Mining, Corporate Social Responsibility and the "Community": The Case of Rio Tinto, Richards Bay Minerals and the Mbonambi

Mining companies have long had a questionable reputation for social responsibility, especially in developing countries. In recent years, mining companies operating in developing countries have come under increased pressure as opponents have placed them under greater public scrutiny. Mining companies have responded by developing global corporate social responsibility strategies as part of their larger global business strategies. In these strategies, a prominent place is given to their relationship with local communities. For business ethics, one basic issue is whether such an approach to corporate responsibility is likely to effectively address the development concerns of local communities in developing countries. This paper addresses this question by investigating how the corporate social responsibility agenda of a major minor company has been implemented by one of its subsidiaries in South Africa.     

A Global Mining Corporation and Local Communities in the Lake Victoria Zone: The Case of Barrick Gold Multinational in Tanzania

This case explores a Canadian mining corporation, Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick), and the way it engages with the local communities that surround its mining activities in the Lake Victoria Zone, Tanzania. Following recent organized tensions within several local communities and heightened criticism from those communities [examples of recent discontent from local communities and workers at Barrick Gold Corp in Tanzania: http://www.protestbarrick.net/article.php?id=214; http://www.protestbarrick.net/article.php?list=type&type=12; http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1247233520081212; http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15263; http://www.miningwatch.ca/index.php?/Tanzania_en/What_Really_Happened (accessed Feb- ruary 25, 2009)], as well as from local media, social lobbyists, and local not-for-profit organizations (NFOs), the case examines the way Barrick has responded to this situation by implementing global corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies in an attempt to strike a balance between its international business capabilities and its localization strategies. In spite of these efforts, tension between Barrick and the local communities within the company??s zone of operations has not abated. This issue has left Barrick??s senior management wondering what more the company could reasonably do to resolve the situation.     

The Rise and Fall of a Free-Standing Company in Nova Scotia: The General Mining Association

The General Mining Association was a free-standing company which originated in 1826 as the result of a mercantilist granting of special privileges, but nonetheless it operated in a fashion little different from that of most mining firms during the early and mid-nineteenth century. Even its organisation as a free-standing company was common among mining companies. The firm continued as an independent corporation, although on a reduced scale, while other mining companies were created and many were subsequently absorbed in horizontal mergers during the 1880s and 1890s. In 1900 the GMA was bought by a vertically integrated steel company. The causes of the firm's lack of dynamism during most of its history cannot be determined with certainty, but attribution to its organisation as a free-standing company is hardly a tenable thesis, since rival firms which behaved far more aggressively were generally also free-standing companies.     

Unpacking transnational corporate responsibility: coordination mechanisms and orientations

This article aims to advance the discussion of how multinational companies manage the tension between global integration and local responsiveness in their corporate social responsibility (CSR). In particular, it studies the relationships between headquarters and subsidiaries in a transnational CSR strategy and the types of coordination mechanisms used. Building on a qualitative study of a multinational bank, we find that in addition to formal and informal coordination mechanisms, a transnational CSR strategy cannot be fully understood without considering lateral learning and participatory decision making. Further, we suggest that discussions about the transnational approach to CSR should not be disentangled from the question about a company's CSR orientation. Finally, we propose some characteristics of transnational CSR and discuss its theoretical and practical implications.     

跨国保险进入中国的决定因素分析

全球金融危机并没有阻止跨国保险公司进入中国,然而针对跨国保险进入中国的决定因素的分析,目前的研究还相对空白.本文借鉴国外对跨国保险的理论研究,以邓宁的国际折衷理论为基础,从保险需求量、保险市场规模、劳动力成本、资金成本、制造业FDI、双边贸易总额、金融市场发展水平等七个方面分析跨国保险进入中国的决定因素.然后运用中国15个较早对外开放保险市场城市的2003年至2006年的面板数据进行回归分析.实证结果表明保险市场规模等五个因素对跨国保险进入中国的可能性产生重要影响.     

