Foreign corporate accountability: The contested institutionalization of mandatory due diligence in France and Germany

Gustafsson MT, Schilling-Vacaflor A, Lenschow A (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Regulation & Governance Wiley-Blackwell

Book Volume: 17

Pages Range: 891-908

Journal Issue: 4

DOI: 10.1111/rego.12498

Abstract

In the recent past, European states have adopted mandatory due diligence (MDD) laws for holding companies accountable for the environmental and human rights impacts of their supply chains. The institutionalization of the international due diligence norm into domestic legislation has, however, been highly contested. Our contribution analyzes the discursive struggles about the meaning of due diligence that have accompanied the institutionalization of MDD in Germany and France. Based on document analysis and legal analysis of laws and law proposals, we identify a state-centric, a market-based, and a polycentric-governance discourse. These discourses are based on fundamentally different understandings of how the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights should be translated into hard law. By outlining these discourses and comparing the related policy preferences, we contribute with a better understanding of different ways in which MDD is institutionalized, with important consequences for the possibilities to enhance corporate accountability in global supply chains.

Authors with CRIS profile

Almut Schilling-Vacaflor del Carpio

Additional Organisation(s)

Lehrstuhl für International Business, Society and Sustainability

Involved external institutions

Stockholm University / Stockholms universitet SE Sweden (SE) Universität Osnabrück DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Gustafsson, M.T., Schilling-Vacaflor, A., & Lenschow, A. (2023). Foreign corporate accountability: The contested institutionalization of mandatory due diligence in France and Germany. Regulation & Governance, 17(4), 891-908. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12498

MLA:

Gustafsson, Maria Therese, Almut Schilling-Vacaflor, and Andrea Lenschow. "Foreign corporate accountability: The contested institutionalization of mandatory due diligence in France and Germany." Regulation & Governance 17.4 (2023): 891-908.

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