CSR through the CEO’s pen

Gatti, Lucia; Seele, Peter

doi:10.1007/s00550-015-0361-8

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In recent years before the pandemic outbreak, several of our companies have renewed their top management, reoriented their business strategies, established new alliances or merges (i.e., FCA + PSA, Renault + Nissan), or even reconsidered their purpose, culture, and values (i.e., Ford or Nissan), to enhance competitiveness, to better face transformational and sustainability challenges ahead related to new technologies and new regulation framework, or in relation to recent scandals (Garcia-Ortega et al, 2019). Meanwhile, in line with the findings of Gatti and Seele (2015), and contrary to Matten and Moon (2008), within this specific sector, their CSR is found relatively uniform, independently of the country of origin, probably as a result of the existing global framework under the 2030 Agenda (United Nations, 2019).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 78%

“…CEOs also use them to promote a positive image of the company (Hyland, 1998) or to gain or recover legitimacy, credibility, reputation, or trust (Beelitz & Merkl-Davies, 2012; Connor, 2010; de-Miguel-Molina et al, 2019). The letters are in fact a rich source to investigate the leadership style, ethical approach, CSR approach, mindset values, and rhetoric of CEOs (Abrahamson & Amir, 1996; Amernic & Craig, 2007; Amernic et al, 2010; Craig & Amernic, 2018; de-Miguel-Molina et al, 2019; Gatti & Seele, 2015; Mäkelä, 2013; Marais, 2012; Van Alstine & Barkemeyer, 2014; Weber, 2010). Far from a mere introductory presentation, letters are indeed a powerful strategic communication tool for CEOs to exercise their leadership.…”

Section: Literature Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

CSR and CEO’s Moral Reasoning in the Automotive Industry in the Era of COVID-19

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper assesses whether and to which extent the COVID-19 pandemic, which represents a scenario of high moral intensity, is influencing the moral reasoning of top CEOs (chief executive officers) in the paradigmatic case of the automotive industry and how this moral reasoning relates to their CSR response to the crisis and their CSR plans in the long run. To this end, we took the CEO letters before and after the pandemic outbreak of the top 15 automotive companies, and applied Weber’s method to conduct a moral reasoning categorization, along with an examination of their CSR approach and initiatives. The results show a predominant moral paralysis among these CEOs, where positive reactions addressed are philanthropic in nature and more likely to be a transient response to the crisis, rather than a sustained long-term improvement of their CSR rooted in a significant moral approach enhancement. Furthermore, CEOs at the lowest stages of moral reasoning, primarily focused on their own business and immediate stakeholders, are less likely to highlight these philanthropic initiatives. The outcome evidences the convenience of addressing CSR from the lens of moral reasoning, and it further draws the attention of the scientific community, companies and their top management, stakeholders, and society to the relevance of investigating and considering the moral reasoning of top management in large corporations and its implications.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Literature Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CSR and CEO’s Moral Reasoning in the Automotive Industry in the Era of COVID-19

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most studies focus on market value, determined by the company's share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding, as the aim is to determine the impact of CSR on both shareholder behaviour and profits. Heiduk & McCaleb (2014) and Gatti & Seele (2015) argue that there is a wide gap in the performance of CSR-aware European companies, compared to Asian and American companies. This is claimed to be due to differences in culture and history, as European investors seem to place higher value on SRI than Asian and American investors (Auer & Schuhmacher, 2016).…”

Section: Impact Of Esg Criteria On Company Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Is Socially Responsible Investment Outperforming Conventional Investment or Not? A Meta—Analysis

AitElMekki¹

2020

AJIBM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This meta-analysis provides an overview of the current literature on Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). It presents the underlying motivation, history and current best practices. The in-depth analysis examines a large body of research and addresses two key issues. The first objective was to determine the relative performance of SRI vehicles compared to their conventional benchmarks. The analysis revealed a lack of consensus in previous research. Some studies argue that SRI funds perform as well as, and/or worse than conventional benchmarks, while others challenge these findings. The second objective was to analyse the impact of corporate social responsibility on the company's financial performance. Here, the analysis covered almost four decades, from the 1980s to 2020. It examined more than 100 academic studies, with an overall sampling period that ran from 1960 to 2019. The results provide a solid platform for future work. The study provides researchers with a well-documented, structured overview of the existing literature on SRI, and identifies gaps that could be filled by future studies.

show abstract

“…The CEO's letter has a relevant role in sustainable communication, which is one of the main success factors in CSR. The related body of literature recognizes the CEO's letter as a rich source to investigate CSR and the relevance of its rhetoric in communicating their values [6,[97][98][99][100][101][102]. CEO discourse is also used to gain legitimacy, credibility, and trust from stakeholders [56,97].…”

Section: Moral Reasoning In Ceos' Lettersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Likewise, the institutional theory states that political, educational, and cultural factors influence the CSR approach of companies [119]. Gatti and Seele [98] provided evidence of such influence, but on the other hand, exposed common CSR trends among companies from the same market sector. Paul [120] stated that leading companies are expected to establish practices and norms that other firms might be likely to follow.…”

Section: Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining CEOs’ Moral Reasoning in the Automotive Industry

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper examines the moral reasoning trends of CEOs (chief executive officers) in the automotive industry, gauging their relations to ethical behaviors and scandals as well as analyzing the influence of scandals and other factors on their moral reasoning. For such a purpose, we carried out a moral reasoning categorization for the top 15 automotive companies in vehicle production in 2017 by applying Weber’s method to letters written by CEOs for the period 2013–2018. A positive global trend was observed, with some CEOs reaching high levels, although the evolution was uneven without clear patterns and, in the light of facts, not sufficient, at least in the short term. We also found evidence linking the moral reasoning stages with the ethical performance of companies and introduced the concept “tone ‘into’ the top”, reflecting how CEO moral reasoning can be shaped by the company and external factors. This paper stresses the importance of considering the moral tone at the top in relation to company ethical behaviors and the interest of education in business ethics. The outcome is useful for CEOs and other managers seeking to improve corporate social responsibility (CSR) and company ethical performance and to anticipate conflicts as well as to leverage for future research.

show abstract

CSR through the CEO’s pen

Cited by 6 publications

References 54 publications

CSR and CEO’s Moral Reasoning in the Automotive Industry in the Era of COVID-19

CSR and CEO’s Moral Reasoning in the Automotive Industry in the Era of COVID-19

Is Socially Responsible Investment Outperforming Conventional Investment or Not? A Meta—Analysis

Examining CEOs’ Moral Reasoning in the Automotive Industry

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About