IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v13y2020i3p41-d326065.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mainstreaming Global Sustainable Development Goals through the UN Global Compact: The Case of Visegrad Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Štěpánka Zemanová

    (Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics, Prague, Winston Churchill sq. 4, 13067 Prague 3, Czech Republic)

  • Radka Druláková

    (Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics, Prague, Winston Churchill sq. 4, 13067 Prague 3, Czech Republic)

Abstract

Since 2016, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), one of the most prominent worldwide corporate social responsibility and sustainability initiatives, has been linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, despite the enormous scholarly interest in the UNGC since the very beginning, its impact on the integration of the SDGs into the business activities, risk management and reporting of its participants remains understudied. This paper examines support and action for the SDGs among companies from the Visegrad Four (V4) countries. It attempts to find out whether the recent UNGC efforts result in their mobilisation towards the SDGs’ implementation or merely creates a new space for instrumental adoption to improve image and reputation. The paper adopts qualitative content analysis of 42 Communications of Progress (COPs), submitted by 25 companies from the V4 in 2017–2019. The related self-assessments in the UNGC Participation Database were also used. It reveals that the companies obviously fulfil their obligation to report their activities related to SDGs but fail to provide relevant details. Moreover, divergences between the challenges faced by V4 countries and the priorities of the companies related to individual SDGs are also identified. This raises serious concerns about the UNGC’s practical effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Štěpánka Zemanová & Radka Druláková, 2020. "Mainstreaming Global Sustainable Development Goals through the UN Global Compact: The Case of Visegrad Countries," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-10, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:13:y:2020:i:3:p:41-:d:326065
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/13/3/41/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/13/3/41/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Carlos Fortin & Richard Jolly, 2015. "The United Nations and Business: Towards New Modes of Global Governance?," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(3), pages 45-58, May.
    3. Dewi Hanggraeni & Beata Ślusarczyk & Liyu Adhi Kasari Sulung & Athor Subroto, 2019. "The Impact of Internal, External and Enterprise Risk Management on the Performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Dima Jamali & Ramez Mirshak, 2007. "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and Practice in a Developing Country Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 243-262, May.
    5. Waris Ali & Jedrzej George Frynas, 2018. "The Role of Normative CSR‐Promoting Institutions in Stimulating CSR Disclosures in Developing Countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 373-390, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Steurer, Reinhard & Konrad, Astrid, 2009. "Business-society relations in Central-Eastern and Western Europe: How those who lead in sustainability reporting bridge the gap in corporate (social) responsibility," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 23-36, March.
    8. Stefan Schaltegger & Marcus Wagner, 2006. "Integrative management of sustainability performance, measurement and reporting," International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(1), pages 1-19.
    9. 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.
    10. Silvia Ayuso & Mercè Roca & Jorge A. Arevalo & Deepa Aravind, 2016. "What Determines Principle-Based Standards Implementation? Reporting on Global Compact Adoption in Spanish Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(3), pages 553-565, February.
    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. Adriana Grenčíková & Marcel Kordoš & Vladislav Berkovič, 2020. "The Impact of Industry 4.0 on Jobs Creation within the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Family Businesses in Slovakia," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-20, September.
    2. Adriana Grenčíková & Valentinas Navickas & Marcel Kordoš & Matej Húževka, 2021. "Slovak business environment development under the industry 4.0 and global pandemic outbreak issues," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 8(4), pages 164-179, June.

    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. 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.
    2. Mohammed Mispah Said Omar & Abdelghani Echchabi & Abdullah Mohammed Ayedh & Salim Al-Hajri, 2021. "Determinants of Social and Environmental Reporting Practices Disclosure in Libyan Oil and Gas Industry: A Managerial Perspective," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 504-510.
    3. Petya Koleva & Maureen Meadows, 2021. "Inherited Scepticism and Neo-communist CSR-washing: Evidence from a Post-communist Society," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(4), pages 783-804, December.
    4. Shoukohyar, Sajjad & Seddigh, Mohammad Reza, 2020. "Uncovering the dark and bright sides of implementing collaborative forecasting throughout sustainable supply chains: An exploratory approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    5. Sohail Ahmad Javeed & Lin Lefen, 2019. "An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance with Moderating Effects of CEO Power and Ownership Structure: A Case Study of the Manufacturing Sector of Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, January.
    6. Sapanna Laysiriroj & Walter Wehrmeyer, 2020. "Intergenerational differences of CSR activities in family-run businesses in eastern Thailand," Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Jonathan P. Doh & Lorraine Eden & Anne S. Tsui & Srilata Zaheer, 2023. "Developing international business scholarship for global societal impact," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(5), pages 757-767, July.
    8. Muhammad Khalid Anser & Zahid Yousaf & Abdul Majid & Muhammad Yasir, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility commitment and participation predict environmental and social performance?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2578-2587, November.
    9. Satyajit Majumdar & Gordhan K. Saini, 2016. "CSR in India: Critical Review and Exploring Entrepreneurial Opportunities," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 2(1), pages 56-79, January.
    10. Magdalena Raftowicz & Bertrand le Gallic & Magdalena Kalisiak-Mędelska & Krzysztof Rutkiewicz & Emilia Konopska-Struś, 2021. "Effectiveness of Public Aid for Inland Aquaculture in Poland—The Relevance of Traditional Performance Ratios," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, May.
    11. Castilla-Polo, Francisca & Sánchez-Hernández, María Isabel & Gallardo-Vázquez, Dolores & Ruiz Rodríguez, María del Consuelo, 2016. "Diseño de un modelo de reputación para cooperativas oleícolas," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 154-167.
    12. Juelin Yin & Yuli Zhang, 2012. "Institutional Dynamics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in an Emerging Country Context: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 301-316, December.
    13. Mădălina Dumitru & Justyna Dyduch & Raluca-Gina Gușe & Joanna Krasodomska, 2017. "Corporate Reporting Practices in Poland and Romania – An Ex-ante Study to the New Non-financial Reporting European Directive," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 279-304, September.
    14. Bert Scholtens & Feng‐Ching Kang, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management: Evidence from Asian Economies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), pages 95-112, March.
    15. Elasrag, Hussein, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility in Islam," MPRA Paper 63670, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Reinhard Steurer & Andre Martinuzzi & Sharon Margula, 2012. "Public Policies on CSR in Europe: Themes, Instruments, and Regional Differences," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 206-227, July.
    17. Muddassar Sarfraz & Syed G. M. Shah & Zeeshan Fareed & Farrukh Shahzad, 2020. "Demonstrating the interconnection of hierarchical order disturbances in CEO succession with corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2956-2971, November.
    18. Zhi-Jiang Liu & Vera Snezhko & Anastasia Kurilova, 2022. "International legal instruments for stimulating green building and construction business: Russian case study," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 157-175, March.
    19. Phan Van Thanh & Szilárd Podruzsik, 2018. "CSR in Developing Countries: Case Study in Vietnam," Management, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 13(4), pages 287-300.
    20. Min-Dong Lee, 2011. "Configuration of External Influences: The Combined Effects of Institutions and Stakeholders on Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 281-298, 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:jjrfmx:v:13:y:2020:i:3:p:41-:d:326065. 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.