The commons: A model for understanding collective action and entrepreneurship in communities

The creation of commons—resources that are shared, accessible, and collectively owned and managed by communities—is increasingly being adopted by social entrepreneurs as a way of contributing to community development and putting value into economic activities. Yet, little research is evident related to the entrepreneurial processes involved in the creation and commercialization of these shared resources. Drawing on the Institutional Analysis and Development framework developed by Ostrom (2005), I explain how commons are entrepreneurially created. Based on a comparative study of five community banks in Brazil, I derive two ideological principles of collective entrepreneurship that help sustain commercialization of commons without commodification, namely ‘self-organization’ and ‘right to access’. I elucidate how these principles are enacted across venture levels through downward and upward mechanisms of social control facilitated by entrepreneurs who enhance collective action. This article contributes to the entrepreneurship theory of commons by explaining how commons are entrepreneurially created and by adding the collective entrepreneurship principles and mechanisms that commons of different types need in order to achieve and sustain wealth-creation options without incurring the downsides of commodification.     

Social Responsibility and the Utilities

This paper examines recent developments in U.K. utility regulation from a business ethics perspective. The regulatory framework that facilitated privatisation of the utility companies has foundations based upon free market principles involving a transfer from regulation to competitive markets wherever possible. Where competition is not feasible, continuing economic regulation is relied upon, designed to mirror the competitive market to induce, through comparative competition and the price capping mechanism, incentives for greater efficiency. The New Labour Government, having fundamentally reviewed this framework when it came to office, has surprisingly endorsed its basic tenets. However, it wishes to superimpose social responsibility regulations designed to achieve social policy rather than economic objectives. This interventionist approach is in itself in conflict with the free market inspired regulatory framework but additionally, the imposition of social policy objectives creates fundamental ambiguities within the framework for the key stakeholders. The paper concludes that the Government's policy, by eliciting stakeholder confusion and perverse behaviour, could be counter-productive but that ethical theories and frameworks can contribute to thinking in this vital area of the economy.     

Putting Responsible Finance to Work for Citi Microfinance

This paper develops an ethical framework for responsible finance and then applies it to Citigroup (Citi), a major financial actor in the microfinance sector, to see whether it meets with such obligations. The framework consists of two categories of responsibility. The first category is the special social responsibility of financial institutions; and the second is the fundamental principles of ethical behavior in financial services. From Citigroup’s microfinance model, scope of business, and multiple roles in the market, the company seems to be fulfilling its responsibility in inclusive finance. However, judged in term of the principles of integrity, objectivity, fairness, professionalism, and diligence, it falls short of its ethical responsibility. In view of this shortcoming, Citigroup should recall its obligation to avoid conflicts of interest, to provide responsible advice, to protect clients from over-indebtedness, and most importantly, to act with integrity.     

Using the Prisoner's Dilemma to Teach Business Ethics When Personal and Group Interests Conflict

This paper shows how the Prisoner's Dilemma can help students recognize and understand the ethical ramifications of decisions they make. The advantage of studying the Prisoner's Dilemma is that it models situations in which there is a conflict between the interests of individuals and the well-being of the group. Accordingly, it provides an effective framework for illustrating the importance of ethical decision-making by managers in a business and social environment. The paper describes two classroom activities that characterize the Prisoner's Dilemma and draws two important principles for the teaching of business ethics. The two principles are the implication effect and the self-defeating behavior effect. The paper also suggests several discussion points based on the two classroom activities and the two principles.     

