Challenged by recent incidents as they occurred at Enron, WorldCom, Disney and Xerox, management has to rethink its values and to consider the expectations of their stakeholders…
Abstract
Challenged by recent incidents as they occurred at Enron, WorldCom, Disney and Xerox, management has to rethink its values and to consider the expectations of their stakeholders. In reality, it can be observed that some firms are already on a learning path to adopt a broader stakeholder‐oriented view than before. In order to implement the stakeholder view better into strategic thinking of management, top managers have to change their values which are challenged by stakeholder‐oriented incentives. Based on three comparative case studies some first propositions are developed.
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Sybille Sachs, Marc Maurer, Edwin Rühli and Reto Hoffmann
The purpose of this research is to show how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is actually implemented and managed in business practice by a mobile communications provider in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to show how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is actually implemented and managed in business practice by a mobile communications provider in Switzerland. Based on this presentation the paper aims to analyze whether this implementation in the firm is consistent or not, to the responsibilities derived from the stakeholder view framework as it has been proposed by Post et al. (2002).
Design/methodology/approach
The goal of this investigation is twofold. From a theoretical perspective, the paper aims to find out if the stakeholder view framework is a suitable tool to assess a firm's practical efforts in the area of CSR. And from a practitioners perspective, the application of the stakeholder view framework may help in identifying “blind spots” whereby closing them could increase the firm's effectiveness concerning the implementation of their specific corporate responsibility.
Findings
Because of the empirical findings it is concluded that the application of the stakeholder responsibility framework yields interesting insights into how corporate responsibilities are managed from a stakeholder perspective.
Originality/value
The paper ends by suggesting several recommendations for the further CSR implementation of the company analyzed and for business practice in general.
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Isabelle Kern, Sybille Sachs and Edwin Rühli
In the research project “Good practices of stakeholder view” three firms in the Swiss telecommunications industry were analysed in order to compare their stakeholder involvement…
Abstract
Purpose
In the research project “Good practices of stakeholder view” three firms in the Swiss telecommunications industry were analysed in order to compare their stakeholder involvement. This paper seeks to illustrate how these three firms, namely Swisscom, Sunrise, and Orange, dealt with a particular problem all of them faced: the deployment of antennas for mobile telephony that in some cases was strongly opposed by the population. Thereby, the “Telco” firms were challenged as societal institutions and had to defend their licence to operate. The three firms chose different strategies to deal with the problem.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on comparative case studies that combine qualitative and quantitative aspects.
Findings
The benefits of good stakeholder relations are illustrated as well as the problems that might arise when stakeholders are ignored.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on a sample of three telecommunication firms.
Practical implications
The paper suggests good practices for firms that aim to improve their stakeholder interactions.
Originality/value
This paper sheds light on the value of different strategies in the stakeholder relations to maintain a firm's licence to operate and to pursue its business in the intended way.
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A stakeholder-oriented perspective stimulated the discussion concerning competence-based strategic management. This perspective enlarged the range of causalities that provided…
Abstract
A stakeholder-oriented perspective stimulated the discussion concerning competence-based strategic management. This perspective enlarged the range of causalities that provided core competencies and widened managerial discretion. The aim of this paper is to gain empirical insights based on the situation in nine companies. Here we focus on three research questions: Why did the firms adopt a broader stakeholder orientation? How does this perspective affect the firms’ strategy, structure and culture and to what extent are the stakeholder interactions considered as core competencies? How is this implemented in reality? To answer these questions we conducted interviews and held workshops with nine firms. The results of this empirical study are reported and conclusions for the practical management are drawn.
Sybille Sachs, Edwin Rühli and Veronika Mittnacht
Owing to the fact that the concept of “CSR orientation in different cultural settings” is still quite unexplored, both in CSR theory and in empirical research the paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Owing to the fact that the concept of “CSR orientation in different cultural settings” is still quite unexplored, both in CSR theory and in empirical research the paper aims to contribute to the question of how corporations can deal with different CSR orientations when they perform their activities in different cultural settings
Design/methodology/approach
Theoretically, the analysis is based on two well‐known corporate social responsibility (CSR) approaches: first, reference is made to Carroll who reflects the economic paradigm as the basic layer of a pyramid in all cultural settings as economic responsibility and, on the opposite side, to Kang and Wood who give priority to moral and social responsibilities aligned to the difference of cultural settings. Based on the comparison of these theories in addition to a qualitative case study in the reinsurance industry some practical insights will be provided into and managerial implications developed regarding how to respond to the challenges of corporate responsibility due to multiculturalism.
Findings
It is claimed that corporations which follow a CSR understanding corresponding to the pyramid of Kang and Wood are better prepared to deal with differences regarding CSR orientation in different cultures compared with corporations that are based on the thinking of Carroll's pyramid.
Originality/value
Changing societal concerns and different local expectations across various countries, in the context of instantaneous world‐wide communication, have strongly increased the exposure of corporations to external criticism and challenge. These effects are intensified for large multinational firms, where complex interactions among distant and diverse constituencies have become commonplace. Broad societal concerns challenge the core strategies of corporations and require strategic responses. But this important strategic challenge response process cannot be analyzed within the traditional views of the firm. Therefore, a paradigm shift is asked in corporate responsibility.
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The competence-based perspective shares with the resource-based view the notion of the fundamental importance of an organization's resources in its competitive outcomes.1 In his…
Abstract
The competence-based perspective shares with the resource-based view the notion of the fundamental importance of an organization's resources in its competitive outcomes.1 In his paper “Probing into the nature of resources: Sustainable advantages and appropriable rents in the U.S. motion picture industry,” Jamal Shamsie investigates the sustainability of the competitive advantages that strategically important resources can bring to a firm, as well as the appropriability of the economic profits (rents) that can be derived from the uses of resources. To this end, the paper develops a classification of resource types based on the nature of a resource's ownership and control. Shamsie studies the U.S. motion picture industry to assess the degree of sustainable advantages and appropriable rents that can be generated by three types of resources: contracted resources, owned resources, and embedded resources. His findings suggest that in the subject industry both sustainability and appropriability are likely to be low for contracted resources such as top-rated stars and directors, while the greatest potential for sustainability and appropriability attach to embedded resources that accumulate firm-specific knowledge and learning in the development and marketing of various film genres.