A B S T R A C TThe purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of a firm's strategy to invest in a conflict location. To the best of our knowledge, this has not been done before. We examine this using a standard model of international business, overlaid with the fundamental approach to corporate social responsibility. We start with the population of multinationals who have chosen to invest in low income countries with weak institutions. We then split this sample in order to distinguish between firms that have invested in conflict regions compared to those that haven't. Our analysis then proceeds to explain the decision of those firms to invest in conflict locations by using a simple Probit model. We find that countries with weaker institutions and less concern about corporate social responsibility (CSR) are more likely to invest in conflict regions. Finally, firms with more concentrated ownership are more likely to invest in such locations.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a concept for business from within developed, Western economies. Such economies are underpinned by functioning institutions, where compliance with regulation is assumed. Recently, however, the ability of this traditional understanding of CSR to take account of the different economic and institutional arrangements found in non-Western contexts has been challenged. It has been argued that CSR research needs to be more contextualized and that the Western interpretation and assumptions about what CSR is and how it is enacted needs to be broadened and challenged to take account of different stages of economic development. With this argument in mind, this article presents a contextualized critique of CSR undertaken in the Russian Federation. Based on a qualitative study involving managers within privatized Russian firms, this article explores the type, nature, and scope of CSR undertaken and attendant motivation of firms to engage in CSR practice. By taking account of the historical and cultural antecedents of both the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet transition period, the author reveals that while the market is driving conventional forms of CSR within some Russian firms, the historical legacy of both the Soviet Union and more recent political developments have a stronger influence on the type and nature of CSR undertaken. These findings challenge the assumptions about both the voluntary nature of CSR and the prerequisites needed for CSR to take place.
Rose's and Mishler and Rose's ‘hourglass’ construction of post-Soviet Russian society illustrates that the civil space traditionally occupied by advocacy and community groups continues to be constricted. Such groups fail to successfully bridge the space between the individual and the state, thereby holding the fledgling Russian democracy to account. In this paper, to shed light on reasons for the continuing constriction of Russian civil space, the behavior of the environmental movement in one Russian region — Samara Oblast — is observed through the lens of social capital. By utilizing Adler and Kwon's schema for assessing the benefits and risks arising from social capital stocks possessed by collectives, it will illustrate that the Russian environmental movement is inward looking and parochial; built on pre-existing friendships or elite connections; and uninterested in forming a mass movement or actively engaging with the Russian public. Moreover, rather than being situated within the constricted civil space of Russian society, the majority of groups within the Samara environmental movement are themselves situated firmly in either half of the hourglass. Groups within each half successfully span gaps between each other, but no activity is undertaken to bridge or reshape the constricted space between the halves.
The theory of ecological modernization asserts that economic and environmental goals can be integrated within a framework of industrial modernity. Its central tenet is that environmental regulation can stimulate the application of ?clean? technologies or techniques. Ecological modernization also contends that environmental regulation can offer business benefits from innovation through improved product design and economic performance. The EU End of Life Vehicles Directive (ELVD) reflects many of these principles, as it compels all car manufacturers to ?take back? and dismantle vehicles at the end of their useful lives and to remove the hazardous substances from the production process. Each component will then be either reused or recycled. The legislation forces designers to introduce ?clean design? and ?design for disassembly? practices. In light of this, we examine the impact of the directive on UK automotive component manufacturers. We find limited evidence that the EU ELVD Directive has driven product innovation beyond short-term, incremental technological trajectories. We therefore conclude that a more radical approach, in line with the ?dematerialization? thesis by Dobers and Wolff (1999), is needed to generate more radical, ecological design solutions within the UK automotive industry. Copyright ? 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.Peer reviewe
The passing of the Russian NGO Law in mid-2006 set clear parameters for Russian NGO activity and civil society development. In this paper we assess the impact of the NGO Law on both NGOs and Russian civil society. Our findings illustrate that the NGO Law has led to a reduction in NGO activity and curtailment of civil society development. We conclude thatRussian civil society appears to be dominated by groups funded and thus controlled by the state. This has implications for Russia's on-going democratic development.
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