Deborah Rolland and Jana O'Keefe Bazzoni
The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations for and the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) online reporting on organisational identity development and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations for and the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) online reporting on organisational identity development and stakeholder relationship management through corporate web communication and information strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
A content analysis method is utilised to critique evidence of the use and impact of online CSR reporting in three selected corporate web sites from the automotive industry. In particular, sustainability and environmental social responsibility reporting, evidence of stakeholder engagement and acknowledgement of societal concerns for corporate identity and reputation management are critiqued from a framework of persuasion and credibility alongside organisational role responsibility.
Findings
The findings concurred with current research in corporate communication that documents the significant rise in the use of corporate web sites for the reporting of CSR activities and in corporate attempts to acknowledge and respond to changing local/national and global societal expectations concerning business practices. The automotive industry web sites showed recognition of this increase in societal expectations, projection of a desired corporate identity and the subsequent monitoring of a consistent and accessible communication strategy directed at all stakeholders.
Research limitations/implications
While the findings reflect the literature, the evaluation of three selected global web sites within one industry sector only allows for conclusions reflecting generalisations. Future research will necessarily incorporate consideration of both traditional and contemporary national cultures, into such evaluations.
Originality/value
Exploring the traditional and non‐traditional motivations for CSR and their impact on CSR reporting for a globalised world.
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Peter Carswell and Deborah Rolland
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship and whether religious practice impacts on how individuals view the individual and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship and whether religious practice impacts on how individuals view the individual and societal contribution of business enterprise. As ethnic diversity is increasing within the Western world, so too is the religious mix of value systems and religious belief systems that come with such diversity/religions. Paralleling increasing diversity is the decreasing participation rates in the traditional Christian churches. The paper questions the impact of this changing religious mix on entrepreneurial participation and perception.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 2,000 randomly‐selected New Zealanders were telephone‐surveyed to measure their perceptions of individual and societal impacts of entrepreneurial participation and religious practice.
Findings
The findings indicate that increasing ethnic diversity and associated religious value systems are certainly not going to negatively reduce the business start‐up rate. If anything, the start‐up rate may be enhanced.
Originality/value
The paper shows that the value that New Zealand society places upon entrepreneurship is not diminished by the increasing religious diversity in the country.
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Gael M. McDonald, Shaun Killerby, Frances Maplesden and Deborah Rolland
The results which that study seeks to report are the first part of a larger research programme funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) aimed…
Abstract
Purpose
The results which that study seeks to report are the first part of a larger research programme funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) aimed at gaining a better understanding of stakeholder perceptions in relation to bio‐based products.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilising three chemically modified wood products, data were collected from focus groups and questionnaires and centred primarily on perceptions surrounding the acceptability of building materials that have been bio‐modified. Irrespective of the type of chemical modification, family health and durability were the most important factors identified.
Findings
The study finds that product cost rated lower in the 16 factors evaluated, and energy used in production was of little concern. When comparing the three products to one another, two distinct groups with quite differing purchasing philosophies were identified and these perspectives significantly influenced perceptions of product acceptability and willingness to purchase. Utilising a paired comparison technique, an investigation of trade‐offs indicated preference for performance over cost and product familiarity. Similarly, low chemical emissions were also preferred over cost considerations. Among the findings, there was scepticism regarding trust in manufacturers to adequately safeguard health and safety and to have a minimum impact on the environment. Low levels of trust were expressed in regard to manufacturers' concern for future generations.
Originality/value
The paper develops an investigative framework which could be applied to the evaluation of products arising from bio‐material technology innovation and recommendations for future research directions.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges facing corporate communication professionals and researchers, and to introduce the issues presented in the papers from the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges facing corporate communication professionals and researchers, and to introduce the issues presented in the papers from the CCI Conference on Corporate Communication 2008 published in this special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a discussion of the issues raised in the special issue papers.
Findings
Discussion of the future of the corporate communication profession in the wake of the global fiscal crisis.
Research limitations/implications
This paper implies several areas for further research.
Practical implications
This paper implies strategic knowledge of business processes and practice for effective corporate communication.
Originality/value
This paper articulates complex challenges facing corporate communicators.
