Doing good by going digital: A taxonomy of digital social innovation in the context of incumbents

2023 | Journal of Strategic Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Buck, Christoph; Krombacher, Anna; Röglinger, Maximilian; Körner-Wyrtki, Katrin

Abstract: Digital social innovation (DSI) offers incumbents a strategic field of action to ... Expand

Abstract: Digital social innovation (DSI) offers incumbents a strategic field of action to leverage the op­ portunities of digital technologies to address pressing societal challenges. By proposing a tax­ onomy and 12 clusters of incumbents’ DSI initiatives based on a sample of 296 real-world objects, we develop a unified understanding of DSI and its characteristics. This lays the foundation for further theorising on DSI from an incumbent perspective and for researchers to shape the DSI field. The taxonomy provides incumbents with an orientation to realise DSI’s rich strategic po­ tentials throughout the DSI ideation process and in assessing DSI types. Collapse

Topics: innovation management societal challenge database system value creation digital innovation

Methods: literature sample cluster analysis agglomerative hierarchical clustering structured literature research theory development

Theories: information systems theory

The Crisis in Local Newspapers and Organizational Wrongdoing: The Role of Community Social Connectedness

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Choi, Tony Jaehyun; Valente, Mike

Abstract: Drawing on institutional anomie theory, we examine how the crisis in local newsp ... Expand

Abstract: Drawing on institutional anomie theory, we examine how the crisis in local newspapers has induced organizational wrongdoings in local communities. We argue that, because local newspapers are the primary source of accountability journalism in local communities, their decline leads to an anomic state that increases the scale of organizational wrongdoing. We also investigate whether institutional complementarity helps overcome the anomic state: Due to functional similarity, community social connectedness compensates for the scarcity of local newspapers. Our analysis of U.S. metropolitan areas for the period of 2007–2015 reveals that the positive relationship between local newspaper scarcity and the scale of organizational wrongdoing is not present in all communities but does appear when a community lacks community social connectedness. We also find that this moderating role of community social connectedness is observed only for internal organizational wrongdoings that are less visible to the public than external ones. Collapse

Topics: digital news missing data decision making social capital database system

Methods: descriptive statistic statistical hypothesis test longitudinal research longitudinal data analysis hierarchical linear modeling

Theories: organizational behavior theory

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: The Effects of Common Ownership on Corporate Social Responsibility

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: DesJardine, Mark R.; Grewal, Jody; Viswanathan, Kala

Abstract: Common owners face an incredible investment challenge: managing systematic risk. ... Expand

Abstract: Common owners face an incredible investment challenge: managing systematic risk. Because common owners hold shares in multiple firms across an industry, an action (or inaction) by one firm that affects industry peers is felt more severely by common owners than by non-common owners. Research has largely focused on common owners’ role in orchestrating competitive dynamics among their portfolio firms, with almost no empirical investigation of how common owners manage systematic risk. Drawing on research showing that one firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) can produce positive spillovers for peer firms and that its irresponsibility can harm its peers, we argue that common owners increase firms’ CSR to produce spillovers that reduce systematic risk and multiply their investment returns. Consistent with our theory, we find that common ownership is positively associated with firm CSR. Unpacking that relationship, we find that increases in CSR are driven by common owners with long-term orientations and are concentrated in stakeholder sensitive industries, in which CSR spillovers are most economically impactful. We also find that common owners focus their efforts on financially material CSR over financially immaterial CSR. We use a natural experiment with a quasi-exogenous shock to rule out alternative explanations. Our study contributes to literatures on the antecedents of CSR and outcomes of common ownership, providing a new perspective on how common owners shape corporate strategic behavior. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.1620. Collapse

Topics: Chief Information Officer accounting corporate governance corporate social responsibility database system

Methods: descriptive statistic longitudinal research theory development difference in differences experimental group

The Returns to Nonmarket Strategies During Institutional Transitions: Investor Reactions to Actor and Tie Characteristics

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Gatignon, Aline; Gama, Marina A. B.; DeMello, Rodrigo B.

