This article assesses the proliferation of international accountability standards (IAS) in the recent past. We provide a comprehensive overview about the different types of standards and discus their role as part of a new institutional infrastructure for corporate responsibility. Based on this,...

This article explains problems and opportunities created by standardized ethics initiatives (e.g., the UN Global Compact, the Global Reporting Initiative, and SA 8000) from the perspective of stakeholder theory. First, we outline differences and commonalities among currently existing initiatives...

This chapter discusses the role of voluntary standards for corporate sustainability and responsibility as enablers of and impediments to sustainable consumption. We start by theoretically reflecting on the notion of standards, discussing different characteristics of this mode of regulation. Next...