Strategization of CSR

We examine the process of strategization of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within 12 Israeli firms using a longitudinal qualitative approach. We analyzed the process of CSR strategization under Jarzabkowski’s framework. Our findings identify the differentiating characteristics of CSR strategization processes, including the requirement for informative communications rather than persuasive negotiations, and the absence of resistance within the organizational community. These unique aspects of CSR strategization may be attributed to the moral and value-centric nature of CSR activity.     

The cost of railroad regulation: the disintegration of American agricultural markets in the interwar period

This article investigates the costs of transport regulation using the example of agricultural markets in the US. Using a large database of prices by state of agricultural commodities, we find that dispersion fell for many commodities until the First World War. We demonstrate that this reflected changes in transport costs which in turn in the long run depended on productivity growth in railroads. The year 1920 marked a change in this relationship, however, and between the First and Second World Wars we find considerable disintegration of agricultural markets, ultimately as a consequence of the 1920 Transportation Act. We argue that this benefited railroad companies in the 1920s and workers in the 1930s, and we put forward an estimate of the welfare losses for the consumers of railroad services (that is, agricultural producers and final consumers).     

Environmental disturbances,organizational transitions and transformations: A view from the dark side

Published over two decades ago, “Environmental Disturbances and Organizational Transitions and Transformations: Some Alternative Models” (Laughlin, 1991), presents a comprehensive view of what choices may be available to organizations in navigating the change process. Laughlin's discussion also provides some rationale for why organizations may pursue particular pathways in response to environmental disturbances. Responding to his call to future researchers, the current paper builds upon Laughlin's work by drawing on Social Network Theory (SNT) as offering an explanation about how the dynamic processes implicit in his framework may operate in effecting change within organizations and as a consequence, why particular pathways may be adopted. While Laughlin's initial premise and consequent contentions are grounded largely in critical theory, in augmenting his framework with insights derived from SNT, this paper contends that the dynamic processes invoked in response to environmental disturbances are capable of being operationalized, generalized and tested. Laughlin's framework therefore offers a foundation for a positivist frame of reference, pointing to the amenability of the framework to further investigation from researchers from a diverse range of research traditions.     

Anti‐microbial hand washes for domestic use – their effectiveness in vitro and in normal use

The killing or removal of microbes from the hands is a critical factor in food safety as many studies have shown the hands to be both an important source of microbes and powerful agents of cross‐contamination in hospital and domestic situations. In response to this concern, a number of novel hand‐washing products have appeared on the market. These products contain anti‐microbial agents and claim to be more effective at removing bacteria than soap bars and conventional liquid soaps. This study attempts to test these claims by comparing the effectiveness of a conventional soap bar, a conventional liquid soap and an anti‐microbial liquid soap containing triclosan. In vitro tests demonstrate that the anti‐microbial liquid soap is more effective than conventional liquid soaps in reducing the viability of six bacterial species and that this effect is both time and dose dependent. However, when the three soaps were compared for their ability to reduce microbial counts on the hands no differences were observed between the three products. For all three soaps, counts after washing sometimes went up and sometimes down when compared with pre‐wash counts. This was the case both when the soaps were used ‘normally’– that is, with great variation in the time taken, water and soap volumes used and method of washing and after a standardized, rigorous wash recommended in clinical situations. Furthermore, reduction in microbial counts from hands contaminated by handling raw meat was no greater for the anti‐microbial than for the conventional liquid soap.     

Guilt and giving: A process model of empathy and efficacy

This research develops a model of consumer response to charity appeals. Using the Extended Parallel Process Model from the fear appeal literature as a foundation, the current model proposes that empathy and self‐efficacy generate guilt and reduce maladaptive responses, which, in turn, shapes donation intention. The results demonstrate that the impact of empathy on charitable donation intention is fully mediated by guilt and maladaptive responses. The impact of self‐efficacy is partially mediated by guilt and maladaptive responses. Therefore, both empathy and self‐efficacy determine whether guilt or maladaptive responses result. This model clarifies the process through which guilt appeals operate, by identifying the roles of empathy and self‐efficacy. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Estimates of the cost of equity for public utilities, 1961–1976

Using a simple version of the dividend cash flow (DCF) model of stock valuation, the cost of equity for public utilities is often inferred to be equal to the sum of the dividend yield and the expected rate of growth in dividends. Witnesses who employ this approach generally extrapolate past growth patterns into the future and then assume that investors expect these trends to continue; no effort is made to actually assess the expectations of investors. This approach to estimating the cost of equity for public utilities is criticized for the failure to develop testable hypotheses as an inferential basis for testing the statistical reliability of estimates of the cost of equity. This article demonstrates an alternative to the traditional approach, based on the premise that reliable estimates of the cost of equity are derived only within a methodological framework that produces testable hypotheses. The Gordon model of share valuation is formulated in such a way as to show that there is a systematic and predictable relationship between the ratio of market price to book value of common stock and a firm's normal or expected return on equity. This relationship suggests an econometric model that not only tests the Gordon model of share valuation but produces at the same time, inferences concerning the cost of equity. Using this approach, year-end estimates of the cost of equity for electric utilities are determined for the 16-yr period from 1961 to 1976.     

The 'particular gain or loss upon each article we deal in': an aspect of mercantile accounting, 1300-1800

Merchandise accounts for each category of goods, voyage or venture are a prominent feature of many ledgers of the period 1300 to 1800. The characteristics of these accounts and the uses to which such accounts were put are considered.     

Business Strategy,Financial Reporting Irregularities,and Audit Effort

This study examines whether clients' business strategies are a factor in determining the occurrence of financial reporting irregularities and the level of audit effort. We use the organizational strategy theory of Miles and Snow to develop a comprehensive measure of business strategy using publicly available data. We find that Miles and Snow's Prospector strategy is more likely to be involved in financial reporting irregularities and generally requires greater audit effort. The business strategy measure also appears to capture client business risk and provides incremental explanatory power beyond the individual measures of client complexity or risk used in traditional audit fee models. We contribute to the literature by constructing a replicable business strategy measure and identifying organizational business strategy as an important ex ante determinant of financial reporting irregularities and levels of audit effort. Our results suggest that investigating how audits can be improved to reduce financial reporting irregularities among Prospector clients is an important area for audit practice and future research.