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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 July 2021

Benedetta Esposito, Maria Rosaria Sessa, Daniela Sica and Ornella Malandrino

This paper aims to explore how the Italian wine industry discloses corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and quality certifications and the corresponding determinants…

2905

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how the Italian wine industry discloses corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and quality certifications and the corresponding determinants via websites. The study also aims to investigate the relationship between CSR practices and financial performance. The information consistency between the quality certificates reported on corporate websites and official database statements is also explored. Lastly, the paper investigates how the relationship between the size of wineries and CSR disclosure changes according to firms' geographic location.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses CSR corporate communication via the websites of a sample of Italian wineries by adjusting the theoretical framework developed by Amran (2012) to the wine sector's peculiarities. Moreover, a cross-certification analysis and a moderation analysis were performed to fulfil the purpose of the research.

Findings

The analysis revealed the extensive use of CSR disclosure via websites. It was found that company size positively affects CSR disclosure and Quality Certification Disclosure (QCD), while geographic location slightly moderates the relationship between the two variables. In addition, a negative relationship between CSR disclosure and corporate financial performance and its reverse causality emerged. Moreover, for most wineries, information consistency between the quality certificates reported on corporate websites and official database statements was observed.

Research limitations/implications

The study's main limitation is that the search process was performed during lockdown. Therefore, the examined issues could change in the near future due to the shift in priorities that the COVID-19 pandemic is determining.

Practical implications

The results can help managers implement CSR disclosure and QCD practices to enhance stakeholder legitimacy and enable their companies to compete in strongly competitive international markets.

Originality/value

The paper represents the first study investigating online QCD and its consistency in the Italian wine sector.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 33 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 February 2023

Adele Berndt and Corné Meintjes

Family businesses feature prominently in economies, including the South African wine industry, using websites to convey their family identity. This research paper aims to explore…

1296

Abstract

Purpose

Family businesses feature prominently in economies, including the South African wine industry, using websites to convey their family identity. This research paper aims to explore the family identity elements that family wineries use on their websites, their alignment and how these are communicated online.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on Gioia’s methodology, a two-pronged approach was used to analyze 113 wineries’ websites’ text using Atlas. ti from an interpretivist perspective.

Findings

South African wineries use corporate identity, corporate personality and corporate expression to illustrate their familiness on their websites. It is portrayed through their family name and heritage, supported by their direction, purpose and aspirations, which emerge from the family identity and personality. These are dynamic and expressed through verbal and visual elements. Wineries described their behaviour, relevant competencies and passion as personality traits. Sustainability was considered an integral part of their brand promise, closely related to their family identity and personality, reflecting their family-oriented philosophy. These findings highlight the integration that exists among these components.

Practical implications

Theoretically, this study proposes a family business brand identity framework emphasising the centrality of familiness to its identity, personality and expression. Using websites to illustrate this familiness is emphasised with the recommendation that family businesses leverage this unique attribute in their identity to communicate their authenticity.

Originality/value

This study contributes to understanding what family wineries communicate on their websites, specifically by examining the elements necessary to create a family business brand based on the interrelationship between family identity, personality and expression with familiness at its core, resulting in a proposed family business brand identity framework.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 April 2022

George Nel and Roelof Baard

The aim of this study was threefold: to examine companies' e-mail handling performance, to ascertain whether companies' view corporate websites and respond to e-mail requests as…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was threefold: to examine companies' e-mail handling performance, to ascertain whether companies' view corporate websites and respond to e-mail requests as mutually exclusive or complementary, and finally to gauge the strategic importance of retail investors.

Design/methodology/approach

The findings are based on an analysis of the corporate websites and e-mail handling performance of the 77 smallest companies listed on a South African stock exchange. A “mystery investor” approach was employed to measure companies' e-mail handling performance in terms of responsiveness, timeliness and relevance of responses. A disclosure score was calculated for each company based on a content analysis of corporate websites.

Findings

The opportunity for improvement exists, as evidenced in the fact that only 53% of companies responded to an e-mail request from a retail investor. The results suggest that corporate websites and the e-mail functionality are not used in isolation but as complementary. Although the results suggest that companies neglect retail investors, companies that provided a dedicated investor relations (IR) contact address prioritised both their corporate websites aimed to a wide range of stakeholders, as well as responding to an e-mail request received from a retail investor.

Originality/value

This study contributes to research on the association between one-way and two-way communication channels, aimed at retail investors. It is the first study to explore these relationships using data from the smallest companies listed on the stock exchange of an emerging economy.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 April 2022

Fahmida Akhter, Mohammad Rokibul Hossain, Hamzah Elrehail, Shafique Ur Rehman and Bashar Almansour

The study seeks to evaluate the extent and quality of environmental reporting following a longitudinal analysis and covering a wide spectrum of industries in a single frame. The…

5954

Abstract

Purpose

The study seeks to evaluate the extent and quality of environmental reporting following a longitudinal analysis and covering a wide spectrum of industries in a single frame. The study also attempts to identify the set of most favored environmental reporting items by firms and items which are least disclosed. Furthermore, the study attempts to test whether certain corporate attributes such as firm size, age of the firm, leverage ratio, profitability, presence of independent directors in the board and gender diversity have any influencing power over environmental disclosure practices. The whole study has been carried out from legitimacy theory setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The study follows longitudinal analysis to identify the extent and quality of environmental disclosures. A self-constructed checklist of 12 environmental reporting items has been developed analyzing the annual report and content analysis method is followed to measure the extent and quality of environmental disclosures and identify environmental reporting items which are mostly disclosed and which are least disclosed. The study further uses panel data regression analysis to investigate whether certain corporate attributes have any impact on environmental disclosures using multiple linear regression. Total of 345 annual reports of listed financial and nonfinancial institutions have been observed in this study ranging from 2015 to 2019.

Findings

The key finding suggests that strict enforcement of Green Banking Rules 2011 fosters country’s commercial banks to invest more to protect the environment and commercial banks encourage nonfinancial institutions for environmental performance and related disclosures through finance. Therefore, almost 50% of sample firms disclose their environmental performance through reporting in either narrative, quantitative or monetary format which was only 2.23% in the last decade. Findings also reveal that tree plantation is the most reported environment disclosure followed by investment in renewable energy and green infrastructural projects and the least reported items are fund allocation for climatic changes and carbon management policy. Further analysis shows that firm size and leverage ratio both have positive impact on environmental reporting.

Research limitations/implications

An in-depth analysis may be conducted to identify why certain environmental items are least disclosed such as fund allotment for climatic changes, carbon management policy, etc. and how corporations may earn social appreciation and motivation by investing in those least preferred items in legitimacy theory setting. Future research may also take into consideration other corporate attributes which are not considered in the study.

Originality/value

The study conducted an in-depth analysis to understand the most favored form of environmental disclosures (narrative/quantitative/monetary) and their extent after incorporation of regulatory guidelines, which is the first of its kind in the research of environmental disclosures. The study indeed contributes to the documentation of environmental reporting in the context of a developing country where there is a lack of longitudinal analysis from the lens of legitimacy theory. Moreover, a wide spectrum of industries has been taken into consideration which facilitates the generalized findings on the environmental disclosure practices of corporations in Bangladesh.

研究目的

本研究擬評估公司報告環境方面的程度和質量, 以及對就環境報告披露而言、最受青睞和最不受歡迎的項目加以處理。研究亦擬測試企業屬性對實踐環境信息披露的影響。

研究方法

研究使用內容分析法、去測量環境信息披露的程度和質量。研究使用多元回歸分析、去探討企業屬性對環境信息披露的影響。研究涵蓋孟加拉國上市公司共345個年度報告, 涵蓋的年期為2015年至 2019年。

研究結果

研究結果似乎顯示綠色金融規則 - 2011 、成功鼓勵機構為保護環境而投放更多資源; 機構最樂於匯報的項目為植樹, 而披露最少的則為氣候變化和碳管理政策。進一步的研究分析顯示, 公司的規模和杠杆比率均會對環境匯報帶來正面的影響。

研究的原創性/新穎性

本研究豐富了關於發展中國家環境匯報的官方文件記錄, 而在這類國家, 透過合法化理論而進行的縱貫性分析研究頗為缺乏。本研究以深度分析法、去瞭解環境信息披露方面最受青睞的信息披露方式 (故事形式的敘述/定量形式/金融形式), 也去瞭解納入強制的規管指引後環境信息披露的程度; 就此而言, 本研究為這類環境信息披露研究的首個研究。

Details

European Journal of Management and Business Economics, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2444-8451

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 January 2021

Maria Vincenza Ciasullo, Raffaella Montera and Rocco Palumbo

The article investigates different types of strategies for managing user-generated content (UGC) and provides some insights into their implications.

3847

Abstract

Purpose

The article investigates different types of strategies for managing user-generated content (UGC) and provides some insights into their implications.

Design/methodology/approach

A unique sample of Italian hotels with current and prospective customers in the digital environment is investigated. A taxonomy of user-provider interactions mediated by UGC is developed. A mixed approach was designed to meet the study aims. Firstly, an exploratory factor analysis was performed in order to illuminate different strategies of UGC and electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM) management. Secondly, a cluster analysis was implemented in order to explain hoteliers' behavior toward users' contents.

Findings

The study results suggested the existence of three clusters, which reflected three different types of interactions between hotels and customers in the digital domain. Interestingly, most of Italian hotels were found to adopt a reductionist approach to UGC and E-WOM management, turning out to be ineffective to exploit them for the purpose of quality improvement and hospitality service excellence.

Research limitations/implications

Hotels were found to be largely unaware of the importance of UGC and web-based communication with customers to improve their digital business strategy. Tailored management approaches are needed to realize the full potential of hotels' online content responsiveness for the purpose of value co-creation and service co-production.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies investigating the strategic and management perspectives embraced by hotels to handle their interactions with customers in the digital arena.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 August 2022

Gerrit Adrian Boehncke

The purpose of this paper is to identify what attention science pays to CSR communication for the process of career orientation and employer decision-making by the critical sought…

2623

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify what attention science pays to CSR communication for the process of career orientation and employer decision-making by the critical sought after top talent.

Design/methodology/approach

The review is structured as a systematic literature review of the CSR–HRM intersection. In 11 EBSCO online databases one of several “CSR-terms” was combined with one of several “HRM-terms”.

Findings

Although CSR has long been recognized as a relevant factor for organizational attractiveness (Greening and Turban, 2000) and talent attraction and its importance is reflected in the ongoing “war for talent” (Chambers et al., 1998) in which (prospective) leaders are considered a critical human resource for corporate success (Ansoff, 1965), few contributions are focusing on successfully recruited future leaders/high potentials.

Practical implications

There is a knowledge gap about the importance of CSR in high potential recruiting, which influences both resource-strong decisions on the company side and the communication behavior of applicants. Companies only know about a general CSR relevance for employees and applicants. Accordingly, no attention-optimized CSR communication can take place. In the highly competitive battle for the attention of high potentials, this leads to undifferentiated communication formats. At the same time, high potentials may not receive the CSR information of interest to them from an employer at the relevant time and therefore cannot present an optimal fit in the cover letters and thus cannot prove themselves as ideal candidates.

Originality/value

CSR is not only an obligatory field of communication for companies, but also a special opportunity in recruiting the young value-oriented generations Y and Z. The research on CSR communication in the course of their career decision has not been covered in a review so far, the research situation is thus explicitly addressed for the first time and practical implications for the post COVID-19 employer brand and recruiting communication are addressed.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 February 2020

Federico Caviggioli, Lucio Lamberti, Paolo Landoni and Paolo Meola

Evidence from previous literature indicates that adopting a new innovative technology has a positive impact on a company’s business performance. Much less work has been carried…

3704

Abstract

Purpose

Evidence from previous literature indicates that adopting a new innovative technology has a positive impact on a company’s business performance. Much less work has been carried out into examining whether a technology adoption has impact on corporate reputation. This paper aims to examine the latter topic in a context where social media is the channel used to share news about the introduction of a new technology. The empirical setting of the study consists of five retail companies located in the USA that decided to include Bitcoin as a payment platform.

Design/methodology/approach

Twitter data were used to measure how sharing news about the adoption of new technology could affect the reputation of the companies selected, keeping a clear distinction between the volume of data relating to social media responses and the sentiment expressed in the tweets. A panel vector autoregression model was used to incorporate series of data relating to news items, volume and sentiment.

