IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/reggov/v16y2022i1p309-326.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Which firms leave multi‐stakeholder initiatives? An analysis of delistings from the United Nations Global Compact

Author

Listed:
  • Andreas Rasche
  • Wencke Gwozdz
  • Mathias Lund Larsen
  • Jeremy Moon

Abstract

This study analyzes which firms leave multi‐stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) for corporate social responsibility. Based on an analysis of all active and delisted business participants from the United Nations Global Compact between 2000 and 2015 (n = 15,853), we find that small and medium‐sized enterprises are more likely to leave than larger and publicly traded firms; that early adopters are less likely to leave than late adopters; and that the presence of a local network in a country reduces the likelihood of leaving. Based on these findings, we discuss theoretical implications related to MSIs' output legitimacy, the nature of organizational platforms supporting norm entrepreneurs within MSIs, and the occurrence of legitimacy spillover effects in local networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Rasche & Wencke Gwozdz & Mathias Lund Larsen & Jeremy Moon, 2022. "Which firms leave multi‐stakeholder initiatives? An analysis of delistings from the United Nations Global Compact," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 309-326, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:16:y:2022:i:1:p:309-326
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12322
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12322
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/rego.12322?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Bakker, Frank G.A. & Rasche, Andreas & Ponte, Stefano, 2019. "Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on Sustainability: A Cross-Disciplinary Review and Research Agenda for Business Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(3), pages 343-383, July.
    2. Stephen Brammer & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Voluntary Environmental Disclosures by Large UK Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7-8), pages 1168-1188.
    3. Stephen Brammer & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Voluntary Environmental Disclosures by Large UK Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7‐8), pages 1168-1188, September.
    4. Dana Brown & Steen Knudsen Jette, 2012. "Managing corporate responsibility globally and locally : Lessons from a CR leader," Post-Print hal-02312983, HAL.
    5. Yung-Ming Shiu & Shou-Lin Yang, 2017. "Does engagement in corporate social responsibility provide strategic insurance-like effects?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 455-470, February.
    6. Benno Torgler, 2008. "Trust in international organizations: An empirical investigation focusing on the United Nations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 65-93, March.
    7. Christine Overdevest & Jonathan Zeitlin, 2014. "Assembling an experimentalist regime: Transnational governance interactions in the forest sector," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 22-48, March.
    8. S. Sethi & Donald Schepers, 2014. "United Nations Global Compact: The Promise–Performance Gap," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 193-208, June.
    9. Finnemore, Martha & Sikkink, Kathryn, 1998. "International Norm Dynamics and Political Change," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 887-917, October.
    10. Lars H. Gulbrandsen, 2014. "Dynamic governance interactions: Evolutionary effects of state responses to non‐state certification programs," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 74-92, March.
    11. Scharpf, Fritz Wilhelm, 2009. "Legitimacy in the multilevel European polity," MPIfG Working Paper 09/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    12. Kenneth W. Abbott & David Levi-faur & Duncan Snidal, 2017. "Theorizing Regulatory Intermediaries," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 670(1), pages 14-35, March.
    13. Abdelzaher, Dina & Fernandez, Whitney Douglas & Schneper, William D., 2019. "Legal rights, national culture and social networks: Exploring the uneven adoption of United Nations Global Compact," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 12-24.
    14. Patrick Haack & Michael D. Pfarrer & Andreas Georg Scherer, 2014. "Legitimacy-as-Feeling: How Affect Leads to Vertical Legitimacy Spillovers in Transnational Governance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 634-666, June.
    15. Brown, Dana & Knudsen, Jette Steen, 2012. "Managing corporate responsibility globally and locally: Lessons from a CR leader," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 1-29, October.
    16. Jette Knudsen, 2011. "Company Delistings from the UN Global Compact: Limited Business Demand or Domestic Governance Failure?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 331-349, October.
    17. Daniel Berliner & Aseem Prakash, 2014. "The United Nations Global Compact: An Institutionalist Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 217-223, June.
    18. Manning, Stephan & von Hagen, Oliver, 2010. "Linking local experiments to global standards: How project networks promote global institution-building," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 398-416, December.
    19. Christopher Kaan & Andrea Liese, 2011. "Public private partnerships in global food governance: business engagement and legitimacy in the global fight against hunger and malnutrition," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(3), pages 385-399, September.
    20. March, James G. & Olsen, Johan P., 1998. "The Institutional Dynamics of International Political Orders," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 943-969, October.
    21. Parthiban David & Matt Bloom & Amy J. Hillman, 2007. "Investor activism, managerial responsiveness, and corporate social performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 91-100, January.
    22. Rasche, Andreas, 2012. "Global Policies and Local Practice: Loose and Tight Couplings in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(4), pages 679-708, October.
    23. Gilbert, Dirk Ulrich & Rasche, Andreas & Waddock, Sandra, 2011. "Accountability in a Global Economy: The Emergence of International Accountability Standards," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(1), pages 23-44, January.
    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. Bargstädt, Dorothee, 2017. "Freiwillige Selbstverpflichtung von Unternehmen in Antikorruptionsinitiativen: Der Einfluss des nationalen Kontextes auf internationales Engagement am Beispiel chinesischer und indischer Unternehmen," PIPE - Papers on International Political Economy 28/2017, Free University Berlin, Center for International Political Economy.
    2. Roger Leonard Burritt & Katherine Leanne Christ & Hussain Gulzar Rammal & Stefan Schaltegger, 2020. "Multinational Enterprise Strategies for Addressing Sustainability: the Need for Consolidation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 389-410, June.
    3. Christian Voegtlin & Nicola Pless, 2014. "Global Governance: CSR and the Role of the UN Global Compact," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 179-191, June.
    4. Heloïse Berkowitz & Marcelo Bucheli & Hervé Dumez, 2017. "Collectively Designing CSR Through Meta-Organizations: A Case Study of the Oil and Gas Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 753-769, July.
    5. Damian Bäumlisberger, 2019. "The United Nations Global Compact as a Facilitator of the Lockean Social Contract," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 187-200, September.
    6. Ismail N.B. & Sébastien Alcouffe & Galy N & Ceulemans K, 2020. "The impact of international sustainability initiatives on Life Cycle Assessment voluntary disclosures: The case of France’s CAC40 listed companies," Post-Print hal-03082800, HAL.
    7. Erin Leitheiser, 2021. "How domestic contexts shape international private governance: The case of the European Accord and American Alliance in Bangladesh," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 1286-1303, October.
    8. Jennifer Martínez-Ferrero & Mehmet Eryilmaz & Nese Colakoglu, 2020. "How Does Board Gender Diversity Influence the Likelihood of Becoming a UN Global Compact Signatory? The Mediating Effect of the CSR Committee," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    9. Christian Voegtlin & Andreas Georg Scherer, 2017. "Responsible Innovation and the Innovation of Responsibility: Governing Sustainable Development in a Globalized World," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 227-243, June.
    10. Jill A. Brown & Cynthia Clark & Anthony F. Buono, 2018. "The United Nations Global Compact: Engaging Implicit and Explicit CSR for Global Governance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(4), pages 721-734, February.
    11. Rumeng Cui & Zhong Ma & Longfeng Wang, 2022. "Allocation of Decision Rights and CSR Disclosure: Evidence from Listed Business Groups in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-20, March.
    12. Katia Furlotti & Tatiana Mazza & Veronica Tibiletti & Silvia Triani, 2019. "Women in top positions on boards of directors: Gender policies disclosed in Italian sustainability reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 57-70, January.
    13. Ishmael Tingbani & Lyton Chithambo & Venancio Tauringana & Nikolaos Papanikolaou, 2020. "Board gender diversity, environmental committee and greenhouse gas voluntary disclosures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2194-2210, September.
    14. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1027-1047, September.
    15. Rafia Afrin & Ni Peng & Frances Bowen, 2022. "The Wealth Effect of Corporate Water Actions: How Past Corporate Responsibility and Irresponsibility Influence Stock Market Reactions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 105-124, September.
    16. Charles H. Cho & Jonathan Maurice & Emmanuelle Nègre & Marie-Anne Verdier, 2016. "Is environmental disclosure good for the environment? A meta-analysis and research agenda," Post-Print halshs-01369422, HAL.
    17. Shiyu Wu & Xinyi Li & Xiaosen Du & Zexin Li, 2022. "The Impact of ESG Performance on Firm Value: The Moderating Role of Ownership Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, November.
    18. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    19. Patricia Crifo & Elena Escrig-Olmedo & Nicolas Mottis, 2019. "Corporate Governance as a Key Driver of Corporate Sustainability in France: The Role of Board Members and Investor Relations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1127-1146, November.
    20. Mihai Carp & Leontina Păvăloaia & Mihai-Bogdan Afrăsinei & Iuliana Eugenia Georgescu, 2019. "Is Sustainability Reporting a Business Strategy for Firm’s Growth? Empirical Study on the Romanian Capital Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:reggov:v:16:y:2022:i:1:p:309-326. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1748-5991 .

    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.