Mapping the evolution of research themes in business ethics: a co-word network analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Kumar ◽  
Arpita Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Environmental Disclosures ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose This paper aims to map the evolution of research in business ethics from 1991 to 2018. It aims to identify the major themes and how they have evolved. It also aims to identify gaps in the literature for recommending future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach This study uses co-word network analysis. Co-word network analysis is a bibliometric technique used to objectively identify research themes via article keywords. The study examines articles from 1991 to 2018, which is a span encompassing a greater number of articles than previous bibliometric studies in business ethics. This time span was split into four periods and major research themes were identified for each period to map the changes in research agendas in the business ethics discipline over time. Findings The findings point to increasing maturation of the discipline, a slight decline in ethical decision-making research, a rise in research at the intersection of leadership and ethics and exponential growth in studies on corporate social responsibility. Ethical issues in business-to-business contexts are understudied. Research in environmental disclosures and leadership is expected to grow in the future. Originality/value This is the first study in business ethics to use keywords for analyzing the evolution of a discipline. This study encompasses more articles than any other study in business ethics. Finally, this is the only study to use co-word network analysis to study business ethics literature.

The transformation of Chinese business ethics in line with its emergence as a global economic leader

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-122
Author(s):  
Ron Berger
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Business ◽  
Future Situation ◽  
Business Ethics In China ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – This paper aims to present the evolution of Chinese business ethics and CSR policy. China currently has business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) concerns primarily because its economy is in evolution. As the Chinese economy is in transition from the late 1970s from a command–Communist economy to a more hybrid system Beijing model (a system based on a capitalist market controlled through bureaucracy), much has to be understood if one wants to participate in its vast economic potential. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on the building of a model that depicts the evolution of business ethics in China as a base for further research. Findings – With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, opportunities are opening up to Chinese entrepreneurs and connected officials. This has led to money worship and, in some cases, thorough unethical behavior. The uncertain and ever-changing rules of the game generate opportunity for business ethics and CSR problems. This wealth creates temptation and incentives to cut corners to get rich fast. Much research has tried to explain business ethics in China through the understanding of Guanxi (Chinese social network of reciprocal business relations common in Confucian cultures), but in my view, the evolutionary aspect of it is missing to explain the present and future situation. Whereas considerable research has dealt with the growth of Chinese industries in recent years, the key relationship between changes in its economy and shifts in Chinese business ethics has been neglected. This paper presents the evolution of Chinese business ethics and CSR policy. Originality/value – The paper illustrates the evolution of Chinese business ethics and how one has to adapt if one wants to succeed in its ever evolving and maturing market. A model is presented that can assist in future research in the area.

Homegrown Kenya: the horticultural industry under fire on CSR

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
George O. K'Aol ◽  
Francis Wambalaba
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labor Policies ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Subject area Corporate social responsibility (CSR). Study level/applicability The Homegrown case is designed for teaching corporate social responsibility and business ethics at undergraduate and graduate levels. The case may be used on a variety of courses including: corporate social responsibility, business ethics and corporate social responsibility, and business ethics. Case overview In May 2003, the headline of the East African newspaper screamed “The Kenyan Horticultural Industry under fire.” The industry was accused of exploitative labor policies with respect to working conditions, workers' welfare, sexual harassment, and exposure to harmful pesticides by the key stakeholders led by the Kenya Human Rights Commission. The stakeholders had announced plans to conduct national and international campaigns against the flower growing and exporting companies in Kenya. Mr Richard Fox, the Managing Director of Homegrown was worried that the publicity had adversely tarnished the image and reputation of the horticultural industry in Kenya as a whole, including Homegrown. He wondered how best to respond to these allegations. Should Homegrown wait to see what the competitors and other stakeholders would do, as these were industry-wide problems or should Homegrown take the lead? And if so, what should be the scope of the programs, given the diverse nature of the issues? He had to make decision quickly. Expected learning outcomes The case provides opportunity for students to analyze, discuss, and debate topical issues in CSR. At the end of the case, students should be able to: identify emerging CSR and ethical issues facing the horticultural industry in Kenya; analyze the cost of implementing CSR programs in business organizations; evaluate the impact of CSR programs on business performance; justify and defend choices on CSR, and ethical decisions. Supplementary materials Not included.

scholarly journals “In sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth?”

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Michel Roman Pais Seles ◽  
Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour ◽  
Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour ◽  
Daniel Jugend
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Sustainable Change ◽  
Economic Crises ◽  
Environmental Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Modern Business ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose “Economic crises” and “corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives” are two issues that dominate the modern business agenda. Although related, these issues have been analysed separately, and so a significant gap is perpetuated between the two. What are the effects of economic crises on CSR initiatives? Can organisational social initiatives withstand economic crises? The purpose of this paper is to answer these questions. Design/methodology/approach An integrative literature review was conducted, considering: the economic and geographical context in which the research was conducted; the focus of each piece of research; the adopted research methods; organisational theories of analytical support; the sectors analysed; and the effects of economic crises on CSR initiatives and environmental management. Findings Some of the findings were as follows: most of the studies analysed reported that CSR helps companies to cope with economic crises by increasing the efficiency of investments and establishing better relations with stakeholders and markets; environmental practices are related to negative environmental performance in periods of economic crises; and CSR relates positively to financial performance in periods of economic crises. Originality/value This is one of the first integrative literature reviews to investigate what happens to the relationship between businesses and sustainable change management in periods of crises. This paper also offers a future research agenda for the issue, with 12 questions still unanswered by the latest research.

