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9th International
Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility
16 – 18 June 2009
Zagreb School of
Economics & Management , Croatia
Accepted papers
Stakeholder inclusiveness in sustainability
reporting at South African mining companies; Deidre
Lingenfelder & Adele Thomas, South Africa
How Does Positive and Negative CSR
Information Influence the Intentions of Various
Stakeholders?; Umit Alniacik, Gonul Z Balkir & Esra Aliacik,
Turkey
Social responsibility benchmarking of the
commercial centres - real estate sector; Idalina Dias
Sardinha, Paula Antunes & Lucas Reijnders, Portugal
Corporate Citizenship and republican
business ethics; Jacob Dahl Rendtorff, Denmark
Corporate social responsibility ratings – a
Polish perspective; Maria Aluchna, Poland
Business Social Responsibility: How are SMEs
Doing in Gauteng, South Africa?; Watson Ladzani & Solly
Seeletse, South Africa
Role of Corporations in Development of CSR;
Mirjana Matesic, Croatia
CSR and Global Supply Chains: Towards more
collaborative models of Governance?; Antonio Tencati, Italy
Corporate Social Responsibility in Indonesia
: Regulation and Implementation Issues; Mukti Fajar,
Indonesia
The privatisation policy and its
implementation in Swaziland; Md. Humayun Kabir, Swaziland
Expanding the business case for Corporate
Social Responsibility: Empirical evidence from Fiji; Andrew
Penn Bradly, Australia
Contextualising NGO – Business Partnerships:
the effect of contextual factors on NGO – business
partnership development; Janni Thusgard Pedersen & Peter
Neergaard, Denmark
Corporate Social Responsibility and
Innovation: Empirical Testing of their Relationship; Isabel
Gallego-Álvarez, Isabel-María García-Sánchez, José-Manuel
Prado-Lorenzo & Luís Rodríguez-Domínguez, Spain
Transnational corporations and CSR:
Influenced by global or local networks?; Roger Levermore, UK
The process of international financial
standard setting: a Habermasian perspective; Dominique
Bessire, France A Humanistic Economy -Life-enriching
businesses with life-enriching bottom lines; Irene
Nygaardsvik & Ratka Jurkovic, Norway
Environmental sustainability and corporate
performance in extractive industry; Olusegun Vincent, Angela
Ayios, Wafi Al-Karaghouli, UK
Integrating Sustainability in the Business
Culture: An Action Research; Majda Tafra, Croatia
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Efforts by University in Malaysia for the Environment: An
Analysis; Jamilah Hj Ahmad, Lim Koon Ong & Suriati Saad,
Malaysia
Millennium's Dilemma: Genetically Modified
Products and Their Reflections from the Social
Responsibility Perspective; R. Şeminur Topal & Hande Gürdağ,
Turkey
Strategic Configuration of International
Productive Assets: The case of Global Pharmaceutical
Industry; Philippe Rebiere, France
Corporate Social Responsibility in
Post-Apartheid South Africa; Sharlene Ramlall, South Africa
Student attitudes to socially responsible
business: a case study of mine workers in Chile; Debbie
Holley, UK
Objectivism vs Subjectivism in Academe: an
example of Bourdieu’s concept of Mutilation in the Social
Sciences?; Miriam Green, UK
Clusters in corporate social responsibility;
Maria João Santos, Portugal
Corporate Volunteering in Portugal; Maria João Santos, Portugal
Fluidity of Regulation-CSR Nexus and Social
Reporting: The Multinational Corporate Corruption Model; Onyeka Osuji, UK
The Role of Non-governmental Organizations
in Improving Social Entrepreneurship Skills of University
Students; Ilke Oruc & Muammer Sarikaya
Municipal Utilities as Publicly Owned
Enterprises – A Cross Between Private Companies and
Public-Political Management. Governmental influence on the
corporate accountability as stakeholders of the
organization; Linne Marie Lauesen, Denmark
The three directional tug of war within
customer data management: business strategy versus
regulation versus corporate social responsibility; Diana
Luck, UK
Sustainable practice: The real triple bottom
line; Güler Aras, Turkey & David Crowther, UK
Is Ethical Marketing an Oxymoron?; Khosro S
Jahdi, UK
Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility in
the UK Healthcare Managerial Sector; Faruk Merali, UK
Influence of Global Financial Market on
Process of Harminization of Financial Statements for Listed
Companies all over the World; Branka Ramljak & Paško Anić –
Antić, Croatia
Political and economic imperatives of
monetary sovereignty; Branka Mraović, Croatia
On the Concept of Civic Entrepreneurship; Ismaël Sene, France
Supporting sustainable consumption of
consumer durables; Shahla Seifi, Malaysia & David Crowther,
UK
Institutionalizing corporate social
responsibility (CSR) in Uganda: Does it matter?; Stephen K. Nkundabanyanga & Alfred Okwee, Uganda
Translation of sustainability measures in
management control systems - Sustainability strategy and
product design; Nico P. Berhausen, Germany
Regulatory Framework on Corporate Governance
for Credit Institutions – Croatian Case; Djurdjica
Ognjenovic, Croatia
Could Corporate Governance be measured by a
single number?; Djurdjica Ognjenovic, Croatia
What kind of CSR in crisis time?; Rodica
Milena Zaharia, Romania
(Re)Thinking the Corporate Value through
Social Responsibility; Rute Abreu & Francisco Carreira,
Portugal
Social Responsibility of the Local Action
Groups; Fátima David, Rute Abreu & Odete Pinheiro, Portugal
The Social Entrepreneurship Continuum: A
Comparative Study of Models and SE Examples from Canada and
Croatia; Kyleen Myrah & Tina Lee Odinsky-Zec, Croatia
Sustainability and the modern zoo; Tina Lee
Odinsky-Zec, Croatia
Static to Dynamic Corporate Governance
Frameworks: the role of definitions; Ismail Adelopo, UK
Differences and congruence between corporate
social responsibility and sustainability through a
systematic analysis of the literature; Z. Gurabardhi, B.
