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Voluntary business initiatives can reduce public pressure for regulating firm behaviour abroad

Bibliographic Data

ID6290959
AuthorsDennis Kolcava (0000-0002-5511-4094, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, corresponding author), Lukas Rudolph (0000-0001-8977-4480, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland), Thomas Bernauer (0000-0002-3775-6245, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland)
Year2021
Volume28
Issue4
Pages591-614
Publication date2021-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of European Public Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1350-1763 • E-ISSN: 1466-4429
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13501763.2020.1751244
OpenAlexW3018811564
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited53

Almost all regulatory policy stops at the national border. Thus, when conducting business abroad, the behaviour of firms is regulated by their host, not their home country. Yet, international institutions have issued (non-binding) codes of conduct on social/environmental aspects of firm behaviour, and various high-income countries discuss how to improve extraterritorial firm behaviour – with high political contestation over the appropriate mix of state intervention and corporate self-regulation. Exploiting a unique national referendum on this issue in Switzerland, we investigate how these interact from a public opinion standpoint. Based on a nationally representative survey experiment (N=1564), we find that while baseline support for state intervention is high (approx. 60%), corporate self-regulation decreases such support. However, only credible voluntary business initiatives lead to substantial reductions. Our results speak to a broad policy debate in European countries and the EU on how to ensure compliance of firms with human rights and environmental standards

Business · Compliance (psychology · Corporate social responsibility · Economic growth · Economics · International trade · Intervention (counseling · Political science · Politics · Public economics · Public opinion · Public policy · Public relations · Referendum · State (computer science · Turnover · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Environmental Sustainability in Business · Law · Regulation and Compliance Studies · Accounting

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Unique citing works18
Citations per year3
Citation span2020 - 2026 (7)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 18
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