Francesco Gangi, Mario Mustilli and Nicola Varrone
Assuming that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is “a process of accumulating knowledge and experience” (Tang et al., 2012, p. 1298), this paper aims to investigate whether…
Abstract
Purpose
Assuming that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is “a process of accumulating knowledge and experience” (Tang et al., 2012, p. 1298), this paper aims to investigate whether and how CSR knowledge (Asif et al., 2013; Kim, 2017) affects financial performance in the European banking industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical research analyses a panel of 72 banks from 20 European countries over seven years (2009-2015). The hypotheses were tested using fixed effects regression analysis and the two-stage Heckman model (1976) to address endogeneity bias.
Findings
The findings of this work are twofold. First, consistent with the concept of knowledge absorptive capacity (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990), the internal CSR of banks (Kim et al., 2010) positively affects citizenship performance (Peterson, 2004a). Second, in line with the reputational effect of CSR (Margolis et al., 2009; Bushman and Wittenberg-Moerman, 2012), citizenship performance is a positive predictor of a bank’s financial performance.
Practical implications
From a knowledge-based perspective, the analysis shows that accrued internal CSR knowledge plays a key role in implementing effective CSR programs for external stakeholders. Moreover, this study shows how CSR engagement in external initiatives can improve a bank’s competitiveness because of the relationship between citizenship performance and the positive reputation of a bank.
Social implications
The management of CSR initiatives may favor the sharing of knowledge and creation of trust relationships among banks and internal and external stakeholders. CSR knowledge contributes to expanded value creation for both society and banks.
Originality/value
The knowledge management perspective of CSR provides new insights into the sustainability of banks’ business models and contributes to advancing the debate on the governance modes and effects of CSR. Moreover, the CSR perspective offers additional opportunities for addressing the challenges associated with sharing tacit knowledge within and outside of organizations.
Details
Keywords
Filomena Izzo, Stefania Mele and Mario Mustilli
This article aims to describe the role universities should play in student to work transition.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to describe the role universities should play in student to work transition.
Design/methodology/approach
An objective bibliometric analysis is conducted and supported by qualitative assessments based on authors’ study of relevant papers.
Findings
Two themes emerge from the analysis: the first on the university's role in students' learning, skills and fits, in the transition process; the second on the university's role in engagement, motivation and support students in university-to-work transition.
Research limitations/implications
From the analysis, no indications emerge on how universities could contribute to student-to-work transition in the context of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development objectives. Furthermore, training students for the future is not an easy assignment in a fast-changing ecosystem. How can higher education prepare students to face future challenges if we only have partial and incomplete perceptions about possible futures? This vexes many policymakers, organisational leaders and educators. Finally, it could be an interesting next step to repeat the Bibliometrix research using subfield keywords to analyse revealed gaps.
Practical implications
The study shows that the topic analysed is complex from the managerial, political and social points of view. The issues addressed by studies in UWT so far, concern various aspects: development of student identity, student engagement, fit between higher education and labour market, student motivation, student emotions and learning approaches. The university-to-work transition theme has become a work in progress effort and will most likely continue for the foreseeable future.
Originality/value
Since research into university-to-work transition is fragmented, a comprehensive view of this theme seems necessary. Given the importance of the subject, this study will endeavour to fill this gap with an overall and organic perspective of the issue. This is one of the first attempts to grasp this research stream, which, over time, has paved the way to the intersection between “university-to-work transition” in business, management and educational fields.
Details
Keywords
Francesco Campanella, Francesco Gangi, Mario Mustilli and Luana Serino
This paper aims to deal with the perceptions of banks’ managers about some criteria for assessing creditworthiness related to firms and how these criteria affect non-performing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to deal with the perceptions of banks’ managers about some criteria for assessing creditworthiness related to firms and how these criteria affect non-performing loans (NPLs). The paper wants to respond to the following research question: “Which criteria influence the magnitude of NPLs?” The evidence is based on the improvement of credit quality in the Italian banking system, which the authors study in aggregate and size-specific analyses, creating two subsamples (large and small banks).
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used was a mixed method approach. The values of the variables were quantified according to the information derived from Thomson Reuters (Eikon, Datastream), the financial reporting of the banks and questionnaires directly administered to the bank managers.
Findings
This research about loans selection criteria provides useful indications for “The Basel Framework”. The results show that managers of the large banks are improving the approach of allocating the loans; the managers of the small banks are getting worse in the period 2006-2016. Therefore, it should be valuable to build a new standard about qualitative and quantitative criteria to recognize credit risk. In particular, these criteria could be adopted to reduce NPLs, and they should be different in small banks and large banks.
Originality/value
The study is part of empirical research investigating the causes of the significant increase in NPLs in the Italian banking system in 2006-2016. Most research interprets the increase in NPLs in the Italian banking system only as an effect of the crisis in the Italian entrepreneurial system. This research offers a different interpretation of the problem, interpreting the phenomenon as a delay of the banking system in investing in an effective information criterion.
