Airports in their urban settings: towards a conceptual model of interfaces in the Australian context

In Australia, airports have emerged as important sub-regional activity centres and now pose challenges for both airport operation and planning in the surrounding urban and regional environment. The changing nature of airports in their metropolitan context and the emergence of new pressures and problems require the introduction of a fresh conceptual framework to assist the better understanding of these complex roles and spatial interactions. The approach draws upon the meta-concept of interfaces of an ‘airport metropolis’ as an organising device consisting of four main domains: economic development, land use, infrastructure, and governance. The paper uses the framework to further discuss airport and regional interactions and highlights the use of sustainability criteria to operationalise the model. The approach aims to move research and practice beyond the traditionally compartmentalised analysis of airport issues and policy-making by highlighting interdependencies between airports and regions.     

Promoting passenger comfort and wellbeing in the air: An examination of the in-flight health advice provided by international airlines

Cases of airline passengers developing deep vein thromboses and contracting infectious diseases during flights have led to airlines' provision of in-flight customer health advice coming under increased scrutiny. By means of a manifest content analysis of the information provided in 50 international airlines’ in-flight magazines, this paper examines the nature and presentation of the health advice that is supplied and comments on the different approaches individual airlines adopt.     

Ethics and service work

Service work is now a very wide ranging sector, where some forms of service work have different connotations to others, but some forms are still tainted with the degradations of domestic service. Much of the difference revolves around the personal nature of the service and the expectations of customers towards the service worker. Hence the importance of thinking about the ethics of the service relationship in a modern economy, and the need to put this on the right footing in terms of respect and dignity. The ethics of service work are explored in this article. Prior to this however, the nature of service work and the degree of degradation that can be experienced by those who do this kind of work are identified. It will be argued that service work ought to be morally evaluated according to the degree to which it helps to form and maintain the virtues of employees or whether it leads to the erosion of virtue and the active development of vices.     

What is Different about Socially Responsible Funds? A Holdings-Based Analysis

Using samples from the U.S. and Puerto Rico, we examine cross-cultural differences in cultural value dimensions, and relate these to act and rule utilitarian orientations, and ethical decision making of business professionals. Although these places share the same legal environment, culturally they are distinct. In addition to tests of between-group differences, a model in which utilitarian orientation mediates the influence of cultural values on ethical decisions was evaluated at the individual level of analysis. Results indicated national culture differences on three cultural values, but no between-group differences on utilitarian orientations and ethical decisions. Significant indirect effects were found; act utilitarian orientation mediated the effects of two values activity orientation and universalism on ethical decision making. Implications for international management practices and business ethics are discussed.     

The Usefulness of Social Norm Theory in Empirical Business Ethics Research: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research

In response to recent calls to extend the underlying theories used in the literature (O’Fallon and Butterfield in J Bus Ethics 59(4):375–413, 2005; Craft in J Bus Ethics 117(2):221–259, 2013), we review the usefulness of social norm theory in empirical business ethics research. We begin by identifying the seeds of social norm theory in Adam Smith’s (in: Raphael and Macfie (eds) The Theory of Moral Sentiments, the Glasgow Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1759/1790) seminal work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Next, we introduce recent theory in social norm activation by Bicchieri (The grammar of society: The nature and dynamics of social norms, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2006) and compare the new theory to two theoretical frameworks found in the literature: Kohlberg’s (in: Goslin (ed) Handbook of socialization theory and research, Rand McNally, Chicago, IL, 1969; in: Lickona (ed) Moral development and behavior, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1976) theory of moral development and Cialdini and Trost’s (in: Gilbert et al. (eds) The handbook of social psychology, Oxford University Press, Boston, 1998) taxonomy of social norms. We argue that the new theory provides useful insights by emphasizing the ability of situational cues and information to generate common expectations for social/moral norms. The theory is particularly useful for empirical research in business ethics because it gives both organizational and individual factors a role in motivating norm-based behavior. To demonstrate this usefulness, we present examples where the theory has been effectively applied in experimental accounting research to generate new insights. We conclude by citing specific examples where the theory may prove useful in empirical business ethics research.     

Do Chinese corporations take their governance practices abroad? Evidence from Chinese mining subsidiaries in Australia

Directors of firms are theorized to fulfil control, service and resource dependence roles. However, the ways in which directors’ of Chinese MNCs govern their foreign subsidiaries, and perform these roles remains unclear. Building on the institutional logics perspective, this study explores the roles enacted by the boards of directors eight Chinese‐controlled companies in Australia to gain an appreciation of their governance practices. In depth semi‐structured interviews with insider and independent directors, consultants and market analysts were undertaken. A content analysis of company annual reports and web sites complimented primary sources of data on board functions. Findings reveal that control is the most dominant role played by these boards, rather than service or resource dependence. It also appears that the dominant logics of Chinese institutions influence the corporate governance of Chinese MNCs as they internationalize. These findings extend our understanding of corporate governance practices in China and abroad.     

Communicating Ethical Values: A Study of Employee Perceptions

Communicating ethical values is a serious issue for a number of organizations. While ethical codes are useful, they cannot exist alone. Organizations must make certain codes reflect the ideals of individuals in the organization and the ethical expectations must be clearly communicated. This study examined the sources (people) and channels (ways messages were received) that affected how employees learned about ethics. Results showed that training and orientation programs were affirmed as sources of learning along with teaching others. Codes and handbooks were also identified as ways employees learned about ethics in their organization. Ethical issues were discussed more frequently with fellow employees than with supervisors suggesting that managers could be more proactive about discussing ethics with employees.     

Company Legitimacy in the New Millennium

The relationship between business and society changes over time, and periodically there is a ‘legitimization crisis’. The paper will briefly explore some important questions about company legitimacy: why is company legitimacy important; why do legitimacy crises occur; and finally, are we in a crisis at the moment, and if so how can it be solved? The legal institutionalization of business firms prescribes narrow accountabilities and limited responsibilities: the challenge for business in the new millennium is to open these up and to broaden our understanding of the social significance of business activity without destroying its wealth creating processes. This will require a rethinking of the relationship to the shareholder and a new definition of the relationship with stakeholders.