bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Stakeholder management and human resources: development and implementation of a performance measurement system
Authors: Longo Mariolina , Mura Matteo 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe premise on which the stakeholder approach toward employees is based is that stakeholder management actions bring a strengthening of internal legitimacy and therefore the possibility of creating better working conditions that will lead to improved company competitiveness in terms of intangible resources developed by company employees. The aims of the paper are: to determine and to measure the system of resources of value developed by employees of a company that has developed a stakeholder management policy; to create a model that permits the company to evaluate the factors which have a major effect on the development of such a system; and to define the applications of the tool as a company's performance measurement and control system.Design/methodology/approachIn order to pursue these aims two surveys were conducted in 2005 and 2006 on the employees of a leading Italian company in the agricultural food sector. Structural equation model methodology and multivariate analysis were used to define the quantitative measures of the system of resources and to determine the role played by stakeholder management policies in the development of the intangible resources.FindingsThe authors found that the company's social policies have a significant influence, even though its intensity varies, on most of the resources analyzed, and in particular on trust, job satisfaction, networking and communication, ability to work in a group and low turnover propensity. These results confirm the strong link between the resources of value developed by employees and the social strategy of the company.Originality/valueThe measurement system developed in this research can be used in any firm that wants to measure the intangible resources related to employees and represents a control tool that may support managers in planning and control the social investments of the firm.
Spiritual performance from an organizational perspective: the Starbucks way
Authors: Marques Joan F. 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate spiritual performance from the perspective of a globally operating corporation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses spirituality at work as its subject‐matter and takes the form of a literature review. The paper approaches the topic by: giving a general overview of the shift in global corporate behavior; a short historical review of American business culture; defining workplace spirituality; examining Starbucks Corporation's performance from three angles: suppliers and societies, employees, and customers; and a conclusion and postscript.FindingsThe paper finds that: spiritual behavior at the organizational level does lead to enhanced corporate performance; workplace spirituality, when encouraged by top management, is oftentimes instigated by personal life experiences; and spiritual behavior, at the organizational level, leads to advantages for multiple stakeholders.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations to the research are that the research findings were of a secondary nature. The information was gathered through massive readings, but not through primary research‐gathering processes. This study only reviews the performance of one major corporate entity, which reduces the justification of generalizability. Suggestions for future research would be: applying primary studies on a broader sample of globally operating entities to measure their spiritual performance; and formulating particular standards for this type of measurement.Practical implicationsThe practical implications are that globally operating but also smaller entities may start scrutinizing their performance toward stakeholders in a more spiritual light.Originality/valueNew in this paper is the: viewpoint of the Starbucks corporation as a spiritually performing entity; reflection of this major corporation's behavior in three dimensions: toward employees, customers, and suppliers and societies; and reflection of the elements of the definition used here for spirit at work on Starbucks' performance.
Ownership structure and the private benefits of control: an analysis of Chinese firms
Authors: Weifeng He , Zhaoguo Zhang , Shasha Zhu 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between the ownership structure of firms and the private benefits of control through an analysis of Chinese listed firms.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of Chinese firms, cases were examined where there had been a transaction involving non‐tradable stock. The cases where there had been stock transactions which both did and did not involve the transfer of control within a single year were selected. The difference between these two types of transaction was used to estimate the private benefits of control in Chinese listed firms. Regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between ownership structure and private benefits of control in Chinese listed firms.FindingsThe results show that the average private benefit of control is 18.52 percent in China. The regression results show a significant, positive relationship between the controlling shareholders, the combined shareholdings of the second to fifth largest shareholder and private benefits of control. However, there is a negative but insignificant relationship between the tradable share value and private benefits of control. With regard to the relationship between managerial shareholding and private benefits of control, the regression results show a positive but insignificant relationship.Research limitations/implicationsFurther insights into the private benefits of control can be obtained by inspecting the change around major corporate events involving significant ownership changes. In this study, the focus was on non‐tradable stock. Investigating all stock would be a fruitful area for future research.Practical implicationsIn China, firms should optimize the ownership structure and curb expropriation by controlling shareholders. This would help to promote a sound development of Chinese listed firms and the capital market.Originality/valueThe research provides useful information on the impact of ownership structure on private benefits of control in a sample of listed firms in China.
