Annick Van Rossem

Corporate Governance in the Debate on CSR and Ethics: Sensemaking of Social Issues in Management by Authorities and CEOS

Research Question/Issue: The aim of the present exploratory cognitive study is to uncover how opinion leaders, i.e. CEOs and other authorities in the domain of social issues in management, understand and differentiate the various concepts pertaining to corporate governance, CSR and business ethics. The present study with the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) extends the sensemaking analysis, to the whole spectrum of social issues in management. For this research 41 RGT interviews were conducted in Belgium with top experts and CEOs of the Belgian economy and civil society. Research Findings/Insights: Both, authorities and CEOs pragmatically and rather clearly differentiate the various concepts related to corporate governance, CSR and business ethics. Our findings partially reject the confusion in terminology noticed in recent academic literature and in corporate communication, emphasizing increased vagueness and overlapping of the concepts around corporate governance, CSR and business ethics. Theoretical/Academic Implications : While CSR is seen as the best candidate for an umbrella term, no unified paradigm has yet be achieved in the business and society field. Three basic concepts of corporate responsibility, corporate governance and business ethics emerge as being complementary. Corporate governance has acquired an important place in the hierarchy of business and society concepts. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Corporations cannot restrict their actions and communication regarding social issues in management to one single domain. Several complementary issues have to be addressed simultaneously. This combined multi-dimensional approach will result in mutual reinforcements of the message.

Identifying Competencies of Volunteer Board Members of Community Sports Clubs

This study contributes to the emerging empirical studies on roles and responsibilities of boards in nonprofit organizations by identifying competencies of volunteer board members. We identified how two types of constituents—volunteer board members and sports members—perceived competencies of volunteer board members in community sports clubs. We used the repertory grid technique to draw cognitive maps and to reveal the perceived reality of these constituents. Our results suggest that constituents within a group share similar perceptions of competencies of outstanding performing board members, whereas they agree less on perceptions of poor performing board members. This study reveals that cognitive (e.g., having a long-term vision, having professionalism), emotional intelligence (e.g., being reliable, being honest), and social intelligence (e.g., listening to others, being jovial/nice to be with) competencies are necessary to be perceived as an outstanding performing board member.

The consumption of management ideas: A cognitive perspective

Purpose – Building on recent research that emphasizes the role of managers as central in the adoption and implementation of management ideas, the purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons why managers may vary in their responses toward these ideas. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on a cognitive perspective, the research uses a repertory grid approach to analyze survey data from 189 managers. Findings – Rather than stressing only the role of organizational context, the paper indicates the likelihood that more invariant mental models shaped by especially position and disposition play an important role in explaining the way managers view and eventually implement management ideas. Originality/value – The findings indicate the significance of cognitive factors in explaining managers’ attitudes toward ideas, and advance the understanding of the variety in managers’ responses toward these ideas, particularly in implementation trajectories.