Society and Business Review

Sani, Kareem Folohunso; Gbadamosi, Ayantunji; Al-Abdulrazak, Rula M.

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-09-2023-0275

This study aims to investigate sustainability practices in the banking industry, focusing on a developing economy. It uses the triple-bottom-line framework to answer the following research question: how do banks in Nigeria conceptualise sustainability, and what role does it play in their banking practices?Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a social constructivist approach in its exploration of banking sustainability practices in an emerging economy, and the research design is a purpose-based (exploratory) approach. The qualitative data was collected from 33 bank personnel from various bank units and departments through semi-structured interviews to achieve the research objective.FindingsThe study reveals a lack of sustainability policies and programmes, as banks focus mainly on profitability. It uncovers unfair treatments of bank workers through casualisation, low wages and work overload. It indicates that most banks in developing countries ignore environmental considerations, as they still carry out paper-based transactions and use diesel-powered generators, which cause various negative environmental impacts. It also confirms that governments and banks in the country are not doing enough to propagate sustainable practices and banks have also not taken advantage of the sustainability concept to promote their brands; instead, they consider it as requiring additional operational costs.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate the need for banks to see sustainability from a marketing point of view and adopt sustainable practices to create additional value that will improve their brand image and enhance their competitiveness.Originality/valueThe importance of sustainability in the banking industry in emerging economies is considered a viable means of contributing to the overall development goals of the United Nations as the world tries to preserve the environment. It also highlights the consequences of inaction or unsustainable banking practices.

Orudzheva, Leyla; Salimath, Manjula S.; Pavur, Robert

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-08-2023-0263

The consequences of corporate corruption control (CCC) have either been investigated outside the firm (e.g. foreign direct investment inflows) or inside the firm (e.g. profitability). Yet prior research addresses these implications separately, treating them as distinct phenomena, ignoring questions at their intersection. However, corruption control can be leveraged to benefit both organizations (internally) and environments (externally). In line with open systems theory, this study aims to explore a ripple effect of corruption control not only inside organizations (efficiency through adoption of sustainable resource management practices) but also outside [community-centered corporate social performance (CSP)].Design/methodology/approachUsing a longitudinal sample of multinational enterprises from Forbes list of “The World’s Largest Public Companies,” the authors use a cross-lagged panel design to provide clarity regarding causal effects.FindingsResults confirm causal directionality and support the positive effect of corruption control on resource management and community CSP, contributing toward understanding implications at the organization–environment interface.Originality/valueThe authors examine both internal and external implications of CCC. The use of a cross-lagged design that is relatively novel to the management field allows to check for casual effects between CSP elements that were previously assumed to have reciprocal casual effects.

Nguyen, Hong Quan; Nguyen, Le Ngoc Ha; Hoang, Linh Chi; Phan, Thi Thanh Hau; Dang, Thi Phuong Hoa; Ngo, My Binh Phuong

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-01-2024-0027

This article aims to provide a theoretical unifying framework for workplace Confucian culture and employees’ organizational commitment (OC) through the modelling role of moral identities. The context is education in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachBased on employees’ OC theory, a theoretical model was built. Administrative staff and teachers were asked to participate in the study with the assistance of preschool educational institutions in Vietnam. A survey was performed, and data from 421 participants were collected. The moderated structural equation technique was used to test hypotheses.FindingsThe study has demonstrated the positive impact of workplace Confucian culture applications on employees’ perceptions and participation in corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study also confirms the positive impact of employees’ perceptions and participation in CSR. In addition, another conclusion is the moderating effect of moral values on the relationship between workplace Confucian culture and aspects of CSR.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focuses on Confucian-culture employees in workplaces, suggesting that their perception of CSR may differ from those from other backgrounds. The authors then plan to state the comparison in further research. The main finding of the study is that WCC and CSR affect employee OC, but there are other factors that could be influenced by WCC and CSR. Future research should explore these factors to improve the current model.Practical implicationsConfucian ideology has been constructed and developed for a long time, but this study has examined its practical implications for favourably effecting human behaviour, thereby demonstrating its potential in organizational culture and practical application.Social implicationsThis theoretical framework can be profitably used in educational organizations.Originality/valueThe study adds to the body of research on OC in two ways. The first way is to explain how a beneficial organizational factor – the Confucian workplace culture – contributes to employees’ OC. The second way involves examining the effects of moral identity on participation and perception of CSR.

