Although the impact of the 2008 recession was nearly unprecedented in its scope and depth, nearly all organizations will inevitably face setbacks and severe challenges. Stable, resilient companies can meet these challenges head-on and not only ‘survive’ but emerge on the other side intact and strong. Companies can make themselves resilience in one of two […]
Read More… from Organizational Resilience Is Reinforced by These Two Variables
Parents will naturally have an impact on their children’s values. New research, however, is showing that the opposite is also true: children, and in particular daughters, are impacting their parents’ values and beliefs. The surprising influence of daughters was previously revealed in studies that compared the decisions of members of Congress and (in a separate […]
Read More… from How a Daughter Might Shape the CEO
As our perception of corporate governance has evolved, the need for a new and comprehensive way to report on an organization’s performance and sustainability has become apparent. One that takes account not only of financial performance and compliance issues, but one that also looks at an organization's strategy, overall governance, performance and commercial outlook – […]
Read More… from The Rise of Integrated Corporate Reporting
While much research has focused on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on profitability and results, less attention has been paid on the antecedents of CSR — that is, what conditions make a company more likely to become socially responsible. Two researchers from Queen’s University School of Business and Saint Mary’s University investigated whether […]
Read More… from Management Practices that Lead to Corporate Social Responsibility
When people do good things, they reward themselves. This is the conclusion of a number of previous studies into the psychology of doing good deeds. Two researchers from Harvard Business School and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business explored through their own series of studies the business implications of this previous psychological research. The researchers […]
Read More… from Reusable Grocery Bags: How Green Customers Help the Environment-and Your Business
While corporations are engaging in socially responsible initiatives related to their industries or to benefit their communities (supporting organizations to help the needy, for example), some companies are going one step further, according to research from the University St. Gallen’s Institute for Business Ethics. These fearless companies are supporting controversial causes unrelated to their industries […]
Read More… from Corporate Political Advocacy: Support Non-business-related Causes
An investigation into the problems of the 1973 Ford Pinto, a car susceptible to catastrophic explosions when rear-ended, revealed that Ford’s engineers had calculated that the company could save $11 per car at a cost of 180 burn deaths. While perhaps an exaggerated case of numbers pushing aside moral and ethical considerations, there is a […]
Read More… from How a Numbers-Crunching Culture Can Increase Unethical Behaviour
Mined materials are in many if not most of the products we buy — from the obvious such as jewellery to the not so-obvious, such as the number of mined materials in our ubiquitous cell phones. Mining, however, is known as the industry that degrades the environment, causes birth defects from polluted waters, and destroys […]
Read More… from The World Needs Mining, but Mining Must Change
Creating positive societal and environmental impact whilst retaining competitiveness has become an increasingly popular concept for companies in recent years—also known as ‘creating shared value.’ A term first coined by Harvard Business School’s Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer in 2011, creating shared value refers to policies and practices that enhance the competiveness of […]
Read More… from Creating Shared Value Using Inter-Organizational Networks
Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development are increasingly linked to competitive advantage and innovation. Harvard’s Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer have, in recent years, ‘reframed’ CSR as ‘shared value’, pointing to the business opportunities in ‘unmet social needs’. Meanwhile, the external pressures for responsible business — from governments and regulators and from shareholders […]
Read More… from How Well Is CSR Embedded in Business Strategy?