Sukhbir Sandhu, Marc Orlitzky and Céline Louche
Companies develop and implement environmental initiatives in particular national governance and institutional contexts. The purpose of this paper is to study how the background…
Abstract
Purpose
Companies develop and implement environmental initiatives in particular national governance and institutional contexts. The purpose of this paper is to study how the background governance conditions of legal systems, economic policies and national culture enable or impede the relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and lagged corporate financial performance (CFP).
Design/methodology/approach
This is an empirical study of 427 MNCs headquartered in 22 different countries. The authors merged data from the SiRi database (generally known as SustainAnalytics now), which contains ratings of stakeholder relations for 427 large corporations with publicly available data from Datastream.
Findings
Drawing on the new institutionalism in economics and sociology, the authors show that common-law systems and high economic freedom in a company’s home country tend to strengthen the CEP-CFP link. In addition, the home-country cultural variables of uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and (to a lesser extent) masculinity may impede the deployment of CEP for maximum financial gain at the organizational level. The macrolevel analysis starts to move the field toward an understanding of the particular national governance configurations that provide the most supportive conditions for any CEP-CFP links.
Originality/value
One of the central questions in the field of organizations and the natural environment is about the background conditions that may incentivize and reward firms to be more environmentally responsive. The paper addresses this issue through a nation-level investigation of the background governance conditions that may help or hinder the relationship between CEP and CFP.
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Edeltraud Guenther, Timo Busch, Jan Endrikat, Thomas Guenther and Marc Orlitzky
The purpose of this literature review is to reorient empirical research on the causal links between corporate ecological sustainability (CES) and corporate financial performance…
Abstract
The purpose of this literature review is to reorient empirical research on the causal links between corporate ecological sustainability (CES) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Toward this end, we summarize the findings of four meta-analyses (conducted between 2012 and 2016), which indicate that there is, on average, a small positive association between CES and CFP. In addition, these empirical associations seem to be contingent on the firm’s strategic approach with regard to ecological sustainability (e.g., proactive vs reactive approach) and on the operationalization of both constructs. We conclude that future research may benefit from an even more explicit, analytic shift to the circumstances under which it pays for firms to go green. The main research limitations we point out are model misspecifications, endogeneity, and problems in the measurement of both CES and CFP.
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The purpose of this paper is to revisit the debate and reorient research on corporate social responsibility (CSR), empirically documents the political-ideological biases inherent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to revisit the debate and reorient research on corporate social responsibility (CSR), empirically documents the political-ideological biases inherent in CSR. It concludes with possible remedies to this problem.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach taken in this literature review is informed by the author’s viewpoint on the growing industry of social activists, who are pushing business toward the adoption of an ever-growing panoply of quasi-regulations commonly identified as CSR. The approach is complemented by a critique of stakeholder theory.
Findings
The literature review provides empirical support for Milton Friedman’s (1970) claim that the values underpinning CSR are driven by a socialist-collectivist agenda, which is inherently opposed to capitalist/libertarian values of free enterprise and individualism.
Practical implications
Without critical reflection on the leftwing ideology instantiated by CSR, the business community may unwittingly adopt and sustain values that undermine free markets.
Originality/value
Without critical reflection on the leftwing ideology instantiated by CSR, business and research communities may unwittingly promote values that, stealth-like, undermine individual liberty and the capitalist foundations of free markets.
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Vikas Agrawal, Leigh Hartman, Clayton Rasberry and Gordon Arbogast
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of recruiter gender and profit margin on the duration of the hiring process in professional services firms (PSFs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of recruiter gender and profit margin on the duration of the hiring process in professional services firms (PSFs).
Design/methodology/approach
In evaluating over 500 recruiting transactions in a PSF, a factorial ANOVA was performed to determine if there is a significant interaction between recruiter gender and profit margin on days it take to fill an open position.
