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Responsible leadership is a concept that links leadership, corporate social responsibility, sustainability and ethics to business performance and actions of senior executives and board members. This keynote illuminates how responsible leadership mindsets and their diverse understandings of the purpose of business are related to organizational level stakeholder engagement and corporate social responsibility approaches at the upper echelon. A first link is established between broader social movements (e.g., US Business Roundtable, Conscious Capitalism, Social Entrepreneurship movement) and the social identity of responsible leaders, thereby contributing to the discussion of the changing nature of the purpose of business. The article closes with a Q&A session.

The main aim of this paper is to critically review the contribution made by this theme issue to the literature by examining the implementation of responsible business practice.

Based on the theme issue, a critical content analysis of the papers selected for the issue was undertaken.

The summary paper generally highlights the themes emerging from the papers selected for this issue. These are the socio-economic and cultural barriers to implementation, conditions needed for successful implementation and the role of education in the implementation of responsible business practice.

The hospitality and tourism enterprises considered in this theme issue operate in a range of contexts and offer a range of practice. Other enterprises in other contexts may also provide insights to the implementation of responsible business practice.

The current theme issue explores emerging issues in the implementation of responsible business practice which highlights the need for further research in this area.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the theoretical underpinnings and practical implications of responsible competitiveness, where responsible business practices become a driver of national and regional competitiveness.

The paper is based on extensive international consultations in association with the United Nations, detailed case studies, and econometric analysis of country level competitiveness and corporate responsibility related data.

The paper concluded that responsible business practices can contribute to national and regional competitiveness, and that without such links corporate responsibility impacts are likely to remain limited.

Further sector and issue‐based and country‐level research is needed exploring the potential and practice of responsible competitiveness.

Proposes that national and regional strategies for enhancing competitiveness and so also social/environmental outcomes can be grounded in responsible competitiveness. Furthermore, offers insights into how global markets can internalise key costs and benefits.

The paper authors the notion of responsible competitiveness, and provides original definitions, methodology and data previously unpublished in any academic journal.

The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the role of business schools in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and responsible management education from the business school students’ perspective, and to develop a framework for effective CSR education that meets the Polish students’ expectations.

The chapter starts with a review of CSR concept evolution and importance, with a strong focus on Poland. Next, the review of the responsible management education state in Europe and Poland is presented. Then, an evaluation of CSR and responsible management education in Polish business schools from the students’ perspective is conducted. The evaluation is based on a survey amongst business students of a non-public Polish business school. The practical dimension of the chapter takes the form of a framework of effective CSR education in Polish business schools, presented at the end.

To sum up, the demand for CSR competencies and responsible management is on the rise, both amongst students and employers. The existing international initiatives and accreditation standards give a general idea about the shape of responsible management education, but the exact model must be developed on the regional/country level, as it must include various factors such as the economy, history, culture, academia-business relations or even the dominating teaching model.

The chapter provides a conceptual framework for CSR and responsible management education for those business schools operating in the Polish business context.

This chapter delves into the rationale behind the author's initiative on the Trilogy of Taoist Leadership for Sustainability & Excellence project. The trilogy encompasses responsible management, responsible business and responsible leadership as interconnected aspects. Furthermore, the author explores the interrelationships among business, management and leadership, highlighting the crucial roles each plays in fostering a sustainable organization and society. Ultimately, the author underscores the significance of Taoist philosophy or the wisdom of Taoism in guiding business leaders towards responsible management and sustainable businesses development.

The purpose of this paper is to show the approach to the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Poland. It also intends to characterize the process of the implementation of its assumptions subject to Polish economic conditions. At the same time, it aims to pay special attention to the role of small and medium‐sized enterprises.

The approach to the concept of CSR in Poland is outlined on the basis of the result of studies conducted over the years 2002‐2007 as published in the Responsible Business in Poland reports by the Responsible Business Forum.

In spite of the fact that this paper only shows a single segment of a greater whole, the picture of CSR in Poland that emerges from the reports, demonstrates continuous growth in awareness of this subject matter. In the case of companies, worth stressing is the fact that the balance is slowly shifting from expressing mere interest and declarations of undertaking actions in the future to real implementation of ventures and programs tied with responsible business. However, domestic companies are still plagued by a lack of knowledge and familiarity with instruments facilitating the effective implementation of the standards and principles of responsible business.

A significant limitation of the picture of CSR in Poland, as presented in this paper, is the scope and character of sources used. They are restricted to six Responsible Business in Poland reports.

In spite of the fragmentary character of this analysis, its results demonstrate a need to undertake research into current implementations of the concept of responsible business in the small and medium‐sized enterprise sectors. In practice, this sphere remains untouched under Polish conditions.

The paper presents interesting information on the approach to CSR in Poland.

