IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v109y2012i3p289-299.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Business Policies on Human Rights: An Analysis of Their Content and Prevalence Among FTSE 100 Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Lutz Preuss
  • Donna Brown

Abstract

The new millennium has witnessed a growing concern over the impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on human rights. Hence, this article explores (1) how wide-spread corporate policies on human rights are amongst large corporations, specifically the FTSE 100 constituent firms, (2) whether any sectors are particularly active in designing human rights policies and (3) where corporations have adopted such policies what their content is. In terms of adoption rates of human rights policies, evidence of exemplary approaches in individual companies contrasts with a less satisfactory engagement pattern across the sample, as 42.8% of firms do not seem to address human rights at all. With regard to the content of corporate human rights policies, the study found shallow commitments to dominate, where companies focus on a narrow range of negative rights, i.e. on respecting human rights, rather than positive ones, i.e. initiatives to protect or fulfil human rights. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Lutz Preuss & Donna Brown, 2012. "Business Policies on Human Rights: An Analysis of Their Content and Prevalence Among FTSE 100 Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(3), pages 289-299, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:109:y:2012:i:3:p:289-299
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-011-1127-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-011-1127-z
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-011-1127-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ennio Lugli & Ulpiana Kocollari & Chiara Nigrisoli, 2009. "The Codes of Ethics of S&P/MIB Italian Companies: An Investigation of Their Contents and the Main Factors that Influence Their Adoption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 33-45, January.
    2. Laurence S. Moss, 2003. "Editor's Introduction," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 315-318, April.
    3. Lutz Preuss, 2010. "Codes of Conduct in Organisational Context: From Cascade to Lattice-Work of Codes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(4), pages 471-487, July.
    4. Cassel, Douglass, 2001. "Human Rights and Business Responsibilities in the Global Marketplace," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 261-274, April.
    5. Oecd, 2001. "Codes of Corporate Conduct: Expanded Review of their Contents," OECD Working Papers on International Investment 2001/6, OECD Publishing.
    6. Florian Wettstein, 2010. "The Duty to Protect: Corporate Complicity, Political Responsibility, and Human Rights Advocacy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 33-47, September.
    7. Kolk, Ans & Van Tulder, Rob, 2004. "Ethics in international business: multinational approaches to child labor," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 49-60, February.
    8. Patrick Erwin, 2011. "Corporate Codes of Conduct: The Effects of Code Content and Quality on Ethical Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(4), pages 535-548, April.
    9. repec:bla:ajecsc:v:62:y:2003:i:4:p:645-648 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sadaat Ali Yawar & Stefan Seuring, 2017. "Management of Social Issues in Supply Chains: A Literature Review Exploring Social Issues, Actions and Performance Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 621-643, March.
    2. Matthew Amengual & Rita Mota & Alexander Rustler, 2023. "The ‘Court of Public Opinion:’ Public Perceptions of Business Involvement in Human Rights Violations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(1), pages 49-74, June.
    3. Rachel N. Birkey & Ronald P. Guidry & Mohammad Azizul Islam & Dennis M. Patten, 2018. "Mandated Social Disclosure: An Analysis of the Response to the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 827-841, October.
    4. Abul Kalam Azad, 2014. "How to Spot Business Ethics?," International Journal of Management Sciences, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 3(8), pages 544-547.
    5. Edmund Byrne, 2014. "Towards Enforceable Bans on Illicit Businesses: From Moral Relativism to Human Rights," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 119-130, January.
    6. Ana Čertanec, 2019. "The Connection between Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Respect for Human Rights," DANUBE: Law and Economics Review, European Association Comenius - EACO, issue 2, pages 103-127, June.
    7. John E. Katsos & Yass AlKafaji, 2019. "Business in War Zones: How Companies Promote Peace in Iraq," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 41-56, March.
    8. Lopatta, Kerstin & Tideman, Sebastian A. & Scheil, Carolin & Makarem, Naser, 2023. "The current state of corporate human rights disclosure of the global top 500 business enterprises: Measurement and determinants," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    9. Kumar, D. Thresh & Palaniappan, Murugesan & Kannan, Devika & Shankar, K. Madan, 2014. "Analyzing the CSR issues behind the supplier selection process using ISM approach," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 268-278.
    10. Wettstein, Florian & Giuliani, Elisa & Santangelo, Grazia D. & Stahl, Günter K., 2019. "International business and human rights: A research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 54-65.
    11. Frank Hubers & Thomas Thijssens, 2023. "Protect, respect, remedy, and report? Development of human rights reporting in the context of formal institutional settings," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 2783-2798, November.

    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. Maira Babri & Bruce Davidson & Sven Helin, 2021. "An Updated Inquiry into the Study of Corporate Codes of Ethics: 2005–2016," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 71-108, January.
    2. Lauren Kleynjans & Marek Hudon, 2016. "A Study of Codes of Ethics for Mexican Microfinance Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 397-412, March.
    3. Giovanni Garegnani & Emilia Merlotti & Angeloantonio Russo, 2015. "Scoring Firms’ Codes of Ethics: An Explorative Study of Quality Drivers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(4), pages 541-557, February.
    4. Rogerson, Michael & Scarpa, Francesco & Snelson-Powell, Annie, 2024. "Accounting for human rights: Evidence of due diligence in EU-listed firms’ reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Luciano Ciravegna & Federica Nieri, 2022. "Business and Human Rights: A Configurational View of the Antecedents of Human Rights Infringements by Emerging Market Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 431-450, August.
    6. Lutz Preuss, 2012. "Responsibility in Paradise? The Adoption of CSR Tools by Companies Domiciled in Tax Havens," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 1-14, September.
    7. Els Waegeneer & Jeroen Sompele & Annick Willem, 2016. "Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations: Classification Framework, Content Analysis, and the Influence of Content on Code Effectiveness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 587-598, July.
    8. Virginia Bodolica & Martin Spraggon, 2015. "An Examination into the Disclosure, Structure, and Contents of Ethical Codes in Publicly Listed Acquiring Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 459-472, February.
    9. Vitolla, Filippo & Raimo, Nicola & Rubino, Michele & Garegnani, Giovanni Maria, 2021. "Do cultural differences impact ethical issues? Exploring the relationship between national culture and quality of code of ethics," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    10. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Dieleman, Marleen & Hirsch, Paul & Rodrigues, Suzana B. & Zyglidopoulos, Stelios, 2021. "Multinationals’ misbehavior," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).
    11. Mia Mahmudur Rahim, 2017. "Improving Social Responsibility in RMG Industries Through a New Governance Approach in Laws," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 807-826, July.
    12. Barkemeyer, Ralf & Preuss, Lutz & Ohana, Marc, 2018. "Developing country firms and the challenge of corruption: Do company commitments mirror the quality of national-level institutions?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 26-39.
    13. Teman, Elly, 2008. "The social construction of surrogacy research: An anthropological critique of the psychosocial scholarship on surrogate motherhood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(7), pages 1104-1112, October.
    14. Espinosa, Cristina, 2013. "The riddle of leaving the oil in the soil—Ecuador's Yasuní-ITT project from a discourse perspective," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 27-36.
    15. M. Tina Dacin & Jeffrey S. Harrison & David Hess & Sheila Killian & Julia Roloff, 2022. "Business Versus Ethics? Thoughts on the Future of Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(3), pages 863-877, October.
    16. Kourula, Arno, 2010. "Corporate engagement with non-governmental organizations in different institutional contexts--A case study of a forest products company," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 395-404, October.
    17. Ans Kolk, 2012. "Towards a Sustainable Coffee Market: Paradoxes Faced by a Multinational Company," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(2), pages 79-89, March.
    18. Fernández-García, Purificación & López-Bellido, Luis & Muñoz-Romero, Verónica & López-Bellido, Rafael J., 2013. "Chickpea water use efficiency as affected by tillage in rainfed Mediterranean conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 194-199.
    19. Jana Kozáková & Mária Urbánová & Radovan Savov, 2021. "Factors Influencing the Extent of the Ethical Codes: Evidence from Slovakia," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, January.
    20. Biedma Ferrer, José María & López Fernández, Macarena & Romero Fernández, Pedro M., 2017. "The collective labour agreement as a key tool for driving corporate social responsibility: banking sector analysis," Cuadernos de Gestión, Universidad del País Vasco - Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa (IEAE).

    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:kap:jbuset:v:109:y:2012:i:3:p:289-299. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.