Stelios C. Zyglidopoulos

Corporate accountability and the politics of visibility in ‘late modernity’

It is generally held that because of developments associated with late modernity large corporations are now much more visible and therefore more accountable. In this article, we challenge this idea and propose contrary and position: that precisely because of late modernity global corporations have become less accountable to their stakeholders. In particular, we argue that because of globalization, the explosion of scientific knowledge and the nature of risk in late modernity, it has in some respects become easier for corporations to conceal their unethical practices (making them less accountable). Drawing on sociological theory concerning late modernity, we seek is to demonstrate how the fashionable ‘ideology of visibility’ habors an insidious anti-democratic tendency apropos wider accountability. In light of this position, the article concludes by discussing the political implications and possibilities for rendering business corporations more democratically accountable.

Charting Corporate Corruption

In the post-Enron era, corporate corruption is increasingly on the research agenda. This informative book provides a novel approach by charting the causes of corruption. It demonstrates how agency (decisions and choices of individuals) and structure (the contextual pressures in the business environment) can interact to result in the rapid escalation of corporate crime. By analyzing and describing the social psychological dimensions of this escalation, the book will be effective in creating preventive measures that can be designed and implemented in business organizations.

Cultural Agenda Setting Media Attributes and Public Attention of Greek Museums

The recent transformation of cultural organizations has altered their relationship with the public, evidenced by their engaging in market research and analysis of public perceptions about their identity, mission, and services. Through the lens of agenda-setting theory, this paper examines whether, alongside other factors, media coverage of museums can drive museum visitation. We pursue a second level of agenda-setting analysis, examining the relationship between valence—the positive, negative and neutral portrayals of museums in the media—and visitation. We conduct an econometric analysis of monthly data for the period June 2004-June 2008 for a sample of major Greek museums. The study reveals that media coverage of cultural organizations and positive valence constitute significant elements of reputation, which subsequently drive museum visitation.

Cultural Agenda Setting and the Role of Critics: An Empirical Examination in the Market for Art-House Films

In this study we investigate and expand agenda setting theory in the context of the market for art-house films. First, we test first and second-level agenda setting hypotheses, according to which higher media visibility and favorable media valence of a particular film are expected to have positive effects on public salience. Second, we expand agenda setting theory by adding critical valence as an important influence of public salience within cultural contexts. Our findings suggest that while higher media visibility, favorable media valence, and critical valence have positive effects on public salience, they are also independent of one another in carrying salience over to the public.

The corporate social performance of developing country multinationals

In this article, we explore the Corporate Social Performance (CSP) of Developing Country Multinationals (DMNCs). We argue that in competing internationally, DMNCs often face both reputation and legitimacy deficits, which they address by improving their CSP. We develop a series of hypotheses to explain the variation in CSP between DMNCs and domestic-only firms from developing countries and also examine variations in CSP between DMNCs depending on the extent of their multinationality and portfolio of host countries. Our findings support all our hypotheses, which suggest that DMNCs display enhanced levels of CSP compared to their domestic-only counterparts. CSP is also found to be positively related to the DMNCs’ degree of multinationality, but with a declining incremental impact, whereas entry into developed markets leads to a greater improvement in DMNCs’ CSP than expansion into developing markets. We highlight the implications of our findings for managers and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]