Storytelling and corporate social responsibility reporting: A case study commentary on U.K. food retailers

Stories, in one form or another, are probably as old as the human race, but in recent years, businesses have increasingly come to recognise the importance of storytelling. The aim of this paper is to offer an exploratory commentary on how storytelling is employed in the corporate social responsibility reporting process by the leading U.K. food retailers. The paper begins with an outline of the characteristics of storytelling within the corporate world, reviews the ways storytelling is employed by the U.K.'s top 10 food retailers' as part of their corporate social responsibility reporting processes. The paper identifies a number of storytelling formats, including photographs and images, video clips, messages, and cameo case studies, used by the selected U.K. food retailers, and offers some reflections on their current approaches to storytelling. Although the stories employed by the selected retailers often have a strong human impact and can strike emotive chords, the authors would argue that stories can, at least partly, be misleading in that they do not necessarily fully reflect a retailer's corporate social responsibility record.     

The transformed identity of a banking corporation's employees, 1960s–1980s

The current paper discusses one aspect of corporate social responsibility—employee community volunteering—as implemented at an Israeli banking corporation. The literature on corporate social responsibility as a feature of global capitalism has largely ignored the history of corporate philanthropy and its relation to the current model of social responsibility. Moreover, to date, no studies have addressed the relationship between models of corporate social responsibility, on the one hand, and management approaches, on the other. In this historical–ethnographic study, we examine a case in which, we argue, normative management models and advanced marketing approaches combined to shape new conceptions and practices of employee volunteering. We examine how the process evolved over the course of three marketing campaigns initiated by the bank's management between the early 1960s and the early 1980s. In the early 1960s, the models in question helped refashion the employees' identity as service providers ‘empathic’ toward clients. By the late 1970s, their identity was transformed once again, this time to incorporate a ‘humane’ orientation toward the ‘community’. In the process—the results of which are still felt today—the employees became the carriers and disseminators of an organizational culture that emphasized values of philanthropy and social commitment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Better by design: Korea's neoliberal economy

Abstract

This paper examines the processes of bank and corporate restructuring in South Korea since the 1997–98 economic crisis, and seeks to highlight how the state has intervened in a highly dirigiste manner in order to expedite restructuring in both the commercial bank and corporate sectors. At the same time it demonstrates the clear neoliberal principles that have underpinned the state's attempts to promote restructuring. The state has shown a clear determination to take action against insolvent firms and financial institutions no matter how large or strategically important they may be, to impose hard budget constraints on key economic actors. Furthermore, the state has actively sought to engineer the sale of key domestic firms and banks to foreign investors. We argue that Korea's efforts to create a functioning neoliberal economy have been largely successful and are functional from the perspective of Korean capitalism, if not the perspective of individual Korean firms. Changes in the global economy in the two decades preceding the 1997–98 crisis imposed an increasingly inescapable pressure on the Korean state to effect a neoliberal transformation and Korea's future as a centre of capitalist accumulation has for some time been bound up with the success of the neoliberal project. In conclusion, this paper seeks to draw out the broader implications of this reading of the post-crisis restructuring programme for debates on global economic liberalization and the future of capitalist diversity.     

In the Name of Human Rights: Global Organizations and Participating Citizens

As a contribution to the growing literature on citizenship and advanced liberal governance, this paper focuses on how citizens—especially the poor—are brought into new policy platforms and new social relationships of responsibility, accountability, and participation. In making specific empirical reference to a range of global organizations and their poverty reduction initiatives, the analysis emphasizes the diverse ways in which individuals are governed as certain kinds of “free” persons through particular administrative practices. In this analysis, we underline how some organizations encourage citizens to participate in global practices, markets, and institutions, and train them to act in ways that are aligned with the principles and expectations imposed on them by advanced liberal governmental agendas. We argue that global organizations that are formally or informally linked to other organizations, agencies, and governments around the world, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, view citizens' participation in rights claiming and budgetary design practices as a crucial part of their responsibility to improve their well-being. We also analyse how specific global organizations promote citizens to become consumers of global financial services as a way of solving global poverty. In assessing programmes designed to encourage poor people to participate in global markets and institutions, we contend that these programmes are founded on governing practices that aim to make citizens, non-governmental organizations, and nation-states adhere to advanced liberal principles. We question whether these programmes improve the well-being of poor people. We suggest that future research needs to focus on how global organizations cultivate different discourses of freedom and liberty which serve to govern citizens as responsible consumers and participants.     

