Book Summary of Corporate Environmentalism in a Global Economy: Societal Values in
International Technology Transfer by Halina Szejnwald Brown, Patrick Derr, Ortwin Renn, Allen L. White
Citation:
Corporate Environmentalism in a Global Economy: Societal Values in International Technology Transfer, Halina Szejnwald Brown, Patrick Derr, Ortwin Renn, Allen L. White, (Connecticut: Quorum Books, 1993), 245 pp.
This Book Summary written by: T.A. O'Lonergan, Conflict Research Consortium
Corporate Environmentalism in a Global Economy: Societal Values in
International Technology Transfer will be of interest to those who wish to
broaden their understanding of the role of values in the decision-making
process. Following an introduction which lays out the concerns and goals of
the book, the authors address the roles of value and culture in
technological transfer. The first part of the chapter characterizes EH&S
and DE&I value sets which the authors treat as independent
variables. The second part of the chapter explains the concepts of: value, value
conflict and trade-off, technology, culture and policy.
The authors next address the methodological problems which their
research poses. Finally, they examine structural and developmental models
of technological transfer.
Chapter three "... focuses on international operations and on EH&S
related matters: corporate EH&S policy and philosophy;
EH&S organisation for domestic and foreign operations; and the
international EH&S management attitudes of the executives and
managers interviewed..." during research for this work. The following
chapter is an examination of three case studies. The bulk of the chapter is
devoted to discussion of three facilities from inception to on-line
functioning. The three facilities are: Du Punt Agrichemical
and Occidental Chemical, both in Bangpoo, Thailand
and Modi Xerox in Rampur, India.
Chapter five is an examination of the relationship between the host country
development policies and EH&S values. The next
chapter is a contribution by Jeanne X. Kasperson and Roger E.
Kasperson who discuss the relationship between corporate culture and
technological transfer. The penultimate chapter examines the variety of
business arrangements that might be agreed upon by the parent corporation and
the host country affiliate. These range from "... wholly owned
subsidiaries to shared equity partnerships ...". The final chapter
addresses, to paraphrase the authors, the synthesis of the deeply rooted values
which the host country's institutions, the multinational corporation and the
joint venture partner bring to the dynamic and interactive process of
facility-siting. Corporate Environmentalism in a Global Economy: Societal
Values in International Technology Transfer is an examination of the
multiplicity of factors in the international technology transfer. The well
written text is supported by tables and graphs which the reader will find most
useful.
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