Beyond Grey Pinstripes

     

China Europe International Business School

All Participating Schools

     
China Europe International Business School 699 Hongfeng Road
Shanghai, 31, 201206
China
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Demographic Information

Number of full-time MBA students (2011): 

188

Number of part-time MBA students (2011): 

0

Total duration of full-time MBA program: 

18 months

MBA faculty (Fall 2010): 

138

Females as percent of student body: 

33%


Description of MBA Program: 

Issues of ethics, responsibility and sustainability are natural and highly visible elements of the China-focused MBA program at CEIBS. Given the challenges faced by businesses and the government to sustain China’s breakneck pace of development while controlling the costs to the environment and society, we recognize a clear need to cultivate responsible leaders of the future. Stemming from a strong interest among students to address the human and social sides of economic development, we have over the years strengthened and systematized our teaching of social, ethical and environmental issues. Early courses designed to introduce and analyze the key challenges of ethics and sustainability are now supplemented with project-based courses and extra-curricular activities that actively engage students in finding solutions for our corporate partners and for our school itself. At CEIBS, ethics and sustainability are closely linked to China and its place in the world, and equally linked to the role of business in maintaining healthy development.

 

We begin to address these issues in our required MBA orientation module, during which students discuss ethics with a panel of senior corporate executives, study the conceptual foundations of sustainability and social accountability, and explore various cross-cultural workplace sensitivities. By the end of the module our students are sensitized and alert to the need for managers and organizations to embrace the needs of internal and external stakeholders, as well as society at large. In subsequent terms our students complete mandatory courses on ethics and governance, as well as a project course that requires research and a practical attempt to make headway on a specific sustainability challenge experienced by a partner organization of their choosing. In sum, more than 7% of the required credits at CEIBS are in courses specifically devoted to ethics, sustainability, governance and responsible leadership. Additional required courses include specific components related to their focused domain; e.g., responsible financial reporting, responsible labor management, etc. This strong foundation prompts students to build elements of society, ethics and the environment into their optional course work and activities. As we increase our activities in these fields, a growing number of companies and public-sector institutes approach us for cooperation.

 

Each year our students stage a major conference on global responsibility that attracts MBA students, executives and government officials from around Asia and the world. It is a signature event for the CEIBS MBA brand, with extensive participation of each student cohort. In addition, clubs devoted to the environment, cultural diversity, social outreach, and other similar fields are numerous and popular. Some of these club members work with campus administrators to increase the sustainability of the CEIBS campus itself. Others raise funds and reach out to disadvantaged sectors of China’s population. Overall, our curriculum and extra-curricular activities offer robust academic and practical opportunities to build critically needed skills and capabilities for responsible leadership.



How does the MBA program 'walk the talk' of social and environmental impact?: 

For the past few years, CEIBS has witnessed a rise in sustainable and responsible practices on campus. Since its launch in 2007, the student-initiated Green Campus Committee has brought together students and administrators to develop measures that assess and reduce our environmental impact.  The committee’s early work focused on immediate behavioral changes among students and staff to reduce individual energy consumption.  “Turn off the lights!” stickers were placed next to all power switches, and recycling bins were installed in dorms, offices and outside classrooms.  A communications campaign also stressed the importance of double-sided printing, and reuse of one-side-printed scrap paper.   

More recently, activities have taken on greater scale in cooperation with several of our sponsor firms, one of whom contributed thermo isolating window film for the Shanghai and Beijing campuses, allowing us to reduce our carbon footprint and energy costs.  Another firm contributed green office furniture for all public spaces of the new Beijing Campus. At present, we are in discussion with a solar panel firm to secure panels for campus rooftops. 

The Green Campus Committee is presently working with our logistics team to build LEED practices into the design of a Shanghai campus extension that will be completed by 2012.  The extension will double the size of the existing campus, and thus represents a significant gain in overall campus efficiency with these initiatives.  Our MBA Student Committee and Energy club members are also working with school management on a project called CEIBS Carbon Neutral, with the goal of achieving zero carbon emissions on campus.  

