Part III The Social Dimension, 13 Labour Relations

Author(s):  
Muchlinski Peter T

This chapter examines labour relations. The main elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR) applicable to multinational enterprises (MNEs) revolve around labour relations, human rights and environmental sustainability, which form the core contents of international corporate social responsibility (ICSR) instruments. The extension of CSR to MNEs arises from the perceived risk that they have the power to act with impunity against the interests of stakeholders affected by their operations, giving rise to growing demands for rebalancing corporate responsibilities towards more social ends. Labour rights represent the oldest category of social rights under national and international law and are key to understanding the rise of ICSR and its legal responses. The chapter then explores the historical role of labour rights in ICSR. It considers how the operations of MNEs and global value chains (GVCs) have caused changes in labour practices. It also studies the consequences of these changes on the regulation of labour relations in MNEs and GVCs, including the shift in contemporary transnational labour standards to the notion of ‘decent work’. Finally, the chapter assesses how the ‘decent work’ idea can be put into practice through national laws, international labour rights and transnational labour practices.

Author(s):  
David Tajgman

The International Labour Organisation's 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work prioritised four core labour standards' principles and led to a burst of new ratifications of the international treaties that are the subject of those principles. Ten years on there are important identified gaps in state implementation of the ratified Conventions that are the subject of the four principles. These gaps leave important holes in public policy and legislation. In a number of important substantive areas, these gaps have the effect of leaving it to private actors to figure out what would amount to fulfilling the norms of fundamental labour principle inspired codes of conduct. Inescapably left on their own to figure out approaches, corporate social responsibility (CSR)-respecting enterprises are subject to criticism levelled on the basis of interpretations of these principles given by civil society organisations and labour rights' campaigners. This chapter details this situation. The first part provides the necessary background information. The second part gives concrete examples of how this governance gap raises challenges to implementing CSR initiatives. The third part suggests that, considering the arguable origins of CSR in neo-liberal deregulatory fervour, social dialogue and reform by non-compliant state actors is the only sustainable solution.


2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Daugareilh

Employee participation is deemed necessary in the name of good governance and corporate social responsibility. For this reason it forms an essential aspect of legal instruments drafted by international public institutions and aimed at multinational enterprises. Despite this, enterprises clearly prefer to take a unilateral approach in the rules they adopt to implement CSR policies, and an individual approach to employee relations, to the detriment of collective labour relations. CSR thus presents two radically different facets: one of which is favourable to transnational social dialogue, while the other presents firms with an opportunity to regain areas of control over their employees at the expense of public freedoms and fundamental rights. The co-existence of these two aspects of CSR confronts public authorities with the following dilemma: either they allow self-regulation to take its course, and risk seeing violations of international labour law and national legislation, or they intervene in order to ensure compliance with existing international instruments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Víctor Meseguer-Sánchez ◽  
Francisco Jesús Gálvez-Sánchez ◽  
Gabriel López-Martínez ◽  
Valentín Molina-Moreno

Traditional economic system has brought important negative implications regarding environmental development, as well as an unequal distribution of wealth, which has led to ecological disasters and population imbalances. Considering the existence of unequal opportunities and access to resources in a global economy, it would be relevant to study the interrelations between the concepts of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Global and multifactorial issues require the review of fieldworks and their connections. From this perspective, the present research aims to analyze the relationships between the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in order to understand the advances of current scientific production and future lines of research. In this way, there is a considerable increase of interest in this line of research, highlighting García-Sánchez as the most productive author, Business, Management and Accounting as the most studied topic, and Sustainability Switzerland as the most productive journal. The country with the most publications and citations is the United States, and the most productive institution is Universidad de Salamanca. Future lines of research should focus on the social dimension and its possibilities in the field of Circular Economy. Finally, a line of research is proposed that also includes the proposals from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-466
Author(s):  
Leonardo Mastrangelo ◽  
Sonia Cruz-Ros ◽  
Maria-Jose Miquel-Romero

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine two forms of crowdfunding campaign success: success in securing the necessary financial resources and personal success in terms of the entrepreneur’s satisfaction. Specifically, it studies factors linked to the relationship between entrepreneurs and funders (co-creation and feedback) and factors linked to the campaign’s content (dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR)). Design/methodology/approach An empirical study of 52 crowdfunding entrepreneurs was conducted. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis was performed. Findings For financial and personal success, all factors, except the social dimension of CSR, are necessary conditions. Two configurations are sufficient for entrepreneurs to achieve financial success. The first configuration that is sufficient for personal success is the same as the first configuration for financial success. The second configuration for personal success is similar to the second configuration for financial success, except that it also includes financial success itself. Research limitations/implications Entrepreneurs should invest in CSR and seek to improve the quality of their relationships with their funders. Crowdfunding platforms should design and manage co-creation and feedback tools that are capable of providing deep knowledge of users’ opinions and concerns whilst generating value. The limitations of this study are that only the reward-based crowdfunding model was considered, and the data covered just two platforms. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by presenting empirical analysis of the factors that influence financial success and personal success in reward-based crowdfunding. It examines aspects that strictly refer to the content of the project and aspects that refer to the entrepreneur–funder relationship. Specifically, the roles of the four dimensions of CSR were considered. Moreover, the fsQCA method provides a fresh approach to research in this area.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Bason ◽  
Christos Anagnostopoulos

