Leadership for Sustainability: An Evolution of Leadership Ability

This article examines the existing confusion over the multiple leadership styles related to successful implementation of corporate social responsibility/sustainability in organisations. The researchers find that the problem is the complex nature of sustainability itself. We posit that organisations are complex adaptive systems operating within wider complex adaptive systems, making the problem of interpreting just in what way an organisation is to be sustainable, an extraordinary demand on leaders. Hence, leadership for sustainability requires leaders of extraordinary abilities. These are leaders who can read and predict through complexity, think through complex problems, engage groups in dynamic adaptive organisational change and have the emotional intelligence to adaptively engage with their own emotions associated with complex problem solving. Leaders and leadership is a key interpreter of how sustainability of the organisation ‘links’ to the wider systems in which the organisation sits, and executing that link well requires unusual leaders and leadership systems.     

An Exploratory Study of the Critical Success Factors of One-to-One Web-Marketing: User Perspectives

ABSTRACT

Dell provides personalized marketing services through the Internet (Fischer et al., 2000). This type of application of the Internet is referred to as One-to-One Web-marketing. A review of the current literature relevant to information management and marketing revealed that, relative to other topics, research into this area is lacking. This study addresses this by exploring the Critical Success Factors (CSF) of One- to-One Web-marketing from the user's perspective. It employed a triangulation method of integrating qualitative and quantitative designs in a three-stage research process. The research results revealed that there are five Critical Success Factors of One-to-One Web-marketing from the user perspectives: (1) the satisfaction of customer requirements, (2) the identification of customer differentiation, (3) the design of a quality user interface, (4) the establishment of customer recognition, and (5) the provision of customized services.     

Confucian and Taoist Work Values: An Exploratory Study of the Chinese Transformational Leadership Behavior

When it comes to Chinese transformational leadership behavior, the focus seems to be Confucian work value; nonetheless, it represents only one of the Chinese traditions. In order to have a better understanding the relationship between Chinese traditional values and transformational leadership behavior, Taoist work value should also be taken into consideration. Thus, this study firstly develops Confucian and Taoist work value scale (study 1) and then applies this scale to examine its relationship with transformational leadership (study 2). The results show that while Confucian work value is the most consistent predictor of core transformational leader behavior and high-performance expectations, Taoist work value is the most consistent predictor of intellectual stimulation.     

Strategic Leadership of Corporate Sustainability

Strategic leadership and corporate sustainability have recently come together in conspicuously explicit fashion through the emergence of top management team (TMT) positions with dedicated corporate sustainability responsibilities. These TMT positions, commonly referred to as “Chief Sustainability Officers,” have found their way into the upper echelons of many of the world’s largest corporations alongside more traditional TMT positions including the CEO and CFO. We explore this phenomenon and consider the following two questions: Why are corporate sustainability positions being installed to the TMT? What effects do corporate sustainability TMT positions have at their organizations? We consider these questions through strategic leadership and neoinstitutional theoretical frameworks. Through the latter, we also engage with Weberian considerations of bureaucracy. We find that the reasons why corporate sustainability TMT positions are installed can be in response to a crisis at the corporation for which its legitimacy is challenged. We also find the corporate sustainability TMT position can be installed proactively in an effort to realize external opportunities that may have otherwise gone unrealized without concerted attention and coordination afforded by a strategic level position. Regarding effects, we determine the position can relate to the establishment of bureaucratic structures dedicated to corporate sustainability within the corporation through which formalized processes and key performance indicators to drive corporate sustainability performances are established. In the face of our finding that many corporate sustainability TMT positions are being removed despite having only relatively recently been introduced to their respective TMTs, we find that the successful implementation of bureaucratic machinery can help considerations to sustainability extend beyond the tenure of a corporate sustainability position within the TMT.     

品牌社群形成机理模型初探

品牌社群是当前西方品牌理论研究的新课题,现有文献在诠释品牌社群形成问题上尚存在不足。本文以顾客让渡价值、顾客满意度、顾客忠诚度作为理论基础,提出一个品牌社群形成机理模型,用以描述顾客加入和支持品牌社群的过程,该模型对品牌社群经营有着重要的营销启示,文章最后指出了本研究局限性及今后研究方向。     

Leadership Dynamics in Partially Distributed Teams: an Exploratory Study of the Effects of Configuration and Distance