Government Promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from the EU Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme

Governments play an active role in promoting corporate social responsibility and specifically environmental management system (EMS) programs, but few studies have examined the impact of such support on the decision of businesses to adopt EMS programs. We ask two questions in this paper: how does government support for EMS programs affect adoption of such programs? Second, what effect does this government support have on the pace of adoption of such programs? The answer to the first question can reveal how effective government programs are in boosting membership in EMS programs. The answer to the second reveals to what extent businesses within EU member states are converging upon particular EMS standards. We examine these questions in the context of the European Union’s Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), 2010–2014. There is significant variation in government support of EMAS across the EU and at the same time, EMAS competes for business attention with the more established ISO 14001. Our quantitative and qualitative analyses therefore reveal the effectiveness of government programs in boosting adoption, but also to the extent to which such programs cause convergence upon EMAS in the face of a competing standard such as ISO 14001.     

Corporate values of the 25 largest European banks: Exploring the ambiguous link with corporate scandals

Corporate value statements communicate what a firm aspires for and what drives their value creation. In addition, corporate values often also define which behaviors are acceptable and which are not. Ideally, corporate values are representations of a firm's informal corporate values and organizational culture. However, in practice, there is an inherent tension between the aspirations and actual values and ensuing behaviors of and within a firm—let alone the potentially different interpretations of abstract corporate value statements. In this paper, we set out to provide more clarity on what corporate values are, how they are inherently ambiguous, and how in practice they compare to firm involvement in scandals. For this purpose, we study the corporate values of the 25 largest European banks after the financial crisis. “Integrity” appeared to be the most common value among the 25 banks, followed by “customer focus.” Nonetheless, over the past 6 years, 15 out of the 25 studied banks were involved in one or more scandals. Scandals can be systematic or caused by rogue employees, and benefitting the firm or their customers—in the latter case, providing an interesting interpretation of the customer focus value. Additionally, we found that courage or its synonyms were barely mentioned among banks' corporate values, potentially providing an additional explanation for the fast size of the financial crisis. Finally, we found that banks that had inclusive social principles such as respect, solidarity, and equality did not face large-scale scandals.     

Should brands “nudge us for good”? Towards a critical assessment of neuro‐liberal corporate social responsibility

This article critically investigates the recent emergence of neuro‐liberal corporate social responsibility (CSR). Neuro‐liberal CSR is inspired by libertarian paternalism, a form of behavioural governance popularised by behavioural economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass Sunstein in their bestseller Nudge (2008). Libertarian paternalism presumes humans to be “predictably irrational” due to hardwired cognitive biases and thus advocates the design of policy interventions that use human psychology for correcting these shortcomings in ways that benefit individuals and society. Although the use of “nudging” interventions has been critically scrutinised in the context of public policy, little attention has been paid to the adoption of libertarian paternalist principles in the corporate world. This paper uses Nudging for Good, an initiative by the European Brands Association (AIM), to illustrate how major corporations adopt and frame corporate nudging as a new and purportedly highly effective form of CSR. However, as this paper argues, neuro‐liberal CSR raises concerns regarding its effectiveness, transparency, and its individualisation and de‐politicisation of social ills.     

How domestic contexts shape international private governance: The case of the European Accord and American Alliance in Bangladesh

The international nature of supply chains has led to the rise of private authority in regulating the environmental and social impacts of production, which companies frequently address through corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the form of private governance (PG). Despite its claim to establish “global” rules, PG usually has national origins, and multiple efforts to address the same issue from different national perspectives frequently coexist. Numerous studies have explored the impact of national business systems on companies' domestic CSR practices, yet little is known about what factors shape CSR practices like PG internationally. Therefore, this study seeks to understand how differing domestic contexts shape approaches to CSR in the form of PG in host countries. I explore this empirically through the comparative case study of competing PG initiatives in the post-Rana Plaza Bangladesh garment industry, uniquely conceived to govern companies' practices rather than certify products. It combines empirical findings with the comparative CSR literature to hypothesize about ideal types of PG organizing in US and European contexts. It extends the analysis to also account for other influential factors, such as stakeholder pressure, thus demonstrating how institutional and agentic factors amalgamate to shape firms' choices. By explicating linkages between international PG and its domestic context, as well as between the comparative CSR and PG literature studies, this study extends our understanding of how and why international PG practices and preferences vary for firms originating from different environments.     