Our approach to building a sustainable campus is to bring together different members of our community to work together toward a better environment.  In addition to enhancing our campus design and practices, our community members reach out and support our community.  An extensive fund raising campaign was untaken among students, faculty, staff, alumni and corporate supporters, for example, in response to the Sichuan and Wenchun earthquake disasters in 2008 and 2010.  The combined donations within the CEIBS community exceed RMB2 billion.  As another example, our EMBA students annually raise funds and volunteer time and materials to build schools in rural low income areas of China.  These and many other initiatives bring together our community members in a spirit of support for China’s ongoing development and assistance to those in need.  We are committed to growing and improving such initiatives in future.  CEIBS aspires to be a leader in sustainable campus for Asia and the world.  
 

Academic Department

Course Name: Asian Economic Integration
Instructor: Bala Ramasamy

This course has one section on ‘CSR and International Firms’. The objective of this module is two-fold: 1) to evaluate and understand the extent of economic integration among nations. Economic integration will be seen from four major perspectives: trade, investment, agreements and finance. Our focus would be on the East Asian economies. 2) To identify and evaluate business strategies which are relevant for international business expansion to these Asian economies. Key to the integration process is the role of multinationals, who have acted as both the catalyst and lubricant.

Course Name: Behavior Marketing
Instructor: Chen Junsong

The purpose of this course is to inform future managers and consultants of consumers’ decision rules and their associated biases and to enable these future managers and consultants to incorporate such insights in their business and marketing strategies. This course has two facets. First, it gives you a broad overview of important results from various behavioral sciences that clarify how customers really make decisions. Second, it investigates how these results can be leveraged to design original and more effective marketing and business strategies. There is one section on 'Consumer Ethics' to emphasis ethical impact in consumer choices.

Course Name: China HR
Instructor: Han Jian, Sophie Chen

The goal of this course is to help managers who work in China gain a solid understanding of people management in China by introducing:

HRM theories and frameworks in general and HRM practices in China in particular;

How to balance the interests of employee, management and shareholders; to achieve sustainable development of employee welfare.

The cultural impact on Chinese workplace, managers and employees; the nature of the employment relations in China were discussed in this course.

Course Name: China Within the World
Instructor: Bala Ramasamy, David Gosset

The objective of this course is to understand the role and responsibilities of China in the global environment from a political, economic, social and cultural perspective. It provides the student a deeper understanding of international issues and appreciation of the diversity that exist. A profound knowledge of global affairs is essential for managerial decision making, particularly in an international context.

Course Name: Corporate Finance
Instructor: Frank Yu

The course is organized into two main parts. The first part – investment policy – includes the concept of opportunity cost of capital, the valuation of investment projects, and investment decision rules in general and the net present value (NPV) rule in particular. The second part – financial policy – includes the mechanics and vocabulary of financing, and the relevance of financial policy in real-world capital markets characterized by taxes, bankruptcy and financial distress costs, asymmetric information, and agency problems. In the 'Corporate Governance' section, Potential Effects of Lobbying on Fraud Detection and female's role in governance were discussed.

Course Name: Corporate Governance
Instructor: Mike Thompson, Henri-Claude de BETTIGNIES

In the wake of the financial crisis issues related to corporate governance have been receiving greater attention. At the outset the discussion turns on the role of the manager as an agent acting on behalf of its owners and stakeholders. In this role there are opportunities for personal gain at the expense of shareholders, stakeholders and, possibly, wider society. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a heightened awareness of the responsibilities that senior managers within a firm have to lead and maintain corporate governance standards and regulations.

Course Name: Cross Culture Management
Instructor: Fei Song

This course stresses the importance of developing an international perspective and cross-cultural sensitivity to management and organizational behaviour issues. The central objective of the course is to create a knowledge base from which managers can develop multicultural skill competence. The course is grounded in an assessment that the changing demands on managers imply a need for intellectual and cultural flexibility and an increasingly broad range of managerial understanding and skills. Through cases, exercises, and experiential activities, skills in interpersonal relations, conflict, leadership, motivation, and other work-related issues will be introduced.

