An Examination of the Structure of Executive Compensation and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Canadian Investigation

We explore the extent to which Boards use executive compensation to incite firms to act in accordance with social and environmental objectives (e.g., Johnson, R. and D. Greening: 1999, Academy of Management Journal 42(5), 564–578 ; Kane, E. J.: 2002, Journal of Banking and Finance 26, 1919–1933.). We examine the association between executive compensation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) for 77 Canadian firms using three key components of executives’ compensation structure: salary, bonus, and stock options. Similar to prior research (McGuire, J., S. Dow and K. Argheyd: 2003, Journal of Business Ethics 45(4), 341–359), we measure three different aspects of CSR, which include Total CSR as well as CSR Strengths and CSR Weaknesses. CSR Strengths and CSR Weaknesses capture the positive and negative aspects of CSR, respectively. We find significant positive relationships between: (1) Salary and CSR Weaknesses, (2) Bonus and CSR Strengths, (3) Stock Options and Total CSR; and (4) Stock Options and CSR Strengths. Our findings suggest the importance of the structure of executive compensation in encouraging socially responsible actions, particularly for larger Canadian firms. This in turn suggests that executive compensation can be an effective tool in aligning executives’ welfare with that of the “common good”, which results in more socially responsible firms (Bebchuk, L., J. Fried and D. Walker: 2002, The University of Chicago Law Review 69, 751–846; Zalewski, D.: 2003, Journal of Economic Issues 37(2), 503–509). In addition, our findings suggest the importance of institutional context in influencing the association between executive compensation and CSR. Further implications for practice and research are discussed.Lois. Mahoney is an Assistant Professor at Eastern Michigan University. Her research is focused in the areas of ethics and accounting information systems. She has published in ethics and accounting journals including Journal of Business Ethics, Business Ethics Quarterly, Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting, Information and Organization. Dr. Mahoney has received several research awards, including Best Paper award at the Seventh Symposium on Ethics Research in Accounting. Dr. Mahoney is also actively involved in the American Accounting Association.Linda Thorn is an Associate Professor at York University in Toronto Ontario. Her research focuses on ethical decision making, the ethics of accountants and accounting students and ethical aspects of accounting information. She has published in ethics and accounting journal including among others, Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, Contemporary Accounting Research, Behavioral Research in Accounting and Audit: A Journal of Practice in Theory.     

The Corporate Social Responsibility of Pharmaceutical Product Recalls: An Empirical Examination of U.S. and U.K. Markets

The pressure on companies to practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained momentum in recent times as a means of sustaining competitive advantage in business. The pharmaceutical industry has been acutely affected by this trend. While pharmaceutical product recalls have become rampant and increased dramatically in recent years, no comprehensive study has been conducted to study the effects of announcements of recalls on the shareholder returns of pharmaceutical companies. As product recalls could significantly damage a company’s reputation, profitability and brand integrity, this paper investigates the effect on shareholder wealth and the extent to which the adoption of CSR practices by pharmaceutical companies in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.), the two largest markets for pharmaceutical products in the world, affected market reactions surrounding product recall announcements. The analysis of product recall announcements from 1998 to 2004 compiled from The Pharmaceutical Journal and U.S. Food and Drug Administration enforcement reports revealed marked differences in the way market participants in the two countries responded to news of product recalls. U.S. investors penalised firms according to the severity of product defects while U.K. investors were indifferent. While U.K. investors rewarded product recalls by firms which were not usually CSR-active, U.S. investors punished non-CSR active firms that performed recalls. These observations could pose strategic challenges to pharmaceutical firms operating in both countries. Jeremy Cheah is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Nottingham University Business School, Malaysia Campus. His research interests lie in the area of applied corporate finance and investment management. Wen Li Chan was an Advocate and Solicitor in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before assuming the post of University Teacher in Information Systems and Strategy at Nottingham University Business School, Malaysia Campus. She is currently investigating the roles and implications of information on firm valuation, particularly in the area of corporate cyber-litigation and corporate social responsibility. Corinne Chieng is a Corporate Executive at Star Publications (M) Berhad, Malaysia. She has previously worked as a tax consultant at Arthur Andersen Malaysia. Her research interests include the financial implications of corporate social responsibility on the valuation of firms.     