Acosta Garcia, Catherine; Verleyen, Isabelle; Roggeman, Annelies

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-11-2023-0345

Previous studies on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and tax avoidance (TA) have found inconclusive results. Academics have suggested deepening our understanding of this relationship. Although a few studies have responded to this call, research toward moderating variables is still nascent. The purpose of this study is to analyze the moderating role of economic freedom (EF) and its interaction with power distance (PD) on the relationship between CSR and TA.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of 3,866 publicly listed firms from 44 countries over the period 2010–2018, the authors use multivariate regressions techniques to investigate whether and how EF moderates the relationship between CRS and TA and how PD influences this effect.FindingsFindings indicate that the potentially positive relationship between CSR and TA is weaker for firms in institutional environments with higher EF. Moreover, we find that this moderating effect is stronger when PD is lower.Practical implicationsThis study has important implications. It offers insights for managers to reflect on their CSR and taxation practices, and for policymakers to consider the institutional conditions that facilitate corporations’ social and tax-responsible behavior. These findings indicate the necessity of integrating cultural, regulatory and collaborative elements to observe corporations engaged in social and tax-responsible behavior.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the moderating effect of EF on the relationship between CSR and TA, and its interaction with PD. Moreover, our sample includes firms based in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Oceania, facilitating the study of EF and PD’s broad diversity.

Singh, Kuldeep

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-07-2023-0218

This study aims to squeeze some critical viewpoints from the shifting landscape of business research (she), that conceals her true personality. Today, she is relentlessly struggling to strike a good balance between science and creativity. Therefore, she resolves to pivot the scholarly attention towards “scientific creativity”.Design/methodology/approachBusiness research is personified in this viewpoint paper. By adopting the methodology of third-person omniscient, the author pens the introspections of contemporary business research, and how she would express herself in modern times if she were a living person.FindingsBusiness research introspects that she is suffering from the phenomena of “existential crisis” and “popularity fallacy” in contemporary times. Though she believes that the science of business research is evolving significantly, worries about becoming scientifically monotonous grip her in the dark of the nights. She laments the grim reality of today; studies of a similar nature dominate the research literature while the philosopher in her is fading gradually. Therefore, she calls for more “scientific creativity”. She realises that solving societal problems must remain her foremost priority. However, she believes that her priorities towards society and world peace depend on whether she could revitalise the fading philosopher of personality.Originality/valueThe current viewpoint paper is an attempt to shed some light on the landscape of contemporary business research, which is undergoing unremitting changes. It also highlights the desirable changes in the context of business research.

Ali, Mohammad A.; Abbas, Faiza; Joseph, Rhoda

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-12-2023-0384

This paper intends to argue against the idea of an asocial business arena by reiterating the original philosophical underpinnings of theories on the creation of society, societal institutions and the relationship between society and societal institutions. This paper posits that business and ethics, though initially aligned, have been systematically maligned and distorted. The authors present a theoretically justified argument that business and ethics can and should seamlessly exist in the same realm.Design/methodology/approachThis is a theoretical study that endeavors to go back to the original theories on business and society to challenge the view that business ethics is an oxymoron. For this purpose, the authors survey and interpret the scholarly works of Adam Smith, Aristotle and John Locke.FindingsGiven the economic debacles faced by the USA and the world economy in the past two decades, this study argues that one significant factor for these financial disasters could be that the original ideas about self-interest, societal interest, the free market system and the relationship between society and its constituting components, i.e. individuals, groups and institutions, have been distorted over time. Based on the interpretation of the original ideas around business and society, the authors find that some distortion of the original theories have indeed occurred.Originality/valueThis study is going against a well-established prevalent idea that business ethics is an oxymoron. It is claimed that the endoxa about business and its place in society often represents misinterpretations of the original ideas on the relationship between business and society. The originality of this work lies in challenging this dangerous idea by revisiting by journeying back in philosophical history to cut through the ideological scar tissue and reach the original arguments surrounding society and societal institutions.

Quinn, Martin; Feeney, Orla

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-10-2023-0319

This paper aims to explore why a country with significant under-investment in water infrastructure has not successfully imposed domestic water charges. Drawing on an economization lens, it examines how an economy emerged in the imposition of water charges but was subsequently hidden due to their politically motivated suspension.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on documentary evidence, a theoretically informed examination of the “economization” process is set out. This examination recognizes the central role sustainability plays in water management but illustrates how sustainability must be integrated with environmental, social, economic, cultural and political factors.FindingsThe findings set out the challenges experienced by a state-owned water company as they attempt to manage domestic water charges. The paper reveals that while the suspension of water charges has hidden the “economy” within government subvention, the economic and sustainable imperative to invest in and pay for water remains, but is enveloped within a political “hot potato” bringing about a quasi-political/quasi-economic landscape.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate how the effective and sustainable management of domestic water supply requires collaboration between multiple participants, including the government, the European Union, private citizens and the water protest movement.Social implicationsWhile highlighting the challenges faced by a country that has seriously under-invested in its water resources, the paper reflects the societal consequences of charging individuals for water, raising important questions about what water actually is – a right, a product or a political object.Originality/valueShowing how an economy around domestic water supply in Ireland was revealed, but subsequently hidden in “the political”, the paper illustrates how sustainability is as much about economics and politics as it is about ecological balance and natural resources.

