Search results

1 – 2 of 2
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 17 April 2007

Atle Midttun, Tore Dirdal, Kristian Gautesen, Terje Omland and Søren Wenstøp

The purpose of the paper is to explore the challenges of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) with other strategic foci into the supply/contractor chain, both

4196

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to explore the challenges of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) with other strategic foci into the supply/contractor chain, both conceptually and empirically, with a focus on one sectorial case: the Norwegian upstream petroleum industry. It compares contradictory theories of strategic focus and explores their implications for the organisation of the supply chain and discusses challenges and solutions for operative CSR‐oriented supply chain management

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis, inspired by the cognitive mapping approach, seeks to elicit the strategic profiles of the oil majors and suppliers/contractors in the petroleum industry. This is based on textual analysis of core statements of overall business strategy such as the CEO's and the Chairman's statement letter to the shareholders. The paper also draws on research and workshops with petroleum companies and their suppliers in the North Sea, as well as contracting experts and researchers taking part in the EU‐TRENDS project which focused on satisfying Europe's future demands and needs for sustainable, secure, safe and clean energy supplies.

Findings

The strategic profiles of the petroleum companies and their suppliers/contractors indicate that, while they coincide on many points, there is considerable discrepancy as far as CSR and HSE are concerned. The suppliers/contractors tend to emphasise the technology dimension more strongly than the petroleum companies. HSE and CSR are, on average, strategically under‐communicated within the supply industry compared with the petroleum companies, but there is also considerable variation within each group.

Research limitations/implications

The paper explores how transaction cost theory may help frame managerial challenges and approaches in integrating CSR consistently throughout supply chains. It shows some of the limitations of the “rationalist” model of industrial organisation both at the firm level and at the supply chain level and discusses possible expansions into broader managerial approaches.

Practical implications

The paper highlights some of the managerial challenges and basic approaches for integrating CSR consistently throughout the value chain.

Originality/value

The originality of the article lies conceptually in linking the CSR literature to transaction cost theory of industrial organisation. Empirically the article presents new insights into strategic foci of the petroleum companies and their supply chain.

Details

Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 1 August 2006

Atle Midttun, Kristian Gautesen and Maria Gjølberg

The increasing engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) potentially indicates an attempt to “re‐embed” the economy in a wider societal context, following a period of

5613

Abstract

Purpose

The increasing engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) potentially indicates an attempt to “re‐embed” the economy in a wider societal context, following a period of neoliberal market exposure, deregulation, and separation of commercial and societal concerns. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between this new social embedding of the economy and older traditions of social embeddedness, such as the welfare state, neocorporatist arrangements, and other socio‐political and labour market arrangements.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the relationship between old and new embeddedness by examining how 17 West European nations and the USA are ranked on “old” embeddedness dimensions and comparing this ranking with “new” CSR rankings of nationally aggregated industrial performance.

Findings

The overall findings at an aggregate level provides some support for the idea of a symmetric relationship between the “old”, politically‐driven embeddedness and the “new”, industry‐driven embeddedness. However, a finer inspection of the results reveals interesting diversity and variation between countries and between scores, indicating more complex national story lines.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the limited set of countries and some measurement challenges, the analysis illustrates that the patterns of national industrial adaptation to the CSR agenda is strongly shaped by regional and national institutional contexts. While some of the institutional patterns shaping CSR in the “old” EU 15++ have been analysed in this paper, much work still remains to be done in extending and deepening our knowledge in this field.

Practical implications

The findings may help understand how a general framework like CSR interplays with political and institutional contexts as it trickles down into different West European political economies.

Originality/value

The systematic analysis of old political and new corporate social embeddedness of the economy based on a broad set of indicators is new and sheds light on the institutional preconditions for‐ and shaping of CSR.

Details

Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

1 – 2 of 2
Per page
102050