scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Nonprofit Organizations on Multi-Actor Global Governance Initiatives: The Case of the UN Global Compact

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 6982
Author(s):  
Alice Hengevoss

This study empirically assesses the impact of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) on multi-actor global governance initiatives. Multi-actor global governance initiatives have emerged to strengthen joint action among different societal actors to tackle transnational social and environmental issues. While such initiatives have received a great deal of academic attention, previous research has primarily focused on businesses’ perspectives. In light of the important role of NPOs within such initiatives, critically addressing NPOs’ role by assessing their impact on the effectiveness of such initiatives is crucial. This article builds on the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)—the largest multi-actor global governance initiative in the world—and offers a panel analysis on a unique dataset including 820 NPOs from 68 different countries. The findings suggest that NPOs have indeed strengthened the UNGC over time, yet their engagement explains only a small fraction of differences in UNGC activity across countries. This study contributes to the emerging research on nonprofits’ social responsibility by fostering the actorhood thesis, which places higher responsibility for the impact and requirements for accountability on NPOs. Furthermore, the study supports discussions about the increasing political role of NPOs by providing the first empirical evidence for their political leadership and impact in multi-actor global governance initiatives.

2014 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Voegtlin ◽  
Nicola M. Pless

Author(s):  
Sophie Nappert

It has been posited that the international arbitration process carries with it not only fact-finding and lawmaking functions but also a governance function insofar as “arbitrators … can and do engage in autonomous normative action while still adhering to the rule of law.” This contribution explores the role and ambit of the exercise of discretion by international arbitration tribunals and its interplay with the tribunals’ governance function, as arbitrators must consider “the impact of their rulings on states, persons or entities not directly represented in the case before them.” It questions whether the use of discretion is suited to the governance role of arbitral tribunals and serves, rather than compromises, the effective exercise of that role. It asks what measures ought to be considered to make arbitrators better prepared for the exercise of their governance function.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Busso

In modern democracies, nonprofit organizations and social enterprises have a relevant political role that may be threatened by the entry into the market of services. This risk increases in time of economic crisis, when the competition grows stronger and the economic needs become more urgent. Starting from this assumption, the article analyzes the relationship between the managerial strategies and the political role of the Italian third sector, focusing on the implications of the management models put in place in order to “survive” the 2008 economic crisis. Two ideal-typical strategies will be outlined, labelled respectively “entrepreneurial turn” and “hyper-embeddedness”, which seem to have effects both in terms of the manner in which the political role is realized, and in terms of the degree of politicization of the organizations. Since such strategies can both increase or decrease nonprofits’ political ambitions, it is not possible to give an interpretation in terms of a tout court distancing from politics. However, it will be argued that a trait common to all the trajectories is the withdrawal from what Mouffe defines “the political”, referring specifically to the dimension of conflict and antagonism.


Modern Italy ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Furlong

This article considers the changed role of the Italian presidency and the impact and legacy of Silvio Berlusconi on this. After consideration of some of the methodological difficulties raised by these issues, the article looks at the role of the presidency up to 1992, when the presidency was interpreted in narrow terms set by the framers of the 1948 constitution and by the predominance of the party leaders of the period over the political direction of the State. The article considers how presidents from Sandro Pertini (1978–85) on, sought in different ways to expand the political role of their office. The article analyses the different ways that Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Giorgio Napolitano used their formal and informal powers both to maintain the status of the office and to promote political goals, and concludes with an assessment of the likely long-term impact of these changes and of Berlusconi's role in them.


2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rianne Mahon ◽  
Stephen McBride

If ‘knowledge is power’, it is unsurprising that the production, legitimation, and application of social scientific knowledge, not least that which was designed to harness social organization to economic growth, is a potentially contentious process. Coping with, adapting to, or attempting to shape globalization has emerged as a central concern of policy-makers who are, therefore, interested in knowledge to assist their managerial activities. Thus, an organization that can create, synthesize, legitimate, and disseminate useful knowledge can play a significant role in the emerging global governance system. The OECD operates as one important site for the construction, standardization, and dissemination of transnational policy ideas. OECD staff conducts research and produces a range of background studies and reports, drawing on disciplinary knowledge (typically economics) supplemented by their ‘organizational discourses’. This paper probes the contested nature of knowledge production and attempts to evaluate the impact of the OECD’s efforts to produce globally applicable policy advice. Particular attention is paid to important initiatives in the labour market and social policy fields – the Jobs Study and Babies and Bosses.


Author(s):  
Andrew Millington

This article provides a comprehensive overview of one of the main areas where corporate social responsibility issues have impacted upon firms across the globe, namely the supply chain. Although the legal obligations for social and environmental issues are increasingly devolved to suppliers, the role of lead firms in the development of ethical supply chain management (ESCM) has been the subject of considerable debate. This article focuses on two questions which are central to the development of ESCM. First, it looks at stakeholder pressure for ESCM and its implications for the involvement of lead firms in ESCM. Second, it considers the conditions under which lead firms will be able to influence suppliers and implement ESCM. It then reviews the impact of ESCM on social and environmental performance. Finally, it outlines the implications for the development of effective ESCM.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Mattero ◽  
María Esperanza Calvo Centeno ◽  
María Del Pilar López Portillo

During the end of the 20th century and beginning of 21st century, there is a trend to evaluating the actions undertaken to improve the socio-economic environment in which we live, to achieve a greater level of wellbeing for all citizens. In the context of Stakeholder Theory, considering an organization should always operate towards creating positive value for society, the creation of the UN Global Compact and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals created a shift in many regions. The present study evaluates this context and how the implementation of circular economy policies has affected the achievement of SDGs in Spain. Specifically, the role of different private and public agents is evaluated in the tire manufacturing industry and the impact in each of the SDGs. Results show positive results as well as areas of improvement to further improve the roadmap towards achieving the 17 SDGs.


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