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Integrating corporate social responsibility and other strategic foci in a distributed production system: a transaction cost perspective on the North Sea offshore petroleum industry

Integrating corporate social responsibility and other strategic foci in a distributed production... Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the challenges of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) with other strategic foci into the supply/contractor chain, both conceptually and empirically, with a focus on one sectorial case: the Norwegian upstream petroleum industry. It compares contradictory theories of strategic focus and explores their implications for the organisation of the supply chain and discusses challenges and solutions for operative CSR‐oriented supply chain management Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis, inspired by the cognitive mapping approach, seeks to elicit the strategic profiles of the oil majors and suppliers/contractors in the petroleum industry. This is based on textual analysis of core statements of overall business strategy such as the CEO's and the Chairman's statement letter to the shareholders. The paper also draws on research and workshops with petroleum companies and their suppliers in the North Sea, as well as contracting experts and researchers taking part in the EU‐TRENDS project which focused on satisfying Europe's future demands and needs for sustainable, secure, safe and clean energy supplies. Findings – The strategic profiles of the petroleum companies and their suppliers/contractors indicate that, while they coincide on many points, there is considerable discrepancy as far as CSR and HSE are concerned. The suppliers/contractors tend to emphasise the technology dimension more strongly than the petroleum companies. HSE and CSR are, on average, strategically under‐communicated within the supply industry compared with the petroleum companies, but there is also considerable variation within each group. Research limitations/implications – The paper explores how transaction cost theory may help frame managerial challenges and approaches in integrating CSR consistently throughout supply chains. It shows some of the limitations of the “rationalist” model of industrial organisation both at the firm level and at the supply chain level and discusses possible expansions into broader managerial approaches. Practical implications – The paper highlights some of the managerial challenges and basic approaches for integrating CSR consistently throughout the value chain. Originality/value – The originality of the article lies conceptually in linking the CSR literature to transaction cost theory of industrial organisation. Empirically the article presents new insights into strategic foci of the petroleum companies and their supply chain. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Corporate Governance Emerald Publishing

Integrating corporate social responsibility and other strategic foci in a distributed production system: a transaction cost perspective on the North Sea offshore petroleum industry

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References (29)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1472-0701
DOI
10.1108/14720700710739822
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the challenges of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) with other strategic foci into the supply/contractor chain, both conceptually and empirically, with a focus on one sectorial case: the Norwegian upstream petroleum industry. It compares contradictory theories of strategic focus and explores their implications for the organisation of the supply chain and discusses challenges and solutions for operative CSR‐oriented supply chain management Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis, inspired by the cognitive mapping approach, seeks to elicit the strategic profiles of the oil majors and suppliers/contractors in the petroleum industry. This is based on textual analysis of core statements of overall business strategy such as the CEO's and the Chairman's statement letter to the shareholders. The paper also draws on research and workshops with petroleum companies and their suppliers in the North Sea, as well as contracting experts and researchers taking part in the EU‐TRENDS project which focused on satisfying Europe's future demands and needs for sustainable, secure, safe and clean energy supplies. Findings – The strategic profiles of the petroleum companies and their suppliers/contractors indicate that, while they coincide on many points, there is considerable discrepancy as far as CSR and HSE are concerned. The suppliers/contractors tend to emphasise the technology dimension more strongly than the petroleum companies. HSE and CSR are, on average, strategically under‐communicated within the supply industry compared with the petroleum companies, but there is also considerable variation within each group. Research limitations/implications – The paper explores how transaction cost theory may help frame managerial challenges and approaches in integrating CSR consistently throughout supply chains. It shows some of the limitations of the “rationalist” model of industrial organisation both at the firm level and at the supply chain level and discusses possible expansions into broader managerial approaches. Practical implications – The paper highlights some of the managerial challenges and basic approaches for integrating CSR consistently throughout the value chain. Originality/value – The originality of the article lies conceptually in linking the CSR literature to transaction cost theory of industrial organisation. Empirically the article presents new insights into strategic foci of the petroleum companies and their supply chain.

Journal

Corporate GovernanceEmerald Publishing

Published: Apr 17, 2007

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; Petrochemicals industry; North Sea oil; Supply chain management; Transaction costs

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