Toward a New Definition of Pro Bono

Every day, nonprofit groups around the country are meeting a wide variety of community needs, often with volunteer and corporate philanthropic assistance. Yet while these organizations are doing important and innovative work, they often cannot take their ideas to scale, in part because they lack the professional skills needed to operate as efficiently as possible, or to successfully plan for their growth. To help rectify this situation, The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, together with several key private and government partners, convened The Summit on Corporate Volunteerism in February 2008. Toward a New Definition of Probono, produced out of this summit, makes the case for utilizing probono volunteer services

Influence of sustainability practices and green image on the re-visit intention of small and medium-size towns

This study set a model to predict the e ect of corporate social responsibility and green image on visit intention in small and medium-size towns (SMST). At present, there is a keen social awareness towards environmental problems, and cities are required to reduce their ecological footprint and make more sustainable use of natural resources. Increasingly, tourists are considering “green options” in their decision making. The questionnaire responses, obtained from a sample of 221 tourism in Malaga town (Spain) were analyzed using a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to test the research hypothesis related to the positive influence of sustainability practices, green image, trust with the intention of revisiting related to the loyalty of the destination. This study shows that there is a positive relationship between sustainability practices and re-visit intention and between the green image and re-visit intention, both directly and indirectly, through trust. Also, the fact that this relationship is more significant if it is part of the green image than if it is part of sustainability actions. To practice, this study provides managerial implications to help executives adopt green actions, thanks to their positive e ects on tourist loyalty and the di erent way of manifesting this loyalty.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Motivating factors behind work-related social media activities by employees: Exploring the employer branding & social media relationship

Both academic and employers have been giving increasing relevance to the concept of Employer Branding. Whereas creating new departments, conferences, surveys, national and international “best employer” pools, this construct that mixes both marketing and human resources, is everywhere. Social media work-related use by employees, and the motivations behind this are yet unstudied. The connection between these two large topics can be considered important for a branded-based strategic approach to human talent. This thesis examines the potential factors that influence social media work-related behaviors by employees. It outlines the existent literature on employer branding dimensions and a scale on social media behaviors, proposing several hypotheses connecting the two. An online survey was developed based on existent scales and adapted to the reality of the study. Statistical analysis was applied to the data, with conclusions being drawn. A reflection upon the results was conducted. The results reveal that some of the analyzed employer branding related dimensions contribute to specific work-related social media behaviors. Hypotheses were accepted and those who were not were commented. Statistical evidence suggests that aspects such as brand image perception, compensation and income, corporate social responsibility, training, and organizational culture, can affect social media work-related behaviors such as consumption, contribution, and creation, either simultaneously or separately. Even though conclusions and managerial implications were retrieved, some of the results imply that the connection between the variables should be further explored.O mundo organizacional tem dado cada vez mais relevância ao employer branding. Desde a criação de novos departamentos, conferências, pesquisas, estudos internacionais e nacionais de classificação de empregadores, este conceito que mistura marketing e recursos humanos está em todo o lado. Adicionalmente, o uso das redes sociais relacionado com o trabalho, pelos colaboradores, e as motivações que levam a tal ainda estão pouco estudadas. A conexão entre estes dois grandes tópicos pode ser considerada importante para uma abordagem estratégica para a gestão de talento. Esta tese examina os fatores potenciais que influenciam os comportamentos relacionados com o uso de redes sociais em contexto profissional pelos funcionários. A revisão da literatura explora as dimensões do employer branding, e uma escala de comportamentos nas redes sociais, propondo várias hipóteses que ligam as duas. Foi desenvolvido um questionário online baseado em escalas existentes e adaptado à realidade do estudo. Os resultados revelam que algumas das dimensões analisadas, relacionadas com o employer branding contribuem para comportamentos específicos de redes sociais num contexto profissional. Algumas hipóteses foram aceites e outras não. Os resultados estatísticos do estudo, sugerem que aspetos como perceção de imagem de marca, remuneração e salário, responsabilidade social corporativa, formação e cultura organizacional podem afetar comportamentos das redes sociais relacionados com o trabalho, como consumo, contribuição e criação, de forma simultânea ou separadamente. Apesar das conclusões e implicações do estudo, alguns dos resultados sugerem que a conexão entre as variáveis deverá ser mais explorada no futuro

