The empirical relationship between a firm's social performance and its financial performance is still not well established in the literature. Despite more than 30 years of research and more than 100 ...empirical studies on the issue, the results are still mixed. We argue that the heterogeneous results found in previous studies are not due exclusively to problems related with the measurement instruments or the samples used. Instead, we posit that a more fundamental problem related with the endogeneity of social strategic decisions could be driving most of the empirical findings. We show that, using a panel data of 658 firms from 1991 to 2005, how some of the results found in previous research change, and some are even reversed when endogeneity is properly taken into account.
This article makes two related contributions to stakeholder theory and corporate governance theory. First, the authors seek to advance firm-level characterization of the emerging stakeholder model of ...corporate governance by analyzing two relevant dimensions of this model: the corporate social responsibility (CSR) function at the board level and stakeholder engagement. Second, the authors intend to examine the relationship between conformance to the stakeholder model of corporate governance and firm financial performance, taking into account the differences between countries, by using an international sample of large companies. The findings suggest that the traditional distinction between shareholder-centered and stakeholder-centered corporate governance systems also has importance for the CSR strategy.
Manuscript Type
Empirical
Research Question/Issue
We explore how the combinations of firm‐level corporate governance (CG) practices embedded in different national governance systems lead to high firm ...performance.
Research Findings/Insights
Using fuzzy set/qualitative comparative analysis, we uncover a variety of findings. First, we show that within each of the stylized national CG models, there are multiple bundles of firm‐level governance practices leading to high firm performance (i.e., equifinality). Second, we provide evidence of complementarity as well as functional equivalence between CG practices. Finally, we demonstrate that there can be heterogeneity (“differences in kind”) in firm governance practices within each stylized model of CG.
Theoretical/Academic Implications
We build on the configurational and complementarity‐based approaches to make the following theoretical claims. First, governance practices within firm bundles do not always relate to each other in a monotonic and cumulative fashion as this entails higher costs and possibly over‐governance. Second, practices in bundles do not need to be aligned toward the insider or the outsider model (“similar in kind”). We argue that non‐aligned practices can also be complementary, creating hybrid governance forms. Third, we predict functional equivalence across bundles of CG practices which grants firms agency on which of the practices to implement in order to achieve high performance.
Practitioner/Policy Implications
We contribute to comparative CG research by demonstrating that there are multiple governance paths leading to high firm performance, and that these practices do not always belong to the same national governance tradition. Therefore, our findings alert of the perils of “one size fits all” governance solutions when designing and implementing CG policies.
Ethics has recently gained prominence in debates surrounding social capital creation. Despite the significant theoretical progress in this field, it still lacks empirical research. The goal of this ...study is to empirically explore the ethical leadership of supervisors as an antecedent of the firm's social capital. We build on social learning theory to argue that employees can learn standards of appropriate behavior by observing the behavior of role models. By displaying and enforcing ethical behavior, supervisors can facilitate the process through which employees learn to feel empathy toward others and establish profound affective relationships with them. Data were collected from 408 Spanish, French, and Portuguese part-time MBA students. Using structural equation modeling techniques, we show that the ethical leadership of supervisors exerts a significant influence on the structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions of social capital.
The "Safe Campus Program," implemented in 2020 through 2021 at the University of Navarra (Spain), aimed to guarantee a safe return to university campus and prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome ...coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreaks, avoiding university-wide lockdown. It included COVID-19 education, campus adaptation, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. We describe the main characteristics of the program and analyze the SARS-CoV-2 cumulative incidence among 14 496 university members. The 14-day cumulative incidence in the university was 415.2 versus 447.7 in the region. The program, sustainable in the long term, achieved low SARS-CoV-2 in-campus rates. (
. 2022;112(4):570-573. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306682.