Course Name: Economics
Instructor: Bala Ramasamy, Xu Bin

The course covers both managerial economics and macroeconomics. Topics related to ethics and corporate social responsibility were discussed particularly during the managerial economics section. Cases on “The Organ Market” and the costs of Smoking and Alcohol were used to elaborate on the role of markets and the state to address these issues. A case on sustainable development was also used to discuss the concept of opportunity cost. In brief, cases involving ethics and social responsibility were used to explain economic concepts.

Course Name: Emerging Marketing Finance
Instructor: Ron Schramm

Emerging Market Finance, is almost entirely devoted to institutional questions with a social policy bent. We examine what institutional failings exist in emerging markets and how that hinders firm development and in turn macroeconomic development. Along the way, we highlight notions of efficiency and fairness – why both are desirable and how they are different. The regulatory framework, the legal backdrop and the role of information are all highlighted. What is surprising is that we can cover these topics while at the same time, dealing with some hard-nosed issues of finance and engage in a lot of number crunching.

Course Name: Emotionally intelligent leadership
Instructor: Lorna Doucet

Emotions influence all aspects of organizational life. Leaders and subordinates experience anger, fear, excitement, jealousy and joy on a regular basis. These emotions are sometimes freely expressed, but are often hidden or even faked in organizations. Emotions may be constructive or destructive, depending on many factors, including the context and the goals. Effective leaders must be able to manage emotions in themselves and in others in order to reach organizational and personal goals. In this course, we examine the functions of a leader and how specific emotions are likely to enhance or diminish a leader’s effectiveness. Furthermore, we explore how leaders can improve their ability to recognize, understand and manage emotions in themselves and others while performing leadership functions. Work/life balance issue was discussed during this course.

Pages

Type of Offering

BGRC, Being Globally Responsible Conference
Date: May, 2010

BGRC, Being Globally Responsible Conference, is the first and the largest business-school organized international CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) conference in Asia Pacific. It has run continuously for 5 years, attracting participation by more than 1500 students, professors, alumni, corporate supporters and members of the media. The vision of the BGRC is to inspire the current and future business leaders to have the sustainable and socially responsible development mindset, to innovate more business ideas and strategies to help create a Greener world, and to implement the potential solutions with practical approach.

Sponsor & Partner Companies includes: EVONIK, Bayer, Tecent, Gamesa, HAWORTH and ect.

Speakers include: John Perkins, chief economist, author of the Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, The Secret History of the American Empire, founder and board member of Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance; Dipal Barua, founding member of Grameen Bank, which is one of the first organization in the world to promote the concept that credit is a human right and that every human being has the inherent capacity to become a contributing member of his or her society.

CEIBS support for students attending CSR events and competitions

CEIBS has consistently supported and sponsored MBA students to enter events and competitions which help them to develop responsible leadership and global citizenship, raise awareness of CSR, expand knowledge and share ideas. Events our students participated in recent years include: US/China Social Entrepreneur Summit, annual Clinton Global Initiative Meeting, Graduate Business Forum, Global Climate Debate, and GMAC Annual Industry Conference.

China Discovery Week
Date: February, 2010

China Discovery Week is a mandatory, non-credit program, which gives MBA students access to the latest research and thinking of our professor on China development. It deepens students’ understanding of China's business and offers an opportunity to dig into perspectives on China’s history, international relations and economic development.

Topics cover “Management Education and the Future of China: What Kind of Managers and Leaders Should Business Schools Develop?”,"Identifying Global Leadership Skills” and "Developing Responsible Business Strategies for Future CEOs.”

Earth Hour
Date: March, 2010

CEIBS participated in Earth Hour, a global event organized by WWF during which significant landmarks around the world turned off their lights. To mark Earth Hour, CEIBS officially closed the library at 8:30pm and students on campus were encouraged to switch off the lights for one hour, even during a wine tasting event. The strong support for Earth Hour highlighted CEIBS student’s dedication to the planet earth.