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Charitable Choice Policy, the heart of President Bush’s Faith‐Based Initiative, is the direct government funding of religious organizations for the purpose of carrying out…
Abstract
Charitable Choice Policy, the heart of President Bush’s Faith‐Based Initiative, is the direct government funding of religious organizations for the purpose of carrying out government programs. The Bush presidential administration has called for the application of Charitable Choice Policy to all kinds of social services. Advocates for child‐abuse victims contend that the Bush Charitable Choice Policy would further dismantle essential social services provided to abused children. Others have argued Charitable Choice Policy is unconstitutional because it crosses the boundary separating church and state. Rather than drastically altering the US social‐policy landscape, this paper demonstrates that the Bush Charitable Choice Policy already is in place for childabuse services across many of the fifty states. One reason this phenomenon is ignored is due to the reliance on the public‐private dichotomy for studying social policies and services. This paper contends that relying on the public‐private dichotomy leads researchers to overlook important configurations of actors and institutions that provide services to abused children. It offers an alternate framework to the public‐private dichotomy useful for the analysis of social policy in general and, in particular, Charitable Choice Policy affecting services to abused children. Employing a new methodological approach, fuzzy‐sets analysis, demonstrates the degree to which social services for abused children match ideal types. It suggests relationships between religious organizations and governments are essential to the provision of services to abused children in the United States. Given the direction in which the Bush Charitable Choice Policy will push social‐policy programs, scholars should ask whether abused children will be placed in circumstances that other social groups will not and why.
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This paper aims to explore how accounting is entwined in the cultural practice of popular music. Particular attention is paid to how the accountant is constricted by artists in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how accounting is entwined in the cultural practice of popular music. Particular attention is paid to how the accountant is constricted by artists in art and the role(s) the accountant plays in the artistic narrative. In effect this explores the notion that there is a tension between the notion of the bourgeois world of “the accountant” and the world of “art for art's sake”.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on the cultural theory of Pierre Bourdieu to understand how the character of the accountant is constructed and used by the artist. Particular attention is paid in this respect to the biography and lyrics of the Beatles.
Findings
Accounting and accountants play both the hero and the villain. By rejecting the “accountant villain”, the artist identifies with and reinforces artistic purity and credibility. However, in order to achieve the economic benefits and maintain the balance between the “art” and the “money”, the economic prudence of the bourgeois accountant is required (although it might be resented).
Research limitations/implications
The analysis focuses on a relatively small range of musicians and is dominated by the biography of the Beatles. A further range of musicians and artists would extend this work. Further research could also be constructed to more fully consider the consumption, rather than just the production, of art and cultural products and performances.
Originality/value
This paper is a novel consideration of how accounting stereotypes are constructed and used in the field of artistic creation
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Max Weber called the maxim “Time is Money” the surest, simplest expression of the spirit of capitalism. Coined in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin, this modern proverb now has a life of…
Abstract
Purpose
Max Weber called the maxim “Time is Money” the surest, simplest expression of the spirit of capitalism. Coined in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin, this modern proverb now has a life of its own. In this paper, I examine the worldwide diffusion and sociocultural history of this paradigmatic expression. The intent is to explore the ways in which ideas of time and money appear in sedimented form in popular sayings.
Methodology/approach
My approach is sociological in orientation and multidisciplinary in method. Drawing upon the works of Max Weber, Antonio Gramsci, Wolfgang Mieder, and Dean Wolfe Manders, I explore the global spread of Ben Franklin’s famed adage in three ways: (1) via evidence from the field of “paremiology” – that is, the study of proverbs; (2) via online searches for the phrase “Time is Money” in 30-plus languages; and (3) via evidence from sociological and historical research.
Findings
The conviction that “Time is Money” has won global assent on an ever-expanding basis for more than 250 years now. In recent years, this phrase has reverberated to the far corners of the world in literally dozens of languages – above all, in the languages of Eastern Europe and East Asia.
Originality/value
Methodologically, this study unites several different ways of exploring the globalization of the capitalist spirit. The main substantive implication is that, as capitalism goes global, so too does the capitalist spirit. Evidence from popular sayings gives us a new foothold for insight into questions of this kind.
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Joy Ato Nyarko, Joana Kwabena-Adade and Andrews Kwabena-Adade
The emergence of residential aged care facilities (RACFs) within the Ghanaian health-care system has raised eyebrows because, hitherto, the concept of nursing homes had largely…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of residential aged care facilities (RACFs) within the Ghanaian health-care system has raised eyebrows because, hitherto, the concept of nursing homes had largely been perceived as an anomaly. The purpose of this study is to understand this emerging phenomenon and the activities of care provided within two facilities in the nation’s capital, Accra.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on participant observations and in-depth interviews with purposively sampled 15 residents in the two facilities and eight caregivers. The data were analysed using thematic approach.
Findings
The study found that the daily forms of care mostly performed for the elderly were intimate and non-intimate physical, medical, emotional and spiritual and end-of-life care. The bulk of activities of care were performed in the morning.
Originality/value
The study reveals that the changing landscape of health-care facilities in Ghana to include RACFs indicates RACFs have come to stay to provide different forms of care to older persons who otherwise were cared for by the family.