Martin Dominy and Toby Hayward‐Butcher
This paper seeks to examine whether paid employment produces positive social capital returns for people with severe and enduring mental health needs.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to examine whether paid employment produces positive social capital returns for people with severe and enduring mental health needs.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 96 users of mental health services in Sussex, who had been supported to return to work, completed a questionnaire rating their level of agreement with statements about their quality of life both before and after they started working. In addition, three supplementary individual case studies were made.
Findings
Analysis showed significant increases in reported quality of life following employment. The post‐employment positivity of responses was found across most areas of well‐being. Significant but varying gains were found in the majority of individuals who reported improvement in the following areas; social life; independence; resilience; confidence and self‐esteem; optimism; satisfaction; general happiness and ability to manage mental health. A third of individuals reported improvements in personal relationships and physical health. Qualitative data indicated that increased confidence was perceived by participants as the most important factor. Increased benefits were also found to be associated with individuals who had worked for a longer period, worked longer hours and were supported on a contract with high fidelity to the IPS model.
Research limitations/implications
The paper relies on a self‐report method requiring respondents to reflect on how they felt pre and post gaining employment. This follows a rather subjective methodology. There were a number of individuals who had only worked for one month or less in the past year. These are unlikely to have experienced social capital returns or in fact any real impact at all as a result of working and likely distorted the results to some extent.
Originality/value
There have been limited research studies that have examined the additional social capital returns for people with enduring mental ill health who return to work.
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This paper's aim is to explore the added value of occupational therapy in supported employment, demonstrated by a case study in Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper's aim is to explore the added value of occupational therapy in supported employment, demonstrated by a case study in Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper sets out the unique contribution of occupational therapy to the evidence based individual placement with support (IPS) model, through a case study of implementation in Sussex.
Findings
Occupational therapists are well placed to play a central role in embedding IPS into clinical teams, as well as supporting the work of employment specialists. They also have a wider role in championing person centred practice, and challenging negative assumptions about the work abilities of people with mental health problems.
Practical implications
Clarity of role design is crucial, with methods for assessing and monitoring competence built into supervision structures. Clinicians need to be motivated and enthusiastic about the role as well as having allocated time to carry out the discrete employment support function. The partnership between the employment service and clinical team is central to good implementation of the model.
Originality/value
This paper adds clarity to the role of occupational therapy in supporting people with severe and enduring mental health problems to gain and maintain mainstream employment. There is a need for the development of a more formal evidence base for occupational therapy interventions in the field of supported employment; this paper is a starting point outlining key issues.
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Martin Stuebs and Li Sun
This chapter examines the association between corporate governance and environmental performance. The purpose of governance mechanisms is to build trust by ensuring that corporate…
Abstract
This chapter examines the association between corporate governance and environmental performance. The purpose of governance mechanisms is to build trust by ensuring that corporate responsibilities, including environmental responsibilities, are met. We obtain corporate governance data from the Investor Responsibility Research Center, Inc’s (IRRC’s) governance and director database and additional corporate governance and environmental performance data from Kinder, Lydenberg, and Domini’s (KLD’s) database. Our analyses document a significant positive association between corporate governance and environmental performance. Moreover, we find that corporate governance is positively related to environmental strengths, and negatively related to environmental concerns. Our findings contribute to and extend our understanding of the relationship between governance and performance and have important implications for policy makers, managers, investors, and others.
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James Reveley and John Singleton
By juxtaposing fatal colliery explosions in early twentieth-century Britain and in 2010 at Pike River, New Zealand, this paper aims to investigate the generalizability of the mock…
Abstract
Purpose
By juxtaposing fatal colliery explosions in early twentieth-century Britain and in 2010 at Pike River, New Zealand, this paper aims to investigate the generalizability of the mock bureaucracy concept to underground coal mining disasters.
Design/methodology/approach
The main source is published official accident inquiries; a methodological reflection justifies the use of these materials.
Findings
Mock bureaucracies existed in the British underground coal mining milieu from the time when safety rules were first formulated in that industry context. As for Pike River, it is an exemplary case. The development in 1970s Britain of a new approach to safety management (the Robens system), and its subsequent export to New Zealand, means that a contemporary coal mine under financial duress, such as Pike River, is a prime site for mock bureaucracy to flourish.
Originality/value
Although the concept of mock bureaucracy has been applied to an explosion in an underground coal mine before, this is the first paper to explore the concept’s historical usage and generalizability in explaining the environing context of such explosions.
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Cedric E. Dawkins and Yoo Na Youm
The role of labor unions in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains both ambiguous and crucial for union members and business leaders. Given the complex…
Abstract
Purpose
The role of labor unions in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains both ambiguous and crucial for union members and business leaders. Given the complex relationship between labor unions and corporations, this study aims to address whether labor unions keep corporations honest (by monitoring CSR activities) or potentially render CSR initiatives less necessary.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from the MSCI Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini Database for firms in the Russell 1000 Index, this study examines the link between labor unions and CSR in U.S. companies over a six year period. Generalized least squares models were used to test the hypotheses for 3,937 firm-year observations.