‘I can't even buy a bed because I don't know if I'll have to leave tomorrow’: temporal orientations among Mexican precarious status migrants in Toronto

This paper analyzes the links between migrant illegalization and precarious status migrants' temporal orientations. I begin by evaluating research on three research orientations in this area: (1) research that focuses on temporal contingency versus temporal teleology; (2) research about immigration status, illegalization, and time; and (3) research on the link between precarious immigration status and precarious work. I then draw on interviews with 13 Mexican migrants with precarious immigration status to discuss how immigration status affects migrants' ability to make plans, secure decent work, and experience a sense of belonging in the context of reception (Toronto, Canada). I conclude by arguing for a framework of temporal contingency when analyzing precarious status migrants' narratives of temporal orientations.     

Corporations at a crossroads: How multilevel governance interactions shape participation and effort in private governance regimes

This article argues that the interactions between firm agency in corporate management and the multilevel governance structures in which firms operate condition firms' participation and effort in private governance regimes. Empirically, I examine the Fortune Global 500 firms' decisions about participation and the extent of participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project during 2011–2015. Given firms' strategic considerations, the efficacy of corporate management structures and practices is conditioned by domestic regulatory and global regime contexts, and this efficacy varies across developed and developing countries. In developed countries, corporate, domestic, and global governance positively reinforce each other as drivers of private regulation on climate change. These governance levels are complements not substitutes. By contrast, the main drivers of participation and effort in developing countries are corporate management structures and practices, the stringency of domestic regulatory institutions, and their interactions. This article's results are robust to alternative specifications, including an alternative modeling approach.     

Influence of eco-product innovation and firm reputation on corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage: A mediation-moderation analysis

Eco-product innovation is a response to environmental legislation and social responsibility movements. Established agricultural manufacturers must figure out how to use green ideas and reputation to compete for business excellence. This study adopted a knowledge-based approach to examine corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage. This study also examined how eco-product innovation and reputation affect firms' competitive advantage. The proposed model was tested on 427 Nigerian agro-allied manufacturers using causal pathways and structural equation modeling. Business competition is directly and indirectly affected by corporate social responsibility, eco-product innovations, and firm reputation. Additionally, eco-product innovation partially mediated the nexus between corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage, while reputation moderated the influence of eco-product innovation. The findings suggest that manufacturers pursuing green initiatives should strive to participate in an eco-friendly competition and deal with policy pressures in order to meet environmental standards. Overall, this study adds the environment and business competition to the idea of innovation.     

Squaring the Virtuous Circle: Exploring the Potential of the ‘Five Cs’

During his May 2014 visit to Australia Pascal Lamy, former Director General of the World Trade Organization, urged ‘public institutions, civil society, and global businesses’ to forge ‘creative coalitions’ for the purpose of engaging constructively and positively with the complex problems standing in the way of achieving social and economic sustainability. Lamy's visit was but the first of several occasions during 2014 in which intense public discussion erupted about the need for government, business, and civil society to pool their capacities in boundary‐spanning efforts to address complex policy problems. This article investigates whether the public discussion portends a heightened policy focus on the ‘five Cs’: co‐production, co‐design, corporate social responsibility, collective impact, and Lamy's creative coalitions.     

The relationship between NGOS and businesses in the public arena: An empirical analysis for Spain

• At the beginning of this century, corporate social responsibility was included in the public agenda. In certain countries, policy‐making takes place in semi‐public forums, in which NGOs are asked to participate. However, a different situation may be found in other countries. This paper analyses the relationship between businesses and NGOs in the public arena in Spain. By applying grounded theory, the authors summarize this relationship in the dynamics of approach‐withdrawal. Firms have pushed to withdraw Advocacy NGOs from public forums, whose main purpose was policy‐making. The explicit argument to justify this collective decision is the lack of foundational legitimacy of NGOs. Firms understand that these NGOs are not legitimized to be a counterbalancing force of corporations.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multinationals as global institution: Power,authority and relative autonomy

This article aims to inform the long‐standing and unresolved debate between voluntary corporate social responsibility and initiatives to impose binding legal obligations on multinational enterprises. The two approaches share a common feature: neither can fully specify its own scope conditions, that is, how much of the people and planet agenda either can expect to deliver. The reason they share this feature is also the same: neither is based on a foundational political analysis of the multinational enterprise in the context of global governance. Such an analysis is essential for providing background to and perspective on what either approach can hope to achieve, and how. This article begins to bridge the gap by illustrating aspects of the political power, authority, and relative autonomy of the contemporary multinational enterprise. The conclusion spells out some implications for the debate itself, and for further research.     

