Visible Hands: Government Regulation and International Business Responsibility

A growing number of states are regulating the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of domestic multinational corporations relating to overseas subsidiaries and suppliers. Jette Steen Knudsen presents a new framework for analysing government-CSR relations: direct and indirect policies for CSR. Arguing that existing research on CSR regulation fails to address the growing role of the state in shaping the international practices of multinational corporations, she provides insight into the CSR issues that are addressed by government policies. Drawing on case studies, Knudsen analyses three key examples of CSR: non-financial reporting, ethical trade and tax transparency in extractive industries.

Jette Steen Knudsen is Shelby Collum Davis Professor of International Business at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Her research centers on the interface between government regulation and business actions. Her new book (with Jeremy Moon) titled “Visible Hands: Government Regulation of Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Business” is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press (November 2017). She has published in journals such as British Journal of Industrial Relations, Business and Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Business Ethics, Policy and Politics, and Regulation and Governance. From 2003-2007 Knudsen headed a government-sponsored think tank, The Copenhagen Centre for CSR. She then served as project leader of a CSR task force for the CEO at Maersk, a shipping, oil and retail conglomerate. Knudsen graduated from MIT in 2001 with a PhD in Political Science.

The event is co-organised by the UCL Centre for Ethics and Law and GGI. It is open to all, but to avoid disappointment, please Register.