Ahoy There! Toward Greater Congruence and Synergy Between International Business and Business Ethics Theory and Research

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The literatures of business ethics and international business have generally had little influence on each other. Nevertheless, the decline in the power of nation states, the emergence of non-governmental organizations, the proliferation of self-regulatory bodies, and the changing responsibilities, roles, and structure of multinational corporations make constructive engagement between these two disciplines imperative. This changing institutional landscape creates many areas of common concern. In this article, we describe the changing institutional context of global business and suggest ways in which both business ethics and international business may inform each other more fruitfully.

So Close Yet So Far: Integrating Global Strategy and Nonmarket Research

“…These events sparked a lively debate and a growing literature during the last decade and a half that, under the umbrella term of 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR), has explored the relationships between business and a variety of social actors (Godfrey and Hatch, 2007;Jamali and Mirshak, 2007;Laplume, Sonpar, and Litz, 2008;Lee, 2008;Scherer and Palazzo, 2007). Despite the prominent role attributed to MNEs as sources of-and solutions to-many of society's concerns, the IB/GS community has only recently, and sometimes grudgingly, begun to address the social dimensions of MNEs' nonmarket environments (see, for example, Boddewyn and Doh, 2011;Doh et al, 2011a;Husted and Allen, 2006;de Jong, 2011;Lucea, 2010).…”

“…As a consequence, they propose that the traditional MNE-government bargaining model (Vernon, 1977) be expanded to include civil society organizations. Other relevant examples of this literature include Boddewyn and Doh (2011), who explore how the differing roles and interests of civil societies across geographies constrain MNE choices; Doh et al (2011a), who highlight that changes in the relative power of nation states, NGOs, and MNEs, call for a greater integration of business ethics and IB; Husted and Allen (2006), who found that MNEs tend to replicate their international business strategy-multidomestic, global, or transnational-in their international social or nonmarket strategy; de Jong (2011), who has studied the mechanisms by which CSR practices are transferred between MNE headquarters and its subsidiaries; and Lucea (2010), who studied the degree to which mental maps espoused by NGO and MNE managers overlap and the implications this has for cross-sector collaboration and competition.…”

“…Although the interaction between NGOs and business organizations has been all but ignored by the GS/IB community, interest on the role that these organizations play in shaping some aspects of the business environment has led to the development of a rich and extensive literature by 'business and society' or 'social issues in management' scholars. Indeed, it has been argued that the anti-globalization protests in Seattle that marked the beginning of the backlash against the forces of globalization and its agents, MNEs, also triggered a powerful wave of research in business academia that has since explored the role of business on issues such as climate change, labor and human rights, and environmental degradation (Doh et al, 2011a;Doh, London, and Kilibarda, 2011b). Since these issues are frequently raised and championed by NGOs, it was only natural that business scholars also developed an interest about the characteristics and behavior on the organizations behind these issues.…”

Value differences as determinants of importers’ perceptions of exporters’ unethical behavior: The impact on relationship quality and performance

“…In fact, while dozens of articles have been written on business ethical issues at the domestic level (see, for example, reviews by Vitell (2003), O'Fallon and Butterfield (2005), Nill and Schibrowsky (2007), and Schlegelmilch and Öberseder (2010)), only a handful of studies stress the international dimensions of business ethics (Enderle, 1997). To some extent, this has been ascribed to the fact that the business ethics discipline and the international business discipline rarely 'speak' to each other, and when they do, they 'speak different languages' (Doh et al, 2010). Irrespective of this incongruence between the two disciplines, extant research on international business ethics can be categorized into five groups.…”

“…In fact, conflicting perceptions of ethical principles and judgments resulting from such differences are very likely to lead to serious collaboration problems between buyers and sellers (DeGeorge, 1993). These problems can become more acute in a cross-cultural business setting, due to the greater distance separating the relationship parties (Doh, Husted, Matten, & Santoro, 2010).…”