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Business & Society – special issue forthcoming  

The 9 articles comprising a forthcoming special issue on "Corporate Responsibility: Initiatives
and Mechanisms" are all available online.  The guest editors are Jennifer J.
Griffin (The George Washington University) and Aseem Prakash (University of Washington).
 

Corporate Responsibility: Initiatives and Mechanisms

by Jennifer J. Griffin and Aseem Prakash

Business Society published 4 April 2013, 10.1177/0007650313478975
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650313478975v1

This special issue of Business & Society explores how institutions and actors influence
organizational choices regarding corporate responsibility (CR) initiatives and mechanisms.
Assuming CR reflects strategic choices made by firms, the authors seek to move discussions from
why aspects to aligning the why with the what! /how aspects of CR. The articles in this special
issue examine CR initiatives at multiple levels (the firm, industry, national, and global) as well
as CR mechanisms ranging from "go-it-alone" unilateral activities to collaborative partnerships.
The study goals are two-fold. First, the authors focus on firms' attempt to create and manage a
portfolio of corporate responsibilities-social, political, environmental, and economic. These
responsibilities involve relationships with a range of stakeholders (investors, employees,
consumers, suppliers, and distributors as well as its multiple communities), often simultaneously,
and recognizing that the corporation can devote limited resources to manage stakeholder
expectations in this regard. Second, the authors seek to understand how institutional and
competitive contexts matter in shaping specific CR choices to provide tangible evidence of
managing responsibly. The authors suggest that conscious! ly aligning CR initiatives (what) with
appropriate mechanis! ms (how) will allow the corporations to efficiently and effectively pursue
their CR objectives and arguably create sustained impact.

 

Goodness Comes From Within: Intra-Organizational Dynamics of Corporate Social Responsibility

by Christian R. Thauer

Business Society published 24 April 2013, 10.1177/0007650313475770
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650313475770v1

This article makes the case for the importance of paying attention to the internal dynamics of
business in order to understand why and under which conditions firms engage in corporate social
responsibility (CSR). The argument is that CSR assists decision makers in firms to resolve
managerial dilemmas. By a managerial dilemma this article understands a situation whereby the
execution of management's decisions requires asset specific allocation of resources. Asset
specific allocation of resources transforms the int! ra-organizational mode of social coordination
from a hierarchy to one in which managers become dependent on, and vulnerable to, the behavior of
subordinates. It is in these situations that corporate Decision-makers introduce CSR standards in
their attempt to avoid the foreseeable loss of control and organizational efficiency.

 

Micro-Level Interactions in Business-Nonprofit Partnerships

by Marlene Vock, Willemijn van Dolen, and Ans Kolk

Business Society published 18 February 2013, 10.1177/0007650313476030
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650313476030v1

While most research on business–nonprofit partnerships has focused on macro and meso perspectives,
this article pays attention to the micro level. Drawing on various theoretical perspectives from
both marketing and management, this study conceptually relates the outcomes of active employee
participation in such partnerships! to consumer self-interest. This article also explores
empi! rically w! hether and when self-interest affects consumers' responses toward firms in
relation
to business–nonprofit partnerships. The study reveals that self-interest can directly influence
consumers' behavioral responses toward firms (i.e., switching and buying intentions, and word of
mouth), whereas the impact on evaluative responses in terms of attitude and trust is only weak.
The fit between the firm and the nonprofit partner (company–cause fit) turns out to moderate this
effect, with consumer self-interest only playing a role if fit is high. Implications for research
and practice are discussed.

 

Sustainable Development and Industry Self-Regulation: Developments in the Global Mining Sector

by Hevina S. Dashwood

Business Society published 18 February 2013, 10.1177/0007650313475997
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650313475997v1

 This article explores the influences i! nforming the voluntary initiatives undertaken by major
mining companies to meet their environmental and social responsibilities. The framing by mining
companies of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies in terms of sustainable
development, as reflected in their stand-alone CSR reports, is a noteworthy feature of the mining
industry. This article analyzes the process by which convergence occurred around the norm of
sustainable development and examines the circumstances that led to the adoption of unilateral and
collaborative corporate voluntary initiatives to promote sustainable development in the mining
sector. The author argues that the interaction of institutional dynamics with managerial
preferences are key variables which can best be explained by institutional approaches in
organization theory and international relations theory that draw attention to the global context
and the dissemination of global norms.

 
Privatizing or Socializing Corporate Responsibility:! Business! Participation in Voluntary Programs

by Luc Fransen and Brian Burgoon

Business Society published 18 February 2013, 10.1177/0007650313475784
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650313475784v1

This article explores why companies choose some Corporate Responsibility initiatives over others.
The focus is on competing voluntary programs to oversee and protect labor standards. These
programs may differ with regard to two aspects: the governance of the program and the financial
and managerial responsibility for compliance. These aspects are crucial to distinguish
"socializing" or "privatizing" types of voluntary labor regulation. The article explores the
conditions under which companies in apparel production choose different types of governance and
responsibility, based on qualitative and quantitative evidence of the European industry. The study
shows that corporate preference for multi-stakeholder ! governed programs is positively affected
by
societal pressure orchestrated by NGOs, through both public campaigns and informal efforts,
together with pressures from consumers and media. Second, the position of the firm in the value
chain affects preference for taking financial and managerial responsibility for compliance.

