Search results

Can industrial marketers afford to choose unethical strategies? To answer this question, this study aims to use game theory to analyze whether an industrial marketer choosing and implementing an unethical strategy is successful in maximizing her market share across her strategies.

The competition between two industrial marketers is modeled as a strategic game for the market share of a product that is identical in all attributes except the production process. Each industrial marketer’s objective is to choose to implement either the ethical or the unethical production process to maximize her market share.

The study finds that both industrial marketers choosing to implement ethical strategies is the unique Nash equilibrium of the game. That is, an industrial marketer choosing to implement an unethical strategy in the production process will be unsuccessful in maximizing her market share when both the industrial marketers are rational.

The study contributes to the literature on industrial marketing ethics, particularly that on product ethics, by showing that industrial marketers gain market share if they choose ethical strategies.

The study has implications for industrial marketing executives, as organizational consumers are increasingly aware of the strategies of industrial marketers. Failure to implement ethical strategies will cause industrial marketers to forgo their best possible market shares.

This study’s novelty lies in using a game theoretic approach to demonstrate the positive implications of ethical strategies for industrial marketers.

Business ethics provide a potent source of competitive advantage, placing increasing pressure on organizations to create and maintain an ethical workforce. Nonetheless, ethical breaches continue to permeate corporate life, suggesting that there is something missing from how we conceptualize and institutionalize organizational ethics. The current effort seeks to fill this void in two ways. First, we introduce an extended ethical framework premised on sensemaking in organizations. Within this framework, we suggest that multiple individual, organizational, and societal factors may differentially influence the ethical sensemaking process. Second, we contend that human resource management plays a central role in sustaining workplace ethics and explore the strategies through which human resource personnel can work to foster an ethical culture and spearhead ethics initiatives. Future research directions applicable to scholars in both the ethics and human resources domains are provided.

The purpose of this paper is to see to what extent Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy could be used to unveil how corporate discourse about financial crimes (in codes of ethics) is closely linked to the process of understanding.

Corporate ethical discourse of 20 business corporations will be analyzed, as it is conveyed within their codes of ethics. The companies came from five countries (USA, Canada, France, Switzerland and Brazil). In the explanatory study, the following industries were represented (two companies by industry): aircrafts/trains, military, airlines, recreational vehicles, soft drinks, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, beauty products, telecommunications and banks.

Historically-based prejudices in three basic narrative strategies (silence, chosen items and detailed discussion) about financial crimes are related to the mindset, to the basic outlook on corporate self-interest or to an absolutizing attitude.

The historically-based prejudices that have been identified in this explanatory study should be analyzed in longitudinal studies.

The historically-based prejudices that have been identified in this explanatory study should be analyzed in longitudinal studies. Historically-based prejudices could be strengthened by the way corporate codes of ethics deal with financial crimes. They could, thus, have a deep impact on the organizational culture in the long-run.

The paper analyzes the way corporate codes of ethics use given narrative strategies to address financial crimes issues. It also unveils historically-based prejudices that follow from the choice of one or the other narrative strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the ethics of a specific communication strategy to support the contention that ethics needs to be an integrated operational consideration in the corporate communication planning process rather than an afterthought.

Using the marketing communication strategy referred to as disease branding as a case‐in‐point, the “Five Pillars of Ethics for Public Communication” provide a framework for analysis of the need for making ethics an operational consideration in planning.

Communication strategies attempted by organizations today are subject to public criticism. Disease branding, a prime example, is paradoxically a “non‐branded” approach to marketing pharmaceuticals directly to consumers. Pejoratively referred to as disease‐mongering, this promotion of diseases rather than drugs neatly side‐steps the increasing criticism and even legal obstacles that face or threaten to face direct‐to‐consumer advertising of branded, prescription drugs. It is an innovative, non‐traditional tactic that has been enormously successful in widening markets for specific drug preparations. Application of the “Five Pillars” for ethical analysis finds that this strategy fails to meet the acceptable ethical standard in four out of five.

This study is limited to the application of one approach to ethical evaluation, although it is one that encompasses a number of widely accepted standards for practice.

An ethical analysis using the “Five Pillars” can be implemented by any corporate communication professional as a litmus test for determining the ethics of strategies under development during the operational planning process.

This paper fills a gap in the information available to corporate communication professionals about how to operationalize ethics.

The purpose of this paper is to explore a possible strategic role for computing ethics and investigate how they might align with corporate values and higher education (HE) strategy making.

A longitudinal study of a university in the South East of England is used to examine qualitative findings and develop a formative discussion. The findings, discussion and conceptual framework draw upon documents analysis and 14 semi-structured interviews with senior informants involved in strategy making and implementation within a HE case study setting.

Findings are discussed in terms of: first, dealing with everyday computing ethical issues facing HE, such as common information technology (IT) threats and data protection; second, responding to ethical opportunities, dilemmas and challenges associated with the adoption of new information and communication technology in areas such as eLearning; and third, harnessing aligned IT opportunities, computing ethics and organizational values for long-term strategy development.

