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In this article, we apply the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to the private equity (PE) business model. PE firms often adopt a controversial, ‘value extractive’, business model based on high debt and extreme cost-cutting to generate investor returns. PE firms own large numbers of companies, including in many rights-related sectors. The model is linked to increased human rights risks to workers, housing tenants, and in privatized health and social care. We map these risks and analyse the human rights responsibilities of PE firms. Our analysis has major implications for understandings of human rights responsibility. We argue that value extractive methods are the root cause of eventual harm to human rights, even though they may not harm rights directly. To respect human rights, PE firms must mitigate the risks of these value extractive methods. We define how human rights due diligence (HRDD) could achieve this and argue that given the extent of harm and the lack of a business case for adopting such a view of human rights responsibility, business strategy level HRDD should be a core component of forthcoming HRDD laws.

States hold international human rights obligations to protect rights-holders from infringements by third parties and to fulfil access to rights. States also increasingly rely on businesses to provide essential human rights resources, including for housing, food, and healthcare. How these obligations apply where States rely on businesses has not been adequately conceptualised, particularly regarding the scope of business infringements in this context, and how the obligation to fulfil relates to market regulation. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has not directly addressed these questions, but recent General Comments develop ambitious regulatory obligations in this area. However, their methodology is questionable, often collapsing the distinction between obligations to protect and to fulfil. This article reconstructs the obligations to provide distinct content under each. It delineates State duties to protect from profiteering and to fulfil human rights through market regulation. It concludes by arguing that this reconstruction may challenge central aspects of globalised capitalism based on the human rights harm inherent therein.

This article analyses the recent exchange of letters between two UN human rights mandate-holders and the Blackstone Group LP, a private equity firm with significant investments in the rental housin...

Corporate actions often adversely impact human rights in ways that are not easily justiciable. Such actions include the production and use of fossil fuels, contributing to climate change and its im...

The profitability of commodified housing is driving extreme levels of corporate investment. To boost profits investors are exploiting “undervalued” low-income housing, evicting vulnerable individuals, hoarding land and charging exploitative fees. This is causing severe harm to individuals’ right to housing across the globe, including, inter alia, rapidly increasing prices and debt, increasing evictions, homelessness, and increased recourse to substandard accommodation. The harm is endemic, but the human rights response has been tepid.\ud This paper argues that both state obligations and the content of the right to housing under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) can usefully address the problem. However, in communications with State Parties the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) addresses issues of commodification and affordability in vague terms that fail to generate meaningful obligations. The paper grounds the CESCR’s approach in theories of enforceability which argue that enforcement is more practicable when “clear violations” can be established. The CESCR offers clear statements of breach only when identifying explicitly wrongful practices, such as discriminatory laws. This approach, however, almost entirely occludes harm caused by the marketization of human rights. It skeletonizes the “protect” limb of state obligations, permits the long-term retrogression of affordability and enables the serious subsequent effects. The paper proposes that “clear violations” can be constructed from the results of, and laws constituting, harmful marketization. A three-stage process of identification of breach, standard-setting, and policy suggestions is recommended that can turn the long-term retrogression of access to housing into specific, measurable statements of violations and recommendations. This same approach is advocated for business responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, with the content of these responsibilities also evaluated.

This chapter reviews the role of civil society and human rights defenders in holding corporations to account. Civil society plays numerous roles in corporate accountability. It is civil society that is often first to take heed of a situation, first on the ground, and first to expose the issue to the wider public. The mobilization of civil society therefore often foreshadows shifts in both legal and business practices. Civil society uses a wide variety of tactics, from engagement in multistakeholder regulation and intracorporate consultancy and collaboration, through to exposing wrongdoing and organizing protests. The chapter takes a broad understanding of the definition of civil society, allowing it to introduce a range of actors including, inter alia, benchmarking organizations, labour movements, public interest law groups and shareholder activists. Human rights defenders are viewed more narrowly to focus on those at the dangerous frontlines of human rights protection. Case studies of Pavel Sulyandziga in Russia and Berta Caceres in Honduras are used to demonstrate the evident risks from both state and private sector actors. The chapter also discusses some of the tactics business uses to weaken civil society participation, and concludes with a discussion of the rationales and possibilities for more positive engagement by businesses in protecting the protectors of human rights.

The diversity and sometimes‐sporadic nature of research in the area of knowledge management (KM) points towards the need for a better understanding of the underlying framework of issues and potential research topics. This paper describes the search for a research agenda in this fast developing area. Important issues were identified through a general review of the KM literature followed by a survey of business practitioners, consultants and academics at a one‐day conference dedicated to the subject. The investigation was carried out in the context of a feasibility study for a proposed KM Centre at Henley Management College in the UK. The survey followed an interpretivist approach employing open‐ended questions that sought to establish important issues in KM and to examine the benefits that participants would seek from a such a forum of practitioners and academics. A conceptual framework of disciplines and key topics was developed from the literature review and applied to the issues identified in the survey. The results point towards three areas of significant interest, namely: (i) implementation issues, (ii) best practice, and (iii) measurement. Additionally, the nature of the fast evolving field of knowledge management points to the need for more interactive research that brings together the different players in the field into a tighter and faster learning cycle.

Innovation is indisputably one of the most important strategic and operational levers available to managers for creating competitive advantage. Recent studies suggest that there remains a serious disconnect between what firms are hoping for, and what they, in fact, are reaping from their investments in innovation. Conventional approaches to performance measurement have as yet had little impact in the area of innovation management. The purpose of the research reported in this paper has been to address some of the more pertinent of the many questions raised by innovation practitioners and managers today concerning the measurement of innovation performance.

