Responsible cronyism in transition: understanding changing attitudes to business corruption in Myanmar

ABSTRACT

Existing research on corruption in Asian business has focused on issues of causation, manifestation and impact, but with little attention paid to how corrupt practices evolve over time. Despite two decades of empirical evidence of changing work values among Asian managers, we know little as to how, why and to what extent this affects their corollary attitudes and behaviours towards corruption. Focusing on ‘responsible’ cronyism – as indicative of pressures to adapt current crony practices – we pursue an interview-based investigation in the emerging economy of Myanmar. Findings uncovered significant heterogeneity in participant perspectives towards responsible cronyism, seen variously as a West-East hybrid progression, a reversion to traditional Burmese values and an instrumental negotiation tool. Implications for how we understand changing attitudes to corruption in Myanmar (and emerging Asia) for both theory and practice, along with future research directions are discussed.     

Corruption in Asia Pacific business organizations: insights on causes,conditions, consequences and treatment

ABSTRACT

In the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis a wave of articles and commentaries focused increasingly on the so-called ‘dark side’ of Asian business. At the forefront of these lay investigations into the deleterious effects of corruption on economic development, business performance and international investor confidence. In subsequent years, due in part to converging pressures for universal corporate standards, the flow of research declined on the (implicit) assumption that corruption was a decreasing problem as new generations of Asian managers assimilated ‘Western’ values and practices. However, despite continuing admonishments and initiatives, the effects of corrupt practice at all levels remains as entrenched and as serious as ever. Blending micro and macro-level analysis along with both conceptual and empirical investigations, this collection offers some of the most recent frameworks and findings to explain the causes, conditions, consequences and treatment of corruption in 21^st century Asia.     

Questionable Business Practices in Russia

ABSTRACT

This article applies Integrative Social Contracts Theory (Donaldson and Dunfee, 1994) to ethical issues in business situations in Russia arising between Russians and Westerners. The theory bases ethical decision making on universal hypernorms which are fundamental to human existence regardless of culture or nationality. Simultaneously, specific norms exist that may differ from one community or culture to another. The theory includes six criteria to help resolve conflicts among these different groups. This article uses a common situation of blat or personal favoritism in Russian business to illustrate how the theory can be applied to conflicting norms in interactions between Western business people and their counterparts in Central and Eastern European countries.     

The effects of economic development and the evolution of social institutions on the level of corruption: comparing the Asia-Pacific with other regional blocs

ABSTRACT

The variation in the level of economic development across countries has been proposed as an explanation for the disparity in the level of corruption that is observed. As a country evolves from one stage of economic development to another and its social institutions as a result become more refined and sophisticated, their capacity to tackle corruption and poor governance practices becomes increasingly better. Improvements in the overall quality of institutions, including better policing and justice systems, increase their capacity to detect and deter corruption. This evolution of institutional quality improves social and economic well-being of society, which in turn pressures regulators, legislators and politicians to continue in the fight against corruption. The objective of this paper is to examine how economic development mediated by improvements in the quality of social institutions impacts on the level of corruption. Lessons from worldwide trends, including the Asia-Pacific region, provide opportunities for countries to enact strategic measures that can accelerate the fight against corruption.     

基于儒家价值观的鲁浙商业文化比较研究简

资源、地理、人文和历史等方面的差异催生了各具特色的区域商业文化,区域商业文化又导致了区域间经济发展中的巨大差异。因此,商业文化的产生、影响因素和衍变过程成为理论界和实务界的研究热点。文章选择两个商业文化颇具特色的省份——浙江省和山东省,就两个省份在商业文化的形成、商帮特点、儒家文化对传统和新鲁浙商业文化的影响进行了比较分析,阐述了鲁浙两省商业文化的异同、优劣势及其作用效果,提出了优化鲁浙商业文化的若干对策建议,以期为我国商业文化尤其是鲁浙商业文化创新提供一定借鉴。     

Islamic Ethics and the Implications for Business

As global business operations expand, managers need more knowledge of foreign cultures, in particular, information on the ethics of doing business across borders. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to share the Islamic perspective on business ethics, little known in the west, which may stimulate further thinking and debate on the relationships between ethics and business, and (2) to provide some knowledge of Islamic philosophy in order to help managers do business in Muslim cultures. The case of Egypt illustrates some divergence between Islamic philosophy and practice in economic life. The paper concludes with managerial implications and suggestions for further research.     

Influencing MNC strategies for managing corruption and favouritism in Pacific Asia countries: a multiple-theory configurational perspective

ABSTRACT

The research gap addressed here concerns how to encourage multinational corporations (MNCs) to combat corruption and favouritism. This study’s rationale is that MNCs can have a highly influential role in supporting or opposing such practices globally. The study examines how MNCs might choose flexibly among alternative strategies but could be encouraged positively. Three illustrative strategies are described in detail using theoretical propositions: (1) anti-corruption reform; (2) ‘tightrope’ balancing; and (3) tolerance for corrupt practices. A proposed multiple-theory configurational perspective is consistent with secondary data and reported cases about domestic corruption and MNC propensity to bribe focused on Pacific Asia countries.     