 

A Conceptualization of How Firms Engage in Corporate Responsibility Based on Country Risk

by Linda C. Rodríguez, Ivan Montiel, and Téofilo Ozuna

Business Society published 18 February 2013, 10.1177/0007650312475123
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650312475123v1

This conceptual article looks at corporate responsibility (CR) and country risk claiming that
there is a relationship, and then positing the directionality of the relationship. An
understanding of this relationship can help firms respond to a variety of pressures from
organizations and this kno! wledge may help firms prevent negative media coverage with the! need
to"bolt" CR strategies on to existing corporate strategies. When firms have an understanding of
how
country risk affects them, they can plan entire clusters of CR initiatives to fulfill needs within
the operating community. To understand the CR–country risk relationship, the authors build on
Matten and Moon's (2008) distinction between implicit and explicit CR. The first argument is that
firms engage in no explicit CR (explicit CR that is voluntary and goes beyond legal requirement)
when country risk is very high. As country risk lowers to high, firms engage in explicit CR, which
creates little impact to the firm if CR must be withdrawn. The second argument is that as country
risk shifts to moderate, firms commence to engage in high levels of explicit CR and low levels of
implicit CR. The third argument concludes that when country risk shifts to low or very low, firms
will engage in the least amount of explicit CR and the most amount of i! mplicit CR. A set of
three
propositions develops these arguments.

 

Culturally Embedded Organizational Learning for Global Responsibility

by Ariane Berthoin Antal and André Sobczak

Business Society published 24 February 2013, 10.1177/0007650313476673
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650313476673v1

This article proposes a multilevel model of Global Responsibility as a culturally embedded
organizational learning process. The model enables an analysis of the way culture influences how
responsibilities are defined and distributed in a culture at a given point in time, and how
organizations learn to address new responsibilities in new ways when the context changes. The
model starts at the organizational level and zooms in on the individual level as well as outward
to the local, national, and international levels. The case of a French multinational company
subsidiary in Brazi! l illustrates how the model can be used to show the relative r! elevance ! of
the
different sources of cultural influences on key stages in organizational learning processes. The
authors include the arts as an inherent dimension of culture that tends to be overlooked in the
management literature, and the case illustrates how the arts can play a role in organizational
learning for Global Responsibility.

 

Action Programs for Ethnic Minorities: A Question of Corporate Social Responsibility?

by Astrid Podsiadlowski and Astrid Reichel

Business Society published 4 March 2013, 10.1177/0007650313476665
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650313476665v1

With increasing globalization and migration the workplace is becoming more and more culturally
diverse. Although cultural diversity is found worldwide, handling of diversity as a corporate
social responsibility (CSR) varies depending on national as well as organizational contexts. This
article presents cro! ss-national research linking macro level and meso level of analysis to
identify national and organizational factors influencing an organization's implementation of
action programs for ethnic minorities. Utilizing techniques of multilevel modelling with 1,865
organizations from 10 countries, the study analyses the influence of normative and economic
reasons as well as managerial discretion to act socially responsible. The patterns of influencing
factors identified suggest that the main reasons are neither economic nor normative ones. The
factors go beyond and represent rather social reasons. This article gives an overview of relevant
predictors that increase the likelihood of action programs in organizations. Societal decision
makers can find the direct relevance of political decisions and public perceptions on actions
taken that address issues of interethnic group relations in organizations.

 

The Influence of Institut! ional Logics on Corporate Responsibility Toward Employees
by Michelle Westermann-Behaylo, Shawn L. Berman, and Harry J. Van Buren, III

Business Society published 28 March 2013, 10.1177/0007650313476934
http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0007650313476934v1

Focusing on corporate responsibility (CR) toward employees, this article discusses how
multilayered institutional logics affect the relationship between the firm and its employee
stakeholders. It considers what constitutes CR toward employees and explores the institutional
logics that can shape whether employers treat their employees as merely means to a strategic end
or as ends in themselves. Specifically, the article examines market-, state-, professional-, and
firm-based institutional logics that influence how employers treat their employees. The conclusion
suggests that external institutional logics both enable and constrain firms to adopt a more
instrumental relationship with their employees. However, some forms of o! rganizational identity
may
generate firm-based institutional logics that enable firms to resist these pressures. Suggestions
for future research focusing on the institutional and organizational drivers behind understanding
CR toward employees are offered.

 


**********************************************************************

Aseem Prakash
Professor, Department of Political Science
Walker Family Professor for the College of Arts and Sciences
39 Gowen Hall, Box 353530
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-3530

aseem AT uw DOT edu
http://faculty.washington.edu/aseem/
http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jWEaD9IAAAAJ&hl=en