Supply chain resilience: A review, conceptual framework and future research

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjali Shishodia ◽  
Rohit Sharma ◽  
R. Rajesh ◽  
Ziaul Haque Munim
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Conceptual Development ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Supply Chain Resilience ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThe study identifies nine important research areas and critically maps the structural relationships among supply chain resilience (SCRES) dimensions, namely, vulnerabilities, capabilities, strategies and performance metrics. The analysis also revealed various influential authors, journals, institutions and trending articles, across SCRES literature.Design/methodology/approachThis study performs a bibliometric analysis of 771 articles published over the 32 years from 1988 to 2020, and network analysis in combination with content analysis of 90 most cited articles published in research fronts of SCRES.FindingsThe results demonstrate the underlying research areas within the SCRES, which are clustered into nine research themes: (1) conceptual development of SCRES, (2) recent developments of designing resilient supply chain (SC) networks, (3) focus on identifying drivers of SC vulnerability and risks, (4) impact of risks on network resilience, (5) risk assessment to avoid breakdowns/disruptions, (6) measuring resilience approaches/drivers to improve SC performance, (7) building resilient capabilities by integrating other SC dimensions, (8) quantification of SC network and (9) emphasis on developing robustness in SC networks.Practical implicationsThis research offers implications for classifying the works in literature based on bibliometric information and network analysis techniques. This can help researchers and practitioners to understand the prominent areas in SCRES and provide guidelines for future research in this area.Originality/valueThis study provides an overview of the evolution of SCRES over time in the domain of supply chain management and also outlines a future research agenda claimed by the trending articles to encourage further investigations in the field of SCRES.

CSR intellectual structure in management and tourism

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 521-541
Author(s):  
Francisco Espasandin-Bustelo ◽  
Beatriz Palacios-Florencio ◽  
Javier Sánchez-Rivas García
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Corporate Social

PurposeCorporate social responsibility (CSR) research intellectual structures are analysed and compared on the basis of the main international journals of management and tourism.Design/methodology/approachDocument co-citation, author co-citation and word co-occurrence are carried out using UCINET and NODEXL, software for social network analysis (SNA).FindingsDifferences and similarities between both research fields are provided, study limitations are pointed out and future research lines are suggested.Originality/valueThe main works concerning the topic of CSR are identified for each area of knowledge management and tourism. These are the basis for constructing the corresponding knowledge, and co-citation patterns among them are shown graphically.

Dissecting the empirical-normative divide in business ethics

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 679-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Roth ◽  
Vladislav Valentinov ◽  
Lars Clausen
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Functional Differentiation ◽  
Niklas Luhmann ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moral Diversity ◽  
Cell Matrix ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Instrumental Approaches

Purpose This paper aims to probe the limits of the empirical-normative divide as a conceptual framework in business ethics. Design/methodology/approach A systems theory perspective debunks this divide as a false distinction that cannot do justice to the conceptual complexity of the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) scholarship. Findings Drawing on the systems-theoretic ideas of Niklas Luhmann and the “Laws of Form” by George Spencer Brown, the paper shows that the divide may be dissected into a four-cell matrix constituted by two other distinctions-descriptive vs prescriptive and categorical vs hypothetical-the latter of which was seminally suggested by Donaldson and Preston (1995). Practical implications The emerging four-cell matrix is shown to centrally embrace the multiplicity of normative, empirical and instrumental approaches to CSR. This multiplicity is exemplified by the application of these approaches to the phenomenon of CSR communication. Social implications A more general implication of the proposed argument for the field of business ethics is in tracing the phenomena of moral diversity and moral ambivalence back to the regime of functional differentiation as the distinguishing feature of the modern society. This argument drives home the point that economic operations are as ethical or unethical as political operations, and that both economic and political perspectives on ethical issues are as important or unimportant as are religious, artistic, educational or scientific perspectives. Originality/value In contrast to the empirical-normative divide, the perspective is shown to centrally embrace the multiplicity of normative, empirical and instrumental approaches to CSR.

scholarly journals Reconciling and reconceptualising servitization research: drawing on modularity, platforms, ecosystems, risk and governance to develop mid-range theory

