Search results

Although the topic of inclusion has become a hot and unavoidable issue for organizations, research on how this topic is being addressed in companies is still almost nonexistent. How do HR managers promote workplace inclusion? The objective of this study is to answer this research question.

The results are based on evidence that emerged during in-depth interviews conducted with 16 human resources professionals from the world of large-scale retail trade, as well as from the analysis of documents and reports produced by the companies in which the interviewed professionals work.

The findings reveal that the promotion of corporate inclusion is not only aimed at satisfying the need for belongingness and uniqueness. It is also aimed at satisfying two other types of human needs, namely, the human need to share and the human need to be impactful. In addition, the results reveal that HR professionals promote workplace inclusion through six initiatives that can be traced to two main ways in which inclusion is conceived.

Even though there is an extensive number of studies aimed at defining and measuring the construct of workplace inclusion, progress has not been made in understanding how HR professionals promote inclusion. This study covers this literature gap by bringing to light the existence of two main meanings associated by HR professionals to workplace inclusion: extensive inclusiveness and narrow inclusiveness.

The stakeholder theory is a prominent management approach that has primarily been adopted in the past few years. Despite the increase in the theory’s use, a limited number of studies have discussed ways to develop, execute and measure the results of using this strategic approach with stakeholders. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by conducting a systematic review of the stakeholder management process.

Five databases were selected to search articles published from 1985 to 2015. The keywords used were stakeholder management, stakeholder relationship and stakeholder engagement. Starting from 2,457 articles identified using a keyword search, 33 key journal articles were systematically reviewed using both bibliometric and qualitative methods for analysis.

The results highlight that stakeholder management is increasingly embedded in corporate activities, and that the coming of the internet, social networking and Big Data have put more pressure on companies to develop new tools and techniques to manage stakeholders online. In conclusion, synthesizing the findings and developed framework allows the understanding of different streams of research and identifies future steps for research.

While literature reviews are a widespread practice in business studies, only a few more recent reviews use the systematic review methodology that aggregates knowledge using clearly defined processes and criteria. This is the first review on stakeholder management in which the structure is existing knowledge on strategy development, execution and the measurement of performance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between individual motivation – both intrinsic and extrinsic – and learning effectiveness; moreover, this paper also investigates whether this relationship is moderated by gender.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted. The research measured intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and learning effectiveness among 1,491 students attending a course-work in informatics and computer basics in three different contexts: Burundi, Morocco and India.

Findings suggest that intrinsic motivation has a positive effect on learning effectiveness, while extrinsic motivation has a negative effect on learning effectiveness. It also shows that gender has a moderating role.

This research offers interesting contributions to the extant literature: first, it is the first to consider the moderating role of gender in the relationship between students’ motivation and learning effectiveness; second, it proposes the analysis of a rather broad data set with 1,491 students, thus providing strong empirical research based on a consistent data set.

Social enterprises (SEs) face tensions when combining financial and social missions, and this is particularly evident in the scaling process. Although extant research mainly focuses on SEs that integrate their social and financial missions, this study aims to unpack social impact scaling strategies in differentiated hybrid organizations (DHOs) through the case of African SEs.

The study entails an inductive multiple case study approach based on four case SEs: work integration social enterprises (WISEs) and fair trade producer social enterprises (FTPSEs) in Uganda and Kenya. A total of 24 semi-structured interviews were collected together with multiple secondary data sources and then coded and analyzed through the rigorous Gioia et al. (2013) methodology to build a theoretical model.

The results indicate that SEs, as differentiated hybrids, implement four types of social impact scaling strategies toward beneficiaries and benefits (penetration, bundling, spreading and diversification) and unveil different dual mission tensions generated by each scaling strategy. The study also shows mutually reinforcing mechanisms named cross-bracing actions, which are paradoxical actions connected to one another for navigating tensions and ensuring dual mission during scaling.

