Global Compact International Yearbook 2013
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Second, the interplay of tight and loose couplings allows for a
more effective management of the link between global prin-
ciples and local practices. Looser couplings among networks
provide participants on the ground with implementation au-
thority and enable them to adapt universal principles to local
needs. Such localized adaptations help to stimulate systemic
change, as global problems are translated into local solutions,
and solutions themselves can be connected across countries
and regions. This creates participant ownership and allows
for managing a global portfolio of issues in a localized way.
Finally, the coexistence of loose and tight couplings also impacts
the way multistakeholder initiatives legitimize themselves in
local environments. Legitimacy is achieved when such initia-
tives are framed as appropriate and desirable within a given
system of norms and values. Loose couplings provide local
networks with the necessary autonomy to have decentralized
stakeholder dialogues that help to explore what norms and
values are relevant in “their” local context. Once local networks
have understood what counts as appropriate behavior in their
respective environment, they can develop activities that are
perceived as necessary and legitimate by relevant stakeholders
(
e.g., producing guidance on water sustainability in regions
where this is a particular concern).
The coexistence of looser and tighter couplings in initiatives
like the UN Global Compact is important for initiating collec-
tive action in times of rising environmental complexity. On
the one hand, loose couplings preserve diversity in responding
to environmental stimuli (as more options can be potentially
activated). On the other hand, tight couplings ensure that this
diversity results in impactful collective action on the ground.
Despite conventional wisdom that tighter couplings create
better and more durable governance arrangements (because
outcomes are supposedly easier to control), the arguments
presented here show that it is necessary to appreciate “the
strength of loose couplings.”
Dr. Andreas Rasche is Professor of
Business in Society at Copenhagen
Business School and serves on the
GC LEAD Steering Committee.
The ideas expressed in this text are
adopted from: A. Rasche, (2012):
Global Policies and Local Practice:
Loose and Tight Couplings in Multi-
Stakeholder Initiatives. - Business Ethics
Quarterly 22(4): 679-708.