Society and Business Review

Sustainable development: a vague and ambiguous “theory” : Table of Contents

Yvon Pesqueux — Mon Sep 28 08:59:09 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The notion of “sustainable development” has had a short and tumultuous history, including a departure from economic reductionism by focusing on a multidimensional aspect and addressing the issues of its scope across many disciplines. It has become a project enabling a rethinking of capitalism based on the concept of a reformed type of capitalism. The purpose of this paper is to study this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the following arguments: the presentation of sustainable development as a “vague” theory, an empirical proof of this vagueness with regard to corporate actions whose justification is based around the notion of sustainable development, and finally the ambiguities of the notion. Findings – The notion of sustainable development raises the question of an apparent consensus on its correlates: solidarity, responsibility, equity, etc. It tends to establish a protean sense of the firms' responsibility, particularly the larger ones. The largely political dimension of the notion has today consequences on its usage. Sustainable development as addressed in the firm tends to take on the dimension of a management issue, which is likely to persist due to its larger political dimension. Originality/value – The paper provides insight on the catch-all dimension of the notion and its appealing rhetorical character and bases the ambiguity related with references to an “in-between.” On the institutional level, it refers to a social and fair economy that stands arguably in between the state and the market. On the methodological level, it refers to heuristics of fear and hope.

A discourse analysis of the disciplinary power of management coaching : Table of Contents

Anne Ellerup Nielsen, Hanne Nørreklit — Mon Sep 28 08:59:09 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the control assumptions embedded in some textbooks on management coaching with a view to uncovering the potentialities and constraints applying to the individual's self-realisation project. Design/methodology/approach – By means of a qualitative discourse analysis of selected works on management coaching, the paper examines the rhetorical articulation of the management coaching concept in terms of established discourses of managing and controlling the individual. Findings – As a result of the findings, the paper categorises the management coaching literature into two types: employee and executive coaching, respectively. It demonstrates that employee coaching seems to involve action control and direct monitoring, while executive coaching involves control of the spirit as well as results/achievements, thereby generating tight constraints on the individual's self-realisation project. It concludes that coaching can be a stronger disciplining technique than control by numbers. Originality/value – The paper provides insight into how writing on management coaching may help to construct power structures and social relationships reflected in society. There have been other studies analysing, for example, how performance measurements produce power structures and social relationships, but to the best of one's knowledge none of these has focused on management coaching – nor have they drawn on discourse analysis, which allows one to discern the social orders of popular management practices.

Discourse analysis and corporate social responsibility: a qualitative approach : Table of Contents

Rodolphe Ocler — Mon Sep 28 08:59:09 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how firms build and develop corporate discourse in the field of corporate social responsibility (CRS). The paper has two main objectives: to clarify notions that are used when analyzing discourse; and to provide a qualitative methodology to analyze how the discourse is used to construct a CRS strategy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a qualitative methodology, deconstructing four CRS reports using a story-telling approach. Findings – The analysis shows that firms construct their environment while marketing the report on social responsibility, in order to make of it an asset in an institutional communication system. Research limitations/implications – Further attention should be devoted to the specificity of qualitative approach and to discourse analysis (selection of the corpus, validity and triangulation, etc.). Originality/value – The paper shows how discourse can be used to provide competitive advantage. It also provides a clear framework while using discourse analysis and identifies the major pitfalls that should be avoided when using such a methodology.

From folk-tales to shareholder-tales: semiotics analysis of the annual report : Table of Contents

Gaétan Breton — Mon Sep 28 08:59:09 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of semiotics analysis to better understand the annual report. It starts with the idea that the annual report is telling stories to the reader. As a form of novel, it can be analysed with the same instrument. Design/methodology/approach – The goal here is methodological. It is to propose an organized body of techniques that will allow anybody to conduct analysis from it. Therefore, one example is used uniquely to illustrate the method. The advantages of semiotics over content analysis are numerous. Content analysis remains quite trivial (counting words), while semiotics analysis takes into account the structure of the story at many levels. Findings – Framed by the categories of Aristotle's rhetoric, a method is developed that is replicable with a limited background in the source disciplines. The results suggest that the annual report is clearly telling stories and respond quite positively to this kind of approach. Originality/value – Although it is often discussed as a general issue, there has so far been no proposal of an integrated method for analysing accounting narratives over content analysis.

Anti-corporate activist anger: inappropriate irrationality or social change essential? : Table of Contents

Sheldene K. Simola — Mon Sep 28 08:59:09 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the false distinction often drawn in both philosophy and social movement research between rationality of thought and the emotion of anger. By demonstrating that anger may represent something other than irrationality, the adequacy of common management responses to anti-corporate activist anger is questioned. Design/methodology/approach – Dominant western perspectives, in which anger is negatively constructed as a socially inappropriate irrationality in need of control, are contrasted with alternative viewpoints in which anger is conceptualized as an essential political mechanism through which judgments of injustice occur. Consonance between the latter view and “framing processes”, through which anger enters into social movements, is demonstrated. Findings – Negative social constructions of anger reflected in corporate strategies for managing anger may serve important political functions, including suppression of moral agency and judgments of injustice among those who are disfranchised. Practical implications – In order to validate citizen claims to moral equality, worth and community membership, managers should engage in authentic dialogue to openly evaluate and either agree on or challenge claims of injustice. Managers should also proactively involve peripheral (disfranchised) stakeholders in order to understand and incorporate their perspectives into sustainable and just business models. Originality/value – Although anger has long been recognized as a central feature of anti-corporate activism, it has received almost no scholarly attention. The false distinction often drawn between anger and rationality is described and, based on this, the adequacy of common corporate strategies for managing activist anger are questioned.

Is an ethical society possible? : Table of Contents

E. Isaac Mostovicz, Nada K. Kakabadse, Andrew Kakabadse — Mon Sep 28 08:59:09 BST 2009

Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline concepts that can build an ethical society. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines selected literature on citizenship through the lens of theory building-blocks. It identifies the role of leadership in society and its importance in developing society into an ethical one. Findings – The paper distinguishes between a ruler, which is defined socially as a hierarchical position, and a leader, which describes a personal quality and is embedded in psychology. Leadership is a developmental process, which is based on the type of choice a leader makes, which implies that two good options are always available from which to select. Nevertheless, one should make choices in accordance with his worldview, looking for affiliation (i.e. the Theta worldview), or looking for achievement (i.e. the Lambda worldview). Consequently, the choices leaders make for societal activities have to fit their own worldview. Pursuing the fit between one's worldview and planned societal or citizenship activities ensures that society continuously improves its ethical behaviour. The paper concludes with examining the meaning of citizenship and the state in modern times. Research limitations/implications – Being a theory-based exploration, the paper does not provide empirical examples of how this theory might be applied in practice. Originality/value – The paper fills a gap in explaining why current theories could not provide an ethical theory of citizenship. It follows by distinguishing between the definitions of a ruler and a leader. In addition, it questions the viewing of a state as a long-term entity.