Findings

The results show that the news about the adoption of a new technology has a positive impact on both the volume of tech-related tweets and the sentiment expressed in the tweets themselves, although the patterns of these two effects are different. The resulting impact decreases after a few days, both in volume and in sentiment.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis has limitations that future research could address by extending and diversifying the examined companies and the social media used as data sources. The research suggests that managers in medium-sized companies can leverage on the introduction of new technologies that have a direct impact on their customers and gain reputational benefits in terms of immediate visibility.

Originality/value

The research introduces an additional dimension of analysis to the current stream of corporate reputation. Although the literature has already covered the dynamics of response to events on Twitter, by focusing on the adoption of the new Bitcoin technology, the paper provides novel insights.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 29 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 September 2018

Kristina Heinonen and Gustav Medberg

Understanding customers is critical for service researchers and practitioners. Today, customers are increasingly active online, and valuable information about their opinions…

69509

Abstract

Purpose

Understanding customers is critical for service researchers and practitioners. Today, customers are increasingly active online, and valuable information about their opinions, experiences and behaviors can be retrieved from a variety of online platforms. Online customer information creates new opportunities to design personalized and high-quality service. This paper aims to review how netnography as a method can help service researchers and practitioners to better use such data.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review and analysis were conducted on 321 netnography studies published in marketing journals between 1997 and 2017.

Findings

The systematic review reveals that netnography has been applied in a variety of ways across different marketing fields and topics. Based on the analysis of existing netnography literature, empirical, theoretical and methodological recommendations for future netnographic service research are presented.

Research limitations/implications

This paper shows how netnography can offer service researchers unprecedented opportunities to access naturalistic online data about customers and, hence, why it is an important method for future service research.

Practical implications

Netnographic research can help service firms with, for example, service innovation, advertising and environmental scanning. This paper provides guidelines for service managers who want to use netnography as a market research tool.

Originality/value

Netnography has seen limited use in service research despite many promising applications in this field. This paper is the first to encourage and support service researchers in their use of the method and aims to stimulate interesting future netnographic service research.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 3 October 2023

Silvia Cantele and Paola Signori

This study aims to analyse the components of sustainable business models (SBMs) in the dairy industry, in relation to firm-relevant organisational features (size, ownership…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the components of sustainable business models (SBMs) in the dairy industry, in relation to firm-relevant organisational features (size, ownership structure and production process) and through the lenses of the business model framework and the sustainable value exchange matrix (SVEM). This contribution proposes a taxonomy of emerging SBMs and sustainable value creation in the dairy industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This research makes use of a multiple case study approach, with cases selected in collaboration with industry experts. The selected firms are highly committed to sustainability transition. Results are drawn from qualitative data obtained from in-depth interviews and secondary sources. The interpretation phases, initially based on open coding, have been enriched by applying the components of business models (BMs) frameworks and the SVEM, and the analyses have been enhanced through an additional interpretative workshop with experts.

Findings

The authors related the BMs characteristics of some typical dairy firms transitioning to sustainability, using SBM components and taxonomies emerging in the literature, based on the formalisation of sustainability practices, the scope of operations, and the degree of integration of the three dimensions of sustainable value. These findings led to the discovery of three types of SBM in this dairy industry, referred to as “Milky Ways”.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the scant literature on sustainability in dairy firms, highlighting the different paths followed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), cooperatives and large companies in remoulding their business models towards sustainability and thus achieving sustainable value creation.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 June 2020

Roberto Biloslavo, Carlo Bagnoli, Maurizio Massaro and Antonietta Cosentino

This study aims to identify the legitimacy issues raised during a sustainable business model innovation, deployed by an Italian company, which was analyzed through the lens of the…

5620

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to identify the legitimacy issues raised during a sustainable business model innovation, deployed by an Italian company, which was analyzed through the lens of the legitimation theory and the business model innovation theory.

Design/methodology/approach

A single case study methodology is employed for empirical research. Semistructured interviews, with top and middle management, were conducted together with the analysis of several internal and external documents, to corroborate the case analysis.

Findings

Results show how the potentiality of digital technologies allows the development of new sustainable business models, which, though, still need to gain legitimation to be accepted. The study findings allow drawing both on the business model innovation theory and on the legitimation theory, as they show how legitimation is a dynamic concept that involves internal as well as external stakeholders to support business model innovation.

Originality/value

The paper is novel, since it addresses the topic of sustainable business models development, showing how companies can get legitimation. The paper builds on existing theories and provides a practical example.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 58 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000