John Katsos

The fields of business and human rights (BHR) and business for peace (B4P) have overlaps in how they view business in society and in their multidisciplinary nature. This paper seeks to build on the work of BHR scholars in connecting with the B4P scholarly community, to bridge the divide by explaining the elements of the B4P literature that might be of interest for BHR scholars, and to describe a joint research agenda for scholars in both fields. The paper begins with a literature review of the major assertions and findings of B4P on the role that business can and should play in enhancing peace. Similarities and differences in approach and theories between BHR and B4P are then noted. A common research agenda is proposed that BHR and B4P scholars may use as a starting point for broader collaboration.

One of the main control mechanisms that shareholders have used to rein in rogue managers is compensation. Through a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic incentives, shareholders have tried to provide the right balance to motivate senior managers to perform at their best. Shareholders have often failed in achieving this balance through compensation. In this paper, we argue that this failure is not the result of compensation packages as such, but on the focus of compensation packages on extrinsic motivators such as pay-for-performance bonuses and stock options. Instead, the focus of compensation packages should be on cultivating intrinsic motivators such as firing and prestige.

Existing literature on business and peace lacks specific examples of business practices within conflict-sensitive regions. This article examines whether and how business practices within a conflict-sensitive region, the island of Cyprus, fit within existing business and peace frameworks. In particular, the article examines how business practices shift to address different types of conflict. As an identity-based conflict with almost no conflicts over interests or resources, the Cyprus Conflict presents a unique opportunity to examine how businesses can help to resolve identity issues alone. Our research was conducted through interviews with business, political, and labor leaders on the island and through reviews of existing peace research. The context of Cyprus as an identity conflict largely mitigated the impact of factors noted in the existing business and peace literature. Our findings suggest that existing business activities in Cyprus are largely focused on alleviating the ident...

ABSTRACT Existing literature on business and peace is in need of more examples of business practices, and at a more dissaggregated level, within conflict-sensitive regions that promote peace. This article examines whether business practices within a conflict-sensitive region, the island of Cyprus, are consistent with existing business and peace literature and how the specific business practices promote peace. In particular, the article examines in detail two business practices: Green Line Trade and cross-territorial joint ventures and promotions. Our findings suggest that existing business activities in Cyprus are consistent with those proposed by the literature, but their significance in promoting peace was limited. We propose an alternative explanation for why such business practices were pursued in Cyprus at the time, drawing on studies of identity-based conflicts. And we suggest that business has a unique role to play compared with other public institutions when addressing identity conflict. Finally, we suggest that both theoretical and empirical studies of business and peace should include consideration of how business practices might help alleviate identity-related issues in conflict-sensitive regions.