With a meta-analysis of 85 studies and 190 experiments, the authors test the relationship between socially responsible investing and financial performance to determine whether including corporate social responsibility and ethical concerns in portfolio management is more profitable than conventional investment policies. The study also analyses the influence of researcher methodologies with respect to several dimensions of SRI on the effects identified. The results indicate that the consideration of corporate social responsibility in stock market portfolios is neither a weakness nor a (...) strength compared with conventional investments; the heterogeneous results in prior studies largely reflect the SRI dimensions under study. (shrink)

In this paper, we use online search engines and archive collections to examine the popularity of socially responsible investing (SRI) in newspapers and academic journals. A simple content analysis suggests that most of the papers on SRI focus on financial performance. This profusion of research is somewhat puzzling as most of the studies used roughly the same methodology and obtained very similar results. So, why are there so many studies on SRI financial performance? We argue that the academic literature on (...) SRI is mostly data driven: the famous ‘looking for the keys under the lamppost’ syndrome. The question of the financial performance of the SRI funds is certainly relevant but maybe too much attention has been paid to this issue, whereas more research is needed on a conceptual and theoretical ground, in particular the aspirations of SRI investors, the relationship between regulation and SRI as well as the assessment of extra-financial performances. (shrink)

The recent proliferation of International Accountability Standards (IAS) has attracted significant academic interest, but the extent of their adoption and integration by global firms remains underinvestigated.Capitalizing on institutional theory and the typology of strategic responses to institutional pressures proposed by Oliver (Acad Manage Rev 16(1): 145-179, 1991), this article uses an interpretive research methodology to analyze a sample of MNC practitioners' views regarding IAS, and derive some insights in relation to expected patterns of strategic responses to these new institutional pressures. (...) The article also presents relevant remarks relating to the usefulness of institutional theory in the context of research relating to IAS. The findings suggest patterns of engagement combining elements of both conformity and resistance, although the answers correspond most closely to a decoupling or symbolic conformity strategic response. The findings are fleshed out and their implications delineated/assessed. (shrink)

Social enterprises, as typical hybrid organisations, are embedded in a plural institutional environment in which some stakeholders regard achieving social goals as fundamental, while others see economic profit as the priority. A great challenge for social enterprises is dealing with the conflicts resulting from the diverse expectations of stakeholders. Based on the existing works on organisational legitimacy and the social business model, we propose a legitimacy-based social enterprise model composed of three main phases, namely, legitimacy proposition, legitimacy strategy planning, and (...) legitimacy strategy implementation. Our model is meant to serve as an effective legitimacy-building tool for social enterprises of various kinds. (shrink)

In this paper, we use online search engines and archive collections to examine the popularity of socially responsible investing (SRI) in newspapers and academic journals. A simple content analysis suggests that most of the papers on SRI focus on financial performance. This profusion of research is somewhat puzzling as most of the studies used roughly the same methodology and obtained very similar results. So, why are there so many studies on SRI financial performance? We argue that the academic literature on (...) SRI is mostly data driven: the famous ‘looking for the keys under the lamppost’ syndrome. The question of the financial performance of the SRI funds is certainly relevant but maybe too much attention has been paid to this issue, whereas more research is needed on a conceptual and theoretical ground, in particular the aspirations of SRI investors, the relationship between regulation and SRI as well as the assessment of extra‐financial performances. (shrink)

This article investigates the meaning of doing good and doing well in positive business. It examines the relationship between the two expressions and discusses their relevance, shedding new light on the significance of ‘positive’ in positive business and positive organizational scholarship. Thus, this article illuminates the ultimate end of positive states and practices. ‘Positive’ primarily represents values and assumptions. These lead to the creation of beneficial situations and marked improvements, which put individuals and organizations on an upward trajectory toward achieving (...) excellent functioning, assuring profitability in addition to sustainability and social well-being. Doing well, with reference to economic performance and profits, is partly constitutive of doing good. This presents a new approach regarding the role of economic outcomes in positive business and POS. It means that financial criteria do not have priority. Profits are considered vital and necessary, but the final ‘raison d'être’ of positive states and practices is the overall well-being of the stakeholders. (shrink)

Triple bottom line has been a popular slogan hinting at introducing a model to evaluate environmental and social impact. Just hinting, without delivering, can be seen as misleading, but the expressed ambition might deserve to be pursued rather than abandoned. Here, a sketchy model is developed about how to construct a net value that has an informative and relevant content. The problems and benefits of this model should be judged in comparison with the problems and benefits of the more fragmented (...) and inexplicit evaluation of an approach following the Global Reporting Initiative and other accounting guidelines. From the long list of desired actions by companies, there is a need to make priorities in a rational and explicit way. The triple bottom line is a candidate for becoming such a much-missed priority model. (shrink)