Corporate social responsibility as relief from responsibility

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Herlin ◽  
Nikodemus Solitander
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
The World ◽  
Crisis Discourse ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Climate Crisis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to get a deeper understanding how not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) discursively legitimize their corporate engagement through cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) in general, and particularly how they construct legitimacy for partnering with firms involved in the commodification of water. The paper seeks to shed light on the values embedded in these discursive accounts and the kind of societal effects and power relations they generate, and the authors are particularly interested in understanding the role of modernity in shaping their responsibilities (or lack of them) via various technologies and practices Design/methodology/approach Drawing on critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1995), the authors analyze the discursive accounts of three water-related CSPs involving the three biggest bottled water producers in the world (Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Danone) and three major non-profits (The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Wildlife Foundation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Findings The NPO’s legitimate their corporate engagement in the water CSPs through the use of two global discourses: global governance discourse and the global climate crisis discourse. Relief from responsibility is achieved through three processes: replacement of moral with technical responsibility, denial of proximity and the usage of intermediaries to whom responsibility is outsourced. Originality/value This paper explores the processes of legitimizing accounts for CSPs, particularly focusing on NPO discourse and their use of CSR elements and the consequences of such discursive constructs, and this has received little to no attention in previous research.

A critical reflection on sustainability within the UK industrial sectors

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suresh Renukappa ◽  
Charles Egbu ◽  
Akintola Akintoye ◽  
Jack Goulding
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Industry Sectors

PurposeIn the early part of the twenty‐first century, the term sustainability has become a buzzword. Although featuring strongly in the popular media, trade, professional and academic journals, the very concept of sustainability is elusive for businesses. There is, however, a little empirical research on the perceptions of the UK industrial sectors on the concept of sustainability – which is the core raison d'être of this paper. The purpose of this paper is to capture the general perceptions of the UK industrial sectors on the concept of sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe aim of this paper is to capture the general perceptions of the UK industrial sectors on the concept of sustainability using a qualitative approach. Four industry sectors: energy and utility, transportation, construction and not‐for‐profit organisations (NPOs) were considered based on the environmental, social and economic impact on the UK society. Semi‐structured interviews were used to collect industry perception which was then analysed using content analysis for inference and conclusion.FindingsThe data analysis revealed that the perceptions of the UK industrial sectors on the concept of sustainability vary significantly across the four industry sectors. Four core categories were identified: environmental, economic, corporate social responsibility and triple bottom line dimension.Practical implicationsThe paper concludes that the concept of sustainability is multifaceted and diverse. Although the importance of sustainability is broadly acknowledged across the four industry sectors, there is a significant lack of a common and operationalised understanding on the concept of sustainability. Therefore, it is recommended that there is an urgent need to develop and deploy an industry‐wide awareness‐raising programme on the concept of sustainability.Originality/valueThe paper provides a richer insight into the understanding and awareness of the meaning of sustainability at a conceptual level.

Entrepreneurial habits in the Kenya red cross society

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Bitange Ndemo ◽  
Benedict Mkalama ◽  
Dennis Moiro Aiko
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Entrepreneurial Leadership ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Entrepreneurship Theory

Learning outcomes The case study takes students through basic principles and applications of entrepreneurship theory as demonstrated by the story of Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). The case further demonstrates the significance of communicating a rallying vision in a change management situation. The case further allows the students to evaluate the concept and implication of entrepreneurial leadership thereby enhancing creativity and innovativeness in a firm. Case overview/synopsis An area that has had little interaction in the study of entrepreneurship is within the development and humanitarian agencies. This is a case study on Entrepreneurial Habits in the KRCS. The leadership of KRCS combined different entrepreneurial actions that were able to deliver commercial goals in a not-for-profit organization. The final overarching consideration was the sustainability of the changes implemented over a period of time. Complexity academic level Graduate level. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Looking in the mirror

