Corporate Power and Expansive U.S. Military Policy

Military defense is generally treated in economics texts as a “public good” because the benefits are presumed to be shared by all citizens. However, defense spending by the United States cannot legitimately be classified as a public good, since the primary purpose of those expenditures has been to project power in support of private business interests. Throughout the course of the 20^th century, U.S. military spending has been largely devoted to protecting the overseas assets of multinational corporations that are based in the United States or allied nations. Companies extracting oil, mineral ores, timber, and other raw materials are the primary beneficiaries. The U.S. military provides its services by supporting compliant political leaders in developing countries and by punishing or deposing regimes that threaten the interests of U.S.‐based corporations. The companies involved in this process generally have invested only a small amount of their own capital. Instead, the value of their overseas assets largely derives from the appreciation of oil and other raw materials in situ. Companies bought resource‐rich lands cheaply, as early as the 1930s or 1940s, and then waited for decades to develop them. In order to make a profit on this long‐range strategy, they formed cartels to limit global supply and relied on the U.S. military to help them maintain secure title over a period of decades. Those operations have required suppressing democratic impulses in dozens of nations. The global “sprawl” of extractive companies has been the catalyst of U.S. foreign policy for the past century. The U.S. Department of Defense provides a giant subsidy to companies operating overseas, and the cost is borne by the taxpayers of the United States, not by the corporate beneficiaries. Defining military spending as a “public good” has been a mistake with global ramifications, leading to patriotic support for imperialist behavior.     

Policy instruments for sustainability‐oriented organizational learning

The concept of sustainable development implies the need for organizational learning in business corporations to find innovative solutions. In this context, the paper analyzes the requirements and options for environmental policy to induce sustainability‐related learning processes in corporations. It discusses the impacts of different policy instruments on these processes. Initially, the particular challenges of organizational learning for sustainability are being sketched out. Drawing on organizational learning studies, a subsequent section of the paper addresses fundamental elements and drivers for organizational learning processes on different levels in business corporations. The particular nodes where public policy can influence corporate learning processes are the central focus of these considerations. On this basis, we examine existing policy instruments frequently used in environmental policy with regard to their potential to foster learning processes towards sustainability. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Characterizing the mission statements of benefit corporations: Empirical evidence from Italy

In 2015, Italy introduced a new legal form—“benefit corporation” (società benefit)—that provides legal status to companies that have one or more common benefit objectives in addition to the profit-seeking goal. Italian benefit corporations are obligated by law to operate in a responsible, sustainable, and transparent way and to include the interests of different stakeholders in their corporate strategy. This study examines the Italian case by applying textual statistical analysis on benefit corporations' public mission statements using the IRaMuTeQ software. Performing hierarchical cluster analysis and correspondence factor analysis identifies the “benefit” concept emerging from the mission statements in terms of promotion of individual skills, development of a new business model, and service to society. This study contributes to the debate on the content of mission statements by giving empirical evidence about this new form of business, and it provides some practical implications for managers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers.     

Corporate giving in the USA: a model for meeting Russia's expanding social needs?

In the USA, corporations make substantial contributions to public‐serving organisations with no expectation of financial gain. This paper explores the factors that have encouraged corporate giving in the USA and compares them to circumstances in the emerging capitalist economy of Russia. The outlook for the emergence of a corporate giving model in Russia similar to that of the USA is poor, but improving. To make it work, organisational recipients of corporate generosity need to trust their benefactors, and corporations need to believe that their contributions of surplus profits make good business sense. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

Modern Pirates: How Arbitration Lawyers Help Corporations Seize National Assets and Limit State Autonomy

Large‐scale companies have worked for centuries with the governments of powerful nations to extract wealth from the rest of the world. Since the 1990s, one important method of continuing that legacy has been the use of secretive legal proceedings known as investor‐state dispute settlements (ISDS). Through this innocuous‐sounding practice, transnational corporations (TNCs) are able to blame foreign governments for their failure to extract as large a profit as they anticipated from their operations abroad. Asserting that changes in fiscal, environmental, or social policies have harmed them, TNCs have claimed that foreign governments should compensate them for the loss of potential revenues. ISDS tribunals have awarded billions of dollars as a result of such claims, mostly made under the auspices of bilateral investment treaties. Not only must governments spend millions of dollars defending themselves against assaults and tens or hundreds of millions if they lose their cases, but the ISDS system also has a chilling effect on the adoption of legislation designed to protect the health and safety of citizens. As a result of all the lawsuits in which corporations collect damages from governments under investment treaties, an array of groups in the legal industry have profited substantially: law firms representing corporate interests, arbitrators and other specialists in corporate arbitration, and litigation funders. The arbitration industry is, as a practical matter, the glue that holds the system together. The law firms involved in this industry do not wait passively for cases to arise. Instead, they actively pursue corporations to seek arbitration with governments, proselytize for the legitimacy of the current international investment regime, and block reforms that would limit arbitration opportunities. By creating methods of insulating TNCs from normal business risks and forcing host governments to bear the burden of liabilities, the arbitration system has effectively reinstituted a neo‐colonial regime through the judicial system.     

