From Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Social Liability: A Socio-Legal Study of Corporate Liability in Global Value Chains

This book provides a critical socio-legal study that brings together the latest scholarly advances on corporate social responsibility and addresses the issue of corporate liability for harmful acts across the supply and production chains. It argues that globally, value chains head corporations remain immune to liability due to the economically dependent-legally independent relationships between core corporations and their periphery suppliers and subcontractors. To tackle this problem, the author suggests that lawyers need to find ways to establish legally effective relationships between head corporations and their economically dependent entities to realize transnational corporate liability.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 17 June 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This comprehensive book delves into a critical socio-legal exploration, seamlessly merging the latest scholarly advancements on corporate social responsibility with the urgent issue of corporate liability for harmful acts spanning across supply and production chains. Corporations have historically been granted limited accountability and virtually never held liable for the actions of their subsidiaries and subcontractors. A diverse range of actors, including workers, investors, individual consumers, and shareholder activists, argue that corporations should assume greater responsibility for the communities and environments impacted by their operations. The book posits that the immunity of global value chains' head corporations stems from the "economically dependent-legally independent relationships" between core corporations and their periphery suppliers and subcontractors. To address this challenge, the author recognizes the need for a global reduction in economic dependence, which is currently excessively high. Concretely, she advocates for the establishment of legally effective relationships between head corporations and their economically dependent entities as a means to realize transnational corporate liability.

This book serves as a valuable resource for readers, enabling them to export the concept of corporate social liability developed within the context of value chains and apply it to other contexts where they seek to address unrestrained corporate freedom and make global businesses accountable and socially beneficial. By delving into the intricate dynamics of corporate responsibility and liability, this book offers insightful perspectives and practical solutions for a more equitable and sustainable global business landscape.

Weight: 564g
Dimension: 164 x 241 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509930579