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Wells
Keyword(s):  
Business Professionals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Practice ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Individual Perception ◽  
Psychology Theory ◽  
Chartered Accountants ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – There is a widely held stereotypical view that accounting is structured, precise, compliance-driven and repetitive. Drawing on social psychology theory, this paper aims to examine how accountants may contribute to these stereotypical perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – Individual perception data were collected through questionnaires and interviews with accountants from the corporate, public practice and not-for-profit sectors, along with “Chartered Accountants” who no longer work as accountants. Findings – These findings suggest that, contrary to results from an earlier study, the targets of the accounting stereotype contribute to the stereotype formation and maintenance and that increased exposure to accountants may serve only to confirm and reinforce the accounting stereotype. Research limitations/implications – There are a small number of participants in this study, and this limits the ability to generalise the findings. Practical implications – These findings have important implications for the profession in how it communicates and promotes the role of the accountant in society. Failure to address the issues identified may lead the stereotype to become self-fulfilling. This may result in the recruitment of future accountants who lack the required skills and capabilities. This could lead to the loss of non-compliance-related accounting work to other business professionals. Originality/value – This study responds to criticism that little is known about how and why the accounting stereotype is formed and how contact with an accountant may increase stereotypicality. Additionally, this paper proposes a strategy to reduce stereotypicality through contact with accountants.

The career paths of social marketing doctoral graduates

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Dao Truong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Research Collaboration ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Doctoral Graduates ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
The Social

Purpose Although the social marketing field has developed relatively quickly, little is known about the careers of students who chose social marketing as their main subject of study. Such research is important not only because it reveals employment trends and mobility but also because it informs policy making with respect to curriculum development as well as raises governmental and societal interest in the social marketing field. This paper aims to analyse the career pathways of doctoral graduates who examined social marketing as the subject of their theses. Doctoral graduates represent a special group in a knowledge economy, who are considered the best qualified for the creation and dissemination of knowledge and innovation. Design/methodology/approach A search strategy identified 209 doctoral-level social marketing theses completed between 1971 and 2015. A survey was then delivered to dissertation authors, which received 117 valid responses. Findings Results indicate that upon graduation, most graduates secured full-time jobs, where about 66 per cent worked in higher education, whereas the others worked in the government, not-for-profit and private sectors. Currently, there is a slight decline in the number of graduates employed in the higher education, government and not-for-profit sectors but an increase in self-employed graduates. A majority of graduates are working in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. Overall, levels of international mobility and research collaboration are relatively low. Originality/value This is arguably the first study to examine the career paths of social marketing doctoral graduates.

Achieving leadership behavior change at scale

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 309-318
Author(s):  
Tom Rose
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Change ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Leadership Behavior ◽  
Leadership Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
High Performing ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
New Research

Purpose The growing force of disruptive change is creating whitewater work environments across the profit and not-for-profit world. To help leaders overcome the challenge of achieving improvements in leadership performance, this study aims to outline research and case examples that illustrate a four-point roadmap for improving this performance at scale. Design/methodology/approach The study summarizes new research on leadership and organizational high performance and practices that drive high performance today. It relates these finding to trends evidenced in the work being done by HR organizations and the consulting firms that serve them. It then outlines an evidence-based roadmap for achieving improvements in leadership performance that HR organizations can adopt to achieve improvements in leadership performance. Findings Successful organizations intervene at four leverage points to meet the challenge achieving the shifts in leadership behavior needed for success in today’s permanent whitewater environments. These organizations are focusing on two types of leadership, leveraging two approaches to its development and are leveraging critical enablers that benefit from strong alignments within HR and between HR and their business leader colleagues. Originality/value The study highlights new research finding and research-based models of leadership performance that meet the demands of today’s workplace. It synthesizes a new four-point roadmap to success from trends discovered in recent research on leadership, technology-assisted behavior change and organizational effectiveness, as well as in the example of in high-performing organizations.

