Zum Verhältnis von Unternehmensethik und Unternehmenskultur

"In der wirtschafts- und unternehmensethischen Diskussion werden Querverbindungen zu betriebswirtschaftlichen Konzepten, die keine expliziten ethischen Ansprüche erheben, aber implizit viele moralische oder ethische Bezüge enthalten, häufig nur angedeutet und nur selten genauer analysiert. Die Unternehmenskultur ist eines der Konzepte, das eine hohe ethische Relevanz aufweist. Der Beitrag hat das Ziel, die vielfältigen Beziehungen und Berührungspunkte zwischen dem Konzept der Unternehmenskultur und unternehmensethischen Fragen aufzuzeigen und selektiv zu erläutern." (Autorenreferat)"The purpose of this paper is to examine selected relations between the concepts of corporate culture and corporate ethics. It is shown that the 'paradigm lense' through which corporate culture is seen also is of crucial importance for the analysis of ethical questions. Starting from a reflexive ethical perspective possible negative consequences of an instrumentalized, homogenized corporate culture are pointed out. Finally the opportunities and limits of establishing 'ethically correct' codes of conduct or business missions as an instrument to improve the ethical quality of corporate decisions and actions are discussed." (author's abstract

Brand engagement in self-concept: a comparative study in Austria, Italy and Poland

Purpose The study aims to shed light on cross-country comparisons of brand engagement in self-concept (BESC) among consumers from European countries and to link presumed differences with country-level economic growth and materialism. This study contributes to the literature on the customer-brand relationship and provides implications for international branding strategies. Design/methodology/approach This observation study explored levels of BESC in three European countries. Questionnaire data were collected from consumers of Austria (N= 302), Italy (N= 431) and Poland (N= 410) with the purpose to make cross-country comparisons of BESC among consumers. Findings The results provide evidence for partial scalar invariance of the BESC scale. Cross-country comparisons of latent means reveal that Polish consumers score higher on BESC than consumers from Austria and Italy. Moreover, Austrian consumers score higher on BESC than Italian consumers. Research limitations/implications Culture as a contextual factor of BESC should be studied further. The findings should be replicated with non-convenience samples in additional cultural contexts to improve the generalizability of data. Structural equation modeling could be used to investigate psychological drivers of BESC differences. Practical implications The findings coming from the cross-country comparisons of BESC are of practical relevance to marketing managers: they should tailor their branding and communication strategies accordingly. Originality/value So far, the understanding of cross-cultural and cross-country differences in consumer-brand relationships has remained limited. This study adopts a rigorous approach to cross-cultural research enriching the literature on BESC from a cross-country perspective

Electronic Markets / Consequences of customer engagement behavior : when negative Facebook posts have positive effects

Sharing product information has become an integral part of todays online social networking world. This research study addresses the effects of customer engagement behavior in online social networks on other consumers in order to understand how online social connections impact decision making. We investigate how different variations of a brand-related Facebook post trigger different response reactions. In particular, we analyze under which conditions negative posts can have positive consequences. The results of two online experiments set in a restaurant context suggest a difference when the user knows the restaurant brand. For users who are familiar with the restaurant brand, a positive effect of negative information posted by distant acquaintances is found with regard to the visiting intention of the user. The results of both experiments demonstrate that information posted by a close friend is perceived to be more diagnostic. For users not familiar with the restaurant brand, negative posts from strong ties induce the highest diagnosticity levels.(VLID)284530