Isabelle Maignan

Corporate social responsibility and marketing: An integrative framework

This article introduces a conceptualization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that emphasizes the role and potential contribution of the marketing discipline. The proposed framework first depicts CSR initiatives as the actions undertaken to display conformity to both organizational and stakeholder norms. Then, the article discusses the managerial processes needed to monitor, meet, and even exceed, stakeholder norms. Finally, the analysis explains how CSR initiatives can generate increased stakeholder support.

Corporate Citizenship: Cultural Antecedents and Business Benefits

The article explores the nature of corporate citizenship and its relevance for marketing practitioners and academic researchers. Specifically, a conceptualization and operationalization of corporate citizenship are first proposed. Then, an empirical investigation conducted in two independent samples examines whether components of an organization’s culture affect the level of commitment to corporate citizenship and whether corporate citizenship is conducive to business benefits. Survey results suggest that market-oriented cultures as well as humanistic cultures lead to proactive corporate citizenship, which in turn is associated with improved levels of employee commitment, customer loyalty, and business performance. The results point to corporate citizenship as a potentially fruitful business practice both in terms of internal and external marketing.

A stakeholder model for implementing social responsibility in marketing

Purpose – To provide a comprehensive managerial framework to understand and provide a well balanced and integrated stakeholder orientation for implementing corporate social responsibility in marketing.Design/methodology/approach – Many published articles provide significant findings related to narrow dimensions of stakeholder orientation in marketing. This article utilizes existing knowledge on this topic to support a methodology to implement a well‐integrated corporate social responsibility program that encompasses marketing.Findings – The findings provide a grounded framework based on previous research that provides a step‐by‐step approach for implementing corporate social responsibility from a marketing perspective.Research limitations/implications – The framework developed in this paper provides an opportunity to examine to what extent the step‐by‐step methodology has been implemented in organizations as well as alternative approaches for implementation.Practical implications – This is a managerial gu...

Measuring corporate citizenship in two countries: The case of the United States and France

Based on an extensive review of the literature and field surveys, the paper proposes a conceptualization and operationalization of corporate citizenship meaningful in two countries: the United States and France. A survey of 210 American and 120 French managers provides support for the proposed definition of corporate citizenship as a construct including the four correlated factors of economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary citizenship. The managerial implications of the research and directions for future research are discussed.

Corporate citizenship as a marketing instrument ‐ Concepts, evidence and research directions

Confronted with increasing pressures to limit government spending on social welfare, more and more public policy makers welcome the growing social involvement of corporations. Yet, inasmuch as corporate citizenship may be desirable for society as a whole, it is unlikely to be embraced by a large number of organizations unless it is associated with concrete business benefits. This paper presents past findings and proposes future research directions useful for understanding the potential value of corporate citizenship as a marketing tool. Specifically, after examining the nature of corporate citizenship, the paper discusses its potential impact, first on consumers, then on employees. Two conceptual frameworks are introduced to guide research on the value of corporate citizenship in terms of external and internal marketing respectively.

Antecedents and benefits of corporate citizenship: an investigation of French businesses

The authors first propose a conceptualization and operationalization of corporate citizenship. Then, they present an empirical study conducted among French businesses aimed at: (1) understanding whether an organizations culture affects its likelihood of engaging in corporate citizenship and (2) whether corporate citizenship is associated with specific business benefits. The results suggest that a market-oriented culture is conducive of corporate citizenship, which in turn is associated with greater employee commitment and business performance. The results point to corporate citizenship as a potentially fruitful practice not only for society as a whole but also for businesses themselves

Nature of corporate responsibilities: Perspectives from American, French, and German consumers

Abstract More and more businesses adopt socially responsible initiatives based on the assumption that consumers actively support responsible organizations. Yet, little is known about the meaning and importance of corporate responsibilities for consumers in different countries. This study compares how consumers in the US, France, and Germany evaluate corporate responsibilities both toward society in general and toward organizational stakeholders. The findings reveal significant differences between the US and the two European nations and provide guidance to build the image of a responsible organization internationally.

From Market Orientation to Stakeholder Orientation

Drawing on the marketing orientation and stakeholder literature streams, the authors define the concepts of market orientation (MO) and stakeholder orientation (SO) to explore their potential contribution to marketing. They discuss the potential contribution of each construct along with the similarities and differences that could be significant for marketing strategy. The MO construct focuses on customers and competitors and indirectly on other stakeholder groups. The SO construct does not designate any stakeholder group as more important than another, and the prioritization of stakeholders may change depending on the issue. As such, SO is more contingency based and is a function of contextual aspects surrounding the organization. The SO and MO constructs are not mutually exclusive; there is some overlap between them. The authors suggest further research to explore the most appropriate construct for firms to consider.

Are work stress relationships universal? A nine-region examination of role stressors, general self-efficacy, and burnout

Cross-national studies of job stress have not kept pace with other streams of research in the international milieu. To begin to address this lack of development, we examined the relationships among role stressors, general self-efficacy (GSE), and burnout across nine regions (i.e., U.S., Germany, France, Brazil, Israel, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Fiji). Findings indicated GSE had a universally negative association with burnout across all regions. Further, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between role conflict and/or role ambiguity and burnout across eight of the nine cultures. Conclusions center around how low self-efficacy may help to explain why occupational role stressors have a positive association with burnout cross-nationally. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Socially Responsible Organizational Buying: How Can Stakeholders Dictate Purchasing Policies?

This article investigates socially responsible buying (SRB), a subject that has received little attention in past marketing literature on buyer-seller relationships. On the basis of a brief review of the literature on corporate social responsibility, the article proposes a conceptualization of SRB that accentuates the role of stakeholder and organizational norms, respec tively. These conceptual grounds are used to depict various SRB strategies and to advance research propositions outlining their likely antecedents.