Corporate environmental reputation: Exploring its definitional landscape

Despite its growing strategic importance, the concept of Corporate Environmental Reputation (CER) still lacks a specific definition and content delimitation in the literature. This fact, together with its difficult differentiation from other similar constructs, hides the key role of this construct in the connection between management and environmental studies and in the development of corporate environmental management strategies. To address this issue, in this research, we develop a literature review on CER conceptualisation, operationalisation and measurement, and analyse its main effects on firm competitiveness and performance drawing on the Institutional Theory and the resource‐based view. As a result, we propose a CER definition, highlighting its main characteristics and drivers and delimitating it in relation to closely related concepts such as green corporate image and corporate environmental legitimacy.     

Conveying conscientiousness: Exploring environmental images across servicescapes

The study explores how conscientiousness gets conveyed across servicescapes in two specific retail contexts: a supermarket and an organic food store, both of which claim an environmentally oriented branding strategy. Data collected from a qualitative approach and a photo elicitation technique consist of 20 semi-structured interviews with consumers of organic food products. The present study contributes to extant retailing literature by demonstrating that a conscientious corporate brand image requires long-term, comprehensive dedication by retailers. Moreover, this study contributes to research into retailer branding by uncovering a nostalgic dimension of conscientious branding, which in this setting means acknowledging the effects of the past.     

Social media adoption behaviour: Consumer innovativeness and participation intention

With the emergence of social media, the trends of selfies have become common across various social networking platforms as a distinctive way of self-presentation. It has aroused the interest of various scholars to comprehend the consumer adoption behaviour for social media. Thus, built on the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) perspective, this paper developed a model to empirically test whether and how critical factors of consumer selfie-posting behavioural intention on social media affect behavioural intention and word-of-mouth to consequently enhancing their adoption behaviour towards social media to post selfies. The data were gathered from 353 young consumers who post their selfies clicked via smartphone on their social media accounts. The results revealed that consumer innovativeness and participation intention directly and indirectly affect consumer adoption behaviour for social media to post their selfies. Additionally, the study identified that among all critical factors, participation intention and perceived behaviour control have strongest influence on behavioural intention to post selfies followed by consumer innovativeness, attitude towards selfie-posting and subjective norms. The study contributes to the extension of TPB by adding participation intention and positive WOM, adoption of social media. This research validated the significant roles of consumer innovativeness, participation intention, positive WOM and intention to post selfies in predicting the adoption behaviour. Practitioners and marketers of social media sites can improve the usability and effectiveness of positive WOM and intention to post selfies to attract more young consumers.     

Values influencing sustainable consumption behaviour: Exploring the contextual relationship

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a theoretical model that explains that the influence of personal values on sustainable consumption behaviour is moderated by the cultural and consumption context in which the relationship is studied. Data is collected using survey questionnaires, conducted both online and offline, with diverse set of population and total 526 responses are used for assessing validity and reliability by applying PLS based structural equation modelling. The paper identifies fresh set of value dimensions that drive sustainable consumption practices. It is further seen that attitude is more likely to moderate the relationship for internally oriented values than externally oriented values. Thus, the paper significantly extends the previous research on the relationship between values and sustainable consumption behaviour. The findings of this paper have significant contributions for practitioners who wish to sell sustainable products in different cultural contexts.     

Resident participation in a community-based garden/yard waste reclamation programme

Resident participation in a community-based garden/yard waste reclamation programme was investigated. A survey to determine if the participants in the programme exhibited traits as innovators was completed and the acceptance patterns of various aspects of the garden/yard waste reclamation programme were compared to established diffusion patterns for innovations. The results indicate that the diffusion of innovation theory can be used to describe resident participation in the programme evaluated in this study. Individuals with more education and higher incomes were more likely to participate than those with less education and lower incomes. The rate of adoption of the degradable bags at 27% was higher than the 16% projected by theory. However, rate of adoption of the degradable ties (11%) and reclamation products (11%) was somewhat lower. An effort to reduce the complexity of the issues surrounding the programme may increase the rate of adoption for all aspects of the programme.     

Pluralism in the mass media: Can management participation help?

Concentration and lack of plurality of media control is significant and appears to be increasing. The potential danger to a democracy of a lack of plurality of media control is serious. There are opportunities for greater plurality and freedom of expression through professional employee decision making partcipation. There are practical precedents for professional employee management participation in the media. Therefore, professional media employee management participation deserves to be seriously considered. Limitations of the principle are also considered.Richard P. Nielsen is Associate Professor at the School of Management, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass. Professor Nielsen publishes frequently in the areas of philosophical and social issues in management as well as strategy and consensus building.The author would like to thank Professor William Torbert of Boston College for his helpful criticism of this article.     

Towards sustainable consumption: an examination of environmental knowledge among Malaysians

Environmental problems are mainly attributable to the impact of humans on natural systems. In the case of Malaysia, rapid urbanization and Malaysian consumer’ pursuit of consumption‐oriented lifestyles have intensified the solid‐waste management problem faced by the government. Increasing public environmental awareness is a potential way of addressing this. The objectives of the study described here were to assess the level of environmental knowledge among households in Selangor in Malaysia, examine the sources of their environmental knowledge, determine factors that lead to different levels of knowledge and analyse the relationship between knowledge and environmental attitude, behaviour and participation. The results of the study indicate that, in general, respondents’ basic or general environmental knowledge was high. However, when questioned on various scientific environmental terms, the majority of the respondents were not familiar with most of them. Respondents indicated that their main sources of environmental knowledge and information were newspapers, television and radio. Lower levels of education were reflected in the level of environmental knowledge. Participation in environmental activities had a positive influence on knowledge. The study also found that knowledge correlated positively with environmental attitudes, behaviours and participation.     

Modelling household conservation behaviour among ethnic consumers: the path from values to behaviours

This article tests a model that explains household conservation behaviour among ethnic consumers. Increasing immigration into Western countries has raised serious questions about the extent to which emerging ethnic communities contribute to environmental degradation or sustainability in their host countries. Previous research focused mainly on measuring ethnic consumers' environmental attitudes, worldviews and concerns, assuming that these ultimately lead to pro‐environmental behaviours. However, these studies overlooked the reality in which pro‐environmental attitudes are not automatically being translated into corresponding behaviours. This study explores the relationship between a set of factors that drive pro‐environmental behaviour, proposing a hierarchical model that depicts a flow from values to household conservation behaviours (i.e. recycling, water, electricity and energy conservation) and the intervening cognitive, affective and psychological variables. Results from a sample of 410 American Hispanic students indicate that the cultural value of collectivism influences conservation behaviour through the more specific factors of environmental values, environmental concern, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) and concrete environmental knowledge. Interestingly, the influence of PCE was more apparent in routine, easy‐to‐perform behaviours such as water conservation and the behavioural aspect of electricity conservation. The influence of concrete environmental knowledge was more powerful in predicting recycling, the use of electricity‐efficient home appliances and energy conservation. Implications for the promotion of conservation behaviour and consumer education as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

Using response behaviour theory to solicit survey participation in consumer research: An empirical study

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to report on research that examines survey participation rates (i.e. response rates) for personal interview surveys where solicitation for participation is based on different theories of survey-response behaviour in two culturally distinct countries. Field experiments were designed to investigate the extent to which the theories of exchange, cognitive dissonance, self-perception, and involvement/commitment can influence potential respondents to participate in a personal interview survey in Australia and Hong Kong. The results show that there were significant differences in Australia with the theory of self-perception having the strongest impact on survey-response behaviour, while cognitive dissonance has the least impact. In contrast, the effects in Hong Kong were not significant. This study adds to the limited empirical research regarding why consumers participate in surveys, particularly personal interview surveys. The theories are applied at the self-introduction and invitation to participate, which is a crucial stage in the potential respondent's decision about participation.     

Reducing waste management challenges: Empirical assessment of waste sorting intention among corporate employees in Ghana

Waste sorting is seen as an effective and efficient step in annihilating the challenges of solid waste generation, promoting a circular economy, public health, and environmental sustainability. For total public acceptance and participation, it is crucial to understand what motivates and compels consumers to separate waste. Consequently, this study investigates corporate employees’ intention to sort waste in Ghana. The study augmented the theory of reasoned action with convenience, environmental consciousness, hedonic motivations, and awareness of benefits. 401 valid survey responses were statistically assessed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that the conceptual framework accounted for 65.4% of the variance. Attitude, subjective norm, environmental consciousness, awareness of benefits, convenience, and hedonic motivations were positive and significant toward waste sorting intention. Awareness of benefits influenced attitude but not convenience. Also, subjective norms positively and significantly influenced environmental consciousness and hedonic motivation. An ANOVA analysis confirmed the effect of gender, age and education on the inclination to sort waste. Hospitality and Educational sector employees had a higher inclination and intention to sort waste. The study advances literature and understanding on waste sorting among corporate employees and suggests practical solutions for ensuring total embrace and participation in sorting waste.     

Workers’ participation in management in the EC countries

In the last few years the whole area of workers’ participation in management has been much discussed in the countries of the European Community (EC). There are, essentially, two ways of participation, i.e. at shop-floor level where works councils are widespread — though in a variety of types — and at the company board level by representative systems involving workers’ participation in management decisions of a policy nature. The latter will be the main subject of this survey.     

Towards an integrative framework of conflict-handling behaviour: integrating Western and Chinese perspectives

Following in the footsteps of Frances Brew and the late Kwok Leung (1958–2015), we attempt to further integrate the Western dual-concern model of conflict and the Chinese dual-motive model of harmony. Our integrative framework of conflict-handling behaviour is designed to be more comprehensive in its coverage of conflict-handling styles than the integrative model developed by Brew in 2007, and more symmetric in its treatment of the Western and Chinese perspectives than the integrative model jointly developed by Leung and Brew in 2009. In developing our alternative integrative model, we try to take a further step in the process of universalization of an indigenous Chinese theory.     

Towards sustainable supply management: requisite governance and resilience capabilities

Sustainability entails avoiding net harm to natural or social systems while maintaining the buyer firm's economic performance over an extended time. Achieving this balance over the long term, however, may entail trade-offs. Existing literature falters at clarifying the roles of supply management (SM) in achieving effective trade-offs leading to a sustainable competitive advantage. This conceptual study aims to provide such clarification by exploring the necessary role of two contrasting aspects of SM resilience: engineering and ecological in making effective trade-offs. The proposed framework posits SM governance capabilities to determine SM engineering and ecological resilience and, ultimately, effective sustainability-related trade-offs. The study extends existing SM sustainability frameworks by introducing SM engineering and ecological resilience as the imperative of governance capabilities.     

Exploring talent management in India: The neglected role of intrinsic rewards

The challenge of global talent management is critical to firm success. Even with the global economic slowdown of 2008 and 2009, there are continuing challenges in attracting, managing, and retaining talent, especially in the developing regions of the world where economic activity has outpaced the availability of skilled employees. To examine this situation, we develop and test a model of talent management across 28 Indian firms involving 4811 professional-level employees. The intrinsic rewards experienced are a critical element in employee retention, satisfaction with the organization, and career success. We explored four antecedents of intrinsic rewards: the social responsibility of the employer, pride in the organization, manager support, and performance management (PM). We found support for the importance of intrinsic rewards as a mediating variable, as well as for the moderating role of certain hygiene factors. Our research suggests multinational, international, and national employers may have non-pecuniary mechanisms to promote retention and employee satisfaction, even in challenging labor market environments. We conclude by proposing implications for research and global HRM practices.     

Implementing diversity management in retailing: Exploring the role of organisational context

Abstract

Diversity management is a means of managing customer and employee differences for the benefit of the organisation. This qualitative study considers how contextual factors influence diversity management implementation in different retailing environments. Exploratory research was conducted in three SBUs of a UK retailing group: the UK high street SBU, the US operations and the online SBU. Despite different cultural, legal and historical differences between the UK and US, these factors did not lead to significantly different ways of dealing with diversity in the UK high street and US businesses. Instead the extent to which individual differences were recognised was influenced by the selling environment and the SBU's size and structure. The paper recommends that retailers need to develop a ‘home-grown’ approach to diversity management that acknowledges their organisational context.     

Energy-saving attitudes and the behaviour of women in the use of electrical household appliances in Turkey

In this study, 270 women with different levels of education were investigated to determine energy-saving attitudes and the behaviour of women in the use of electrical household appliances. Their attitudes were measured by Likert-type sentences, and their behaviour by evaluating their answers to 33 questions that were oriented to energy saving. The effects of variables on attitudes and behaviour, such as number of individuals in the family, education level of the woman, length of marriage, employment status, family income and the number of electrical appliances were determined by analysis of variance. Effects of family income, education level of women, employment status and the number of electrical appliances on positive attitude, and effects of educational level of woman and employment status on positive behaviour were both found to be significant (P < 0.05).     

Children's participation in household tasks as portrayed by national television advertisements in the U.S.A.

This paper provides a content analysis of portrayals of children's participation in household tasks in national television advertisements within the U.S.A. The analysis indicates that children are rarely shown working in the home, even when they could help. Furthermore, parents are shown routinely performing tasks children could have done for themselves. The resulting stereotypes are clearly drawn: children are shown to be non-productive and parents are portrayed as servants. Such portrayals may be counter-productive in the context of growing time pressures in the household and the potential benefits that families might realize by working together towards common goals.     

An environmental social marketing intervention among employees: assessing attitude and behaviour change

Abstract

The paper examines the impact of individual and organisational factors on two simultaneous environmental social marketing interventions (SmartPrint and heating/cooling) and types of behaviours (recycling, printing and heating/cooling), among employees of a British City Council. Using a quantitative methodology, in the form of a situated experiment, self-reported attitudes, perceptions of organisational support, self-reported behaviours and actual behaviours were measured before and after the interventions. The interventions generated significant changes in employees’ overall environmental behaviour, heating/cooling behaviour and in some perceptions of organisational support (support and incentives/rewards). Findings are used to detail recommendations for future campaigns aiming to improve organisations’ environmental performance and to drive enduring employee behavioural change.