Ian Worthington

Bio: Ian Worthington is an academic researcher from De Montfort University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Social responsibility & Purchasing. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 17 publications receiving 608 citations.

Researching the Drivers of Socially Responsible Purchasing : A Cross-National Study of Supplier Diversity Initiatives

Abstract: What drives organisations to engage in socially responsible purchasing initiatives? To investigate this important question, this article uses a case-study approach to examine the context within which supplier diversity programmes have emerged in both the U.S. and U.K. The analysis identifies legislative and policy developments, economic imperatives, stakeholder pressures and ethical influences as forces shaping organisational responses. It reveals important contextual differences between U.K. and U.S. experience and offers an empirical and theoretical explanation of corporate behaviour.

Exploring corporate social responsibility in the U.K. Asian small business community

Abstract: Within the limited, but growing, literature on small business ethics almost no attention has been paid to the issue of social responsibility within ethnic minority businesses. Using a social capital perspective, this paper reports on an exploratory and qualitative investigation into the attitudinal and behavioural manifestations of CSR within small and medium-sized Asian owned or managed firms in the U.K., with particular reference to the distinctive factors motivating organisational responses. It offers alternative explanations of entrepreneurial behaviour and suggests areas for further research.

SMEs and Environmental Regulations: A Study of the UK Screen-Printing Sector

Abstract: In the literature of corporate greening, the regulatory domain has been identified as a key influence on the environmental behaviour of firms and has been linked to actions beyond compliance and to the pursuit of competitive advantage. That said, studies of the environmental performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) suggest that, on the whole, smaller firms tend to take a more reactive and compliant stance with regard to environmental legislation, with little evidence existing to suggest that regulation provides a strong baseline for internally driven change. The authors report the findings from empirical research undertaken to assess the impact of environmental legislation upon the activities of SMEs within the screen-printing sector in the United Kingdom and explore the motivations that have driven responses to such legislation. The aim of the research was to examine the extent to which regulation was a factor in explaining SME environmental behaviour, and to identify the nature of corporate responses to environmental change. In addressing these issues a hybrid methodology was adopted, based on a quantitative survey of 200 firms in the UK screen-printing industry and a qualitative analysis of five organisations chosen from the survey respondents. The results of the survey -- which had a usable response rate of 33% -- and from the case-study interviews shed important light on SME attitudes, awareness, and responses to existing regulatory requirements. The authors comment on how far the evidence supports the propositions in the extant literature and examine possible policy implications of the findings.

Corporate Perceptions of the Business Case for Supplier Diversity: How Socially Responsible Purchasing can ‘Pay’

Abstract: In exploring corporate perceptions of the business case for supplier diversity (SD), this paper reports on a cross-national study of large purchasing organisations (LPOs) that had introduced, or were in the process of introducing, purchasing initiatives aimed at ethnic minority businesses (EMBs). The research investigates how LPOs portray the benefits of this form of socially responsible purchasing and suggests a business case construct based on four component elements. It also highlights a number of contextual factors that appear to have shaped business case rationales. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues of cost and contingent influences affecting SD programmes and points to possible areas for future research.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

A natural resource-based view of the firm

Abstract: Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

Drivers of Environmental Behaviour in Manufacturing SMEs and the Implications for CSR

Abstract: The authors use empirical research into the environmental practices of 31 manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to show that ‚business performance’ and ‚regulation’ considerations drive behaviour. They suggest that this is inevitable, given the market-based decision-making frames that permeate and dominate the industry in which manufacturing SMEs operate. Since the environment is a pillar of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the findings have important implications for CSR policy, which promotes voluntary actions predicated on a business case. It is argued that this approach will not alter the behaviour of manufacturing SMEs significantly because CSR practice will be regarded as an optional and costly ‚extra’ affecting core business activity. Consequently, the use and development of existing regulatory structures, providing minimum standards for many activities covered by CSR, remains the most effective means through which the behaviour of manufacturing SMEs will be changed in the short to medium-term. Another feature of the paper is the distinction made between ‚business performance’ and the ‚business case’ argument. Business performance emphasises cost reductions and efficiency whereas the business case accentuates the benefits to shareholders of good practices as their firms become more attractive to stakeholders and society. Manufacturing SMEs␣try to improve business performance because of the pressures placed on them by market-dominated decision-making frames. These frames do not encourage manufacturing SMEs to undertake voluntary actions for the benefit of wider stakeholders and society.

Sustainable procurement in the United Kingdom public sector

Abstract: Purpose – This study aims to investigate sustainable procurement in the UK public sector.Design/methodology/approach – Sustainable procurement is investigated using a questionnaire that draws on established scales for “purchasing social responsibility”. The survey was administered across the UK public sector, and 106 responses were received from procurement officers.Findings – Analysis of quantitative and qualitative survey data reveal there is significant variation across public sector agencies in the nature of sustainable procurement practice. Local authorities have a particularly strong emphasis on buying from local and small suppliers relative to other sectors, health looks generally lower in many categories, and education appears to have something of an emphasis on environmental aspects of sustainable procurement. Cost has been found to be the leading barrier to sustainable procurement, and top management support the leading facilitator.Research limitations/implications – There is likely to be select...