scholarly journals How performance measurement influences stakeholders in not-for-profit organizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1164-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haley Allison Beer ◽  
Pietro Micheli
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Performance Goals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of performance measurement (PM) on not-for-profit (NFP) organizations’ stakeholders by studying how PM practices interact with understandings of legitimate performance goals. This study invokes institutional logics theory to explain interactions between PM and stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth case study is conducted in a large NFP organization in the UK. Managers, employees, and external partners are interviewed and observed, and performance-related documents analyzed. Findings Both stakeholders and PM practices are found to have dominant institutional logics that portray certain goals as legitimate. PM practices can reinforce, reconcile, or inhibit stakeholders’ understandings and propensity to act toward goals, depending on the extent to which practices share the dominant logic of the stakeholders they interact with. Research limitations/implications A theoretical framework is proposed for how PM practices first interact with stakeholders at a cognitive level and second influence action. This research is based on a single case study, which limits generalizability of findings; however, results may be transferable to other environments where PM is aimed at balancing competing stakeholder objectives and organizational priorities. Practical implications PM affects the experience of stakeholders by interacting with their understanding of legitimate performance goals. PM systems should be designed and implemented on the basis of both their formal ability to represent organizational aims and objectives, and their influence on stakeholders. Originality/value Findings advance PM theory by offering an explanation for how PM influences attention and actions at an individual micro level.

scholarly journals Discretionary Governance

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-560
Author(s):  
Christina Garsten ◽  
Adrienne Sörbom
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
The World ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Low Degrees

Abstract Built on the exclusive funding of 1,000 large transnational corporations, the World Economic Forum is a not-for-profit Swiss foundation, aiming to shape the direction of globalization. Its events are characterized by low degrees of formality and transparency. Research on what this organization does is scarce. This article suggests the term discretionary governance to capture the precarious, yet existing, social order that the organization shapes. By discretionary governance, we mean a set of discreet practices based on the organization’s judgement in ways that escape established democratic controls. Drawing on ethnographic data the paper demonstrates how selection, secrecy, and status form key components of this tenuous ordering. Selection processes and secrecy contribute to status elevation of the individuals and organizations chosen to participate. Upon them and the organization itself is bestowed a symbolic capital that is practical and possibly profitable in the world of global governance.

The impact of relative CEO compensation on not-for-profit contributions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey Kaden ◽  
Gary Peters ◽  
Juan Manuel Sanchez ◽  
Gary M. Fleischman
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ceo Compensation ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Survivorship Bias ◽  
Excess Cash ◽  
The Impact ◽  
A Current

PurposeThe authors extend research suggesting that external funders reduce their contributions to not-for-profit (NFP) organizations in response to media-reported CEO compensation levels.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a maximum archival sample of 44,807 observations from US Form 990s, the authors comprehensively assess the extent that high relative NFP CEO compensation is associated with decreases in future contributions.FindingsThe authors find that donors and grantors react negatively to high relative CEO compensation but do not react adversely to high absolute executive compensation. Contributors seem to take issue with CEO compensation when they perceive it absorbs a relatively large portion of the organizations’ total expenses, which may hinder the NFP’s mission. Additional findings suggest that excess cash held by the NFP significantly exacerbates the negative baseline relationship between future contributions and high relative CEO compensation. Finally, both individual donors and professional grantors are sensitive to cash NFP CEO compensation levels, but grantors are more sensitive to CEO noncash compensation.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors’ data are focused on larger NFP organizations, so this limits the generalizability of the study. Furthermore, survivorship bias potentially influences their time-series investigations because a current year large-scale decrease in funding due to high relative CEO compensation may cause some NFP firms to drop out of the sample the following year due to significant funding reductions.Originality/valueThe study makes three noteworthy contributions to the literature. First, the study documents that the negative association between high relative CEO compensation levels and future donor and grantor contributions is much more widespread than previous literature suggested. Second, the authors document that high relative CEO compensation levels that trigger reductions in future contributions are significantly exacerbated by excess cash held by the NFP. Finally, the authors find that more sophisticated grantors are more sensitive to noncash CEO compensation levels as compared with donors.