Swinkels, F. Zijlstra, G.Kok, The Netherlands
Socially responsible business linkages as a
strategy for Poverty alleviation: The case of the Mauritian
Hotel sector; Nicholas Ragodoo, Mauritius
Communicating Corporate Social
Responsibility on the Internet: A Case Study in Turkey;
Serap Çabuk, Dilek Penpece & Murat Gülmez, Turkey
CSR in the context of globalisation in
Mauritius: A business sector’s approach; Roshni Deepa
Gokulsing, Mauritius
Corporate Social Responsibility and
Corporate Performance: Evidence from Istanbul Stock
Exchange; Banu Dincer & Caner Dincer, Turkey
Social Commitment of Spanish Savings Banks:
Beyond Good Words; Bernabé Escobar Pérez, Spain
Social Responsibility Role of The Media in
Business News Markets: Evidence From Turkey; Halil İbrahim
Bulut & Fikret Çankaya, Turkey
Students attitudes towards Cause Related
Marketing. A study from Romania; Grigore Georgiana & Alin
Stancu, Romania
Corporate Social Disclosure by Financial
Institutions: Comparative evidence from UK and Spain; Ismail
Adelopo, UK & Ramiro Cea, Spain
Corporate Social Responsibility and
Financial Performance: Evidence From The İstanbul Stock
Exchange; Osman Karamustafa, Halil İbrahim Bulut & Murat
Berberoğlu, Turkey
Corporate Environmental Management and
Energy Efficency as Part of CSR - Two Croatian Cases; Ivana
Ostoic, Croatia
Beyond Regulation: Fact, Fiction and the
Eccentric World of Finance; Julia Shaw, UK
CSR in Media: Case Study of RTL in Croatia;
Maša Magzan & Lucija Mihaljević, Croatia
Sustainable Finance and Ethical/Corporate
Social Responsibility, The new paradigm: Generali Insurance
Company case of study; Maurizio Fanni & Lucely Vargas
Preciado, Austria
Partnering with a purpose: ‘Stakeholder’
Engagement in Lifeline NZ; Nitha N.Palakshappa, New Zealand
Enabling Environment for Corporate Social Responsibility
Activities in Croatia: Future Entrepreneurs’ Perception,
Gordana Coric, Croatia
Challenges of Environmental Accounting in
Tourist Destination as a Trend of Sustainable Development,
Milena Peršić, Sandra Janković & Vanja Vejzagić, Croatia
Governance in the Financial Markets –
Understanding Self-RegulationS. Igbinosa & Blessing Omoruyi,
Benin CSR: think negative, Paolo d'Anselmi, Italy
Environmental Reporting Practices of
Malaysian Companies: Comparing Government-linked (GLCs) and
Non-government-linked Companies (non-GLCs) in
Environmentally Sensitive Industries, Norsyahida Mokhtar &
Maliah Sulaiman, Malaysia
Are Croatian companies socially
responsible?, Mirna Coric & Mirna Korican, Croatia
Employing Football as means for Sustainable Corporate Social
Programmes, Anagostopoulus
Social
Innovation in India, Huzaifa Khorakiwala
Social
Responsibility of University: The Way Forward, Jamilah
Hj Ahmad, Lim Koon Ong, Suriati Saad
Measuring the impacts of employee
volunteering, Marija Ivković, Smart Kolektiv & Alekse
Nenadovića, Belgarde
DOCTORAL COLLOQUIUM
Are financial market Greenhouse
gas-efficient?; Andrea Liesen, UK
Understanding the interface between
corporate social responsibility and poverty reduction; Sally
Curtis, Australia
Governance mechanisms, intellectual capital
and corporate performance; Stephen K. Nkundabanyanga, Uganda
Employees ‘Lost in Translation’: From
Stakeholder Management to Employee Engagement and
Implications for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Practices ; Sanija Weber, UK
The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility
in Respect of Socio-Economic Development in South Africa;
Sharlene Ramlall, South Africa
CSR and communication; Marion Secka, Austria
Corporate Governance and State-owned
Enterprises: A critical study of corporate governance
regime; Miko Kamal, Australia
Abstracts
Corporate Citizenship and
republican business ethics; Jacob Dahl Rendtorff,
Denmark
Abstract
The concept of the good citizen corporation based on the
theory of republican business ethics is the fundamental
point of focus in this analysis. The paper defines the
concept of corporate citizenship in the framework of
republican business ethics. The paper looks specifically at
the concept of the good citizen corporation as basis for
corporate social responsibility. The argument is that we
need to presuppose concepts of good corporate citizenship as
the basis for corporate social responsibility. On this basis
the paper is structured in the following sections: 1. Beyond
neoliberal democracy. 2. Republican business ethics. 3.
Corporate citizenship and global business ethics. 4.
Criticism of corporate citizenship. 5. Citizenship as
corporate legitimacy. 6. From corporate citizenship and
trust to corporate social responsibility. 7. Conclusion
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Corporate Social Responsibility in Indonesia
: Regulation and Implementation Issues; Mukti Fajar,
Indonesia
Abstract
Indonesian Government already made the regulation
regarding Corporate Social Responsibility in Invesment Act
2007, Limited Liability Company Act 2007, and State Owned
Corporation Act 2003. The basic idea of it was the mandate
from the Constitution of Republic Indonesia 1945 concerning
the national economic and social welfare has to be protected
by the Government. Besides that, the government of Indonesia
would like to prevent and reduce the environmental violation
that had been made by corporation’s activities. This
research aims to answer and elaborate the questions as
follows; First, which one better, whether the CSR will be
the mandatory or voluntary merely? The second question is
how far the scope of CSR in Indonesia? Third, how is the
implementation CSR in Indonesia? The study was analyzed with
the reflexive-law theory that used to be handled the
limitation of formal law approaching as the intervention of
state in the area of private law, including the corporation.
The reflexive law theory also trying to find the solution of
the limit of law with the self-regulation, hence corporation
obliges to report the social reporting to the states. Using
the socio-legal research and comparative law as a
methodology, the object of this paper object is the
implementation of CSR of the MNCs, National Private
Corporation and State Owned Corporation. The respondents of
this research are the company and government officer and
also from the expert and NGO officer, that was used to do
further analysis, descriptively with qualitative analysis.
The empirical study found that : first, CSR as the
corporation activity can be legally bound by the regulation
in Indonesia, based on Constitution of Republic Indonesia
1945 and the moral value. In another side, the research also
found that the government needs to support the corporation
doing CSR with the tax deduction policy, in order to
eliminate operational cost of corporations. Second, within
that obligation, the most important thing is that to give an
authority to corporations to have self regulation and to
give social reporting toward the society. Third, definition
of CSR in the Limited Liability Company Act 2007 and
Invesment Ac 2007 must be revised with similar concepts and
definitions of CSR and more clearly as a reference. The
diversity of the CSR implementation models and motives by
corporations should be appreciated, since it is difficult to
avoid. Corporations should have a freedom to implement the
CSR in accordance with the circumstances faced. Key Word :
corporate social responsibility, social reporting, self
regulation.
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Expanding the business case for Corporate
Social Responsibility: Empirical evidence from Fiji; Andrew
Penn Bradly, Australia
Abstract
Like many developing countries, the enabling environment
for CSR in Fiji can be described as weak and lacking many of
the usual drivers for the adoption of CSR, which include
government regulation, media scrutiny, ethical demand, and
NGO activism. Yet in spite of these apparent weaknesses in
the governance of CSR, this paper presents evidence of the
important role played by intermediary actors that serve to
encourage and regulate community involvement in Fiji. While
the paper gives extensive attention to the pivotal role of
land tenure arrangements in Fiji, it also considers the
importance of industry associations and unions for fostering
CSR practices in the tourism industry. Tourism leases in
Fiji are administered by the Native Lands Trust Board (NLTB),
an independent organisation that represents the interests of
Fiji’s traditional land-owners and is recognized by the
Fijian Government as the primary negotiator of social
benefits from tourism development. Although community
initiatives are typically negotiated between the firm and
its land-owning village, the NLTB has increasingly
incorporated social criteria into new tourism lease
agreements since 2004-05. These criteria have included
prescriptions as to the type and level of village
initiatives that tourism leaseholders are expected to
undertake. While land-owners have some discretion over these
requirements, standard conditions include creation of an
education fund to assist the Mataqali (kinship groups with
customary ownership of land) with education and training
expenses. Other social benefits are also featured as lease
conditions including assistance in providing village
electricity and water supply, healthcare, construction of
village halls, and purchase of boats. Lessees are also
expected to give first preference to land-owners for
employment opportunities and in the supply of all food
items. Against this backdrop, the paper discusses the
perceptions of tourism operators and host communities about
the roles played by these intermediary actors in encouraging
and regulating CSR in Fiji. It also considers the potential
and limits for government regulation of CSR in a developing
country such as Fiji.
