Do Business Ethics Pay Off?

2010 ◽  
Vol 218 (4) ◽  
pp. 213-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Strobel ◽  
Andranik Tumasjan ◽  
Isabell Welpe
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Ethical Behavior ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Organizational Attractiveness ◽  
Correlational Data ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Ethical Leader

The ability to attract highly qualified employees constitutes a significant competitive advantage, and is ultimately linked to an organization’s economic success. Creating and maintaining organizational attractiveness is therefore crucial to organizations. While previous research has demonstrated that an organization’s ethical conduct (e.g., corporate social responsibility) enhances its attractiveness for potential employees, there is no empirical evidence on whether the ethical behavior of an organization’s leaders can also affect organizational attractiveness. Using both experimental and correlational data we investigate the influence of leader ethical behavior on organizational attractiveness and examine the underlying mechanisms behind this relationship. In line with our hypotheses, ethical leader behavior leads to significantly higher ethical leadership ratings and to significantly higher ratings of organizational attractiveness. Furthermore, higher ethical leadership ratings were associated with stronger intentions to pursue employment with the respective organization. This effect was simultaneously mediated by organizational prestige and the general attractiveness of the organization.

Effect of Ethical Leadership on Corporate Governance, Performance and Social Responsibility: A Study of Selected Deposit Money Banks in Benue State, Nigeria

10.31355/20 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 019-035
Author(s):  
Kenneth Chukwujioke Agbim
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Regulatory Agency ◽  
Corporate Performance ◽  
Unethical Practices ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Ethical Leader

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED WITH THE INFORMING SCIENCE INSTITUTE. Aim/Purpose............................................................................................................................................................................. This study seeks to examine the effect of ethical leadership on corporate governance, corporate performance and corporate social responsibility in selected Nigerian deposit money banks. Background............................................................................................................................................................................. Business ethics, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility developed as movements to check unethical and corrupt practices in organizations and by extension improve the performance of the organizations. However, the application of these measures has not yielded the desired results. This is evident in the number of top executives of corporate giants like Enron of the United States of America and Satyam of India that have been embroiled in unethical practices. In Nigeria, the corporate corruption and scandal involving top management of deposit money banks has given rise to mergers, acquisition and failure of some of the banks. Thus, this study argues that there is a missing link in the application of these measures. That missing link is ethical leadership. Methodology............................................................................................................................................................................. The study employed survey research design. Stratified sampling technique was employed to select the respondents that completed the questionnaire. The generated data were analyzed using linear regression. Contribution............................................................................................................................................................................... The study established that a robust organization can be developed by main-streaming corporate governance, corporate performance and corporate social responsibility using a nurtured ethical leader. Findings..................................................................................................................................................................................... The results reveal that ethical leadership has significant positive effects on corporate governance, corporate performance and corporate social responsibility. Recommendations for Practitioners......................................................................................................................................... Management should show more commitment in the selection and development of leaders and followers. All the stakeholders should be equally involved in the formulation of corporate governance principles. A nurtured ethical leader should be employed to mainstream corporate governance, corporate performance and corporate social responsibility through the organizational culture. Recommendation for Researchers............................................................................................................................................ The use of objective measures or better still subjective measures is suggested as a way of generalizing the present findings. Impact on Society...................................................................................................................................................................... The findings of this study will expose deposit money bank stakeholders to the consequences of ethical and unethical practices. It will create in bankers the need to abide by ethical leadership and to be whistle-blowers. The findings are expected to engender more stern monitoring measures by the banks’ regulatory agency. These measures are further expected to ensure the reinvention of the banks’ organizational culture so much so that they will contain the core values of code of ethics, corporate governance, performance and social responsibility. The outcome of the study is expected to make the regulatory agency more proactive rather than being reactive to deposit money bank matters. This will consequently put a stop to the fall in the taxes accruable to government in the event of bank failure. Future Research......................................................................................................................................................................... To generalize the findings for the whole of Nigeria, similar study should be conducted in other geopolitical zones of the country.

