Examining the corporate social responsibility orientation in developing countries: An empirical investigation of the Carroll's CSR pyramid

Citation: Ehie, I. C. (2016). Examining the corporate social responsibility orientation in developing countries: An empirical investigation of the Carroll's CSR pyramid. International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 11(1), 1-20. doi:10.1504/IJBGE.2016.076337We investigate the seminal Carroll's corporate social responsibility (CSR) hierarchy using a sample from Nigerian companies. Carroll (1991) outlined four major components of CSR in a cumulative framework with economic responsibilities at the base and philanthropic responsibilities at the top of the pyramid with the legal and ethical components in between. The relevance of Carroll's CSR pyramid in the African context has been questioned and the need for an empirical study on the appropriateness of the CSR pyramid in Africa has been called for. This study is in response to this call to empirically test the relevance of the Carroll's CSR pyramid in the sub-Saharan Africa region. The study also tests the proposition that CSR is viewed through the lens of philanthropy in Africa. The findings empirically validate Visser's (2006) proposition that the philanthropic component weighs heavier than both the legal and ethical components of the CSR pyramid. The results provide a basis for the reliance on corporate philanthropy and guide CSR managers in sub-Saharan Africa in understanding the orientation that would lead to a more effective CSR implementation. Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Using Information Technology In Teaching Of Business Statistics In Nigeria Business School

This paper discusses the use of Microsoft Excel software in the teaching of statistics in the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Problems associated with existing traditional methods are identified and a novel pedagogy using Excel is proposed. The advantages of using this software over other specialized statistical packages (SPSS, Minitab or Stata) are simplicity, universality, accessibility, increased acquisition of skills, and, more importantly, reduced cost for students and instructors alike particularly for those in developing economies. Several examples are introduced to illustrate the use of Excel in teaching statistics in a business school. Moreover, this proposition is partially motivated by an intervention program funded by the USAID that resulted in the acquisition of information and communication technology (ICT) laboratories

The impact of conflict on manufacturing decisions and company performance

Although the organization psychology literature is replete with an ongoing debate on the impact of conflict on organizational performance, the operations management literature has provided few empirical studies to examine this issue. In this study we adapt the Amason and Schwieger (1994) framework to investigate the impact of conflict on operational decisions and company performance. We test operational decisions made in two different contexts - physically efficient condition (functional products) and market responsive conditions (innovative products). Although not empirically tested, these two decision scenarios have been characterized as the antecedents of two supply chain designs based on product offerings (Fisher, 1997). We conduct a survey of manufacturing managers in the USA and analyze 392 valid responses using partial least square regression. Our results indicate that when conflict arises in a manufacturing decision, cognitive conflict would lead to a higher level of company performance particularly when the decision scenario is based on a market responsive situation (innovative products). Consistent with previous studies, affective conflict tends to have adverse effects on performance regardless of the decision scenario. This study contributes to our understanding of situations in which conflict can facilitate or hamper company performance in an operational decision-making setting.Conflict Operational decisions Company performance

The effect of R&D investment on firm value: An examination of US manufacturing and service industries

We examine the association between investment in research and development (R&D) and market value among US firms over an 18-year period covering 26,500 firm-years. We study the R&D investment-firm performance linkage in both manufacturing and service industries to evaluate differences in their relative contributions to firm value. Finally, we investigate the impact of a major economic disruption such as the terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001 (popularly known as 9/11) on R&D investment relative to the performance of a firm. After controlling for firm size, industry concentration, and leverage, we find that R&D investment positively affects firm performance. More specifically, R&D investment in the manufacturing sector contributes more positively to firm market value than in the service sector pre-9/11. However, the service sector shows stronger R&D investment-market performance association post-9/11 than manufacturing firms. Consistent with the resource-based literature, the results show that investment in R&D contributes positively to firm performance for both manufacturing and service firms, despite major economic disruptions.R&D investment Market value Firm performance Manufacturing and service firms