The impact of digital social responsibility on customer trust and brand equity : an evidence from social commerce in Thailand

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of digital social responsibility (DSR) on customer trust and brand equity in the context of social commerce. A total of 324 respondents who have experienced in shopping through social commerce participated in this study through an online survey. Design/Methodology/Approach: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the empirical data derived from surveys with the proposed hypotheses. Findings: The results showed that digital social responsibility (DSR) initiatives have significantly and positively effects on customer trust (CT) and brand equity (BE). DSR also has an indirect and positive influence on BE via CT as mediating in social commerce context. Practical Implications: The research is one of first attempts to provide valuable insight for studying the relationship between DSR, CT and BE in the context of social commerce. Companies should be aware that implementing DSR helps them to gain benefits in enhancing customer trust and brand equity. Originality/Value: The study provides a better understanding of the role of digital social responsibility in customers’ attitudes and brand equity in a social commerce platform.peer-reviewe

Social Media: the Wild West of CSR Communications

Purpose - The central argument that this paper posits is that traditional media of old presented a clear, ordered world of communication management for organisations to extol their CSR credentials. In contrast to this, new Web 2.0 social media is increasingly being used by activists and hactivists to challenge corporate communication CSR messages and does so by highlighting instances and examples of Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI) (Jones, Bowd and Tench, 2009; Tench, Sun and Jones, 2012). Design/methodology/approach - The paper reports on research data from the European Communication Monitor 2010, 2011 and 2012 (http://www.communicationmonitor.eu/) and draws on work already published in this area (Tench, Verhoeven and Zerfass, 2009; Verhoeven et al, 2012; and Zerfass et al, 2010, 2011) to illustrate the unruly unregulated Web 2.0 social media communication landscape in Europe. A range of literature is drawn on to provide the theoretical context for an exploration of issues that surround social media. Findings - In late modernity (Giddens, 1990) communication comes in many guises. Social media is one guise and it has re-shaped as well as transformed the nature of communications and the relationship between organisations and their stakeholders. Originality/value - Communicating CSR in the Wild West of social media requires diplomatic and political nous, as well as awareness and knowledge of the dangers and pitfalls of CSI. The data reported on in this paper illustrates well the above points and sets out scenarios for future development of corporate communication of CSR through, and with social media

The Corporate Purpose of Social License

This Article deploys the sociological theory of social license, or the acceptance of a business or organization by the relevant communities and stakeholders, in the context of the board of directors and corporate governance. Corporations are generally treated as “private” actors and thus are regulated by “private” corporate law. This construct allows for considerable latitude. Corporate actors are not, however, solely “private.” They are the beneficiaries of economic and political power, and the decisions they make have impacts that extend well beyond the boundaries of the entities they represent. Using Wells Fargo and Uber as case studies, this Article explores how the failure to account for the public nature of corporate actions, regardless of whether a “legal” license exists, can result in the loss of “social” license. This loss occurs through publicness, which is the interplay between inside corporate governance players and outside actors who report on, recapitulate, reframe and, in some cases, control the company’s information and public perception. The theory of social license is that businesses and other entities exist with permission from the communities in which they are located, as well as permission from the greater community and outside stakeholders. In this sense, businesses are social, not just economic, institutions and, thus, they are subject to public accountability and, at times, public control. Social license derives not from legally granted permission, but instead from the development of legitimacy, credibility, and trust within the relevant communities and stakeholders. It can prevent demonstrations, boycotts, shutdowns, negative publicity, and the increases in regulation that are a hallmark of publicness — but social license must be earned with consistent trustworthy behavior. Thus, social license is bilateral, not unilateral, and should be part of corporate strategy and a tool for risk management and managing publicness more generally. By focusing on and deploying social license and publicness in the context of board decision-making, this Article adds to the discussions in the literature from other disciplines, such as the economic theory on reputational capital, and provides boards with a set of standards with which to engage and address the publicness of the companies they represent. Discussing, weighing, and developing social license is not just in the zone of what boards can do, but is something they should do, making it a part of strategic, proactive cost-benefit decision-making. Indeed, the failure to do so can have dramatic business consequences