The Handbook of Global Companies

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.

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

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 .