Recognizing the rights of “others”: A framework for corporate human rights violations in international business

Abstract

This research critically examines corporate human rights violations (CHRVs) regarding exploitation and inequalities within the international business system. From the context of the emancipatory agenda of critical cross-cultural management, we present a novel framework for evaluating CHRVs based on a comprehensive analysis of reported cases between 2007 and 2017. Delving into the power dynamics and privileges that cast global workers, suppliers, and communities as the “other,” our research sheds light on how this conceptualization fuels decisions that put the rights of these “others” at risk. Our findings highlight violations related to all dimensions (abuse, labor, development, environment, and health) across industries and geographies. Notably, our findings align with the critical cross-cultural management literature on structural oppression that North American and Western European companies account for a significant number of violations in developing countries.

Investigating otherness, not difference: Should saming and othering be the focus of the discipline? Implications for a contemporary cross-cultural management studies

“…The goal is to move beyond a limited understanding of culture and to include questions of global corporate citizenship and managerial ethnics. The article by Ascencio et al (2024) provides a first framework into that direction. Based on a comprehensive analysis of corporate human rights violations that were reported between 2007 and 2017, they identify the 'othering' of workers, suppliers and communities in the Global South as one of the root causes for such corporate human rights violations across industries and geographies.…”

“…Seemingly innocent mechanisms and overtly blatant exclusion processes are equally relevant to investigate, and the analysis contributes to our current knowledge. The shift in focus of the discipline has already happened, and we propose that researchers should continue going the hard way to examine intercultural situations involving 'Othering' and 'Saming' and be bold enough to search for explanations which are not necessarily obvious, such as: What people create together instead of focusing on 'inherited' differences (Chevrier, 2024); accept more conflict for a positive cross-cultural management (Mahadevan, 2024); include alternative social identities, even at the price of problematic in-group and out-group relations (Wilmot et al, 2024); raise further awareness of intersectionality in intercultural awareness training at work (Carrim et al, 2024); and investigate the global landscape in terms of human right violations (Ascencio et al, 2024), just to name those research directions which were selected for this special issue. Certainly, others will follow on this path in order to increase and maintain the relevance of a contemporary cross-cultural management studies, with Otherness as its central focus.…”