Despite the importance of leadership and the wealth of empirical studies focused on leadership effectiveness in traditional and computer-supported groups, there is little research examining leadership dynamics in partially distributed virtual teams (PDTs). Virtual teams are partially distributed when they are configured with one or more subgroups of collocated members and isolated members. This paper lays the groundwork for an in-depth study of leadership in PDTs that can be extended to other types of virtual team configurations. Using three dimensions of virtual distance (geographic, cultural and temporal), we analyze how the configuration of virtual teams interacts with leadership dynamics. We also summarize the results of an exploratory study using 12 student teams to examine the effects of distance and configuration on leadership in PDTs. Findings show significant differences in leadership dynamics (i.e., leader emergence vs. leader retention) which impacted team performance. From these results, we develop propositions on leadership and PDTs.     

Corporate Perspectives on the Development and Use of Sustainability Reports

The purpose of this paper is to explore corporate perspectives on the development and use of sustainability reports. Interviews with experts from 35 Canadian corporations were conducted. The research showed that the content of the reports was determined by following standards, conducting an internal evaluation, and other methods. Five corporations were found to develop fully integrated reports, while another 15 included some sustainability aspects in their annual reports. The extent of external stakeholder involvement in the development of the report varied widely, but the majority of the corporations considered stakeholder input. Data collection was handled by a number of different individuals and groups, with sustainability departments often taking a lead role. Twenty-five corporations relied exclusively on internal personnel to write the report, with the remaining corporations using a combination of internal and external writers. A number of key challenges in developing sustainability reports were identified, including timelines, data collection, selecting content, and striking an appropriate balance in reporting. The reports were used internally in a number of different ways, including enhancing employee awareness and engagement and as an internal reference tool. A number of potential future uses of sustainability reports were also mentioned, such as improving the ability to track real-time performance.     

An Exploratory Study into the Factors Impeding Ethical Consumption

Although consumers are increasingly engaged with ethical factors when forming opinions about products and making purchase decisions, recent studies have highlighted significant differences between consumers’ intentions to consume ethically, and their actual purchase behaviour. This article contributes to an understanding of this ‘Ethical Purchasing Gap’ through a review of existing literature, and the inductive analysis of focus group discussions. A model is suggested which includes exogenous variables such as moral maturity and age which have been well covered in the literature, together with further impeding factors identified from the focus group discussions. For some consumers, inertia in purchasing behaviour was such that the decision-making process was devoid of ethical considerations. Several consumers manifested their ethical views through post-purchase dissonance and retrospective feelings of guilt. Others displayed a reluctance to consume ethically due to personal constraints, a perceived negative impact on image or quality, or an outright negation of responsibility. Those who expressed a desire to consume ethically often seemed deterred by cynicism, which caused them to question the impact they, as an individual, could achieve. These findings enhance the understanding of ethical consumption decisions and provide a platform for future research in this area.     

米厂节能浅探

通过对两种工艺的对比分析,得出现在米厂高能耗的原因,然后从工艺设计、设备选择和生产管理等方面提出节能降耗的方法.     

Signaling Sustainability Leadership: Empirical Evidence of the Value of DJSI Membership

We explore the relationship between corporate sustainability, reputation, and firm value by asking whether signaling sustainability leadership through membership on a recognized sustainability index is value generating. Increasingly, stakeholders are demanding that firms demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. One signal that companies can send to stakeholders to indicate that they are sustainability leaders is membership on a recognized “best in class” sustainability index. This article explores both the short-term and the intermediary impact on North American firms of being included or removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI). Our results provide evidence that being added to the DJSI results in a sustained increase in a firm’s share price, suggesting that the benefits of being included on the DJSI outweigh the costs associated with applying. This article also notes a temporary decrease in the value of firms for the first 10 days after their removal from the DJSI; however, this effect is eliminated within the next ten trading days.     

An Exploratory Study of Regulatory Failure in the Australian Home Mortgage Market

Regulators have long been interested in protecting consumers borrowing for a home as it is likely the single greatest financial obligation they will undertake. In this paper we examine the approach taken in Australia to mandating the disclosure of simple comparison data to reduce the complexity involved in the home loan decision. This article highlights that while the form of the legislated disclosure significantly improves decision accuracy, the failure of the regulator to account for the consumer's purchase behavior and lenders' motivations has undermined its effectiveness. We provide a number of recommendations for how to rectify these failings, principally that regulators need to consider the role of borrower information search and lender motivation as part of any regulatory reform.     