Earth Hour participation was jointly organized by CEIBS Green Campus Initiative, BGRC 2010, the Wine Appreciation Club, and the Music Club. Though one hour may not have significantly reduced the consumption of electric energy, an hour of awareness can have a lasting impact on daily life in the future. The organizers’ goal is for CEIBS students to remember the various ways in which energy can be conserved on a daily basis: by turning off the lights when you leave a room, unplugging large appliances, using public transportation instead of driving, and even eating less meat.

Welcome the Low-Carbon Revolution
Type: Executive Forum
Date: November, 2009

For an Executive Forum, CEIBS invited Mr. Xiong Yan, Chairman of China Beijing Environment Exchange, to deliver a speech about the reaction of China to the new environment and the development of the new energies. In his speech, he discussed the accumulation of GHGs (especially CO2) in the atmosphere and its effects on humanity, as well as the attempts by nations.

MBA students attend Atlas Copco Master Classes at World Expo
Date: March, 2010

During the 2010 World Expo, our students took part in the Master Class series hosted by Atlas Copco on the Expo site. During the Class, Atlas Copco Sr Vice President of Corporate Communications Annika Berglund led a discussion on “Corporate Responsibility Activities.” After explaining the social, environmental and business scopes of corporate responsibility, Ms Berglund answered questions on the importance that Atlas Copco attaches to corporate responsibility.

Social Entrepreneurship Business Competition (SEBC)
Type: Competition
Date: May, 2010

As the academic partner, CEIBS co-organized the Social Entrepreneurship Business Competition with Tencent Public Welfare & Charity Foundation in May 2010. The SEBC was launched with the objective of encouraging entrepreneurs to think creatively about (for- profit) business solutions. SEBC invites teams of MBA students from across mainland China to submit their business ideas or solutions on innovative social enterprise. The CEIBS team BiBang Online won the first staging of the SEBC, receiving a cash prize.

How to make energy effective and what Shneider can do during the process
Type: Executive Forum
Date: May, 2010

In this speech, Mr. Eric Rondolat, Schneider Electric Executive Vice President, President of Asia Pacific talked about the increasing conflicts between energy demand and CO2 emission, and what human beings can do about it. Green energy was highlighted as a key solution. He noted that Schneider Electric is a global specialist in energy management, with the unique position of providing up to 30% savings on almost 3/4 of the final energy consumption.

ECCLAR
Business School Housing? Yes
Number of Faculty: 6
Contact Name: Lynn Lu
Contact Email: llynn@ceibs.edu

ECCLAR was founded in the end of 2005 by Prof. Henri Claude de Bettignies, Distinguished Professor of Globally Responsible Leadership at CEIBS, ECCLAR is committed, through research, education, forum and networking building, to bring a contribution to the development of responsible leadership in Chinese organizations, and to enhance the capacity of Europeans and Chinese to manage their long term interdependence for their mutual benefits.

The Centre’s mission is to create and share knowledge - particularly in the areas of leadership and responsibility - and to develop relationships in order to enhance the capacity of both China and Europe to manage their interdependence for mutual benefit.

To achieve the above, the Centre engages in four categories of interrelated and synergic activities:

A - Knowledge creation (research and development)

B - Knowledge transfer (education and training)

C - Knowledge sharing (conferences and networking)

D - Knowledge dissemination (publications and website)

The Center has been actively doing research and conference to achieve its mission, include: Annual Forum with European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC)- Chinese Ancient Practical Wisdom for Today Responsible Leadership: Learning from Experience, CSR: A Road to the Sustainable Enterprise? Best Practice from Europe and China, Does CSR Really Improve the Bottom Line in China? Can East and West Learn from Each Other; Academic Conference on Practical Wisdom for Management from the Chinese Classical Traditions, the Global Ethics Forum and etc.

