Reactivity to sustainability metrics: A configurational study of motivation and capacity

Previous research on reactivity – defined as changing organisational behaviour to better conform to the criteria of measurement in response to being measured – has found significant variation in company responses towards sustainability metrics. We propose that reactivity is driven by dialogue, motivation and capacity in a configurational way. Empirically, we use fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to analyse company responses to the sustainability index FTSE4Good. We find evidence of complimentary and substitute effects between motivation and capacity. Based on these effects we develop a typology of reactivity to sustainability metrics, which also theorises the use of metrics as tools for performance feedback and the building of calculative capacity. We show that when reactivity is studied configurationally, we can identify previously underacknowledged types of responses. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications for studying and using sustainability metrics as governance tools for responsible behaviour

Non-profit organizations as a nexus between government and business in an emerging market: Evidence from Chinese charities

Research summary Non-profit organizations in emerging markets frequently have to manage relations with governments and for-profit firms. We advance a multi-stakeholder perspective and develop propositions about how the political ties of charities influence their success in raising funds from corporate donors. Evidence from 2,054 Chinese charities during 2005-2012 shows that organizational political ties, established through formal affiliation with the government, aid fundraising from corporate donors, whereas personal political ties, formed through personal political services of senior leaders of charities, have no such effect. The positive effect of government affiliation is relevant for both foreign and domestic donors, but stronger for domestic ones. These results highlight the differential impact and contingent value of political embeddedness for charities’ ability to acquire resources from for-profit business, contributing to both stakeholder theory and the political embeddedness perspective. Managerial summary Non-profit organizations have to maintain productive relations with multiple stakeholders, including government and business. We focus on Chinese charities that seek to raise funds to fulfill their mission. We identify how their political relations influence the behavior of corporate donors. Evidence from 2,054 charities from 2005-2012 shows that political ties formed through organizational affiliation with a political body help charities attract corporate donors that seek legitimacy. In contrast, ties formed through personal connections with politicians have less influence on donors who perceive a high risk of connected insiders engaging in activities of dubious legality. The value of political ties is more pronounced for domestic corporate donors

Stakeholder engagement strategies, national institutions, and firm performance: A configurational perspective

**Research summary** Research documents the performance effects of attending to shareholders and treating employees well but underplays national differences in the relative power of labor and capital. We advance a configurational perspective that acknowledges the fit between stakeholder engagement, context, firm attributes and performance. As a cornerstone of this perspective, we develop a typology of stakeholder engagement strategies expressing how firms navigate the tension between conforming with local expectations—by prioritizing shareholders or employees, according to context—and being distinctive—by diverging from their peers. Analyzing a cross‐national sample of firms from 2004 to 2011, we identify combinations of engagement strategies, firm attributes, and contexts linked to high performance. Our findings highlight the multiple context‐dependent paths, which link stakeholder engagement to high firm performance. **Managerial summary** How do firms navigate pressures from shareholders and employees across different institutional environments? We develop a typology of stakeholder engagement strategies based on how firms in different countries strike a balance between conformity (i.e., prioritizing locally important stakeholders) and differentiation (i.e., prioritizing stakeholders that their local peers might neglect). Our findings show that the engagement strategies associated with high performance vary according to local institutional context and firm characteristics. In particular, by not merely prioritizing stakeholders who are already locally important, firms can use stakeholder engagement to differentiate themselves from their peers, and such engagement strategies are often linked to high performance. **Online appendix: Data Set** Available at [https://doi.org/10.35065/sten-2001](https://doi.org/10.35065/sten-2001

Design as communication: exploring the validity and utility of relating intention to interpretation

This explores the role of intention in interpreting designed artefacts. The relationship between how designers intend products to be interpreted and how they are subsequently interpreted has often been represented as a process of communication. However, such representations are attacked for allegedly implying that designers' intended meanings are somehow ‘contained’ in products and that those meanings are passively received by consumers. Instead, critics argue that consumers actively construct their own meanings as they engage with products, and therefore that designers' intentions are not relevant to this process. In contrast, this article asserts the validity and utility of relating intention to interpretation by exploring the nature of that relationship in design practice and consumer response. Communicative perspectives on design are thereby defended and new avenues of empirical enquiry are proposed

The Importance of Different On-Farm Feeding and Management Practices on Milk Protein Concentration and Yield

End of Project ReportThe objective of this project was to identify the most important factors which influence milk protein concentrations and yields on farms. Data collected on approximately 300 DairyMis farms were subjected to statistical evaluation by regression analysis, analysis of variance and factor analysis. The range in protein concentrations was 12% of the mean value compared to a variation in protein yield of 86% of the mean. The range in milk yield was 90% of the mean value. Initially data from 1995 were analysed. The regression model used only accounted for 4% of the variation between farms in milk protein concentration but for over 97% of the variation in milk protein yield. Milk protein yield was highly correlated with milk yield. Confining the analysis to Spring-calving herds only in 1995 (n=128) gave similar results but including genetic data in the regression model, for those spring-calving herds for which it was available (n = 36), explained approximately 25% of the variation in protein concentration. Analysis of variance on the spring-calving herd data (for 1994, 1995 and 1996) divided into quartiles on the basis of protein concentration indicated that higher protein concentration was associated with later calving, a higher proportion of milk produced on pasture and lower milk yield per cow. Factor analysis on all herds in 1994, 1995 and 1996 indicated that higher protein concentration was associated with Spring-calving herds, larger herds and with grass based milk production. These three factors accounted for 8% of the observed variation in milk protein concentration

Analysis of the profile, characteristics, patient experience and community value of community hospitals : a multimethod study

