Human Rights in the Management Literature: Leading Publications and Research Agenda

Abstract

This paper identifies and examines leading publications on human rights within the management literature. For that, we used features of a bibliometric analysis – specifically exploring product and impact indicators – in order to identify the leading publications on human rights that were examined aiming to portray how the issue has been addressed within this field. Moreover, by identifying the key articles and concepts adopted by the leading publications, this paper offers an interpretation of the academic context that enabled the emergence of a human rights approach within the management field. Thus, a contribution of this paper is to highlight how the debate on human rights in management has been strengthened, identifying articles and journals that can be a source of reference for future research. Our study has identified a shift in the discussion regarding human rights. During the last decade the topic, which was initially focused on the role of states in guaranteeing human rights, has started to examine the relationship between organizations and society. Such transformation has placed human rights as both, a responsibility and a duty of corporations. It is suggested that the literature on ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) was the entrance for a human rights approach within management literature. However, the discipline has already engaged in elaborating different interpretation of human rights. Our research shows the potential of human rights in consolidate a research agenda on corporate impact in our societies.