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The Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) Efforts by University in Malaysia for
the Environment: An Analysis; Jamilah Hj Ahmad, Lim Koon
Ong & Suriati Saad, Malaysia
Abstract
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been the
talk about and agenda plan by most organisation across the
globe. CSR is about capacity building for sustainable
livelihoods. It respects cultural differences and finds the
business opportunities in building the skills of employees,
the community and the government. The most referred
underlining concept of CSR derive from Caroll (1999) which
look at CSR domain as a pyramid formed by four-parts;
economic responsibility, legal, ethical and discretionary
responsibility philanthropy. Upon talking about social
responsibility, major concerns are put to CSR yet little was
mentioned on how University can contribute in developing the
social responsibility. The society of tomorrow begins today
and to make up to this society, the University needs to have
a drive, patience, and persistence towards achieving this
goal. It is crucial for learning institutions to cope up
with the present context demands, not only as a return to
the community, in the form of community engagement
involvement through students project, but also as a way to
replenish its own actions and enlarge its source of
reference, becoming an institution that help and partly
involved in shaping a new society that is more ethical and
engaged with its community and surroundings. This paper
examines USR initiative of 14 public and private higher
learning institutions in Malaysia. Survey was carried out
with the objective to examine students understanding of USR
activities; functions and practices in University. This
paper also outlines how university should move forward in
determining the most relevant path of social responsibility
engagement and initiative. Keywords: Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR); Social Responsibility (SR)
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Student attitudes to socially responsible
business: a case study of mine workers in Chile; Debbie
Holley, UK
Abstract
The current credit-market meltdown and governance
misbehavior has, once again, triggered conversations among
business educators and the business press asking "Just what
are they teaching in business schools?" (Gentile 2009).
Given the explosion of press headlines around the recent
financial meltdown and subsequent allocation of blame to
Government, Bankers, the Bank of England, Financial Services
Authority, and the role of educators in UK and world wide
Business Schools, this paper seeks to explore the student
perspectives on ethics by interpretations of written student
coursework (Coffey & Atkinson 1996) and the results of a
student questionnaire. Following Stake and his case study as
a ‘choice of object to be studied’ (Stake 1994: 236), it
will report on a cohort of 44 students and their efforts to
address ethical issues and governance as part of an
international purchasing undergraduate module (see appendix
a for coursework briefing).
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Millennium's Dilemma: Genetically Modified
Products and Their Reflections from the Social
Responsibility Perspective; R. Şeminur Topal & Hande Gürdağ,
Turkey
Abstract
Increasing world population, resulting in resource and
ecological constraints such as poverty has led to efforts to
lighten the burden of these negativities and the existing
scientific methods have started to look for ways take
advantage of technological developments. New resources being
created or reinforced, even more the creation of resources
to reflect current practices are also newly implemented.
This results in genetic transfer process, a single cell
alive in the appropriate gene(s); again transferred to other
living organisms’ different characters to create new life
and transfer techniques have been developed to implement the
results. The development of measures on predetermined
drawbacks such as human health, social structure and
biodiversity, should be taken together. The technological
and organizational changes that are provided with radical
and rapid change usually have a permanent or non-recycling
affect. The perceptions of the ethical dimensions of the
subject, the interaction of the global dimension in line
with the resulting widespread use of mind are discussed.
Thus scientific and political questioning and judgments, are
forcing the biotechnological products such as GMO and GMP’s,
to evolution. With all these studies that are rapidly
transferred to commercial applications, a global "Biosafety"
concern has taken place in the agenda. The use of
biotechnological applications, techniques used with the aim
of the final product, or the genetic changes in living
organisms, can sometimes create new and different risks, so
the detection and security applications as a whole also
requires special measures. However the "assessment -
monitoring - control mechanisms" an institution-building and
information sharing to cover the administrative structure
that includes legal regulations are also required. Current
and global development of measures, were identified by
concerned international organizations with transparency and
speed and they should be transferred to the implementation
and importance should be given to information and education
that provided the increase in consumer awareness. Also GMO’s
& GMP's should be handled with sensitivity, urgently and
carefully original norms / laws / organizations should be
created. Cooperation with civil society organizations must
be provided and current information must be provided via the
widespread media. A state policy that respects the
consumers’ right of getting information and choosing should
be created and legal integration to the international
platform should be provided. Currently, the transgenic
technology products that constitute a great deal of
multinational companies’ profit concerns are manufactured
around the world in a very wide area and many products
spread in an uncontrolled way. Although the issues continued
to be encouraged by international and national missionaries
by campaigns, a more cautious policy needs to be approached
at least until the results of full certainty is obtained.
Related global approaches, strategies and recommendations
that are developed in line with social responsibility will
be reflected. In this context, the current knowledge
sharing, protection of the presence of agricultural crops
(the flora), and environmental structure, food and consumer
health care and the discussion of the GMO and GMP's
potential impacts with transparency and the necessary
regulations being completed before the widespread
agriculture of GMOs and GMPs are about the basics of the
ethical debate.
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Strategic Configuration of International
Productive Assets: The case of Global Pharmaceutical
Industry; Philippe Rebiere, France
Abstract
This article seeks to explore new patterns of
international strategies for locating assets in production
and research laboratories of major pharmaceutical firms. The
analysis deciphers mutations in the pharmaceutical world and
captures the strategic choices made by major laboratories to
carry out the reconfiguration of their value chain. Many
laboratories are required to reconfigure the location of
their production activities and research to maximize the
value chain. We observe a double phenomenon: International
outsourcing strategy It just seems that international
outsourcing is new because of the increasingly rapid speed
with which business are sourcing components from developing
countries such as China, Brazil or India. Offshoring
strategy Offshoring is moving a value chain activity or a
set of activities to another country where key cost are
typically lower. Offshoring involves taking advantage of
lower cost labor in another countries. The many US firms
that have established assembly plants in Mexico are examples
of offshoring without outsourcing. Outsourcing has evolved
from a workload capacity management Business process
outsourcing BPO the outsourcing of business activities
required for the efficient operation of a company has long
been the mainstay of several industries as functions such as
accounting purchasing have been managed by external
organizations. In the pharmaceutical industry discrete
package of work such as the generation of clinical supply
materials for preclinical or clinical testing and
manufacturing have been outsourced. Outsourced manufacturing
related activities have typically focused on tactical
operations and have included primary and secondary packaging
formulation active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing
sterilization and labeling . With the evolution of
outsourcing strategies, pharmaceutical companies are moving
toward outsourcing high end process and outsourcing them to
offshore destinations. The offshoring of high end and
outsourcing them to offshore destinations in developing
countries. Knowledge intensive work is termed knowledge
process outsourcing KPO Know ledge based business process
are outsourced to locations and organizations that offer
domain expertise technical skills and cost effective
operational efficiencies. Examples of KPO services include
creating sharing maintaining tracking and disseminating
knowledge across a variety of industry segments: these
segments consist of pharmaceutical and biotech research and
development as well as market research financial services .
Drug discovery ad development KPO taking into taking into
account skills afforded by a particular location can improve
ROI. For example India has been known for its experience in
reverse engineering of pharmaceuticals. Rapidly developing
economies such as India and china offer sizable advantages
and are underused by most companies and these doctrines are
the fattest growing sources of demand in the world. It is
important to note that international strategy configuration
is much about strategy formulation as it is about
implementation because management is making choices about
which value chain components to centralize, where to
centralize those operations geographically, and the degree
to which those decentralized and centralized value chain
activities will be managed and coordinated. The movement of
outsourcing to emerging areas concerns productive assets but
the phenomenon concerns the entire phase of research in
China, India to Singapore. The object of the research is to
understand how conceptual models derived from the strategic
management literature can explain the choice of location of
productive assets. This change in the global pharmaceutical
industry calls for questions from researchers. Firstly, the
problem is to explain the reasons behind the choice to
locate abroad to countries which are emerging sites of
production and centers of R&D? Secondly, how the
internationalization activities are perceived by the leaders
of the laboratories? Finally, what are the modes of entry
used by laboratories in production and in research? To
answer these questions, we intend to build on the conceptual
models developed in the literature and compare the choices
made by the laboratories as to the location of production
facilities and R&D. Empirically, we analyze the decisions
behind direct foreign investment and the choice of plant
configurations and international R&D from the ten leading
pharmaceutical companies. Theoretical models have identified
the foreign direct investment abroad , the eclectic paradigm
of Dunning, the Rugman matrix and the spatial patterns of
Belberdos. Within this research, we show that these models
can explain the strategic choices of major laboratories. In
the first part, we use the literature on FDI to understand
the reasons for locating activities abroad. What factors
lead firms to invest abroad? What is the theoretical
literature which is useful to research and practice on FDI?
Which model can apply to investors wishing to operate in a
host country? Then, we will seek to define the choice of
mode of entry using Dunning’s eclectic approach . The
eclectic paradigm of Dunning is a model explaining the
international strategies of pharmaceutical companies. The
eclectic theory provides a plausible explanation, arguing
that entry is determined by the trade off between factors
specific to the firm (which could support internalization)
and factors specific to the location (which can militate
against the internalization). In a second part, we seek to
understand where laboratories are trying to locate their
assets to obtain the best performance. From a dissection of
the concept of geographic scope, we seek to identify the
best practices of the laboratories. The decision to locate
productive assets is a key element in the international
strategy of firms. The concept of geographic scope has
become an important concept in studies MNES. Then, we try to
identify the strategies of international plant configuration
and examine the choices of spatial configuration based on
the concepts of Belberbos and Sleuwagen . We question how
the choice is made in regions or countries where the
location of activities is made taking as our model , the
paradigm developed by Rugman. Much economic activity is
included in clusters located in key regions of the triad and
emerging economies. Rugman maintains that MNES act as
“flagship” companies for driving, coordinating and managing
their activities with high added value in a business
network. We examine the conditions on which a regional or
global manufacturing strategy is preferred by the leaders of
laboratories.
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Corporate Social Responsibility in
Post-Apartheid South Africa; Sharlene Ramlall, South Africa
Abstract
Business is under growing pressure, both locally and
internationally, to live up to the ever-increasing legal
norms in the area of human rights and corporate social
responsibility. In South Africa, it has been argued that
there is a moral and ethical duty on companies to give back
to the communities from which they have benefitted for so
long under the apartheid regime. In order to force companies
to engage with corporate social responsibility, the South
African government has enacted a myriad of laws such as the
Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 54 of 2002. In
addition, the King Code of Corporate Governance Principles
in South Africa (King III, 2009) has broadened the scope of
corporate governance by adopting leadership, sustainability
and corporate citizenship as its core philosophy. This paper
will focus on whether governments’ initiatives in South
Africa have been actively supported by business or whether
business is merely paying lip-service to governments’
proposals. A few local case studies will be analysed to
demonstrate the level of commitment that business in South
Africa has thus far displayed in the arena of corporate
social responsibility. This paper will argue that in order
to prevent over-regulation in the area of corporate social
responsibility, a proactive rather than reactive approach is
required. Corporate social responsibility in the area of
human rights should ultimately be based on commitment,
partnership and pro-activity. If the commitment from
business is genuine, it will prevent business from merely
going through the motions and engaging in tick-box
exercises. If companies adopt a model in terms of which they
engage directly with the local community, this will
contribute to the creation of a meaningful, human-rights
friendly climate that gives due consideration to cultural
diversity and the needs of the people.
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Objectivism vs Subjectivism in Academe: an
example of Bourdieu’s concept of Mutilation in the Social
Sciences?; Miriam Green, UK
Abstract
This paper continues research into representations in the
academic literature of a text in the organisation/management
field. It has been argued previously that mainstream
representations of Burns’ and Stalker’s The Management of
Innovation have at best partially encompassed their ideas on
organisational change, concentrating on structural issues
and using statistical techniques based on questionnaire
surveys. What have usually been neglected are the
dysfunctional aspects of change, based on human agency,
stimulated by political and career ambitions and the
influences of informal groups. The dominant discourses have
been ‘objectivist’ with subjectivist elements ignored, both
in textbooks and in research applications of Burns’ and
Stalker’s ideas in academic journals, particularly
management accounting journals. Various schools of social
theory can be used further to understand the implications of
such scholarship and to link these with explanations for
these representations. One can turn the notion of
objectivism against these same authors, through applying a
social constructionist view of knowledge, namely that
‘truth’, far from reflecting ‘objective reality’ through
objective data and empirical observations, is mediated by
theoretical preconceptions that are dependent on subjective
and selective world views. Fairclough, through critical
discourse analysis, has pointed out that the type of
language used, in terms of grammar for example, has
political implications as it can either give subjectivist
human agency presence or ignore it and make it invisible.
Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis relates this to how
far organisational processes are treated as abstract thereby
ignoring and making invisible the human, subjectivist
aspects. An explanation for these selective world views can
be found in Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, which in academe
is about the limitations on the power enjoyed by academics
and the pressures upon them to engage in certain types of
knowledge. Related to this is what is chosen as the object
of inquiry which, according to Bourdieu, is a political act.
In the case of mainstream representations of Burns’ and
Stalker’s book, it is organisation structure. This links in
to Bourdieu’s division in the social sciences into
objectivist and subjectivist approaches, a division he
regarded as a mutilation in sociological scholarship.
Bourdieu regarded his own work as bridging this divide,
calling himself a ‘constructive structuralist’ and a
‘structural constructivist’. Such a divide is evident not
only in representations of Burns’ and Stalker’s book, but in
scholarship in the organisation/management field generally
as amply illustrated in one of the major US journals the
American Science Quarterly. This paper will aim to provide
explanations as to why there was not this bridge in the
representations of Burns’ and Stalker’s book and indeed in
organisation studies more generally.
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Clusters in corporate social responsibility;
Maria João Santos, Portugal
Abstract
This study examines the theme of clusters in Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR). Based on the current state of
art about CSR and on investigations that are been realized
in Portugal, this article shows the limitations that the
current CSR practices have in overcome social, economic and
environmental problems at the global level. Deepen the theme
of the clusters like an integrated alternative of
intervention, several genders of clusters and discusses
aspects of their practices, as well as their potentiality
and limitations. In spite of CSR appears associated to a
competitive advantage that can be seen with benefits
recognized in terms of global sustainability, it’s possible
to verify that the CSR particular results of each enterprise
and community separately are still insufficient, not only in
terms of individual competitiveness, but also in terms of
some global system alteration. According to studies, the
positive impacts of the CSR can be improved if added to
efforts of other enterprises, civil society and public
sector. In this perspective, several authors have been
integrating the Porter’s concept of clusters to value
potentialities of CSR groupings at the reinforcement of the
competitiveness and promotion of a sustainable development.
This concept (clusters in CSR) presupposes that groupings of
enterprises located in the same territory and with some
interaction between then and with other local actors, can
optimize practices that contributes to a supported
development of the region, in an integrated and global
perspective. The definition of social goals shared by
different actors articulated in a net can improve the
development of actions that exceed a sphere of micro
actions, with lots of benefits to the local communities.
Considering a larger proposition of intervention, which
connect social different actors (enterprises, civil society
organizations, local power), working for the construction of
a development model based in the sustainable idea, is
possible to visualize the relevance of the clusters in CSR.
The analysis of these forms of social innovation, based in
integrated networks of CSR, constitutes the central
objective of the present research.
Key words: corporate social responsibility, clusters, CSR
strategies; entrepreneurship; small and medium-sized
enterprises.
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Corporate Volunteering in Portugal; Maria João Santos, Portugal
Abstract
Volunteering has frequently been adopted by companies as
one of the instruments for implementing corporate social
responsibility. Based upon a thorough overview of the
contemporary literature on this theme, this article presents
the results of a research project undertaken in Portugal on
corporate volunteering and its main formats and incidences.
The study covered a set of 169 company previously identified
as demonstrating a high probability of undertaking
volunteering programs. This company survey drew upon various
sources of information, in particular, local volunteer
entities, NGOs, foundations, among other organisations. Of
these 169 companies that received a questionnaire, a total
of 44 companies responded and directly participated with not
all respondents engaging in volunteer programs. A summary of
the results demonstrates that in Portugal corporate
volunteering remains insignificant in scope and mostly
aid/support based in nature. Only a small number of
companies take part in voluntary programs and these are
generally concentrated upon social support programs. Thus,
these are primarily fairly traditional forms of intervention
related to a presence-based logic characterised by direct
support and the provision of basic needs. Other forms of
private sector volunteering, which could be defined as
qualified, are highly limited in extent. It was further
found that the initiatives that did take place result more
from a perceived need to meet employee and community
expectations. Correspondingly, the results demonstrate how
such situations result from only sporadic events and lacking
in any significant pro-active posture of social intervention
structured in terms of the regulatory frameworks in effect
at the local/regional level. Regarding the structure of the
corporate volunteering (CV) model, the most common is a
single day per year. Another option, such as carrying out
voluntary work during the course of the working schedule or
providing variable amounts of time in accordance with
existing requests, is not common. Despite the low level of
CV in Portugal, the results broadly show that from the
strictly corporate perspective, such practices do make a
relevant contribution towards boosting the business strategy
in effect and on returns as well as in terms of boosting the
professional and human competences of members of staff.
Despite the benefits identified, companies often run into
difficulties, resistance and obstacles to implementation.
The lack of time available to companies and the lack of a
voluntarism culture without doubt ensure such factors are
more difficult to face down and overcome. The lack of
pre-structured voluntary programs and the lack of
organisation at host institutes are other issues challenging
companies. Despite such problems, such practices are tending
to increase especially within a context of a greater and
more active corporate social responsibility. The leading
research outputs of this paper feature theoretical insight
into corporate volunteering, its features, characteristics
and gains. In empirical terms, the research details a
cross-section of corporate volunteering in Portugal. This
involves an innovative study on this theme within the
Portuguese context that provides a characterisation of
voluntary actions undertaken across the private sector, how
they are structured, the benefits and advantages identified
by the companies themselves as well as the difficulties
encountered along the way.
Key words: corporate volunteering, corporate social
responsibility, sustainable development, Portugal.
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Fluidity of Regulation-CSR Nexus and Social
Reporting: The Multinational Corporate Corruption Model; Onyeka Osuji, UK
Abstract
Compared to financial reporting corporate social
responsibility (CSR) reporting is largely undeveloped
despite its increasing importance to corporations. Part of
the difficulties is the possible inexactness of the scope of
CSR. Another difficulty is the apparent reluctance by
regulatory authorities and policy makers to intervene in the
area. This is largely as a result of the inhibitions created
by the traditional approaches to company law with emphasis
on shareholder protection and financial disclosure. The
consequence is the stultification of independent development
of ‘pure’ CSR by constantly tying social issues to financial
performance and prospects and restriction of social
reporting to narrative reports of non-financial matters with
financial impact on corporations. The UK’s focus on the
enlightened shareholder model exemplifies this approach to
CSR. However, this regulatory attitude might not be
unconnected to the theoretical and practical challenges
faced by regulators and policy makers in justifying CSR and
defining its scope. The underlying impediment is the
apparent factual and theoretical failure to distinguish
‘instrumental’ and ‘pure’ CSR in social reporting. This
paper demonstrates that cognizance of the intrinsic moral
justification of ‘pure’ CSR might assist in delineating the
scope of CSR as well as clarifying the desirability and
extent of regulation of social reporting. It argues that the
dynamic history and visage of multinational corporate
corruption illuminates the issues and the fluidity of the
regulation-CSR relationship. A principal stance of this
paper is that regulation is neither incompatible nor
irreconcilable with CSR. The current and widening backlash
against transnational corporate corruption is, arguably, a
demonstration of the position that regulation and CSR are
not mutually exclusive and absolute concepts. A key factor
is the apparent grasp of the ‘purely moral’ basis of the
anti-corruption movement. This paper submits that
recognising and applying this ‘pure’ and ‘instrumental’ CSR
distinction is fundamental to the development of CSR and
resolution of connected questions of regulating social
reporting.
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The Role of Non-governmental Organizations
in Improving Social Entrepreneurship Skills of University
Students; Ilke Oruc & Muammer Sarikaya
Abstract
This study aims at investigating the role of
non-governmental organizations in providing social
entrepreneurship trainings and in helping university
students to improve their social entrepreneurship skills,
which is quite significant since these students are the
prospective employees in business world. In order to obtain
data for this analysis, a leading NGO in Turkey and its
activities will be examined: namely Educational Volunteers
Foundation. For the purposes of the study, the number of
university students and their fields of study in this
foundation will be determined. Based on the data to be
obtained from this analysis phase, the attempts by the
foundation to improve these students’ social
entrepreneurship skill, which is an important component of
philanthropy, will be dealt with. The importance of social
entrepreneurs has recently increased both in business world
and social life. Assuming certain roles in solving social
problems, companies try to fulfill their responsibilities
especially by focusing on their social entrepreneurship
roles. Two of the most effective methods to encourage social
entrepreneurship are to increase the number of memberships
to NGOs and to have more civilian support in solving social
problems. Therefore; this study will provide valuable data
regarding the social entrepreneurship roles of university
students, who will constitute the employees of the future.
Key words: NGO’s, social entrepreneurship, volunteerism
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Municipal Utilities as Publicly Owned
Enterprises – A Cross Between Private Companies and
Public-Political Management. Governmental influence on the
corporate accountability as stakeholders of the
organization; Linne Marie Lauesen, Denmark
Abstract
This paper highlights the schism of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) in Danish municipal water- and sewer
utilities organized as publicly owned enterprises (PoE) in
their organizational role between being a private and a
political organization. The 'governmental', political
stakeholder-influence on the corporate accountability is the
essence of this paper. In Denmark the municipalities was
aggregated into fewer municipalities but larger with the
“Local Government Reform” effectuated the 1st of January
2007 by the Structural Agreement. A new “Water Sector law”
instructed municipalities to separate operation from
authority by establishing new municipally owned utilities
such as limited liability companies. The schism consists of
the PoEs as service companies organized and driven as legal
companies according to the Companies Act and economically
subjected to the Annual Accounts Act, but controlled by the
municipal politicians and authorities who decides and
develop guidelines for the company in terms of water and
wastewater plans, municipal plans and regional plans, that
the company must comply. While being privatized, municipal
politicians still have the power to change and affect the
PoEs which gives some advantages but also disadvantages and
yields and limits the freedom according to CSR-initiatives.
As stakeholders of the organization (of the PoE) the (local)
governmental influence on the corporate accountability is
paramount. The paper will be based on theoretical literature
research on the topic of social responsibility in as well
private and political organizations related to the
hybrid-organization of the publicly owned enterprises in
Denmark as well as research on consequences of the
implementation of the Water Sector law and relevance to CSR.
The research prefers European and Scandinavian authors, to
which it is relevant to relate the present Danish societal
appearance to. Since the privatization and autonomization of
former public industries (Moon & Vogel 2008) and bureaus has
been moving from UK to Continental Europe, the changes in
responsibilities of corporations (Ibid.) and
CSR-conceptualism has moved from the US-trend towards a
“European” trend in Europe (See Matten & Moon 2004). Moon &
Vogel argues that as a result of this the growth of CSR in
Europe must be understood in relation to the changes in
public sector governance that have occurred the last two
decades by the privatization and reform of the welfare state
(Moon & Vogel 2008) as seen in Denmark in the recent years.
The paper will research authors like Rhodes (1996), Peters
(1996) and Deakin & Walsh (1996) that have reflected on
these issues as well as Moon (2004), Moon & Sochaski (1996,
1998), Crane & Matten (2004), Matten (2004), Matten & Moon
(2004). Welford (2004) and the literature study by Garriga
et al. (2004). Relevant Danish authors like Pedersen (2008),
Vallentin (2009) and Jespersen (2003) will also appear. The
Matten & Moon (2004) concept of European CSR-trend as
dominantly 'implicit' (versus 'explicit (US)) CSR explained
by institutional theories we would like to investigate in
our examination of CSR-relationships in publicly owned
enterprises in Denmark.
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The three directional tug of war within
customer data management: business strategy versus
regulation versus corporate social responsibility; Diana
Luck, UK
Abstract
Since its onset in the 1980s, in spite of avid interest
from academics and professionals, Relationship Marketing has
been persistently surrounded by an element of confusion and
even cynicism (Reichheld 1996, Mattsson 1997, Egan 2001).
Yet, four decades since Relationship Marketing was first
conceptualised, one of its main sub-components, CRM, is
being hailed as the ultimate strategy. Throughout the
previous decade when the components of Relationship
Marketing were refined into distinct strategic
communications platforms, Customer Relationship Marketing
and Customer Relationship Management have been associated
with various objectives and differing perspectives.
Accordingly, while CRM was at times referred to as being
synonymous to a form of marketing such as database marketing
(Khalil & Harcar, 1999), services marketing (Grönroos,
1994), and customer partnering (Kamdampully & Duddy, 1999)
for instance, at other times it was specified in terms of
more specific marketing objectives such as customer
retention (Walters & Lancaster, 1999a), customer share
(Rich, 2000), and customer loyalty (Reichheld & Schefter,
2000). The exact nature of the CRM approach remained
persis¬tently elusive while its realm remained
unquestionably complex. A decade later, such academics as
Egan (2007), Fill (2008), Hollensen (2008), Luck and
Stephenson (2009) as well as Yu and Cude (2009) have all
emphasised the importance of data mining of consumer
information in order to achieve the holy grail of dealing
with consumers: Precise Targeting. Although varied
objectives and strategies are still evident, the role of
database management and targeted communications as well as
knowledge management (Luck, 2009) are highlighted as being
integral to contemporary Relationship Marketing and CRM.
Accordingly, data about consumers is being avidly overtly
and covertly gathered and dissected. The online environment
is ideal to collate information about consumers.
Notwithstanding, concerns about the intrusion of consumer
privacy through behavioural and personalised online
advertising and online data collection persist. On 31st
March 2009, Meglena Kuneva, The European Consumer
Commissioner speaking at the Roundtable on Online Data
Collection emphasised how current opt-out systems are often
partial if at all present, and how more often than not
consumers were unable to navigate their way around these to
suit their specific privacy wishes (Europe Press Release
Rapid (a), 2009). The Federal Trade Commission, FTC, a US
agency for consumer protection (2009) supported further
roundtables to debate the issue of online data collection
and the infringement of consumer privacy in the name of
enhanced communications. The fact that there is no global
regulation and even clear national regulation suggest that
it is largely left to companies to be ethical. However given
that data is considered to be increasingly fundamental to
business success creates a dichotomy. Can data collection be
socially responsible? If so, who needs to be responsible?
This paper intends to look into the issue of data collection
within the remit of precise communications and contemporary
CRM as this topic is not only a major yet ongoing concern
for consumers but just as importantly becoming so for
companies too.
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Is Ethical Marketing an Oxymoron?; Khosro S
Jahdi, UK
Abstract
When Bodo Schlegelmich was contemplating writing a book
on marketing ethics, back in 1998, his intention had
attracted a number of interesting comments. Some people
could not see it as a proper subject as marketing managers
possessed no ethics! Some thought it would not take long to
write such a book as there is no such thing as ethics in
marketing. Others remarked that ethics and business do not
mix: ‘business’, they stated, ‘is mostly immoral or at best,
amoral’. A number of people while acknowledging the
importance of ethical decision making doubted the viability
and appropriateness of debating ethics in a textbook. They
viewed ethics as a personal matter and not one for public
discussion. If one were to write a book on ethical marketing
today, perhaps similar remarks would apply with equal
vehemence. Although marketing has made some inroads into the
realm of ethics and social responsibility, the long list of
unethical activities and operations attributed to marketing
which have occurred in the recent past and are perhaps
happening now, would be cited as evidence that ethical
marketing is indeed an oxymoron. Unfortunately, ethical
marketing is currently more of an exception than the rule.
There are pockets of ethical marketing, resembling electric
fans, in a smoke filled bar of less ethical or indeed,
unethical business tavern. They are intended to freshen up
the atmosphere and make it more tolerable for the
non-smokers, but instead they simply circulate the dirty
air. This paper examines the viability, practicality and the
logic behind applying ethical marketing within an
organisation. Examples and case studies will be used to
argue that it is indeed feasible to have such a concept as
ethical marketing and to be able to implement it too. Key
Words: ethical marketing, CSR within marketing, ethical
decision making.
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Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility in
the UK Healthcare Managerial Sector; Faruk Merali, UK
Abstract
This on-going longitudinal study explores the reasons why
managers choose to work in a socially responsible
organisation such as in the UK healthcare sector and their
views of their professional identity and public image.
Through primary research involving in-depth face to face
interviews with 47 managers working within the UK National
Health Service (NHS) and with 10 managers working in a large
UK private health care organisation, this comparative study
seeks to develop an insight into the day to day realities
and experiences of these managers and the motives, if any,
underpinning their reasons for choosing to work in either a
public or private sector healthcare environment. In
conjunction with this, this study also examines the
publicised CSR strategies adopted by these two organisations
in relation to the extent that they explicitly reflect the
commitment and contribution of their staff to their
organisations’ socially responsible ethos. The implications
of these findings are discussed in relation to theoretical
frameworks and literature related to CSR, organisation
culture, professional identity and institutional theory in
an integrated manner within this development paper.
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Influence of Global Financial Market on
Process of Harminization of Financial Statements for Listed
Companies all over the World; Branka Ramljak & Paško Anić –
Antić, Croatia
Abstract
As participants in the process we use the word
globalization daily in different situations. What is the
relationship of accounting and globalization? The answer to
this question lies in the standardization of financial
statements which the company presents in the securities
market. The fact is that there are many differences in
financial reporting practices of companies in different
countries. This causes great problems for those who prepare,
consolidate, audit, and interpret the published financial
statements, particularly regarding the definition of the
categories within the financial statements, and use of
different criteria for their recognition and measurement.
This is precisely the reason for international
standardization of financial reporting, which is being
developed as standardization of both measurement and content
of financial statements. Standardization of measurement
refers to the compliance of methods and evaluations of
individual items in financial statements. Standardization of
content means harmonization of disclosure requirements, or
what kind of relevant information must be disclosed by a
company in its financial statements. IASB is very active,
and in an effort to further develop and strengthen the
process of standardization of financial reporting the IFRS
emerge. Key factors of competitiveness imposed by
globalization become the quantity, quality and speed of
information needed for good management and survival on the
market. Sharp competition and survival in the market force
investors, creditors, companies, and other participants in
financial markets to take risks, and for efficient risk
management information is of vital importance. The best
providers of information needed in decision-making by
financial markets participants are financial statements as
the final product of accounting process in a company. They
provide essential background information in any
decision-making process. The authors of the article will
present the requirements for disclosure by listed companies
in most important capital markets over the world, and thus
also the process of harmonization of financial reporting, at
least when it comes to listed companies. For this purpose,
they will take into account the relative strength and size
of the world's most important capital markets.
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Political and economic imperatives of
monetary sovereignty; Branka Mraović, Croatia
Abstract
The author focuses on the challenge posed by financial
globalization before the traditional Westphalian model of
monetary sovereignty, claiming that financial globalization
of the world’s markets leads to new forms of geopolitical
rivalry among contemporary governments. Relying on Cohen’s
(2008) concept of deterritorialization of money, the focus
of interest of this paper is the interaction between
economic and political imperatives of monetary sovereignty
in the global era. The author’s standpoint is that monetary
relations are primarily political relations, which must be
viewed in their historical setting. Understanding
globalization as political struggle for money, the author is
focused on the way in which the economic condition of
postmodernity is interwined with the linguistic and symbolic
superstructure. This means that a strictly economic
cost-benefit calculus of international currency is possible,
but not productive, without taking into account the
following question: Who makes the rules and who exercises
power regarding monetary issues?