CEO duality and firm performance: evidence from Hong Kong
Authors: Yan Lam Tin , Kam Lee Shu 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) duality and firm performance and the moderating effects of the family control factor on this relationship with respect to public companies in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs publicly available data from financial databases and the annual reports of a sample of 128 publicly‐listed companies in Hong Kong in 2003.FindingsNeither agency theory nor stewardship theory alone can adequately explain the duality‐performance relationship. The empirical evidence suggests that the relationship between CEO duality and accounting performance is contingent on the presence of the family control factor. CEO duality is good for non‐family firms, while non‐duality is good for family‐controlled firms.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on publicly available financial data, and actual board processes are not observed.Practical implicationsThe design of board leadership structure is contingent on corporate ownership and control (family control or not).Originality/valueThe paper provides empirical evidence that CEO duality is not necessarily bad for public companies in Hong Kong and would be of interest to regulatory bodies, business practitioners, and academic researchers.
Why corporate social responsibility should be popularised but not imposed
Authors: Robins Fred 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the general question: Is corporate social responsibility (CSR) a business duty, as many contend, or really just a benign delusion?Design/methodology/approachTo provide an answer to the question the CSR literature is examined from both theoretical and practical perspectives. This paper offers a broad general review and practical assessment of contemporary thinking about CSR. It investigates three precise questions. These are: who pays for CSR, who makes decisions about CSR, and what are the long‐term, potential implications of CSR?FindingsThe three most relevant theoretical frameworks are each found wanting. In particular, none offers managers clear operational guidance. So, although CSR is recognised as morally attractive, it is judged unhelpful to force it on business through regulatory or legislative means. From the questions posed it is revealed that answers to the first two questions are quite clear. The answer to the third is conjecture. The paper finds that none of these questions has yet received adequate attention. The paper offers three main findings: that CSR has costs which may go unrecognised; that it draws managers into decisions which may lie outside their competence; and, if it were widely adopted on a major scale, CSR would have implications for government and civil society which we have scarcely begun to think about.Practical implicationsAt the same time, the proven capacity of business to contribute to society through discretionary expenditure is huge. The paper therefore concludes that it is sensible to encourage business to do more. It follows that CSR should be popularised but not imposed.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on CSR as a business duty.
The changing role of governments and the emergence of the relational state
Authors: Mendoza Xavier , Vernis Alfred 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe paper aims to answer the question of what the new role of government in advanced democracies for the twenty‐first century should be and what institutional and organizational capabilities are required for that role to face the challenges of globalization and the crisis of the welfare state.Design/methodology/approachThe literature on public management reform and modernization initiatives in developed countries over the last two decades, along with the growing body of literature on public governance, provide the reference framework from which the contents of the relational state are formulated.FindingsThe relational state seeks to achieve the greatest possible synergy between the resources, knowledge and capacities of the public sector and those of civil society and business organizations. It does so by its ability to articulate social interrelationships and the intangible aspects involved (by using competitive or cooperative arrangements to incorporate civil society and business organizations in particular policy fields, raising society's awareness of its own responsibility, promoting social self‐regulation, acting as intermediary between different social actors, providing strategic direction, etc.). Hence, the relational nature of its activities becomes the core attribute of the process of public value creation.Originality/valueThe relational state locates the relations between the state, the market and civil society in the field of co‐responsibility, which is a crucial but missing feature in the neo‐liberal state and the welfare state models. The paper analyses emerging forms of the relational state and highlights the challenges that confront its adoption.