Publications include:

1. Henri-Claude de Bettignies and Mike J. Thompson(Eds), “Leadership, Spirituality and the Common Good: East and West Approaches”, 2009, Publisher: Garant (Antwerp/Apeldoorn)

2. Henri Claude de Bettignies and Lépineux François, “Finance for a Better World – The Shift Toward Sustainability”, April 2009, 280 pages, Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan.

More information can be found at: http://www.ceibs.edu/ecclar/index.shtml

CSR Club

The Corporate Social Responsibility Club is aiming to bring the practical implementation of socially responsible practices into campus and providing the platform for MBA students to communicate with social entrepreneurs, CSR professionals and NGOs, to explore the relationship between the sustainable success of an organization and its commitment to society and the environment. The club conducts CSR seminars, offer CSR consulting projects for students and help campus to offset its carbon emission.

Mangement Consulting Club

The CEIBS Management Consulting Club provides all MBA students a platform that helps refine their problem solving skills via case workshops. Major case workshops will cover typical case types, frameworks and industries, followed with reviews and lectures. Our missions are to prepare students for the consulting industry, promote CEIBS reputation among top consulting firms and broaden CEIBS alumni network in the industry. Although we are a business orientated club, we do promote the sense of being socially and environmentally responsible during the case study.

Business Woman Club

Our mission is to assist CEIBS female students to develop Female Leadership and achieve Career Advancement & Life Balance.

Our slogan is ‘For Your Well-Being Life’, our members include not only female students, but also many gentlemen students, because true balanced lifestyle can only be achieved with mutual understanding from both genders.

We are inspired to realize our mission via building a platform for CEIBS female student community to share life experiences and support each other; and to act as a bridge between female leaders and CEIBS student body.

Annual or relevant events:

- Series of “Female Leadership” Seminars

- Life-style Activities

International Club

Club Mission:

The mission of CEIBS International Club is to foster a close-knitted community through deeper understanding and better appreciation for the different cultures and countries that are represented by the student body. It aims to encourage active involvement and cultural exchange among the students through special events, festivities and celebrations from around the world.

Annual or relevant events:

National Nights (i.e.: Hispanic Night, Korean Night, South East Pacific, etc).

Seminars and lessons on topics related to cultures, festivities, history and religion.

Game Nights, featuring games from around the world.

Events to celebrate different countries' holidays and festivities (i.e.: Spring Festival, Halloween, Easter, Christmas, etc)

Competition, centered around food and leisure (i.e.: ‘Iron Chef’)

Movies, performances and parties in collaboration with other clubs and the student committee.

Hispanic Club

Hispanic countries are considered all the Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries in Europe and Latino America.

The main objectives of the club are strictly professional, and they are described bellow:

CEIBS MBA/EMBA recognition in Hispanic companies.

Propagate CEIBS brand in enterprise and media circles in Hispanic countries.

CEIBS Hispanic Club member’s potential recognition from Chinese companies with interests in Hispanic countries.

This is a club for everybody who shares an interest in the Hispanic World and China. Leveraging on Shanghai's leading business school, this community offers:

-Business contacts

-Trade opportunities

-News

-Opinion

-Job offers

-Qualified professionals to match those offers

-Potential Clients

-Business Advice & Ideas

-Events

S-uppliers

The club aims at managing a knowledge pool of everything related to business between China and Hispanic countries.

Energy & Environment Club

The mission of the CEIBS Energy & Environment Club is to reduce the footprint of our species on planet Earth. The Club shows that the future of homo sapiens lies in the production and usage of energy based on renewable resources. It helps its members to deeply understand these new technologies and the national and international policies around them. Renewable energy is the industry that will pull the world out of the current recession. The Club’s goal is to seize the chances that these technologies hold for us. Additionally, the Club helps its members to understand the closely related Carbon Market. It strives for the reduction of human impact on climate change and environmental deterioration and helps to be a part of the fast growing market of carbon credits.