我国石油企业的国际竞争力及对外直接投资策略

我国石油企业开展对外直接投资活动是拓展生存空间,提高国际竞争力的必然选择,也是解决国内油气资源供求矛盾的迫切需要。本文利用因子分析方法,采用相关指标构造了石油企业综合竞争力指数,实证研究表明和国外大石油公司相比我国石油企业的竞争力还存在一定差距,但在油气勘探、开采等上游环节具有规模和技术优势。石油企业应将对外直接投资的重点集中在油气勘探、开采等上游环节,通过与东道国石油公司或跨国石油公司合作开展对外直接投资。     

‘Cursed’ Communities? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Company Towns and the Mining Industry in Namibia

This article examines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and mining community development, sustainability and viability. These issues are considered focussing on current and former company-owned mining towns in Namibia. Historically company towns have been a feature of mining activity in Namibia. However, the fate of such towns upon mine closure has been and remains controversial. Declining former mining communities and even ghost mining towns can be found across the country. This article draws upon research undertaken in Namibia and considers these issues with reference to three case study communities. This article examines the complexities which surround decision-making about these communities, and the challenges faced in efforts to encourage their sustainability after mining. In this article, mine company engagements through CSR with the development, sustainability and viability of such communities are also critically discussed. The role, responsibilities, and actions of the state in relation to these communities are furthermore reflected upon. Finally, ways forward for these communities are considered.     

Problems in Knowledge Management: A Case Study of a Knowledge‐Intensive Company

Knowledge management has become an important tool in staying ahead in the competition between companies. In this article five different phases of the knowledge management process are distinguished: acquiring knowledge, codifying knowledge, disseminating knowledge, developing knowledge and applying knowledge. The occurrence of knowledge management problems is demonstrated in a case study in a knowledge‐intensive company. Most of the problems in this case occur in the first three phases of the knowledge management process. It is recommended that the company monitors on a regular basis, starting from its core competencies and its strategy, what essential knowledge their employees are lacking and encourages them to acquire it. Furthermore, the company should ensure that employees have time to codify their knowledge regularly and that adequate information systems are in place and kept up‐to‐date. The dissemination of knowledge can be improved by working in different teams, coupling junior with senior employees, and by the exchange of new knowledge between employees on a regular basis by encouraging the development of communities of practice and by the systematic creation of learning histories.     

Managing customer experiences in online product communities

Many companies have established online product communities or forums as a vehicle to extend product support services to their customers. Customers' interactions in such online forums with peer customers and vendor representatives resolve their product-related queries as well as inform on their product purchase decisions. Despite the significance of such interactions, there has been limited theoretical attention so far on how companies can manage customer experiences in online product communities. Drawing on theories and concepts from diverse areas including computer-mediated communication, consumer psychology, and online communities, this study proposes a four dimensional construct - Online Community Experience (OCE) - to capture customer experiences in such online product communities, and examines its impact on customer attitudes regarding the product, the company, and the quality of service. Data collected from customers in online product forums offered by four companies is used to test the study hypotheses. Implications for research on online consumer behavior and marketing are discussed.     

Traces of foreign retailers – local knowledge-spillovers and strategy adaption within retail internationalization

ABSTRACT

Since the 1990s certain retail companies have evolved into some of the largest and most dispersed transnational corporations worldwide. However, within the ‘new era of retail distribution’ retailers are increasingly divesting from foreign markets. This study addresses these recent and under-explored dynamics by revealing the traces transnational retail corporations leave after divesting from a country. It explores the aspect of learning of host market retailers from entering transnational corporations (TNCs) and examines how foreign knowledge is adjusted in the business strategies of these local actors. It takes a fresh empirical slant using qualitative interviews with host market retail managers including former TNCs’ subsidiaries operating under domestic ownership. The emerging economy of Turkey serves as an empirical example. The paper finds that foreign retailers transfer firm-specific resources to the local retail through (1) demonstration and imitation, (2) vertical linkages with suppliers, (3) joint ventures and acquisitions, and (4) labor turnover of TNC trained staff. Certain successful local companies adjust the foreign knowledge based on their local knowledge and strengths, their high level of flexibility and deep territorial embeddedness, and create ‘hybrid’ business strategies. These findings suggest that dynamic capabilities are crucial to successful retailing in an international competitive environment. TNC managers should work with local staff in partnerships of equals and managers of locally operating companies should incorporate new knowledge by hiring TNC trained staff.     

