Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Global Governance: CSR and the Role of the UN Global Compact

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The article discusses the role of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) in the emerging global corporate social responsibility infrastructure. It evaluates the debate around the effectiveness and legitimacy of the UNGC alongside the arguments of its supporters and critics and thereby introduces the Thematic Symposium contributions. The article further identifies three theoretical perspectives that are used by scholars to discuss the performance of the UNGC: economic, socio-historical, and normative. It proposes that these perspectives can serve as generic distinctions with direct relevance for the evaluation of the UNGC. Once the perspective is chosen, it drives towards a certain purpose which implies assumptions and design features with regard to the UNGC. Finally, the article offers a future research agenda, emphasising the research needed on the UNGC in four areas: the identification of processes and influence mechanisms; legitimacy and effectiveness; local networks and regional development; and the interface of the UNGC and responsible leadership.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbott, K. W., & Snidal, D. (2010). International regulation without international government: Improving IO performance through orchestration. Review of International Organizations, 5(3), 315–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. (2012). What we know and don’t know about corporate social responsibility. Journal of Management, 38(4), 932–968.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antonakis, J., Bendahan, S., Jacquart, P., & Lalive, R. (2010). On making causal claims: A review and recommendations. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(6), 1086–1120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumann-Pauly, D., & Scherer, A. (2013). The organizational implementation of corporate citizenship: An assessment tool and its application at UN Global Compact participants. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(1), 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behnam, M., & MacLean, T. L. (2011). Where is the accountability in international accountability standards?’: A decoupling perspective. Business Ethics Quarterly, 21(1), 45–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berliner, D., & Prakash, A. (2012). From norms to programs: The United Nations Global Compact and global governance. Regulation & Governance, 6(2), 149–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berliner, D., & Prakash, A. (2014). The United Nations global compact: An institutionalist perspective. Journal of Business Ethics. doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2217-5.

  • Bohmann, J., & Rehg, W. (1997). Deliberative democracy: Essays on reason and politics. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bremer, J. A. (2008). How global is the global compact? Business Ethics: A European Review, 17(3), 227–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cetindamar, D. (2007). Corporate social responsibility practices and environmentally responsible behavior: The case of the United Nations Global Compact. Journal of Business Ethics, 76(2), 163–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crane, A., McWilliams, A., Matten, D., Moon, J., & Siegel, D. S. (2008). The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fussler, C., Cramer, A., & van der Vegt, S. (2004). Raising the bar—Creating value with the United Nations Global Compact (1st ed.). Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garriga, E., & Melé, D. (2004). Corporate social responsibility theories: Mapping the territory. Journal of Business Ethics, 53, 51–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, D. U., & Behnam, M. (2013). Trust and the United Nations Global Compact: A network theory perspective. Business and Society, 52(1), 135–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodin, R. E. (2008). Innovating democracy: Democratic theory and practice after the deliberative turn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Haack, P., & Scherer, A. G. (2014). Why sparing the rod does not spoil the child: A critique of the “Strict Father” model in transnational governance. Journal of Business Ethics. doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2218-4.

  • Haack, P., Schoeneborn, D., & Wickert, C. (2012). Talking the talk, moral entrapment, creeping commitment? Exploring narrative dynamics in corporate responsibility standardization. Organization Studies, 33(5–6), 815–845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, M. C. (2002). Value maximization, stakeholder theory, and the corporate objective function. Business Ethics Quarterly, 12(2), 235–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, D. (2010). BP removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. Retrieved from http://www.sustainability-indices.com/images/100531-bp-statement_tcm1071-337607.pdf, January 27, 2014.

  • Jones, D. (2013). Industry Group Leaders 2013. Retrieved from http://www.sustainability-indices.com/review/industry-group-leaders-2013.jsp, January 27, 2014.

