Business Ethics For Embedded Versus Peripheral Corporate

Study of Previous Researches

Describe about the Business Ethics for Embedded Versus Peripheral Corporate.

The study describes the importance of corporate social responsibility in today’s businesses. It is an annotated bibliography of the above-mentioned topic. It will describe the views of authors of ten journals that are relevant to the topic. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is important in modern businesses as it includes many aspects of business operations including sustainability. However, CSR is important in terms of highly competitive social market economy. CSR underpins various objectives of the inclusive growth and sustainable strategies of the companies that are considered as long-term consumer, citizen and employee trust. The main aim is to mitigate various social effects regarding the crisis.

Schaltegger, S., Lüdeke-Freund, F. and Hansen, E.G., 2012. Business cases for sustainability: the role of business model innovation for corporate sustainability. International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 6(2), pp.95-119.

In this journal article, authors have described about the innovation of business model for the development of corporate social responsibility. Companies all over the world are investing lump sum on forming business model that maintains sustainability in almost all its business operations. It can be said that strategies of corporate sustainability are crucial in the perspective of sustainable development of the company in the field of economic, political, legal and social requirements under different conditions of high competition in the market. The formulation of corporate sustainability challenges is responsible for recognition of environmental and social responsibility. It is the main target of the business in spreading the importance of corporate social responsibility of the business. Authors have stated that business ethics is strictly followed while giving priority in the enlightened self-interest. Business leaders focus on the improved reputation of the company as well as economic success in terms of voluntary economic and social activities. There are certain objectives of sustainable strategies of corporate social responsibilities such as creating a positive business effect while maintaining certain business management strategies. Strategic management department of companies are responsible for maintaining a cause and effect relationship by the strategies in the community through social and environmental activity.

Boulouta, I. and Pitelis, C.N., 2014. Who needs CSR? The impact of corporate social responsibility on national competitiveness. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(3), pp.349-364.

In the journal article, authors have described the impact of corporate social responsibility in the national competitiveness in the market. In business level, there is a link between national competitiveness and corporate social responsibilities. It can be said that the concepts of both corporate social responsibilities and competitiveness are controversial and elusive in nature at macro level. Technically corporate social responsibilities are defined as the activities of corporations that are responsible for creating a positive impact on the national competitiveness of the companies. Other views of authors regarding definition of corporate social responsibilities emphasize on the benefits that are both availed by both business entity and community as a whole. The aim of corporate social responsibility is creating higher standards of the people of the society in order to preserve profitability of the company for both people from within or outside the corporation. However, it can be said that the concept of competitiveness is depended on the performance of the company in the market at national level. The policies, and the set of institutions that are responsible for determining the level of productivity of the country as well as the company. The economic condition of the country is also a determinant factor of the national competitiveness of the company in a particular country.

Schaltegger, S., Lüdeke-Freund, F. and Hansen, E.G., 2012. Business cases for sustainability: the role of business model innovation for corporate sustainability.

He, Y. and Lai, K.K., 2014. The effect of corporate social responsibility on brand loyalty: the mediating role of brand image. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 25(3-4), pp.249-263.

The authors in this article have pointed out corporate social responsibility as a useful tool for strategic marketing that has significant influence on the behavior of the consumers. There are different dimensions of corporate social responsibility in the perspectives of brand loyalty in terms of brand loyalty in the business corporations. Corporate social responsibilities are depended on the different dimensions such as legal responsibilities and ethical responsibilities. The findings of the authors in the journals have pointed out that the target consumers of the companies are perceiving the ethical and legal responsibilities of the brands which is responsible for increase in the image of the brand while enhancing positive symbolic and functional images of the brand in the market. On the contrary, it can be said that the consumers due to the corporate legal behavior of the company perceive the functional image of the brand. However, consumers perceived the symbolic image of the brand as a result of the ethical behavior of the brand in the market. Each firm has a specific business objective that is focused on both the objectives in order to attract the attention of the customers by reinforcing the message of the brand to the minds of the people in the target market.

Lee, E.M., Park, S.Y., Rapert, M.I. and Newman, C.L., 2012. Does perceived consumer fit matter in corporate social responsibility issues?. Journal of Business Research, 65(11), pp.1558-1564.

