Purpose Most business organisations try to create and maintain trustful relationships with their various stakeholders. Among all, sustaining a trustful relationship with employees has been particularly important for organisations. However, due to the multidimensional structure and changing nature of concept across settings, it is difficult to identify what makes an organisation trustworthy for its employees. The purpose of this study is to analyse the concept of organisational trust and identify how employees actually define organisational trust. Design/methodology/approach In the study, a survey was conducted on a sample of 104 employees who were working in Turkey. Following a qualitative and quantitative approach, the data were analysed to categorise the definitions of respondents according to the theoretical framework. Findings The findings of study closely overlap with the relevant literature, but they also extend the scope of definition with including new factors such as reputation management, strategic management or ethics and values. According to results, the perceptions of employees on organisational trust vary depending on their individual and organisational characteristics. Practical implications The study reveals the context depending nature of organisational trust. Developing a wider sense by capturing its full meaning and reflecting the different expectations of employees can increase the trust in organisations. Originality/value Based on the detailed review of literature, the study identifies the major dimensions of organisational trust and then reveals the similarities and differences with the literature. The study provides a viable perspective on the concept to capture its meaning in different contexts.

Purpose The literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) neglects the link between values and their ideological underpinnings. This paper aims to fill this void by grounding the managerial values towards CSR on an ideological ground by following the Schwartz’s (1994) value framework. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a theoretical construct that builds the ideological stances of different managerial values towards CSR. Findings The study proposes that ideologically liberal managers might be involved in CSR based on their openness to change values, whereas their conservative counterparts are likely motivated by the conservative values such as security, conformity and tradition. On the other hand, egalitarian managers can engage in CSR based on their self-transcendence values, while non-egalitarian managers might involve in CSR based on their self-enhancement values as achievement and power. Practical implications The study can provide to all stakeholders a new perspective and a sound reference point to understand and monitor the socially responsible behaviours of managers. Originality/value The proposed bases of managerial values to CSR deepen the understanding on the antecedents of CSR. Based on the study, the future studies can configure out the role of diverse values on CSR in line with their ideological roots.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of social and economic exchange relationships on organizational commitment in line with the mediation effect of organizational trust. Design/methodology/approach In order to test the hypotheses of the study, a survey was conducted on a sample of 213 employees who were working at manufacturing companies in Turkey. Findings The findings of the study reveal that both dimensions of the exchange relationship positively affect organizational commitment and these links are mediated by organizational trust. Research limitations/implications The study provides reliable scales to measure the social and economic exchange relationship between employees and employing organizations. Although the sample of the study was relatively small and drawn from a single country, the Cronbach’s α values of scales were obtained above the recommended threshold value. Practical implications Organizational leaders might adopt an exchange perspective to build a trustworthy relationship with their employees. Developing such a mindset is very important at an employment structure, which has become highly flexible and contingent during the last decades. Originality/value The study attempts to distinguish the twofold nature of the exchange relationship in organizations based on a theoretical model to reveal the impact of each dimension on organizational level outcomes in conjunction with the mediating role of trust. In doing so, the study contributes to the literature by incorporating social and economic exchange in a holistic view as well as defining each dimension in a broader sense by including some employee-related challenges of business organizations such as diversity, social responsibility, leadership, ethical culture and so on.

Purpose The literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) provides fragmented and sometimes contradictory empirical findings on the role of managerial values in CSR. This is partly due to the absence of a unifying framework and its subsequent measurement. Following the Schwartz’s (1994) Value Survey (SVS), this study aims to provide an original scale to measure CSR values based on their ideological underpinnings of classical liberalism and economic egalitarianism. Design/methodology/approach Following the scale-development procedure, a scale was developed in six steps and tested on a sample of 105 Turkish managers through confirmatory factor analysis. Findings On the basis of a sound theoretical construct, the study provides an original and reliable measurement tool to capture the link between ideology and values. A scale with a four-factor solution as self-transcendence, self-enhancement, openness to change and conservation was obtained at the end of the process. Research limitations/implications Despite that the sample size was relatively small and drawn from a single country setting, the model has a reasonable fit to the data, and the scale is reliable at 0.869 Cronbach’s alpha value. Therefore, the scale can be used in future studies to reveal the nature, structure and magnitude of socially responsible managerial values based on their ideological roots. Social implications Although the managerial values towards CSR have been studied for a long time, the interwoven relations of such values with diverse ideological stances are not clearly investigated in literature. By linking values and ideologies on a theoretical ground, the scale developed in this study can be used as a valuable tool to better understand socially responsible behaviours of managers in our modern societies. Originality/value Considering the fragmented body of knowledge in literature, this scale can be useful for both scholars and practitioners when exploring the ideologically driven and value-laden nature of socially responsible behaviours.

Purpose The present study attempts to analyze how social entrepreneurs (SEs) develop technological innovation in the face of diverse institutional logics, which are embedded in the National Systems of Innovation (NSI). Design/methodology/approach Based on the content analysis of Ashoka Fellows, the study compares SEs in developed and developing countries, which represent strong versus weak NSIs. Findings SEs selectively couple the elements of diverse institutional logics to ensure the resource inflow and legitimacy of their operations. However, SEs particularly at weak NSIs are also decoupling their profit and non-for-profit branches to address conflict among diverse logics. Moreover, the study finds that 12 out of 20 entrepreneurs who identify themselves as technologically innovative did not develop any new technological innovation. Practical implications The study shows that being technologically innovative depends on the acquisition of resources and the management of legitimacy challenges, SEs can diversify their innovations by creating more incremental, architectural and modular innovations to address competing demands among logics. Social implications The study reveals that SEs in weak NSIs interact with multiple institutional logics more frequently than their counterparts in strong NSIs. Although this context leads them to diversify their technological innovation, there is a need for improving the NSIs of SEs in developing countries to facilitate the continuity of resource inflow and ensure the legitimacy of their operations. Originality/value Integrating two complementary theoretical lenses, the study contributes to the literature by exploring the impact of the interaction between logics nested within a supra system and SEs’ ability to develop technological innovation.