Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T04:15:23.521Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Case for Leverage-Based Corporate Human Rights Responsibility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Stepan Wood
Stepan Wood*
Affiliation:
York University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Should companies’ human rights responsibilities arise, in part, from their “leverage”—their ability to influence others’ actions through their relationships? Special Representative John Ruggie rejected this proposition in the United Nations Framework for business and human rights. I argue that leverage is a source of responsibility where there is a morally significant connection between the company and a rights-holder or rights-violator, the company is able to make a contribution to ameliorating the situation, it can do so at modest cost, and the threat to human rights is substantial. In such circumstances companies have a responsibility to exercise leverage even though they did nothing to contribute to the situation. Such responsibility is qualified, not categorical; graduated, not binary; context-specific; practicable; consistent with the social role of business; and not merely a negative responsibility to avoid harm but a positive responsibility to do good.

Keywords

Corporate responsibilitybusiness and human rightsleveragesphere of influenceJohn Ruggie
Type
Special Issue: Human Rights and Business
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 63 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Archard, D. 2004. “Welfare Rights as Human Rights and the Duties of Organisations,” in Human Rights and the Moral Responsibilities of Corporate and Public Sector Organisations, ed. Campbell, T. and Miller, S., 45–59 (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, D.G. 2009. “The Human Rights Obligations of Multinational Corporations,” in Normative Theory and Business Ethics, ed. Smith, J.D., 61–71 (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefieldd).Google Scholar
Arnold, D.G. 2010. “Transnational Corporations and the Duty to Respect Basic Human Rights,” Business Ethics Quarterly 20 (3: 61–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banerjee, S., Bowie, N. and Pavone, C.. 2006. “An Ethical Analysis of the Trust Relationship,” in BHandbook of Trust Research, ed. Bachmann, R. and Zaheer, A., 303–17 (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar).Google Scholar
Beckmann, M., and Pies, I. 2008. “Ordo-Responsibility: Conceptual Reflections towards a Semantic Innovation,” in Corporate Citizenship, Contractarianism and Ethical Theory: On Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics, ed. Conill, J., Luetge, C., and Schönwälder-Kuntze, T., 87–115 (Farnham, UK: Ashgate).Google Scholar
Bomann-Larsen, L. 2004. “OReconstructing the Principle of Double Effect: Towards Fixing the Goalposts of Corporate Responsibility,” in Responsibility in World Business: Managing Harmful Side-Effects of Corporate Activity, ed. Bomann-Larsen, L. and Wiggen, O., 82–98 (Tokyo: United Nations University Press).Google Scholar
Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights, United Nations Global Compact Office, and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. No Date. “A Guide for Integrating Human Rights into Business Management (2nd ed.): Global Business Case: Supporting Tools“. Available online at http://www.integrating-humanrights.org/global_business_case_sphere_of_influence.>>Google Scholar
Campbell, T. 2004a. “Moral Dimensions of Human Rights,” in Human Rights and the Moral Responsibilities of Corporate and Public Sector Organisations, ed. Campbell, T. and Miller, S., 11–30 (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, T. 2004b. Rights: A Critical Introduction (London: Routledge).Google Scholar
Cragg, W. 2004. “Human Rights, Globalisation and the Modern Shareholder Owned Corporation,” in Human Rights and the Moral Responsibilities of Corporate and Public Sector Organisations, ed. Campbell, T. and Miller, S., 105–27 (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cragg, W. 2010. “Business and Human Rights: A Principle and Value-Based Analysis,” in The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, ed. Beauchamp, G.G. and Miller, T.L., 267–304 (New York: Oxford University Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Schutter, O. 2006. “The Challenge of Imposing Human Rights Norms on Corporate Actors,” in Transnational Corporations and Human Rights, ed. de Schutter, O. and Miller, T.L., 1–39 (Oxford: Hart Publishing).Google Scholar
Dunfee, T. 2006. “Do Firms with Unique Competencies for Rescuing Victims of Human Catastrophes Have Special Obligations? Corporate Responsibility and the AIDS Catastrophe in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Business Ethics Quarterly 16 (2): 185–201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, K. 2007. Ethics and Business: An Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodpaster, K.E. 2010. “Corporate Responsibility and Its Constituents,” in The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics, ed. Brenkert, G.G. and Beauchamp, T.L., 126–57 (New York: Oxford University Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, Y. 2004. “Human Rights: Whose Duties?,” in Human Rights and the Moral Responsibilities of Corporate and Public Sector Organisations, ed. Campbell, T. and Miller, S., 31–43 (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, H.L.A. 1967. “Varieties of Responsibility,” Law Quarterly Review 83: 346–64.Google Scholar
