Victoria E. Johnson and Linda L. Brennan
This paper sets out to present an innovative model for managing stakeholder relationships in the networked society.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to present an innovative model for managing stakeholder relationships in the networked society.
Design/methodology/approach
In the proposed network model, socially‐responsible investment organizations (SRIOs) collaborate with corporations to enhance the flow of information through the network, providing a key focal point and filter for information to and from the various stakeholders of the corporation.
Findings
Illustrations show SRIOs becoming a catalyst towards best practices, emphasizing strategic options, monitoring functions, benchmarking peer firms, and providing stronger linkages to the global environment.
Research limitations/implications
The model is illustrated with anecdotal evidence.
Practical implications
Utilizing SRIOs as intermediaries in the relationship between businesses and their multiple stakeholders is attractive because SRIOs possess the capabilities and skills of experts and matchmakers. The implications of increased access to information and greater valuation of corporate social responsibility are projected as a result of the SRIOs' role as expert, driving greater accountability with increased access to information. It is also seen as a direct result of the SRIOs' role as matchmaker, providing more explicit valuation of corporate social responsibility.
Originality/value
In the global economy, the concept of “managing stakeholders” may be an anachronism. As the importance of corporate social responsibility grows, efforts to address corporations' social responsibilities are increasingly challenged by: the complexity of globalization; the immediacy of digital networks; and the blurring of organizational boundaries.
Details
Keywords
Flora Antony, Victoria Makuya and Ruth Elias
This study aims to investigate the influence of the service concept on customer acquisition and when the relationship is moderated with manager’s experience in Savings and Credit…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence of the service concept on customer acquisition and when the relationship is moderated with manager’s experience in Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS) within Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a cross-sectional research design and utilizes simple random sampling to select 226 respondents, all of whom are managers of SACCOS in Tanzania. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using a partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The findings indicate that service concept have a highly statistically significant impact on customer acquisition, with a p-value of less than 0.05. Conversely, managers’ experience also influences customer acquisition by the p-value of less than 0.05. The result also confirms the significance influence of positive moderating effect of manager’s experience on the relationship between service concept and customer acquisition, with a p-value of less than 0.05, therefore it shows that manager’s experience facilitate the influence of service concept to customer acquisition.
Practical implications
The findings of this study provide valuable insights for SACCOS aiming to thrive and attract more customers. By understanding the nuances of service concepts, these institutions can refine their strategies for customer acquisition effectively.
Originality/value
The study’s insights into the composite effect of service concepts hold significance for SACCOS seeking to enhance their customer acquisition strategies enhanced by manager’s experience. These findings contribute new perspectives to the SACCOS and other related financial services sector, offering fresh insights into innovation and customer-centric approaches.
Details
Keywords
Victoria E. Johnson and Linda L. Brennan
Societal expectations that organizations employ their resources in a socially responsible manner have grown exponentially over the past three decades. By enabling stakeholders…
Abstract
Societal expectations that organizations employ their resources in a socially responsible manner have grown exponentially over the past three decades. By enabling stakeholders greater access to information, technology is a key driver underlying this trend. The rapid and all-encompassing advance of technology affords managers methods and tools with which to address successfully its corporate social responses. Technology has been used by organizations from the beginning of the “information age” to increase revenues and reduce costs. This paper suggests that the application of technology is also a necessary and integral component in the link between the abstraction of social responsiveness and its practical reality. This link is exemplified by the growth and success of Socially Responsible Investment Organizations (SRIOs). These firms not only use technological tools to identify, research and classify companies' suitability, but also to communicate demands from investors and concerns to corporate management. Additionally, corporate managers are able to use technology in developing mechanisms for reporting, measuring, monitoring, and disseminating vital information to various stakeholders. The impact of technology on social responsibility practices is presented in a model for operationalizing the management of corporate social performance and stakeholder relationships.
V. Dao Truong and Timo Dietrich
Limited attention has been given to the study of social marketing at the graduate level. Such a study not only reveals research interests and trends, but also provides insights…
Abstract
Purpose
Limited attention has been given to the study of social marketing at the graduate level. Such a study not only reveals research interests and trends, but also provides insights into the level of academic evolution or maturity of the social marketing field. This paper aims to examine social marketing as the subject of master’s theses.
Design/methodology/approach
A search strategy found 266 social marketing-focused master’s theses completed from 1971 to 2015. These theses were analysed by host countries, institutions, disciplinary contexts and degree programmes for which they were submitted.
Findings
Only four theses were submitted from 1971-1980 and eight completed in 1981-1990. The number of theses increased to 35 in 1991-2000, 118 between 2001 and 2010 and 101 in the past five years (2011-2015). The USA was the leading producer of social marketing master’s theses, followed by Canada, Sweden, China, South Africa, the UK and Kenya. A majority of theses were housed in the disciplines of business, health and communication, and none of them was submitted for a Master of Social Marketing degree.
Originality/value
This is the first study that investigates master’s theses with an exclusive focus on social marketing. Implications for the evolution, learning and teaching of social marketing are provided.
Details
Keywords
Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).
It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields…
Abstract
It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.