Diffusion of sustainability and CSR discourse in hospitality industry: dynamics of local context

Purpose: Our focus is on the way in which sustainability and CSR discourses and practices emerge in the collaboration of MNCs with the local hotels in developing country contexts. The paper identifies the prevailing institutional orders and logics that bring about CSR and sustainability discourse in tourism industry in Turkey. It also investigates how and to what extent the CSR and sustainability practices align with the local institutional logics and necessities. Design: Empirical evidence is generated through case studies covering Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (Hilton), its Turkish subsidiary and a local hotel chain to ensure data triangulation. Primary data was collected through interviews with the executives of the selected case hotels, which was supported by extensive secondary data. Findings: Some components of CSR and sustainability logics developed in the headquarters diffuse into local affiliate hotel, not all. Local affiliate hotels seek to acquire local legitimacy in their host environment, despite a standard format imposed by their headquarters. Local necessities and priorities translate themselves into such initiatives in a very limited way in the affiliates of the Hilton where there is mostly a top down approach. Similar approach has also been observed in the case of the local hotel which is part of a family business group. Family’s values and family business headquarter shape the CSR and sustainability strategy and the logics reflecting the local component. Originality/value: Through this study, we are able to add further value to the critical writings about the positive contribution of CSR and sustainability in the context of the MNCs and their subsidiaries, which is not substantiated due to limited empirical evidence

A Primer on Corporate Governance Turkey

A Primer on Corporate Governance: Turkey takes an in-depth and comprehensive assessment of corporate governance in Turkey, at a cross section in time when the country is going through major multidimensional transformations. Turkey is denoted as a country of contrasts with respect to its performance on economic and social dimensions. The recent changes in the economy as well as its structural characteristics are presented in the first part of the book. This is crucial for a holistic understanding of the Turkish business system embedded in a dynamic but at times erratic economic context that influences all the governance practices at public and private sectors. History is another dimension to fully grasp the essential traits of the business system and its governance attributes. Hence, the historical antecedents of Turkish corporate governance are provided to the readers as a background in the first part of the book. Building on this background, external and internal mechanisms of corporate governance are discussed in the subsequent chapters. Legal system of the country, its company laws, regulatory authorities, and the state of the market for corporate control, as well as the socio-cultural norms, ways of doing business, and the Turkish code of good governance are examined as the external mechanisms shaping the corporate governance practices of companies. Characteristics of the board of directors, ownership structure, and management teams of Turkish companies are analyzed as internal control mechanisms. The last part of the book includes a conclusion section, discussing current and future corporate governance challenges in the Turkish business context. Keywords boards of directors, CEOs, emerging economy, history of Turkish corporate governance, ownership structure, state and governance, Turkey, Turkish business cultur

Foreign equity configurations in an emerging country: Implications for performance

Summary The aim of this study is to compare and contrast the control characteristics and performance implications of different levels of foreign equity involvement in an emerging country. It is proposed that foreign investors' assessment of behavioral and contextual uncertainties in the host environment shape these configurations. Different levels of foreign involvement are represented in three foreign ownership configurations, namely foreign majority, shared equity, and foreign minority. Data consists of 164 firm-year observations for the period 1999-2002 at the Istanbul Stock Exchange. We provide evidence on the presence of distinct configurations which vary in their ability to meet the requirements of the institutional context. Among these, the shared equity configuration is found to display superior performance, by virtue of responding both to the efficiency concerns of transaction cost theory and the legitimacy focus of institutional theory.Foreign equity Emerging country Institutional theory Transaction cost theory Turkey