Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Abstract: In this dissertation, I explore the practices created to manage business ethics and\ncorporate social responsibility in multinational corporations and the relationship\nbetween them across three separate but interrelated articles. The first article\nsuggests that these practices are resident in distinct communities of practice, and\ntherefore there are boundaries in both meaning and identity that make alignment\nbetween them problematic. The second article looks at the boundaries between\nthese communities by exploring the history of the professional associations in the\nbusiness ethics and corporate social responsibility field in the United States, as\nwell as their current articulations of knowledge and competence in their respective\nfields. The third article is a single case study of a company that purposefully\naligned ethics, compliance, corporate social responsibility and sustainability\npractices and managers, and it explores both the enablers of alignment and the\nlearning stages that transformed them into a single community of practice.\nTheoretically, this work applies communities of practice, an organizational\nlearning theory, within the business and society field, thereby contributing a\nhelpful lens through which to explore responsible business practices and the\npractitioners that create and implement them. Leveraging this perspective, this\nresearch offers a theoretical explanation about why practices are not currently\naligned and illuminates both the barriers and enablers to future alignment. Practically, this work shows that boundaries exist between business ethics and\ncorporate social responsibility practices, and calls on scholars and managers who\nseek alignment to both build intentional bridges between these communities and\nconsider alternate trajectories for the evolution of these practices. Done well,\nlearning across the boundaries between these communities of practice could in\nturn catalyze managers’ understanding of ethics and responsibility in business.
Source: Econstor (Econstor)
Author: Angeli Weller
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2917467905