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Johnson ◽  
Jens K. Roehrich ◽  
Mehmet Chakkol ◽  
Andrew Davies
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Range Theory ◽  
Product Service Systems ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis research bridges disparate research on servitization, namely product–service systems (PSS) and integrated solutions (IS), to provide valuable insights for the progression of the field. It acts as a reconciliation of these research streams and offers a reconceptualised agenda incorporating recent research on platforms, ecosystems, modularity, risk and governance as key conceptual themes to synthesise and build theory.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual, theory development article focused on advancing thinking on servitization by identifying systematic and theoretically informed research themes. It also proposes future research opportunities to advance theoretical contributions and practical implications for servitization research.FindingsBy reviewing and synthesising extant PSS and IS research, this article identified five core themes – namely modularity, platforms, ecosystems, risks and governance. The importance of these five themes and their linkages to PSS and IS are examined and a theoretical framework with a future research agenda to advance servitization is proposed.Originality/valueThis paper considers the similarities and differences between PSS and IS in order to develop a theory and to reconcile formerly disparate research efforts by establishing linkages between core themes and identifying valuable synergies for scholars. The importance of the core themes and current gaps within and across these themes are shown, and a mid-range theory for servitization is positioned to bridge the servitization-related PSS and IS communities.

Two decades of research on nation branding: a review and future research agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy W. Hao ◽  
Justin Paul ◽  
Sangeeta Trott ◽  
Chiquan Guo ◽  
Heng-Hui Wu
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Nation Branding ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Current State ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Methodological Approaches

Purpose Despite the growing interest by scholars, practitioners and public policymakers, there are still divergent and fragmented conceptualizations of nation branding as the field is still developing. In response, the purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize nation branding research and to provide directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach The authors review peer-reviewed theoretical and empirical journal articles published during the last two decades – from 1998 to 2018. Selected journal articles on nation branding were subsequently synthesized for further insights. Findings The field of nation branding is fragmented and has developed in the course of the last two decades in different directions. This paper identifies key publication outlets and articles, major theoretical and methodological approaches and primary variables of interest that exist in the nation branding literature. The findings also highlight several research themes for future research. Originality/value This research fills a need to summaries the current state of the nation branding literature and identifies research issues that need to be addressed in the future.

scholarly journals Reflecting on future research concerning the added value of FM

Facilities ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (13/14) ◽  
pp. 856-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Anker Jensen ◽  
Theo J.M. van der Voordt ◽  
Christian Coenen ◽  
Anna-Liisa Sarasoja
Keyword(s):  
Business Performance ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Strategic Partner ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
The Future ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – This paper aims to summarize recent research findings and reflections on The Added Value of Facilities Management (FM) and to outline perspectives for future research and development of the added value of FM. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on reflections on contributions to the recently published book “The Added Value of Facilities Management” and related future studies, as well as further exploration of five main themes. Findings – Added value is expected to be central in the future development of FM, which is confirmed by recent foresight studies. There is a need for a better understanding of alignment between FM and core business, performance measurement methods and how models such as the FM Value Map can be of value to the involved stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and branding have great potential to add value and to elevate FM to become a strategic partner with corporate top management. Management of stakeholders’ perception of value and relationships are essential aspects as well and need further attention. Research limitations/implications – The article is based on the conclusions of several studies that aimed to explore items for further research, on the ideas of all co-authors of “The Added Value of Facilities Management” anthology and on further exploration of five main themes, and not on an extensive review of recommendations for further research to be found in a huge number of research reports. Practical implications – The findings and ideas for further research on the added value of FM deliver input to further professionalization of FM. Originality/value – This paper provides important input to the future research agenda on the added value of FM and sheds new light on five particular research topics.

The application of causality to construction business ethics

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 550-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byung Gyoo Kang ◽  
Francis Edum-Fotwe ◽  
Andrew Price ◽  
Tony Thorpe
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethics Training ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethics Management ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Long Term Observation ◽  
The Right

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate two causality concepts, sphere of control (SOC) and agent–action–results (AAR), and their potential applications to construction business ethics. SOC is used in ethics training, and AAR is applied to ethical decision-making (EDM). Design/methodology/approach – A framework of ethics training and a framework of EDM for construction companies have been developed. Interviews were conducted with experienced construction engineers and PhD ethicians to test the validity of the EDM framework. Findings – Literature review has been conducted in ethical issues, ethics training and EDM, leading to the developments of the frameworks. The framework of ethics training incorporates SOC to reflect the ethicality and personality traits. The framework of EDM is based on AAR, combined with a stakeholder approach and Kohlberg’s cognitive moral development theory, with a review from EDM models in business. Both frameworks include project-level component to reflect the unique feature of the construction industry. The framework of EDM showed a good practicality through the interviews on an ethical dilemma example. Research limitations/implications – For the ethics training framework, a long-term observation or survey should be accompanied to evaluate the framework in detail, tracing the improvement of ethicalness of course participants. Practical implications – The customized ethics training will be more efficient and effective, as it considers individual ethicality. The scoring system of the EDM framework is simple and practical. This is particularly relevant for construction ethics management, considering that most of construction practitioners are engineers, not philosophers or psychologists. Originality/value – Applying causality concepts, SOC and AAR, to construction ethics is a novel approach in construction management. This research has made a good advancement in construction ethics management by providing the right directions to be explored in these new areas.

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