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Corporations as Political Actors - Normative Reflections and Empirical Explorations
Type
fundamental research project
Start Date
01 April 2012
End Date
31 March 2014
Status
ongoing
Keywords
CSR
corporations as political actors
political theory
deliberative democracy
Description
This research proposal sketches out my research for the next two years with which I aim to make a systematic contribution to the research nexus of corporations as political actors. The overall relevance of my research on the one hand derives directly from real-world events which continuously underline the enormous political significance of corporations. To name a recent example, consider Vodafone's distribution of contentious text messages from pro-government actors while closing the network for regular users during the uprisings in Egypt in 2011. On the other hand my research also links very nicely to a recent scholarly debate about the political roles and responsibilities of corporations which has received considerable attention on an international level in business ethics and related fields.
My overarching concern is the critical reflection on the normative premises based on which we conceptualize corporations as political actors and the practical implications thereof. Three contexts are relevant for my research: first the political role corporations play in their interaction with governmental institutions, second their engagement in self-regulatory arrangements like multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), and third the context of corporate political advocacy which denotes the relatively new phenomenon of corporations taking a stance, politically, by showing public support for certain ideals or values with the aim of convincing others to embrace them as well. Such advocacy for example underlies Ben and Jerry's active support of a law legalizing gay marriage in Vermont.
I aim to strengthen the ongoing debate by exposing selected research questions across these contexts to systematic critical reflection and empirical exploration. My research divides into two main themes: the first theme provides a critical assessment of competing normative models of democracy regarding the role of corporations in self-regulatory arrangements and a corresponding empirical exploration of the extent to which these normative conceptions inform real-world political activities of corporations. It thereby mainly relates to the second context mentioned above.
The second theme predominantly refers to the third context, i.e. the newly emerging problem area of "corporate political advocacy'. However, since advocacy shares characteristics with lobbying it also extends to the first context. Political advocacy represents an actual blind spot within the debate on corporations as political actors. Therefore my primary focus here is on developing systematic conceptual groundwork that provides guidance in answering questions such as what notion of moral responsibility can account for corporate political advocacy and under what circumstances and from what perspective it can be considered legitimate or even desirable.
Together the contributions set out to add robustness to the debate on the one hand by building theory that is able to provide a convincing normative account of the political roles and responsibilities of corporations across different contexts; on the other hand by empirically exploring how real-world settings of political activities and the normative standards set forth by theory interrelate.
My overarching concern is the critical reflection on the normative premises based on which we conceptualize corporations as political actors and the practical implications thereof. Three contexts are relevant for my research: first the political role corporations play in their interaction with governmental institutions, second their engagement in self-regulatory arrangements like multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), and third the context of corporate political advocacy which denotes the relatively new phenomenon of corporations taking a stance, politically, by showing public support for certain ideals or values with the aim of convincing others to embrace them as well. Such advocacy for example underlies Ben and Jerry's active support of a law legalizing gay marriage in Vermont.
I aim to strengthen the ongoing debate by exposing selected research questions across these contexts to systematic critical reflection and empirical exploration. My research divides into two main themes: the first theme provides a critical assessment of competing normative models of democracy regarding the role of corporations in self-regulatory arrangements and a corresponding empirical exploration of the extent to which these normative conceptions inform real-world political activities of corporations. It thereby mainly relates to the second context mentioned above.
The second theme predominantly refers to the third context, i.e. the newly emerging problem area of "corporate political advocacy'. However, since advocacy shares characteristics with lobbying it also extends to the first context. Political advocacy represents an actual blind spot within the debate on corporations as political actors. Therefore my primary focus here is on developing systematic conceptual groundwork that provides guidance in answering questions such as what notion of moral responsibility can account for corporate political advocacy and under what circumstances and from what perspective it can be considered legitimate or even desirable.
Together the contributions set out to add robustness to the debate on the one hand by building theory that is able to provide a convincing normative account of the political roles and responsibilities of corporations across different contexts; on the other hand by empirically exploring how real-world settings of political activities and the normative standards set forth by theory interrelate.
Leader contributor(s)
Funder(s)
Topic(s)
Critique of Political CSR
Corporate advocacy
Method(s)
conceptual research
Range
Institute/School
Range (De)
Institut/School
Division(s)
Eprints ID
217115
3 results
Now showing
1 - 3 of 3
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PublicationGender issues as a responsibility of corporations : Navigating beyond debates on CSR and business and human rights( 2013-06-20)
;Kilgour, MaureenGender and gender inequality, particularly for women in developing economies, have tended to be ignored in much of the CSR literature and practice. This is problematic, given that corporations wield significant power in developing economies, that many states are unable or unwilling to enforce respect for and promote women's human rights, and given that corporations themselves are sometimes, though not solely, responsible for the exacerbation of women's inequality. This is starting to change, albeit slowly, and there is increasing attention being paid to gender within both CSR practice and research. In this context, continued reflection on the intersection between gender equality and corporate responsibility is required.Type: presentation -
PublicationRelaxing the Focus on the Postnational Constellation : Political CSR in Due Consideration of the StateIn this paper, I map the territory in terms of the different emphases that CSR-related research puts on the state. Despite evidence that suggests that the state plays an important role as an actor in CSR, the majority of research on CSR focuses on contexts where the state plays at best the role of a stakeholder of corporations. I argue that the neglect of the state is particularly evident in normative research on CSR and I explore what a normative model of CSR that overcomes this neglect would have to look like. I suggest that one option is to develop a notion of political CSR that extends its research focus by providing a normative theory of lobbying, that critically reconsiders its restriction to voluntary arrangements, and that rethinks the appropriateness of the normative political model on which its theoretical framework rests.Type: conference paper
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Publication"Why Should We Care About Gay Marriage?" : Political Advocacy as a Part of Corporate Responsibility?Recent months have heralded a surge in companies publicly taking a stand on social and political issues such as gay marriage legislation. This paper argues that such "corporate political advocacy" raises new conceptual challenges, which have not been accounted for in existing theories of the firm. Furthermore, it poses normative challenges not yet addressed in current theories of corporate responsibility. And lastly, it poses practical challenges and dilemmas for managers who are confronted with it in their own organizations. This article addresses all three challenges: first, it defines corporate political advocacy and distinguishes it from other, perhaps more familiar forms of corporate political involvement. Second, it attempts to make normative sense of corporate advocacy by depicting it as an element of corporate responsibility. Third, it reflects on the practical implications deriving for managers dealing with this issue in practice.Type: conference paper