Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility最新文献

Do people mete out harsher punishments for identical unethical behaviors committed by foreign compared to domestic firms? Liability of foreignness (LOF) reasoning suggests that this is the case. Using a quasi-experimental survey in France, we go a step further by investigating the influence of cultural similarity on ethical judgment. We examine whether people mete out less harsh judgment on a foreign company from a culturally similar country compared to a foreign company from a culturally dissimilar country. Our findings show that cultural similarity does not have a significant impact. Moreover, in the French context, the findings show that punishment for unethical behavior meted out to domestic and foreign firms relates more to cultural characteristics and does not apply in the same way for all dimensions of corporate social responsibility. Thus, we discuss various strategies and managerial implications.

While public discourse emphasizes the social role of businesses, a gap remains between the theory and practice observed in corporate strategies and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the UN 2030 Agenda. Many studies have pointed to the lack of research on uncommon teaching methodologies to develop reflexivity and critical thinking in future managers as a meta knowledge being more inclusive of SDGs in the future. This gap causes educators and researchers in the marketing management field to continuously question the adequacy of current teaching methodologies. This paper uses new lenses to address this gap. Using reflexivity model in case studies and relating it to bounded agency, this paper aims to explore how adopting reflexivity in higher education programs in the fields of business and marketing prepares future managers to embrace SDGs. The results underline the importance of the educator as a facilitator, as well as the student's engagement in: semi-structured reflexivity, decontextualization, recontextualization, deconstruction as a path to a mindset involving SDGs and awareness of contexts, paradigms, and meta analytic dimensions. Practical implications around pedagogy depict practices to be adopted in order to facilitate, develop, and diffuse SDG-related reflexivity and critical thinking with a long-term strategic ambition to make sustainability development an “ordinary” business paradigm.

As the global urgency for environmental sustainability intensifies, leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping eco-friendly behaviors within organizations and beyond. This study examines the role of green inclusive leadership (GIL) in fostering pro-environmental behaviors within the hospitality industry, utilizing the ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO) theory as a conceptual framework to explain how GIL influences sustainable behaviors. The study highlights AMO as a theoretical model that outlines how AMO can drive organizational success, while addressing motivation as a practical driver of employee behavior. Time-lagged data were gathered from hotel employees and managers in Pakistan. The findings demonstrate that GIL positively affects employees' voluntary green behaviors both at work and in their personal lives. This relationship is mediated by a green work climate and environmental commitment, highlighting the spillover effect from workplace behaviors to daily life. The originality of this work lies in its novel application of AMO theory beyond the workplace, offering insights into how leadership can inspire sustainable actions that extend beyond organizational boundaries, especially in a high-impact sector like hospitality.

Although governance and stakeholder practices have been widely researched in both the private and public sectors, governance still remains a fuzzy concept when it comes to corporate foundations (CFs). The latter target social creation, fulfilling societal needs and expectations. Using a multiple case study design in respect of 16 French CFs, this qualitative research contributes to the theoretical discussion around stakeholder engagement, examining how governance processes are implemented. Our results point out that involving the foundation's stakeholders is a roundabout way to engage in dialogue with and involve the company's stakeholders. New relationships and value propositions are then developed that have nothing to do with the company's core competencies. This study makes a major contribution to the CF' governance field by highlighting an imbalance between the impact of internal and external stakeholders, with an overinvestment of internal staff (employees and managers). The governance mechanisms are based on a three-stage process (project submission, selection phase and final approval), in which external stakeholder involvement is limited. Finally, the analysis identifies that upward accountability practices are put in place (mainly toward the company), while horizontal accountability is respected but not publicly disclosed.

In the era of the digital economy, the important issue for enterprises is how to achieve optimal performance by balancing the development of digital technology and undertaking digital responsibility. Based on optimal distinctiveness theory, we explore how enterprises balance the tension between political strategy and competitive strategy from the perspective of corporate digital responsibility to achieve optimal firm performance. Observing data such as annual reports, patent application information, and operating conditions of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2021 reveals the impact of corporate digital responsibility, substantive and symbolic digital technology on firm performance. The research results show that substantive digital technology innovation is superior to symbolic digital technology innovation in promoting firm performance. Mechanism analysis shows that symbolic digital technology innovation satisfies the firm's political strategy and positively impacts firm performance through management empowerment. In contrast, substantive digital technology innovation satisfies the firm's competitive strategy and improves performance by empowering the workforce. Further analysis find that corporate digital responsibility positively moderates the impact of substantive digital technology innovation on corporate performance and negatively moderates the relationship between symbolic digital technology innovation and corporate performance. This study incorporates digital technology innovation and digital responsibility into a unified research framework, which provides a new interpretative path for improving firm performance and contributes important practical references for firms to achieve a “win-win” situation that improves competitiveness and social value.

It is well established that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as a dominant form of business globally, undoubtedly significantly contribute to national economies and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nonetheless, how family-owned MSMEs contribute to the SDGs (sustainability performance) is a relatively less explored domain. This study investigates the role of family governance practices and family social capital in achieving economic, social, and environmental goals, corresponding to SDGs 8, 11, and 13, respectively. We collected data from 421 family MSMEs through survey questionnaires. We employed a partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the research hypotheses and analyzed the data in SmartPLS4 software. The findings revealed that effective family governance practices in family MSMEs positively impact economic, social, and environmental SDGs, while well-managed family social capital catalyzes this significant relationship. This implies that to effectively contribute to the SDGs, the owner family needs to establish an effective family governance mechanism and also manage and capitalize on its social capital.

This paper explores the twin transition in family businesses, examining the parallel development of digital technologies and sustainable business practices, both of which are part of the current European agenda for a more sustainable future. While not widely recognised for their investments in disruptive innovation and digitalisation, family businesses (FBs) are more inclined to perform incremental changes, often driven by a longstanding commitment to sustainability and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. This contrast makes them an ideal subject for a more in-depth exploration of these transformative trends. The aim of this study is to adopt a broader perspective in twin-transition analysis, incorporating social and economic performance alongside environmental sustainability in relation to digital transformation. Therefore, we establish a connection between the triple-bottom-line (TBL) approach and digital innovation in the unique reality of FBs. Our research approach is based on interviews conducted across multiple studies that explore FB dynamics and digitalisation in different industries and countries, supplemented by insights from secondary data. We analyse data through a directed qualitative content analysis. By adopting a broader perspective on sustainability—shifting from an exclusive focus on the environmental dimension to a TBL approach—our findings position FBs as key players in the twin transition, excelling at both addressing sustainability challenges and fostering digital innovation. These companies should prioritise aligning their strategies with equitable, viable and bearable principles in line with the TBL approach by fostering socio-emotional wealth, engaging younger generations in digital innovation and implementing work–life balance initiatives that enhance employee satisfaction and sustainability. Most of these strategies can also be replicated by non-family businesses, establishing FBs as exemplary leaders in the twin-transition journey.