Deborah Rolland

Greening corporate identity: CSR online corporate identity reporting

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations for and the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) online reporting on organisational identity development and stakeholder relationship management through corporate web communication and information strategies.Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis method is utilised to critique evidence of the use and impact of online CSR reporting in three selected corporate web sites from the automotive industry. In particular, sustainability and environmental social responsibility reporting, evidence of stakeholder engagement and acknowledgement of societal concerns for corporate identity and reputation management are critiqued from a framework of persuasion and credibility alongside organisational role responsibility.Findings – The findings concurred with current research in corporate communication that documents the significant rise in the use of corporate web sites for the reporting of CSR activities and in corporate attempts to ac...

The role of religion in entrepreneurship participation and perception

This paper examines the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship and whether religious practice impacts on how individuals view the individual and societal contribution of business enterprise. Religion and enterprise have a complex interdependent relation (Dodd and Seaman, 1998; Anderson et al., 2000), with the Western Protestant work ethic raising entrepreneurship to a privileged status. As ethnic diversity has increased within the western world, so too has the religious mix of value systems and religious belief systems that come with such diversity/religions. Paralleling increasing diversity is the decreasing participation rates in the traditional Christian churches. We question the impact of this changing religious mix on entrepreneurial participation and perception. Our findings indicate that increasing ethnic diversity and associated religious value systems are certainly not going to negatively reduce the business start-up rate. If anything, the start-up rate may be enhanced.

Religion and entrepreneurship in New Zealand

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between religion and entrepreneurship and whether religious practice impacts on how individuals view the individual and societal contribution of business enterprise. As ethnic diversity is increasing within the Western world, so too is the religious mix of value systems and religious belief systems that come with such diversity/religions. Paralleling increasing diversity is the decreasing participation rates in the traditional Christian churches. The paper questions the impact of this changing religious mix on entrepreneurial participation and perception. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 2,000 randomly-selected New Zealanders were telephone-surveyed to measure their perceptions of individual and societal impacts of entrepreneurial participation and religious practice. Findings - The findings indicate that increasing ethnic diversity and associated religious value systems are certainly not going to negatively reduce the business start-up rate. If anything, the start-up rate may be enhanced. Originality/value - The paper shows that the value that New Zealand society places upon entrepreneurship is not diminished by the increasing religious diversity in the country.

A Collaborative Online Project between New Zealand and New York

TWO ONLINE COLLABORATIVE assignments that connected students in courses at Unitec, New Zealand, and Baruch College, City University of New York, are the focus of this column. For the first assignment, small, blended groups used five different online techniques to explore topics being discussed in an intercultural communication course at each university. In the second assignment, student teams discussed a case study posted online and produced a collaborative report on their findings. Both assignments were designed to enhance student learning in business communication through computer-mediated communication (CMC) and diverse team building. In this article, we first discuss our rationale and goal for this online collaborative project. We then describe how we implemented and evaluated the two assignments, and summarize student recommendations for further replication.

Entrepreneurial Success through Networks and Social Capital: Exploratory Considerations from GEM Research in New Zealand

Abstract New Zealand is a highly entrepreneurial nation rating consistently in the top six countries globally for its Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2001–03. Its population of four million is highly networked, which results in people knowing each other or being able to find out about each other. The advantages of the social capital derived from this level of networking are explored, as are the redundancies caused by overlapping networks, which may preclude the opportunities to discover and exploit structural holes. In addition to GEM methodology, we apply three models to analyse the effectiveness of the networking behaviour of New Zealand entrepreneurs. The first, developed by Bolton and Thompson (2000), describes the entrepreneurial process; the second model of Tsai and Ghoshal (1998) identifies the development of social capital and value creation; and the third, an entrepreneurial marketing network evolution model, was developed by Hill, McGowan and Drummond (1999). In particular, we explore three issues in the New Zealand context: how communication networks both support and limit entrepreneurial enterprises; how the reach and diversity of female communication networks is limited; and how communication technologies are being used to enhance communication networking.

Developing a stakeholder analysis to aid bio‐based product innovation

Purpose – The results which that study seeks to report are the first part of a larger research programme funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) aimed at gaining a better understanding of stakeholder perceptions in relation to bio‐based products.Design/methodology/approach – Utilising three chemically modified wood products, data were collected from focus groups and questionnaires and centred primarily on perceptions surrounding the acceptability of building materials that have been bio‐modified. Irrespective of the type of chemical modification, family health and durability were the most important factors identified.Findings – The study finds that product cost rated lower in the 16 factors evaluated, and energy used in production was of little concern. When comparing the three products to one another, two distinct groups with quite differing purchasing philosophies were identified and these perspectives significantly influenced perceptions of product acceptability a...

Organisational change management through effective internal communication

This article takes a case study approach to analyse the effectiveness of internal communication policies and processes during a period of significant organisational change caused by the introduction of new technology into a firms core business activity. Results indicate that effective internal communication practices can positively affect organisational culture, and therefore contribute to the overall effectiveness of the change process. As a result, staff shows increased support for managements goals and strategies, and demonstrate increased commitment to subsequent change initiatives.

Communication networking amongst entrepreneurs

Evidence about the communication behaviour of entrepreneurs indicates that entrepreneurs have more extensive communication networks than non-entrepreneurs, communicate more intensively, and use more modern communication technologies. This year we are interested in the contribution of communication networking to entrepreneurial business enterprise in New Zealand.