Dynamics of Business Models in Industry-Wide Collaborative Networks for Circularity

Incumbent B2B manufacturing companies join forces and form collaborative networks, called consortia, aiming to increase the circularity of their products. Our research interest lies in the understanding of how the business models (BM) of the companies and the industry are affected by such collaborations in the collaborative networks of the circular economy (CE). Given the exploratory nature of our empirical research, we applied a mixed research strategy of an inductively deductive nature. We carried out case studies in a manufacturing industry field and combined them with quantitative content analyses of the companies’ financial and non-financial reports. Drawing on the assumptions of the Attention-Based View Theory and Legitimacy Theory, we defined and found verbally communicated identifiers of BM elements, CE strategies, and collaborative networks, quantified their occurrences, and transformed them into variables. Using correlation analyses, we determined the tightness and the changes in relationships between the BMs’ elements and CE strategies. We examined the dynamic changes in the structure of BMs and their elements occurring within the implementation of selected CE strategies. Our findings suggest that collaborative networks for CE support an adaptation of the industry’s BMs. The higher-level CE strategies impact the BM more than the lower-level ones. The contribution of our research is in the suggested method of quantification and concretization of an abstract concept of BMs’ elements and their interrelations. This enables an assessment and a direct comparison of BMs, as well as of implemented CE strategies across companies and across industries. Our results also shed more light on the way the companies and industries adapt their BMs towards reaching circularity, as well as on how collaborative networks support such a transition.

Theorizing compassionate leadership from the case of Jacinda Ardern: Legitimacy, paradox and resource conservation

During times of suffering such as that inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, compassion expressed by leaders helps to ease distress. Doing so, those in a position to provide resources that might facilitate coping and recovery are attentive to the situations of distress. Despite an abundance of leadership theorizing and models, there still is little academic literature on compassionate leadership. To address this limitation, we present an exploratory case study of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, someone widely recognized for her compassionate leadership and frequently described in paradoxical terms (e.g. ‘kind and strong’; embodying ‘steel and compassion’). We address her compassionate leadership through the lenses of paradox theory, legitimacy theory and conservation of resources theory. We contribute a heuristic framework that sees various types of legitimacy leveraged synergistically to build resources and alleviate suffering – providing further legitimacy in an upward spiral of compassionate leadership.

Modal Intelektual dan Pengungkapan Tanggung Jawab Sosial

Empirical testing of the correlation of intellectual capital and disclosure of social responsibility with, structural capital, customer capital, human capital is the purpose of this study. Companies that are included in the LQ45 list of the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the 2015-2017 period are used as samples in this study, and the purpose sampling method is used to collect samples. Multiple regression analysis technique is used through SPSS to analyze a data. Based on the previous study, it is concluded that human capital positively affects the disclosure of social responsibility, at the same time, neither structure_capital nor customer capital has any impact on the disclosure of social responsibility. The results of this study are in line with resource-based theory, legitimacy theory, and resource dependency theory. These theories believe that every company has different and unique resources, which can add a sustainable competitive advantage to the survival of the company, but companies as organizations rely on Strengths to provide resources and use them in their operations. Keywords: Intellectual Capital; Disclosure of Social Responsibility.

Restoring an eroded legitimacy: the adaptation of nonfinancial disclosure after a scandal and the risk of hypocrisy

PurposeThis study contributes to the literature on hypocrisy in corporate social responsibility by investigating how organizations adapt their nonfinancial disclosure after a social, environmental or governance scandal.Design/methodology/approachThe present research employs content analysis of nonfinancial disclosures by 11 organizations during a 3-year timespan to investigate how they responded to major scandals in terms of social, environmental and sustainability reporting and a content analysis of independent counter accounts to detect the presence of views that contrast with the corporate disclosure and suggest hypocritical behaviors.FindingsFour patterns in the adaptation of reporting – genuine, allusive, evasive, indifferent – emerge from information collected on scandals and socially responsible actions. The type of scandal and cultural factors can influence the response to a scandal, as environmental and social scandal can attract more scrutiny than financial scandals. Companies exposed to environmental and social scandals are more likely to disclose information about the scandal and receive more coverage by external parties in the form of counter accounts.Originality/valueUsing a theoretical framework based on legitimacy theory and organizational hypocrisy, the present research contributes to the investigation of the adaptation of reporting when a scandal occurs and during its aftermath.

A vállalkozások közzétételi gyakorlatának elméleti megközelítése = Theoretical Aspects of Accounting Disclosure

A vállalkozások közzétételi gyakorlata folyamatosan változott az elmúlt évtizedekben a változó jogi, gazdasági és társadalmi környezet hatására. Egyre több kutatás foglalkozik a közzétételi motivációs tényezőkkel, valamint a vállalati információk közlésével foglalkozó elméletekkel (érdekhordozói elmélet, megbízó-ügynök elmélet, jelzéselmélet, legitimitás elmélet). Tanulmányunkban kísérletet teszünk ezen ösztönző tényezők csoportosítására, valamint bemutatjuk a fenti elméleteket. = Business disclosure practices have changed progressively in recent decades as a result of the changing legal, economic and social environment. More and more research is dealing with the motivational factors of disclosure as well as theories dealing with the disclosure of corporate information (stakeholder theory, principal-agent theory, signaling theory, legitimacy theory). In our study, we attempt to group these motivating factors and present the above theories.

Social responsibility or smoke screening: evidence from India

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether the choice of a firm to spend resources on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities is associated with its actual social impacts as measured by its energy consumption and the quality of its financial reporting. Based on legitimacy theory, the authors argue firms in India use CSR expenditures as mere smoke screens to build a positive public image. Design/methodology/approach By using energy consumption per unit of sale as a measure of real environmental impact, the authors model firms' CSR investment behavior. Additionally, the authors use earnings management measures to examine whether CSR spenders engage in manipulating reported earnings, a practice socially responsible firms would not engage in. These hypotheses are tested using a panel data set of Indian firms for the period 2012–2014. Findings Consistent with legitimacy theory, the authors show firms that participate in socially undesirable activities such as heavy energy consumption and accounting manipulation are more likely to pursue CSR voluntarily. Additionally, the authors find evidence suggesting firms that voluntarily engage in CSR tend to have lower firm values. Originality/value This study examines the social and environmental concerns of firms that invest in CSR, especially in an emerging market context. The findings help understand the motivation for CSR behavior of corporate firms and may well explain the observed negative relationship between firm value and voluntary CSR spending observed in many emerging market contexts, especially in India.

Financial Reporting Material Misstatements, Earnings Conservatism and Managerial Replacement Decisions

Purpose: Based on signal theory and legitimacy theory, this paper examines whether firms with financial reporting misstatements (restatements) would prefer conservative financial reporting to send signals regarding their determinants of improving financial reporting credibility and legitimate organizational image in Taiwan. This paper further examines whether these firms reduce the demand for conservative financial reporting after replacing managers in the reveal of restatements.