Global Compact Membership and the Automobile Industry

Revision with unchanged content. The Global Compact (GC) is a multistakeholder initiative that was introduced in 1999 by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The initiative aims at filling the governance void of the global economy. While 47% of the 2659 participating companies are based in Europe, U.S. American companies constitute only 3% of the business participants. This book analyzes reasons for joining or not joining the Global Compact. Six determinants are used to analyze a company's decision to join or not to join the initiative; they are the consumer's, employee's, and shareholder's expectations, the feasability of the Compact's requirements, the company's world view regarding the United Nations as well as Corporate Social Responsibility, and, finally, the CEO's information regarding litigation risk. In addition, companies' compliance with the Global Compact's principles or alternative initiatives is assessed by using a compliance model taken from IR theory.