Introduction

Abstract

Modern corporations form an essential part of the “social fabric” the world of the later 20^th and early 21^st century is made of: They produce goods and foster innovations, which all satisfy needs and wants of consumers, mostly in the more developed countries, provide employment to millions, and carry with them even greater potential for advancing societies and the entire modern world. Nevertheless, large corporations, and especially MNCs, are increasingly faced with major distrust by the broad public. Contrary to quite wide-spread corporate belief, it is by far not only “anarchist” groups who portray corporations as the root of many social ills plaguing especially under-developed countries, but also the so-called 1^st world — it may be them who go as far as rioting at all of the major trade summits since the infamous “Battle of Seattle”,¹ but not only the “unwashed and unruly”² want corporations to behave in socially responsible ways: