: Firms part of the problem or part of the solution?
Chapter 11 – The Mechanism: Reputation and correction
Chapter 12 – The Context: rival CSR and ICR regimes
Chapter 13 - The Process: ICR as managing distance
PART III – THE INTERNATIONAL BARGAINING SOCIETY IN ACTION
Chapter 14 – Do it Just – the Nike Case
Chapter 15 – The Ocean as rubbish dump? – the Shell Brent-Spar Case
Chapter 16 – Provocative Bras from Burma – the Triumph-International Case
Chapter 17 – Do More, feel better, live longer… if you can afford it – the Glaxo Case
Chapter 18 – Changing Climate for a sleeping tiger? – the ExxonMobil Case
Chapter 19 – Lessons in Reputation
Chapter 20 – The way ahead - Towards a strategic stakeholder dialogue
Biography
Rob van Tulder is Professor of International Business Studies at the Rotterdam School of Management. Alex van der Zwart is a Business Consultant specialising in Business-Society Management, Corporate Social Responsibility and Reputation issues.
'Corporate responsibility has gone global! In this timely assessment of the challenges of the 21st century global socio-political context for business, Van Tulder with Van der Zwart offer a broad and insightful analysis and rich case examples to show how societal interface management is the key to sustaining corporate reputation.' - Craig Smith, Senior Associate Dean, London Business School
