Conscious Firms: A Disruptive Productivity Model with Human Development at the Service of Stakeholders

Abstract

In the present, social awareness is found in the form of organisations being conscious. The existence of the entrepreneurial phenomenon is explained from the social roots of human behaviour. Without sociability, there is no firm and without awareness, there is no responsible firm. By deeply exploring a case study of a conscious firm awarded by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, this study contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship and ethical and socially responsible business management. We offer a theory and a productive model with human development that fosters entrepreneurship and makes it possible to build ethical interactions between the firm and the stakeholders. The methodology used is qualitative with a humanistic approach and presents the hypothesis that, if conscious firms want to have high productive performance, they must empower the worker in a way that turns them into entrepreneurs of their own work. The most important conclusion of this work is that conscious firms must have a productivity model that combines two processes: sustainable economic growth and comprehensive human development. We also suggest theoretical and practical implications for the consolidation of ethical advancements in the business world.

The Relationship of Corporate Social Responsibility with Business Performance—A Bibliometric Literature Review

“…More specific were publications such as [145], which proposed an index for measuring CSR practices; [161], which analyzed the relationship between CSR and stock market performance; [162], which emphasized the basics of business management systems for excellence; [163], which investigated businesses' reputational risks with corporate social irresponsibility and [164], which explored the impact of corporate governance and CSR on business performance. Other key publications in this cluster include [154], which investigated corporate responses to intimate partner violence; [165], which discussed conscious firms and ethical business management; [166], which focused on banks' consideration of pollution records in lending decisions and [167], which highlighted the integration of business ethics, CSR and economic performance.…”