Transnational Corporations and Global Citizenship

Transnational corporations are major global actors, many larger than most nation states. The evolution of their organizational structures and of relevant national and international law is reviewed briefly. The focus of the article then shifts to examine how corporations are evolving to address the broader demands of their customers, shareholders, employees, and community stakeholders. These new demands go beyond the traditional bottom line to address issues of human and employee rights, child labor, workplace safety, impacts of technology, and environmental protection. Corporate responses to such demands for good global citizenship are assessed, together with the growth of social and ethical investment criteria among shareholders, mutual funds, and pension asset managers.