Transnational Pharmaceutical Corporations and Neo-Liberal Business Ethics in India

The author critiques the expedient application of market valuation principles by the transnational corporations and other large firms in the Indian pharmaceutical industry on a number of issues like patents, pricing, irrational drugs, clinical trials, etc. He contends that ethics in business is chiseled and etched within the confines of particular social structures of accumulation. An ascendant neo-liberal social structure of accumulation has basically shaped these firms' sharp opposition to the Indian Patents Act, 1970, government administered pricing, etc. The author contends that the practice of neo-liberal economics is strongly associated with a "one dimensional" ethics that privileges market valuation principles over all others. This seems to inevitably generate a social counter-movement that struggles for social protections. He critiques neo-liberal business practices from a perspective that derives from the work of the economic anthropologist Karl Polanyi. Before the present phase of liberalization in India, markets were "managed", but without a "welfare state" in place. Moving toward deregulation of the markets without a welfare state in place is unethical. Keeping the debilities of the institutional framework of public policy in mind, the author adopts a Polanyian perspective that places its trust and hope in the growing social legitimacy of the counter-movement in opposition to both neo-liberal business practices and the degenerate behavior of state agencies.     

Ties that Unwind: Dynamism in Integrative Social Contracts Theory1

Social contract theory offers a powerful method and metaphor for the study of organizational ethics. This paper considers the variant of the social contract that has arguably gained the most attention among business ethicists: integrative social contracts theory or ISCT [Donaldson and Dunfee: 1999, Ties That Bind (Harvard Business School Press, Boston)]. A core precept of ISCT – that consent to membership in an organization entails obligations to follow the norms of that organization, subject to the moral minimums of basic human rights – is a reasonable and appealing notion. One potential challenge for those attempting to apply this idea, however, lies in the dynamic nature of social norms. Organizational norms evolve, often through the conscious efforts of community members and leaders. As currently formulated, ISCT offers a framework that under-appreciates the evolving nature of moral norms. In this paper, we extend ISCT by considering the circumstances under which the terms of and parties to social contracts change. We also consider a number of principles that should be considered as the terms and parties to organizational social contracts change.     

A Social Marketing Template for Solving the Musicians’ Dilemma Through Nonprofit Healthcare Networks

The Musicians’ Dilemma—the lack of affordable healthcare for the uninsured or underinsured musical entrepreneur—is actually a common problem plaguing not only 33% of musicians, but approximately 19% of the American population as a whole. The current research uses social marketing principles to conceptualize a template for designing a marketing program that meets the healthcare needs of the target market. Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) is a nonprofit organization that links healthcare providers, local businesses, and community donors in a network providing basic preventive health services to this essential segment of the community. HAAM's business model is analyzed and cast on the social marketing framework so that it can be adapted for use by other music cities. Although the template could also be applied to serve other uninsured populations, it is critical that research be undertaken to understand the specific characteristics and needs of each target market and used to adapt the model to those populations.     

中国物流政策体系:缺失与构建

物流政策是社会公共机构对全社会物流活动的公开介入和干预.我国现行的物流政策包括两大体系、两个层次.从总体上看,这些政策基本上可以维护目前我国物流领域的基本经济秩序,但还存在政策系统性差、缺乏国际化视野和法律效力、可操作性低等问题.本文针对现行物流政策存在的问题,提出了构建我国物流政策体系的目标原则、基本框架及政策重点.     

Consequences of concern: ethics,social responsibility,and well‐being

Prior research has studied the antecedents of beliefs regarding ethics and social responsibility (ESR). However, few studies have examined how individual well‐being may be related to such beliefs. In this exploratory study, we assessed the relationship between perceived importance of ESR – both individually and of one's company – and indicators of physical and psychological well‐being. Results demonstrated that perceived importance of ESR was associated with three aspects of well‐being: exuberance for life, sleep problems, and job stress. The results are discussed in terms of future directions for research, and the need for a conceptual framework connecting individual and organizational perceptions of ESR and outcomes of well‐being.     

Social Investment as a Perspective on Welfare State Transformation in Europe

The intense debate on welfare state transformation concerns as much the interpretation of past developments as it does the direction in which European welfare states should evolve in the future. Within this debate, the idea of “social investment” (SI) as a framework to understand and design welfare state change has gained particular prominence. The SI perspective stresses that social expenditure, far from being purely a cost factor and thus a burden on economic competitiveness, can increase economic efficiency while at the same time fostering equality and social inclusion.     

