Research Briefs

Among members of any organization, there can be multiple perspectives on the organization’s identity. For managers to get the best results in these environments it is important to understand how these multiple identities relate to each other, to the organization’s goals and to its stakeholders, and apply the most appropriate strategy.

Leadership is always challenging and the global nature of business today requires teams to transcend location and time and often involve multiple cultures and languages. The special leadership practices needed to manage virtually are outlined in the results of a recent study reported in the Academy of Management Perspectives.

Why do high performing, prominent companies engage in corporate illegality that jeopardizes their reputation and puts future profits at risk? A recent study in the Academy of Management Journal highlights some of the factors that contribute to these events.

Researchers examined whether a firm’s corporate citizenship engagement strategy influences the relationship between corporate citizenship and financial performance. They found firms benefit more when the corporate citizenship strategy is consistent, involves related dimensions of corporate citizenship, and begins with aspects of corporate citizenship that are more internal to the firm.

Researchers examined whether the disclosure of CSR-related information in ESG reports helps to improve the accuracy of the earnings forecasts of sell-side financial analysts. They found the ESG reports complement financial reporting and lead to more accurate forecasts by financial analysts.

Economist John Kay outlines an ambitious plan for transforming equity markets to combat a prevailing culture of short-termism that encourages companies to make shortsighted decisions, with significant consequences for the firms and their investors. He proposes a number of solutions to restore trust-based relationships and aligned incentives across the investment chain.

This study looked at 30 years of research and found a strong, positive association between CSP and CFP across industries and across study contexts. It indicates further that CSP and CFP mutually reinforce each other through a virtuous cycle: financially successful companies spend more because they can afford it, but CSP also helps them become more successful.

Researchers reviewed empirical evidence of improvement in both environmental and economic, or financial, performance of companies, analyzing the mechanisms involved in potential revenue increase or cost reduction resulting from better environmental practices.

In a study of manufacturing firms, researchers explored the effects of self-auditing and self-reporting emissions violations on emissions and the cost of regulation with various levels of regulatory considerations. Findings show that reduced penalties for firms that self-audit and report violations reduced pollution rates and inspections of participating firms. Policies that granted immunity generally raised pollution rates as well as inspection rates – and therefore the cost of regulation.

This study examined the relationship between organizational commitment and employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility – as measured by employee perceptions of CSR in the community, firm fairness in evaluation and treatment of diverse groups of employees, and the provision of employee training. Findings show that employee perceptions of CSR have a major impact on organizational commitment at a level equivalent to job satisfaction.

In this study, researchers analyzed the impact of the “diversity climate” on customer satisfaction in the stores of a large U.S. retail chain. Findings show that in these types of service environments where workers interact with customers, respect and appreciation for diversity are correlated with increased customer satisfaction.

This study analyzed how increased coverage by major media organizations affected U.S. companies’ CSR efforts. Researchers found companies under greater scrutiny are more likely to increase their CSR efforts but they focus more often on increasing positive impacts, rather than reducing negative effects that may result from business operations.