FOR LACK OF ANYTHING BETTER? INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GLOBAL CORPORATE CODES

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Baccaro, Lucio; Mele, Valentina
• 署名单位: University of Geneva; Bocconi University
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3298
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01918.x
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 451-470
• 关键词: Labor standards; SOCIAL-RESPONSIBILITY; work organization; self-regulation; soft law; governance; CONDUCT; voluntary; compact; state

摘要

This paper analyses the two most important international programmes for the voluntary regulation of corporate behaviour: the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations and the UN Global Compact. It argues that international organizations adopted them mostly for reasons of political feasibility: by imposing minimal constraints on constituents the codes circumvented the most pressing problems of political acceptability associated with standard setting. It finds no clear evidence, however, that the network solutions adopted are technically more effective than traditional forms of regulation. The paper concludes that while it is unlikely that corporate behaviour will change simply as a result of participation in these programmes, if the programmes increase their ability to consistently discriminate between good and bad performers, the resulting 'soft' sanctioning power has the potential to alter corporate behaviour in the long run.