Appropriation of CSR standards by local actors: Case study of local network Global Compact Tunisia. A critical approach

Abstract

This article deals with the appropriation of international corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards by local actors following a postcolinal approach. The objective is to highlight the implications of this tension between the international dimension of these standards and their application in local contexts. This is an account of our experience as both pragmatic constructivist researchers and coordinators of the Global Compact local network Pacte Mondial Tunisie, within an 18 months intervention research. The data collection tool was observation, followed by content analysis. The analysis shows that despite the transversal or universal logics of the Global Compact initiative, this form of horizontal normativity does not easily impose itself in a local context and that there are several obstacles to the appropriation of the repository. The latter can be explained by the agency of the local actors and the hybridity of the management practices of the standard.