Corporate Codes Research Articles

Drivers for and Obstacles to Corporate Social Responsibility Practice in Vietnam – A Study in Small and Medium Enterprise Exporters

Based on the fact that most of factories/manufacturers failed to comply with foreign customers’ requirements for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices from the first audits, the present study aims to explore SME exporters’ understanding of CSR requirements from foreign clients, motivations and obstacles for them to practice and implement CSR. In order to tackle the research objectives, qualitative approach is chosen and in-depth interview with owners, HR/CSR managers and production managers is employed to collect data. The research scope is firms/suppliers in hardlines (non-furniture and non-apparel) section. Thematic analysis is used to analyse and categorise data from interviews. The research findings show some crucial points. Firstly, CSR requirements from clients are not correctly understood. Secondly, there are seven drivers for CSR practices which match with previous studies. Lastly, six per ten obstacles to implement CSR are new findings in the present research context. From these findings, some recommendations are proposed to improve CSR practices in SMEs.
 Keywords
 Corporate social responsibility (CSR), motivations (motives), obstacles, SMEs
 References
 
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Operationalizing business ethics in organizations

PurposeCodes of ethics have become the mainstay of the ethics programs of corporations. Many studies have explored their contents, but few have examined what makes them effective. This international study aims to identify the measures viewed as being important by top executives in determining the worth to their organizations of corporate codes of ethics.Design/methodology/approachData were collected by questionnaires sent to the top 500 companies ranked by revenue operating in the private sectors in Australia, Canada and Sweden. By analyzing the survey results from the top corporate executives in these countries, the research team was able to test for a number of determinants of effectiveness for codes of ethics.FindingsIn a statistically significant model, it was found that four factors related to the internal management of the corporation are positively correlated to executives’ perceptions of the value of their corporate codes of ethics.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research may seek to address features of this study that limit its generalizability, as it was conducted on the largest of companies in each country and thus this sample may not reflect the way that business ethics are managed in smaller organizations in those countries.Originality/valueIf executives see particular items as important to their business ethics success, one could postulate that this has arisen from a perception that implementing these measures has been effective for their organizations. This provides guidance to other organizations on what items could enhance the effectiveness of their codes of ethics.

Initiating sustainability assessments: Insights from practice on a procedural perspective

Sustainability assessment is a key method that offers a platform from which the private sector can implement systematic processes to address sustainability. While this presents a unique opportunity for broadening the use of sustainability assessments, this is constrained by the lack of commonly accepted processes and little empirical evidence on private sector practices. This study directly engages with this dilemma, examining the initiation step of the sustainability assessment from a procedural framework perspective. A multiple case study approach is utilised with semi-structured interviews of 32 respondents from nine multinational enterprises operating in the manufacturing industry of Indonesia. Findings indicate the initiation step is initially directed by regulatory compliance, with organisations using checklists based on mandatory sustainability issues to consider. The majority of organisations go beyond this compliance approach, however, with the role of the headquarters directing these organisations to more holistically consider sustainability issues through the use of established lists and materiality analysis. This is informed through headquarter commitments to voluntary international standards and global sustainability guidelines, which have translated into corporate practice through established policies and procedures. These findings highlight the importance of an emerging trend for the private sector to undertake voluntary activities beyond the regulatory context of the country they are operating within, and guided by corporate codes of conduct, when undertaking sustainability assessments.

Analysis of international construction companies in the context of corporate codes of ethics: Example of Turkey

Analysis of international construction companies in the context of corporate codes of ethics: Example of Turkey

Corporate Form and Social Entrepreneurship: A Status Report from California (and Beyond)

In January 2012, amendments to California’s corporate code permitted a new type of corporate form designed around for-profit entities also wishing to commit to serving a broader “social purpose” (or purposes). Although not the first state to embrace such reforms, California’s experiment is unique, in that it allowed companies to opt for one of two different social benefit entity forms: the “Benefit Corporation” (BC) and the “Flexible Purpose Corporation” (FPC). This essay summarizes the reforms and presents basic descriptive data about the rate at which business organizations have embraced them. Thus far, both forms have had relatively modest take-up rates; those social enterprises that have opted for one of the two forms have generally favored the BC over the FPC, though its market share narrowed consistently during 2012. Although it is premature to conclude whether social enterprise statutes will prove successful, I argue that now is an ideal time to put the infrastructure into place for collecting, organizing and analyzing data in this arena as it becomes available.

