Multi-stakeholder governance and voluntary programme interactions: legitimation politics in the institutional design of Corporate Social Responsibility

Fransen, Luc

doi:10.1093/ser/mwr029

Cited by 218 publications

(189 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Less complete forms of organizing are less formal and therefore sometimes easier to promote among, for instance, potential partners (who may be erstwhile adversaries) in partnerships. This adds to approaches in the literature that present the organization of CSR as a political process where new, and potentially less organized, forms of governance are proposed Fransen 2012;Pattberg 2005). …”

Section: Toward a Future Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 95%

Complete and Partial Organizing for Corporate Social Responsibility

2013

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This paper investigates different modes of organizing for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on insights from organization theory, we theorize two ways to organize for CSR. ''Complete'' organization for CSR happens within businesses and depends on the availability of certain organizational elements (e.g., membership, hierarchy, rules, monitoring, and sanctioning). By contrast, ''partial'' organization for CSR happens when organizers do not have direct access to all these organizational elements. We discuss partial organization for CSR by analyzing how standards and cross-sector partnerships make selective use of organizational elements. We maintain that an important feature of the increasing institutionalization of CSR-not only within businesses but also among nongovernmental, governmental, and professional actors-is the rise of partial forms of organization. We discuss the contributions to this Special Issue in the context of our theorization of complete/partial organization for CSR and outline avenues for further research.

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Section: Toward a Future Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 95%

Complete and Partial Organizing for Corporate Social Responsibility

2013

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“…For instance, research has identified regulatory attention and enforcement as important factors that can reduce the decoupling of organizational commitment and practice (Dobbin and Kelly 2007, Marquis and Qian 2014, Short and Toffel 2010. Studies of private organizations' implementation of human rights or corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies have suggested that institutional pressures emanating from activists or the press can likewise increase companies' commitments to better practices (Fransen 2012, Lim and Tsutsui 2012, Marquis et al 2016, Seidman 2007, Toffel et al 2015.…”

Section: Organizational Structures Governing Global Supply Chainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational Structures and the Improvement of Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: Legalization, Participation, and Economic Incentives

Bird¹,

Short²,

Toffel³

2017

SSRN Journal

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Exploitive working conditions have spurred the development of formal organizational structures that deploy mechanisms including legalization-adherence to a set of law-like rules and procedures-and worker participation to improve labor standards in global supply chains. Yet little is known about whether these structures are associated with improved working conditions, especially in organizations in which they compete with productivity-driving economic incentives. Drawing on the economic sociology of law and organizations and theories of organizational learning, we investigate whether and how these formal organizational structures, individually and in combination, are associated with improved working conditions. Using data on 3,276 suppliers in 55 countries, we find greater improvement at suppliers that adopt legalization structures (operationalized as management system standards) and worker participation structures (unions) and find that the combination of these structures amplifies improvement. We find less improvement at suppliers with organizational incentive structures meant to increase worker productivity (piece-rate pay), but also find that this negative relationship is attenuated by organizational legalization and worker participation structures. These findings challenge existing theories of decoupling by showing how these organizational structures can be credible signals for improvement and can also be coupled with organizational changes via processes of organizational learning, even in the face of intense efficiency demands. Furthermore, our findings suggest important strategic considerations for managers selecting supplier factories and provide key insights for the design of transnational sustainability governance regimes. †

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“…MSIs are a form of network governance that seeks to bring together representatives of all potentially affected stakeholders [8,9,[38][39][40]. Constructed on normative democratic principles, MSIs seek to use participatory and democratic practices in dialogue and decision-making, reach decisions by consensus, and be transparent [8,9,39].…”

Section: Governance and Sustainability Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governing Sustainability Transitions: Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives and Regime Change in United States Agriculture

Konefal

2015

Sustainability

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Using a case study of US agriculture, this paper examines how governance affects sustainability transitions in socio-technical systems. The multi-level perspective (MLP) has become a leading framework for theorizing sustainability transitions in socio-technical systems. It posits that transitions to more sustainable socio-technical systems are an outcome of external pressure at the landscape level and internal pressure emanating from niches. While the MLP is a robust analytical framework, it under-theorizes the role that governance plays in sustainability transitions. This paper addresses this research gap through examining three multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) that have developed sustainability metrics and standards for US agriculture: Field to Market; LEO-4000; and the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops. Applying a governance analytical framework, membership selection, decision-making procedures, and access to resources are found to affect the kinds of sustainability metrics developed, as well as their likely implementation. Specifically, the governance processes functioned to channel sustainability metrics towards ones that were congruent with the existing agrifood regime, and marginalize metrics that had the potential to disrupt regime processes. Thus, this article proposes that governance is a key component of sustainability transitions, and that current usage of MSIs in much of environmental governance may function to moderate sustainability transitions.

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Multi-stakeholder governance and voluntary programme interactions: legitimation politics in the institutional design of Corporate Social Responsibility

Cited by 218 publications

References 23 publications

Complete and Partial Organizing for Corporate Social Responsibility

Complete and Partial Organizing for Corporate Social Responsibility

Organizational Structures and the Improvement of Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: Legalization, Participation, and Economic Incentives

Governing Sustainability Transitions: Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives and Regime Change in United States Agriculture

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