Materialism and Consumer Ethics: An Exploratory Study

As the issue of marketing's social responsibility grows in significance, the topic of materialism surfaces. While many marketing efforts encourage materialism, the materialism that is encouraged may have negative societal effects. An understanding of the effects of materialism on individuals, families, society, etc., is important in evaluating whether or not it is socially irresponsible for marketers to encourage materialism. However, the adequate empirical work has not yet been done on the overall effects of materialism. The current paper asks and addresses one important empirical question in this area. Do consumers who are more materialistic have different ethical standards than those who are not? Empirical evidence is presented which would indicate that materialism is negatively correlated with people's higher ethical standards as consumers. The implications for this in understanding social responsibility are discussed.     

The Cultural Roots of Guanxi: An Exploratory Study

This paper first describes the cultural roots and characteristics of guanxi in Chinese society. It then goes on to test some propositions about the perceived relationship between these characteristics and (i) Hofstede's conceptualisation of collectivism and power distance and (ii) the content and quality of formal institutions. The sampling frame used consisted of three groups of students –viz. Chinese Singaporeans, Non‐Chinese Singaporeans and Mainland Chinese, studying in tertiary institutions in Singapore. Our findings suggest that, while the perceptions of guanxi were positively and significantly related to Hofstede's culturally related variables, this was not so in the case of formal institutions. This latter result suggests that, in East Asian countries, guanxi may well be regarded as, at least, a partial substitute for formal institutions.     

The Ethics of In-company Research: An Exploratory Study

This paper seeks to advance ethical practice in business and integrate ethics with management curricula. It focuses on the ethical dimensions of in-company research conducted by human resource practitioners who are part time students on a postgraduate research degree award (M.Sc. in HRM). These dual roles of academic researcher in HRM and HR practitioner can become blurred and present particular ethical considerations. Beyond ethical perspectives of HRM, the paper investigates the ethics of in-company research in terms of conceptual and operational factors. The main conclusion is that ethical guidelines need to be developed for M.Sc. in HRM students. Draft guidelines are offered as the basis for development.     

Health Care Entrepreneurship in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: An Exploratory Study

In this empirical study, the authors explore entrepreneurship in the health care business in the Eastern Kasai Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) using cross-cultural literature and the resource-based view to ground its analyses. The data were collected using a questionnaire targeted toward the health care entrepreneurs in Mbuji Mayi, the capital city of the Eastern Kasai Province in July 2010, which yielded 68 responses. The results indicated that the entrepreneurs were predominantly middle-aged Congolese men with backgrounds in the health services field who had raised their startup capital mostly from personal savings or friends and family. Their businesses, which were mostly in the form of sole proprietorships, were likely to be located in areas underserved by public medical facilities and usually provided both curative and preventative medical services.     

Religious Influences on Shopping Behaviour: An Exploratory Study

The significance of religious value systems has long been recognized in sociology and psychology but is not yet fully acknowledged in consumer research. Studies in the marketing literature suggest that religion is a key element of culture, influencing both behaviour and purchasing decisions. This paper examines the influence of religion on consumer choice and is based on the proposition that adherence to a particular religious faith significantly influences shopping behaviour. Using the purchase of a television as the basis, the research examines the contrasting shopping behaviour of Hindus, Muslims and Catholics. The results suggest that religious affiliation should be included in future cross-cultural research and that there is considerable potential for extending research into the influence of religious affiliation on consumer behaviour.     

Consumer Adoption of Mobile Internet Services: An Exploratory Study

This study provides a framework that captures the antecedents of mobile internet adoption and the willingness to pay for such service. The theory of reasoned action and components of a theory of innovation adoption were integrated into a research model of consumer adoption of the mobile internet. The hypothesized model included service quality perceptions (fixed internet and mobile technology service), beliefs about mobile internet, and individual difference variables to explain intention to adopt mobile internet. An online questionnaire was used to gather data. The results showed that beliefs and quality perceptions play a significant role in influencing intentions to adopt mobile internet. In particular, beliefs about mobile internet are positively related to the adoption; quality perceptions of fixed internet are found significant to negatively influence adoption intentions, but positively relate to willingness to pay for using mobile internet. Mobile service usage, and peer influence are found non-significant to influence adoption intentions. Fixed internet usage was found negatively affect adoption intentions. Computer skills, knowledge of mobile internet and career mobility are all found positively related to the adoption. In addition, innovation driven consumers are more likely to adopt mobile internet, and intention to adopt plays an important role in shaping actual mobile internet use. Implications of results and directions for future research are examined.