浅析跨国公司在华投资的独资化倾向

随着“后WTO时代”的到来,跨国公司开始积极调整其在华投资的战略。本文显示了新时期下,跨国公司通过新设、扩股和并购进行独资化经营的证据,透视出外部市场和企业内部存在的交易成本是其走向独资的根本原因,并构建了简单的模型,对比合、独资前后的收益变化来证明跨国公司独资的逻辑。跨国公司独资化倾向是经济规律的必然结果,应趋利避害采取相应的对策。     

中国石油企业的竞争优势及对外直接投资策略

中国石油企业开展对外直接投资是拓展生存空间、谋求竞争优势的必然选择,也是解决国内油气资源供求矛盾的迫切需要.运用波特"钻石模型"的分析结果表明中国石油企业在油气勘探、开采等上游环节具有规模和技术优势.石油企业应将对外直接投资的重点集中在油气勘探、开采等上游环节,通过与东道国石油公司或跨国石油公司合作开展对外直接投资,也应加快石油行业市场化改革、转变石油企业经营机制.     

Netnographic inquiry and new translocal sites of the social

As consumers' lives are increasingly gliding into online worlds and global information networks, researchers face a range of important methodological questions particular to the digital times. In prior research, online ethnographic methods or netnography has been suggested to address some of these challenges, especially when new forms of post‐modern and sub‐cultural consumer collectives and cultures have been the focus. Extending this work further, the article investigates the transnational nature of online cultural phenomena, and suggests a theoretical–methodological approach as a netnographic variant well suited for accessing its logics. In doing so, the article argues that a better understanding of the new ‘translocal sites’, such as transnational online communities and consumer networks, can open up new avenues for research on the ever globalizing and tribalizing consumer culture.     

基于DM的上市公司组合治理机制实证研究

研究设计上市公司治理机制体系及其实证分析指标,以432家沪市上市公司为样本,单位资产实现EVA(EPA)为公司绩效类标号属性,采用数据挖掘(DM)技术对样本公司治理机制进行实证分析,得到公司治理机制不同组合和EPA之间的对应关系,根据可信度和支持度相结合的原则对得到的对应关系进行检验,从中遴选出科学有效的规则。这些规则为优化和设置公司治理机制、提高公司绩效和创造新财富提供借鉴。     

Extending Business Education Beyond Traditional Boundaries: A Case Study in Negotiated Problem Resolution in a Remote Regional Indigenous Community in Australia

It is widely accepted that the concepts and practices of management can only be of benefit when they are anchored to the contextual architecture of people, processes, structures, and technologies. The challenge of establishing a bridging program for providing managerial competencies to Australian Indigenous people has become a serious one for multinational mining companies. As the wings of globalization interact with the long-ignored reality of marginalized local milieu, a need for an innovative management education system has become a major imperative compelling multinational mining companies to work collaboratively with the government, educational institutions, and Indigenous communities. The article outlines a specific decision-making dilemma in an Indigenous context, while explaining the imperatives for educators, who have the challenging task of instructing potential graduates how to manage the unique contextuality of rural Australian Aboriginal communities. The article presents implications for large-scale modern multinationals as they move to geographically remote regions of the world where large number of marginalized local people need to be drawn into the workforce not only as an act of a social responsibility imperative, but also as sound business pragmatism.     