新型农村社会养老保险立法研究

老有所养、农民社会保险权、中国农民的特殊性、统筹城乡发展、国家财政收入快速增长,分别构成新农保立法的伦理基础、权利基础、社会基础、政策基础和经济基础。新农保立法具有相应的根本法律依据和一般法律依据,保障农民社会养老保险权与我国经济发展水平相适应,统一性与灵活性相结合构成了新农保的立法原则。立法可以提升农民对新农保的良好预期,可以明确新农保在我国社会经济生活中的重要地位,可以为新农保提供基本的法定标准和法律制度框架,可以妥善安排好不同农村社会保障制度之间的衔接,可以为我国农民社会养老保险权的实现提供法制保障。     

Construction of owner–manager identity in corporate social responsibility discourse

This article examines the different discursive resources on which small business owner–managers draw when understanding their sense of self in relation to corporate social responsibility. In the small business context, identity provides a justifiable framework to study corporate social responsibility, as decisions regarding socially responsible activities are mainly taken by managers and stem from their sense of who they are in the world. On the basis of 25 thematic interviews with owner–managers, two broad discursive resources were found that describe how they actively seek to create and legitimise their sense of self within the discussion on corporate social responsibility. These discursive resources are called being altruistic and being instrumental. The findings emphasise that the essential and also the most challenging feature in small business owner–managers' identity work is the process of reconciling economic values with the social and ethical aspects of business life.     

Social marketing: Conceptual and pragmatic observations from a current Australian campaign

In this paper the authors discuss the meaning of social marketing and its essential differences from “conventional” marketing. Further, by reference to a current campaign which seeks to maximize adoption by medical general practitioners of an “early intervention” package to prevent development of alcohol‐related problems in patients, the authors discuss the merits of the application of social marketing principles to such a public health campaign. The difficulties experienced in both the application of social marketing principles to this campaign and in empirically assessing the effectiveness of this and similar campaigns are also discussed. The authors conclude that, although the validity of social marketing as a theoretical construct is unimpeachable, there is much further work to be done in establishing empirically the effectiveness of the application of the principles of social marketing as a social change strategy.     

Social Media Marketing Management: A Conceptual Framework

Managers today face many challenges when using social media in their marketing strategies. Drawing from social media literature, this study introduces a new framework to assist managers in developing and using social media as a marketing tool. This framework has four dimensions related to the actions managers perform when implementing and engaging with social media: messaging/projecting, monitoring, assessing, and responding. Each dimension of the framework may be applied differently based on the firm’s strategic direction or focus. The framework provides an opportunity for a firm to examine the entire scope of social media marketing from a broad strategic perspective as well as a more tactical perspective. Propositions formulated by the authors suggest how organizations with different strategic characteristics may manage social media differently. The study provides an understanding for managers of the variety of issues related to the specific aspects of maintaining a firm’s online presence based on a firm’s scope, culture, structure, and governance.     

经济增长视角下地方政府债务负担率动态标准研究--基于西部Y省县域非线性Panel Data模型

政府债务负担率标准并非固定,主要由债务边际社会成本与债务边际社会收益相等决定,如果其边际成本降低或边际收益提高,债务负担率标准将提升,相反会下降。本文将地方政府债务置于财政支出与经济增长的关系框架下,通过对西部Y省106个县域地区进行实证研究,发现不同时间段对应的债务负担率标准不同,2005－2006、2007－2008、2009－2010分别为14．28％、11．98％和14．16％,同时也发现各地地方政府在竞相超越既定债务负担率标准举债,带来较大的债务风险隐患。因此,防范我国当前地方政府债务风险需要重视两个问题：一是根据各地实际债务边际社会成本和收益,制定动态债务负担率标准,用于债务风险的监测预警;二是在解决实际债务负担率较高问题上,重点要从数量上化解债务转化为从质量上提高债务边际社会收益和降低债务边际社会成本。     

Agribusiness ethics: Specifying the terms of the contract

Agricultural production in the western world in our time is primarily agribusiness. As such, a business ethics approach can be extended to agricultural production. Given the nature of the agricultural production system, however, not only are general principles for business ethics applicable, but more specific obligations need to be generated. A social contract approach such as Donaldson's, with modifications, serves to provide both the general principles for the ethical practice of agribusiness, as well as more specific obligations for agents in the production system. An analysis of three cases is offered in order to highlight ethical issues particular to agribusiness, as well as to provide content for the principles which the social contract view regarding agribusiness can be seen to generate.     