一损俱损：食品安全、企业的社会责任及市场反应--以“塑化剂”事件为例

本文以酒鬼酒“塑化剂”事件为案例,运用事件研究和双重差分的方法,研究该食品安全事件对酒鬼酒及白酒行业带来的影响。结果表明：事件日后20天内酒鬼酒的累计异常收益平均下降了30％,证券市场发挥了“用脚投票”的功能,对肇事企业起到惩罚作用;此外,酒鬼酒“塑化剂”事件对整个白酒行业带来的“传染效应”大于“竞争效应”,平均意义上“塑化剂”事件使得白酒类企业的累计异常收益下降了6％,说明食品安全问题会带来一损俱损现象。     

Developing Social Responsibility: Biotechnology and the Case of DuPont in Brazil

The development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has caused worldwide debate and has required us to reevaluate theories of social responsibility. This article, first, briefly discusses the progressive stages of social responsibility that scholars have outlined as they examine the history of businesses. Next an overview of the development of the DuPont corporation in the United States is presented, tracing DuPont’s transformation from an explosives and chemicals company into a life-science corporation and demonstrating how outside factors influenced this change. The article then turns to the activities of the DuPont corporation in Brazil, a country with one of the world’s largest agricultural economies – and examines how the debate on GMOs is unfolding within the Brazilian context. It discusses how differing interest groups have taken part in this debate, the limits of their arguments, and the need to develop means for providing open collaborative efforts in evaluating new technologies. Margaret Griesse holds a Ph.D. in Education and International Development from the University of Frankfurt. She is currently Coordinator of the Martha Watts Cultural Center at the Methodist University of Piracicaba, Brazil.     

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.     

关于中外产品责任法中农产品问题的思考

由于各国立法宗旨的不同以及对消费者保护的政策等具体国情的差异,各个国家对产品责任法中产品范围的规定各不相同,其中对农产品是否可以适用产品责任法分歧较大.文章在比较分析的基础上指出,根据我国的国情,应将农产品纳入产品责任法律制度,对农产品缺陷的侵权责任实行严格责任与过错责任结合的归责原则,以确保农产品生产安全.     

The Robustness of Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand Loyalty Relation: A Meta-Analytic Examination

Abstract

It is largely believed that genuine corporate efforts to embrace social responsibilities stimulate customers to respond positively to such corporations. However, empirical research about the robustness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and brand loyalty (BL) yields inconsistent findings. Therefore, we aggregated the results of 43 citations consisting of 28495 observations by means of meta-analysis to examine the robustness of the CSR-BL relationship. The findings of our research revealed that the overall effect size of the CSR and brand loyalty relationship is positive and yields a medium effect size. Furthermore, such a relationship was moderated by several contextual factors. We conclude with a theoretical contribution, managerial implications, limitations, and suggestions for future studies     

Professional Ethical Standards,Corporate Social Responsibility,and the Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility

This study explored several proposed relationships among professional ethical standards, corporate social responsibility, and the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility. Data were collected from 313 business managers registered with a large professional research association with a mailed self-report questionnaire. Mediated regression analysis indicated that perceptions of corporate social responsibility partially mediated the positive relationship between perceived professional ethical standards and the believed importance of ethics and social responsibility. Perceptions of corporate social responsibility also fully mediated the negative relationship between perceived professional ethical standards and the subordination of ethics and social responsibility. The results suggested that professions should develop ethical standards to encourage social responsibility, since these actions are associated with enhanced employee ethical attitudes. Sean Valentine (D.B.A., Louisiana Tech University) is an Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business at the University of Wyoming. His research interests include ethical decision making, organizational culture, and job attitudes. His research has appeared in journals such as Human Relations, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, and Journal of Business Research. Gary Fleischman (Ph.D., Texas Tech University) is an Associate Professor of Accounting and the McGee Hearne and Paiz Faculty Scholar in Accounting at the University of Wyoming. His teaching expertise is in accounting and entrepreneurship, and his research interests are in business ethics and behavioral business research. He has published in journals such as Behavioral Research in Accounting, The International Journal of Accounting, and Journal of Business Ethics.     

Product liability and product safety-complementary approaches to consumer safety. Some observations of the situation in the EEA

Abstract

In this paper the author asserts that product liability and product safety are complementary instruments to achieve a safer environment for consumers. Whereas legislation on product liability has a remedying function, legislation on product safety has a preventive one. The present situation in the EEA countries as regards the implementation of the Council Directives on Product Liability and Product Safety is summarized as well as the basic content of the Directives. It seems that almost all EEA countries have implemented the Liability Directive. The EFTA countries probably have-in comparison with the EU countries-to some extent a more positive implementation approach. It is too premature to foresee how the EEA countries will implement the Product Safety Directive of June 29, 1994. However, for many years most West European countries have had rules regulating product safety. The product safety policy in the EEA countries has been enhanced by co-operation within the OECD, the EU and the EFTA. Market control co-ordination will be an important part of the EEA efforts in the future to increase safety for consumers.     