It's alright, it's just a bluff: Why do corporate codes reduce lying, but not bluffing?

Purchasing operates in an environment that frequently provides incentives for deception. Using self-concept maintenance theory and social learning theory, this article compares two distinct manifestations of deception in buyer–supplier negotiations: lying and bluffing. Scenario-based experiments provide evidence that corporate codes diminish severe manifestations of deception (lying) but not less severe ones (bluffing), and that bluffing is considered a negotiation skill. These findings reveal the boundary conditions of self-concept maintenance theory, which is applicable to lying but not to bluffing. Moreover, this article outlines an agenda for future research on deception in buyer–supplier relationships – an important but under-researched subject within our discipline.

Е-СЕРЕДОВИЩЕ ЯК СКЛАДОВА КОРПОРАТИВНОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ В УНІВЕРСИТЕТАХ ФРАНЦУЗЬКОЇ РЕСПУБЛІКИ

The article deals with features and regularities of functioning of the E-environment as a component of corporate culture of the universities of the French Republic. The essence of the concepts “corporate culture”, “corporate culture of the university”, “environment”, “E-environment”, “academic honesty” has been defined. The specifics of the influence of the environment on the development of the personality have been revealed. The specific features of the corporate character at the university have been outlined. Academic honesty and other components of the corporate culture of the university have been singled out. The development of the corporate culture at the university has been characterized at three levels. The expediency of step-by-step actions for the development of the corporate culture of the university has been stressed, and the final stage of its formation is the normative consolidation of all rules, laws, standards in the corporate code of the university, or other document regulating legal relations in the organization and beyond. The positive and negative factors of influence on the development of the corporate culture of the university have been determined. Attention is focused on academic honesty, as a component of the corporate culture of the university. The main branches of the effectiveness of academic honesty have been determined. The problem of plagiarism has been revealed as one of the varieties of manifestation of academic dishonesty among Ukrainian researchers and educators. The place and role of the E-environment in the formation of the corporate culture of the universities of the French Republic have been characterized. There has been presented the information on the functionality of such electronic learning platforms as LearningSpace, TopClass, WebCT, Pleiad, Campus Virtuel, Virtual, Claroline, Ganesha, Moodle, Promethee, LearningSpace, TopClass and WebCT which are used for distance learning at the universities of the French Republic. A number of positive and negative signs of the using of electronic platforms in the universities of the French Republic have been presented.

Challenges and Opportunities for the Sustainability Transition in Global Trade (Introduction)

In this special issue, we explore the challenges and opportunities arising with respect to normative goals of shifting production and international trade in agriculture towards greater sustainability. Private voluntary sustainability standards have experienced substantial growth in various global markets, reaching 40% of global coffee production, 25% of cocoa, and 15% of palm oil1. Given the rapid expansion of private standards, whether third-party certifications, corporate codes of conduct (Vermeulen 2010), or ‘newer’ regulatory approaches such as multi-stakeholder initiatives, public-private partnerships, and efforts to develop new sustainable business models, it is important to consider what such approaches offer. All of these approaches are seeking to contribute, at differing levels of ambition, towards a sustainability transition.

Four Key Trade Union Movements in Puebla, Mexico 2001-2008 (Abridged Version)

This is an abridged version of a paper that compares and analyzes four key trade union movements in Puebla, Mexico under the NAALC, ILO Committee of Experts, Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives and Corporate Codes of Conduct.

