Stakeholder Theory In International Law

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which fosters socially responsible companies committed to the development of society (Kemp, 2011; Kemp & Vanclay, 2013; Wettstein, 2009).
Despite the volumes of documents from the United Nations discussing the responsibilities of states, international organizations, and global corporations; traditionally international law has played a very weak role in protecting human rights (Graham & Ngaire, 2006; Wheeler, 2015). Although governments have agreed to enforce international law by holding corporations accountable for human rights abuses, they have had difficulties because of the complex structure of the international legal system. Specifically, government officials have faced challenges pursuing remedies over the objection of states who argue …show more content…

One most common application, as evidenced in the literature, is treating stakeholder theory as a social contract; a framework for defining business ethics and social responsibility (Bernaz, 2013; Orts & Strudler, 2010). Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (1997, 2015) were the first to divide stakeholders into classes; as power, legitimacy, and urgency. In Mitchell et al.’s (1997, 2015) view power is a stakeholder’s ability to influence the behavior of others. Legitimacy is described as the perceived validity of a stakeholder’s rightful claim in the organization. Urgency is the degree to which a stakeholder’s position in the organization commands immediate attention. Using the three classes of stakeholders, Mitchell et al. defined seven categories of stakeholders and one non-stakeholder based on a combination of classes. For instance, a non-stakeholder is one who does not possess power, legitimacy, or urgency. A dormant stakeholder is unable to impose change on the corporation due to lack of legitimacy or

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