This study provides evidence of four strategies for scaling social impact, with associated challenges and response mechanisms based on the cross-bracing effect between social and financial missions. Thus, the research provides a clear framework (social impact scaling matrix) for investigating differentiation in hybridity at scaling and provides new directions on how SEs scale their impact, with implications for social entrepreneurship and dual mission management literature.

The model offers a practical tool for decision-makers in SEs, such as managers and social entrepreneurs, providing insights into what scaling pathways to implement (one or multiples) and, more importantly, the implications and possible solutions. Response mechanisms are also useful for tackling specific tensions, thereby contributing to addressing the challenges of vulnerable, marginalized and low-income individuals. The study also offers implications for policymakers, governments and other ecosystem actors such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and social investors.

Despite the growing body of literature on scaling social impact, only a few studies have focused on differentiated hybrids, and no evidence has been provided on how they scale only the social impact (without considering commercial scaling). This study brings a new perspective to paradox theory and hybridity, showing paradoxes come into view at scaling, and documenting how from a differentiation approach to hybridity, DHOs also implemented cross-bracing actions, which are reinforcement mechanisms, thus suggesting connections and synergies among the actions in social and financial mission, where such knowledge is required to better comprehend how SEs can achieve a virtuous cycle of profits and reinvestments in social impact.

Small social entrepreneurs (SSEs) who operate in resource-constrained environments frequently use entrepreneurial bricolage (EB) to overcome such limitations. Research in social entrepreneurship mainly focuses on the outcomes of bricolage, with little knowledge about individual mechanisms that lead SSEs to use this approach. The authors fill this gap by investigating the role of entrepreneurial passion in fostering bricolage and the mediating effect of the sense of community.

To validate the theoretical model, the authors surveyed 279 SSEs operating in 7 African countries. The authors assessed the risk of common method bias, internal reliability and the validity of constructs and tested the hypotheses by performing linear regression analysis.

This study’s results demonstrate that passionate SSEs operating in resource-constrained contexts develop a sense of community by perceiving it as a valuable resource provider and that sense of community moves them to engage with EB.

Within the field of social entrepreneurship, this study examines the importance of a sense of community among SSEs; this evidence opens new avenues for research on drivers of small businesses operating in developing economies.

This study has practical implications for SSEs on implementing bricolage, and guidelines for governments, policymakers and NGOs in better developing their policies and programs considering the role of communities.

This study contributes to the literature by highlighting individual-level drivers of bricolage for SSEs operating in resource constraints, and revealing the relevance of the subjective view of the role of the community.

Since the number of Entrepreneur Education Programs (EEPs) is constantly increasing, there is an ongoing debate on their effectiveness on entrepreneurial intention, but mixed results were found. This paper aims to analyse the impact of an EEP on the antecedents of the entrepreneurial intention in Ghana.

Following the theory of planned behaviour, we analysed the impact of the EEP on 30 participants of the “E4impact MBA” managed in Accra (Ghana), using an explanatory approach with a mixed-method quasi-experimental design featuring pre and post-testing as well as methods for measuring students’ self-perceived change.

Results show that EEPs strongly and positively affect some physiological characteristics, skills, and knowledge of participants, which are antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions.

The study offers a perspective of EEPs programs in a fast-expanding market, covering the lack of studies on entrepreneurship in these areas, and it is focus on a post-graduate program covering the lacks of studies on these level of education.

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how the actual use of supports available from the state, organisations and families helps workers reduce perceived work–family conflict (WFC), explored from both works interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) perspectives.

The study is based on a survey of 2,029 employees at six large Italian firms. To test hypotheses, a hierarchical regression analysis was performed.

WFC should be explored considering its bi-directionality, as supports have different impacts on WIF and FIW. Workplace instrumental support elicits mixed effects on WFC, whereas workplace emotional support and familiar support reduce both FIW and WIF.

The study is limited to the Italian national context, and data were collected in a single moment of time, which did not allow for observing changes in employees’ lives.