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On the Concept of Civic Entrepreneurship; Ismaël Sene, France
Abstract
Within the developing field of entrepreneurship, a new
domain of “civic entrepreneurship” is emerging (Henton & al.
1997 ; Leadbeater & Goss, 1999 ; Banuri & Najam ed. 2002 ;
Christopoulos, 2009 ; Hansen, 2002). It appears to provide a
key element in the elucidation of the complex issues that
regional communities are facing nowadays, notably in terms
of the “common good”. But as for any emerging domain, the
notion of civic entrepreneurship is far from established as
a clear concept. The aim of our paper is therefore to
contribute to such a definition, on a theoretical basis.
Arguing that civic entrepreneurship is linked to a specific
category of value, we firstly provide a new perspective on
the whole field of entrepreneurship. By discriminating three
fields of value that can be mainly targeted by an
entrepreneur, we are able to define the specific locus of
civic entrepreneurship. We clearly separate it from social
entrepreneurship on the one hand, and business
entrepreneurship on the other. For that purpose, we first
need to formulate two key distinctions. Firstly, a
separation between the legal status, and the social
destinations of entrepreneurial entities. That distinction,
which is frequently omitted, is shown to be necessary to
avoid a broad range of misunderstandings. Secondly, we rely
on the economic anthropology of Godelier (2007) to
articulate three domains of social valuing : The Market, The
Gift and The Sacred. On that basis, we argue that civic
entrepreneurship is rooted in the third domain, that of the
sacred. From this characterisation, we investigate the
theoretical conditions of a civic enterprise. These
conditions cover not only the driving forces, but also the
formal definition, of civic entrepreneurship. We conclude
with the formulation of three constitutive principles :
socio-political innovation ; values transmutation ; and
defence of a Social Choice.
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Institutionalizing corporate social
responsibility (CSR) in Uganda: Does it matter?; Stephen K. Nkundabanyanga & Alfred Okwee, Uganda
Abstract
This study contributes to the dearth of CSR literature on
the African experience by examining the perceptions of
managers on CSR’s predictive potential of corporate
financial performance in Uganda. The study used
quantitative, correlation and regression analyses and
collected primary data through a structured questionnaire.
We examined the Influence of Corporate Social
Responsibility, Managerial Discretion and Competences,
Learning and Efficiency on Perceived Corporate Financial
Performance. The results indicate that corporate social
responsibility and perceived corporate financial performance
correlate significantly but the finding that corporate
social responsibility is not a significant predictor of
perceived corporate financial performance negates this
relationship. That is, managerial discretion and
competences, learning and efficiency are significant
predictors of perceived corporate financial performance but
CSR is not. This extends further the protracted debate about
the legitimacy and value of corporate responses to CSR
concerns. However, a combination of CSR, managerial
discretion and competences, learning and efficiency
predicted up to 73.8% of perceived corporate performance.
Consequently, we post a serendipitous result that managerial
discretion’s predictive potential of perceived corporate
performance is moderated by CSR. We propose that while
upholding the ideals of CSR, companies in Uganda need to
enhance managerial discretion in their contracting process
and develop competences, learning and efficiency in order
impact positively on performance. Type of paper: Research
paper Key Words: CSR, Managerial Discretion, Competences,
Corporate financial performance, Uganda
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Translation of sustainability measures in
management control systems - Sustainability strategy and
product design; Nico P. Berhausen, Germany
Abstract
This paper shows how the change of input variables of
management control systems can translate decisions in
product design without altering the configuration of the
management control system. Filling the gap between
sustainability strategy and product design decisions through
the translation of non-financial measures into financial
measures may lead to changes in decision networks in place.
Interviews, data and the use of the ANT approach following
decisions around calculations reflect the research approach.
Different types of strategies do not necessarily cause
different management control systems configurations but can
be addressed by changing the input variables of management
control system calculations
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Employing Football as
means for Sustainable Corporate Social Programmes,
Anagostopoulus
Abstract
The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has
become an area of increasing importance for many companies
and organisations in various business sectors. It can be
argued that when it comes to CSR, there are few (if any)
differences between a professional sport organisation and a
conventional corporation. It is only recently that European
professional sport organisations have recognised that their
actual nature and role both fall into and greatly link with
the concept of CSR. Particularly in football, and given the
ever-increasing commercial aspect associated with it, along
with the increased pressure from an equally growing number
of stakeholders (i.e. governments, media, sponsors, fans,
local councils), all have led football organisations to
adapt part of their operational strategies to this new scene
by undertaking CSR activities. In essence, however, sport
organisations – and football in particular - are implicitly
entwined with local communities and society in general,
something that can hardly be supported by commercial
business organisations. It has also been reported (see, for
example, Smith and Westerbeek, 2007) that sport presents
some unique features associated with CSR such as youth
appeal, mass media contribution as well as communication
power and certainly positive health impacts. The purpose of
this paper is not to present the reasons why football –as
the dominant sport in most European countries – can serve as
the ideal platform for sustainable CSR; this becomes evident
throughout the discussion. The main goal here is to stress
the need and importance for strategic partnerships between
either Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) or conventional
business and professional football organisations (i.e.
Associations, Leagues, Football Clubs) in order for the CSR
implementation to reach high standards and ultimately have a
real effect on society. The paper begins by briefly
sketching the factors that distinguish football from other,
more conventional, types of business. Then a concise
overview of the CSR concept is given, before the author
refers to the, arguably, limited literature on football in
relation to CSR. The paper, then, draws on UEFA’s Football
and Social Responsibility strategy to illustrate the means
of how, and the reasons why carefully selected partners can
offer successful schemes for sustainable CSR programmes. It
finally suggests ways in which conventional businesses can
enhance their CSR approaches by employing football as a
means to achieve this.
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Social
Innovation in India, Huzaifa Khorakiwala
Abstract
Innovation is a process of taking new ideas to satisfied
customers. It is the conversion of new knowledge into new
products and services. Innovation is about creating value
and increasing efficiency, and therefore growing the
business. Social innovation refers to new strategies,
concepts, ideas and organization that meet social needs of
all kinds - from working conditions and education to
community development and health - and that extend and
strengthen civil society. Individual creativity is reflected
in originality, competence, experience, determination,
flexibility, positive outlook. These must be appropriately
channelised towards innovation in the social context,
through careful planning and execution of clearly defined
goals. The following are the examples of individual
creativity working towards social innovation in India.
Devi Shetty: Narayana Hrudayalaya. Providing low cost
healthcare services to the poor in the form of heart
surgeries Ashok Rathod: Oscar. Developing sports talent
among slum children B K Soni: Ecoreco. Disposing of
e-waste in an eco-friendly manner Gijs Spoor: Zameen
Organic: Helping cotton growers get a fair price for their
produce G Venkataswamy: Arvind Eye Hospital: Providing low
cost eye care to the poor Harish Hande: Selco. Providing
affordable solar energy home products to the rural poor
Huzaifa Khorakiwala: Wockhardt Foundation. Upliftment of the
poor, weak and needy through healthcare services and
spreading good human values. Innovations include the concept
of Warriors, use of web 2.0, advocacy meetings, publications
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Social Responsibility of
University: The Way Forward, Jamilah Hj Ahmad, Lim Koon
Ong, Suriati Saad
Abstract
The pressure on every organisation to play role in Social
Responsibility (SR) initiative is increasing by day. A lot
of activities, research and efforts are done on Corporate
Social Responsibility platform at business oriented
organisation. Little are done to study the need and role
played by SR in educational institution. Developing and
creating awareness towards the needs of SR initiatives and
practices are best initiated and nurtured as early as a
learning institute level. However, in doing so various
definition, concept, and standard of practicing SR need to
be reviewed. This is needed in order to ensure SR initiative
of higher learning institution has its own platform which
differs from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
practices in profit oriented organisations. An online survey
was conducted among the university stakeholders through out
Malaysia. The objective is to gather information on the
stakeholders’ expectation of how SR initiative should be
carried out in university. This paper will outline how
university should move forward in determining the most
relevant path of SR engagement and initiative.