There are many issues that companies face while practicing different policies and strategies of corporate social responsibilities. However, apart from theoretical explanations of the corporate social responsibilities, the practical implications are more important. The practical implications include the perception of customers towards the CSR activities of the companies in the society. Perception of consumers in the CSR activities is related with many other aspects such as perceived fit between lifestyles of consumers and CSR activities of the companies, between CSR activities and values of consumers, company consumer identification and consumer loyalty. These four activities are related to each other. The agendas of the sustainable strategies of corporate social responsibilities are based on these four aspects. Authors have stated that the agendas formulated in a way so that they can satisfy the needs and demands of the customers and community as a whole. CSR activities of companies include education, social welfare, global CSR and volunteering. The strategic management departments of the company are focusing on the strategic fit that is proven to be highly effective in terms of dedication of various targeted marketing activities of the company. The strategic fit or the corporate fit lies in between the corporate values and company values that suggests the perceived fit of the consumers and other related aspects.

Saeidi, S.P., Sofian, S., Saeidi, P., Saeidi, S.P. and Saaeidi, S.A., 2015. How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), pp.341-350.

Boulouta, I. and Pitelis, C.N., 2014. Who needs CSR? The impact of corporate social responsibility on national competitiveness.

Authors in the journal article have stated the fact that corporate social responsibility is not only responsible for increase of brand reputation but also it has a positive impact on many other activities. The aspects that are enhanced by corporate social responsibility are reputation, customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, financial performance, etc. Scholars have researched on the fact that corporate social responsibility activities have a direct influence on the performance of the corporate firms in terms of financial performances. On the last decades, it is seen that the companies that are actively participating in the CSR activities are earning huge customer attention that results in improved financial perspectives. Many firms are researched and their valuable feedbacks are collected. The business owners have accepted the fact they are gaining higher profits after starting performing CSR activities for the benefit of the societies. However, there are many other factors such as expectations of the stakeholders of the firms and the government that are most important factor while determining the sustainable strategies for corporate social responsibilities. Besides this, some other factors are also crucial in the perspective of corporate social responsibilities such as ethical and legal dimensions. Ethical consideration is related to the building of symbolic image of the brand rather than functional image of the brand.

Bolton, L.E. and Mattila, A.S., 2015. How does corporate social responsibility affect consumer response to service failure in buyer–seller relationships?. Journal of Retailing, 91(1), pp.140-153.

Consumer response is a vital aspect that is essential for determining the buyer seller relationship in a company. The context of buyer seller relationship is important as it determines the strategy of the corporate social responsibilities of the companies in drawing the loyalty and trust of the consumers towards the brand. There are many citations that are mentioned in the article regarding the CSR activities of various companies such as McDonald’s support to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Publix Supermarket’s charitable donations towards the United Way and sustainability and carbon footprint reduction of Marriott UK. Marketers in modern business competitive business world are competing with each other in terms of maintaining a reputation in the market among the other companies of the same sectors. There are various underlying assumptions that are helped in enhancing the effectiveness of the CSR activities in the context of buyer seller relationships. Various types of companies follow different kinds of CSR activities. They are: usage of green materials, recycling programs and diversity initiatives, charitable donations, etc. There are various philanthropic activities that considers sustainability and charitable donations, donations based promotions, etc. The corporate firms of US usually follow these strategies in order to improve the buyer seller relationships while increasing the profitability.

Brammer, S., Jackson, G. and Matten, D., 2012. Corporate social responsibility and institutional theory: New perspectives on private governance. Socio-Economic Review, 10(1), pp.3-28.

In the business literature, there is a socio-economic perspective that controls the corporate social responsibility in a different perspective. The roles of institutions are neglected in larger perspective. However, the institutional theory of the corporate social responsibilities is helped in understanding of the role of corporate governance and public governing bodies. The corporate governance helps in determining the nature of the voluntary behavior of the companies in understanding the political and historical determinants that corporations usually take as a liberal action in the formulation of corporate social responsibilities. However, corporate social responsibilities are linked with the transitional level that implies in maintaining a paradox between the formal institutions of stakeholders and intervention of states in any other forms. The tension between the stakeholders and the strategic management department of the company are highly contested. It is responsible for creating an effect on the voluntary engagement of the stakeholders and other governing bodies to the formulation of sustainable strategies of corporate social responsibilities. Improving the effectiveness of CSR in the wider institutional perspectives helps in improving the strategies in the perspective of economic governance. It is seen that, the policies of corporate social responsibilities are tightly linked with different types of formal institutions like the participation of stakeholders and shareholders.

He, Y. and Lai, K.K., 2014. The effect of corporate social responsibility on brand loyalty: the mediating role of brand image.

Devinney, T.M., Schwalbach, J. and Williams, C.A., 2013. Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance: Comparative perspectives. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 21(5), pp.413-419.