Global Marketing,Gender and Family Business in Asia: A Literature Review

ABSTRACT

In this article, we explore the recent trends in global marketing, gender and family entrepreneurship in Asia. Taking into account previous contributions, this article aims to provide a better portrait about research on global marketing, gender and family entrepreneurship in Asian countries and future directions. The article presents a few comparative analyses for Asian countries in terms of gender representation in the entrepreneurship sector in recent years as well as the succession in larger family businesses in Asia.     

Tradition Versus Change: Evaluating the Currency of Some Traditional Chinese Values in Today's Business Environment

Abstract

In the last decade, the discussion about how marketing is changing has focused largely on practices in more affluent industrialized economies. Far less attention has been given to understanding the marketing strategies and practices of firms in emerging and transition economies. In this paper, we compare marketing of multinational firms versus local firms in Argentina. We identify the environmental characteristics of Argentina's emerging economy and, using survey data of 96 firms, we group firms into five clusters. We refer to two clusters as “traditional/local” as they use very basic marketing methods, with one serving business markets and the other consumer markets. The other three clusters we refer to as “progressive” as they represent state-of-the-art practices. The first two of these are foreign-owned and serve consumer and business markets, the third represents locally-owned service firms. The managerial implications are examined.     

Cultural Crossvergence and Social Desirability Bias: Ethical Evaluations by Chinese and Canadian Business Students

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are cross-cultural differences between Chinese and Canadian business students with respect to their assessment of the ethicality of various business behaviors. Using a sample of 147 business students, the results indicate cultural crossvergence; the Chinese (72 students) and Canadians (75 students) exhibit different ethical attitudes toward questionable business practices at the individual level but not at the corporate level. A social desirability bias (a tendency to deny socially unacceptable actions and to admit to socially desirable ones) is also found to be a cross-cultural phenomenon, with the Canadians demonstrating a greater bias than the Chinese. Finally, this bias causes respondents to increase their assessment of the un-ethicality of questionable business activities.

Ethics in Business: Answering the Call

What might happen if business leaders across the globe viewed their work as a sacred calling in a religious sense? Might not the world be a far better place? This paper is an effort to stimulate debate and discussion on this topic. Concepts addressed include: (a) ethics in business, (b) ethical standards in business settings, (c) the role of law, (d) levels of corporate responsibility, (e) the role of religion in business ethics, (f) the idea of business as a calling in a religious sense, (g) the elements of modern corporate culture, (h) creating an ethical corporate culture, (i) demonstrating corporate social responsibility, and (j) providing servant leadership. The introduction to the paper shows how these concepts interrelate; its conclusion offers a challenge to business leaders to answer their call to business in the truest sense.     

African Business Research: A Review of Studies Published in the Journal of African Business and a Framework for Enhancing Future Studies

ABSTRACT

The development of Africa depends on productivity and effectiveness of businesses. One objective of the Journal of African Business (JAB) is to facilitate business effectiveness through dissemination of research and practitioner knowledge. Reviewing 96 articles published over a seven year period (2000–2006) published in JAB, the study looked for patterns in the research described (i.e., disciplinary focus, geographic coverage, characteristics of authors, etc). The study also focused on the degree of correspondence (or fit) between Western theory and data provided. Four important findings are: (1) JAB published research from diverse disciplines; (2) there seems to be a bias toward Business rather than Management disciplines, (3) a majority of the research is empirical; and (4) there seems to be a lack of context-specific theories. A proposed framework and implications for future research are discussed.     

Family Business in Sub-Saharan Africa Versus the Middle East

This paper examines the impact of culture on family businesses in two regions of Africa: sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle Eastern region. Nine cross-culturally comparable “etic” dimensions are used to assess characteristics of family firms in both regions, based on the Culturally-sensitive Assessment System and Education (CASE) project. Overall, the characteristics of family businesses in the regions are associated with their distinctive cultures. Several commonalities are found; however, the observed differences suggest directions for the African family businesses to become the engines for national and regional development. Implications for further research and for practice are identified.     

Cross-Cultural Business Research: Introduction to the special issue

As markets become increasingly global, an understanding of the world's cultures is imperative. This special issue consists of nine articles devoted to increasing our understanding of culture. It follows the 11th Cross-Cultural Research Conference, which was held in Puerto Rico in December 2005. An open invitation to conference participants and other interested researchers resulted in 56 submissions for the special issue. Articles chosen were subjected to several rounds of double-blind reviews and revisions. They cover a variety of topics including vacationing, managerial competency appraisal, horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism, consumer services, cultural conditioning, electronic word-of-mouth, the global hip-hop culture, ethical attitudes, and impulse buying behavior.     

