Ownership influences on corporate social responsibility in the Indian context

The empirical evidence from the extant literature has been equivocal regarding the influence exerted by different ownership types on corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially in developing countries such as India characterized by institutional voids. We use a longitudinal panel dataset of 500 large Indian companies to test a model of corporate ownership forms as key determinants of CSR engagement in India. Based on neo-institutional theory, our model of CSR determinants investigates the roles of three salient aspects of ownership namely multinational ownership/affiliation, state ownership and family ownership and control, after controlling for the influence of firm size, firm age, leverage, the availability of slack resources, profitability and various governance attributes. Our ordered logit regressions indicate strong support for the role of multinational ownership and family control and management in promoting higher levels of CSR engagement. Contrary to expectations, public sector ownership appeared to negatively impact CSR engagement. We offer our conjectures on this anomalous finding and the research possibilities it opens up.     

Consumer satisfaction in retail stores: theory and implications

The substitution of small retail stores by the large stores has been a topic of debate among academics, practitioners, retailers and general public, especially in the context of foreign firms entering emerging markets such as China and India. The purpose of this research is to find out the determinants of consumer satisfaction in small and large retail stores in an emerging market, with a sample from India. Data were collected using a 39‐item structured questionnaire developed by the authors. The sample consists of 225 consumers who shop at retail outlets (Convenience sample of 125 consumers from small and 100 consumers from large stores respectively). Exploratory factor analysis grouped the 39 variables into 14 factors. Further, regression analysis revealed that six of the factors (Social desirability, staff friendliness, shopping economy, shopping ambience, family shopping and deal proneness) were major predictors of consumer satisfaction as they were found to be significant at 5% level. The significance of factors such as social desirability and staff friendliness imply that many consumers prefer those typical features of small stores, which in turn results in the likely coexistence of small retail formats in spite of the entry and proliferation of large retail stores from different countries. We posit three theoretical propositions to stimulate further research in this area.     

Economic Integration and Union Power

The standard utility-maximizing model of the trade union in a closed economy is reformulated for an environment where economic integration is under way or expected to occur soon. In the (European) realistic setting of union-dominated labor markets, domestic wages are shown to be affected by labor market developments abroad. This article provides an explanation of the international transmission of inflation and disinflation     

Oil price increases and the structure of small open economies

Zusammenfassung ?lpreiserh?hungen und die Struktur kleiner offener Volkswirtschaften. - Auf der Grundlage von Simulationen des Anpassungsprozesses nach dem zweiten ?lpreisschock in vier OECD-L?ndern wird ein internationaler Vergleich angestellt. Dabei zeigt sich, da▾ die Strukturunterschiede hinsichtlich der ?labh?ngigkeit, der Arbeitsintensit?t der Produktion, der technologischen Disparit?ten zwischen den Sektoren und der Zusammensetzung des Konsumgüterbündels dazu führen, da▾ die Auswirkungen auf Besch?ftigung und Produktion von Land zu Land unterschiedlich sind. Die positiven Wirkungen von Reallohnsenkungen sind ebenfalls von Land zu Land verschieden stark. Ein verh?ltnism?▾ig kleiner ?ffentlicher Sektor erweist sich als ein Vorteil bei der Bew?ltigung von ?lpreisschocks.

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Résumé Accroissements de prix pétrolier et la structure des économies petites et ouvertes. - L’auteur fait une comparaison internationale qui se base sur des simulations du processus d’ajustement dans quatre pays OCDE après le deuxième choc de prix pétrolier. Il est démontré que des différences en structure comme ceux en dépendance pétrolière, intensité de main d’∄uvre dans la production, disparités technologiques entre des secteurs aussi bien que les différences dans la composition de la consommation - sont responsables des différences entre des pays concernant les effets sur l’emploi et la production. Les effets positifs des réductions de salaire réel diffèrent aussi en intensité entre des pays. Un secteur publique relativement petit est regardé comme avantage pour résoudre les problèmes après des chocs de prix pétrolier.

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Resumen Alzas del precio del petróleo y la estructura de peque?as economías abiertas. - Se lleva a cabo una comparación internacional basada en simulaciones del proceso de ajuste en cuatro países de la OECD depués del segundo shock del petróleo. Se demuestra que diferencias en la estructura, como el grado de dependencia del petróleo, la intensidad de trabajo de la producción, las disparidades tecnológicas entre los sectores y la composición de la canasta de consumo tienen efectos sobre el empleo y el producto que se diferencian internacionalmente. Los efectos positivos de una reducción del nivel del salario real también varían internacionalmente en cuanto a su intensidad. Un sector público relativamente peque?o resulta favorable para enfrentar a los shocks de precio del petróleo.

     

Public service announcements: A literature review and way forward

This paper presents a literature review of public service announcements (PSAs). Using the SPAR-4-SLR protocol, we uncover 119 articles on PSAs in the domains of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the environment, health, finance, safety, and security. The literature review reveals that PSA makers may elicit empathy during their appeal and also juxtapose PSAs with narratives. Further, they may consider using fear, humour, and nurturance appeals. We cull the key takeaways from each domain and identify commonalities and differences across the domains. In addition, we offer strategies to make PSAs effective. PSA makers may run more PSAs, use targeted appeals, and use fewer celebrity appeals. The paper also identifies gaps in the literature and outlines future research directions.     

Demarketing for sustainability: A review and future research agenda

In the context of emerging sustainability challenges, demarketing has continued to draw the attention of academicians and practitioners globally over the past few years. It is interesting to note that demarketing is as old as marketing itself, yet its application and scope have grown from the past two decades only. Kotler and Levy, (1971) has defined demarketing as “that aspect of marketing which deals with discouraging customers in general or a certain class of customers in particular on a temporary or permanent basis”. This systematic literature review attempts to enrich the discussion on demarketing research through a systematic and comprehensive review of 64 articles published between 2000 and 2022. Using TCCM framework, we present relevant theories, research contexts, study characteristics, and methodologies used in demarketing research. Our review (1) Presents a systematic and comprehensive overview of the research in demarketing over the last two decades (2) Examines studies in demarketing within the framework of ‘triple bottom line’ approach for sustainability (3) Suggests a suitable definition of demarketing considering its exorbitant application within the sustainability context (4) Identify gaps and sets agenda for future research. Our systematic literature review found that research in demarketing has been growing considerably over the past two decades, twice as much in the last decade compared to the previous decade with spill-over to new sectors. The literature review, through the lens of ‘triple bottom line’ approach, is able to establish that demarketing can be employed to effectively address the sustainability challenges encountered by policymakers and practitioners.