Ana Castillo, Leopoldo Gutierrez, Ivan Montiel and Andres Velez-Calle
This paper aims to analyze the ethical responses of the fashion industry to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when the entire world was shocked by the rapid spread of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the ethical responses of the fashion industry to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when the entire world was shocked by the rapid spread of the virus. The authors describe lessons from emergency ethics of care in the fashion industry during the initial months of COVID-19, which can assist fashion managers in improving ethical decisions in future operations.
Design/methodology/approach
Rapid qualitative research methods were employed by conducting real-time, in-depth interviews with key informants from multinational fashion companies operating in Spain, a severely affected region. A content analysis of news articles published during the first months of 2020 was conducted.
Findings
Five critical disruptions in the fashion industry were identified: (1) changes in public needs, (2) transportation and distribution backlogs, (3) defective and counterfeit supplies, (4) stakeholder relationships at stake and (5) managers' coping challenges. Additionally, five business survival responses with a strong ethics of care component were identified, implemented by some fashion companies to mitigate the damage: (1) adapting production for public well-being, (2) enhancing the flexibility of logistic networks, (3) emphasizing quality and innovation, (4) reinventing stakeholder collaborations and (5) practicing responsible leadership.
Originality/value
Despite the well-documented controversies surrounding unethical practices within the fashion industry, even during COVID-19, our findings inform managers of the potential and capability of fashion companies to operate more responsibly. The lessons learned can guide fashion companies' operations in a post-pandemic society. Furthermore, they can address other grand challenges, such as natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts and climate change.
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Anna Zinenko, Maria Rosa Rovira and Ivan Montiel
The aim of this paper is to discuss how ISO 26000 fits within two predominant corporate social responsibility (CSR) instruments, GRI and UNGC. The past two decades have witnessed…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to discuss how ISO 26000 fits within two predominant corporate social responsibility (CSR) instruments, GRI and UNGC. The past two decades have witnessed considerable changes in the CSR field with the introduction of new voluntary CSR instruments. Organizations adopting such tools may perceive some of the existing and emerging CSR instruments as redundant or complementary.
Design/methodology/approach
The relationships between the CSR instruments analysed are treated through the lenses of institutional entrepreneurship and coopetition theories. The analysis presented is based on secondary data such as literature reviews, publications and online resources and databases from the UNGC, GRI and ISO as well as personal communications with representatives of ISO, GRI and UNGC.
Findings
The paper shows that from the users’ perspective, CSR instruments should not be treated as separate alternatives, but rather as complementary to each other. At the same time, organizations that set up CSR instruments have to strengthen their existing collaboration as a network, in order to contribute more effectively to sustainable development.
Research limitations/implications
The use of secondary data to discuss some of the ISO 26000 diffusion trends might provide an incomplete picture but still offer interesting insights.
Practical implications
This study allows to better understand the linkages, overlaps and differences between three CSR instruments: UNGC, GRI and ISO 26000. At first sight, some of these instruments may appear as redundant but our analysis points out that they complement each other. They have different goals and are useful in different parts of one organization’s CSR infrastructure. These instruments help organizations to implement different CSR tools at different stages of integrating sustainability issues into their strategies and operations.
Originality/value
CSR instruments have mainly been examined separately by scholars. In contrast, this study analyses ISO 26000, UNGC and GRI as a collaborative mechanism and predicts the fit of ISO 26000 within these well-established CSR instruments. The main contribution of this study is an in-depth analysis of the relationships between organizations that are developing and promoting prominent CSR instruments. In addition, we apply organizational theories to our analysis as a novel perspective. This study contributes to institutional entrepreneurship theory by showing how organizations playing the role of institutional entrepreneurs may encourage the early adoption of a new CSR instrument. It also contributes to the coopetition theory by applying this approach outside the traditional business setting.
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Javier Martínez-del-Rio and Miguel Pérez-Valls
– The purpose of this paper is to help Ibero-American researchers identify the key challenges and benefits of moving to an Anglo-Saxon university for a period in their careers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to help Ibero-American researchers identify the key challenges and benefits of moving to an Anglo-Saxon university for a period in their careers.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a review of the insights provided by a number of prominent Ibero-American scholars based on the main experiences they have encountered.
Findings
The paper analyzes three situations: a research visit, searching for a long-term position in North America (NA) and pursuing a PhD program in NA. The paper introduces some principles to succeed in these situations.
Originality/value
The paper defines different strategies to take full advantage of a professional stage in an Anglo-Saxon/US university.
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Simona-Andreea Apostu and Iza Gigauri
This chapter is devoted to sustainable human resource management that leads to sustainable competitiveness. It features the ways human resources can be managed to carry out…
Abstract
This chapter is devoted to sustainable human resource management that leads to sustainable competitiveness. It features the ways human resources can be managed to carry out sustainable goals and the impact of sustainability on employees' attitudes and behaviours. The aim of this study is to explore the complex objectives of sustainability and human resource management and empirically investigate the dynamic relationship between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness in the case of 35 European countries. Our contribution emphasizes this interrelationship and its causality. For this research, we applied a vector auto-regression (VAR) model, and the Granger causality method to examine the relationship between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness. A panel data included 314 observations between 2012 and 2021. The panel VAR for analysing the impulse response function was enriched with the 5% and 95%, using Monte Carlo simulations. The research results revealed bidirectional causality in the European countries between human resources in science and technology and sustainable competitiveness. Human resources in science and technology trigger sustainable competitiveness and vice versa. As an element of originality, our study demonstrates that human resources in science and technology contribute to sustainable performance, and, on the other hand, a more competitive and sustainable environment contributes to the development of human resources in science and technology. Thus, the chapter outlines the role of human resources in science and technology with regard to sustainable human resource management (HRM), and how to navigate these objectives so that they can positively influence sustainable competitiveness.
