IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i5p2130-d330795.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Theorized Relationship between Organizational (Non)Compliance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Human Rights and Desired Employee Workplace Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Magda B. L. Donia

    (Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada)

  • Salvador Herencia Carrasco

    (Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada)

  • Sara Seck

    (Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada)

  • Robert McCorquodale

    (School of Law, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK)

  • Sigalit Ronen

    (David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, California State University, Northridge, CA 91330, USA)

Abstract

Despite the presence of guiding legislation such as the United Nations Guiding Principles, respect for human rights is subject to the conscience of organizational actors. Given that some transnational corporations are more powerful than nation states, they play an important role in the economies in which they operate, often with far-reaching impact on the labor conditions and human rights protections within these countries. In the current global context, respect for human rights may be undermined when organizational decision-makers are tempted to ignore unethical practices due to considerations such as competition and short-term financial incentives. We propose that the higher standards to which younger generations increasingly hold corporations provide a compelling and “business case” incentive for the protection of human rights of external stakeholders by organizational decision-makers. Drawing on related research on corporate social responsibility and on projections regarding demographical changes in the workplace worldwide, we make the case for a bottom-line advantage to respecting human rights in attracting and retaining top talent in work organizations. We conclude by highlighting the theoretical and practical implications of our theorizing.

Suggested Citation

  • Magda B. L. Donia & Salvador Herencia Carrasco & Sara Seck & Robert McCorquodale & Sigalit Ronen, 2020. "The Theorized Relationship between Organizational (Non)Compliance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Human Rights and Desired Employee Workplace Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-13, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:2130-:d:330795
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/2130/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/2130/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Soo-Yeon Kim & Hyojung Park, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility as an Organizational Attractiveness for Prospective Public Relations Practitioners," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(4), pages 639-653, November.
    2. S. Hansen & Benjamin Dunford & Alan Boss & R. Boss & Ingo Angermeier, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility and the Benefits of Employee Trust: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 29-45, August.
    3. McCORQUODALE, Robert & SMIT, Lise & NEELY, Stuart & BROOKS, Robin, 2017. "Human Rights Due Diligence in Law and Practice: Good Practices and Challenges for Business Enterprises §," Business and Human Rights Journal, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 195-224, July.
    4. Glavas, Ante & Kelley, Ken, 2014. "The Effects of Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility on Employee Attitudes," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 165-202, April.
    5. Abraham Carmeli & Gershon Gilat & David A. Waldman, 2007. "The Role of Perceived Organizational Performance in Organizational Identification, Adjustment and Job Performance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(6), pages 972-992, September.
    6. Omer Farooq & Marielle Payaud & Dwight Merunka & Pierre Valette-Florence, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Commitment: Exploring Multiple Mediation Mechanisms," Post-Print halshs-01365817, HAL.
    7. John Gerard Ruggie & Emily K. Middleton, 2019. "Money, Millennials and Human Rights: Sustaining ‘Sustainable Investing’," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 10(1), pages 144-150, February.
    8. Magda B. L. Donia & Sigalit Ronen & Carol-Ann Tetrault Sirsly & Silvia Bonaccio, 2019. "CSR by Any Other Name? The Differential Impact of Substantive and Symbolic CSR Attributions on Employee Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 503-523, June.
    9. Omer Farooq & Marielle Payaud & Dwight Merunka & Pierre Valette-Florence, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Commitment: Exploring Multiple Mediation Mechanisms," Post-Print hal-01822315, HAL.
