In the 1960s, political threats drove petroleum multinational corporations in Venezuela to deploy... more In the 1960s, political threats drove petroleum multinational corporations in Venezuela to deploy highly sophisticated defense strategies. The American industry leader, Creole, wanted the local bus...
The Production of Managerial Knowledge and Organizational Theory: New Approaches to Writing, Producing and Consuming Theory, 2019
This chapter addresses the concern that much theory building in organization and management (OM) ... more This chapter addresses the concern that much theory building in organization and management (OM) research suffers from de-contextualization. The authors argue that de-contextualization comes in two main forms: reductionism and grand theory. Whereas reductionism tends to downplay context in favor of individual behavior, grand theory looks at context only in highly abstract ahistorical terms. Such de-contextualization is problematic for at least two reasons. First, the boundary conditions of theories remain unexplored in ways that threaten scientific validity. Second, de-contextualization limits the potential of OM theory to fully understand the role of organizations in society and thereby address societal grand challenges. These claims are exemplified through critical reviews of four fields in OM research – gender, employee voice, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and institutional logics – and counterpoints that may help to overcome de-contextualized research are presented.
The privatization of governance including the institution of nonbinding corporate social responsi... more The privatization of governance including the institution of nonbinding corporate social responsibility (CSR) frameworks to govern the social and economic conduct of large corporations is a controversial global process, which unfolds between and within nations. Studies of transnational private governance suggest that CSR frameworks reflect bargains between business and nonbusiness actors, reached on the background of the unfeasibility of intergovernmental binding regulation. But what explains the rise of such multi-stakeholder initiatives on the national level—and particularly in European coordinated market economies—where public forms of governance are historically well-institutionalized and more feasible? Based on our power resource theory (PRT)-informed study of Germany’s adoption of a national CSR framework, we argue that such settings motivate nonbusiness actors to resist, rather than engage in, business-driven processes of the privatization of governance. The struggle is decid...
The global spread of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is widely explained in insti... more The global spread of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is widely explained in institutional-isomorphic terms: Corporations worldwide adopt CSR in reaction to isomorphic pressures exerted on them by a pro-CSR global environment, including normative calls for CSR, activist targeting, civil regulation frameworks, and educational activities. By contrast, this article considers the proactive agency of corporations in CSR diffusion, which is informed by nonmarket strategies that seek to instrumentally reshape the political and social environment of corporations. Applying a “channels-of-diffusion” perspective, we show that in the initial phase of CSR’s transnational diffusion—as exemplified by the cases of Venezuela (1962-1967) and Britain (1977-1981)—CSR traveled through learning exchanges between business elite “exporters” and “importers” whose engagement in diffusion addressed crisis-enhanced political threats and opportunities in the receiving country. The focal agents es...
The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility, 2009
This article develops a framework in which corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents the c... more This article develops a framework in which corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents the contested terrain of global governance. The rise of CSR is one of the more striking developments of recent decades in the global political economy. Calls for multinational corporations (MNCs) to demonstrate greater responsibility, transparency, and accountability are leading to the establishment of a variety of new governance structures—rules, norms, codes of conduct, and standards—that constrain and shape MNCs' behavior. CSR is thus not just a struggle over practices, but over the locus of governance authority, offering a potential path toward the transformation of stakeholders from external observers and petitioners into legitimate and organized participants in decision-making. This article points to two distinct perspectives on CSR; as a more socially embedded and democratic form of governance that emanates from civil society, or alternatively, as a privatized system of corporate g...
… Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility, …, 2008
The rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the more striking developments of rec... more The rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the more striking developments of recent decades in the global political economy. Calls for MNCs to demonstrate greater responsibility, transparency, and accountability are leading to the establishment of a variety of new governance structures-rules, norms, codes of conduct, and standards-that constrain and shape MNCs' behavior (Kolk & van Tulder, 2005; Levy & Newell, 2006). MNCs are not only under pressure to respond to these new sources of authority, they are also ...
The global spread of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is widely explained in insti... more The global spread of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is widely explained in institutional-isomorphic terms: Corporations worldwide adopt CSR in reaction to isomorphic pressures exerted on them by a pro-CSR global environment, including normative calls for CSR, activist targeting, civil regulation frameworks, and educational activities. By contrast, this article considers the proactive agency of corporations in CSR diffusion, which is informed by nonmarket strategies that seek to instrumentally reshape the political and social environment of corporations. Applying a " channels-of-diffusion " perspective, we show that in the initial phase of CSR's transnational diffusion—as exemplified by the cases of Venezuela (1962-1967) and Britain (1977-1981)—CSR traveled through learning exchanges between business elite " exporters " and " importers " whose engagement in diffusion addressed crisis-enhanced political threats and opportunities in the receiving country. The focal agents established national CSR business associations, which disseminated among local corporations CSR practices adapted to confront the challenges at hand. We identify the features of such " business-led cross-national diffusions of CSR " ; formulate propositions regarding their conditions, dynamics, and effects; and suggest that further research of this mode of diffusion would advance a more nuanced and balanced understanding of CSR’s globalization.