Corporate social responsibility and organizational attractiveness: implications for talent management

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana Story ◽  
Filipa Castanheira ◽  
Silvia Hartig
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Organizational Attractiveness ◽  
Firm Reputation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Job Advertisement ◽  
Organizational Reputation ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose Talent management is a twenty-first-century concern. Attracting talented individuals to organizations is an important source for firm competitive advantage. Building on signaling theory, this paper proposes that corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be an important tool for talent recruitment. Design/methodology/approach Across two studies, this paper found support for this hypothesized relationship. In Study 1, a job advertisement was manipulated to include information about CSR and tested it in two groups of 120 master’s degree students who would be in the job market within the year. It was found that CSR was an important factor that increased organizational attractiveness. In Study 2, with 532 external talented stakeholders of 16 organizations, our findings were replicated and advanced by testing whether perceptions of CSR practices (internal and external) influenced perceptions of organizational attractiveness and if this relationship was mediated by organizational reputation. Findings This study found that perceptions of internal CSR practices were directly related to both organizational attractiveness and firm reputation. However, perceptions of external CSR practices were related only to organizational attractiveness through organizational reputation. Research limitations/implications The article’s one of the main limitations has to do with generalizability of the results and the potential common method variance bias. Practical implications The findings demonstrate that CSR can play an effective role in attracting potential employees, through enhancement of organizational reputation and organizational attractiveness. If organizations are willing to implement practices that protect and develop their employees, along with practices that improve the quality of the natural environment and the well-being of the society, they can become an employer-of-choice. Originality/value This study expands on previous studies by including an experimental design, including two types of CSR practices and a mediating variable in this field study.

Corporate social responsibility and employee organizational citizenship behavior

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongqiang Gao ◽  
Wei He
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose An increasing number of studies have demonstrated a positive effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), but little attention has been paid to the mechanisms and boundary conditions underlying this effect. The purpose of this paper is to propose a trickle-down model and examine the mediating role of supervisor ethical leadership and the moderating role of perceived organizational distributive justice in the CSR-OCB relationship. Design/methodology/approach To test the arguments, the authors collected field data in four companies located in a central city of China. Through a multi-wave data collection design, a total of 187 employees reported their perceptions toward firms’ CSR and organizational justice at Time 1, and reported their direct supervisors’ ethical leadership behaviors, and their own OCBs at Time 2 (four weeks later). Findings Empirical findings demonstrated that CSR had a positive effect on employee OCB, as mediated by supervisors’ ethical leadership. In addition, this mediation effect was found to be moderated by perceived organizational distributive justice such that the mediation relationship was stronger when perceived organizational distributive justice was lower than when it was higher. Originality/value The present study makes three major contributions. First, it contributes to the CSR literature by revealing the underlying mechanism of ethical leadership through which CSR will lead to increased employee OCB in the workplace. Second, the moderation findings of the study add a new piece of empirical evidence suggesting the boundary condition of organizational distributive justice affecting the positive effect of CSR on employee OCB. Finally, the trickle-down theoretical model demonstrates the pivotal role of leadership in transforming CSR into positive employee outcomes, providing valuable insights into future research that examines why CSR motivates in-organization employees at work.

From corporate social responsibility activities to financial performance: role of innovation and competitive advantage

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahnoor Zahid ◽  
Hina Naeem ◽  
Iqra Aftab ◽  
Sajawal Ali Mughal
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the effect of corporate social responsibility activities (CSRA) of the firm on its financial performance (FP) and analyze the mediating role of innovation and competitive advantage (CA) in the relationship between CSRA and FP in the manufacturing sector of an emerging country, i.e. Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Data has been collected through an electronic structured questionnaire from 300 middle-level and top-level managers by surveying different manufacturing firms of Gujranwala, Pakistan. The study’s hypotheses have been checked by analyzing the reliability and validity of data and applying confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling through statistical package for the social sciences and analysis of moment structures. Findings Outcomes of this study supported the hypothesized model. It has been found that the CSRA plays a significant positive role in determining the FP of the firm. Furthermore, the CA and innovation have been proved as significant mediators between CSRA and FP. Originality/value The first time examining the intermediation of innovation and CA in the relationship between CSRA and FP is the primary input of this study to the literature. Practically, this study’s findings will help strategy makers of manufacturing firms in emerging countries develop better strategies for implementing CSRA, enhancing innovation, seeking CA and improving FP.