Hart, H.L.A. 2008. Punishment and Responsibility: Essays in the Philosophy of Law, 3rd edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, H.L.A., and Honoré, T. 1985. Causation in the Law, 2nd edition (Oxford: Clarendon Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsieh, N. 2009. “Does Global Business Have a Responsibility to Promote Just Institutions?,” Business Ethics Quarterly 19 (2): 251–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Organization for Standardization. 2009. Draft International Standard ISO/ DIS 26000, Guidance on social responsibility (Geneva: International Organization for StandardizationGoogle Scholar
International Organization for Standardization. 2010. ISO 26000:2010, Guidance on Social Responsibility, 1st edition (Geneva: International Organization for StandardizationGoogle Scholar
International Organization for Standardization. No Date. “ISO/WG SR Participation. Available online at http://www.iso.org/iso/sr_participation.Google Scholar
Kobrin, S.J. 2009. “Private Political Authority and Public Responsibility: Transnational Politics, Transnational Firms and Human Rights,” Business Ethics Quarterly 19 (3): 349–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kutz, C. 2000. Complicity: Ethics and Law for a Collective Age. (Cambride: Cambridge University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moon, J., Crane, A., and Matten, D. 2008. “Corporate Power and Responsibility: A Citizenship Perspective,” in Corporate Citizenship, Contractarianism and Ethical Theory: On Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics, ed. Conill, J., Luetge, C., and Schönwälder-Kuntze, T., 9–27 (Farnham UK: Ashgate).Google Scholar
Moore, M.S. 2009. Causation and Responsibility: An Essay in Law, Morals, and Metaphysics. (Oxford: Oxford University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, C.N., and Yates, J. 2009. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO): Global Governance through Voluntary Consensus. (London: RoutledgeCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nagel, T. 1986. The View From Nowhere. (New York: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
O’Neill, O. 1985. Faces of Hunger. (London: Allen & UnwinGoogle Scholar
O’Neill, O. 1996. owards Justice and Virtue. (Cambridge: Cambridge University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmer, E. 2004. “Real Corporate Responsibility,” in International Corporate Responsibility: Exploring the Issues, ed. Hooker, J. and Madsen, P., 69–83(Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University PressGoogle Scholar
Pies, I., Hielscher, S., and Beckmann, M. 2009. “Moral Commitments and the Societal Role of Business: An Ordonomic Approach to Corporate Citizenship,” Business Ethics Quarterly 19 (3): 372–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruggie, J.G. 2007. “Business and Human Rights: The Evolving International Agenda,” American Journal of International Law 101: 819–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruggie, J.G. 2008. “Protect, Respect and Remedy: A Framework for Business and Human Rights,” Innovations (Spring): 189–212.Google Scholar
Santoro, M. A. 2010. “Post-Westphalia and Its Discontents: Business, Globalization,and Human Rights in Political and Moral Perspective,” Business Ethics Quarterly 20(2: 285–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, A. G., and Palazzo, G.. 2007. “Toward a Political Conception of Corporate Responsibility: Business and Society Seen from a Habermasian Perspective,” Academy of Management Review 32: 1096–1120.–CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, A.G., Palazzo, G., and Matten, D.. 2009. “Introduction to the Special Issue: Globalization as a Challenge for Business Responsibilities,” Business Ethics Quarterly 19(3: 327–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidtz, D. 2000. “The Moral and Legal Limits of Samaritan Duties,” Law and Philosophy 19(6: 683–705.–Google Scholar
Sorell, T. 2004. “Business and HumanRights,” inHuman Rights and the Moral Responsibilities of Corporate and Public Sector Organisations, ed.Campbell, T. and Miller, S.,129–43(Dordrecht: KluwerAcademic Publishers>).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soule, E., Hedahl, M., and Dienhart, J.. 2009.“Principles of Managerial Moral Responsibility,” Business Ethics Quarterly 19(4: 529ߝ52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ulrich, P. 2008. Integrative Economic Ethics: Foundations of a Civilized Market Economy (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations(Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.) 2003. “Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights”(23 August), UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/12/Rev.2.Google Scholar
United Nations(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.) 2005a. “Report of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Related Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights”(15 February), UN Doc. E/CN.4/2005/91.Google Scholar
United Nations(Commission on Human Rights.) 2005b. “Resolution 2005/69, Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises”(15 April), UN Doc. E/CN.4/2005/L.87.Google Scholar