Background: Community hospitals have been part of England’s health-care landscape since the mid-nineteenth century. Evidence on them has not kept pace with their development. Aim: To provide a comprehensive analysis of the profile, characteristics, patient experience and community value of community hospitals. Design: A multimethod study with three phases. Phase one involved national mapping and the construction of a new database of community hospitals through data set reconciliation and verification. Phase two involved nine case studies, including interviews and focus groups with patients (n = 60), carers (n = 28), staff (n = 132), volunteers (n = 68), community stakeholders (n = 74) and managers and commissioners (n = 9). Phase three involved analysis of Charity Commission data on voluntary support. Setting: Community hospitals in England. Results: The study identified 296 community hospitals with beds in England. Typically, the hospitals were small (<30 beds), in rural communities, led by doctors/general practitioners (GPs) and nurses, without 24/7 on-site medical cover, providing step-down and step-up inpatient care, with an average length of stay of <30 days and a variable range of intermediate care services. Key to patients’ and carers’ experiences of community hospitals was their closeness to ‘home’ through their physical location, environment and atmosphere and the relationships that they support; their provision of personalised, holistic care; and their role in supporting patients through difficult psychological transitions. Communities engage with and support their hospitals through giving time (average = 24 volunteers), raising money (median voluntary income = £15,632), providing services (voluntary and community groups) and giving voice (e.g. communication and consultation). This can contribute to hospital utilisation and sustainability, patient experience, staff morale and volunteer well-being. Engagement varies between and within communities and over time. Community hospitals are important community assets, representing direct and indirect value: instrumental (e.g. health care), economic (e.g. employment), human (e.g. skills development), social (e.g. networks), cultural (e.g. identity and belonging) and symbolic (e.g. vitality and security). Value varies depending on place and time. Limitations: There were limitations to the secondary data available for mapping community hospitals and tracking charitable funds and to our sample of case study respondents, which concentrated on people with a connection to the hospitals. Conclusions: Community hospitals are diverse but are united by a set of common characteristics. Patients and carers experience community hospitals as qualitatively different from other settings. Their accounts highlight the importance of considering the functional, interpersonal, social and psychological dimensions of experience. Community hospitals are highly valued by their local communities, as demonstrated through their active involvement as volunteers and donors. Community hospitals enable the provision of local intermediate care services, delivered through an embedded, relational model of care, which generates deep feelings of reassurance. However, current developments, including the withdrawal of GPs, shifts towards step-down care for non-local patients and changing configurations of services, providers and ownership may undermine this. Future work: Comparative studies of patient experience in different settings, longitudinal studies of community support and value, studies into the implications of changes in community hospital function, GP involvement, provider-mix and ownership and international comparative studies could all be undertaken

Can Volunteering Help Create Better Health and Care. An evidence review.

This report was commission by Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett founder of HelpForce in March 2017 to review the current evidence on the effectiveness, deployment and impact of volunteers in the NHS, to support the organisation’s work in maximizing the potential of volunteering in health and social care. This report’s remit was to pull together evidence to help answer the following questions: 1. What volunteer / lay roles are effective in health and care? 2. What do we know about the effective recruitment, management and deployment of volunteers (in any setting)? 3. What evidence is there about the impact of volunteers in health and social care, within England health and social care organisations, and from voluntary sector initiatives working into health and social care

Embracing Causal Complexity: The Emergence of a Neo-Configurational Perspective

Causal complexity has long been recognized as a ubiquitous feature underlying organizational phenomena, yet current theories and methodologies in management are for the most part not well suited to its direct study. The introduction of the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) configurational approach has led to a reinvigoration of configurational theory that embraces causal complexity explicitly. We argue that the burgeoning research using QCA represents more than a novel methodology; it constitutes the emergence of a neo-configurational perspective to the study of management and organizations that enables a fine-grained conceptualization and empirical investigation of causal complexity through the logic of set theory. In this article, we identify four foundational elements that characterize this emerging neoconfigurational perspective: 1) conceptualizing cases as set theoretic configurations; 2) calibrating cases’ memberships into sets; 3) viewing causality in terms of necessity and sufficiency relations between sets; and, 4) conducting counterfactual analysis of unobserved configurations. We then present a comprehensive review of the use of QCA in management studies that aims to capture the evolution of the neo-configurational perspective among management scholars. We close with a discussion of a research agenda that can further this neoconfigurational approach and thereby shift the attention of management research away from a focus on net effects and towards examining causal complexity

Corporate social counterpositioning: How attributes of social issues influence competitive response

Research Summary Whilst existing research generally assumes corporate social responsibility (CSR) is seen as universally positive, firms increasingly adopt practices, and take stands, on highly polarizing social issues (e.g., gun-control, LGBTQ rights, abortion). To better understand this phenomenon, we develop a theory about when firms will emulate, ignore, or oppose each other's CSR efforts, based on attributes of the underlying social issue (its salience and polarization), the level of market competition, and the substantiveness of CSR. Our theory predicts several distinct equilibrium outcomes, including the potential for social counter-positioning, whereby rival firms take advantage of socio-political polarization to horizontally differentiate by taking opposing stances on a polarizing issue. Counterpositioning is more likely when salience is high, but agreement is low, when markets are competitive, and when CSR is largely symbolic. Managerial Summary Firms increasingly find themselves drawn, willingly or not, to taking stances on a controversial social issue (e.g., gun rights, abortion), though doing so risks alienating (some) stakeholders. In this paper, we develop a theory of why, when, and how firms should take a stance on a polarizing issue. We argue that firms profit from doing so when (1) the issue is salient, (2) markets are competitive, and (3) the actions are mostly symbolic. We also show that taking a stance on polarizing issues creates opportunities for the firms' competitors to counter their ideological positioning, strengthening weaker rivals in the process. Thus, in competitive markets, taking clear stances on polarizing, salient issues can segment the market, increasing the profits of all firms, and, potentially, intensifying polarization