Balgran: solving issues of an NGO in Jammu and Kashmir

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Aarushi Mahajan ◽  
Gopalakrishnan Narayanamurthy
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Organizational Legitimacy ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes have been prepared in accordance with Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956). After completing the case, the students shall be able to do the following: • describe the challenges faced by the not-for-profit, non-governmental and voluntary organizations operating at a local level in a conflict-ridden zone (knowledge). • Explain the key features, roles and typologies associated with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (comprehension), apply such typologies to specific organizations (application) and differentiate between social enterprises and NGOs (analysis). • Analyse various scaling-up techniques and infer the technique(s) used or can be potentially used by a particular organization (analysis). • Synthesize different elements of the organizational environment and reflect on the potential influence of these elements on an organization (synthesis). • Develop frameworks by applying institutional theory and motivations for volunteerism to map challenges of organizational legitimacy and volunteer turnover, respectively, as well as make recommendations to tackle these challenges (synthesis and evaluation) • Develop recommendations for the problems faced by not-for-profit voluntary NGOs (evaluation). Case overview/synopsis Balgran, a local not-for-profit non-governmental voluntary organization operating in the conflict-ridden state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), India was established in the year 1975 to empower destitute, orphans, abandoned and socially handicapped children. Since its inception, Balgran has expanded its services at a rapid pace including Bal Bharti public school, health care centre, vocational training and a computer centre. Mr A.K. Khajuria, President of Balgran, was concerned about the high turnover of the voluntary staff, mistrust among the potential donors concerning fund management of NGOs and inadequate funding. Mr Khajuria after a few failed attempts at resolving these issues, called for a meeting of the members of the governing body in February 2019 to decide the future plan of action to resolve these issues. Through this case, the students can understand the challenges faced by local NGOs in general and unique challenges (mistrust among potential donors) faced by NGOs operating in conflict-ridden areas such as J&K. The students will be able to enhance their skills in brainstorming and making recommendations while framing possible solutions to the challenges faced by Balgran. The case seeks to enable the students to comprehend the features and typologies associated with NGOs; the role played by local NGOs in community development; differences between social enterprises and NGOs; scaling-up techniques and paths with special reference to local NGOs and the environmental factors that can potentially influence the operation of NGOs. Complexity academic level This case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate-level students learning social entrepreneurship, social work and management of alternate organizations such as NGOs. This case could be used to discuss concepts related to not-for-profit organizations operating in voluntary settings. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Consumer well-being research: integrating social marketing and service research

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-138
Author(s):  
Raechel Johns
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Service Ecosystem

Purpose While social marketing (SM) literature has increasingly incorporated service literature into the field, social marketers have paid limited attention to transformative service research (TSR). Similarly, transformative service researchers have neglected to incorporate the more traditional body of literature – SM – into their research. This paper aims to provide an extensive literature review and comparison of the bodies of literature, cautioning researchers to consider both fields of research or risk their work not being as relevant as research incorporating both literature bodies. Social value co-creation is considered as a middle-ground between the two bodies of literature. Design/methodology/approach This paper expands on the conceptual discussion of TSR and the more advanced empirical academic literature on SM. Framed within a context of anti-smoking, this paper explores the differences between SM and TSR, within the service ecosystem. Findings This paper highlights three key differences between SM and TSR. Firstly, SM focuses on changes only within a not-for-profit context, while TSR focuses on changes which may be related to both not-for-profit and for-profit objectives. Secondly, SM broadly appears to take a behavioural change from implementation perspective, with an upstream approach; while in contrast, TSR focuses more on interaction for consumer and employee well-being. Finally, when considering the service ecosystem, SM and TSR both operate at all three levels (micro, meso and macro) but may focus on different levels, depending on the initiative. Originality/value With the emergence of TSR, further understanding of this body of literature is necessary; otherwise, social marketers may risk their research losing ground to other bodies of literature.

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