BUSINESS REGULATION AND
CORPORATE CONDUCT (BRCC Project)
Project Overview
&
Draft Thematic Research Report
The Project
Objective: To examine the relationship between business
regulation and corporate conduct in the context of sustainable,
economic growth in India.
Partner: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
Aim: Comprehend (through research and fieldwork) constraints in
business regulation in select Indian states and motivate
corporate entities (through dissemination and advocacy) to
emerge as champions of responsible business conduct
Four States & Two Sectors
Purpose of the Project
Appropriate actions by government, civil society and business
community for creating an enabling environment and
motivations for firms to evolve as ‘Responsible Corporate
Citizens’, in addition to being harbingers of the ‘Indian
Growth Story’
Outcomes anticipated
• Enhanced understanding of the interplay between business
regulation and corporate conduct at sectoral, state and
national levels
• Policy inputs for reforming business laws
• Improved skills among Indian government and business
representatives to pursue better and responsible business
conduct
• Stimulation of more policy-relevant research and advocacy on
the subject
Project Outputs
• Identification of specific constraints to business promotion in
four Indian states
• ‘Good case practices’ related to corporate conduct (corporate
governance and CSR) in two sectors
• State level policy inputs for sustainable business promotion
• National level policy inputs for balancing business regulation
and corporate conduct
Project Outputs
• Training modules on business regulation, corporate
governance and CSR relevant for Indian states
• Research products and their dissemination through
popular media: One thematic research report and
briefing paper; four research reports on enabling
business environment (one for each state) and
corporate conduct (two sectors); one monograph on
enabling business environment and corporate conduct
(two sectors); one policy brief and four state level
policy papers and one national policy position paper.
Activities under the project
1. Preparatory Work & Inception Meeting
2. Thematic Research
3. Regional Dialogues on Thematic Issue
4. Development of pilot programmes (State Level)
5. Research on Business Regulation (State Level) in four states
6. State level Dialogues on Business Regulation
Activities under the project
7. Research & State Level Dialogues on Corporate Governance &
CSR (two sectors)
8. National Policy Forum
9. State Level Policy Inputs
10. Training Modules and Capacity Building (Training)
Programme
11. Final Project Report Submission & Wrap-up
Key Questions of the project
Key Question-What are the elements of business regulation that
are likely to stimulate responsible behavior among firms
operating in India?
• Should business regulation and responsible behaviour of large
firms be of interest to the study?
• Should the focus be on business regulation in a single sector
and the entire supply chain linkages that can be explored?
• Should either the primary or secondary research focus on the
SME sector to build a policy paper?
Research Methodology
The questions that this project seeks to
answer are at the level of the economy,
sector and the firm
MACRO LEVEL: ECONOMY AND SECTOR
• How does regulation (legal and voluntary Guidelines) around
responsibility impact country/state level economic performance?
• Do certain states have a better track record in managing
responsible behaviour of corporations and yet achieving
economic development – what are the emerging lessons for other
states? Does political constituency influence the distribution of
ethical considerations across states?
• How does regulation (legal and voluntary Guidelines) around
responsibility impact sector level economic performance?
MICRO LEVEL: FIRM
• How does regulation (legal and self) around responsibility
impact economic performance of firms, and vice versa?
• Can profitability and sustainability be achieved in tandem –
what are the challenges and opportunities?
• Do state level regulations impact business conduct of
corporations differently?
MICRO LEVEL: FIRM
• What broad policy and legislative issues govern the
decision of a firm to invest (or an entrepreneur to set up a
business) in a particular state – is there a cross-country
analysis of such experience of firms available?
• What are the drivers for businesses to adopt a differential
approach to responsible business conduct in different
states?
Activities for
Research Question: Macro Level
• Literature review
• Draft Thematic Research Report
• Identifying the states (4)
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu natural selection
• A national policy position paper
Activities for
Research Question: Micro Level
• Secondary review of literature, articles and periodicals needs
pertaining to firm level issues
• Include the SME’s and therefore, existing work by UNIDO, MSME
Foundation etc
• Identify sectors whose economic contribution is significant and
likely significant social contribution
• Examine a sample of firms within the sector
• Develop a thematic interview protocol
Research Outputs
• A thematic research report highlighting the main research
question(s)
• Four state-level research reports on state-level business
regulation and its implication for corporate responsibility
• Two sectoral reports that highlight how ‘good’ corporate
conduct results from enabling business regulatory
measures
Research Outputs
• One monograph collating the experience gathered in the
states and sectors – highlighting the interplay between
business regulation and corporate conduct
• A National Policy Position Paper – distilling the findings of
the research and suggesting measures that could be taken
to stimulate greater corporate responsibility in the country
• Training and capacity building materials for state-level
Thank you