The purpose of this article is to offer insight into the future of responsible business in the media industry. The focus of analysis is on the views and opinions of leading CEOs in media companies in Finland about responsible business and the social and organizational challenges faced by the media industry.

To explore the views of top management, extensive interviews in the form of focused theme interviews were performed.

Companies in the media sector are well aware of the industry's responsibility for its operating environment, but they have not yet adopted the principles of responsible business as an integral part of their day‐to‐day operation and strategic decision making. Directors of media corporations believe that responsibility for staff members and job stability is a particularly important part of the media company's social responsibility. They also believe that modern media companies continue to have important social functions. However, as the competition in the media market continues to toughen, it becomes increasingly important for media companies to show a strong financial performance.

The research is able to give a comprehensive picture of foresight thinking within Finnish top media organizations. However, very little can be said about foresight activities of media organizations in other countries. It is proposed that further research covering other interesting countries should be carried out.

Research gives tools to understand the behaviour of media companies in the tightening operating environment. Research implies that media companies should lay more stress on understanding the changing operational environment.

The paper gives a unique picture of the future challenges of media companies.

To understand the motivations for adopting RI practices for institutional investors and asset managers; to understand the different RI strategies available to institutional investors; to understand the impediments to adoption of RI at an organisational level; to debate how financial institutions can drive the growth and adoption of RI among the investment community; and to illustrate the complexities of organisational change and the strategies that institutional entrepreneurs can use to overcome resistance to change from key stakeholders.

The case is set in October 2017 against the backdrop of the pending unbundling of Old Mutual plc into four new independent businesses, and the subsequent relisting of Old Mutual Ltd on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa. The head of responsible investment at Old Mutual Investment Group and the main protagonist of the case, Jon Duncan, is considering what the subsequent relisting will mean for the responsible investing programmes that he has set up over the past six years. The case goes on to describe how responsible investment principles were supported through the implementation of ESG integration and active ownership strategies. It also examines recent developments in ESG product innovations and demonstrates another technique available to responsible investment practitioners in the form of best-in-class ESG screening. The case ends with Duncan contemplating the strategic priorities of the RI team moving forward, and how the managed separation might impact on the RI agenda. It provides prompts for students to discuss and formulate a strategy for advancing the aims of responsible investing.

The case is aimed at postgraduate-level students enrolled in a management-related degree programme such as an MBA, and covers both sustainable and responsible finance and institutional entrepreneurship theory.

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CSS 1: Accounting and Finance

This chapter is an exploratory piece based on the historical and cultural background of Yorubaland. It examines the conceptual and theoretical understanding of responsible business management globally, and in Yorubaland, the perception and practice of responsible business management in Yorubaland, and the purposes of responsible business management in Yorubaland. It deploys an extensive review of extant literature, perceptual engagement of Yoruba and non-Yoruba Indigenes on responsible business management in Yorubaland through survey (See Appendix for respondent’s profile), in-depth interviews, and a comparative validation review of the case of an intergenerational business in Nigeria.

The case review showed that the family business viewed the cultural expressions in the family business management as strengths. Values were recurrent features in its success evaluation, and responsibility concerning various stakeholders was a business imperative. The perceptual survey and engagement showed that Yorubaland must and should bring its respect for knowledge and education, promotion of cultural heritage: Ọmọlúàbi, use of traditional cooperative approach to management for talent development and capital generation. Additionally, the Yorubaland can leverage what merit and experience and documentation of techniques and methods employed by successful businesses can afford their institutions, current and future business management practice.

This chapter provides insights for further research: business models, frameworks, and cultural understanding that work for Africa. It posits values as central for connecting other elements of responsible management and the consequential desired results. African (including Yoruba) storytelling and proverbs should be used consciously and often, during strategy sessions and retreats, for personal development plans/personality-archetype profiling, organisational culture mantras, and community/societal development advocacy efforts.

This paper aims to theoretically answer the question: why might business schools in Egypt fail to develop responsible leaders?

The author starts by discussing modernization theory (Lipset, 1959) – which highlights the idea that the more educated people there are in a given society/nation, the more calls for democracy, social citizenship and social justice will be launched – to address the strong association between the quality of business learning and the development of responsible leadership norms. Moving forward by focusing on the theory of education (Dewey, 1916) and institutional theory (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), the author finds the main conditions needed to develop responsible leadership norms among business school students.

The author identified the following three necessary conditions: implementing responsible management education, sustaining management learning and ensuring that a purposive hidden curriculum is well-planned in business schools. The author sees these as the main priorities for developing responsible leadership skills among business school students in Egypt and similar post revolution countries.

This paper contributes by filling a gap in responsible leadership, public administration and higher education literature, in which conceptual studies on the role of business schools in post-revolution periods and conflict zones has been limited until now.