How global are global codes of business conduct? The case of the UN global compact and its local network

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to contribute to research on global initiatives for environmental, social, and ethical responsibility in business activities and their local embeddedness. Taking the example of the United Nations Global Compact and its local networks in Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the United States, the article discusses the relevance of dichotomous theoretical frameworks such as explicit/implicit CSR and its affinity with the VoC approach. Through a methodology of qualitative analysis of data collected from the websites of the various local networks, the article shows the way in which the dissemination of the UNGC by its local networks is contributing to the emergence of differentiated hybrids, reflecting the diversity of national institutional arrangements of CSR and that of the underlying models of capitalism defined by regulation theory. One of the paper’s main conclusions is that the uniform and globalising character of the UNGC has not erased the national differences present in the local UNGC networks.