The Use of Management Control Systems to Formulate and Implement CSR Strategy: A Levers of Control Perspective

Little is known about the role of management control systems (MCS) in managing the strategic processes that underpin Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). To enhance our understanding of this phenomenon, this study employs Simons’ (1995) levers of control framework to explore how organizations leverage MCS in different ways in order to drive strategic renewal and trigger organizational change while simultaneously supporting society’s broader sustainability agenda. Drawing on data gathered from France’s largest listed companies – members of the CAC 40 – we provide insights into the structures and processes that companies employ to design, implement and monitor their CSR strategy. In doing so, we provide evidence of the way that organisations seek to attain their CSR objectives, and of the relationship between the management of CSR and other business processes. Of particular interest is the role of the levers of control in enabling managers to identify and manage threats and opportunities associated with CSR strategy, thus forming risk management processes that support organisations in their attainment of strategic objectives. Furthermore, the study provides evidence suggesting the use of MCS has the potential to contribute to society’s broader sustainability agenda through processes that enable innovation, communication, reporting, and the identification of threats and opportunities

Relational contracting and the myth of trust: Control in a co-opetitive setting

In this paper, we investigate the role of formal and relational contracts in managing alliance risks that arise in co-opetitive collaborations. We undertake a case study of a co-opetitive sales alliance within the independent publishing sector, incorporating data from all firms to the alliance. We provide empirical evidence of the relational risks of misappropriation and opportunism as manifest in both vertical (buyer-supplier) and horizontal activities within the alliance and identify a further relational risk relating to concerns of introducing homogeneity into the product offerings of firms. We also examine the nature of compliance and regulatory risk, which is salient in this setting given the potential for anti-competitive behaviour towards customers and suppliers. We find that the firms mitigate alliance risks primarily through the use of relational contracts (informal self-enforcing agreements). Formal contracts are evident in the buyer-supplier relationship, but are used mainly for ex post co-ordination. We adopt an organisational economics perspective to explain the specific mechanisms that support relational contracting between the firms. We find that shared values, implicit understandings, restricted membership, meetings, and collective sanctions encourage the firms to demonstrate commitment to the alliance, to diffuse information about partners’ behaviours, and, crucially, to monitor partners. Informal agreements between partners are sustained by self-regulating behaviours, reinforced by the ‘shadow of the future’ in that firms have a great deal to gain from continued participation in the alliance and face losses if excluded. Notably, our findings support economic arguments that trust is a weak proxy for observable control mechanisms. Our study contributes to knowledge of the management of inter-firm risks in two significant ways. First, we draw on our empirical findings to develop an organising framework that presents a means of systematically investigating the mechanisms and factors that support the use of relational contracts. Second, by employing an economics approach to the management of alliance risks, we are able to present a richer and potentially more compelling view of inter-firm control than is traditionally presented in studies that rely on intra-firm notions of social controls, in particular trust

3-D Tracking and Visualization of Hundreds of Pt-Co Fuel Cell Nanocatalysts During Electrochemical Aging

We present an electron tomography method that allows for the identification of hundreds of electrocatalyst nanoparticles with one-to-one correspondence before and after electrochemical aging. This method allows us to track, in three-dimensions (3-D), the trajectories and morphologies of each Pt-Co nanocatalyst on a fuel cell carbon support. The use of atomic-scale electron energy loss spectroscopic imaging enables the correlation of performance degradation of the catalyst with changes in particle/inter-particle morphologies, particle-support interactions and the near-surface chemical composition. We found that, aging of the catalysts under normal fuel cell operating conditions (potential scans from +0.6 V to +1.0 V for 30,000 cycles) gives rise to coarsening of the nanoparticles, mainly through coalescence, which in turn leads to the loss of performance. The observed coalescence events were found to be the result of nanoparticle migration on the carbon support during potential cycling. This method provides detailed insights into how nanocatalyst degradation occurs in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), and suggests that minimization of particle movement can potentially slow down the coarsening of the particles, and the corresponding performance degradation.Comment: Nano Letters, accepte

