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1 – 10 of over 24000Milorad M. Novicevic, Jelena Zikic, Jeanette Martin, John H. Humphreys and Foster Roberts
– The purpose of this article is to develop a moral identity perspective on Barnard's conceptualization of executive responsibility.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to develop a moral identity perspective on Barnard's conceptualization of executive responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a prospective study design, as an alternative to a transitional grounded approach, to develop a theory-based framework to compare textual patterns in Barnard's writings. By using Barnard's conceptualization of executive responsibility within the identity control theoretical framework, the paper analyzes the challenges of executive moral identification.
Findings
The paper develops a theory-based, yet practical, typology of moral identification of responsible executive leaders.
Research limitations/implications
Although this proposed typology appears rather parsimonious, it is recognized that issues of moral behavior are certainly complex, and therefore should be addressed in a requisite manner in future model developments.
Originality/value
The paper posits that Barnard's conceptualization provides a useful channel to address the critical domain at the intersection of responsible executive leadership, identity, and ethics relative to the issues of CSR, diversity management, gender equity, and community involvement. The paper considers the typology of moral identification to be an operative conduit for subsequent empirical research and practical guidance for executive leadership development.
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David Eriksson and Per Hilletofth
This study aims to explore how the flow of moral responsibility in supply chains can be understood through an analysis of material, monetary and information flows.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how the flow of moral responsibility in supply chains can be understood through an analysis of material, monetary and information flows.
Design/methodology/approach
Social responsibility, foliated networks and morality are used to present a conceptual framework that suggests responsibility links in supply chains.
Findings
By understanding the flows of material, money and information, it is possible to see how different types (liable and political) of responsibility can be identified. Conventional supply chain flows are thus connected with moral responsibility.
Research limitations/implications
Responsibility issues in supply chain management need to include supply chain links created by monetary and information flows, as well as material flows.
Practical implications
Supply chain actors need to consider responsibility across their entire supply chain, which includes material, monetary and information flows.
Originality/value
Foliated transportation networks, moral disengagement and different types of responsibility are combined in a novel way to facilitate a better understanding of responsibility in supply chains.
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Undertaking responsibility is basic to moral behaviour. However,the explicit act of undertaking responsibility may be derived fromvarious motives. The purpose here is to…
Abstract
Undertaking responsibility is basic to moral behaviour. However, the explicit act of undertaking responsibility may be derived from various motives. The purpose here is to investigate to what extent organisations tend to bound the level of responsibility and to disclose some of the different motives of undertaking responsibility. This is done by employing four different theories of behaviour which relate to conformity, compliance, needs and moral development. Although none of these theories directly treats the question of responsibility, an attempt is made to apply each to it. By way of a summary, six generalised types of responsibility are suggested: responsibility based on anxiety, shame, guilt, arrangement, ethics and freedom. Furthermore, an organisational boundary line of responsibility is suggested.
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The purpose of this paper is to address the topic of the social responsibility and the scientist from a philosophical perspective. This is a (relatively) neglected topic, as…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the topic of the social responsibility and the scientist from a philosophical perspective. This is a (relatively) neglected topic, as philosophers have tended to focus on moral responsibility. Nevertheless, it is important, and timely.
Design/methodology/approach
Analytical, based on the author’s previous work. This is not an empirical study.
Findings
That it is essential for scientists to adopt a global outlook with respect to their social responsibilities. This is in (stark) contrast to the conclusion that would be reached for moral responsibility.
Research limitations/implications
In addition to offering some concrete proposals (see below), a general approach to the question is offered that will be useful for further work.
Practical implications
Were the suggestions for socially responsible science put into practice, then this would entail a re-orientation of some parts of scientific research; for instance, a moratorium on weapons research.
Social implications
The long-run social implications of not re-orienting science, for instance not to focus even more effort on climate change, will be negative in the extreme.
Originality/value
The social responsibility of science has always been important, but it is even more important today. By focussing on global responsibility, this paper offers a new approach.
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Grzegorz Zasuwa and Magdalena Stefańska
This paper has a twofold objective: (1) to examine how trust and distrust mediate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsibility (CSI…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper has a twofold objective: (1) to examine how trust and distrust mediate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsibility (CSI) perceptions and word of mouth recommendations; and (2) to show that moral norms moderate this mediating relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experimental studies test the proposed model. Study 1 performs a single-factor experiment with three levels of corporate social responsibility (positive, neutral, negative) to test the mediation hypothesis (N = 180, 66% females, mean age = 22.3). Study 2 validates the mediation findings and examines the role of moral norms as moderators (N = 240, 50% females, mean age = 39.5).
Findings
Study 1 reveals that trust in the company partially mediates the effects of CSR on word of mouth (WOM) recommendations. Study 2 shows that consumers who adhere to higher moral standards follow distinct paths to negative WOM. Specifically, these consumers tend to spread negative comments when they expect the firm to behave irresponsibly. When unsure about future corporate behaviour, they are less likely to spread negative WOM.
Originality/value
This is the first study, to the authors' knowledge, to demonstrate how moral norms shape the effects of distrust in the corporate culprit on word of mouth recommendations. Accordingly, this research proves that conceptualising trust and distrust as separate constructs is useful in explaining consumer reactions to corporate social irresponsibility.
