Over time, corporations have engaged in an aggressive campaign to dramatically enlarge their political and commercial speech and religious rights through strategic litigation and extensive lobbying. At the same time, many large firms have sought to limit their social responsibilities. For the most part, courts have willingly followed corporations down this path. But interestingly, corporations are meeting resistance from many quarters including from customers, investors, and lawmakers. Corporate Citizen? explores this resistance and offers reforms to support these new understandings of the corporation in contemporary society.

The interest in good governance has grown tremendously in the past decade. Corporate scandals, environmental awareness and globalisation have all played their part in raising shareholder and public awareness in how companies should be governed. King provides a history and clear definition of corporate governance. This is followed by essential reading on the duties of directors and the chairman; the five 'corporate sins'; a framework of corporate governance; the relationship between the company and its directors; risk and governance; asking the 'dumb questions'; a code of conduct; and self-evaluation. This book is essential reading for directors and managers, shareholders and stakeholders, and business students. In addition, the principles set forth are equally applicable to non-business entities such as school governing bodies, sports and cultural organisations, non-governmental organisations and government departments.

A number of disparate but interconnected forces such as deregulation and globalization, rapid advances in communications technology and the rise in the power of the consumer and civil society have now combined to bring corporate responsibility to prominence in many corporate boardrooms. In this information age, the ramifications of not addressing best practice in environment, workplace, marketplace and community could range from bad press coverage to complete market exclusion. These are perilous times for the social construct of modern capitalism.In today's society successful companies will increasingly be those that recognize that they have responsibilities to a range of stakeholders that go beyond compliance with the law. If in the past the focus was on enhancing shareholder value, now it is on engaging stakeholders for long-term value creation. This does not mean that shareholders are not important, or that profitability is not vital to business success, but that in order to survive and be profitable a company must engage with a range of stakeholders whose views may vary greatly. If in the past corporate social responsibility was simply seen as profitability plus compliance plus philanthropy, now responsible corporate citizenship means companies being more aware of and understanding the societies in which they operate. This means senior executives and managers being able to deal with a wide range of issues including greater accountability, human rights abuses, sustainability strategies, corporate governance codes, workplace ethics, stakeholder consultation and management.The aim and scope of Perspectives on Corporate Citizenship is to help capture and distil these and other emerging trends in terms of content, context and processes, in one concise volume. With contributions from the *crème de la crème* of leading thinkers from around the world, Perspectives on Corporate Citizenship is essential reading for students, scholars and all serious thinkers on one of the most critical issues of our time.

Want to know what s buzzing with corporate citizenship? Look no further. This book shows why global corporate citizenship has been called the topic of the decade and why it matters to each of us, no matter where we live. It explains in plain English the major issues and ideas percolating in current research on the topic. Trust what you discover in the book. The list of contributors to Handbook of Research on Global Corporate Citizenship reads like a Who s Who of corporate citizenship research. Thomas Donaldson, University of Pennsylvania, US This is a unique and eclectic set of essays on a vitally important (but often neglected) topic. The editors are to be congratulated in assembling a distinguished group of scholars, who carefully and expertly guide the reader through the various facets of global corporate citizenship. This is a must read for anyone interested in the social ramifications of the globalization of business activity. John H. Dunning OBE, University of Reading, UK and Rutgers University, US Start with a fact large corporations wield enormous power in the contemporary, globalized economy. Then note the hopes and fears that this fact inspired the potential to harness the profit motive to social needs, but the fear that the profit motive can just as easily wreak havoc. And finally, bring together some leading scholars from around the world to discuss the matter and the result is a hugely impressive collection of essays on one of the burning issues of our time. This volume is definitive the necessary starting point for future debate. Paul S. Adler, University of Southern California, US This volume provides an extensive and comprehensive overview of current research and theory about why and how corporations should play a more active role in fulfilling their global citizenship obligations and responsibilities. Its contributors include many of the most important and influential scholars in the field of corporate social responsibility from both Europe and the US. An important strength of this volume is the diversity and breadth of the dimensions of corporate citizenship that it explores in depth. This volume provides an important resource to scholars, managers, and activists interested in promoting corporate citizenship. David Vogel, University of California, Berkeley, US The Handbook of Research on Global Corporate Citizenship identifies and fosters key interdisciplinary research on corporate citizenship and provides a framework for further academic debate on corporate responsibility in a global society. This exciting and important Handbook provides a unique forum to discuss the consequences of the social and political mandate of business firms and examines the implications of these consequences for the theory of the firm. Leading academics have been invited from various disciplines such as management studies, economics, sociology, legal studies and political science to evaluate the concept of corporate citizenship and to analyze the role of private business in global governance and the production of global public goods. The Handbook is structured in seven sections: theoretical perspectives on corporate citizenship contemporary issues and challenges of global business regulation actors and institutions of global business regulation disciplinary perspectives on corporate citizenship implications for management theory building critical perspectives on corporate citizenship conclusions. This Handbook will be a significant read for academics, postgraduate students and managers interested in the field of corporate citizenship, regulation and corporate responsibility across the social sciences.