United Nations(Special Representative of the Secretary General on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie.) 2006. “Interim Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises”(22 February), UN Doc. E/CN.4/2006/97.Google Scholar
United Nations(Special Representative of the Secretary General on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie.) 2007. “Business and Human Rights: Mapping International Standardsof Responsibility and Accountability for Corporate Acts: Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and OtherBusiness Enterprises”(19 February), UN Doc. A/HRC/4/35.Google Scholar
United Nations(Special Representative of the Secretary General on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie.) 2008a. “Clarifying the Concepts of ‘Sphere of Influence’ and ‘Complicity:’ Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises”(15 May), UN Doc. A/HRC/8/16.Google Scholar
United Nations(Special Representative of the Secretary General on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie.) 2008b. “Protect, Respect and Remedy: A Framework for Business andHuman Rights. Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises”(7 April), A/HRC/8/5.Google Scholar
United Nations(HumanRights Council.) 2008c. “Resolution 8/7, Mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises”(18 June), (28th meeting; adopted without a vote).Google Scholar
United Nations(Special Representative of the Secretary General on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie.) 2009. “Note on ISO 26000 Guidance Draft Document”(November 2010). Available online athttp://www.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/ruggie-note-re-iso-26000-nov-2009.pdf.Google Scholar
United Nations(Special Representative of the Secretary General on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie.) 2010. “Business and Human Rights: Further Steps toward the Operationalization of the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises” (9 April), UN Doc. A/HRC/14/27.Google Scholar
United Nations 2011a. “Council Establishes Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises” (media release) (Geneva: United Nations Human Rights Council).Google Scholar
United Nations(Special Representative of the Secretary General on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie.) 2011b. “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. Report of the Special Representativeof the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises”(advance edited version) (21 March), UN Doc. A/HRC/17/31.Google Scholar
United Nations Global Compact Office. No Date. “The Ten Principles.” Available online athttp://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html.Google Scholar
Voiculescu, A. 2007. “Changing Paradigmsof Corporate Criminal Responsibility: Lessons for Corporate Social Responsibility,” in The New Corporate Accountability: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law, ed. McBarnet, D., Voiculescu, A., and Campbell, T., 399–430–(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Weissbrodt, D. 2008. “International Standard-Setting on the Human Rights Responsibilities of Businesses,” Berkeley Journal of International Law 26: 373–91.Google Scholar
Weissbrodt, D., and Kruger, M.. 2003. “Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights,” American Journal of International Law 97(4): 901–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wettstein, F., 2010a. “Breaking the Silence: When Corporations Must Speak Out For Human Rights,” paper presented at CBERN Symposium on Business and Human Rights, Toronto (February).Google Scholar
Wettstein, 2010b. “The Duty to Protect: Corporate Complicity, Political Responsibility, and Human Rights Advocacy,” Journal ofBusiness Ethics, 96(1): 33–47.–CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wettstein, 2010c. “For Better or For Worse: Corporate Responsibility Beyond ‘Do No Harm,” Business Ethics Quarterly 20(2): 275–83.–CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wettstein, 2012. “Silence as Complicity: Elements of a Corporate Duty to Speak Out Against the Violation of Human Rights,” Business Ethics Quarterly 20(2): 37–61.–CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiggen, O., and Bomann-Larsen, L.. 2004. “Addressing Side-Effect Harm in the Business Context: Conceptual and Practical Challenges,” inResponsibility in World Business: Managing Harmful Side-Effects of Corporate Activity, ed.Bomann-Larsen, L.Wiggen, O.3–13–(Tokyo:United Nations University Press).Google Scholar
Windsor, D. 2001. “Corporate Citizenship: Evolution and Interpretation,” inin Perspectives on Corporate Citizenship, ed.Andriof, J. and McIntosh, M., 39–52–(Sheffield, UK:Greenleaf).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, S. 2011a. “Four Varieties of Social Responsibility: Making Sense of the ‘Sphere of Influence’ and ‘Leverage’ Debate via the Caseof ISO 26000,” Osgoode Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy ResearchPaper No. 14/2011(Toronto:Osgoode Hall Law School). Available online athttp://ssrn.com/abstract=1777505.Google Scholar
Wood, S. 2011b. “Sphere of Influence’in ISO 26000,” in Understanding ISO 26000: A Practical Approach toSocial Responsibility, ed. Henriques, A., 115–30 (London: British Standards Institution).Google Scholar
Young, I. M. 2004. “Responsibility andGlobal Labor Justice.” in Journal of Political Philosophy, 12 4: 365–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar