Impact of e-Commerce on Corporate Governance and Ethics

It is always prudent that the business environment adopts technological platforms such as ecommerce, but there is a need to ascertain the risks involved to optimize the benefits. The current paper examines the impact of e-commerce on corporate governance and ethics in the retail sector. The research involved gathering the opinions of suppliers, customers, employees, government workers, traders, and as well as investors. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative approach. Quantitative data were gathered using a questionnaire administered on a corporate retail organization from different levels of workers, while indepth interviews were used for the qualitative data. Results from the questionnaire indicated meager customer relationship management on e-commerce platforms, stringent excess control rather than regulatory requirements and inadequate monitoring of the behavior activities of clients on e-commerce platforms. Also, the investors felt that e-commerce impact on shareholder activity was not satisfactory especially with regards to meetings, but they indicated agreement on the enhancement of resources with regards to the generation of organizational profits. The results show that overall satisfaction as a proxy for good corporate governance is dependent on investors and the government. However, issues such as difficulty in describing physical goods, elimination of unethical practices and untrustworthiness of intermediaries require inter-organizational compliance between different organizations and their stakeholders to manage risk on e-commerce platforms. It is therefore pertinent upon the organization and their stakeholder board to reduce the adverse impact on e-commerce through coordinated training on ethics and risk management to enhance mutual benefit for the entities involve

Impact of e-commerce on corporate governance and ethics: a case of corporates in Zimbabwe

The business environment is impacted by technology both negatively and positively. To this extent, therefore, it is only prudent that the business environment adopts technological platforms, such as e-commerce, but there is a need to ascertain the risks involved, in order to optimize the benefits. This study set out to determine the impact of e-commerce on corporate governance in the retail sector in Zimbabwe. The corporates under investigation were Total Zimbabwe, Complete Solutions Architects, Venturecom and Kenac. The study included gathering the views of suppliers, customers, employees, government, and trade as well as investors. It employed a quantitative research design which involved the ultimate determination of the regression equation and a qualitative design which used interviews from stakeholder respondents. Some of the notable results from the questionnaire indicated poor customer relationship management on e-commerce platforms, a more stringent control than regulatory requirements and inadequate monitoring of the behaviour and activity of clients on e-commerce platforms. The investors also felt that the impact of electronic commerce impact on shareholder activity was not satisfactory especially with regards to meetings, but they indicated satisfaction with the enhancement of resources with regards to the generation of organizational profits. The regression equation finally revealed that for overall satisfaction, as a proxy for good corporate governance, as the dependent factor the statistically independent factors were investors and government as a trade, which could imply that these are the definitive stakeholders. From the interviews, there was indication some of the salient issues about e-commerce that were indicated included the untrustworthiness of intermediaries, the difficulty in describing physical goods and the difficulty of eliminating unethical practices on electronic commerce platforms. Inter-organizational compliance between the organizations and their stakeholders was also revealed as being a major factor that was needed in order to reduce the contagion effect. This action was followed by the view that the boards’ responsibilities and roles of the corporate boards needed had to change to manage risk on e-commerce platforms. The study concluded by suggesting a longitudinal study of the same topic incorporating more stakeholders and including more hypotheses to test all the possible and proposed relationships. More time is also recommended to cater for the fast development of ecommerce and IT in generalM. Sc. (Computing Science (Information Systems))School of Computin

Female directorship on boards and corporate sustainability policies: Their effect on sustainable development

We aim to explore whether board gender diversity, specifically women institutional directors, improves the sustainability development and stakeholder engagement of listed firms by affecting corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. Moreover, within female institutional directors we can differentiate between banks and insurance companies (pressure-sensitive female institutional directors) and mutual funds, investment funds, pension funds and venture capital firms (pressure-resistant female institutional directors). Thus, the effect of these categories of directors on CSR policies is also analysed. Our findings suggest that female institutional, as a whole, have a positive effect on CSR policies, the same behaviour that show pressure-resistant female institutional, while pressure-sensitive institutional do not impact on CSR policies. This research provides a new framework for the role played by certain types of female directors (female institutional directors, female pressure-sensitive directors and female pressure-resistant directors) in CSR policies and, thus, may help policymakers to promote CSR policies, and to take action to promote responsible behaviour among listed firms

Seeking legitimacy through CSR: Institutional Pressures and Corporate Responses of Multinationals in Sri Lanka

Arguably, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are influenced by a wide range of both internal and external factors. Perhaps most critical among the exogenous forces operating on MNEs are those exerted by state and other key institutional actors in host countries. Crucially, academic research conducted to date offers little data about how MNEs use their CSR activities to strategically manage their relationship with those actors in order to gain legitimisation advantages in host countries. This paper addresses that gap by exploring interactions between external institutional pressures and firm-level CSR activities, which take the form of community initiatives, to examine how MNEs develop their legitimacy-seeking policies and practices. In focusing on a developing country, Sri Lanka, this paper provides valuable insights into how MNEs instrumentally utilise community initiatives in a country where relationship-building with governmental and other powerful non-governmental actors can be vitally important for the long-term viability of the business. Drawing on neo-institutional theory and CSR literature, this paper examines and contributes to the embryonic but emerging debate about the instrumental and political implications of CSR. The evidence presented and discussed here reveals the extent to which, and the reasons why, MNEs engage in complex legitimacy-seeking relationships with Sri Lankan institutions

Guest Introduction Quaker Business, Industry and Commerce: New Critical Perspectives and Pathways

This themed edition of Quaker Studies assembles a collection of papers by Quaker and other scholars from the fields of management and organisation to examine Quakerism in business, industry and commerce. These papers arise out of the joint Quaker Studies Research Association/Centre for Research in Quaker Studies conference held at Woodbrooke on 21 June 2018. The themes explored in them cover a wide, and previously under-explored, terrain that encompasses both a retrospective look at the influence and impact of Quaker-owned businesses and practices on society and vice versa and the often uneasy relationship between contemporary management theory and practice and Quaker tradition. Furthermore, the papers I have selected for this themed issue either adopt a critical perspective or elaborate new and interesting ways to understand the interface between Quakerism and business, with the ambition to open new pathways for future research. In other words, it has been the intention both to break new ground in Quaker Studies and to excite and interest management scholars to (re)turn to Quaker practice as a means to interpret contemporary phenomena

Trust in electronic banking

Trust among stakeholders is vital for the successful implementation of IS projects such as electronic banking, because such IS initiative do not typically require face-to-face interactions. The Business-to-Business (B2B) model is an example of a relationship that facilitates the implementation of electronic banking. For example, ICT suppliers in alliance with banks to provide and support the IT infrastructure required for electronic banking implementation. These different stakeholders may have different perceptions of trust, which may affect electronic banking implementation. This short paper’s aim is to examine how trust from the stakeholder theory perspective impacts the implementation of electronic banking. This paper proposes, from the stakeholder perspective, an integrated framework that conceptualizes trust between B2B relationships as antecedent to the successful implementation of electronic banking. The research will be based on the multi-case study method. Our proposed study provides a foundation for researchers and practitioners alike in understanding the concept of trust and its impact on IS projects

Business ethics and corporate responsibility:a new perspective

Starting from the famous but controversial statement of Peter Drucker (1981) - “There is neither a separate ethics of business nor is one needed”, this paper goes on to argue that business ethics and social responsibility are not unrelated. It shows how it is necessary to distinguish between business philosophy and philosophy of business. Through this distinction it develops a framework that relates the two – business ethics and CSR. It goes on to argue that there is a paradigm shift in the philosophy of business. This shift leads to a framework wherein a new perspective on business ethics and social responsibility emerges. It is coined as Corporate Responsibility. It consists of (a) good governance (b) corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) (c) environmental accountability. It discusses the role of top managers in achieving Corporate Responsibility through Organizational Transformation. This is the integrated approach to Corporate Responsibility that needs to be incorporated into International Standards of Social Responsibility. However, the major challenge is of evolving a strategy for laying down standards that take care of major issues and provide standards that are measurable, objective and universal. The three central issues of International Social Responsibility Standards are: 1. Acceptance of the tri-focal approach – Governance, Responsibility and Accountability. 2. Approach to methods of measurement is resolved. 3. The mandatory versus voluntary issue can be resolved only if issues of measurement and their universal applicability is resolved.

Corporate sustainability reporting index and baseline data for the cruise industry

Sustainability policies and corporate reports demonstrate the impacts cruise companies acknowledge as their responsibility, and the actions put in place to address them. This paper develops a corporate social responsibility index based on the Global Reporting Initiative, with industry specific additions including labor and human rights, health and safety, and environmental and economic aspects. Companies disclose more management than performance data, which is typical of early stages of development. Companies disclosing less information focus on soft indicators which are easy to mimic and demonstrate posturing. Items disclosed tend to be marginal to the core of the business, have a positive economic impact or pre-empt sector regulation. Reports echo the voice of the corporations and not the demands of stakeholders. Institutional isomorphism has not influenced a homogenization in reporting, with only the largest firms reporting at this stage

Third sector accounting and accountability in Australia: anything but a level playing field

This research report seeks to understand why some Australian not-for-profit organisations make voluntary financial disclosures beyond their basic statutory obligations. Introduction This paper surveys previous work on voluntary information disclosures in accounting reports of Australian Not-for-Profit organisations (NFPs). This is new research and is a part of a project to evolve a comprehensive explanation of why Australian NFPs disclose what they do disclose; and to capture and explain patterns of variations between NFPs between what they regard to disclose and the type of information they disclose. To accomplish this, first some background information about the NFP sector are considered. Then, the Australian NFP sector is reviewed. Third, the information needs of some key stakeholders are briefly discussed. Next, the research methodology where a literature survey which looks at not just disclosures to NFPs but to the commercial sector that are plausibly &nbsp