Little work has been done on academic dishonesty in the Middle East. This research investigates the nature of the relationship between contextual factors and academic dishonesty using a sample from three private universities in Lebanon, and compares the results to a sample from seven large universities in the US. Using the basic model of McCabe et al. (Research in Higher Education 43(3):357-378, 2002), we found additional evidence for the strong role perception of peers' behavior plays in understanding student decisions concerning academic integrity. Cross cultural comparisons of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding academic dishonesty were pivotal in this research. Our results support the view that Lebanese university students are strongly influenced by the norms of the collectivist society in which they are raised as compared to the more individualistic society found in the United States.

This paper focuses on innovation in the context of business–non‐governmental organization (NGO) partnerships for corporate social responsibility (CSR). While different aspects of business–NGO partnerships have been studied, the role of innovation and its potential implications for partnership outcomes have so far not been systematically explored. The paper defines innovation in simple and concrete terms and synthesizes from the literature what can be considered as critical ingredients to foster social alliance innovation. The paper posits in turn that these ingredients correspond closely to the conception of social capital and offers a consolidated framework that helps in probing around these ingredients and social capital in accounting for innovative partnership outcomes. The empirical part consists of a comparative analysis of six case studies of business–NGO collaboration in the context of CSR in the United Kingdom. The evidence presented makes it clear that strategic partnerships are more readily capable of innovation and that social capital as an umbrella concept is very promising in explaining the differential success and performance of social alliances and central to understanding the dynamics of social alliance innovation and value creation.

Purpose -Sound corporate governance is now a mainstream issue of concern in the business world. However, there has been no systematic investigation of corporate governance practices in the healthcare sector. Allowing for a distinction between two types of healthcare organizations (profit and non-profit), this paper aims to investigate nuances in the application of sound governance principles across different types of healthcare organizations in the context of a developing country, together with differing understanding and applications of corporate social responsibility.Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on a qualitative interpretive methodology, comprising in-depth interviews with top hospital executives drawn from 21 Lebanese hospitals representing both the profit and non-profit varieties.Findings -The findings suggest some basic governance differences between for-profit and non-profit hospitals in terms of managerial structure, ownership and the role of the board of directors, as well as differing orientations towards corporate social responsibility. There is a general lack of understanding and application of corporate governance best practices in family-owned, for-profit hospitals, whereas non-profit hospitals are more in line with corporate governance best practices, and more attuned to corporate social responsibility.Originality/value -This paper presents fresh insights into applications of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility principles in a very important sector that has not received systematic attention and consideration in the literature.

Extant literature has highlighted that business schools have been accused of promoting an educational ethos that emphasizes shareholder value and the pursuit of short-term profits, thereby preparing overly competitive future generations interested in profit maximization. This chapter highlights the importance of integrating CSR into the mainstream of business schools' curricula, arguing for the responsible role that business schools should play and emphasizing the strategic case for such integration. The chapter analyzes the main challenges and opportunities that both hinder and facilitate mainstreaming of CSR at the heart of the business school curriculum and the role that the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) can potentially play as a facilitating factor and driving force. The chapter illustrates these drivers and constraints in the context of one specific business school in Lebanon that has successfully experimented with CSR mainstreaming in recent years.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the understanding and practice of diversity management in a Middle Eastern context, based on interviews with two sets of stakeholders (Lebanese women managers and HR managers) directly concerned and involved with diversity management efforts in the Lebanese context.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts an integrative multi‐level research design and an interpretive research methodology, capitalizing on in‐depth interviews with eight HR managers and 18 women managers to explore their perceptions and interpretations of diversity management in the Lebanese context.FindingsThe findings presented in this paper clearly illustrate the relevance of micro, meso, and macro level factors in diversity management research and the need to accord attention to cultural differences and peculiarities of national contexts.Originality/valueThe paper offers a critical perspective on diversity management in an unusual context. It makes unequivocally clear that the goals for alleviating specific sources of discrimination need to be locally articulated/defined. Furthermore, the paper questions the laissez faire management approach to diversity and warns against a tendency to ignore serious gender related issues at work as more women enter the workforce in the Middle East.