Findings
The findings show that unionized companies generally pay less attention to CSR compared to nonunionized ones. The presence of labor unions and positive union-management relations both show a significant negative impact on CSR ratings, where positive union-management relations negatively affect CSR ratings more than just the presence of labor unions. Further, when considering the environmental, social and governance aspects of CSR separately, the results are more complex, suggesting that the relationship between labor unions and CSR varies depending on specific ESG dimensions.
Originality/value
CSR, a well-researched area, rarely addresses the companies' relationships with labor unions. Studies in South Korea and the UK have touched on the impact of labor unions on CSR, but in the USA it remains unexplored. This study extends this line of work by examining U.S. companies.
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Mingming Feng, Xiaodan "Abby" Wang and Jagjit S. Saini
Prior literature has established the theoretical and statistical linkages between monetary compensation and firm performance, yet little is known about how the association between…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior literature has established the theoretical and statistical linkages between monetary compensation and firm performance, yet little is known about how the association between monetary compensation and firm performance is moderated by companies’ engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Further, compared to executive compensation, non-executive compensation remains an underexplored topic. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how workforce-oriented CSR moderates: first, the association between non-executive compensation and firm performance; and second, the association between executive compensation and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 181 from the largest 3,000 US companies for the years 1991-2011, the authors investigate how workforce-oriented CSR moderates the association between compensation and firm performance. Compensation is examined at two levels – non-executive versus executive compensation. The workforce-oriented CSR score is constructed as total strengths minus total concerns in Kinder, Lydenberg, and Domini’s employee relations dimension.
Findings
The authors find an improvement in firm performance with increases in both non-executive and executive compensation. Further, workforce-oriented CSR positively moderates the association between non-executive compensation and firm performance, and negatively moderates the association between executive compensation and firm performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study adds to the literature of the compensation-performance linkage by including both non-executive and executive compensation as important determinants of firm performance and incorporating workforce-oriented CSR as a moderator on the compensation-performance linkage. It also provides new angles for CSR scholars.
Practical implications
This study helps managers understand the importance of fulfilling employees’ social emotional needs and the potential of workforce-oriented CSR in shaping employees’ perceived distributive justice. The findings also help managers make critical decisions regarding the allocation of limited corporate resources and prioritization of investment options. In addition, the findings are also useful to boards of directors and human resources managers who are in charge of hiring executives, building top management teams, and deciding executive compensation.
Originality/value
This study helps advance our understanding of the compensation-performance linkage. The results suggest that the relationship between compensation and financial performance is contingent on other organizational factors. In addition, the findings provide practical implications on how CSR engagement moderates the association between non-executive compensation and firm performance differently than the association between executive compensation and firm performance and how to allocate corporate resources and prioritize strategic options effectively.
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Tracy L. Gonzalez-Padron, G. Tomas M. Hult and O. C. Ferrell
Further understanding of how stakeholder marketing explains firm performance through greater customer satisfaction, innovation, and reputation of a firm.
Abstract
Purpose
Further understanding of how stakeholder marketing explains firm performance through greater customer satisfaction, innovation, and reputation of a firm.
Methodology/approach
Grounded in stakeholder theory, the study provides a conceptualization of stakeholder orientation based on cultural values that is distinctive from stakeholder responsiveness and examines the relationship of stakeholder responsiveness to firm performance. The study determines the mediating role of marketing outcomes on the impact of stakeholder responsiveness on firm performance. Multiple regression analysis tests hypotheses using a data set consisting of qualitative data obtained from corporate documents and quantitative data from respected secondary sources.
Findings
Our findings provide support for stakeholder marketing creating a strong relationship to organizational outcomes. There exists a positive relationship between stakeholder responsiveness and firm performance through customer satisfaction, innovation, and reputation.
Research implications
Our definition implies that stakeholder responsiveness is acting in the best interests of the stakeholder as a responsible business. This study shows that stakeholder marketing may not always represent socially responsible marketing. Further research could explore how and why firms may not respond ethically and responsibly to stakeholders.
Practical implications
We further the discussion whether stakeholder marketing equates to sustainability. Marketers can build on expertise of managing customer relationship and generating customer value to develop a stakeholder marketing approach that addresses the economic, social, and environmental concerns of multiple stakeholders.
Originality/value
We further the discussion whether stakeholder marketing equates to sustainability. Marketers can build on expertise of managing customer relationship and generating customer value to develop a stakeholder marketing approach that addresses the economic, social, and environmental concerns of multiple stakeholders.
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Robert W. Rutledge, Khondkar E. Karim, Mark Aleksanyan and Chenlong Wu
Research in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown exponentially in the last few decades. Nevertheless, significant debate remains about the relationship…
Abstract
Research in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown exponentially in the last few decades. Nevertheless, significant debate remains about the relationship between CSR performance and corporate financial performance (CFP). This is particularly true for the case of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The purpose of the current study is to empirically test the relationship between CSR and CFP. We use data for 66 Chinese SOEs listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. The results are interesting in that they are not consistent with similar studies using US and other Western market data. We find a significant negative relationship between CSR performance and CFP. The results are discussed in light of the preferential government treatment afforded to Chinese SOEs, and social welfare requirements imposed on such entities. Implications for Chinese policy-makers are discussed.