自我实现预言效应预期、责任与持续经营审计判断--一项实验研究

本文基于默里的人格理论,利用信念调整模型,通过实验和统计方法研究自我实现预言效应预期这一内在自发性动机、责任压力这一外在引致性动机及其交互作用对持续经营审计判断的影响。研究发现,自我实现预言效应预期导致审计师在持续经营审计判断任务中赋予肯定性证据更多的权重,潜在影响其对公司持续经营能力的判断;而责任压力使得审计师的判断过程更加谨慎、中立,更多地考虑否定性证据,能有效抑制自我实现预言效应对审计判断的不利影响。     

荣氏家族企业的诚信理念、社会责任及启示

诚信和社会责任是现代企业在建设和谐社会进程中必须遵循的基本原则,同时也是现代企业持续经营的核心竞争力。现代企业的竞争已经超越了资金、技术等硬实力范畴,更表现为企业文化软实力范畴的竞争。文章通过研究荣氏家族企业以诚信理念和社会责任为核心的企业文化及其特点、影响因素,希望对现代企业,尤其是我国民营企业的企业文化建设有所启示。文章强调现代企业要在市场竞争中持续健康地发展,建设积极的企业文化不可缺少。同时,积极的企业文化必须符合中国社会伦理道德和现代市场经济商业文明的基本规则。     

The Pragmatic and Ethical Barriers to Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: The Nike Case

Numerous studies have documented the demand for information regarding corporations’ relationships to society. Much recent research has demonstrated why stakeholders need this information, and how it benefits both companies and the public. These studies suggest numerous methods by which companies can effectively disclose corporate social responsibility (CSR) information to the public, but in practice, reporting this type of information is fraught with legal and ethical uncertainty often unexplored in most literature. This article represents a fresh analysis of the numerous pragmatic consequences and legal and ethical complications inherent in CSR reporting, using Nike Corporation as a case example. The article discusses the theoretical viewpoints surrounding the ethics of CSR disclosure, and presents the case of Nike and the complications it encountered while advertising CSR information. The article ends with an analysis of CSR auditing as a possible solution to companies seeking to improve the method and transparency of social responsibility reporting.     

An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility,Corporate Identity and Ethics Teaching in Business Schools

Recent events have raised concerns about the ethical standards of public and private organisations, with some attention falling on business schools as providers of education and training to managers and senior␣executives. This paper investigates the nature of, motivation and commitment to, ethics tuition provided by the business schools. Using content analysis of their institutional and home websites, we appraise their corporate identity, level of engagement in socially responsible programmes, degree of social inclusion, and the relationship to their ethics teaching. Based on published research, a schema is developed with corporate identity forming an integral part, to represent the macro-environment, parent institution, the business school and their relationships to ethics education provision. This is validated by our findings. Dr. Nelarine Cornelius, Reader in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour, Brunel Business School, Brunel University, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is also a Chartered Psychologist and is Director of both the Centre for Research in Emotion Work and the Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour Research Group at Brunel University. Dr. James Wallace, Lecturer in Quantitative Methods, School of Management, University of Bradford, is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. He has considerable experience of statistical and mathematical modelling gained over several years in the UK utilities sector and in H.E. His current research interests include, applying statistical and mathematical modelling approaches to Technological, Operational and General Management problems. Dr. Rana Tassabehji, Lecturer in Information Systems and E-business, School of Management, University of Bradford, is a member of the British Academy of Management and the UK Academy for Information Systems. She worked as an international business consultant and as a consultant in the UK IT sector and is currently an academic member of the eGISE eGovernment network. Her research interests include ethics and e-business, Internet security and e-government.     