Business and climate change: emergent institutions in global governance
Authors: Kolk Ans , Pinkse Jonatan 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how multinational corporations (MNCs) may operate in the context of a so‐called emergent institution which is not yet settled and taken for granted, thus helping to shape a new form of governance with considerable private involvement. The case used to illustrate emergent institutions involves market mechanisms for climate change, particularly emissions trading. This instrument is a crucial component of the Kyoto Protocol, which has started to be implemented, but is still surrounded by uncertainty and diversity across countries/regions.Design/methodology/approachInformation from MNCs' responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project is used to shed light on their bargaining and nonbargaining activities and how these seem to relate to their overall strategy and location.FindingsBoth with regard to nonbargaining and bargaining strategies MNCs' prevailing view seems that they have to deal with distinctive national patterns, adopting a multidomestic, frequently home‐country‐focused approach. Their responses vary according to the national situation, with the level of activity in emissions trading frequently shaped by local management. Yet, the type of corporate structures created by some MNCs indicates that they take into account that EU‐ETS may form the onset for a more global emissions trading scheme.Research limitations/applicationsSince market mechanisms for climate change are just unfolding, follow‐up studies into larger numbers of firms would be worthwhile to unravel the dynamics. The aspects identified in this paper can be used as starting point for such analyses.Practical implicationsThe information and corporate considerations regarding market mechanisms for climate change can be helpful for both managers and policymakers in designing future approaches and reflecting upon the limitations and opportunities for MNC involvement in global governance.Originality/valueThe paper explores how MNCs may help shape an emergent institution, considering the fact that they face the dualility of managing a global context and multiple local contexts.
Natural law, human rights and corporate reputational capital in global governance
Authors: Jackson Kevin 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical model for systematizing human rights norms to facilitate their integration into global business decision making.Design/methodology/approachThe paper relates a natural law conception of human rights to global corporate governance.FindingsThe paper shows that natural law theory gives a basis for integrating human rights into global governance while also making a business case for taking human rights seriously.Originality/valueThe paper offers a theoretical framework related to jurisprudence and introduces the concept of reputational capital as an intangible asset that is built up by a firm's proactive advancement of human rights.
Unintended consequences of CSR: protectionism and collateral damage in global supply chains: the case of Vietnam
Authors: Tencati Antonio , Russo Angeloantonio , Quaglia Victoria 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to investigate the influence of the increasingly sustainable sourcing policies of many multinational companies on suppliers located in developing countries such as Vietnam. The focus is the process through which corporate social responsibility (CSR) is reaching this Southeast Asian country.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted in Vietnam through the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) regional office. The survey was based on a questionnaire used during direct interviews or sent out electronically when onsite visits were not possible. The research involved 25 Vietnamese enterprises.FindingsThe results reveal, on the one hand, how CSR makes business sense even in a developing country such as Vietnam and, on the other hand, the difficulties of maintaining sustainability as products move from northern consumers to Vietnamese suppliers. This process calls for more collaborative models of governance among the companies along the supply chain, local authorities, international players, and civil society at large.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the unsustainable process through which corporate responsibility is being imposed on Vietnamese suppliers and how CSR, now required for access to international markets, might eventually turn into a new form of protectionism. To avoid this, CSR must be supported, rather than imposed, through building innovative partnerships and through a demand‐driven educational agenda.
Innovation in business‐community partnerships: evaluating the impact of local enterprise and global investment models on poverty, bio‐diversity and development
Authors: Raufflet Emmanuel , Berranger Alain , Gouin Jean‐François 
Published: January 2010

PurposeOver the last decade, several innovative business‐community partnerships have emerged to address simultaneously two pressing development issues: poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. The purpose of this paper is to identify relevant models and to propose a first evaluation of these models in relation to development.Design/methodology/approachThe models were identified following a literature review and were evaluated using Amartya Sen's definition of poverty.FindingsThe paper identifies two models: the local enterprise model and the global investment model. While the local model relies mainly on local resources, the global investment model includes local and global organizations and institutions. The paper has analyzed the respective impacts of these new business‐community partnerships, including their governance schemes, on communities and ecosystems through the lens of Amartya Sen's definition of poverty and development. The key finding is double. First, both these models are still in their very early stages. Second, the paper has identified the strengths and weaknesses of each of these models: while the global investment model provides access to solid and important financial resources and markets, the local enterprise model emphasizes local empowerment.Originality/valueThis paper reports innovative initiatives and models of governance that could inspire future private sector based approaches to biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction and help build the theoretical bases for such approaches.