How vulnerable consumers choose and buy equity release products

The Financial Services Consumer Panel (the Panel) undertook research to understand how consumers choose and buy equity release (ER) products to meet their later life needs. Enhancements in both regulation, such as the introduction of mandatory advice, and industry standards mean that the ER market now successfully serves the needs of many consumers. However, for several reasons, ER products warrant a closer look. They represent a substantial long-term and open-ended commitment, have important features that may be unfamiliar to consumers, and require the consumer to consider a variety of factors that could arise during their retirement. ER products can be difficult or costly to undo, and impact in a unique way, through the erosion of housing equity, on family and dependents as well as the purchaser (see Appendix 1 for an overview of the different product options). As with pensions, the high average transaction value (approximately £104K for ER products) means that poor outcomes are potentially catastrophic for consumers as well as costly for wider society in terms of welfare payments and other support. The Panel’s work indicates that the prevailing guidance, sales and advice processes may exacerbate some of the risks faced by consumers of ER. The research findings suggest that consumers who purchase from a position of vulnerability may struggle to consider the long-term implications of their choice. Decisions made by the participants in the research tended to be informed by marketing and conversations with friends and family rather than through engagement with a professional adviser. The qualitative research commissioned by the Panel indicates that consumers who purchase from a position of vulnerability may be exposed to the risk of poor experiences or outcomes in a variety of situations. These situations can occur independently or in combination and arise when: • consumers purchase from a position of necessity or urgency, so are less likely to shop around for a better product, explore non-ER options, or seek independent advice or alternative views • consumers are unable to ask the right questions about a complex long-term product with which they have no prior experience • consumers are susceptible to marketing and inclined to seek corroboration through informal channels (adviser contacts / friends or word of mouth) • consumers are vulnerable to sales techniques and the advice provided by sales advisers, particularly when received in the family hom

Information, beliefs, and motivation: The antecedents to human resource attributions

Despite significant interest in the attributions employees make about their organization's human resource (HR) practices, there is little understanding of the antecedents of HR attributions. Drawing on attribution theory, we suggest that HR attributions are influenced by information (perceptions of distributive and procedural fairness), beliefs (organizational cynicism), and motivation (perceived relevance). We test a model through a two‐wave survey of 347 academic faculty in the United Kingdom, examining their attributions of the purpose of their institution's workload management framework. After two preliminary studies (an interview study and a cross‐sectional survey) to establish contextually relevant attributions, we find that fairness and cynicism are important for the formation of internal attributions of commitment but less so for cost‐saving or exploitation attributions. Fairness and cynicism also interact such that distributive fairness buffers the negative attributional effect of cynicism, and individuals are more likely to attribute fair procedures to external forces if they are cynical about their organization. This study furthers the application of attribution theory to the organizational domain while making significant contributions to our understanding of the HR‐performance process

Epitaxy of hexagonal ABO3_3 quantum materials

Hexagonal $AB$O$_3$ oxides ($A$, $B$ = cation) are a rich materials class for realizing novel quantum phenomena. Their hexagonal symmetry, oxygen trigonal bipyramid coordination and quasi-two dimensional layering give rise to properties distinct from those of the cubic $AB$O$_3$ perovskites. As bulk materials, most of the focus in this materials class has been on the rare earth manganites, $R$MnO$_3$ ($R$ = rare earth); these materials display coupled ferroelectricity and antiferromagnetic order. In this review, we focus on the thin film manifestations of the hexagonal $AB$O$_3$ oxides. We cover the stability of the hexagonal oxides and substrates which can be used to template the hexagonal structure. We show how the thin film geometry not only allows for further tuning of the bulk-stable manganites but also the realization of metastable hexagonal oxides such as the $R$FeO$_3$ that combine ferroelectricity with weak ferromagnetic order. The thin film geometry is a promising platform to stabilize additional metastable hexagonal oxides to search for predicted high-temperature superconductivity and topological phases in this materials class.Comment: The following article has been accepted by Applied Physics Review

The role of subjectivity in mitigating incentive contracting risks

We examine how subjectivity in performance measurement and reward systems (PMRS) is used to mitigate incentive contracting risks. Drawing on data from 38 interviews with supervisory and subordinate managers in four firms, we provide a more comprehensive explanation of the role of subjectivity in risk mitigation than is evident in the prior literature. We provide empirical evidence of the importance firms place on the use of subjectivity to mitigate the risk of incentive misalignment and employee sorting errors relative to its well-documented role in mitigating employee compensation risk. We find that incentive misalignment arising from unanticipated behavioral responses to performance measures is a particularly important risk, managed through subjective performance assessments. The extent of subjectivity we observe poses a significant risk of errors and bias. We observe that both vertical and horizontal information gathering and review by calibration panels are key strategies to mitigate the downside risk of subjectivity

Attribution theories in human resource management research: a review and research agenda

There is no doubt that attribution theories have made their mark in social psychology and other related disciplines, but their application and extension to the field of HRs is in its infancy. Indeed, HR scholars have recently realized that understanding the process by which individuals explain the causes of behaviors and events provides insight into a host of HR-related issues. In our review of 65 papers, we identified three research streams with different foci – those that focused on HR system strength, on attributions that influence judgements and behaviors within functional HRM domains, and on the attributions employees make of the intent of HR practices. Notably, despite shared foundations, these three streams of literature rarely overlap. We summarize and provide theoretical and empirical directions for future research within each research area to help steer courses in these areas. Importantly, we also draw connections among the three streams to inspire future research to stretch the bounds of current theorizing on attributions in the field of HR