Why Delaware Must Retain its Corporate Dominance and Why it May Not

Delaware’s preeminent role in corporate regulation has endured for several important reasons. Most importantly, the state’s entire approach to the corporate law has been centered on investor protection. Although, through the years the ways by which it has tried to achieve this protection have changed, it is this animating principle that defines its laws. Investors are keenly aware of this fact and seek and respect the approach. Delaware’s primary industry is corporate regulation and to maintain its franchise, it must carry out its responsibilities fairly, intelligently and responsibly. Its corporate code is the most advanced in the country. Its judiciary has unusual expertise in the field and is highly respected in the resolution of corporate disputes. In recent years, it has maintained a delicate balance between upholding shareholder power and board prerogative. It is favored as the nation’s best forum for corporate dispute resolution by both investors and managers. It possesses a powerful franchise that would be difficult for other states to reproduce both judicially and, because of the influence in other jurisdictions of local corporate interests, practically. However, Delaware’s dominance is not assured and several recent developments may ultimately reduce its power and influence. First, while the chances of enactment of a federal corporate code are slim, federal intrusion into corporate governance regulation through the Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Acts has been harmful to the state. A significant portion of Delaware’s influence in areas such as audit oversight and executive compensation has been superseded by federal regulation. The benefit of a Delaware court’s resolution of these types of issues is therefore diminished and the attractiveness of simply incorporating in a company’s home state at lesser cost is increased significantly. If one incorporates in Delaware for a sensible regulation of corporate issues and that regulation has shifted to the federal regime, there is little point in incorporating in Delaware. Any increased federal intervention in this area only heightens the potential for this shift. The argument for federal regulation has revolved around creating a progressive national regulatory standard. But because local federal district courts, with little corporate expertise and local corporate political pressures, will ultimately decide regulatory disputes, this may lead to the balkanization of corporate law. Delaware, oddly enough, offers a coherent national approach. Still today, Delaware regulates much corporate conduct and a shift to other states is far off, but not inconceivable. The second major threat to Delaware’s dominance may be self-inflicted. For years the process by which Delaware courts are constituted and corporate law made has been considered above partisan politics and local interests. Any action that compromises its courts or the corporate law process due to local political considerations may diminish the state’s reputation for neutrality and credibility and lead to incorporation elsewhere. This is something that the state’s leaders must be highly cognizant of and sensitive to. Delaware’s potential downfall may not come from outside the state, but from within.

Corporate Codes as Private Co-Regulatory Instruments in Corporate Governance and Responsibility and Their Enforcement

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) codes have gained a prominent role as tools in self-regulation for companies to establish their basic values, norms, and rules that condition the conduct of directors, managers, employees, and—increasingly—of suppliers. This development must be seen in the light of two important paradigmatic changes in the concepts both of CSR and corporate governance. The former is no longer purely voluntary and the latter has become inclusive of CSR, each with far-reaching consequences for the raison d'être and the place and function of the codes in the smart regulatory mix governing corporations. While the codes were based originally on voluntary adherence by companies to international soft law instruments such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (dating from 1976) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Tripartite Declaration (dating from 1977), increasingly, governance and compliance-oriented soft and hard laws, including but not limited to criminal, administrative, and private laws, stimulate or even require companies to adopt codes of conduct, to monitor compliance and to enforce them. In this sense, corporate codes must be characterized increasingly as co-regulation instruments, mandated by soft and hard law as meta-regulation. Thus, the still widely held view, that the codes are merely voluntary instruments must be challenged on two levels: first, adoption of a code as corporate governance and CSR instrument is for many companies no longer voluntary, and, second, the content of the code is no longer optional in many respects.