Strategic local responses to global governance: the case of xertatu
Authors: Berezo Díez Jorge , de la Cruz Ayuso Cristina , Sasia Santos Pedro M. 
Published: January 2010

PurposeBizkaia, an area of just over one million inhabitants, is the setting, through the xertatu project, of an experience for fostering corporate social responsibility (CSR). This document seeks to analyze the xertatu project as a local response to a new form of governance, identifying the lessons learned in its development.Design/methodology/approachThis paper focuses its analysis on a clear understanding of the need to combine not only the activities of the various organizations operating in this field in Bizkaia, but also the intentions of the agents involved, in order to shed light on the shared responsibility business has with society at large in this region.FindingsThe aggregation of agents, interests and capabilities, together with a methodology of research – collective action, is suitable for fostering social responsibility in companies.Originality/valueThe analysis of CSR as a new understanding of the role of business in collaborative governance, that is, as an active agent of an enabling governing style that furthermore assumes its joint responsibility with all the other agents for social cohesion and development, usually tends to lack a local and regional perspective and, therefore, the schemes that favor its implementation, whereby it could become a testing ground and benchmark for other regions.
The challenge of effective governance: the case of Swiss Air
Authors: Nwabueze Uche , Mileski Joan 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address corporate governance structures. Effective corporate governance can lead to managerial excellence but managerial ethical excellence does not always exist without effective corporate governance. Embedded in both effective corporate governance and managerial excellence is the “rightness of decisions” or the ethical decision making process. This paper analyzes this key process in the case of the failure of Swissair.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examine the key corporate governance structure through an explanatory case analysis of Swissair. They look at the structure by applying institutional theory rather than agency theory. It is hypothesized that corporate governance structures must comply with the norms generated by various stakeholders as well as economic incentives. No one set of norms may dominate the compliance; otherwise a corporation loses legitimacy and resources. It is contended that this lack of compliance of all stakeholder norms led to the failure of Swissair.FindingsThe authors examined the strategies for governance in Swissair leading up to its failure. Critical examination of the various elements of effective corporate governance results in a model presented here for assimilating appropriate norms of behavior into the corporate decision‐making process. They purport that adoption of the model by corporations will improve decision making leading to improved survival and performance.Originality/valueThe case analysis provides for the development of a model of corporate governance which includes consideration of all facets of society, its stakeholders and the norms the stakeholders generate. It is contended that companies must consider ethical, social and political norms of behavior in corporate governance structures as well as economic concerns.
Corporate governance and national culture: a multi‐country study
Authors: Li Jiatao , Harrison J. Richard 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show that corporate governance structures differ significantly across countries. Using agency theory and institutional theory, it examines how ownership structure and national culture influence the size and leadership structure of the corporate boards of multinational firms based in industrial countries.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses are tested with data on 399 multinational manufacturing firms based in 15 industrial countries. The authors use ownership concentration, bank control, and state ownership to represent ownership structure. They view institutional structural norms as components of national culture and infer the nature of these norms for governance structure from Hofstede's national culture dimensions.FindingsThe findings show that national culture has a dominant influence on corporate governance structure, and its emphasis is recommended in future cross‐national organizational research.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the models were successful in explaining MNC board structure, the authors addressed only the effects of ownership structure and national culture. It is expected that these models could be improved by including national political and legal differences and additional national economic variables.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate that national cultures of the home countries of MNCs have powerful influences on their governance structures.Originality/valueThis paper links national culture with governance structure.