Hazen S. Pingree and the Detroit Model of Urban Reform

Hazen S. Pingree was a remarkable civic leader. In his four terms as mayor of Detroit from 1889 to 1897, Pingree lowered the cost of vital public utilities, including gas, lighting, and transit; modernized the city's sewage system; and rooted out corruption and dishonesty in municipal government. He successfully spearheaded the movement for the three‐cent streetcar fare and brought Detroit to the brink of public ownership and operation of its own transit system. Pingree's social reform program for Detroit centered around two interrelated urban reform movements gathering steam at the turn of the 20^th century: the movement for municipal ownership and the movement to equalize taxes by increasing taxes on corporate property. Both of these movements drew heavily from Henry George's single tax. In particular, Pingree's efforts to secure a municipally owned and operated street railway system and effort to increase taxation on corporate property illustrate the ways in which turn‐of‐the‐20^th‐century civic leaders drew from the rhetoric and substance of George's ideas to implement progressive urban reforms.     

Business conceptions of sustainable development: a perspective from critical theory

The discourse of sustainable development reflects the particular interests and ‘stakes in the ground’ of groups, including corporates, who contest the definition of the concept. Perspectives from critical theory, supplemented by Foucauldian concepts, expose the role of power and hegemony in that contestation. Applied to understandings of sustainable development held by corporate managers, they reveal conceptions largely based in eco‐modernism and ‘political sustainability’. The preliminary outcomes of research in progress that is taking a dialectical approach to the examination of the discourse of sustainable development in New Zealand companies are discussed. A case is made for maintaining greater discursivity in corporations and the broader setting, since, in a Foucauldian sense, it is the discourse that is producing sustainable development. It is argued that the predominating ‘green business’ discourse engages only superficially with sustainable development, and that what is now needed is a discourse of business and sustainable development framed in critical theory. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

The Influence of Governance Structure and Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Toward Sustainability Reporting Quality

Increased business complexities coupled with enhanced global transformation have propelled corporations to behave as responsible citizens to drive the sustainability agenda. Many corporations incorporate their affirmative commitment to sustainable business practices into their corporate identities and give evidence for this in their sustainability reports. This paper examines the role of the board of directors in sustainability reporting quality (SRQ) in the Asia‐Pacific region. Based on a cross‐sectional study of 113 companies from 12 countries in the region, we find that the SRQ in the region leaves much room for improvement. However, we find that the institutionalization of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in an organization provides a sound foundation for enhancing SRQ. We find that the value of CSR anchored in the vision and/ or mission statement and strategic alliances fostered with non‐governmental organizations are positively associated with SRQ. This study contributes to strengthening the understanding, promoting discussion on the state of sustainability reporting in the Asia‐Pacific context and laying a solid foundation for more aggressive efforts to enhance SRQ. The study identifies the significant drivers currently associated with SRQ. The weak role of the board of directors in upholding the sustainable development agenda through the reporting process is highlighted. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

A case study of ethical/green/environmental funds,corporate governance and stakeholder management

This paper investigates how far green, ethical and/or environmental funds are deployed to represent the interests of the individual investors and to what extent the business community is encouraged to adopt ‘greener’ behaviour. Data were collected through a questionnaire and developed in the form of a case study. Twenty green ethical and environmental funds were surveyed in the UK. The main findings are that fund managers claim that their funds are invested on behalf of the investors. They see their fund promoting the ethical/environmental values of the investors. Fund managers further think that they have an influence on companies they invest in and believe in encouraging companies to become better corporate citizens. There is, however, little evidence of funds' action on companies. While green/ethical funds, and more generally the financial community, are potentially powerful instruments of change, they are, however, still very much governed by conventional financial tools and criteria.     