    10. Omer Farooq & Marielle Payaud & Dwight Merunka & Pierre Valette-Florence, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Commitment: Exploring Multiple Mediation Mechanisms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 563-580, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marc Scholten & Manuela Faia Correia & Teresa Esteves & Sónia P. Gonçalves, 2022. "No Place for Pointless Jobs: How Social Responsibility Impacts Job Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    2. Magda B. L. Donia & Sigalit Ronen & Carol-Ann Tetrault Sirsly & Silvia Bonaccio, 2019. "CSR by Any Other Name? The Differential Impact of Substantive and Symbolic CSR Attributions on Employee Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 503-523, June.
    3. María Garrido‐Ruso & Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán, 2022. "The moderating effect of contextual factors and employees' demographic features on the relationship between CSR and work‐related attitudes: A meta‐analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1839-1854, September.
    4. Kenneth Roeck & François Maon, 2018. "Building the Theoretical Puzzle of Employees’ Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: An Integrative Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 609-625, May.
    5. Won‐Moo Hur & Tae‐Won Moon & Han‐Geun Lee, 2018. "Employee engagement in CSR initiatives and customer‐directed counterproductive work behavior (CWB): The mediating roles of organizational civility norms and job calling," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1087-1098, November.
    6. Erifili-Christina Chatzopoulou & Dimitris Manolopoulos & Vasia Agapitou, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Outcomes: Interrelations of External and Internal Orientations with Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(3), pages 795-817, September.
    7. Yun-Seok Hwang & Byung-Jik Kim, 2021. "“The Power of a Firm’s Benevolent Act”: The Influence of Work Overload on Turnover Intention, the Mediating Role of Meaningfulness of Work and the Moderating Effect of CSR Activities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-15, April.
    8. David A. Jones & Alexander Newman & Ruodan Shao & Fang Lee Cooke, 2019. "Advances in Employee-Focused Micro-Level Research on Corporate Social Responsibility: Situating New Contributions Within the Current State of the Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 293-302, June.
    9. Seunghee Im & Yang Woon Chung & Ji Yeon Yang, 2016. "Employees’ Participation in Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Person–CSR Fit," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    10. Min-Jik Kim & Byung-Jik Kim, 2021. "The Performance Implication of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Moderating Role of Employee’s Prosocial Motivation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-14, March.
    11. Steven A. Brieger & Stefan Anderer & Andreas Fröhlich & Anne Bäro & Timo Meynhardt, 2020. "Too Much of a Good Thing? On the Relationship Between CSR and Employee Work Addiction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(2), pages 311-329, October.
    12. Louise Tourigny & Jian Han & Vishwanath V. Baba & Polly Pan, 2019. "Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility in China: A Multilevel Study of Their Effects on Trust and Organizational Citizenship Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 427-440, August.
    13. Byung‐Jik Kim & Youngkyun Chang & Tae‐Hyun Kim, 2023. "Translating corporate social responsibility into financial performance: Exploring roles of work engagement and strategic coherence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2555-2573, September.
    14. Heung-Jun Jung & Mohammad Ali, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Organizational Justice and Positive Employee Attitudes: In the Context of Korean Employment Relations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-24, October.
    15. Ahmad, Naveed & Ullah, Zia & AlDhaen, Esra & Han, Heesup & Scholz, Miklas, 2022. "A CSR perspective to foster employee creativity in the banking sector: The role of work engagement and psychological safety," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    16. Sabrina Scheidler & Laura Marie Edinger-Schons & Jelena Spanjol & Jan Wieseke, 2019. "Scrooge Posing as Mother Teresa: How Hypocritical Social Responsibility Strategies Hurt Employees and Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 339-358, June.
    17. Wioleta Kucharska, 2020. "Employee Commitment Matters for CSR Practice, Reputation and Corporate Brand Performance—European Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, January.
    18. Mariam Farooq & Omer Farooq & Walid Cheffi, 2019. "How Do Employees Respond to the CSR Initiatives of their Organizations: Empirical Evidence from Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-14, May.
    19. Qing Miao & Jun Zhou, 2020. "Corporate Hypocrisy and Counterproductive Work Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model of Organizational Identification and Perceived Importance of CSR," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    20. Fuqiang Zhao & Manita Kusi & Yun Chen & Wei Hu & Fawad Ahmed & Dinesh Sukamani, 2021. "Influencing Mechanism of Green Human Resource Management and Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Sustainable Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:2130-:d:330795. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.