Human resource managers, as well as policy makers, will find this study’s results useful in designing effective work–life balance policies and supports, in which attention is devoted mainly to promoting workplace emotional supports and facilitating familiar support.

The study highlights that by reducing pressures from work and family responsibilities that generate WFC conditions, organisational and familiar supports elicit different effects, which should be considered carefully when defining policies and interventions.

This study is one of the few that compare the role of supports provided by actors in different sectors on FIW and WIF, thereby allowing for an understanding of whether the bi-directionality of the conflicts is a relevant perspective.

This article aims at investigating knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) between founder firms and corporate foundations (CFs), looking at mechanisms able to enhance CFs’ orientation of effectiveness.

We analyze 50 questionnaires collected through a survey of CFs based in Italy (redemption of 42.7% of the total). We use a number of regressions to verify the change of explained variance moving from a basic model with control variables (enter method) and a model including KTE mechanisms with an impact on orientation to effectiveness (stepwise method).

The analysis produced a model which underlines the influence of knowledge transfer mechanisms in stimulating orientation to effectiveness. The adoption of specific knowledge transfer mechanisms by founder firms can have a significant influence on how CFs manage their effectiveness. Three mechanisms emerge from the study as elements with a positive impact.

The results apply to nonprofit or public bodies, especially if we consider partnerships or organizational networks. The individuated criteria for selecting a positive KTE could drive similar choices of other nonprofit bodies.

The study individuates a set of practices that are potentially able to influence positively the orientation to effectiveness of CFs, and the capacity to perform their activities and respond to social needs more successfully.

This research considers CFs as founder firms’ subsidiaries, with a growing strategic importance. This research reveals how KTE mechanisms can foster the development of orientation to effectiveness if implying interaction, firms’ commitment, autonomy, and alignment with the firms’ strategy and CFs’ purposes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the points of convergence between intellectual capital and corporate responsibility reports with a focus on human capital issues.

To investigate this degree of integration the paper analyzes the common elements between human capital accounting and the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines 2002. The assessment methodology consists of a study of which indicators for employees proposed in GRI guidelines are frequently used in 20 international best practices for intellectual capital reports.

Results show a large overlapping of indicators around three issues: the description of human capital, the reporting on diversity and opportunity, and the measurement of the quality and intensity of training.

The research is focused on human capital that is one of the three dimensions of intellectual capital. It could also be interesting to study the points of convergence between corporate responsibility and the remaining two dimensions of intellectual capital: network capital and organizational capital.

The results demonstrate that the opportunity exists to integrate intellectual capital and corporate responsibility report in a global report, that will be useful to orient the sustainability practices in developing human capital.

This paper sustains the possibility that a correct management of corporate responsibility practices will be an opportunity to develop intellectual capital and a source of value creation.

Starting from the premise that responsible managers utilize their competences and creativity to carry out projects which improve stakeholder satisfaction and economic performance simultaneously, the paper aims to present a classification of these solutions, called socio‐economic syntheses, and the way to reach them.

The paper refers to literature on corporate social responsibility and sustainability, with special attention to contributions on the relationship between social performance and economic performance. In particular, the model presented highlights several successful case studies that have been studied or directly observed in large and medium‐sized firms.

The paper provides a classification of seven categories of socio‐economic syntheses, from solutions concerning operational management, often applicable in different industries, to projects with greater strategic value, which are typically firm‐specific. Moreover, two ways to achieve a win‐win solution are proposed: the first starting from an idea of activity aimed at improving economic performance; the second from the desire to better satisfy expectation of one or more stakeholder categories.

In this paper practitioners can find suggestions and opportunities for better introduction of win‐win solutions inside their firms, which could be the fruit of imitation or creativity.

The classification of the socio‐economic syntheses represents a new conceptualization that opens up paths for an increasing number of solutions that can improve economic and socio‐environmental performance simultaneously.