The Ethics of Immigration

This review essay examines recent work in political theory on the ethics of immigration admissions. It considers arguments put forward by Michael Walzer, Peter Meilaender and David Miller, among others, for state control of borders. Such arguments tend to appeal to the value of political communities and/or the exclusion rights of democratic associations, and I argue that neither of these are successful. Turning to work by Joseph Carens, Phillip Cole, Michael Dummett and others who advocate open or much more open borders, the article considers various arguments that would support this stance, including appeals to freedom of movement, utilitarianism and social justice. I argue that rights to immigration need embedding in global principles of resource redistribution. In the conclusion I sketch a cosmopolitan approach to immigration by which impartial criteria such as population density and gross domestic product would determine how many migrants states have a duty to admit.     

Toward a ‘harmonious society’ through corporate social responsibility

The objective of this paper is to examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of foreign multinational enterprises in China contribute to China's national priorities, by discussing the relationships between CSR and the building of a ‘harmonious society’ in China. This paper is based on personal reflections, extensive literature review, and 8 years of experiential field work in China by the author. Many CSR programs are found to superficially complement China's harmonious society policy. Only four exemplars out of 20 multinational enterprises surveyed are committed to fostering green growth, improving livelihood, developing outwardly into the west, and promoting a general integration of Chinese business into global markets through social innovations and collaborative projects. The paper posits that it is possible to use CSR as a change agent in China when enlightened public concerns are brought back to business operations through the involvement of non-government organizations, local government, and local citizens and a greater degree of transparency of information. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in the Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles

National human rights institutions (NHRIs) are key domestic mechanisms for promotion and protection of human rights. The institutions' broad mandate, competencies, and special status between state and nonstate actors on the one hand, and special status between the national and international levels on the other hand enable them to engage effectively in the field of business and human rights. Since 2009, NHRIs have been engaging with the international human rights system in order to increase understanding and raise awareness of their role in addressing business and human rights issues. As a result, they have contributed to the development of the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework and obtained an evolving role within all pillars of the framework and in its implementation. This paper presents how these domestic institutions, bridging the national and international levels, fit into the UN legal regime for corporate responsibility for human rights and what contribution they make to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles.     

Adoption of the UN Global Compact in Spanish banking: a case study

The aim of this work is to analyse the process involving adoption of a corporate social responsibility initiative—the United Nations Global Compact—in a Spanish financial institution. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted for such purpose with managers, workers and customers from this organisation. From the analysis carried out, it can be ascertained that only professionals from the specific field of corporate social responsibility in the organisation being analysed have suitable knowledge about the initiative adopted, while the other professionals are practically unaware of it—even among professionals such as accountants who should clearly have suitable knowledge about the subject in order to draft sustainability reports. As a result, the research also provides evidence about the ceremonial adoption of the United Nations Global Compact, highlighting the internal friction existing within an organisation that until very recently stood out in the Spanish banking sector for the amount of externally obtained awards in recognition of its sustainability practices. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Public Sector Corporate Governance Disclosures: An Examination of Annual Reporting Practices in Queensland

In the public sector, corporate governance is an expression that is yet to be explicitly defined. This paper examines the existing public sector literature in order to derive a set of broad principles of corporate governance in the public sector. These principles are then applied through a content analysis of corporate governance disclosures in a group of government‐owned corporations, state government departments, local governments and statutory bodies. The results indicate the set of principles derived is generally applicable to various forms of public entities. However, due to a lack of an established public sector corporate governance framework, the disclosure of corporate governance is piecemeal. Government‐owned corporations achieved better disclosure practices in most principles than other public sector bodies. The paper aims to stimulate debate on public sector corporate governance and provides a basis for a more extensive survey on corporate governance disclosures.     

International cooperation on global warming and the rights of future generations

This article argues that the declaration of principles for a global warming convention should include a reference to the rights of future generations to a livable planet. While such a declaration may not result in the creation of actual legal powers, such a declaration is important simply because rights for future generations are not the current expectation, or norm. Regime theory maintains that regimes for international cooperation are formed by the convergent expectations of the regime's members and by behavioral regularities regarding those expectations. Developing a regime for international cooperation on global warming that is cognizant of the rights of future generations may require evidence of potential impact on future generations. Development of knowledge-based (epistemic) communities at the domestic and international levels regarding that impact may, by promoting convergent expectations and behavioral regularities, help to establish norms for present generations.In the end, individual values are what drive social change. Progress toward sustainability thus hinges on a collective deepening of our sense of responsibility to ourselves and to future generations. Without a reevaluation of our personal aspirations and motivations, we will never achieve an environmentally sound global community.Brown et al., 1990: p. 175