Open AccessThe Public Roles of the Private Sector in A sia: The Emerging Research Agenda
Author(s) -
Florini Ann
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
asia and the pacific policy studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.529
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 2050-2680
DOI - 10.1002/app5.1
Subject(s) - corporate social responsibility , corporate governance , private sector , government (linguistics) , public sector , context (archaeology) , public relations , emerging markets , political science , business sector , citizenship , political economy , business , economic growth , economics , politics , law , management , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , finance , biology
Abstract It is no longer possible to understand public policy without focusing intensively on the public roles of the business sector. The world is awash in experimental private governance, from corporate codes of conduct, to demands for disclosure of private sector environmental and social impacts, to ‘social enterprises’ that aim to save the world the profitable way. Such experiments are emerging within A sia, changing the terms of the social licence to operate as society becomes more adept at making demands for good corporate citizenship and as the natural resource crisis begins to hit home. And as A sian corporations go global, they encounter new standards for social responsibility. Yet far too little is known about the status of these trends in A sia and how the debates over corporate responsibility, developed in a W estern context, might translate given the very different relationships among government, business and society in the region. This article explores practice and theory to uncover what is already known and how to frame further research. It concludes by laying out a research agenda to analyse how the public roles of the private sector in A sia are evolving, and why they matter.