Solar Commons: A “Commons Option” for the 21st Century

Private ownership of nature’s gifts—water, air, sunlight—stands in the way of solving the collective problems of the 21^st century. In the case of sunlight, common ownership through community solar trusts can overcome both the inequities and the inefficiencies of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) with legal monopolies. Those monopolies function with the same arrogance as aristocrats did in the past, but now the stakes are higher: the future of the planet. This essay describes the Solar Commons Project by which a team of inspired citizens and public scholars joined to create a form of community-trust solar-energy ownership, in which multiple stakeholders benefit. The goal is to make this “Solar Commons” model an iterable, scalable, model of community solar that empowers low-income neighborhoods in the United States. An integral part of the project is a process of creating community-engaged public art to communicate the nature of community ownership. Artistic and theatrical presentations can help involve the public in dialogues around questions of utility management that are normally couched in technical language designed to obfuscate the political power of electric utilities. One role citizens can play is unmasking utilities when they publicly promote themselves as providers of clean energy, even when they are actively engaged in protecting the interests of fossil-fuel companies. Ultimately, however, creating a Solar Commons involves more than criticizing the failed institutions of the past. It requires us to think innovatively about ways to draw upon the history of the commons to design new modes of sharing sunlight and other common goods to create a more equitable, sustainable future.     

Populism and the Populists: The Incoherent Coherence of Coxey's March

Coxey's March was a multidimensional spectacle reflecting the disparate social and intellectual strands that comprised an energetic late 19^th‐century producer's movement. This well‐staged, though seemingly spontaneous, march was emblematic of a brand of grassroots populism that united producers from farm fields to factory floors. Their cause was propelled by an eclectic array of reformers whose distinct ideas to change the economic landscape were united only in their common vision of a more cooperative, rather than corporate, vision of the future. Coxey shared in that vision with his bold public works plan. In choosing a direct form of democratic expression, and then adorning it with religious and utopian symbols, his march to Washington reflected the essence of a progressive populism churning throughout the Gilded Age.     

Corporate legitimacy in risk society: the case of Brent Spar

The aim of this paper is to understand what lessons on corporate legitimacy can be drawn from the Shell – Greenpeace conflict in 1995 about the dumping of the Brent Spar oil storage platform in the North-East Atlantic. Based on theories of corporate legitimacy and risk society, it is argued that the Brent Spar conflict reflects a new balance between business, government and civil society as well as a radicalization of the requirements for corporate legitimacy. As a part of these new and more demanding requirements, corporations will need to address a much broader scope of responsibilities and a wider circle of stakeholders than suggested so far by theories of stakeholder management. In addition, corporations will need to develop new and trustworthy forms of dialogue with the public. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Payments for ecosystem services and corporate social responsibility: Perspectives on sustainable production,stakeholder relations,and philanthropy in Thailand

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are environmental management tools that enable corporations to simultaneously enhance their environmental performance and fund sustainable development in rural areas. PES is primarily promoted as part of a sustainable production strategy for conserving natural resources, offsetting carbon emissions, and green supply chain management. Nevertheless, PES uptake by the private sector remains low, and few studies have analysed whether corporate‐financed PES schemes conform to this rationale. This study evaluates three of the first PES schemes in Thailand, financed by large corporations in the water utilities, aquaculture, and beverage sectors. Interviews with 39 business managers and project stakeholders suggest that PES may be viewed as a tool for philanthropy, public relations, and gaining license to operate—akin to many corporate social responsibility initiatives. Explanations and ramifications are discussed in the context of ecological uncertainty, risk management, financial performance, organisational learning, and the corporate‐engagement strategies of non‐governmental organisations.     

The Coal Mine Mafia of India: A Mirror of Corporate Power

An investigation of the source of power of mafia‐type organizations may reveal how other non‐state actors can operate as if they are independent of the state. This study of the coal mafia in Dhanbad, India shows that power often derives from socially hierarchical relationships involving debt and/or caste. It also demonstrates how state policies that are thoughtlessly implemented may solidify existing hierarchies. By analogy, modern corporations gain some of their power by behaving as if they were semi‐sovereign institutions that draw their strength informally from social networks and other extralegal relationships. The mafia in the Dhanbad coalfields emerged through a series of institutional changes. Labor shortages were initially resolved by labor intermediaries, who eventually controlled the labor through linkages associated with debt, caste, and social obligations. These intermediaries eventually assumed official positions in labor unions, which gave them a platform for electoral politics. When the coal industry was nationalized, the union leaders further solidified their position in the nationalized corporation. In this way, private labor intermediaries became local political leaders who controlled the state apparatus to some extent. Corporations follow similar patterns. Both mafias and corporations exploit weak governments, collude with them, and often operate with a high degree of independence. Like mafias, corporations often derive their power from socially embedded networks that they craft in local communities and populations. Because the roots of their influence are embedded in social networks, simple legal and regulatory changes are often insufficient to limit their power. Transnational corporations engaged in extraction of natural resources share with mafias the ability to leverage monopoly power in one domain into control of other domains. As a result, this case study of the coal mafia in India offers a unique entry point to understand corporate sovereignty.     

