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18.1 Introduction
There is a general consensus that corporations need to become more accountable to
both their shareholders and stakeholders. Limited understanding of how businesses
account for their sustainability performance and to what extent they are being truly
accountable to external stakeholders is an area that remains underinvestigated.
Corporations are more often tasked to become more responsible to external stakeholders and the environment where they operate. This need for greater external
accountability is increasing, yet companies still hold limited capacity to duly report
on corporate performance. There is also an increasing concern among scholars and
practitioners about how businesses can become more accountable both in policy and
practice (Post 2013; Parsons 2017; Schembera 2018). While corporations are
increasingly pressured to respond for social, economic, and environmental sustainability matters, there is a dearth of knowledge about the practice of accountability,
both internal and external, and to what extent it compromises stakeholders’ ability
to report successfully on sustainability performance and in alignment with voluntary regulatory frameworks and global accountability networks (Abe and
Ruanglikhitkul 2013; Franco 2014).
This chapter is based on three cases examined in the light of a Global Compact
Network supporting ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and anticorruption. The network is typically complex, reciprocal, and accountability based (Gilbert and Behnam 2013). There are
cases in which these interactions are inexistent compromising members’ compliance with the network. Despite the relevance of accountability for successful reporting, the literature on the global reporting networks remains relatively silent when it
comes to investigate the extent to which companies are being truly accountable and
in line with the network’s principles. The conditions and mechanisms that contribute to the constitution of accountability in the network are poorly understood which
is reflected in limited corporate capacity to respond to external stakeholders. The
authors argue that enhanced external accountability from signatory members and
partners of the Global Compact to external stakeholders is a precondition to foster
overall sustainability. Therefore, this research links to the Sustainable Development
Goal 17 as it contributes to the achievement of targets on Multi-stakeholder partnerships (17.16 and 17.17) and Data, monitoring, and accountability (Table 18.1).
Against this background, the aim of this chapter is to examine current forms of
accountability of a selected group of signatory members of the examined network.
A thorough investigation of the connection between accountability and the network
itself may help identify concrete measures for increasing accountability to external
stakeholders and increasing not only our understanding but also the implementation
of the network’s ten principles in a sustainable manner.
Based on a case study method and theory-building methodology, this manuscript
reports research on selected cases, namely, Republic of Korea, Myanmar, and Sri
Lanka. Findings also show that corporations need take accountability seriously to
truly respond for sustainability performance. Interestingly, evidence indicates that
I. B. Franco and M. Abe
18.1 Introduction
There is a general consensus that corporations need to become more accountable to
both their shareholders and stakeholders. Limited understanding of how businesses
account for their sustainability performance and to what extent they are being truly
accountable to external stakeholders is an area that remains underinvestigated.
Corporations are more often tasked to become more responsible to external stakeholders and the environment where they operate. This need for greater external
accountability is increasing, yet companies still hold limited capacity to duly report
on corporate performance. There is also an increasing concern among scholars and
practitioners about how businesses can become more accountable both in policy and
practice (Post 2013; Parsons 2017; Schembera 2018). While corporations are
increasingly pressured to respond for social, economic, and environmental sustainability matters, there is a dearth of knowledge about the practice of accountability,
both internal and external, and to what extent it compromises stakeholders’ ability
to report successfully on sustainability performance and in alignment with voluntary regulatory frameworks and global accountability networks (Abe and
Ruanglikhitkul 2013; Franco 2014).
This chapter is based on three cases examined in the light of a Global Compact
Network supporting ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and anticorruption. The network is typically complex, reciprocal, and accountability based (Gilbert and Behnam 2013). There are
cases in which these interactions are inexistent compromising members’ compliance with the network. Despite the relevance of accountability for successful reporting, the literature on the global reporting networks remains relatively silent when it
comes to investigate the extent to which companies are being truly accountable and
in line with the network’s principles. The conditions and mechanisms that contribute to the constitution of accountability in the network are poorly understood which
is reflected in limited corporate capacity to respond to external stakeholders. The
authors argue that enhanced external accountability from signatory members and
partners of the Global Compact to external stakeholders is a precondition to foster
overall sustainability. Therefore, this research links to the Sustainable Development
Goal 17 as it contributes to the achievement of targets on Multi-stakeholder partnerships (17.16 and 17.17) and Data, monitoring, and accountability (Table 18.1).
Against this background, the aim of this chapter is to examine current forms of
accountability of a selected group of signatory members of the examined network.
A thorough investigation of the connection between accountability and the network
itself may help identify concrete measures for increasing accountability to external
stakeholders and increasing not only our understanding but also the implementation
of the network’s ten principles in a sustainable manner.
Based on a case study method and theory-building methodology, this manuscript
reports research on selected cases, namely, Republic of Korea, Myanmar, and Sri
Lanka. Findings also show that corporations need take accountability seriously to
truly respond for sustainability performance. Interestingly, evidence indicates that
I. B. Franco and M. Abe