Purpose – Under growing public scrutiny of their behaviour, the vast majority of multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been undertaking significant investments through corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to close legitimacy gaps. The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive account of the nature and scope of MNEs’ CSR programmes that have sport at their core. More specifically, the present study addresses the following questions. First, how do Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 firms utilise sport as part of their CSR agendas? Second, how do different industries have different approaches to CSR through sport? And third, can the types of CSR through sport be classified? Design/methodology/approach – Centred on legitimacy theory and exploratory in nature, the study employed a content analysis method, and examined three types of document from each of the FTSE100 firms, namely, annual reports, annual reviews and CSR reports over the ten-year period from 2003 to 2012. In total, 1,473 documents were content analysed, thereby offering a sound representation of CSR disclosure of the FTSE100. Findings – From the analysis, three main streams emerged: “Philanthropy”, “Sponsorships” and “Personnel engagement” with the first showing the smallest growth compared with the other main streams. Findings show the general rise in CSR through sport, thereby demonstrating that the corporate world has practically acknowledged that the sporting context is a powerful vehicle for the employment of CSR. Originality/value – Previous empirical studies have sought to investigate CSR through sport, yet they have generally suffered from sampling limitations which have, in turn, rendered the drawing of reliable conclusions problematic. Particularly, the lack of an explicit focus on longitudinality is a typical limitation, meaning that no conclusions can be made regarding the trend. The study outlined in this paper offers the most comprehensive longitudinal study of CSR through sport to date, and thus contributes to the increasing volume of literature that examines the application of CSR in relation to the sport sector.


Author(s):  
Alexandra Hughes

This chapter charts the contribution of economic geography to the field of research concerned with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and standards. Following explanation of the historical and political–economic context of CSR and the rise of codes and standards as tools in the private regulation of the global economy, it places the critical spotlight on studies of ethical and labour standards in global supply chains. Within this area, the different critical insights into CSR and standards offered by the global value chains and global production networks frameworks, as well as postcolonial critique, theories of governmentality, and sociologies of standards and marketization, are summarized and debated. Finally, the chapter discusses some of the recent economic, geographical, and regulatory challenges to the ways in which CSR and standards are operating and transforming in practice, from the global economic downturn to the influence of ‘rising powers’ and emerging economies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 525-545
Author(s):  
Virginia Maria Stombelli

Purpose In 2016, the United Nations published the agenda for sustainable development with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), asking everyone to commit to reach the Goals’ targets by 2030. Accordingly, hospitality brands developed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to deliver positive direct, indirect and induced impacts to the triple bottom lines’ environmental, social and economic dimensions. The purpose of this paper consists in investigating the benefits that companies want to obtain, engaging in these activities. Three very different hotel brands’ CSR are analyzed to consider their undeclared coordination with the UN SDGs namely CitizenM, Lefay and Six Senses. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on secondary qualitative data retrieved from websites. Findings When choosing to commit to CSR initiatives, companies not only behave as good corporate citizens but also pursue their economic interests. By so doing, they receive benefits that vary from improved image and reputation amongst guests to enhanced satisfaction and commitment amongst employees, passing through reduced fiscal burdens and financial savings. Practical implications The UN SDGs seem to potentially create a virtuous cycle in which Goal 8, decent work and economic growth, must be a leading cornerstone. To make the cycle work, socio-economic engagement and factual certainly should be improved and hospitality companies should pay a role both by measuring and publishing the benefits of committing to CSR and funding sustainability research that can be beneficial to their business, too. If this happens and the UN SDGs’ targets are met, the future will benefit from a circular economy, whereby resources will not be disposed of but maintained, repaired, reused, remanufactured and refurbished before being recycled. In other words, sustainability is not only about creating a better life for every living being but also about developing favourable business environments to benefit companies. Originality/value The comparison of hospitality brands’ with theoretically identified benefits represents the starting point of a wider multi-dimensional reflection on coordination between companies’ CSR and UN SDGs. Recommendations to sustain the sustainability virtuous cycle and to look at the future are drawn.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheikh Muhamad Hizam ◽  
Zulkarnian Iylia Syazana binti Othman ◽  
Mohammad Mohammad Amin ◽  
Zalina Zainudin ◽  
Mohd Faiq Abdul Fattah

The field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has developed exponentially in the last decade and is consistently getting to be a worldwide slant. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a worldwide matter around the world that comes about an expanding number of studies on CSR universally as well as in Malaysia. Furthermore, the importance of CSR practices was emphasized by companies in order to ensure its sustainability in corporate world which are focused on (a) environment, (b) social dimension sustainability, (c) economic advancement, (d) stakeholder behaviour and (e) ethical evolution of society. In this manner, this paper gives a concept of CSR writing that has been conducted in Malaysia to assess the execution of CSR among organizations in Malaysia. It is presently anticipated that organizations expressly take into consideration all perspectives of their execution, not as it were their money related comes about, but moreover their social and commerce environment. Subsequently, most of organizations are presently locked in genuine endeavours to characterize and coordinated CSR into all perspectives of their businesses and exhibitions. The point of our think about is to get it this slant in Malaysia and particularly to explore (i) the status of CSR in Malaysia; (ii) different CSR practices in Malaysia; and (iii) future dissemination of CSR in Malaysia. Finally, over the last few decades, Malaysia has been gradually improving its alignment with global management practices such as quality management and ISO 9002.


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