Globalization and NGOs: Transforming Business, Government, and Society

Abstract

Journal of International Business Studies (2004) 35, 564–566. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400114 It is both easy and hard to define something by what it is not. NGOs, by their title, are non-governmental organizations, in other words, all organizations that are not governments. That is the easy definition. The problem is that NGOs, by this definition, include everything but the proverbial kitchen sink, that is, private firms, religious and charitable organizations, universities, advocacy groups, newspapers and other media, and so on. Doh and Teegen’s book, Globalization and NGOs: Transforming Business, Government, and Society, is designed to reduce this open-endedness by focusing on what NGOs are, rather than what they are not. The book has three cross-cutting themes: what are NGOs; how and why they differ from governments and firms; and how they operate in the global economy, fit within societies, and influence other organizations. There are 10 chapters in the book, which explore the rise of NGOs and their impacts on governments and firms. Several nice case studies are included (global climate change, World Wildlife Fund, genetically modified organisms, trade policy, and forestry. The Conclusions chapter sums up and provides a research agenda. Jone Pearce, in her Forward to the book, defines NGOs as ‘the name given to those nonprofit associations focused on social change via political influence or to those providing social and humanitarian services in highly politicized cross-national contexts’ (p xi). Doh and Teegen, in their Conclusion chapter, define NGOs as ‘organizations of individuals and donors committed to the promotion of a particular (set of) issue(s) through advocacy work and/or through operational activities whereby services are delivered’ (pp 206–207). NGOs are seen as one of three key actors in the global economy, together with governments and firms. NGOs not only have their own dyadic relationships with the other two actors but also mediate and moderate the business–government dyad. Doh and Teegen argue that NGOs are agents for change in the global economy. Therefore, scholars and practitioners need to focus more on understanding which NGOs matter, how firms and governments should best engage NGOs, and how NGOs can play a more definitive role on supranational issues that the public and private sectors have failed to address. Journal of International Business Studies (2004) 35, 564–566 & 2004 Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. All rights reserved 0047-2506 $30.00