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Title: Corporate Responsibility & Sustainable Development: the nexus of private and public interests

Publication: Routledge

Type: Book chapter

Editors: Lez Rayman-Bacchus, Philip Walsh

Description

Corporate Responsibility (CR) and Sustainable Development (SD) are two overlapping concepts that have captured our imagination as approaches that might reconcile many big challenges facing the world:  the tensions between respect for the natural environment, social justice, and economic development; the long view versus short-term imperatives; the competing priorities of north and south, east and west, between developed and developing economies; the private interests of businesses and the particular desires of consumers, and the public interests of communities and civil society. These concerns overlap because they implicate corporate practices, state development policy challenges, the concerns and priorities of non-governmental organisations, and the potential for innovative forms of organisation to address these challenges.

The majority of research on Corporate Responsibility (or CSR, corporate citizenship, corporate governance, sustainability, corporate social performance, and other variations) has so far focused on the enterprise as the unit of analysis, set within a developed economy context. Less examined is the ongoing debate within developed economies (on both ideological and practical grounds) about whether providing public services (energy, transport, health, social services, education) should be the responsibility of state or business innovation. There is also ongoing need to assess the relative responsibilities of multinationals and host states for the social, economic, and environmental consequences of (respectively) pursuing and providing access to scarce resources (human, natural, financial).

Separately, studies on (sustainable) development have tended to concentrate on developing nation policy concerns and implementation. Here policy making has evolved from treating the corporation as a problem to being a solution to economic development. Indeed, there is growing interest in the broader potential of corporations in developing economies, for example as a vehicle for addressing poverty. Still, there remains the unbridled exploitation of both natural and human resources; of prioritising private over public interest. Is this an acceptable (or unavoidable) trade off for achieving long term socio-economic development? To what extent does such an interpretation of sustainable development ignore or understate the influence of, and interdependence with, developed nations' markets and policy agendas?

There is also need to assess the significance of other forms of economic institution (NGOs, charitable foundations, private equity, government agencies) as agents of social innovation and correctives to market failure. To what extent have political institutions such as the UN Global Compact and Millennium Development Goals made a difference? What is the potential of alternative forms of corporate organisation for altering the balance of power away from privileging financial returns to specific investors and toward collective socio-economic returns? What are the consequences for a reallocation and development of resources (economic, social, cultural)?

The editors invite contributions that explore the evolving relationship between corporation, state, and other forms of economic organisation (e.g., NGOs, charities, social enterprise), in addressing some of humanity's most pressing issues. There is an opportunity here to develop a more nuanced understanding of the interdependence of corporate interest and responsibility and the public policy interest landscape, from macro to micro level. Contributions may focus on practice (e.g., innovative policies/organisation/programmes, strategic challenges), theory (development and reflection), or empirical research (collection and analysis of data).

Without suggesting that contributions adopt some preferred approach, the relative priorities of corporations, policy makers, and their interrelationship, seem suitable for exploring in terms of the debate about the interdependence of private and public interests, or in terms of public choice and social choice. In these terms to what extent is it sensible to seek a merging of public and private interests, or does such an ambition always lead to conflicts of interest? Can private-public interest boundaries be defined? Does managerial and political ambition necessarily undermine public service and corporate stewardship? This book intends to explore this nexus through the perspectives of researchers and practitioners working in this context. The editors invite contributions that address this nexus in all its forms.

Timetable

By 1^st May 2014: Submit a one page outline of your proposed chapter, including aims, likely arguments and structure.

1^st June 2014: We let you know whether your proposal is accepted.

1^st September 2014: Completed draft chapters due.

Sept-Oct 2014: Feedback to authors.

30^th December 2014: Completed final draft chapters due.

Contact

For further information, or to submit a proposal, please contact Dr Lez Rayman-Bacchus at lezmichael@gmail.com