Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T19:36:58.878Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - From corporate social responsibility to global citizenship

from Part III - Managing risk and uncertainty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2010

Eric W. Orts
Affiliation:
Wharton School
Hubert Gatignon
Affiliation:
INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France
John R. Kimberly
Affiliation:
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Robert E. Gunther
Affiliation:
Gunther Communications
Get access

Summary

Multinational companies must participate in the life of multiple countries, with different cultures and expectations for their citizens. At the same time, these companies are facing new demands to address global issues such as environmental concerns and poverty. In this context, what does it mean to be a “corporate citizen”? The author examines the emergence of the concept of corporate responsibility and citizenship, including the long-standing debate about whether a company owes its allegiance primarily to shareholders or to a broad community of stakeholders. He then considers what these concepts mean in a global context. While citizenship in a single nation has typically been defined by geography or ethnicity, global citizenship is a much more uncertain concept. The author discusses some of the challenges that face business in meeting conflicting national demands for citizenship, such as the troubles faced by Yahoo! when US users of its online auctions offered Nazi memorabilia on its website, accessible in France. The sale was protected under US First Amendment rights but banned under French law. The author also discusses the emerging concept of “cosmopolitan” or “global” citizenship. It is clear that companies must address global concerns, but each individual company must determine how to define global citizenship for itself and how to balance this identity with responsibilities that it may have to various local, national, and regional communities.

In February 2002, thirty-six large multinational corporations (including Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Siemens) issued a statement pledging a renewed commitment to “corporate citizenship.”

Type
Chapter
Information
The INSEAD-Wharton Alliance on Globalizing
Strategies for Building Successful Global Businesses
, pp. 331 - 352
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×