Leveraging business diplomacy

This chapter proposes Business Diplomacy as an effective management approach for MNEs facing the challenge of building a better future post covid-19. MNEs interface with regulations and regulators, social responsibility, environmental stewardship, respect of human rights and need to develop and maintain constructive cooperation with civil society. The authors first map today's business landscape from a normative perspective. An increasing number of international instruments have been created to regulate business operations and to ensure ethical business conduct. Three most mature state-based instruments are presented and discussed in regard to their relevance for the 2030 Agenda. They are the OECD Guidelines for RBC, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning MNEs and Social Policy and UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. The authors then propose innovative approaches based on Business Diplomacy to transform the business paradigm and to make MNEs fit for the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Business diplomacy management can help MNEs leverage new business standards and identify and use market opportunities for innovation in the context of the SDGs (Saner & Yiu, 2009; Yiu & Saner, 2017).