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Measuring the impacts of employee volunteering,
Marija Ivković, Smart Kolektiv & Alekse Nenadovića, Belgarde
Abstract
The paper describes how the effects of employee
volunteering in the projects of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) can be measured. Employee’s
volunteering appear as one of the specific forms of social
responsibility where their work and knowledge contribute to
achieving common social goals and solve concrete problems in
the local community. This topic is relevant because for the
business it is extremely important to have some means to
measure and display the results. Measuring the effects of
these actions is important for the direct beneficiaries and
the wider community in order to have better insight into the
importance and benefits of such actions. The paper has a
combined approach and gives a model that can be applied to
measure the various components of voluntary activity, paying
attention to the inputs, outputs and outcomes. It also
presents different approaches to this issue, taking into
account the results and effects related to the business and
the community. A special focus is placed on measuring
quantitative and qualitative components of the effects of
employee volunteering.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility, volunteering,
measuring the impacts of volunteering.
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Doctoral Colloquium Abstracts
Are financial market Greenhouse gas-efficient?; Andrea
Liesen, UK
Abstract
Assuming semi-strong market efficiency as proposed by
Eugene F. Fama in the 1970s, all readily available
information is priced into the stock price of a firm. Also
according to that train of thought, stocks that entail
greater systematic risk than others should provide investors
with a so called risk premium, i.e. higher expected returns
to compensate for the additional risk assumed. This research
addresses the question whether financial markets are
informational Greenhouse gas (GHG)-efficient in the
semi-strong or strong form of market efficiency, i.e. it
examines whether share prices factor in information on the
increasing threat that GHG-emissions pose to the ability of
some companies to generate profits in the future. Unknown
future costs for GHG-emissions under the European Emissions
Trading Scheme are just one of many ways in which GHG-emissions
become a threat to the ability of some companies to generate
profits in the future. If financial markets were
informational GHG-efficient, they should provide investors
of some companies with a premium for the additional GHG-induced
risk assumed. If financial markets were not reflecting the
impact of GHG-emissions on future corporate financial
performance, some investments contained an undetected GHG-induced
risk. Performing various portfolio studies using the
Fama-French-Carhart Four Factor Model, this PhD-thesis
examines whether financial markets factor in information on
the increasing threat that GHG-emissions pose to the ability
of some companies to generate profits in the future. The
paper opens with embedding the research question in the
relevant bodies of literature (i.e. literature on market
efficiency and literature that relates corporate
environmental to stock performance). Subsequently, the
argument and hypotheses are developed and the methodologies
and data sets used to test these hypotheses are introduced.
Finally, the expected project outcomes are briefly
presented. Special attention is given to the deficiencies of
GHG-reporting by companies.
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corporate social responsibility and poverty reduction; Sally
Curtis, Australia Abstract
This research will examine how business contributes to
poverty reduction in a developing country through CSR
practices. In recent years international development
agencies such as the United Nations, The World Bank and NGOs
have recognised the potential of business to contribute to
poverty reduction through corporate social responsibility
(CSR). Whilst business recognises the need to manage its
relationship with society, as evidenced by the increased
adoption of CSR activities, there is debate about whether
CSR practices are able to contribute to poverty reduction.
Consequently, our understanding of the contribution that CSR
practices can make to poverty reduction, particularly in
developing countries, is still limited. The increased
pressure on business to contribute to poverty reduction,
combined with calls for a more holistic approach to CSR,
suggests that there is a need to conduct research at a
country level to understand how CSR practices can best
contribute to poverty reduction in a systematic way. As
such, this research will involve a multi-level analysis
(country, business and community) in a small developing
country and focus on the following research questions: In
what ways are development actors (eg government and NGOs)
seeking to engage business in reducing poverty? In what
ways have CSR activities assisted to reduce poverty in the
country? What motivates business to develop and implement
CSR initiatives? Are CSR practices different across
industries within the country? How do CSR activities align
with the country’s priorities related to poverty reduction?
What is the impact of CSR activities on the livelihoods of
the local people? The research will draw on poverty
reduction literature to determine the measures for the
study. It is anticipated that measures used in this study
will be multidimensional and include income as well as
non-income dimensions of poverty. Primary and secondary
research methods will be utilised for collecting data.
Country level data will be gathered from publicly available
documents relevant to the country from sources such as the
government, The World Bank, NGOs and business. This will be
complemented with primary data collection involving
interviews with relevant stakeholders such as government
officials, business leaders, business employees, local
people and NGOs.
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Governance mechanisms, intellectual capital
and corporate performance; Stephen K. Nkundabanyanga, Uganda
Abstract The agency theory, which is part of the
positivist group of theories that derives from the financial
economics literature, makes a distinct classification
between business owners and the managers of the businesses
and has been put forward to explain and predict the
attributes of boards and how these in turn affect corporate
performance. However, the role of the board as an important
governance mechanism has now come into question with the
‘‘meltdown’’ of significant companies such as Enron Corp.,
India’s Satyam computer services, WorldCom, Inc., K-mart,
Greenland bank and Global Crossing Ltd, etc. This has given
rise to unprecedented need for shareholder protection
reflected in corporate governance policy documents and codes
of practice (for a review, see Van den & Baelden, 2005) and
leading managers to embrace corporate governance policy
documents and codes of practice more as a survival strategy
than a first preference. It has been argued that practical
governance mechanisms introduce further operating
complexities for management while increasing costs and
reducing decision speeds and flexibility (Duden & Pech,
2006). It is probably for these reasons that recent
researchers report low predictive validity of prevailing
governance mechanisms for corporate performance (see for
example Abor & Nicholas, 2007) and similarly, the relatively
mixed findings (for examples see Aluchna (2009); Monks &
Minow, 2004; Roades et al, 2002; Pajuste, 2002; Elloumi &
Guelie, 2001; Hambrick &Jackson, 2000; Dalton et al, 1999;
Conyon & Peck, 1998; Dalton et al, 1998; Zajac and Westphal,
1996; Holderness & Sheehan, 1988; Neun &Santerre, 1986).
Given these findings, some scholars have tried to explain
the extent to which performance of firms might be improved
via firms’ Intellectual Capital. Their conclusion that the
profitability of a firm can significantly be improved by
means of managing intellectual capital (e.g. Ghosh & Mondal,
2009) calls for appropriate governance mechanisms. There
are, as well, mixed results on the IC predictive potential
of corporate performance (Hang Chan, 2009 part 1 &2) which
contradict earlier findings by Riahi-Belkaoui, (2003); Chen,
Cheng and Hwang, (2005) and more recently Cleary (2006).
Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that IC alone or
governance mechanisms without developing appropriate IC
could meaningfully influence performance positively. In this
paper we argue that since the predictive potential of
intellectual capital and corporate governance mechanisms has
been studied independently, a balance needs to be achieved
between attaining satisfactory levels of shareholder
protection (through governance mechanisms) versus allowing
and supporting a managerial approach that is highly
responsive and agile in relation to the external business
landscape (through leveraging IC). Thus, for purposes of
obtaining acceptable corporate performance, prevailing
governance mechanisms appear to be inadequate and therefore,
the present study is an attempt to a search for efficient
predictors of corporate performance in addition to
prevailing governance mechanisms.
Key words: Governance mechanisms, intellectual capital,
corporate performance, Uganda
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