This paper is important for strategic decision makers as they consider the joined-up nature of computing ethics and organizational strategy. Explicating hidden ethical opportunity and threat dimensions of eLearning, computing networks and organizational design should be an area for future research. The authors are limited by the use of a single case study, and generalizability of findings.

The contribution of the paper is a macro-analytical and conceptual approach that explores tentative links between computing ethics, corporate values and strategy making, while supporting future empirical studies between traditionally disparate research domains.

The objective this paper is to develop and describe a conceptual framework for collaborative Ethical Procurement Due Diligence (EPDD) between International Aid Non‐Government Organisations (IANGOs) in Humanitarian Supply Chains (HSCs). Second, to explore EPDD relationships with IANGOs, IANGOs and their suppliers, IANGOs and their suppliers' suppliers, donors, IANGOs and IANGO suppliers.

The approach takes the form of qualitative research in the shape of a number of in‐depth interviews, and the collection of secondary information across 11 IANGO organisations with senior logistics and purchasing managers.

Supply chain co‐opetition strategies are being enacted by IANGOs to explore the formulation of EPDD. Concerns surrounding ethical risk in HSCs differ from commercial supply chains (CSCs) in relation to NGO relationships with donors and supplier networks. EPDD by IANGOs beyond the first tier of suppliers in HSCs is limited to Lead IANGO(s).

The case study approach adopted restricts the generality of findings; however, the research explores ethical behaviour in a new direction, that of IANGOs in HSCs, and their relationships with donors and supplier networks. This has implications for the management of ethical risk strategies in HSCs.

The paper determines barriers and enablers to collaboration between NGOs and as such assists in the process of developing risk‐rating systems for ethical procurement in NGO HSCs.

This is the first study to investigate the issues surrounding collaborative ethical procurement in IANGO HSCs, and associated ethical procurement risk management strategies in relation to donors and supplier networks.

In this final chapter, we explore the ever-evolving 21st century landscape where ethics drive community development toward resilience and progress. Drawing inspiration from the subheadings mapping our journey, we traverse international case studies spanning Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Kenya, China, Australia, Antarctica, and India. Through these global insights, we uncover the impacts of dynamic forces on communities worldwide, navigating ethical dilemmas and opportunities. We present strategies tailored to diverse continent-specific needs, explore inclusive governance models, and highlight the transformative power of ethical engagement. This journey underscores the vital role of resilience and concludes with a global call to embrace ethical approaches for inclusive community development and a sustainable future.

This study aims to examine the potential effect of integrating social and ethical practices into strategy on the market valuation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) businesses using the moderating effect of green innovation.

The sample used consisted of 523 international firms listed on the ESG index and headquartered in North America and Western Europe, forming an unbalanced panel of 7,845 observations spanning the period 2005–2019. The authors run a fixed-effects panel regression model using the Thomson Reuters ASSET4 to test the relationship between societal and ethical practices and the stock market value creation. Similarly, as an extension of the research, this paper exploits two robustness analyzes. The authors tested the dynamic dimension of the data set through the generalized moment method and the effect of the legal system.

Evidence reveals a significant positive relationship between societal and ethical practices and businesses’ market valuation. The empirical results indicate that societal and ethical strengths increase firm value with the moderating effect of green innovation and weaknesses reduce it. The results found with the dynamic dimension of the data set indicate the existence of continuity between firm values over time.

Given the long study period, many firms with missing data were eliminated. To avoid the small sample size, countries with few observations were included, which led to an uneven distribution between observations per country.

Findings from this paper can help ESG firms to consider their future growth opportunities in a context where the approach of business ethics occupies a central position in business valuation.

This study is the only study that provides ESG companies with seven different nationalities with evidence for the effect of social and ethical practices regarding market valuation. This paper is also relevant as it addresses the relationship between social effectiveness and financial efficiency, as well as the dynamic effect of this relationship.

Using ethical considerations in strategic decision making will result in the development of the most effective long term and short term strategies. Specifically, ethical criteria must be included as part of the strategic process in before‐profit decisions rather than after‐profit decisions in order to maximize corporate profits and improve strategy development and implementation. This paper presents a system of decision making to achieve this integration which uses an “interest assessment” that involves the analysis of the ethical, social and legal obligations of an organization.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges faced by corporations in incorporating ethics into their strategic management processes.

The research is based on a survey of the issues and the literature published in Europe, North America and Asia.

Findings indicate a definite gap between the implementation of strategy and the moral and ethical obligations of corporations. Given the decline in business ethics and recent corporate scandals it is proposed that ethics be brought back to the forefront of strategic management and integrated into the strategic management process.

The paper serves as a instrument for debate and future research in that the ethical issues faced by corporations will continue to gather momentum as will the issues faced by traditional strategists.

This paper allows researchers and practitioners to gain an understanding of the issues and shortcomings in strategy and ethical integration, which allows for future research.