A Picture of Brazil from the Viewpoint of Cultural Change and Business Exchange

Abstract

This paper argues that, with trade and business exchange, cultural change is introduced to business partners. After analyzing the impact of trade in societies, leading to the transformation of traditional holistic ideologies to individualistic ones, Brazilian society is appraised as a dual culture existing under a constant tension between the demands of social hierarchy and predatory individualism. The paper argues that Brazil's dual culture has been a deterrent to economic remedies that worked in societies that experienced industrialism. Finally, the possibility of cultural changes is assessed and considered as a condition for Brazil's partnership in today's global markets.

Este articulo argumenta que el intercambio de negocios y/o comercial introduce adicionalmente cambios culturales a las partes involucradas en las transacciones. Despues de analizar el impacto del comercio en las diferentes sociedades, en particular el cambio que transforma sociedades con ideologia holistica y tradicional a individualistas, la sociedad Brasilena es evaluada como una cultura dual con una lucha constante entre las demandas de una sociedad jerarquicatradicional y un individualismo depredador. Se argumenta en este articulo que la cultura dual del Brasil ha sido un impedimento para el buen funcionamiento de las estrategias economicas (remedios) que funcionaron en paises expermientaron una cultura de industrializacion. Finalmente, este escrito considera el cambio cultural en Brasil como una condicion para la incorporacion del mismo a los mercados globales.

Esse artigo defende a idéia de que as trocas comerciais geram transformaç[otilde]es culturais. Após analisar o impacto do comércio na vida social, o que gera a mutação de ideologias holisticas em práticas individualistas, a sociedade brasileira é avaliada como uma cultura dual que sofre a ação tensa e constante das exigências de hieraquização social e de um individualismo predatório. A cultural dual brasiliera é entendida como um impecilho para a ação dos remédios econômicos que funcionaram em sociedades industralizadas. E, finalmente, considera-se a possibilidade de mutaç[otilde]es culturais como fatores para a integração do pais nos merados globais contemporâneos.     

Introduction: Globalization and the Workplace in Pacific Asia

Hong Kong's economic successes are evident. As ever, the interpretation of this phenomenon at the level of politics, culture, human capital and business organization is less obvious, though a familiar list of the ‘usual suspects’ of ‘explanations’ has emerged. Hong Kong now faces new and renewed challenges which are linked to shifts in the industrial structure, emerging market demands and the interconnected upgrading of both production and human resources, in addition to the implications of reunification. Key themes of national competitiveness, deindustrialization and the upgrading of production facilities and human resources are all shown to be important, but also multi-layered and hazy concepts.     

Ethics Programs in Global Businesses: Culture's Role in Managing Ethics

Even if there were widespread cross-cultural agreement on the normative issues of business ethics, corporate ethics management initiatives (e.g., codes of conduct, ethics telephone lines, ethics offices) which are appropriate in one cultural setting still could fail to mesh with the management practices and cultural characteristics of a different setting. By uncritically adopting widely promoted American practices for managing corporate ethics, multinational businesses risk failure in pursuing the ostensible goals of corporate ethics initiatives. Pursuing shared ethical goals by means of culturally inappropriate management practices, in short, can undermine the effectiveness of ethics management efforts. This article explicates how several important dimensions of culture can influence the effectiveness of common ethics initiatives, and recommends the development and application of a culture-structure contingency analysis in the task of encouraging ethical behavior in global businesses.     

U.S.-American and German Business Ethics:An Intercultural Comparison

The differences between the "habits of the heart" in German and U.S.-American corporations can be described by analyzing the way corporations deal with norms and values within their organizations. Whereas many U.S. corporations have introduced formal business ethics programs, German companies are very reluctant to address normative questions publicly. This can be explained by the different cultural backgrounds in both countries. By defining these different "habits of the heart" underlying German and American business ethics it is possible to show the problems and questions within the intercultural management of values, but also the possible solutions.     

Weak Spots in Business Ethics: A Psycho-Analytic Study of Competition and Memory in Death of a Salesman

The field of business ethics has shown little attention to the dynamics of memory in maintaining moral character. Yet memory is a complex process that involves the repression of some experiences in order to protect the moral integrity of the personality. Without the capacity to repress what one's moral conscience would not accept, the mind can be overtaken by neurotic ambivalence and moral confusion. In the context of business competition, where the pressures for potential gains and losses can be immense, long repressed desires can receive renewed strength resulting in a weakening of moral constraint.In this essay, I use the psycho-analytic theory of repression to investigate the complex, psychological vicissitudes of human memory. The theory of repression is a particularly powerful tool to investigate the moral implications of memory because memories which are repressed – i.e., forbidden consciousness – are done so at the behest of the individual's moral ideals. Experiences that offend these ideals or threaten the integrity of the ego can be repressed. Repression, then, is an infallible index of moral judgement.I will apply the theory of repression to the characters in and story line of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman to elucidate the relationship between memory and ethics in business. Death of a Salesman is well suited for this purpose because the memories of the main characters are central to the play and are inextricably linked to the moral challenge competition in business poses.