Sustained corporate corruption and processes of institutional ascription within professional networks

The last 20 years have seen some of the most dramatic cases of corporate corruption. One of the most striking features of these cases is the inability of professionals and professional firms to recognize and publicize corporate corruption. In this essay, we argue that professionals’ failure to detect corporate corruption may be the result of institutional ascription that occurs within professional networks. Institutional ascription occurs as professionals ascribe probity and diligence to the behaviour of other professionals, and may contribute to sustain corporate corruption. Understanding the conditions and mechanisms that facilitate—or impede—institutional ascription is thus important and we offer suggestions for how this line of research might be advanced

Professional misconduct in healthcare : setting out a research agenda for work sociology

In the light of its surprising absence in extant literature in the domain of the sociology of work, specifically within the journal Work, Employment and Society, this article represents a ‘call to arms’ for research focused upon professional misconduct in healthcare. Specifically, interrogation of four dimensions of professional misconduct in healthcare is called for: a broader definition of professional misconduct; antecedents of professional misconduct that recognise the effect of context; professional response to regulation of misconduct; and the hierarchical and affective challenge to frontline professionals blowing the whistle on professional misconduct

Sustainability disclosure and reputation: a comparative study

“This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Corporate Reputation Review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Corporate Reputation Review 14(2), pp.79-96 is available online at: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/crr/index.html”Drawing on legitimacy theory, we discuss that a company’s reputation is a determinant of sustainability disclosure. Specifically, we consider the concept of reputation into three dimensions for analysis: stakeholders’ commitment, financial performance and media exposure. This paper differs from previous social and environmental reporting studies in that it investigates both internal and external contextual factors that influence disclosure practice. We claim that companies with a good financial performance, that are adopting an active strategic position towards stakeholders and that are exposed to significant public pressure are more likely to use sustainability disclosure in order to communicate their legitimacy to operate to stakeholders. Moreover the paper analyses a wide range of corporate reports for their social and environmental content using an international sample that allows for a comparison of disclosure practices among Continental European, UK and USA companies. Our results show that stakeholder commitment and media exposure are positively associated with sustainability disclosure. Moreover, we find evidence that the drivers of disclosure vary by information type

Machina ex Deus? From Distributed to Orchestrated Agency

In this chapter, the author draws on a historical case study of the Australian wine industry to explore variations in collective agency. The inductively derived process model illustrates the emergence of a new profession of scientific win- emaking, which unfolds in three phases. Each phase is characterized by a dis- tinct form of agency: distributed agency during the earliest phase, coordinated agency during later phases, and orchestrated agency during consolidation. In addition to exploring the temporal shifts in agency, the study includes a detailed analysis of the early stages of distributed agency, examining how col- lective agency is achieved in the absence of shared intentions

Corporate reputation past and future: a review and integration of existing literature and a framework for future research

The concept of corporate reputation is steadily growing in interest among management researchers and practitioners. In this article, we trace key milestones in the development of reputation literature over the past six decades to suggest important research gaps as well as to provide contextual background for a subsequent integration of approaches and future outlook. In particular we explore the need for better categorised outcomes; a wider range of causes; and a deeper understanding of contingencies and moderators to advance the field beyond its current state while also taking account of developments in the macro business environment. The article concludes by presenting a novel reputation framework that integrates insights from reputation theory and studies, outlines gaps in knowledge and offers directions for future research

Reputazione aziendale e analisti finanziari: Una ricerca multi-metodo per lo sviluppo di alcune proposizioni

La relazione con il mercato finanziario riveste un\u2019importanza cruciale per tutte le imprese quotate o che intendono quotarsi. Per operare con successo nel mercato dei capitali non \ue8 sufficiente ottenere performance soddisfacenti e possedere una buona strategia; occorre altres\uec saper costruire una solida reputazione di affidabilit\ue0 e attenzione al mercato, che consenta all\u2019impresa di fronteggiare nel migliore di modi l\u2019attuale difficile congiuntura economica. In questo libro si analizza il processo alla base della costruzione di una buona reputazione nel mercato dei capitali. In particolare, si studia il legame tra le strategie di comunicazione messe in atto dalle societ\ue0 quotate, le attese informative degli operatori del mercato e la reputazione di cui le societ\ue0 godono presso questa tipologia d\u2019interlocutori aziendali. L\u2019analisi condotta vuole offrire una migliore comprensione del processo sotteso alla formazione della reputazione aziendale nel mercato dei capitali e fornire alcune indicazioni operative per i manager e gli addetti alle relazioni con gli investitori e gli analisti finanziari delle societ\ue0 quotate o in via di quotazione

Disclosing Strategy: Stock Market\u2019s Reaction to Strategic Plan Presentations

This paper investigates the market\u2019s reaction to 151 strategic plan presentations given at the Milan Stock Exchange between January 2001 and December 2006. The purpose is twofold: on the one hand, to understand if investors find strategic plan presentations informative; on the other hand, to study if firms benefit from presenting their strategic plans to analysts and investors. Abnormally high levels of volatility and trading volumes after the presentations indicate that investors find strategic plan presentations informative, especially when these presentations are given by small firms. Yet, the limited price response around the presentation dates suggests that firms benefit from presenting their strategic plans only under certain conditions (they are small and/or their forecasts exceed market expectations)

Corporate Disclosure Policy, Corporate Governance Structures and Mechanisms and Analysts' Recommendation: is corporate reputation an intermediate variable?

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