烟花爆竹生产企业综合管理体系研究

针对我国烟花爆竹生产企业的现状及其公共安全和产品质量安全监管的要求,试图将国际标准所涉及的质量/环境/职业健康安全/社会责任等管理目标融为一体,结合烟花爆竹行业的特点,提出了烟花爆竹企业建立融合以上多项管理目标为一体的综合管理体系的基本思路;并就质量/环境/职业健康安全/社会责任体系融合的基本原则、框架、内容,综合体系建立的可行性进行了深入的探索;结合在企业的试运行,总结并提出了具有一定示范和推广意义的标准草案,力求为国家建立烟花爆竹生产企业管理体系及其市场准入评价提供技术储备。     

Trajectories to reconcile sharing and commercialization in the maker movement

Maker technologies, including collaborative digital fabrication tools like 3-D printers, enable entrepreneurial opportunities and new business models. To date, relatively few highly successful maker startups have emerged, possibly due to the dominant mindset of the makers being one of cooperation and sharing. However, makers also strive for financial stability and many have profit motives. We use a multiple case study approach to explore makers’ experiences regarding the tension between sharing and commercialization and their ways of dealing with it. We conducted interviews with maker initiatives across Europe including Fab Labs, a maker R&D center, and other networks of makers. We unpack and contextualize the concepts of sharing and commercialization. Our cross-case analysis leads to a new framework for understanding these entrepreneurs’ position with respect to common-good versus commercial offerings. Using the framework, we describe archetypal trajectories that maker initiatives go through in the dynamic transition from makers to social enterprises and social entrepreneurs.     

Ethical Managerial Behaviour as an Antecedent of Organizational Social Capital

There is a need of further research to understand how social capital in the organization can be fostered. Existing literature focuses on the design of reciprocity norms, procedures and stability employment practices as the main levers of social capital in the workplace. Complementary to these mechanisms, this paper explores the impact of ethical managerial behaviour on the development of social capital. We argue that a managerial behaviour based on the true concern for the well-being of employees, as well as their motivational and ethical development, can be particularly important for the generation of social capital in the organization. It is suggested that manager’s behaviour should be based on three principles: following exemplary behaviour, helping the employees to value the consequences of their actions in other persons, and not betraying employee’s trust. When the manager conforms to those principles, he can ease the process through which employees develop associability and identification-based trust with the firm, the two main components of ?Organizational Social Capital’. Bringing ethics into the debate of social capital creation seems to us fundamental, as social capital in the firm is likely to be influenced by the ethical and motivational development of its members.     

Social Media for Socially Responsible Firms: Analysis of Fortune 500’s Twitter Profiles and their CSR/CSIR Ratings

The instrumental benefits of firm’s CSR activities are contingent upon the stakeholders’ awareness and favorable attribution. While social media creates an important momentum for firms to cultivate favorable awareness by establishing a powerful framework of stakeholder relationships, the opportunities are not distributed evenly for all firms. In this paper, we investigate the impact of CSR credentials on the effectiveness of social media as a stakeholder-relationship management platform. The analysis of Fortune 500 companies in the Twitter sphere reveals that a higher CSR rating is a strong indicator of an earlier adoption, a faster establishment of online presence (followers), a higher responsiveness to the firm’s identity (replies and mentions), and a stronger virality of the messages (retweets). Incidentally, the higher CSIR rating is also found to be associated with the stronger virality. Our findings also suggest that socially responsible firms can harvest proactive stakeholders’ participation (user-driven communication) without investing more resources (firm-driven communication). As the first study that conceptualizes the social media as a proponent of CSR, this paper contends that “being socially responsible” makes more practical sense for firms with the rise of social media.