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.

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: Dec 19, 2021
• 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.