۱- Introduction

۲- Theoretical background

۳- Methodology

۴- Findings

۵- Discussion and conclusions

References

Abstract

Human rights (HR) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are both fields of knowledge and research that have been shaped by, and examine, the role of multi-national enterprises in society. Whilst scholars have highlighted the overlapping nature of CSR and HR, our understanding of this relationship within business practice remains vague and under-researched. To explore the interface between CSR and HR, this paper presents empirical data from a qualitative study involving 22 international businesses based in the UK. Through an analysis based on sensemaking, the paper examines how and where CSR and HR overlap, contrast and shape one another, and the role that companies’ international operations has on this relationship. The findings reveal a complex and multi-layered relationship between the two, and concludes that in contrast to management theory, companies have bridged the ‘great divide’ in varying degrees most notably in their implementation strategies.

Introduction

Globalization, and the accompanying growth in the perceived size, power and reach of multi-national enterprises (MNEs), has raised important new human rights (HR) questions and concerns about businesses’ impact on workers, indigenous peoples, the environment and public policy (Brenkert, 2016). In 1999 the intensification of such concerns, and the accompanying anti-globalization protests in Seattle, 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 & Lucea, 2013, p. 186). The resulting research into the conduct and social impacts of business may have been largely driven by the conduct of MNEs and some infamous high profile international cases (Wettstein, 2012), but it has mainly developed in specialized fields such as ‘business and society’ or ‘business ethics’. As a result, there are comparatively few contributions within the mainstream international business (IB) literature (Doh, Husted, Matten, & Santoro, 2010; Doh & Lucea, 2013; Giuliani & Macchi, 2014; Kolk & Van Tulder, 2010; Kolk, 2016), and these mostly adopt a broad CSR perspective rather than an explicit HR focus. Giuliani, Santangelo, and Wettstein (2016) characterize this comparative lack of attention to HR by IB scholars as a missed opportunity for the field, as well as for our general understanding of MNEs’ HR conduct. A further missed opportunity is the under-utilisation of CSR knowledge and research in BHR scholarship (and vice versa). Despite scholars acknowledging their overlapping and complementary natures (Ramasastry, 2015; Wettstein, 2012), they have mainly developed separately and our knowledge and understanding of their relationship within business practice remains vague and under-researched. An opportunity therefore exists to integrate the work of scholars who have developed business and human rights (BHR) as a distinct academic field with IB and CSR scholarship, and to better understand the relevance of BHR for IB and CSR. In this paper we seek to contribute to the integration of these fields by drawing on a qualitative study that explored how the notion of human rights was used, interpreted and managed by 22 international businesses based in the UK. Focussing specifically on the relationship between HR and CSR, the paper aims to address three interconnected limitations of the BHR literature