Ethics in Finance and Public Policy: The Ibercorp Case

Our research has found that companies which have diverged from traditional management in order to adopt strategies which include ethics, cooperation and a joint vision of management obtain a greater added value. The new challenges of competitiveness require a position of active cooperation between firms and their suppliers, which should be considered as collaborators rather than adversaries. An active cooperation management may well allow the company to improve the quality of its products and its image, speed up delivery to its clients and make its production and trading more agile, thus enhancing the perception the client has of the product. An improved ethical quality in our dealings, generating trust, improving communication and establishing long-term relationships with joint added value, results in higher competitiveness and greater creation of wealth.     

Exploring the Role of CSR in the Organizational Identity of Hospitality Companies: A Case from the Spanish Tourism Industry

Recently, organizational identity is being given more attention than ever before in the business world. This notion has grown substantially in importance in the hospitality industry. Facing increased competition, hospitality companies are driven to project a positive image to their stakeholders. Therefore, these organizations have begun to develop new organizational identity programs as part of their strategies to achieve their desired identities. This study analyzes the role of corporate social responsibility in the definition of the Organizational Identity of these organizations, employing a qualitative research methodology based on an illustrative case study. Particularly, the authors analyze the case of Meliá Hotels International, a leading hotel company in Spain with a presence in 27 countries. The findings indicate that the company has formally integrated CSR into its strategy to align its actual identity with its desired and conceived identity in view of the critics in its local community. Moreover, the interest of the firm toward its stakeholders suggests that the company understands its conceived identity as an important link in understanding its organizational identity. This paper demonstrates that firm’s organizational identity is a set of several elements. When analyzing Meliá Hotels International’s identity, we see that the firm defines this concept as that which is most central, enduring, and distinctive about the organization. In this sense, the company appears to follow the vision-driven approach by referring to the organizational mission and vision statements, organizational philosophy, and core values as the basis of organizational identity.     

CEO letters: Social license to operate and community involvement in the mining industry

This paper aims to analyse how the discourse of CEO letters and other factors influence community involvement and Social Licence to Operate (SLO) in the mining industry. The analysis is based on qualitative information disclosed in sustainability reports and CEO letters from 32 mining firms. Content analysis was undertaken to obtain data for the study, and then a regression analysis and a multiple correspondence analysis were used to test the hypotheses defined in the study. The results indicate that the CEO discourse influences how a firm expresses the importance of gaining its SLO, the philanthropic activities in which companies become involved and the destinations of the investments in the communities in which they operate. The results also show changes in the discourse between 2011 and 2015, which are, in part, explained by the difficult situation experienced by the sector during this period. The paper contributes to the Corporate Social Responsibility literature by integrating different theories from this field into the SLO framework. The analysis carried out and the results obtained are useful for both CEOs and Sustainability Managers, especially in managing their relationships with the communities where they operate or intend to operate.     

The Weizhi Group of Xian: A Chinese Virtuous Corporation

Since China opened herself up to the world in the late 70s, privately-owned companies of different trades began to emerge along side with the state-owned enterprises. Among these successful private enterprises, a few have distinguished themselves from the rest by their distinct corporate cultures. Despite an increasing number of research on private enterprises in China, little has been done to unveil the ethical aspects of their corporate cultures. This paper attempts to fill the gap. This paper focuses on one company named the Weizhi Group in Xian. The Weizhi culture is indeed the basis of a company which I refer to as "virtuous corporation". An empirical survey on the values and perceptions of the employees of Weizhi Group was conducted to probe the values and perceptions of business ethics of its employees.     

Multibank holding company activity and local market structure: Some implications for intra- and interstate banking

This paper presents new evidence on the effects of multibank holding companies on the structure of local commercial bank markets for deposits. A distinguishing feature of this study is the use of pooled cross-section and time-series data. It is concluded that multibank holding company activity has had a procompetitive effect on the local banking markets in the sample. This finding, which is quite robust under alternative model specifications, has important implications for state and federal policy toward this organizational form and toward intra- and interstate banking.