Corporate Codes in the Varieties of Capitalism: How Their Enforcement Depends on the Differences Among Production Regimes

Globalization has reinforced the conflicts among the varieties of capitalism. The colliding units are not just nation states, but transnational production regimes, which cut through national boundaries. The conflicts lead global corporate codes, which are developed by international organizations, to take different directions when they are concretized on the enterprise level. They will be differently enforced according to whether they are located in Liberal Market Economies (LME), adapted to the New Sovereignty of enterprises, or in Coordinated Market Economies (CME) with greater components of social welfare state and economic democracy. Different patterns of enforcement emerge particularly when the courts have to decide whether corporate codes are legally binding. Multinational corporations seek by any means to keep the courts out. For them, interpretation, application, and enforcement of the codes are exclusively a matter of private ordering. Thus, they insist that their voluntary codes are legally non-binding. Accordingly, American courts are very reluctant when public interest litigation pushes them to implement the codes as legally binding rules. The chances of enforcement appear to be different in continental Europe. If they are adapted into thoroughly regulated neo-corporate arrangements, then the codes will be confronted with stronger legislative activities and stronger enforcements by the courts. In the European Union, the codes of conduct will have to adapt to the principles of the welfare state and economic democracy.

The role of translation in the cross-cultural transferability of corporate codes of conduct

Multinationals’ corporate codes of conduct are meant to guide employees throughout organizations. Research draws attention to their problematic cross-cultural transferability but hardly ever considers whether a monolingual version or a translation into employees’ mother tongue is used, making language a non-issue. A position disproved by empirical work on the diverse understandings of values formulated in English as a lingua franca or on translation negative impact when employees do not recognize themselves in the personnel depicted. Drawing upon the translation (from English into French) of a specific code of conduct that embeds it in the local culture, I contend that translation is the key to corporate code cross-cultural transferability. Articulating a cross-cultural discourse analysis (using semantic, syntactic and enunciative categories) of the source and target texts with a culture interpretive approach (d’Iribarne, 1989, La Logique de l’Honneur. Paris: Seuil.), I ‘deconstruct’ the translation process and show how the combination of apparently insignificant linguistic modifications – that is, collective staff designations replacing individual ones or vice versa; moral qualities turned into social or professional merits; and so on – make the target-text steer away from the initial cultural context and set action in a new cultural setting likely to entail a similar effect on the staff. The cultural underpinnings of the translated code find confirmation in local organizations’ corporate codes of conduct as well as in literature on the targeted country. The findings also highlight the fact that the transposition of the corporate code core notions brings about different manners of putting them into practice. Applying such an interdisciplinary approach to explore either locally produced or translated corporate codes of conduct could highlight the beliefs and business norms acceptable here and there and help practitioners to successfully perform the advocated cross-cultural transfer of corporate codes of conduct.

Legalization Under the Premises of Globalization: Why and Where to Enforce Corporate Social Responsibility Codes

This contribution advances the argument that global self-regulation through corporate social responsibility codes can and should be enforced under domestic private laws. Corporate social responsibility codes are defined as unilateral corporate commitments that indicate a corporation's willingness to take on a global regulatory role in the absence of a global political government—a phenomenon that is difficult to grasp from the perspective of traditional private law categories. The contribution thus starts by discussing the aspects in which private corporate codes and private law categories seem not to fit, and points to recent developments in substantive private law that could change this situation, namely case law, statutory reform, and the novel contract designs used by private actors to effectuate their corporate social responsibility codes, which private law can rely upon. This contribution argues that these developments provide sufficient ground to assume a gradually evolving readiness within substantive private law to provide for the enforcement of these corporate social responsibility codes. Subsequently, the contribution focuses on the normative side of the argument. From a socio-legal perspective, the main reason in favor of enforcement is identified in the specific social potential and the risks created through these corporate codes for a globalized society that private law has to help mitigate. Based on this argument, the contribution continues by discussing the possible actors that could realize enforcement. First, it identifies domestic courts as important actors to enforce this type of global self-regulation, and, in this context, analyzes how, in order for domestic courts to pursue such an enforcement strategy on the basis of substantive private law, private international law equally requires a transformation. Second, the contribution considers international arbitral tribunals as additional institutions that could be entrusted with the enforcement if related changes in domestic arbitration laws can safeguard the function of domestic courts to monitor this enforcement role of arbitrators .