In the 1960s, political threats drove petroleum multinational corporations in Venezuela to deploy... more In the 1960s, political threats drove petroleum multinational corporations in Venezuela to deploy highly sophisticated defense strategies. The American industry leader, Creole, wanted the local bus...
The Production of Managerial Knowledge and Organizational Theory: New Approaches to Writing, Producing and Consuming Theory, 2019
This chapter addresses the concern that much theory building in organization and management (OM) ... more This chapter addresses the concern that much theory building in organization and management (OM) research suffers from de-contextualization. The authors argue that de-contextualization comes in two main forms: reductionism and grand theory. Whereas reductionism tends to downplay context in favor of individual behavior, grand theory looks at context only in highly abstract ahistorical terms. Such de-contextualization is problematic for at least two reasons. First, the boundary conditions of theories remain unexplored in ways that threaten scientific validity. Second, de-contextualization limits the potential of OM theory to fully understand the role of organizations in society and thereby address societal grand challenges. These claims are exemplified through critical reviews of four fields in OM research – gender, employee voice, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and institutional logics – and counterpoints that may help to overcome de-contextualized research are presented.
The privatization of governance including the institution of nonbinding corporate social responsi... more The privatization of governance including the institution of nonbinding corporate social responsibility (CSR) frameworks to govern the social and economic conduct of large corporations is a controversial global process, which unfolds between and within nations. Studies of transnational private governance suggest that CSR frameworks reflect bargains between business and nonbusiness actors, reached on the background of the unfeasibility of intergovernmental binding regulation. But what explains the rise of such multi-stakeholder initiatives on the national level—and particularly in European coordinated market economies—where public forms of governance are historically well-institutionalized and more feasible? Based on our power resource theory (PRT)-informed study of Germany’s adoption of a national CSR framework, we argue that such settings motivate nonbusiness actors to resist, rather than engage in, business-driven processes of the privatization of governance. The struggle is decid...
The global spread of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is widely explained in insti... more The global spread of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is widely explained in institutional-isomorphic terms: Corporations worldwide adopt CSR in reaction to isomorphic pressures exerted on them by a pro-CSR global environment, including normative calls for CSR, activist targeting, civil regulation frameworks, and educational activities. By contrast, this article considers the proactive agency of corporations in CSR diffusion, which is informed by nonmarket strategies that seek to instrumentally reshape the political and social environment of corporations. Applying a “channels-of-diffusion” perspective, we show that in the initial phase of CSR’s transnational diffusion—as exemplified by the cases of Venezuela (1962-1967) and Britain (1977-1981)—CSR traveled through learning exchanges between business elite “exporters” and “importers” whose engagement in diffusion addressed crisis-enhanced political threats and opportunities in the receiving country. The focal agents es...
The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility, 2009
This article develops a framework in which corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents the c... more This article develops a framework in which corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents the contested terrain of global governance. The rise of CSR is one of the more striking developments of recent decades in the global political economy. Calls for multinational corporations (MNCs) to demonstrate greater responsibility, transparency, and accountability are leading to the establishment of a variety of new governance structures—rules, norms, codes of conduct, and standards—that constrain and shape MNCs' behavior. CSR is thus not just a struggle over practices, but over the locus of governance authority, offering a potential path toward the transformation of stakeholders from external observers and petitioners into legitimate and organized participants in decision-making. This article points to two distinct perspectives on CSR; as a more socially embedded and democratic form of governance that emanates from civil society, or alternatively, as a privatized system of corporate g...
… Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility, …, 2008
The rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the more striking developments of rec... more The rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the more striking developments of recent decades in the global political economy. Calls for MNCs to demonstrate greater responsibility, transparency, and accountability are leading to the establishment of a variety of new governance structures-rules, norms, codes of conduct, and standards-that constrain and shape MNCs' behavior (Kolk & van Tulder, 2005; Levy & Newell, 2006). MNCs are not only under pressure to respond to these new sources of authority, they are also ...
The global spread of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is widely explained in insti... more The global spread of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is widely explained in institutional-isomorphic terms: Corporations worldwide adopt CSR in reaction to isomorphic pressures exerted on them by a pro-CSR global environment, including normative calls for CSR, activist targeting, civil regulation frameworks, and educational activities. By contrast, this article considers the proactive agency of corporations in CSR diffusion, which is informed by nonmarket strategies that seek to instrumentally reshape the political and social environment of corporations. Applying a " channels-of-diffusion " perspective, we show that in the initial phase of CSR's transnational diffusion—as exemplified by the cases of Venezuela (1962-1967) and Britain (1977-1981)—CSR traveled through learning exchanges between business elite " exporters " and " importers " whose engagement in diffusion addressed crisis-enhanced political threats and opportunities in the receiving country. The focal agents established national CSR business associations, which disseminated among local corporations CSR practices adapted to confront the challenges at hand. We identify the features of such " business-led cross-national diffusions of CSR " ; formulate propositions regarding their conditions, dynamics, and effects; and suggest that further research of this mode of diffusion would advance a more nuanced and balanced understanding of CSR’s globalization.
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Papers by Rami Kaplan