The Socially Embedded Corporation

Abstract

This chapter examines the contested social processes through which contemporary global corporations are ‘socially embedded’: that is, conditioned and constrained by the social relationships in which they participate. The chapter asks how such social embedding occurs, and offers an answer involving a much more overtly politicized account of social embedding than is often presented. Contemporary processes of corporate social embedding are shown to be deeply contested in both normative and sociological terms. Patterns of social embedding that prevail therefore result from the inter-play between a plurality of competing social influences, operating through public and private channels, and at multiple geographical levels. The chapter suggests that analysts of corporate social embedding should therefore focus less on debating supposedly secular societal shifts in expectations of socially responsible corporate conduct, and more on understanding how companies manage the inevitable tensions and trade-offs between competing social demands.

Keywords: international development, human rights, NGOs, governance, global governance