Karen Paul

An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Change in Corporate Social Performance and Financial Performance: A Stakeholder Theory Perspective

Stakeholder theory provides a framework for investigating the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance. This relationship is investigated by examining how change in CSP is related to change in financial accounting measures. The findings provide some support for a tenet in stakeholder theory which asserts that the dominant stakeholder group, shareholders, financially benefit when management meets the demands of multiple stakeholders. Specifically, change in CSP was positively associated with growth in sales for the current and subsequent year. This indicates that there are short-term benefits from improving CSP. Return on sales was significantly positively related to change in CSP for the third financial period, indicating that long-term financial benefits may exist when CSP is improved.

The Development of a Systematic, Aggregate Measure of Corporate Social Performance

Individuals, groups, and government units have developed considerable interested in evaluating the social performance of corporations. Evaluating corporate social performance (CSP) is important for researchers investigating the relationship between different organizational measures and CSP and for stakeholders employing social performance information in their decision making models. To assess CSP, an aggregate measure of CSP which incorporates both an independent assessment of actual performance and the individual value judgements of the stakeholder is needed. In this study, we propose a methodology for the development of a systematic measure of CSP using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. This multi-criteria decision making technique allows for the conversion of a multidimensional scale to a unidimensional scale, enabling analysis/comparison of companies both within the same industry and across industries. The technique is illustrated by developing a measure of CSP using several types of managers. The results indicate that there are large rank changes when individual value judgements are incorporated using relative importance weights.

U.S. Consumer Sensitivity to Corporate Social Performance Development of a Scale

This study develops a scale to measure consumer sensitivity to corporate social performance (CSCSP) using the factor analysis procedure to generate a valid and reliable 11-item scale. Results from a U.S. sample of M.B.A. students suggest that women are more sensitive to CSP than men and that Democrats are more sensitive to CSP than Republicans. Future research can use this scale to measure the correlation between attitudes toward CSP and actual behavior.

Business and Society and Business Ethics Journals: A Citation and Impact Analysis

Business & Society (B&S), Business Ethics Quarterly (BEQ), and the Journal of Business Ethics (JBE) are leading journals in the related fields of business ethics and business and society. Citations may be used as an indicator of relative influence. An analysis of their 2001 citations to one another and to the Academy of Management Journal and the Academy of Management Review is presented, showing that an argument could be made for ranking for any of the three journals first, depending on criteria used for judgement and the definition of the universe of those being influenced. The journal most widely recognized among management scholars in general is JBE; however, BEQ and B&S are favoured by experts in their respective sub-disciplines, with B&S citations indicating a closer relationship to the Academy of Management journals.

Applications of corporate social monitoring systems; types, dimensions, and goals

This article discusses the development and application of various types of corporate social monitoring systems. Boycotts are a relatively simple form of social monitoring system which aim to produce changes in corporate social behavior. Boycotts may be organized by a single group, or by a number of groups simultaneously. Rating systems may be organized around a single issue, such as the Sullivan Principles rating scheme, or may include multiple companies and multiple issues, such as shopping guides or ethical investment systems.Monitoring systems may be unidimensional or multidimensional, qualitative or quantitative, and absolute or relative. Consumers and investors appear to be the groups most likely to be targeted in these schemes. The importance of these monitoring systems appears to be increasing as both consumers and investors become more interested in using social criteria in decision-making.

The Ethics of International Trade: Use of Deviation From Average World Price to Indicate Possible Wrongdoing

The measure proposed here, the ratio of the price reported in a given trade to the average world price for that commodity, is based on the average world price for a given commodity reported for all trades between the U.S. and all other countries for a given period. This new measure can be used to enable government agencies to identify trades between U.S. firms or individuals and their counterparts in other countries which are designed to further prohibited activities such as money laundering or tax avoidance. This measure would also enable the U.S. government to monitor trade flows more accurately, facilitating more analysis of trade imbalances between countries and tracking trade in strategic materials, for example, weapons. Use of this new measure could enable naive buyers and sellers of goods, for example, those situated in remote or underdeveloped markets, to know what their counterparts in more central and informed countries are paying or being paid for comparable goods, and hence to become more informed as trading partners.

Business Legitimacy among Business Students in the United States, Great Britain, and South Africa

This study compares attitudes toward business legitimacy in three countries. Positive attitudes toward business legitimacy exist when there is a congruence between organizational activities and societal expectations. Businesses are concerned about the extent to which negative attitudes toward business legitimacy will lead to increased government regulation. The results suggest that business students in all three countries are similar in their attitudes toward business legitimacy; however, blacks have more negative attitudes toward business legitimacy than do whites. This study resulted in the validation of a scale that can be used to measure attitudes toward business legitimacy on a cross-cultural basis. Business legitimacy is a major concern in South Africa as the predominately white business community seeks to give the emerging black majority a stake in the existing economic system.

The influence of the JDR 3rd Fund on “business and society”: Incorporating corporate social responsibility in the business curriculum

The ideal of corporate social responsibility as a management orientation and as a field of study in business schools was given support by John D. Rockefeller 3rd (JDR 3). He attempted to promote this concept in the Committee on Economic Development and in certain business schools. This attempt was not very effective in academe, due partly to a lack of understanding about how universities function. As a result, an adequate academic infrastructure was slow to develop.

Justice versus fairness in the family business workplace: A socioemotional wealth approach

The organizational justice literature and the family business literature have developed independently, which limits our understanding of fairness and justice in the family business workplace. So far, the concepts of justice and fairness have been used interchangeably in the family business literature, as if objective measures that aim to increase justice in the workplace will automatically translate into fairness perceptions among family business employees. By integrating the organizational justice literature and the family business literature, we first differentiate between the two concepts of justice and fairness and argue that a utilitarian conceptualization of justice may come into direct conflict with fairness perceptions in the family business workplace. Second, we shed light on the importance of incorporating socioemotional goals, particularly those that reveal a bright side of socioemotional wealth, into rules and regulations designed to increase justice in the workplace, which, we argue, contributes to increasing fairness perceptions among employees and to building and maintaining an ethical family business workplace. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed at the end of the paper.

Racioethnic Differences in Consumer Decision Making Styles

There were differences among White, African-American, and Hispanic consumers on: recreational; impulsive; price conscious; and confused by overchoice consuming. This research suggests that due to the changing demographic composition of the U.S., marketing strategists need to continuously examine possible racioethnic differences in the decision making styles of their consumers.