生产者责任延伸制度实施方式选择的市场效应——基于企业层面的经济学分析

生产者责任延伸制度的执行是多层次的。从企业层面上来说,其执行的方式分为共用产品回收体系和专用产品回收体系两种,企业可以根据其自身的实际情况选择不同的产品回收体系。而不同的产品回收体系对市场的影响,可能是正面的,也可能是负面的。如何使这两种产品回收体系的优势能各得其所,充分发挥,必须要有政府层面的全面评估和相关的配套法规和制度。     

自由意志、行为选择与道德责任

在一个行为中,行为主体的意志自由、行为选择及道德责任存在着内关联性。通常来说,行为主体是否需要承担道德责任与其自身的行为选择有关,而行为选择中行为主体的意志是否自由又是其作出选择的前提和要件。所以自由意志既是行为选择的前提,又是行为主体为自身的选择承担道德责任的逻辑依据。     

Corporate Social Responsibility Practices and Environmentally Responsible Behavior: The Case of The United Nations Global Compact

The aim of this paper is to shed some light on understanding why companies adopt environmentally responsible behavior and what impact this adoption has on their performance. This is an empirical study that focuses on the United Nations (UN) Global Compact (GC) initiative as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mechanism. A survey was conducted among GC participants, of which 29 responded. The survey relies on the anticipated and actual benefits noted by the participants in the GC. The results, while not conclusive, indicate that companies have more than one reason for adopting environmentally responsible behavior and that ethical and economic reasons co-exist. In terms of performance, the impact of participation in the GC seems to be particularly high in securing network opportunities and improved corporate image. The results indicate that companies that have participated many years in the GC, have submitted the most projects and have attended the most GC meetings also regard their CSR involvement as having had a strong, positive influence on their market performance. GC participation does not result in significant cost advantages, but this does not seem to have been regarded as a goal anyway. Costs seem to be affected to a␣large extent by existence of in-house research and␣development and the capability of developing environmentally sound technologies. Overall, the company receives both ethical and economic benefits from joining the GC. Dilek Cetindamar received her B.S. degree from Industrial Engineering Department at Bogazici University (BU), her MA degree from Economics Department at BU, and her Ph.D. degree from management Department at Istanbul Technical University in 1995. Before her appointment to the Faculty of Management at Sabanci University in 1999, she worked in the following universities: BU, Case Western Reserve University (USA), Portland state university (USA),and Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden). She has seven books, 15 book chapters, and 22 papers published in various international journals. She received an encouragement award from Turkish Science Academy in 2003. Her main interest and research topics are Technology Management, Development Economics and Entrepreneurship. Kristoffer Husoy has a Master of Arts in European Studies of Society, Science and Technology from the University of Oslo and a Master of Science in Engineering Cybernetics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Research interests are Corporate Social Responsibility, environmental, technology and human-computer interaction. He currently holds a scientist position at ABB Corporate Research in Oslo Norway.     

Emerging Market Footholds and Knowledge: An Examination of New Product Launch Performance

As developed markets become more saturated, managers increasingly recognize the value of emerging markets as venues for growth opportunities. Yet, launching products into these markets is extremely risky due to weak institutional environments (e.g., lack of physical infrastructure), making success more uncertain. To alleviate this challenge, theory points to using emerging market footholds that yield market-specific knowledge. However, it is unclear whether knowledge is realized and, if so, what facets of harvested knowledge are effective in driving performance. Accordingly, we used data collected from a survey of business professionals to examine emerging market footholds and market-specific knowledge (i.e., customer, competitor, and logistics knowledge). Our results show that the extent of market presence held by an emerging market foothold is positively associated with all types of knowledge, yet only competitor and logistics knowledge—not customer knowledge—is positively associated with product launch performance. A supplemental sample of new product launches in developed markets revealed the opposite results wherein customer knowledge was the only significant predictor. Viewed collectively, the results suggest a market maturity threshold wherein logistics and competitive knowledge becomes less influential in driving performance, and customer knowledge becomes more influential.     

中小民营企业国际化社会责任公关战略探讨——以温州哈杉为例的研究

国际化渐进理论认为,企业的国际化是一个逐步探索、渐进完成的过程。温州民营企业哈杉反规律而成功实现跳跃式成长,在全球金融危机背景下其成绩尤为亮眼,在进行成功归因分析中,其独特的社会责任公关战略成为其赢得利益相关者支持、顺利跨越文化障碍、有效化解各种危机的关键。     

Preventing drowning through design – the contribution of human factors

A number of routes can be followed towards the prevention of drowning, such as educating on water safety, installing barriers between non-intended users and water, mitigating the consequences of submersion incidents, and design. The human factor approach to safety is that design should always be the primary route. Human factors can be applied to the design of personal protective equipment such as buoyancy aids, barriers such as pool fencing, ancillary equipment such as swimming pool covers through to information and organisational factors such as safety signs and swimming campaigns. Design should consider all potential drowning scenarios and accommodate the characteristics of those at risk. A framework is presented with examples on how human factor principles can be applied to the design of potential drowning sites and products, with suggestions for methods and techniques that can be used in the key stages of predicting potential hazards and assessing risk.