Empty Words? – The Contested Nature of the UN Global Compact

Abstract

The aim of this symposium is to critically engage with the contested nature of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and to evaluate the arguments of critics and supporters by assessing whether it represents rhetoric—empty words—or a new reality of corporate citizenship. While critical voices argue that companies’ pledging to uphold the UNGC’s 10 principles is not more than paying lip service and empty words, those in support counter that these words actually matter as they allow companies to engage with issues of corporate social responsibility in the first place and can trigger learning and development over the long term, both on the company and the institutional level. The symposium brings together renowned scholars in business ethics and CSR from both sides of the debate. We invited scholars in support of the UNGC and those more critical towards its achievements and future development as panel discussants. Their accounts, including new insights, arguments and empirical evidence, will reveal the different persp...