The journal article describes about the importance of corporate governance in the implication of corporate social responsibility activities. The systems of corporate governance at macro level have a clear implication for improvement of the firm’s relationship with the various societal institutions n the form of social obligations. Companies all over the world have a different conceptualization of the term social responsibility. Companies of eastern zone are dedicated to different set of activities. On the other hand, companies of western zone are used to practice different sets of activities in the perspective of modern orientation. The article describes about various constraints and legal obligations of the government of different countries. There is an aspect that illustrates that companies are not only involved in various types of CSR activities for increasing brand reputation but also they are abiding by the laws of government. However, CSR in many company acts as a mechanism of government that can be considered as an instance of transnational regimes of new governance. It operates in a context that the shareholders and stakeholders have role in the business regulation. CSR activities usually focus on the maximization of value and societal benefit by maintaining and following the rules and legal obligations of the government of the operating country.

Aguinis, H. and Glavas, A., 2013. Embedded versus peripheral corporate social responsibility: Psychological foundations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6(4), pp.314-332.

The two aspects of corporate social responsibilities activities such as embedded CSR and peripheral CSR. The two aspects depend on the psychological foundations that originate from the perspective of industrial and organizational psychological fields such as human resource management and organizational behavior. It will allow the organizations in gaining a better understanding of the different factors that leads to strategy of the firm along with business operations and routines. Embedded corporate social responsibilities activities include the core competencies of the company that integrates into the firms’ strategies into CSR activities. On the contrary, peripheral aspect of CSR focus on the activities that which are not integrated and related to the strategy, operations and routines of the organization. Various companies are successful using these perspectives of CSR in the field of implementation of CSR activities for the benefit of the companies. Examples of successful global companies in terms of CSR activities such as Intel, GE, IBM, etc. are famous for interpretation of CSR strategies in the perspectives of corporate governance, marketing, economics and legal studies. However, CSR is an issue that is popular among various levels of businesses being it a multinational company or a small medium enterprise. CSR initiatives are very popular among companies across the world irrespective of sectors.

Vallaster, C., Lindgreen, A. and Maon, F., 2012. Strategically leveraging corporate social responsibility. California Management Review, 54(3), pp.34-60.

Researches have showed that the companies in modern business world have considered the initiatives of CSR as a strategy of sustainability and branding. In this way, it can be said that corporations save money in the field of advertising and branding activities in many areas of the target markets. More prominently in the rural areas, the modes of different media such as legacy media and digital media are not present. Hence, through various CSR initiatives, branding and promotion of the particular is done companies nowadays. Many scholars have defined corporate social responsibilities as corporate marketing. The stakeholders of the companies are abide by the legal regulations that focus on the key initiators of the CSR focus. The formulations of the strategies are defined by the level of involvement of the performers, entrepreneurs and other initiators of the strategic management department of the company. However, these motives and agendas of the companies are creating confusions among many researchers and scholars regarding the concept and objectives of CSR initiatives in the practical field. Various intangible aspects are given priority while leveraging the element of branding in the strategies of corporate social responsibilities. The intangible aspects are capability related resources, reputational resources, and knowledge based resources thus forming the branding strategies for the companies in the particular target market.

Lee, E.M., Park, S.Y., Rapert, M.I. and Newman, C.L., 2012. Does perceived consumer fit matter in corporate social responsibility issues?

Marín, L., Rubio, A. and Maya, S.R., 2012. Competitiveness as a strategic outcome of corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 19(6), pp.364-376.

A gap has been created between the objectives of the initiatives of corporate social responsibilities of the companies and the corporate strategy. CSR initiatives of various companies directly and indirectly influence the competitiveness of different CSR activities in the strategic dimension. It will address various circumstances; CSR is responsible for creating a positive impact on the corporate strategy, industry and the size. In the global competitive market, corporate social responsibilities initiatives are responsible for occupying an important prominent place in the global corporate world. Best practices of corporate social responsibilities include different types of social initiatives such as environmental protection acts, social initiatives, and community developmental strategies. Competitiveness of the market and the goals of CSR activities are related with each other in terms of innovation cycle. In this phase of corporate strategy, various practices related to corporate strategies are given priority. There are multidimensional aspects of the concept of competitiveness in order to create competitive advantages in terms of sustainability at firm, national and industry level.

Conclusion

The annotated bibliography stated about various aspects of modern business firms across the world in the context of importance of corporate social responsibility strategies in the perspectives of implementation part of the corporations. Various aspects related to CSR initiatives such as national competitiveness, marketing strategies, branding initiatives, maintenance of sustainability in every business operations, etc are described in a detailed manner.

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