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Heidi Herlin and Nikodemus Solitander
The purpose of this paper is to get a deeper understanding how not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) discursively legitimize their corporate engagement through cross-sector…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to get a deeper understanding how not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) discursively legitimize their corporate engagement through cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) in general, and particularly how they construct legitimacy for partnering with firms involved in the commodification of water. The paper seeks to shed light on the values embedded in these discursive accounts and the kind of societal effects and power relations they generate, and the authors are particularly interested in understanding the role of modernity in shaping their responsibilities (or lack of them) via various technologies and practices
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1995), the authors analyze the discursive accounts of three water-related CSPs involving the three biggest bottled water producers in the world (Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Danone) and three major non-profits (The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Wildlife Foundation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
Findings
The NPO’s legitimate their corporate engagement in the water CSPs through the use of two global discourses: global governance discourse and the global climate crisis discourse. Relief from responsibility is achieved through three processes: replacement of moral with technical responsibility, denial of proximity and the usage of intermediaries to whom responsibility is outsourced.
Originality/value
This paper explores the processes of legitimizing accounts for CSPs, particularly focusing on NPO discourse and their use of CSR elements and the consequences of such discursive constructs, and this has received little to no attention in previous research.
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Kenneth E. Aupperle and Steven M. Dunphy
Chester Barnard and Frank Capra are twin US icons from the late 1930s. Both share thoughts, hopes and expectations regarding civilization and civility, man and humanity, rights…
Abstract
Chester Barnard and Frank Capra are twin US icons from the late 1930s. Both share thoughts, hopes and expectations regarding civilization and civility, man and humanity, rights and righteousness, morals and moral integrity. With Barnard, our intent is to identify his unique contributions regarding ethics and social responsibility. Barnard takes a strong stance on moral leadership and argues that effective leadership requires both “technical” and “responsible” skills. In looking at Frank Capra’s contributions, it is possible through his early work as a film director to see his concern for others and his belief that civilization can overcome its dark side. In It’s a Wonderful Life, Capra provides us with the ultimate citizen and moral leader in the form of George Bailey. In Barnardian terms, Bailey and Capra help all of us to discover that we too can make a positive difference.
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Milorad M. Novicevic, Walter Davis, Fred Dorn, M. Ronald Buckley and Jo Ann Brown
The purpose of this paper is to reacquaint researchers and practitioners with Barnard's contributions to understanding of the moral conditions that underlie the authenticity of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reacquaint researchers and practitioners with Barnard's contributions to understanding of the moral conditions that underlie the authenticity of organizational leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies Barnard's insights on leadership and uses them as inputs to theorizing about authentic leadership.
Findings
As an outcome of theorizing, the paper identifies the conditions that are likely to lead to inauthentic, pseudo‐authentic or authentic leader behavior.
Research limitations/implications
Examining authentic leadership from a historical perspective can open promising avenues for future research.
Practical implications
Leadership development programs should incorporate concepts of responsibility and conflicts of responsibility in order to provide executives with the knowledge base required for ethical decision making.
Originality/value
By placing contemporary discussion of authentic leadership in its proper historical context, scholars can draw on a wealth of existing theory to advance the study of authentic leadership.
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Jori Pascal Kalkman and Eric-Hans Kramer
Emergency organizations allocate specific tasks to responders in an attempt to resolve increasingly complex incidents. Many studies take a pragmatic perspective by studying how…
Abstract
Purpose
Emergency organizations allocate specific tasks to responders in an attempt to resolve increasingly complex incidents. Many studies take a pragmatic perspective by studying how emergency organizations can more effectively compartmentalize response tasks. Yet, the effects of compartmentalization on responders' sensemaking of moral issues (i.e. moral sensemaking) has received almost no attention.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on existing research, the authors bring together different insights on the relation between compartmentalization and emergency responders’ sensemaking of moral issues.
Findings
The authors demonstrate that emergency organizations may undermine the moral sensemaking of responders through introducing moral blind spots and moral dissociation or, instead, enable moral sensemaking through enhancing moral agency and awareness. The authors argue that emergency organizations need to induce moral sense-discrediting among responders to enhance their moral sensemaking. Finally, the authors conclude with discussing two types of compartmentalizing tasks, functional concentration and the holographic metaphor, to show that the latter is most likely to enhance moral sensemaking among emergency responders.
Originality/value
This study introduces moral sensemaking to the emergency management literature and investigates how organizational design influences it.
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Harald Bergsteiner and Gayle C. Avery
Responsibility and accountability are central to much of what managers do, but in the literature these complex social science concepts are confused. The paper aims to bring…
Abstract
Purpose
Responsibility and accountability are central to much of what managers do, but in the literature these complex social science concepts are confused. The paper aims to bring theoretical rigour, structure, consistency and parsimony to this field, using as an example the subcategories of responsibility referred to as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and global responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper analyses and identifies overlaps, redundancies, gaps, limitations and flaws in current constructs of responsibility and accountability. Using this as a base, we propose a responsibility and accountability matrix comprised of eight constructs, which in turn underpin a process model in which responsibility precedes accountability.
Findings
The eight constructs are shown to be sufficient and necessary to explain: the nature of the obligation that one party has to another (role, legal, ethical and moral responsibility); the responsibilities and accountabilities that arise from decisions, actions and behaviours (causal, judged and felt responsibility; external and felt accountability); and how these responsibilities differ from constructs that define the ambit of responsibility (personal, team, corporate, social and global responsibility). This then forms the basis of a proposed generic process model of responsibility and accountability that shows how the discrete and sequential stages of the process typically unfold, and how the responsibility and accountability constructs proposed above relate to each other and to the various process stages. It argues that concepts of CSR and global responsibility, poorly defined both in practice and in the literature, can be better understood when these eight constructs are applied to them.
Practical implications
To underscore the practical implications of the theory, it shows, by reference to the model, how CSR and global responsibility can play out in the case of banks. However, being a generic model, it extends to many other applications in management and the social sciences.
Originality/value
The proposed model is highly original, clarifying, augmenting, categorising and integrating concepts of accountability and responsibility. The paper is also original in providing a framework for reducing CSR and global responsibility to their constituent first‐order constructs.
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