The Handbook of Global Companies

The Handbook of Global Companies brings together original research addressing the latest theories and empirical analysis surrounding the role of global companies in local, national, and international governance.

• Offers new insights into the role of global companies in relation to policy and governance at local, national, and international levels
• Brings together newly-commissioned research by a global team of established and up-and-coming scholars from the fields of international relations, political science, public policy, and beyond
• Considers the environmental and societal responsibilities of global corporations.
• Covers topics including the spatial locations of global companies; debate about the power they wield and their role as catalysts in new forms of governance; and the ways in which global companies share authority with the state and international organizations to drive policy processes
• Speculates on the broader potential and limitations of global governance

List of Illustrations xi

Notes on Contributors xiii

Preface xxi

1 Global Companies as Actors in Global Policy and Governance 1
John Mikler

Part I Locating Global Companies 17

2 The Global Company 19
Hinrich Voss

3 The National Identity of Global Companies 35
Stephen Wilks

4 Big Business in the BRICs 53
Andrea Goldstein

Part II Global Companies and Power 75

5 Theorizing the Power of Global Companies 77
Doris Fuchs

6 Why, When, and How Global Companies Get Organized 96
Tony Porter and Sherri Brown

7 How Governments Mediate the Structural Power of International Business 113
Stephen Bell

8 How Global Companies Wield Their Power: The Discursive Shaping of Sustainable Development 134
Nina Kolleck

Part III Global Companies and the State 153

9 How Global Companies Make National Regulations 155
Terry O’Callaghan and Vlado Vivoda

10 Making Government More “Business-Like”: Management Consultants as Agents of Isomorphism in Modern Political Economies 173
Denis Saint-Martin

11 East Asian Development States and Global Companies as Partners of Techno-Industrial Competitiveness 193
Sung-Young Kim

12 Varieties of the Regulatory State and Global Companies: The Case of China 209
Shiufai Wong

13 Global Companies and Emerging Market Countries 227
Caner Bakir and Cantay Caliskan

Part IV Global Companies and International Organizations 239

14 Regulating Global Corporate Capitalism 241
Sarianna M. Lundan

15 Global Companies as Agenda Setters in the World Trade Organization 257
Cornelia Woll

16 Business Interests Shaping International Institutions: Negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement 272
Deborah Elms

17 Global Companies and the Environment: The Triumph of TNCs in Global Environmental Governance 285
Matthias Finger

18 Global Companies, the Bretton Woods Institutions, and Global Inequality 300
Pamela Blackmon

19 Outsourcing Global Governance: Public-Private Voluntary Initiatives 316
Marianne Thissen-Smits and Patrick Bernhagen

Part V Global Companies and Society 333

20 Global Companies and Global Society: The Evolving Social Contract 335
Ann Florini

21 Global Companies as Social Actors: Constructing Private Business in Global Governance 351
Tanja Bru¨hl and Matthias Hofferberth

22 The Socially Embedded Corporation 371
Kate Macdonald

23 Ecological Modernization and Industrial Ecology 388
Frank Boons

Part VI The Exercise and Limitations of Private Global Governance 403

24 Global Companies as Agents of Globalization 405
Shana M. Starobin

25 The Greening of Capitalism 421
John A. Mathews

26 Global Companies and the Private Regulation of Global Labor Standards 437
Luc Fransen

27 Global Private Governance: Explaining Initiatives in the Global Mining Sector 456
Hevina S. Dashwood

28 Will Business Save the World? 474
Simon Zadek

Index 493

“Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.” (Choice, 1 February 2014)

John Mikler is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. His research interests are primarily focused on the role of transnational economic actors, particularly multinational corporations, and the interaction between them and states, international organizations and civil society. He is the author of Greening the Car Industry: Varieties of Capitalism and Climate Change (2009), and has published widely in journals including Business and Politics, Regulation and Governance, Global Society, Policy and Society, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, and New Political Economy.

It is now a widely held belief that corporations are among the most powerful institutions on the planet, yet there is a surprising lack of sophisticated analysis into the level of influence they hold in terms of policy and governance. The Handbook of Global Companies compiles a series of original essays by established experts and emerging scholars addressing the latest theoretical findings and empirical evidence relating to the role of global companies in national, regional and international governance.

Debate about the power global companies wield in a world characterized by complex interdependence – from the national to the regional through to the global level – is the central theme of this Handbook. Questions surrounding the ways global companies share authority to effect new forms of governance with states and international organizations are covered, as are their relations with civil society. Particular industries are considered, such as the role of the finance industry and national regulators, the role of mining companies in developing countries, and the role of consulting firms as agents of change. Central themes facing the world and the role of global companies in respect of these, such as development, inequality, the environment, and social responsibility are featured in the contributions. New forms of global companies and the role they play in emerging markets, such as China, are also covered. Additional sections address the broader potential and limitations of global companies as a catalyst in global governance. This wide-ranging coverage ensures The Handbook of Global Companies offers important insights into the complexities and societal impact of twenty-first century corporations in today's globalized world.

“Global companies represent challenges of governance which need to be studied comprehensively and systematically. This handbook tackles this challenge successfully and represents both the scholarly progress and the maturity of this field of study. It is a must in any social sciences library and will be highly useful for scholars, graduate students and undergraduates alike.” David Levi-Faur, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

“This is an excellent volume examining the role multinational corporations play in global public policy processes. The contributors recognize that motivations and strategies of these firms cannot be reduced to profit maximization. To understand how corporations influence policy, one must explore the complex nature of the modern global firm. The Handbook of Global Companies will enlighten the on-going debates on globalization and public policy.” Aseem Prakash, University of Washington

“For all their impact on the global policy environment, multinational companies remain relatively understudied outside the management and international business framework. This Handbook, deftly edited by John Mikler, identifies how global companies are political and social, as well as economic, actors that drive globalization, and in turn are shaped by it. The chapters, written by both distinguished and rising scholars, provide a welcome breadth of coverage, ranging from theoretical and political issues of power to social issues of sustainability and the role of corporations in safeguarding (or destroying) the planet. This impressive handbook is destined to become a standard reference for anyone interested in global companies as policy actors.” Linda Weiss, Professor Emeritus, University of Sydney