  • Kell, G. (2005). The global compact selected experiences and reflections. Journal of Business Ethics, 59(1–2), 69–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kell, G. (2013). 12 Years later: Reflections on the growth of the UN Global Compact. Business and Society, 52(1), 31–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kell, G., & Levin, D. (2003). The global compact network: An historic experiment in learning and action. Business and Society Review, 108(2), 151–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen, J. (2011). Company delistings from the UN Global Compact: Limited business demand or domestic governance failure? Journal of Business Ethics, 103(3), 331–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kobrin, S. J. (2009). Private political authority and public responsibility: Transnational politics, transnational firms, and human rights. Business Ethics Quarterly, 19(3), 349–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maak, T., & Pless, N. (2006). Responsible leadership in a stakeholder society: A relational perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 66(1), 99–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maak, T., & Pless, N. (2009). Business leaders as citizens of the world. Advancing humanism on a global scale. Journal of Business Ethics, 88(3), 537–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2008). “Implicit” and “explicit” CSR: A conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 404–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McIntosh, M., Waddock, S., & Kell, G. (2008). Learning to talk: Corporate citizenship and the development of the UN Global Compact. Sheffield: Greenleaf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mena, S., & Palazzo, G. (2012). Input and output legitimacy of multi-stakeholder initiatives. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22(3), 527–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, J. (2005). The United Nations’ Compact with business: Hindering or helping the protection of human rights? University of Queensland Law Journal, 24(2), 445–466.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palazzo, G., & Scherer, A. G. (2010). The United Nations Global Compact as a learning approach. In A. Rasche & G. Kell (Eds.), The United Nations Global Compact: Achievements, trends and challenges (pp. 234–247). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Post, J. E. (2013). The United Nations Global Compact: A CSR milestone. Business and Society, 52(1), 53–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasche, A. (2009). A necessary supplement: What the United Nations Global Compact is and is not. Business and Society, 48(4), 511–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasche, A. (2012). Global policies and local practice: Loose and tight couplings in multi-stakeholder initiatives. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22(4), 679–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasche, A., & Gilbert, D. U. (2012). Institutionalizing global governance: The role of the United Nations Global Compact. Business Ethics: A European Review, 21(1), 100–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasche, A., & Kell, G. (2010). The United Nations Global Compact. Achievements, trends and challenges (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rasche, A., & Waddock, S. (2014). Global sustainability governance and the UN Global Compact: A rejoinder to critics. Journal of Business Ethics. doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2216-6.

  • Rasche, A., Waddock, S., & Mcintosh, M. (2013). The United Nations Global Compact: Retrospect and prospect. Business and Society, 52(1), 6–30. (Special Issue).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reuter. (2011). Shell to scrap bonus link to sustainability index. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/07/shell-idAFLDE7261PQ20110307, January 27, 2014.

  • Ruggie, J. G. (2001). Global_governance.net: The global compact as learning network. Global Governance, 7(4), 371–378.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schembera, S. (2012). Implementing corporate social responsibility: Empirical insights on the impact of the UN Global Compact. IBW Working Paper Series No 316, University of Zurich.

  • Scherer, A. G., Baumann-Pauly, D., & Schneider, A. (2013). Democratizing corporate governance: Compensating for the democratic deficit of corporate political activity and corporate citizenship. Business and Society, 52(3), 473–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. (2007). Toward a political conception of corporate social responsibility: Business and society seen from a Habermasian perspective. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1096–1120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. (2011). The new political role of business in a globalized world: A review of a new perspective on CSR and its implications for the firm, governance, and democracy. Journal of Management Studies, 48(4), 899–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sethi, S. P. (2003). Setting global standards: Guidelines for creating codes of conduct in multinational corporations (1st ed.). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sethi, S. P., & Schepers, D. H. (2014). United Nations global compact: The promise-performance gap. Journal of Business Ethics. doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1629-y.

  • Therien, J. P., & Pouliot, V. (2006). The global compact: Shifting the politics of international development? Global Governance, 12(1), 55–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN Global Compact. (2013). Global compact international yearbook. Retrieved from http://csr-manager.org/en-wAssets/docs/GCYB2013/Global-Compact-Jahrbuch-2013-Screen.pdf, February 12, 2014.

  • UN Global Compact. (2014a). How to apply. Retrieved from http://www.unglobalcompact.org/HowToParticipate/How_to_Apply_Business.html, February 12, 2014.

  • UN Global Compact. (2014b). COP basic guide. Retrieved from http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/communication_on_progress/Tools_and_Publications/COP_Basic_Guide.pdf, February 12, 2014.

  • UN Global Compact. (2014c). Literature. Retrieved from http://www.unglobalcompact.org/NewsAndEvents/Academic_Literature.html, February 12, 2014.

  • Voegtlin, C. (2011). Development of a scale measuring discursive responsible leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(Suppl 1), 57–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel, D. (2005). The market for virtue: The potential and limits of corporate social responsibility. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

  • Vogel, D. (2008). Private global business regulation. Annual Review of Political Science, 11(1), 261–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waddock, S. (2008). Building a new institutional infrastructure for corporate responsibility. Academy of Management Perspectives, 22(3), 87–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, O. F. (2004). The UN Global Compact: The challenge and the promise. Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(4), 755–774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, O. F. (2014). The united nations global compact: what did it promise? Journal of Business Ethics. doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2219-3.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Christian Voegtlin

  2. ESADE Business School, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain

    Nicola M. Pless

Authors
  1. Christian Voegtlin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nicola M. Pless
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicola M. Pless.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Voegtlin, C., Pless, N.M. Global Governance: CSR and the Role of the UN Global Compact. J Bus Ethics 122, 179–191 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2214-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2214-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation