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Multinationals as global institution: Power, authority and relative autonomy

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  • John Gerard Ruggie

Abstract

This article aims to inform the long‐standing and unresolved debate between voluntary corporate social responsibility and initiatives to impose binding legal obligations on multinational enterprises. The two approaches share a common feature: neither can fully specify its own scope conditions, that is, how much of the people and planet agenda either can expect to deliver. The reason they share this feature is also the same: neither is based on a foundational political analysis of the multinational enterprise in the context of global governance. Such an analysis is essential for providing background to and perspective on what either approach can hope to achieve, and how. This article begins to bridge the gap by illustrating aspects of the political power, authority, and relative autonomy of the contemporary multinational enterprise. The conclusion spells out some implications for the debate itself, and for further research.

Suggested Citation

  • John Gerard Ruggie, 2018. "Multinationals as global institution: Power, authority and relative autonomy," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 317-333, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:12:y:2018:i:3:p:317-333
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12154
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    Cited by:

    1. Scheper, Christian, 2022. "Multiplicity, the Corporation and Human Rights in Global Value Chains," SocArXiv 7azhk, Center for Open Science.
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    4. GUÉNIN--CARLUT, Avel, 2024. "Is the ecological redirection possible? An ALife perspective on sociocultural evolution in the Anthropocene," OSF Preprints bcyku, Center for Open Science.
    5. Vlaskamp, Martijn C., 2024. "Exploring public support for extraterritorial jurisdiction over natural resource extraction: Survey insights from the United States," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    6. Anna-Lena Maier & Dirk Ulrich Gilbert, 2023. "Deliberating with the Autocrats? A Case Study on the Limitations and Potential of Political CSR in a Non-Democratic Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 11-32, April.
    7. Maria‐Therese Gustafsson & Almut Schilling‐Vacaflor & Andrea Lenschow, 2023. "Foreign corporate accountability: The contested institutionalization of mandatory due diligence in France and Germany," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 891-908, October.
    8. Elin Jönsson, 2023. "Struggles for Regulatory Hardening: Exploring Swedish Politics on Corporate Social Responsibility," The British Journal of Criminology, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, vol. 63(5), pages 1184-1198.
    9. Elbra, Ainsley, 2024. "Arc of avoidance: An analytical framework for analysing mining companies’ actions in the global South," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    10. Yu Zheng & Chris Smith, 2025. "Mobility power and society: Managing migrant workers among Chinese multinational companies in Europe," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 31(2), pages 209-231, June.
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    12. Maria‐Therese Gustafsson & Almut Schilling‐Vacaflor & Andrea Lenschow, 2023. "The politics of supply chain regulations: Towards foreign corporate accountability in the area of human rights and the environment?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 853-869, October.
    13. Stephanie BARRIENTOS & Lara BIANCHI & Cindy BERMAN, 2019. "Gender and governance of global value chains: Promoting the rights of women workers," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 158(4), pages 729-752, December.
    14. Mairon G. Bastos Lima & Almut Schilling‐Vacaflor, 2024. "Supply chain divergence challenges a ‘Brussels effect’ from Europe's human rights and environmental due diligence laws," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(2), pages 260-275, May.
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    16. Simon Hartmann & Thomas Lindner & Jakob Müllner & Jonas Puck, 2022. "Beyond the nation-state: Anchoring supranational institutions in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1282-1306, August.
    17. Tan, Ruipeng & Zhu, Wenjun & Xu, Mengmeng & Zhang, Zixuan, 2025. "From voluntary to mandatory implementation: The impact of green credit policy on de-zombification in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    18. Rasmus Corlin Christensen & Leonard Seabrooke & Duncan Wigan, 2022. "Professional action in global wealth chains," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 705-721, July.
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    20. Krishnamurthy Baskar Keerthana & Shih‐Wei Wu & Thangavelu Kokulnathan & Mu‐En Wu, 2024. "The synergistic effect of green innovation and governance in carbon neutrality: Insights from Japanese companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8055-8066, December.
    21. Almut Schilling‐Vacaflor & Andrea Lenschow, 2023. "Hardening foreign corporate accountability through mandatory due diligence in the European Union? New trends and persisting challenges," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 677-693, July.

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