The Philanthropy Bridge Foundation - Concepts, Ideas and Projects

An overview of the Philanthropy Bridge Foundation

Sleeping with the enemy? : strategic transformations in business - NGO relationships through stakeholder dialogue

Campaigning activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have increased public awareness and concern regarding the alleged unethical and environmentally damaging practices of many major multinational companies. Companies have responded by developing corporate social responsibility strategies to demonstrate their commitment to both the societies within which they function and to the protection of the natural environment. This has often involved a move towards greater transparency in company practice and a desire to engage with stakeholders, often including many of the campaign organisations that have been at the forefront of the criticisms of their activity. This article examines the ways in which stakeholder dialogue has impacted upon the relationships between NGOs and businesses. In doing so, it contributes to the call for more ‘stakeholder-focused’ research in this field (Frooman in Acad Manag Rev 24(2): 191–205, 1999; Steurer in Bus Strategy Environ 15: 15–69 2006). By adopting a stakeholder lens, and focusing more heavily upon the impact on one particular stakeholder community (NGOs) and looking in depth at one form of engagement (stakeholder dialogue), this article examines how experiences of dialogue are strategically transforming interactions between businesses and NGOs. It shows how experiences of stakeholder dialogue have led to transformations in the drivers for engagement, transformations in the processes of engagement and transformations in the terms of engagement. Examining these areas of transformation, the article argues, reveals the interactions at play in framing and shaping the evolving relationships between business and its stakeholders

International ethics and globalization

In the inherently anarchic international system the validity of moral principles is weakening. To overcome anarchy global governance is needed. It means efficient international institutions, but also pressures from the global civil society and the self-regulation of business. Multinational firms have the duty of cooperating in governance systems. They also have the duty of reconciling in their activity the two, equally legitimate claims of universalism and cultural relativism; i.e., applying universal moral principles and respecting local moral norms. Finally, multinationals must be guided by the principle of enhanced responsibility. However, although globalizing efforts are important in overcoming international anarchy and coordinating the protection of global commons, strong arguments support the notion that economic globalization does not promote sustainable development. Some form of localization of the economy is certainly needed. The challenge is to find a way towards more global governance with less economic globalization

2005 Report – International Secretariat Clean Clothes Campaign

The report summarizes the activities of the Clean Clothes Campaign’s International Secretariat for the year of 2005, with a specific focus on the right to organize

Annual Report 2011

This is the first yearly report of the Partnerships Resource Centre (PrC). The Partnerships Resource Centre (PrC) is built up as a flexible learning network around partnerships for sustainable development. This implies that it is at the centre of a (virtual) network of professionals, academics and practitioners around the world that share and collect information on selecting appropriate partnerships and increasing their efficiency, impact and effectiveness.The lead partners of the Resource Centre are directly involved in its strategy formulation and implementation. They also function as most immediate beneficiaries and users of the centre’s knowledge, while at the same time they act as breeding and experimentation ground for new insights

(Re)discovering the social responsibility of business in Germany

Die gesellschaftliche Verantwortung von Unternehmen war in Deutschland lange Zeit kein öffentliches Thema; gleichwohl haben gesellschaftliche Normen, gesetzliche Regelungen und sozialpartnerschaftliche Konfliktregulierung auf eben diese Verantwortung Bezug genommen. In den letzten Jahren haben Unternehmen, auch in Deutschland, begonnen, in Auseinandersetzung mit verschiedenen gesellschaftlichen Gruppen ihre gesellschaftliche Verantwortung - oft angestoßen durch ihre multinationale Geschäftstätigkeit - neu zu interpretieren. Dieser Artikel zeigt Möglichkeiten auf, wie in Deutschland, auf den eigenen Traditionen sozialer Verantwortlichkeit aufbauend, institutionelle Arrangements im Hinblick auf sich wandelnde Aufgaben- und Verantwortungsverteilungen gefunden werden können, um eine bessere Balance von sozialen, ökonomischen und umweltbezogenen Bedürfnissen zu erzielen. -- The concept of CSR is a relatively recent addition to the agenda in Germany, although the country has a long history of practicing corporate social responsibility. The expectations of society had remained stable for many years, encapsulated in laws, societal norms, and industrial relations agreements. But over the past decade, German companies, often triggered by their multinational activities, have had to engage with diverse stakeholders to redefine the nature of their social responsibilities. This contribution reviews and illustrates the development of corporate social responsibility in Germany and analyses how the actors in business and society can build on traditional strengths to find new institutional arrangements for sharing tasks and responsibilities in the interests of achieving a better balance between societal, economic, and environmental needs.

Corporate Social Responsibility on the International Area.Present Developments in Romania and Bulgaria

Corporate Social Responsibility is no longer an object of novelty in literature or the business sector. The practices in this matter have became a new area of activity expansion and a new way that companies use to strengthen their image, consumer appreciation and even employees motivation. The present paper proposes an analyses of the literature, a comparative study and a summary of the international organizations view on the matter.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Theory Development, Country report

Aquafed - another pressure group for private water

An analysis of the new private water lobby group, Aquafed, and the other forms of lobbying and pressure used by the private water companies

CSR Development in Post-Communist Economies: Employees’ expectations towards corporate socially responsible behaviour: The case of Romania

Drawing on stakeholder theory and the evolutionary approach to institutions, this paper investigates the channels through which CSR is developed in post-communist economies by focusing on the employee- background factors that shape the employees’ expectations with regard to corporate socially responsible behaviour. We identify three channels through which exogenous and endogenous CSR are developed: employees with work experience in MNEs (leading to exogenous CSR), employees with CSR knowledge (leading to exogenous CSR) and employees with experience of the socialist system (leading to endogenous CSR). Furthermore, we argue that the interactions between these channels lead to hybrid CSR in transition economies. We use a questionnaire-based survey with employees of domestic and multinational enterprises in Romania and we conduct regression analysis. We find that employees with work experience in MNEs act as channels for exogenous CSR whilst employees with experience of the socialist system act as channels for endogenous CSR. Furthermore, employees with experience of the socialist system and CSR knowledge or work experience in an MNE act as channels for hybrid CSR in transition economies. Based on our results we put forward implications for theory, managers and policy makers