Detecting tax evasion when tax and accounting earnings match

This paper attempts to review on how the effectiveness of board of directors and the executive compensations are moderated by internal ownership such as managerial and family ownership to mitigate earnings management. Most of prior studies focused on the traditional interaction among corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management, thus neglected that the variance of these practices that can be attributed to the business environment and the nature of ownership structure. This paper revisits the literature on the relationship between the factors of effectiveness of the board of directors in the individual level such as board independence, size, meeting frequency, CEO duality, audit and nominations-compensations committees, directors financial expertise, tenures and multiple directorship etc. and as a bundle through creating a score of effectiveness on the earnings management practices. It also reviews on whether the managerial and family ownership can moderate the relationship between the factors of effectiveness of the board of directors (as a score) and the total executive compensation with the earnings management practices. Panel data analysis method will applied over the data collected for ASE for the Jordanian listed firms for the period after the issuing of the Jordanian corporate codes in 2009. This paper’s contributes to the existing literature by providing an in-depth review of corporate governance mechanisms and earning management.

Pitfalls of Over-Legalization: When the Law Crowds Out and Spills Over

While some academics argue that enforcing voluntary corporate codes of conduct with private law backed sanctions can improve the working conditions of marginalized workers in the global supply chain, there are various risks associated with this legalization process. Relying on evidence from the fields of sociology, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology, this contribution will discuss how external incentives like threats of legal sanctions can actually be detrimental to the intrinsic motivations of companies that want to be socially responsible. This paper will also analyze how the crowding out effect and the spillover effect that come with legalizing otherwise voluntary norms could lead to a series of unintended and harmful consequences. In light of these realizations, this paper will caution against taking codes of conduct too seriously and propose that rather than focusing on legal sanctions to threaten companies into compliance, a more facilitative approach based on collaboration, mutual respect, and social norms could better serve to improve the working conditions of laborers in the bottom echelons of our supply chain.

Impact of internal ownership on the monitoring and mitigating mechanisms of earnings management practices

This paper attempts to review on how the effectiveness of board of directors and the executive compensations are moderated by internal ownership such as managerial and family ownership to mitigate earnings management. Most of prior studies focused on the traditional interaction among corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management, thus neglected that the variance of these practices that can be attributed to the business environment and the nature of ownership structure. This paper revisits the literature on the relationship between the factors of effectiveness of the board of directors in the individual level such as board independence, size, meeting frequency, CEO duality, audit and nominations-compensations committees, directors financial expertise, tenures and multiple directorship etc. and as a bundle through creating a score of effectiveness on the earnings management practices. It also reviews on whether the managerial and family ownership can moderate the relationship between the factors of effectiveness of the board of directors (as a score) and the total executive compensation with the earnings management practices. Panel data analysis method will applied over the data collected for ASE for the Jordanian listed firms for the period after the issuing of the Jordanian corporate codes in 2009. This paper’s contributes to the existing literature by providing an in-depth review of corporate governance mechanisms and earning management.

Bridging the Gap between Individual and Corporate Responsible Behaviour: Toward a Performative Concept of Corporate Codes

We reflect on the nature of corporate codes of conduct is this article. Based on John Austin’s speech act theory, four characteristics of a performative concept of corporate codes will be introduced: 1) the existential self-performative of the firm identity, 2) which is demanded by and responsive to their stakeholders; 3) Because corporate codes are structurally threatened by the possibility of failure, 4) embracing the code not only consists in actual corporate responsible behaviour in light of the code, but in the incessant recapturing of the code in the struggle of firms against the possible incongruence between their ethical principles and their actual responsible behaviour. A performative concept of corporate codes helps to bridge classical dichotomies like individualist versus collectivist approaches of moral agency and restrictive versus empowering ethics, and opens a new perspective on the interaction between individual ethical behaviour and the corporate institutionalisation of codes.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy: The Missing Link

