Defining the corporate social responsibility of business from international law

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that corporate social responsibilities of international business can be defined in terms of human rights responsibilities.Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is to draw from international law to examine whether these responsibilities can be defined in a precise way.Findings – The paper finds that human rights responsibilities of business needs further refining.Research limitations/implications – Research needs to be conducted from a law perspective on defining concepts such as “complicity”, “spheres of influence” or “respecting” human rights.Practical implications – This paper calls upon international business and their stakeholders to use and pro‐actively manage their human rights responsibilities and further refine the existing managerial human rights tools.Originality/value – In exploring the human rights responsibilities of business, this paper contributes to an important crossroads of international law and management.