Significant Others Club

Club Mission:

Significant Others (SO) Club aims to open CEIBS to the families of the students, and to create a community where spouses, kids, couples… can enjoy some time together. Club will serve as a platform where SO can meet each other, get help from veterans, have some time together, and also enjoy some resources of the school. Also the club serves to promote CEIBS image as a SO-friendly top business school.

Annual or relevant events:

Attend to language lessons offered by the school (Chinese, Spanish, French)

Join other club activities

Assistance to seminars open to all students

Campus access card *

Use of school resources such as library*,gym*, and IT facilities*

Provide help to students on house renting or nanny searching

Green Campus

Who we are: A committee of voluntary students, faculty and school representatives dedicated at searching for areas of improvement in our school’s relationship with the environment and implementing the necessary remedial measures.

Mission: set up processes and measurements to assess and reduce the environmental impact of our school’s facilities to a minimum. By creating the necessary control systems and a permanent team with reach to key decision makers at CEIBS current campus and future projects, we aim to continually improve waste, water and energy management.

Vision: To have a self sustaining campus with modern procedures for waste reduction, water and energy conservation. Create a network to promote initiatives and share knowledge on best practices among educational institutions country wide as to generate awareness and a significant impact on a country level.

Community Outreach and Inclusion Network (COIN)

COIN Philanthropy Club Description: COIN Philanthropy Club is a platform for MBA students to contribute to the community through volunteer works, help others through donation drives and build network through charity. The mission of COIN is engaging in a commitment to societal and personal betterment through selfless giving of one’s knowledge, energy, and time; harnessing our collective talents and experiences, to bestow upon others the gift of an open heart and a helping hand; instilling and fostering a sense of social duty in the future business leaders of China.

Chinese Consumers’ Perceptionof Corporate Social Responsibility
Author(s): Bala Ramasamy; Mathew Yeung

The findings of this article increase our understanding of corporate social responsibility from the consumers’ perspective in a Chinese setting. Based on primary data collected via a self-administered survey in Shanghai and Hong Kong and results of similar studies conducted in Europe and the United States, we provide evidence to show that Chinese consumers are more supportive of CSR. We also show that Carroll’s pyramid of responsibilities can be applied in China. We evaluated the importance placed by Chinese consumers on the four responsibilities of firms – economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic – and find that economic responsibilities are most important while philanthropic responsibilities are of least importance. The nature of these differences is important for firms intending to use corporate social responsibility for strategic purposes.

Journal Title: Journal of Business Ethics Volume: 88 Edition: Supplement 1 Page Numbers: 119-132
Consumer Support for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): The Role of Religion and Values
Author(s): Bala Ramasamy; Mathew Yeung; Alan K. M. Au

Ethical behavior among businesses has gained significant prominence in recent years. Survey evidence shows that Asian consumers demand for greater social responsibility among businesses. Thus, a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to such a demand is useful. This study examines the influence of religiosity and values on corporate social responsibility (CSR) support among consumers in Hong Kong and Singapore. Primary data collected among consumers in these cities point to a significant direct relationship between religiosity and CSR support. In Hong Kong, this attitude is due both to altruistic as well as for egotistical (or face saving) reasons. In Singapore, this is mainly due to the latter. The results imply that different motivations should guide CSR strategies in these two cities.

Journal Title: Journal of Business Ethics Volume: 91 Edition: Supplement 1 Page Numbers: 61-72
Cross-cultural differences in conflict management: An inductive study of Chinese and American managers
Author(s): Lorna Doucet; Karen A. Jehn,; Xiangming Chen

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare conflict management behaviors of American and Chinese managers. Its main aim is to uncover cultural differences in the way Chinese and American managers approach conflict – thereby developing a more thorough understanding of conflict management across cultures.
Design/methodology/approach – Inductive analysis is used to uncover conflict management constructs that are unique to each culture. Structured interviews and multidimensional scaling techniques are used.
Findings – Results show that the conflict management behaviors suggested by American and Chinese managers are different. For Chinese managers alone, embarrassing the colleague and teaching a moral lesson is an important element. For American managers alone, hostility and vengefulness are important elements. Results suggest that both cultures acknowledge avoidant approaches, but the underlying intentions for Americans alone are associated with a lack of confidence.
Research limitations/implications – Results are based on one conflict scenario and the participants are managers working in mainland China. These factors may limit the generalizability of the results.
Practical implications – The findings of this paper suggest that managers should consider cultural differences in conflict management when diagnosing and intervening in conflict situations in different cultures.
Originality/value – The authors present new concepts for potential inclusion in a comprehensive model of conflict management. The authors illustrate the value of using an inductive approach to improve our understanding of conflict management across cultures.

