To what extent does the proposal on a Directive on Corporate Sustainability by the European Commission reflect a change in the European Union´s behaviour towards corporate imperialism?
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2023-06-23
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en
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Underlying the thesis is the question whether the EU can change from its colonial narrative and
behaviour. In order to answer this, the thesis investigates the research question “To what extent does
the proposal on a Directive on Corporate Sustainability by the European Commission reflect a change
in the European Union´s behaviour towards corporate imperialism?”. The postcolonial theory and
institutional change theory are used to establish the theoretical framework for the qualitative content
analysis. While postcolonial theory argues that there are colonial practices that continue until today in
neo-colonial form such as corporate imperialism, the institutional change theory argues that change
in policies and institutions is possible if there is an environmental challenge or a change in power
relations. Several documents from the European Union bodies and institutions as well as from the
presidents of the European Commission have been analysed and show that the concepts of (no)
western universalism, (no) white saviour complex, crisis, and change in power relations are all present
in the chosen time frame from 2014 to 2022. Due to the limitations of the postcolonial theory and the
chosen method, the hypotheses are not able to provide an answer to the research question. In order
to be able to assess change in behaviour and its impact, further research should include an amended
version of the postcolonial theory that is combined with the institutional change theory and an
additional method such as interviews or a case study should be added to the research design.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen