Publication

This paper analyzes to what extent corporate codes of conduct may be internationally converging and to what extent they remain distinctly national in character. The author explains that minimally, codes of conduct express the principles by which corporations operate - if only to meet compliance requirements or to protect the corporation from legal, political or social pressures - while maximally they reflect a corporation's values and guide its behavior. The paper examines the comparative content of codes from the world's largest firms in order to assess whether purportedly global firms are influenced by global norms or domestic factors.