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Multinational corporations and human rights violations in emerging economies: Does commitment to social and environmental responsibility matter?

Ullah, Subhan; Adams, K.; Adams, D.; Attah-Boakye, R.

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Authors

SUBHAN ULLAH SUBHAN.ULLAH@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Associate Professor in Accounting

K. Adams

D. Adams

R. Attah-Boakye



Abstract

With the surge in economic growth in the global-north visa -vis social and economic inequalities in the global-south (north-south dichotomy), there is an increasing requirement for critical research and an examination of the policy implications with respect to human rights in emerging economies. This paper draws on the concept of convergence and institutional theories to enhance our understanding of how multinational corporations (MNCs) fulfil their profit maximisation agendas using capitalist principles; and the extent to which these ideologies produce human rights violations in emerging economies. Using multiple data sources from the Human Rights Watch, our study provides a comprehensive list of various human rights violations perpetrated by MNCs from 2002-2017. We verified 273 violations by 160 MNCs mostly from developed countries. More than 90% of our sample firms have CSR/sustainability committees, are signatories to the UN Global Compact and have reported compliance with the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This raises questions about the effectiveness of these programmes for CSR compliance. We contribute to the CSR/sustainability literature by providing new insights into the nature and location of human rights violations committed by MNCs.

Citation

Ullah, S., Adams, K., Adams, D., & Attah-Boakye, R. (2021). Multinational corporations and human rights violations in emerging economies: Does commitment to social and environmental responsibility matter?. Journal of Environmental Management, 280, Article 111689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111689

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 18, 2020
Online Publication Date Dec 18, 2020
Publication Date 2021-02
Deposit Date Nov 25, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Environmental Management
Print ISSN 0301-4797
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 280
Article Number 111689
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111689
Keywords Multinational corporations; human rights violations; poverty and inequalities; emerging economies
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5070013
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479720316145?via%3Dihub
Additional Information This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Multinational corporations and human rights violations in emerging economies: Does commitment to social and environmental responsibility matter?; Journal Title: Journal of Environmental Management; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111689; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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