Essay, Term Paper

Journal of World Business 39 (2004) 49–60

Ethics in international business: multinational approaches to child labor
Ans Kolka,*, Rob Van Tulderb a Amsterdam graduate Business School, University of Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 11, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands b Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract How do multinationals address conflicting norms and expectations? This article focuses on corporate codes of ethics in the area of child labor as possible expressions of Strategic International Human Resource Management. It analyses whether 50 leading multinationals adopt universal ethical norms (related to exportive HRM) or relativist ethical norms (related to adaptive HRM and multidomestic strategies). Child labor is not an issue where universalism prevails. Although some multinationals adhere to universal ethical norms, HRM practices are largely multidomestic. To manage the ethical dilemmas, shown from case material, strategic trade-offs (concerning strategy context, process and content, and particularly organizational purpose) are outlined. # 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Managing across borders increasingly includes difficult ethical dilemmas, as pointed out in large numbers of publications on this topic (e.g., Bansai & Sama, 2000; Buller & McEvoy, 1999; DeGeorge, 1993; Donaldson, 1989; Enderle, 1999; Van Tulder & Kolk, 2001). The field of business ethics, which aims to formulate requirements for companies and the managers who act on their behalf (Kaptein & Wempe, 2002), therefore also pays attention to multinationals. Recent attention has, following the resource-based perspective, focused on the potential of ethical capabilities to improve multinationals’ competitive advantage (Bowie & Vaaler, 1999; Buller & McEvoy, 1999; Litz, 1996). Bowie and Vaaler (1999) emphasize the high asset specificity of certain ethical commitments and the importance of avoiding their dilution,
* Corresponding author.

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