ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) functions as an instrument of regulation and governance of firms. It explores the concept of “situated firms” and how differences across organizations shape responses to regulation. The chapter considers how regulation functions on the basis of regulate conditions and suggests that the absence of these conditions will undermine the effectiveness of particular initiatives. The UNGC can be considered a regulatory instrument if we recognize that regulation is an increasingly pluralistic concept: an intentional and problem-solving process that both includes and extends beyond the activities of states. Regulation, as now often defined, encapsulates less direct instruments and alternative forms of governance, social control, and influence, and it includes those influences derived from alternative sources and institutions (e.g., consumers, supply chains, nongovernmental organizations). A firm prepares a letter of commitment which is signed by the chief executive expressing commitment to the UNGC and its principles.