Findings
The results suggest a significant interaction exists between the recruiter gender and profit margin variables in effect on days that it takes to fill an open position. At lower job position profit margins, female recruiters were found to outperform their male counterparts. Conversely, at higher job position profit margins, male recruiters appear to outperform female recruiters.
Research limitations/implications
This research is focused on the duration of the recruiting process and does not address the quality of candidate selection. An evaluation of the quality of candidate selection contrasted with the time it takes to hire should be an essential consideration for future research.
Practical implications
If job vacancies remain vacant at client firms for an extended period, this could adversely impact the financial and reputational health of small PSFs. By focusing on key variables that impact the recruiting timeline, management may be able to consider interventions that would improve both the recruiting process and firm’s financial health.
Originality/value
This study provides a unique contribution by focusing on the recruiting timeline, recruiter gender, profit margin, and the resulting ability of a PSF to proactively manage its revenue.
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Przemysław G. Hensel and Agnieszka Kacprzak
Replication is a primary self-correction device in science. In this paper, we have two aims: to examine how and when the results of replications are used in management and…
Abstract
Purpose
Replication is a primary self-correction device in science. In this paper, we have two aims: to examine how and when the results of replications are used in management and organization research and to use the results of this examination to offer guidelines for improving the self-correction process.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 analyzes co-citation patterns for 135 original-replication pairs to assess the direct impact of replications, specifically examining how often and when a replication study is co-cited with its original. In Study 2, a similar design is employed to measure the indirect impact of replications by assessing how often and when a meta-analysis that includes a replication of the original study is co-cited with the original study.
Findings
Study 1 reveals, among other things, that a huge majority (92%) of sources that cite the original study fail to co-cite a replication study, thus calling into question the impact of replications in our field. Study 2 shows that the indirect impact of replications through meta-analyses is likewise minimal. However, our analyses also show that replications published in the same journal that carried the original study and authored by teams including the authors of the original study are more likely to be co-cited, and that articles in higher-ranking journals are more likely to co-cite replications.
Originality/value
We use our results to formulate recommendations that would streamline the self-correction process in management research at the author-, reviewer- and journal-level. Our recommendations would create incentives to make replication attempts more common, while also increasing the likelihood that these attempts are targeted at the most relevant original studies.
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Falko Paetzold, Timo Busch and Marc Chesney
Investment advisors play a significant role in financial markets, yet the determinants of their behavior have not been explored in detail. The purpose of this paper is to explore…
Abstract
Purpose
Investment advisors play a significant role in financial markets, yet the determinants of their behavior have not been explored in detail. The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of how actively advisors communicate about sustainable investing with their clients, and differences in the preferences of advisors compared to investors.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a survey with 296 retail and private banking investment advisors, this study employs an ordinary least squares regression model to explore the determinants of advisors activity in communicating about sustainable investing (SI) with their clients, differences in the aspects that matter to advisors and investors, and the role of the complexity of sustainability.
Findings
Advisors activity in communicating about SI relates to their expectation of SI regarding financial return, real-world impact, and the fuzziness and trustworthiness of SI. Advisors appear not to be influenced by expected risk and their personal values, which runs against prior research findings and the interest of investors.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should assess cultural differences and explore asymmetries between advisors and investors in regard to the role of volatility, values, impact measurement, and complexity.
Practical implications
Investment advisors underweighting aspects related to risk and self-transcendent values relative to their clients might limit the suitability of clients ' portfolios, skew capital allocation, and depress the role of SI in financial markets. Generalized to salespeople this behavior might depress the market success of products related to sustainability at large.
Social implications
The findings and their generalization indicate that salespeople might systematically deviate from their clients’ interests in regard to social responsibility. Advisors and salespeople in their mediating role might be an important barrier to sustainable development.
Originality/value
This is the first quantitative study that explores the decision-making by investment advisors in the context of SI, and as such answers to specific calls in literature to explore the micro-foundations of decision making in regard to SI and social responsibility, and on the relationship between private investors and investment advisors. This study is based on unique and original empirical data on advisors that work with retail and wealthy private investors.