Showing papers in "Business & Society in 2001"

Corporate Social Performance and Firm Risk: A Meta-Analytic Review:

Abstract: Building on earlier work on the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and a firm’s financial performance, this integrative empirical study supports the theoretical argument that t...

Culture, Perceived Corruption, and Economics A Model of Predictors and Outcomes

Abstract: Corruption can impede commerce and economic development, yet it seems to be tolerated in many countries. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a model that integrates socioeconomic fact...

Board Composition and Stakeholder Performance: Do Stakeholder Directors Make a Difference?:

Abstract: In this article, we examine the link between board composition and an enterprise strategy outcome, stakeholder relations. Because a firm’s enterprise strategy is set at the highest level of the organization, we expect the presence of stakeholder directors (suppliers, customers, employees, and community representatives) to be positively associated with stakeholder performance.Results from an analysis of 3,268 board members representing 250 firms are discussed in the context of both corporate governance and stakeholder management literatures.

Building Stakeholder Theory with a Decision Modeling Methodology

Abstract: This article focuses stakeholder theory on that critical juncture where stakeholder relationships and corporate policy decisions converge. A case study methodology is described that permits detailed analyses of multiple stakeholders’ objectives; it is suitable for studies of major corporate strategic decisions that are complex, controversial, involve multiple stakeholders, and require strategic trade-offs. The methodology is applied here to the dramatic decision by a Pacific Northwest forest company to phase out traditional clear-cut harvesting methods of old-growth forests. The study’s findings point to new research questions and have theoretical implications for a finer grained conceptualization of stakeholder groups, stakeholder objectives, and stakeholder issues.

An Examination of the Influence of Diversity and Stakeholder Role on Corporate Social Orientation

Abstract: This article examines the extent to which diversity characteristics and stakeholder role influence individuals’ corporate social orientation (CSO). Our findings indicate that one’s relationship to the organization as well as diversity, gender, and race influence one’s CSO. Specifically, we found that employees’ greatest concern was economic whereas customers had a stronger ethical orientation. The results also suggest that women as well as Black employees and customers place more emphasis on whether an organization is fulfilling its discretionary responsibilities than do males and Whites. A model using the concept of value congruence is presented to guide future research.

Signaling Positive Corporate Social Performance: An Event Study of Family-Friendly Firms

Abstract: A firm’s social performance can shape the impressions of key stakeholders, such as employees, customers, suppliers, and investors, that influence subsequent decision making and relationships to the...

Investigating Influences on Managers' Moral Reasoning The Impact of Context and Personal and Organizational Factors

Abstract: Managers often face situations that challenge their ability to reason morally. Avariety of factors, including the issue itself and personal and organizational influences, may affect their responses...

Good deeds and misdeeds: A mediated model of the effect of corporate social performance on organizational attractiveness

Abstract: Previous research has suggested that corporate social performance is positively related to firms’ attractiveness as employers. The authors propose and test an alternative model whereby job applicants’ familiarity with employers mediates the relationship between corporate social performance and organizational attractiveness. Applicants’familiarity with firms may serve as a signal of firms’suitability as employers, with more familiar firms considered more attractive. Furthermore, a firm’s overall level of corporate social activity (whether “good deeds” or “ misdeeds”) may contribute directly to firm familiarity and indirectly to attractiveness through familiarity. The authors’ results support this model; firm familiarity completely mediates the relationship between corporate social performance and organizational attractiveness.

The Impact of Accidents on Firms’ Reputation for Social Performance:

Abstract: Drawing on the literatures of industrial crises, corporate reputation, and stakeholder theory, this article is an empirical investigation into the impact that accident characteristics have on the corporate reputation for social performance of the firms involved. The main findings are the following: First, environmental damage does have an impact on the reputational scores for social performance, whereas damage to human life, surprisingly, does not. Second, the complexity of an accident plays a role in the reevaluation of the social performance reputational scores. Third, industry executives and analysts differ in their reputational reevaluations of accidents with respect to the complexity of the event. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings.

Determinants of moral reasoning : Sex role orientation, gender, and academic factors

Abstract: Mixed results regarding the role of gender in moral reasoning prompted an investigation of an alternative characteristic that may be more influential in the process: sex role orientation. We present an empirical assessment of the relationship between an individual’s moral reasoning level and his/her sex role orientation, gender, and several academic factors. Our results indicate that sex role orientation is not related to moral reasoning level. Gender is related to moral reasoning in our study, women reasoning at higher levels than men. We found a positive relationship between education and moral reasoning level, and moral reasoning levels differed across academic institutions. Our results also show business students have lower moral reasoning levels than students in other fields, although this result did not reach statistical significance.

Stakeholder Legitimacy Management and the Qualified Good Neighbor: The Case of Nova Nada and JDI

Abstract: This article focuses on the company-stakeholder relationship between a large pulp and paper company and a small monastery and nature retreat center. The literature on stakeholder management and organizational legitimacy provides a theoretical foundation. The analysis demonstrates how organizational power and legitimacy can influence stakeholder legitimacy. The authors illustrate the ways that a company can manage the legitimacy of stakeholders through the use of political language and symbolic activity. The results contribute to a better understanding of stakeholder identification, salience, and the different contexts of legitimacy in the company-stakeholder relationship. Implications for stakeholder research and practice are also discussed.

Regulatory Pressure and Environmental Management Infrastructure and Practices

Abstract: In this article, we hypothesize that the level of environmentally oriented noncompliance regulatory fines and penalties levied on companies and on their industry counterparts will be associated wit...

Thick as Thieves: A Social Embeddedness Model of Rule Breaking in Organizations:

Abstract: This qualitative study examines rule breaking in organizations by analyzing how deceptive sales practices became widespread at a major life insurance company. Using grounded theory techniques, a theoretical model is developed that illustrates the persistence and proliferation of rule breaking in organizations. Findings suggest the utility of adopting a social embeddedness perspective on rule breaking, as the mechanisms of diffusion and facilitation embedded in relationships between managers and employees enable the process whereby rule breaking becomes widespread.

Resolving Moral Dilemmas in Business: A Multicountry Study:

Abstract: This comparative field study evaluated the choices made by U.S., Portuguese, and Hong Kong Chinese evening MBA and graduating university business students when resolving business-related moral dile...

The Design Dimensions of the Just Organization: An Empirical Test of the Relation between Organization Design and Corporate Social Performance:

Abstract: Corporations are experiencing external and internal pressures by various stakeholders to be socially responsible. Corporations that do not respond to these pressures and social expectations risk losing legitimacy. To address growing societal expectations of social performance, some corporations have adopted design features believed to be “ethical,” and consulting firms have promoted the use of “ethical design features.” However, the normative underpinnings of these design features and their effectiveness for corporate social performance (CSP) have not been adequately addressed. This study is one of the first to examine the relation between organization design and firms’ impact on society as measured by CSP. Organization design includes both structural and processual elements and is a key determinant of CSP. Current theories of organization design take into account economic performance goals, but they fail to address the extraeconomic goals of CSP. Furthermore, little research has been done on the relationship between organization design and CSP. The few published studies that have been conducted focus solely on the efficacy of

The Taxation of Married Couples An Issue Life Cycle Approach

Abstract: The inherent conflict in the taxation of married couples versus single individuals is examined With competing social and economic outcomes, the taxation of married couples is tied to societal values and the political environment The authors illustrate the issue by describing three methods of personal income taxation currently used across the globe Factors such as stakeholder interests, workforce participation, and the political environment are important in determining acceptable trade-offs Analyzing this issue in terms of the issue life cycle, the authors conclude that in the United States the marriage tax penalty will be an enduring issue because of competing values and interests