Abstract: We explain how investor perceptions of nonmarket strategies’ legitimacy, and the ... Expand

Abstract: We explain how investor perceptions of nonmarket strategies’ legitimacy, and thereby value, change during institutional transitions toward greater legal compliance. Indirect influence strategies should be better aligned with the transition and therefore become more legitimate than those associated with direct co-optation and control. Moreover, investors should assess this alignment based on two defining characteristics of firms’ nonmarket strategies, namely, the nonmarket actors and the ties involved. We, therefore, expect investors to value firms’ ties to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) more than to political actors and ties formed via donations more than board ties. We test our hypotheses in the context of seven police raids that took place in Brazil in 2014; these raids launched “Operation Car Wash,” an anticorruption probe that signaled to investors a shift toward greater legal compliance at that point in time. Ultimately, we find that firms benefited the most when both nonmarket actors and ties were aligned with the institutional transition (i.e., NGO donations), and they suffered the most when both characteristics were misaligned (i.e., political board ties). Our findings integrate nonmarket strategies’ political and social facets by showing how actor and tie characteristics jointly explain their success or failure. They also contribute to explaining which firms will be better positioned to weather institutional transitions between legal capture and legal compliance. Funding: This work was supported by Getúlio Vargas Pesquisa-Fundação Getúlio Vargas; Govil Family Faculty Scholar Award; Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.1616. Collapse

Topics: database system corporate governance financial performance accounting corporate social responsibility

Methods: Wald test robustness check qualitative interview statistical hypothesis test theory development

When Do Firms Crack Under Pressure? Legal Professionals, Negative Role Models, and Organizational Misconduct

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Gonsalves, Leroy

Abstract: Strain theory has long been invoked to explain organizational misconduct, with u ... Expand

Abstract: Strain theory has long been invoked to explain organizational misconduct, with underperformance creating pressure for firms to engage in morally objectionable activities. In this paper, I examine whether underperformance increases the risk of organizational misconduct. Drawing on institutional arguments about professions and social learning, I further predict that when experiencing performance strain, legal professionals will push the boundaries of the law, increasing the risk of misconduct if they have influence over decision making. However, industry peers caught engaging in misconduct should serve as negative role models, reducing the risk of the firm resorting to misconduct to overcome performance shortfalls. I test and find support for these predictions using longitudinal data on material legal claims filed against S&P 1500 firms between 2000 and 2017. The study extends the strain theory of organizational misconduct, identifying how legal professionals and negative role models shape firms’ strategic responses to performance pressure. Collapse

Topics: social media Slack decision making database system missing data

Methods: longitudinal research descriptive statistic robustness check SEC EDGAR Compustat

Theories: general strain theory

A Values-based Approach to Understanding Corporate- Stakeholder Interactions

2023 | Group Decision and Negotiation | Citations: 0

Authors: Kleinman, Gary; Palmon, Dan

Abstract: This paper develops a model of focal firm-stakeholder interactions incorporating ... Expand

Abstract: This paper develops a model of focal firm-stakeholder interactions incorporating the values of each party and the possible impact of incomplete contracts between them. The paper offers a values-based analysis of the forces driving the interaction between the parties. Firms exist in a web of perceived obligations and rights. We argue that entities in firm-stakeholder relationships have operational goals supported by terminal and instrumental values that affect the way that the parties behave and interact with others. Since various parties to an interaction may have different values and goals, this model allows for strategic interactions. While some relationships are bound by law or contract, others are not. Thus, the outcome cannot be prescribed with certainty, so an important question is whether the desired outcomes can be enforced. We draw upon contract theory to explore these issues, noting that performance under any contract is problematic since it cannot be assured in advance. We argue that the determinants of outcomes between the focal firm and its stakeholder groups are affected by the values and goals of each entity, while the nature of the contracts between them and the environment within which the interactions occur influence what can be achieved. Collapse

Topics: accounting systems design climate change environmental sustainability interorganizational relationship

Methods: survey

Theories: contract theory game theory social network theory

Big Tech’s power, political corporate social responsibility and regulation

2023 | Journal of Information Technology | Citations: 0

Authors: Lindman, Juho; Makinen, Jukka; Kasanen, Eero

Abstract: The economic dominance of large Internet tech companies, specifically the ‘Big F ... Expand

Abstract: The economic dominance of large Internet tech companies, specifically the ‘Big Five’ (Google, Apple, Meta née Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft), is fundamentally complicating the organisation of society. Their positions raise profound questions, old and new, at the intersection of information systems and political philosophy, where companies have traditionally appeared in liberal democracies as economic operators rather than powerful political actors that threaten to limit citizens’ fundamental rights significantly through their operations. Importantly, the traditional understanding of corporate social responsibility is rooted in the liberal-democratic conception of moral labour’s division between public and private powers in a market economy. Focussing on this division, the paper analyses the various types of political power these companies wield and the complexities of regulating that power. Thus, it contributes to the IS discipline’s theoretical discussion by introducing political theory concepts that hold untapped potential for reconciling Big Tech and modern liberal-democratic conceptions of society. Taking these concepts as underpinnings for discussing six types of power, in turn (business vs. politics, democratic government, institutions of a market economy, companies, civil society and citizens), the paper offers the discipline example research questions to tackle and points to potential directions for scholarship. Collapse

Topics: systems development IS discipline corporate social responsibility reference discipline Facebook

Methods: theoretical contribution

Theories: political theory

Corporate Social Responsibility Consistency: Moral Sensemaking from Top Management Team to Online Social Media

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Luo, Yuxiao; Peifer, Jared; Huang, Linmei

Abstract: Drawing on organization character theory and corporate social responsibility (C ... Expand

Abstract: Drawing on organization character theory and corporate social responsibility (CSR) sensemaking, this study explores the CSR consistency of moral sensemaking in the company from top management to social media communication channels. First, we measure CSR moral sensemaking in top management team (TMT) letters and firm-generated content (FGC) on social media platform based on the dictionary developed from qualitative content analysis, topic modeling, and CSR expert rating. Second, we compare the moral sensemaking between two communication channels. Third, we investigate the relationship between moral sensemaking consistency and CSR engagement of the company. Our results contribute to the literature in business ethics, management, and social media research in IS. The study will also offer an alternative way for CSR evaluation and bring practical implications to CSR investors and rating agencies. Collapse

Topics: sensemaking social media Twitter financial performance website

Methods: qualitative content analysis topic model statistical hypothesis test longitudinal research mixed method

The Value of Centralized IT in Building Resilience During Crises: Evidence from U.S. Higher Education’s Transition to Emergency Remote Teaching

2023 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Park, Jiyong; Son, Yoonseock; Angst, Corey

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations, including higher education institut ... Expand

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations, including higher education institutions, to rapidly adjust their operations. In the face of the pandemic, most higher education institutions shut down their campuses and transitioned to emergency remote teaching mode. This study examines digital resilience in higher education institutions through the conceptual lens of disaster response management, by assessing the role played by the centralized governance of information technology (IT) investments. We posit that centralized IT helps organizations maintain customer satisfaction with services during a crisis (e.g., student satisfaction with classes during COVID-19) by facilitating the organization-wide transition to an emergency operational mode and supporting its service operations. Consolidating data on IT investment, governance, and course evaluations from 463 U.S. higher education institutions from 2017-2020, we show that centralized IT helped organizations adapt better to the pandemic in terms of maintaining student satisfaction. Moreover, we found that centralized IT investments geared toward facilitating organizational coordination and providing instructional and technical support played a pivotal role in enabling ERT and improving student ratings during the crisis. These results are corroborated by interviews with CIOs of U.S. higher education institutions. Additional analyses also suggest that the effectiveness of centralized IT governance is contingent upon organizational size, dissimilarity of local units, and the strategic role of the CIO. We also discuss theoretical extensions toward digital resilience as well as practical implications. Collapse

Topics: IT investment pandemic IT centralization covid 19 Chief Information Officer

Methods: qualitative interview experimental group robustness check survey longitudinal research

CSR Communication on Twitter -A Scoping Review on Social Media Mining and Analytic Methods

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Pilgrim, K.; Koss, J.; Bohnet-Joschko, S.

Abstract: Adopting corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly mandato ... Expand

Abstract: Adopting corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly mandatory as international legislation puts pressure on companies to implement and report on appropriate CSR measures. As of 2024, a significant number of companies will need to report on CSR topics for the first time. To identify relevant topics that resonate best in the industry or even with one's own stakeholder groups and should therefore be picked up, addressed and reported on preferentially, social media mining (SMM) can be an efficient approach for companies. By reviewing applied SMM and analytic methods of Twitter data, we identified four methodological approaches that use algorithms to identify relevant CSR topics for companies to engage with. This scoping review thus provides a systematized overview of SMM pipelines for use, being equally relevant for academics and practitioners aiming at computational analysis of Twitter content regarding CSR activities and communication. Research aim and questionAs scoping reviews have become an increasingly popular approach for synthesizing research evidence by mapping the existing literature in the field of interest in terms of the volume, nature, and characteristics of the primary research (Pham et al., 2014), we aim to identify existing SMM and analytic approaches for research on CSR on Twitter employing a scoping (methods) review. Collapse

Topics: Twitter application programming interface database system social media open access

Methods: structured literature research computational algorithm machine learning network analysis topic model