scholarly journals The Influence Of Ethical Leadership On Managerial Performance: Mediating Effects Of Mindfulness And Corporate Social Responsibility

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 815-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Williams ◽  
Alfred E. Seaman
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Mediating Effects ◽  
Managerial Performance ◽  
Incomplete Knowledge ◽  
Csr Strategies ◽  
Corporate Social

In a continuing world of corporate misdeeds and unscrupulous decision making, much of the management and academic literatures points to the incomplete knowledge of the consequences of ethics leadership.  One of the bastions of ethics gatekeeping in the firm is the CFO but remarkably scant information can be found on their perceptions concerning ethics leadership.  This study addresses this void by examining mindfulness and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives as new mediating linkages in comprehending the influence of ethics leadership on managerial performance.  Findings reveal that ethical leadership is positively associated with CSR initiatives which, in turn, operate to enhance managerial performance.  Simultaneously, ethical leadership manifests a significant positive relationship with mindfulness but, surprisingly, there is no corresponding relationship with managerial performance.  Instead, mindfulness indirectly influences managerial performance through the intervening effects on CSR initiatives.  These findings suggest that firms can acquire better managerial performance by focusing efforts on CSR strategies, bringing cognitive processes of mindfulness to bear on these actions, and grooming ethics leadership.  In addition, the results offer researchers new relationships to model in the leadership domain. 

scholarly journals Work Safety in CSR Standards, Norms and Management Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-76
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Zadros
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Work Safety ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Corporate Social

AbstractThe concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) since several dozen years has been recognized as one of the most important solutions used by companies that want to build competitive advantage through concern for economic effects, people and the environment. Important role in the management of CSR by these companies is the implementation of its standards and norm and their reporting. However, the question arises whether such activities are sufficient to actually talk about the company as a socially responsible organization. In the presented article, a broader analysis of this problem was undertaken, trying to answer what determines the company's recognition as socially responsible.

Liability or Ethics?

2019 ◽  
pp. 198-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Snezhko ◽  
Ali Coskun
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Ethical Behavior ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Compliance Function ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Modern Perspective

The purpose of this chapter is to reconsider a traditional approach to the compliance function of firms from a modern perspective, which broadens its concept as a company's liability to only secure its adherence to applicable laws and avoid regulatory sanctions in serving company's interests. The observation of issues regulated by the compliance function in the contest of managing situations of conflict of interest (COI) in different spheres concludes that, in fact, those issues, to a greater extent, relate to sustaining ethical behavior in business rather than stem from regulatory norms. Based on the findings of this analysis as well as other different sources, a new definition for effective compliance has been developed with the focus on adherence to ethical principles in respect to third parties, which addresses compliance function in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its sustainability role setting a vector for a further research.

The Influence of CSR on B2B Relationships

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Susan Saurage-Altenloh ◽  
Phillip M. Randall
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Brand Equity ◽  
Brand Management ◽  
Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽  
Corporate Brand ◽  
B2b Relationships ◽  
Management Experience ◽  
Corporate Social

The chapter addresses how ethical actions deliver value through sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a proven role in developing audience trust that increases brand equity among target audiences and stakeholders, thus ensuring that the brand sustains its competitive advantage through improved profitability and reputation in the market. Not only do businesses have a social responsibility to the markets from which they earn revenues, but buyers expect ethical businesses to have an established CSR program in place. Businesses that engage in CSR activities within the process of corporate brand management experience stronger reputation that drives loyalty and sales, resulting in a competitive, sustainable market advantage.

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