ISO/IEC 17799 is a standard governing Information Security Management. Formalised in the 1990s, it has not seen the take up of accreditations that could be expected from looking at accreditation figures for other standards such as the ISO 9000 series. This paper examines why this may be the case by investigating what has driven the accreditation under the standard in 18 UK companies, representing a fifth of companies accredited at the time of the research. An initial literature review suggests that adoption could be driven by external pressures, or simply an objective of improving operational performance and competitive performance. It points to the need to investigate the influence of Regulators and Legislators, Competitors, Trading Partners and Internal Stakeholders on the decision to seek accreditation.

University-industry collaboration is seen as an important contributor to innovation as new thinking is transferred from seats of learning into practical products and services. In particular, this seems to be the case where firms seek access to knowledge of new technologies and technical problem solving. However, is it relevant in the case of business schools? The study reported in this paper is based on insights gained from membership of a long standing network between business schools and firms in the automotive industry supported by the EU's Leonardo project. The research reported in based on a detailed examination of practical cases of joint business school-firm activities. Based on this case analysis, a model is presented along with emerging critical success factors for sustainable joint activities across the different modes identified. Finally, areas for further research are highlighted.

International audience; Creating outstanding products is vital for a company's endurance in competitive markets. A mix of functionality, ergonomics, aesthetics, symbols and price aspects all play a role in making a product desirable.Some products carry a personal meaning for its user. Others communicate its user's identity or the company's brand image. This study concentrates on communicative and meaningful aspects in a product's design. It examines how the creation of a communicative design occurs during the new product development process. The present research has an exploratory nature. For the field research, the case study method was chosen and a guideline for semi-directed interviews developed. This interview guideline was used to analyse multiple product development projects in two distinct companies. In two projects, specific attention was given to communicative aspects in the product‘s design. These two projects are examined in this paper.In the two selected projects, the product development teams carefully studied the users' preferences for aesthetics and product messages. A user-centred approach was used in both development processes. The choice to purposely improve the communicative value of the product's design was on the one hand influenced by the limited possibilities to create other advantages, such as improving the product's functionality or reducing its cost price. A weakness in the competitor's design strategy allowed the successful improvement of the product's communication on the other hand.

It is now widely acknowledged that knowledge rather than capital assets is the source of wealth in today's global economy in which firms increasingly are competing in knowledge-intensive markets. Consequently, firms are seeking to gain a better understanding of how their organisationally-embedded knowledge can be exploited to gain and maintain competitive edge in a turbulent marketplace. To be competitive and successful, firms are creating and sustaining a dynamic portfolio of knowledge repositories and processes. The authors contend that the outcomes can be much enhanced if this is based on a systematic approach to knowledge management. A consensus in leading edge firms about the importance of knowledge has resulted in considerable investment in the analysis of technology portfolios and such processes as technology mapping. Nevertheless many firms, particularly smaller and medium enterprises, have still not translated a concern for improved knowledge management into even the most rudimentary analysis. Consequently, many firms do not have the means for really understanding the strategic impact of their knowledge capital on their competitive performance. Practical tools and methodologies which assist in this process of assessing the breadth and depth of an organisation's knowledge portfolio can assist significantly in such cases in enabling firm's to get the key issues onto the board agenda. In this paper the authors present a conceptual framework for mapping a firm's knowledge portfolio in terms of four domains - content, process, infrastructure and culture. The mapping approach is designed to help guide the thinking process in the firm with respect to ways in which its knowledge is being created, stored and applied towards competitive advantage. The methodology begins with a mapping of the firm's business processes from a knowledge perspective. Core business processes are unbundled in terms of their specific knowledge domains. They are subsequently classified according to their degree of tacitness. Next, the competitive impact and competitive positioning of each area is evaluated and compared to the principal competition. Gaps in the firm's knowledge portfolio are identified; a strategic framework is provided for a proactive approach to strategic knowledge management. The methodology provides a systematic approach to building a strategic knowledge map. It represents a strategic tool for assessing a firm's knowledge portfolio - it is a map pointing to where knowledge resides in the firm; to key knowledge processes; and to the flow of knowledge between processes and between people.

The information age is posing new challenges for organisations. The role of technology as a source of competitive advantage has long been recognised as dependent upon how effectively those within the organisation deploy it. The contribution of technologists in shaping strategy is also well recognised. However, technologists are often seen as not having sufficient input into the strategic decision making process. Many turn to MBA programs to develop their knowledge, understanding and personal competences. In this paper, the authors describe how the case method has traditionally been used to aid in this process. They then discuss the opportunities afforded by multimedia and groupware to create enhanced learning opportunities based on a dynamic case analysis. Such a system is seen by the authors as having the potential to be the backbone of a knowledge management system to support everyday decision-making.

The concept of ‘adverse human rights impacts’ introduced by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is frequently used in institutional, activist and scholarly discourse. However, the term is under-explored and usually equated with ‘human rights violation’, occluding its transformative potential. This article demonstrates its expansiveness and rationale: ‘impacts’ cover any business act which removes or reduces an individual’s enjoyment of human rights. The formula is designed to capture business acts that are not paradigmatically understood as human rights violations but that nonetheless cause harmful outcomes. This can encompass, inter alia, acts which reduce market access to essential goods, harm caused by business-related tax abuse, and business contributions to climate change. The extra-legal concept provides an authoritative argumentative framework through which social understandings of business-related harm can evolve and can underlie a transformative shift in the business-society relationship.