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CEKLJ, FSPLJ, ODKLJ, UL, VSZLJ
Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze the life habits and personal factors associated with increased severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) risk in a university ...environment with in-person lectures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To our knowledge, there are no previous longitudinal studies that have analyzed associations of behavioral and personal factors with the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection on an entire university population. A cohort study was conducted in the 3 campuses of the University of Navarra between August 24, 2020, and May 30, 2021, including 14,496 students and employees; the final sample included 10,959. Descriptive and multivariate-adjusted models were fitted using Cox regression. A total of 1,032 (9.4%) participants were diagnosed with COVID-19 (879 students and 153 employees), almost 50% living with their families. COVID-19 was associated with living in college or residence (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.45, 2.64), motor transportation (HR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.61), South American origin (HR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.20, 1.72), and belonging to Madrid’s campus (HR = 3.11, 95% CI: 2.47, 3.92). International students, especially from Latin America, mostly lived in university apartments or shared flats and cohabited with 4–11 people. Living in a big city (Madrid), was a significant risk factor.
SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19 identified in December 2019, an acute infectious respiratory disease that can cause persistent neurological and musculoskeletal symptoms such as ...headache, fatigue, myalgias difficulty concentrating, among others including acute cerebrovascular disease with a prevalence of 1-35%. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 in undergraduate students on their academic performance as an indicator of their intellectual ability and performance in a university that maintained 100% face-to-face teaching during the 2020-2021 academic year.
A total of 7,039 undergraduate students were analyzed in a prospective cohort study at the University of Navarra. A questionnaire including sociodemographic and behavioral questions was sent. PCRs were performed throughout the academic year for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and students' academic results were provided by the academic center, adjusted descriptive and multivariate models were performed to assess the association.
A total of 658 (9.3%) participants were diagnosed with COVID-19, almost 4.0% of them achieved outstanding academic results, while uninfected students did so in 7.3%. SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a significant decrease in having outstanding academic results (OR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.38-0.86).
Having COVID-19 disease, decreased academic performance in undergraduate students. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent infection even in the youngest sections of the population.
Ethics has recently gained importance in the debate over social capital creation. The goal of this study is to empirically examine the ethical work context of the firm as an antecedent of the firm's ...internal social capital. We build on person–situation interactionist theory to argue that individuals can learn standards of appropriate behavior induced by the ethical work context in which they are embedded. By creating an ethical work context, managers can facilitate the process through which employees learn to feel empathy toward others and establish profound affective relationships with them. Data were collected from 1,817 individuals in 36 business units of 7 Spanish, French, and Portuguese corporations. Using structural equation and hierarchical linear modeling techniques, our results reveal three phenomena. First, we show that a business unit's ethical work context exerts significant influence on the structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions of internal social capital. Second, the managerial practices that constitute the ethical work context are not equally important across the seven corporations; in particular, managerial practices are more influential in those corporations that belong to knowledge-intensive industries. Third, a business unit's internal social capital is influenced not only by the business unit's ethical work context, but also by the ethical work context of the corporation to which it belongs.
The stakeholder view of the firm has been justified under instrumental and normative bases. Whereas the instrumental basis argues that “enlightened stakeholder management” is a necessary precondition ...to seek shareholders’ value maximization, the normative basis relies on the observance of ethical norms by managers and the notion that the stakeholders should be treated as “ends.” Some scholars argue that both views actually converge. However, this article provides empirical evidence of the negative effects of stakeholder management in shareholders’ value in the short run and the positive effects over the long run, using a longitudinal database of 658 U.S. firms. Given the difficulties of anticipating the instrumental long-term financial effects of short-run decisions affecting the different stakeholders, the authors’ findings support the view of the normative basis for stakeholder theory based on ethics, norms, and heuristic criteria as a way to solve conflicts among the claims of different stakeholders.
There is a need of further research to understand how social capital in the organization can be fostered. Existing literature focuses on the design of reciprocity norms, procedures and stability ...employment practices as the main levers of social capital in the workplace. Complementary to these mechanisms, this paper explores the impact of ethical managerial behaviour on the development of social capital. We argue that a managerial behaviour based on the true concern for the well-being of employees, as well as their motivational and ethical development, can be particularly important for the generation of social capital in the organization. It is suggested that manager's behaviour should be based on three principles: following examplary behaviour, helping the employees to value the consequences of their actions in other persons, and not betraying employee's trust. When the manager conforms to those principles, he can ease the process through which employees develop associability and identification-based trust with the firm, the two main components of 'Organizational Social Capital'. Bringing ethics into the debate of social capital creation seems to us fundamental, as social capital in the firm is likely to be influenced by the ethical and motivational development of its members.