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In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the challenge of economic recovery is now more pressing than ever after the impact of COVID-19. The cultural and creative industries…
Abstract
In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the challenge of economic recovery is now more pressing than ever after the impact of COVID-19. The cultural and creative industries (CCI) are one of the sectors that can contribute to a long-term strategy of inclusive and sustainable growth. Nevertheless, the pandemic has created new challenges for CCI, and it has also intensified those faced by the sector before the health crisis, highlighting its fragile foundations. These challenges can be grouped into four areas: employment, digitalization and new business models, access to finance, and a narrative for the sector.
A survey conducted by MERCOSUR Cultural, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) showed this reality and gave guidelines for future initiatives and policies to be implemented to take advantage of these sectors in the long-term strategy of economic recovery. The CCIs are made up of many sectors, different from one another. Intersectoral and interministerial work is essential for the CCIs. And also, a single approach won't work across sectors and countries.
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This work presents a review of the state of the art of the present century on academic and scientific production in Latin America related to the concept of Social Innovation. The…
Abstract
This work presents a review of the state of the art of the present century on academic and scientific production in Latin America related to the concept of Social Innovation. The analysis is based on articles published in indexed journals, which makes it possible to understand the existing asymmetry between the conceptual and theoretical veins, of the case studies, as well as of good social innovation practices that have been published in recent years. These debates have in some cases transcended public policies, as well as business and social realities where social innovation is a mechanism and strategy for personal, social, and territorial development. Finally, a Latin American community of researchers and academics around social innovation must be consolidated, who choose to continue building theoretical-empirical bodies following the Latin American reality.
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Maite Barguilla Sanclaudio, Lucia Garcés-Galdeano and Iván Alfredo Salazar Morales
This work contributes to the debate on the link between environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and firm innovation, incorporating ownership structure as a moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
This work contributes to the debate on the link between environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and firm innovation, incorporating ownership structure as a moderating variable.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to analyse the impact of ESG criteria on innovation, considering firm ownership as a catalyst that strengthens the effect of environmental and social practices on innovative performance.
Findings
Family-owned firms, with their unique characteristics like long-term orientation and commitment to family values, strengthen the relationship between environmental and social practices and innovation performance. This suggests that such firms are better positioned to leverage their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments and activities.
Practical implications
The findings offer valuable insights for decision-making in organizations, particularly family firms focused on innovation and sustainability. The research shows that investing in sustainability practices not only ensures ESG compliance but also significantly fosters innovation.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the debate regarding the relationship between ESG criteria and firm innovative performance. It highlights how the implementation of ESG practices influences innovation, and particularly how firm ownership further enhances the relationship between environmental and social practices and firm innovative performance.
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Ivan Hilliard and Tiziana Priede
The purpose of this paper is to present a model, which assesses the wide range of data offered in non-financial reports, and enables benchmarking of these data between different…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a model, which assesses the wide range of data offered in non-financial reports, and enables benchmarking of these data between different organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This work uses aspects of fuzzy logic and qualitative comparative analysis to build fuzzy sets, which form the basis of the benchmarking tool.
Findings
The model presented permits the identification of both negative and positive aspects of an organization’s CSR actions, and shows where improvements can be made by highlighting the standards reached by others.
Originality/value
The model offers a benchmarking tool that allows analysis of non-financial reporting, something missing from the field of CSR until now. Additionally, it offers a new approach where data sets are constructed to measure environmental/social impact in function of each unit of economic value generated. This approach aligns social/environmental and economic performance, thereby emphasizing the interconnectivity of a company’s financial, social and environmental bottom lines.
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James Toner and Jorge Tiago Martins
Using an institutionalist lens, this study aims to identify factors that influence the knowledge sharing behaviour of volunteers engaged in collaborative, cross-cultural and…
Abstract
Purpose
Using an institutionalist lens, this study aims to identify factors that influence the knowledge sharing behaviour of volunteers engaged in collaborative, cross-cultural and project-focussed development work.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an inductive research design, the authors conducted a thematic analysis of interviews with volunteers to explore the practicalities of knowledge sharing in the context of development aid projects and to examine contributing factors, such as personality, motivations, experience and variations in team members’ understanding of the nature and objective of projects.
Findings
Through exploring the experiences of volunteers working on cross-cultural development aid programmes, the authors identify and discuss the ways in which the preparation of volunteers and the structuring of project work is shaped by managerialist modes of thinking, with an emphasis on the creation of an environment that is conducive to sustainable knowledge sharing practices for all stakeholders involved.
Originality/value
The examination of volunteer development work tendency towards institutional isomorphism is a novel contribution intersecting the areas of knowledge sharing in the project, volunteer-led and culturally diverse environments.