Details
Keywords
Sergio Barile, Antonio La Sala, Chiara Nespoli and Mario Calabrese
The paper positions social and technological innovation as pivotal counterforces to conservative resistance against change, particularly in light of the recurrent economic and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper positions social and technological innovation as pivotal counterforces to conservative resistance against change, particularly in light of the recurrent economic and technological upheavals characterizing the present shape of capitalism.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts a qualitative methodology, rooted in a comparative case study approach, offering a critical retrospective analysis of societal disruptions and transformations. Central to this methodological framework is the construct of sensemaking, which is characterized as the process by which collective entities retrospectively develop plausible narratives that rationalize their experiences. The approach is informed by the dynamics of socio-ecological systems, which are understood to undergo cyclical phases of growth, stabilization, collapse, and regeneration.
Findings
The study shows evidence that resilience and adaptability are more authentically gauged by socio-technological responses to cyclical disruptions and recoveries. It delineates sensemaking as a crucial socioecological mechanism through which elicitation emerges and societies and organizations navigate these cycles, forging shared narratives from collective experiences that are driven by plausibility rather than mere accuracy.
Practical implications
The research calls for the development of policies that synthesize disruptive innovations with strategies for social cohesion. Such policies must ensure the protection of the socioeconomic texture from implicit structural precariousness arising from innovation. The ability to integrate and institutionalize change is emphasized as crucial, demanding a synergy between innovative creativity, new normative frameworks, and the preservation of fundamental societal values.
Originality/value
The paper challenges reductionist technological interpretations of societal changes, advocating for a holistic perspective that accounts for the redistributive and elicitation roles as vital to the evolution of socio-economic systems. The value of this research lies in its comprehensive framing of these transformations, underscoring the importance of a multi-faceted understanding in the effective management of socioeconomic change.
Details
Keywords
Namita Jain, Asha Thomas, Vikas Gupta, Mario Ossorio and Daniele Porcheddu
The research aims to measure the effectiveness of collaborative learning exchanges transpired through digital tools and technologies (DT&Ts) employed by the mentor universities…
Abstract
Purpose
The research aims to measure the effectiveness of collaborative learning exchanges transpired through digital tools and technologies (DT&Ts) employed by the mentor universities during the COVID-19 pandemic by conducting an empirical study on undergraduate students in Indian higher educational institutions (HEIs) under the mentorship program based on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. The pandemic scenario, its impact on the mentor university's social responsibility and the way DT&Ts can assist are investigated in this article.
Design/methodology/approach
The interactions with experts and students were conducted to explore the DT&Ts for learning exchanges. Next, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to validate the model and perform regression analysis. The quantitative data collection was made through questionnaires during the second deadly wave of COVID-19 that hit India.
Findings
The independent variables (IVs) such as the IT infrastructure support (IT_IS), virtual collaborative tools (VCTs) and future-oriented technologies (FOTs) have a significant impact on the CSR learning outcomes (CSR_LOs) of undergraduate students under the mentorship program. However, IV research instruments for innovation could not make a significant effect.
Research limitations/implications
The IVs IT_IS, VCTs and FOTs influence the CSR_LOs, while RII does not have an influential impact.
Practical implications
As the online learning environment is expected to stay at least in a blended form, adequate CSR funding in infrastructure is necessitated to harness the full potential of this important resource, technology. The results of this empirical investigation affirm that IT_IS, VOTs and FOTs significantly impact CSR_LOs during the crisis. The study findings would encourage the mendtor universities and their stakeholders, including the mentee universities, to evolve and create an ecosystem for effective management of these resources to attain positive outcomes. The study findings can guide the mentor universities in managing uncertainties like pandemics and effectively using the earlier-mentioned critical resources for social responsibility. This research also allows the development of future applications adnd models in mentor-mentee universities for social responsibility, post-pandemic transformation and resilience.
Social implications
The DT&Ts came to the immediate rescue during the pandemic and positively affected collaborative CSR_LOs by the mentor universities, but they have not evolved to a level where offline learning can be replaced entirely. Hence, it can be inferred that a hybrid model is preferable. The study also improves the understanding of how DT&Ts are being harnessed to aid collaborative learning in fulfilling the mentors' CSR in fatal emergencies. The purpose is to equip the education system through mentorship so that universities can sustain, innovate and grow even in trying times. Also, it discusses the dynamics of various DT&Ts for creating a sustainable learning environment and utilizing them to make the teaching prolific and influential.
Originality/value
There is a scarcity of literature regarding the learning outcomes realized through CSR initiatives and collaboration between mentor-mentee institutions. There is a need to understand how these knowledge exchanges continued despite the physical restrictions during the pandemic. In this direction, this study helps to understand how the DT&Ts played a critical role in continuing learning and keeping abreast in a knowledge society from the perspective of resource-based view (RBV) in these precarious situations.