Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has the potential to yield economic and social value in the Middle East (ME), especially given the current high environmental flux in the region. Although much scholarly attention has been paid to CSR issues, a key question remains about how to operate responsibly in the ME, particularly since institutional environments and stakeholders' needs vary across ME states. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the current state of CSR in the ME. We identify 38 papers that are most pertinent to CSR in the ME and examine the main theoretical frameworks, methodologies, trajectories for further conceptual development, gaps where new research pathways need to be created, and also future research questions. From this systematic review, we reveal how attention to CSR in the ME is slowly gaining traction. A snapshot of the gaps identified include collaboration between business and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the impact of stakeholders and institutions on CSR, the impact of political and economic crisis on CSR, and the influence of individualistic characteristics shaping managers' CSR behaviour. In addition to such gaps, we present an agenda for future research.
This article introduces the trajectory touchpoint technique (TTT), a service design methodology that harnesses customer experiences for enriched understanding of value throughout multilevel service components to ultimately increase innovativeness. We detail the design and development of the TTT using design science research, a goal-oriented methodology that produces robust and practical solutions to organizational problems. We demonstrate the TTT’s practical utility through collaborations with different organizations (n = 9) and diverse service users (n = 240). We show how the TTT is an easy to use methodology that enhances understanding of value creation and illustrate its benefits with concrete examples of innovations to service encounters, the service system, and the value constellation. We reveal how a service design methodology can be the bridge between the theoretical standpoint of S-D logic’s perspective on value cocreation and the practical tools and techniques required to operationalize it.
This paper builds on Belk's notions of the extended, social, family and dialogic selves in an attempt to explore the transformation of the self during the Arab Spring phenomena. From the perspective of the respondents in Egypt and Libya, this paper provides a reading of how images of self are related to artifacts of consumption, rituals, and symbols and how consumer values are navigated through this difficult landscape. The paper uses a three phase history, happening, and hopes narratives to show that the self in a liminal period of flux is referent to history and hopes and proposes a notion of a transitional self that incorporates this observation of reference to past and future. In particular, the findings suggest that consumption, especially Western consumption can be transcendental during a liminal period of flux and that such revelatory incidents offer an opportunity to access the candid thoughts of consumers
Purpose The paper aims to explore and analyze how multinational companies (MNCs) in Bangladesh define corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how CSR is used by these companies as a strategic tool to improve business and social performances. Design/methodology/approach The authors choose a qualitative case study approach for this study, using multiple semi-structured interviews with 15 CSR managers and secondary data from websites and annual reports. Both primary and secondary data were collected from ten leading MNCs that operate in Bangladesh. Findings The findings indicate that most of the MNCs in Bangladesh are moving toward strategic CSR and away from the conventional altruistic (philanthropic) CSR. It also appears that stakeholder prioritization and one-way communication are key for managing stakeholders. Research limitations/implications The most unavoidable limitation of this research lies in sample selection. A total of ten companies were selected because of lack of accessibility to additional MNCs. To overcome this limitation and increase the credibility of findings, the authors triangulate interview and secondary data from annual reports and websites. Practical implications The findings indicate that MNCs are increasingly recognizing the importance of using their core competencies to generate social benefits. The idea of adopting strategic CSR is predominantly steered by business benefits, which also provide the necessary resources for social and environmental activities Social implications The findings suggest that the shift from philanthropy to strategic postures leads to creating and fostering social benefits such as developing an entrepreneurial spirit and empowering women. Originality/value MNCs operating in Bangladesh are gradually departing from philanthropy and moving toward strategic CSR by aligning business strategies with CSR. Transition from philanthropy to strategic CSR also reflects on MNCs’ CSR definitions, which include various dimensions such as social, stakeholders and sustainability, except philanthropy. In Bangladesh, where CSR was previously viewed as philanthropic activity, the findings make important contributions to the extant literature, particularly international CSR strategic literature, and can be useful for future research in other developing countries.
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