Looks at issues of corporate responsibility globally, at companies in developing countries facing important challenges within their own countries.

The Executive’s Guide to 21st Century Corporate Citizenship provides a major update on how to ‘do’ corporate citizenship, showing senior managers how they can win the reputation battle and deliver value to society while creating the most successful business possible in today’s competitive landscape.

Corporate citizenship is a prominent international issue as contemporary corporations are no longer expected to perform financially, but are also expected to have an ethical relationship of responsibility between the corporate itself and the society in which it operates and performs it business activities. Provides an up-to-date theoretical content pertaining to corporate citizenship, providing local and global examples and case studies.

Against a backdrop of corporate scandal, business leaders can no longer rely on the old-fashioned style of one-sided community relations programs to promote a good image. Nor can they expect preferential treatment just because they meet their tax obligations. Pressure from all sides is forcing corporate leaders to increase their investments in the communities they serve and redefining their relationships with key stakeholder groups, including employees, suppliers, governing boards, shareholders, and the press. Safeguarding the environment, supporting human rights, eliminating child labor, entering into partnerships with nonprofit organizations, solving community problems, opening up financial reports to scrutiny, consulting with community residents, and contributing to local charities are now essential elements of corporate character. Managing a Company in an Activist World takes the discussion of corporate citizenship to a new practical level, offering business leaders answers to such tough questions as: What do our stakeholders value most? How can we respond to a growing number of formal compliances and informal demands? How do we most effectively communicate our role as a good corporate citizen? And, perhaps most importantly, how can we shake off inertia, public skepticism, and short-term focus to make corporate citizenship a priority without sacrificing growth and profits? Illustrating the depth and breadth of the issues through a variety of in-depth examples—from Jesse Jackson's threatened boycott of Anheuser-Busch to rural Virginians' uprising against Disney's proposed theme park to energy giant BC Hydro's successful response to environmentalists' concerns—Burke demonstrates how community involvement can influence corporate strategy to everyone's net benefit. He goes on to outline specific strategies that corporate leaders can employ to shake off inertia, public skepticism, and short-term focus to make corporate citizenship a priority without sacrificing growth and profits.

The contributors to Corporate Citizen explore the legal frameworks and standards of conduct for multinational corporations. In a globalized world governed by domestic and international law, these corporations can be everywhere and nowhere at once, reaping financial benefits and enjoying the protections of investor-state arbitration but rarely being held accountable for the economic, environmental, and human rights harms they may have caused. Given the far-reaching power and success of the transnational corporation, and the many legal tools allowing these companies to avoid liability, how can governments protect their citizens? Broad-ranging in perspective, colourful and thought-provoking, the chapters in Corporate Citizen make the case that because the success of corporate global citizenship risks undermining national and international democratic governance, the multinational corporation must be more closely scrutinized and controlled – in the service of humanity and the protection of the natural environment.

This practical and engaging book provides a coherent approach to global business responsibility and ethics based on the latest research, theory, and practice. The authors incorporate numerous interesting and current real world examples to support the argument that corporations need to - and can - identify and implement processes that foster ethical conduct, ensure basic human rights, protect the natural environment, and enhance social justice wherever businesses operate around the globe. "Global Business Citizenship" combines elements of political theory, stakeholder relationships, business ethics, corporate social performance, accountability and measurement, and organizational change. Its practical approach encompasses "best practices" in stakeholder management, experiments in applying corporate values to local conditions, and social environmental auditing and reporting. Focusing on the strategic alignment and change management process for implementing business citizenship principles and practices, it is an essential supplement for any course concerned with ethics and social responsibility in today's global business climate.