The notion of “corporate social responsibility” has been developed by academic literature for decades. National governments, international organizations and researchers gave a number of definitions of “socially responsible” corporations. In the meantime, the process of economic globalization brought forth corporations as autonomous legal entities and the debate became even more complex due to the concept of “corporate citizenship”. Despite a multifaceted theoretical background, there was a common idea: corporations have (or should have) a role in the development of society. Scholars thus began to question the idea that managers should only consider shareholders’ interest when managing the company. The Berle-Dodd controversy rose once again and the paradigm of shareholder value was put under scrutiny. A number of alternative models were developed (the enlightened shareholder value or long-term production theory, the team production theory), and they all tackled a common problem: how much should managers take into consideration other stakeholders’ interests? Among these stakeholders there are those entitled to social rights, ecological rights and human rights: as such, the debate on CSR strongly intertwined itself with that on stakeholders’ interests. In its first part, the paper will examine how the aforementioned debate impacted on national and international legislation, as well as corporate codes of ethics (non-binding list of rules that corporations declare to adhere to), in order to assert the current normative framework of CSR standards. In the context of the actual immigration crisis, fulfilling refugees’ rights is a most urgent social issue, involving all of us on a global level. Since government are struggling with both practical and political issues, many have advocated for an intervention by private companies, although it is unclear how this should happen. Since, in principle, humanitarian assistance by corporations is considered a philanthropic activity, in the second part his paper will try to assert if philanthropic activities are considered part of a “socially responsible” conduct by: 1) the academic debate on CSR; 2) national and international legislations; 3) multinational corporations (examining both their activities and codes of ethics). A brief case study on how multinational corporations responded to the refugee crisis will also be conducted, in order to better understand what place philanthropic activities have in the CSR debate.The paper concludes that, while certain definitions of CSR encompass philanthropic activities (from both an academic and a legislative point of view), corporations have implemented a concept of CSR that only consider the interests of parties related to the company (directly or indirectly). In light of the rising necessity for global humanitarian assistance, the paper ultimately suggests that it’s time for the debate to receive a broader definition of socially responsible conducts, in order to develop a new concept of corporate social responsibility that is grounded on what corporations are actually capable of doing.

Labour Standards Along 'One Belt One Road'

Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) are emerging as increasingly influential actors in the global political economy. Since the late 1990s, China has adopted a ‘Going Out’ industrialisation policy entailing the accelerated internationalisation of Chinese firms to acquire assets and expand business operations abroad. The centrepiece of the forthcoming phase of the ‘Going Out’ strategy is the ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR or ‘Belt and Road’) initiative, aimed at fostering closer economic connectivity between China and over 60 other countries with an emphasis on regional infrastructure and transportation developments.With the rapid expansion of Chinese outbound investments, there have been growing controversies over the social impacts on host countries. The conduct of Chinese state-owned enterprises and private firms investing along the ‘Belt and Road’ are likely to be subject to ever increasing scrutiny. OBOR has also been seen by some as a geo-political strategy that reflects China’s desire for a bigger role in global affairs. As such, there may be increasing expectations among the international community that China should ensure that its firms act as ‘good corporate citizens’ abroad. Indeed, unfavourable consequences for China’s image have already prompted the government to introduce regulations, guidelines, and policies in recent years that aim to govern the conduct of Chinese MNEs. There has also been an emerging set of corporate social responsibility schemes and codes of conduct adopted by Chinese MNEs and industry groups, often with the involvement of government authorities. This paper addresses a critical issue that arises as to the ways in which the world’s largest industrialising economy, in pursuing a new industrial development strategy that will broaden its role in global markets and production networks as well as its potential geo-political influence, may shape the governance of international labour standards. Could China (including its public and private actors) become a new standard-setter? Will Chinese firms drive a ‘race to the bottom’ along the Belt and Road, especially in those countries with ‘weak governance zones’? What pressures can be brought to bear on Chinese MNEs to comply with various sources of labour standards, whether set by the International Labour Organization, laws of host countries and of China as the home country, trade and investment agreements, and/or industry groups and firms via codes of conduct and certification programmes?