Natural law, human rights and corporate reputational capital in global governance

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical model for systematizing human rights norms to facilitate their integration into global business decision making.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper relates a natural law conception of human rights to global corporate governance.

Findings

The paper shows that natural law theory gives a basis for integrating human rights into global governance while also making a business case for taking human rights seriously.

Originality/value

The paper offers a theoretical framework related to jurisprudence and introduces the concept of reputational capital as an intangible asset that is built up by a firm's proactive advancement of human rights.

Citation

Jackson, K. (2008), "Natural law, human rights and corporate reputational capital in global governance", Corporate Governance, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 440-455. https://doi.org/10.1108/14720700810899185