CSO AS STAKEHOLDERS

2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.

Civil Society and Business Ethics


Civil Society as the ‘third sector’

State sectorGovernment

Market sectorBusiness

Civil society sectorIncluding NGOs, pressure groups,

charities, unions, etc


Civil society organisationsCivil society organisations include a plethora of pressure groups, non-governmental organisations, charities, religious groups, and other actors that are neither business nor government organisations, but which are involved in the promotion of certain interests, causes, and/or goals


Diversity in CSO characteristics

CSOs

ScopeIndividual

Grass-rootsLocal

RegionalNational

TransnationalGlobal

Activities Policy research Market research

Academic research Information Provision

Boycott co-ordination Protests and demos

Campaigning

TypeCommunity GroupCampaign group

Research organizationBusiness association

Religious groupTrade union

Technical body

FocusNatural environment

Social issuesDevelopment

Poverty alleviationHuman rights

Animal welfare

StructureInformalFormal

Co-operativeProfessional

EntrepreneurialNetwork


Civil society organisations as stakeholders


Civil society organisations as stakeholders

The stake hold by CSOs is largely one of:

• Representing the interests of individual stakeholders

• Representing the interests of non-human stakeholders


Different types of CSOs


Ethical issues and CSOs


Recognising CSO stakes• Many of these groups tend to ‘self-

declare’ themselves as stakeholders in a particular issue (Wheeler et al. 2002)– Issuing statements– Launching campaigns– Initiating some kind of action towards the

corporation• Self-declaring does not necessarily lead

to recognition


CSO tactics• Indirect action

– Provision of data, research reports, and policy briefings (Smith 1990)

– Provision of misleading information (Whawell 1998)

• Violent direct action– Illegal– Often generates the most publicity (Smith

1990)– Huntingdon Life Sciences– Is this action ‘civil’ at all?


Non-violent direct action• Far more common approach for CSOs to

use (Smith 1990):– Demonstrations and marches– Protests– Boycotts– Occupations– Non-violent sabotage and disruption– Stunts– Picketing


BoycottsA boycott is an attempt by one or more parties to achieve certain objectives by urging individual consumers to refrain from making selected purchases in the marketplace


CSO accountability• CSO stakeholders might be said to include:

– Beneficiaries– Donors– Members– Employees– Governmental organisations– Other CSOs– General public (especially those who support

their ideals)The accountability of CSOs to their supposed beneficiaries that tends to raise the most debate


Globalisation and civil society organisations


Globalisation and civil society organisations

• Engagement with overseas CSOs• Global issues and causes• Globalisation of CSOs


Global issues and causes• Problems that transcend national

boundaries– Global warming– Tropical deforestation– Marine conservation– Labour conditions– International marketing practices

• Much of the critique of globalisation itself been initiated, sustained and popularised by civil society actors


Corporate citizenship and civil society

Charity, collaboration, or regulation?


Charity and community giving

• Starting point for a consideration of business involvement in civil society involves charitable giving and other forms of corporate philanthropy

• One-way support – benefits communities and civil action but does not usually allow them much voice in shaping corporate action


Business-CSO collaboration

• Closer and more interactive relations between civil society and corporations

• Sometimes called social partnerships• Limitations of business-CSO collaboration

– Difficulties of managing relations between such culturally diverse organisations (Crane 1998a)

– Difficulties of ensuring consistency and commitment (Elkington and Fennell 2000)

– Partnership appear to mask continuing hostility and/or power imbalances between the ‘partners’• The question of power imbalance• The distribution of the benefits of partnerships

• CSO independence


Drivers towards business-CSO partnerships


Civil Regulation• CSOs might even go beyond simply

collaborating with business to actually forming some kind of ‘civil regulation’ of corporate action (e.g. Bendell 2000; Zadek 2001)

• Key point to take away from this section is that civil society can act as a conduit through which individuals citizens can exert some kind of leverage on, or gain a form of participation in, corporate decision-making and action


Civil society, business, and sustainability


Towards participation and empowerment

“Organizations…that affect you and your community, especially when they affect the material foundations of your self-determination, must be able to be influenced by you and your community…What are required are new forms of democratic governance so that people can determine their own futures in a sustainable environment”

(Bendell, 2000:249)

Documents

CSO AS STAKEHOLDERS