Pathak, Taral; Tewari, Ruchi; Drempetic, Samuel

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-01-2024-0002

With corporate social responsibility (CSR) becoming mandatory, several firms in India have been compelled into spending resources on CSR while their business strategy and processes were unprepared to take up CSR activities, effectively. In this light, the CSR relationship with other business functions would be altered. Using Thomson Reuters data from 2010 to 2018 (pre-mandate to post-mandate) this study aims to re-examine the relationship between CSR and financial performance.Design/methodology/approachThe current study is rooted in the bandwagon-bias effect theory and uses a long-term data (2010–2018) of Indian firms. It uses Refinitiv Thomson Reuters ESG rating to measure CSR and accounting measures for financial performance (FP) to make a pre-post analysis of the impact that mandatory CSR regime has had on firms performance. The study uses the weighted panel regression method.FindingsThe relationship between CSR and FP is different when CSR was voluntary than when it has been mandated by Law. CSR has a positive effect over the FP during the voluntary phase but this positive relationship weakens during the mandatory phase. The waning effect of CSR over FP substantiates the presence of bandwagon bias effect which can be explained by the crowding-in of several companies engaged in CSR activities because of the mandatory CSR law.Research limitations/implicationsvFew countries have made CSR mandatory therefore CSR literature is limited. But mandating CSR is a growing phenomenon so this study augments to the body of knowledge. Until now literature generally converged on a positive relationship between CSR performance and FP but the current study shows altering directions to this relationship in a changing CSR environment. The use of the bandwagon-bias theory contributes to the theoretical approaches. Theoretically, the findings add to the body CSR literature and offer impetus to the evolving domain of impact measurement and reporting.Practical implicationsResults of the study offer a clear indication to managers that they need to re-strategise their CSR activities during the mandatory CSR environment if they wish to draw instrumental benefits of a positive impact on the FP of their firms. CSR expenditure is now a leveller so managers may either exceed the mandatory 2% expenditure as some firms did during the voluntary CSR phase or else design their CSR implementation plans to bring about a more impactful positive change. Communicating the impact of CSR to influential and powerful stakeholders beyond the mandatory reporting to the government is yet another way through which managers can draw benefits of CSR activities. Additionally to draw positive results from CSR activities firms may consider adopting international reporting and benchmarking standards such as the GRI and ISO 26000. Finally, the results of the study can be used by policymakers to make a note that the CSR law is causing a weakening of the financial benefits and therefore.Social implicationsThe results of the study can be used by policymakers also need to make a note that the CSR law is causing a weakening of the financial benefits and therefore firms are adopting shortcuts, by donating the required amount of funds. But donation of funds defeats the real purpose of mandatory CSR which is social impact, therefore the regulators may want to make the necessary changes unplug the gaps in the CSR law to ensure better adherence to the law in spirit and a real impact on the ground activities.Originality/valueWhile CSR–FP relationship has been extensively explored but limited studies have explored this relationship in a mandatory CSR environment and no other work presents a comparative view of the CSR–FP relationship, namely, before and after the mandatory CSR policy. The current study is one of the limited few studying the impact of mandatory CSR policy on FP, and the only one that uses the bandwagon-bias effect to explain the phenomenon of weakening impact of CSR on FP of firms. Bandwagon-bias effect has been used in studying consumer behaviour, where group effect impacts behaviour of individuals and with mandatory CSR policy, firms following the other firms leading to crowding in. Using the bandwagon-bias effect has found limited attention from the CSR scholars, the current study uses this theoretical basis and therefore augments the CSR literature.

Mercer, Marlee E.

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-09-2023-0285

Age-inclusive management practices are crucial for addressing the needs of the older workforce, but there is limited research on these practices. One underexplored area is how workplaces can support older employees dealing with the loss of a loved one. The psychological process of loss differs for older employees and can have adverse effects on their ability to perform in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to explore how workplaces can provide the necessary tools to support their older grieving employees.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper draws on the job-demand resource model and signaling theory to investigate how flexible work arrangements can support older employees after a bereavement and contribute to optimal employee performance.FindingsFlexible work arrangements are theorized to lead to optimal performance via informational support. An ethical climate and stronger cultural competencies are proposed to strengthen this relationship. A theoretical framework is presented for a comprehensive research approach.Originality/valueThis paper advances the current understanding of age-inclusive management and offers a novel perspective on the benefits of flexible working arrangements.

Tarab, Sheema

2024 Society and Business Review

doi: 10.1108/sbr-09-2023-0277

Positive work attributes and moral behaviors are vital for creative organizations, their people and sustainable work systems. The twofold purpose of this study is first, to describe the concept and importance of work ethics in the light of Quranic verses, and second, to examine the link that explains how Islamic work ethics (IWE) predicts work engagement in an individual. A dual mediation path is identified and tested.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using a cross-sectional design, and a sample of 373 health-care employees provided empirical evidence for the conceptualized model.FindingsResults showed full mediation for both mediators, meaning individuals demonstrating higher IWE have strong cognitive and emotional resources that help them to immerse in work constructively. Data was analyzed using SPSS V.16. Implications and future directions are further discussed.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the scant area of identifying IWE consequences in contemporary organizations and extends the understanding of work engagement by linking it with an affective resource as a potential mediator in the mechanism.