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The role of corporations in a ‘world at risk’

ISP-FIDE WorkshopRica Bakklandet Hotel, Trondheim

19-20 November 2012

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ISP-FIDEISP-FIDE• «Institusjonsforankrede strategiske prosjekter (ISP) i filosofi og idéhistorie» • Background: Evaluation of Norwegian Philosophy departments by the

Norwegian Research Council• Name of project: «Applied Ethics: Technology and Governance of Health

and Natural Resources». CSR as an element in this.• Philosophy Department at NTNU with partners from Universities of

Nordland, Tromsø, and Bergen. • Goals: 1) Strengthen applied ethics as a research field in Norway through

cooperation with other relevant Norwegian Philosophy institutions (joint workshops and research applications), 2) Improve the quality of publications, through co-authorship and more extended informal reviewing from colleagues at other institutions.

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The role of corporations in a The role of corporations in a ‘‘world at riskworld at risk’’• Ulrich Beck, “World Risk Society” (cf. Beck 1999; Beck 2007a).• Man-made, global risks: E.g. climate change and financial crises,

producing worldwide consequences that are hard to predict.• The role of large, multinational corporations in creating and in

managing these risks.• Under which circumstances can corporations be held accountable for

the future impact their decisions might have on society?• Goal of workshop: 1) To develop ideas and give feedback on papers

in progress, 2) To explore the foundation for joint research projects.

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Workshop programWorkshop program Monday 19th November12.00-13.00 Lunch13.00-13.15 Opening words13.15-14.00 Dagfinn Døhl Dybvig (UiN) "Ulrich Beck's Risk Society revisited in the light of CSR"

14.00-14.45 Siri Granum Carson (NTNU) "Loosening or tightening the bonds? Explicating CSR in the Norwegian context"

14.45-15.15 Coffee break15.15-16.00 Øivind Hagen (BI Norwegian

Business School)"Expressiveness as a driver for innovation. The case of CSR"

16.00-16.45 Hin Hoarau Heemstra (UiN) "A destination-network´s response to climate change: the case of Svalbard"

16.45-17.15 Coffee break17.15-18.00 Bjørg Granly (NTNU) "Investigating CSR practice and drivers in Norwegian metal processing SMEs"

18.00-18.30 Annik Magerholm Fet (NTNU) "Is CSR a driver for success in Gazelle companies?"

19.30: Workshop dinner at Glassgården Brasseri og Grill, Rica Bakklandet Hotel Tuesday 20th November9.00-9.45 Prakash Sethi (Baruch College,

CUNY)"Globalization and Multinational Corporations - Creating Social Accountability through Voluntary Codes of Conduct"

9.45-10.30 Lin Olderøien Elvegård (NTNU/HIST)

"Trust in the market discourse – in business relations between companies from democracies and non-democracies"

10.30-10.45 Coffee break10.45-11.30 John Eilif Hermansen (UiN) “Valuation of ecosystem services and objectification of ecological indicators”

11.30-12.15 Juan Miguel Rey Pino, Lucia Porcu and Salvador del Barrio (University of Granada)

"How to fight against integrated marketing communication of tobacco companies: some insight from critical and social marketing"

12.15-13.15 Lunch13.15-14.00 May Thorseth (NTNU) "Institutional Obstacles to Sustainability – the Guangdong Case"

14.00-15.00 "Pitch session": Presentation of ideas for research projects and other possible collaboration

15.00-15.15 Closing comments

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LLoosening or tightening the bonds?oosening or tightening the bonds?- - Explicating CSR Explicating CSR in the Norwegian Contextin the Norwegian Context

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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BackgroundBackground

• Carson/Hagen/Sethi paper (work in progress): CSR in the Scandinavian context driven by globalization processes, two forces:

1) Organizational expressiveness

2) Re-legitimizing

• Cf. Ulrich Beck 2007: «[O]rganizations as actors in the transnational realm face an increasing ‘legitimacy gap’. They make decisions whose consequences transcend any particular time or place – and thereby the regulatory apparatus of the state.»

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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CSR and globalizationCSR and globalization

• Woods (2001): Globalization as

1. Internationalization

2. Technology development

3. Political liberalization

• Scherer/Palazzo (2011): Globalization necessitates a shift towards a new concept of «political CSR»

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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The Explication of CSR in EuropeThe Explication of CSR in Europe

• Vogel (1992): American business ethics «more individualistic, more legalistic, and more universalistic».

• Sethi (1994): Focus on the competitive context.

• Matten/Moon (2008): Explicit vs. implicit CSR.

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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The Explication of CSR in ScandinaviaThe Explication of CSR in Scandinavia• Consensual political culture,

strong welfare state, tripartite agreements.

• Gjølberg (2010): Underlying conflict between original CSR and ”the Nordic model”.

• Strand (2009): The «cooperative advantage» of Scandinavian companies.

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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The Explication of CSR in NorwayThe Explication of CSR in Norway

• Challenge for the Norwegian labour market: Towards self-regulation of labor standards (e.g. SHE reform 1997)

• Substantial state ownership in large companies, operating in conflict areas.

• CSR policy developed through government-driven initiatives, focusing on operations abroad.

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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Example 1: BAMA’s letter of intentExample 1: BAMA’s letter of intent

• CSR as a government-driven concept.

• The state as stakeholder• 2009: BAMA + Norwegian

government signed letter of intent on strategic cooperation on CSR

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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Example 2: Example 2: The re-legitimizing of HydroThe re-legitimizing of Hydro

“The standard of social responsibility is renewed. The industry should be measured on how much value we manage to create by occupying less of the scarce resources of society – energy, clean environment and labor – rather than how many we manage to employ” (Eivind Reiten, former CEO of Hydro, 2007).

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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Loosening or tightening the bonds?Loosening or tightening the bonds?

The explication of CSR as

1.The weakening of formal and legal ties binding the companies, as a result of globalization processes.

2.The development towards more binding stakeholder relations in the sense of more explicit and specified commitments.

The Role of Corporations in a ‘World at Risk’ – ISP-FIDE workshop November 19-20 2012

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Proposal for research application Proposal for research application spring (April?) 2013: SAMKULspring (April?) 2013: SAMKUL

• SAMKUL: Cultural Conditions Underlying Social Change. Work programme 2011-2020

• From Research Council strategy: «Better and more coordinated humanities and social science research on the cultural prerequisites underlying societal development will thus be needed to supplement the more instrumental-oriented thematic priority areas in Norwegian research».

• One of seven thematic priority areas: «The economic environment». Development and cultural variation in «the boundries between state and market», and «comparative research on various modes of economic thinking can generate new perspectives on sustainable development».

• Priorities: Cooperation between several institutions, inter- and multidiciplinary studies, issues of relevance to policymakers, international cooperation.