Offshore Outsourcing: Implications for International Business and Strategic Management Theory and Practice

abstract    In this essay, I discuss the implications of the debate over offshoring for our collective understanding of international business and management theories. I review several core theories in international business expansion and management strategy to assess which elements of these theories may need to be re-specified in light of the offshoring phenomenon and which aspects remain relevant. I then present normative implications and recommendations for public policy and corporate strategy, drawing from emerging insights regarding the global responsibilities of corporations. I suggest that international labour and environmental standards and corporate codes of conduct could mitigate some of the most intense concerns raised about offshoring but conclude that offshoring is likely to present challenges to societies, corporations, and stakeholders for many decades.     

The Nevada Water Law of 1913: A Populist Response to Progressivism

During the latter half of the 19^th century, Americans who settled the arid West needed to compromise with their populist notions of individualism derived from the Jeffersonian ethic of the early 19^th century and adopt progressive communitarian practices in order to provide water by means of irrigation. The struggle to deal with water rights in Nevada, culminating in passage of the Nevada Water Law of 1913, particularly illustrated this conflict between individualism and communitarianism.     

The relationships among corporate social responsibility,corporate image and economic performance of high-tech industries in Taiwan

The economic development of high-tech industries in Taiwan focuses on IC design, opt electrics, semiconductors, computer science and telecommunication. It is necessary for business to understand the relations and significance of the economic performance to take the responsibility and keep a positive corporate image, thus they can earn more admiration and trust from customers. How do they take the social responsibility to improve their corporate image and create the economic performance, and finally reach the top one of the whole world? This study discusses the subject concerning the continuing development of business and relevant issues stated above. We found that 68.1% of high-tech industries in Taiwan are in accordance with business ethics and norms of conduct. Businesses take their responsibility practically by participating in public welfare activities. The more responsibilities they fulfill; the better image they have. High-tech industries should target the social responsibility as their first goal and secondly improve their corporate image to increase the economic performance.     

Nature,Economy, and Equity: Sacred Water,Profane Markets

Numerous conflicts over natural resources can be overcome by restoring reciprocity between public and private sectors of the economy. Chapter 1 reviews two competing forms of environmentalism: one that accommodates business interests by giving public resources to them, and one that sacralizes the bond between society and nature by protecting both environmental quality and social equity. Chapter 2 discusses problems around the world that can be traced to mismanagement of natural resources, including land grabs and poverty. It also reveals a natural confluence between environmental, economic, and social concerns. Chapter 3 shows problems created by California's water tenure laws. California's 19^th century equitable solution (the Wright Act) is examined, along with inequities in legal regimes of India, Pakistan, South Africa, and the Philippines. Chapter 4 is a case study of how water laws have affected one river in California's Central Valley by preventing efficient water use. Chapter 5 shows why “water markets,” the standard panacea offered by most economists, have failed to improve either the efficiency or equity of water allocations in California and why such schemes are likely to fail for other natural resources. The missing element in such plans is a method of creating reciprocity by compensating the public, as the original owners of all natural resources. Chapter 6 concludes with four principles derived from the foregoing analysis.     

Retraining midcareer managers: Career history and self-efficacy beliefs

Many corporations are retraining midcareer managers in order to combat employee obsolescence and boost corporate competitiveness. The receptivity of midcareer managers to retraining is mixed. Those managers who believe they can master new work-related learning (in the terms of this study, those who have positive self-efficacy in learning beliefs) are most amenable to retraining. The objective of the present study was to determine the antecedents of positive self-efficacy beliefs for midcareer managers facing retraining. We discovered that managers' advancement potential and the relevance of their previous training had a profound impact on their self-efficacy beliefs. These findings have important practical implications. The seeds of receptivity to retraining are planted throughout managers' careers. Hence, retraining should not be viewed on a program-by-program basis, but rather should be understood in the broader context of corporate life and individual career history. To prepare for the inevitable corporate evolution and change demanded in a dynamic business environment, senior executives and human resource managers should be proactive in creating those conditions that facilitate the development of positive self-efficacy in learning beliefs.     

在华跨国公司企业文化对组织公民行为的影响研究

进入新世纪以来,经济全球化己成为不可逆转的发展趋势,跨国公司作为主要推动力量以其特有的核心竞争力日益彰显出强大的生命力。企业文化在被视为企业发展的引擎、企业的无形资源的同时,由于其对企业长期经营业绩的重要作用。本文重点研究在华跨国公司企业文化与组织公民行为的关系,并以组织信任为中介变量进行研究,研究结果表明企业文化与组织信任有显著的相关性,组织信任对组织公民行为也有显著的预测作用。最后通过改变企业文化维度为提高企业组织公民行为提供合理建议。