Journal Title: International Journal of Conflict management Volume: 20 Edition: 4 Page Numbers: 355-376
Evolutionary Processes, Moral Luck, and the Ethical Responsibilities of the Manager
Author(s): S. Ramakrishna Velamuri; Nicholas Dew

The responsibilities of the manager have been examined through several lenses in the business ethics literature: Kantian (Bowie, 1999), contractarian (Donaldson and Dunfee, 1999), consequentialist (Friedman, 1970), and virtue ethics (Solomon,1992), to name just four. This paper explores what the ethical responsibilities of the manager would look like if viewed through an evolutionary lens. Discussion is focused on the impact of evolutionary thinking on the process of moral reasoning, rather than on the sources or the substance of morality. The conclusion is reached that the evolutionary lens supports the view that moral luck plays an important role in how we assign ethical responsibilities.

Journal Title: Journal of Business Ethics Volume: 91 Edition: 1 Page Numbers: 113-126
Global Software Piracy: Searching for Further Explanations
Author(s): Gerald Fryxell; Deli Yang; Mahmut Sonmez

This paper identifies that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has a negative effect on software piracy rates in addition to consolidating prior research that economic development and the cultural dimension of individualism also negatively affect piracy rates. Using data for 59 countries from 2000 to 2005, the findings show that economic well-being, individualism and technology development as measured by ICT expenditures explain between 70% and 82% of the variation in software piracy rates during this period. The research results provide important implications for policy makers and business practitioners to help reduce software piracy.

Journal Title: Journal of Business Ethics Volume: 87 Edition: 2 Page Numbers: 269-283
High-level politically connected firms, corruption, and analyst forecast accuracy around the world
Author(s): Charles JP Chen; Yuan Ding ; Chansog (Francis) Kim

The international business (IB) literature has widely recognized political forces as major factors that complicate the strategic decisions of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Analyses by financial intermediaries can help to reduce the risk of information asymmetry caused by such factors. Using firm-level data from 17 jurisdictions between 1997 and 2001, this study investigates the association between a firm's high-level political connections and earnings forecasts made by financial analysts, an important group of financial intermediaries. We find that, after controlling for other determinants of forecast accuracy, analysts experience greater difficulty in predicting the earnings of firms with political connections than those of firms with no such connections. However, in jurisdictions in which corruption level is relatively high, earnings forecast accuracy is influenced more by a firm's political connections. Our findings contribute to the IB literature by demonstrating that political connections exacerbate the information asymmetry between investors and managers, and also that anti-corruption measures can curb the adverse effect of political connections on the corporate information environment. These findings bear the practical implication that MNEs must consider political issues when making resource allocation decisions.

Journal Title: Journal of International Business Studies Volume: 41 Edition: 9 Page Numbers: 1505-1524
Management systems and the CSR engagement
Author(s): Bala Ramasamy; Hung Woan Ting; Lee Chew Ging

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the most potent internal resources of a firm that contribute to the CSR agenda. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a quantitative approach to analyze Malaysian companies. A scorecard is devised according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. A logit/probit model is employed to differentiate firms that are CSR-active from their non-active counterparts. Findings – The results indicate that having universal accredited management systems in place differentiates CSR-active companies from inactive companies. Also, firm size does not matter for CSR performance. Research limitations/implications – The study uses proxies to examine a firm's resources, and thus it might not have captured the implication of the resources fully. Also it identifies resources that have a bearing on the CSR level but does not investigate the conditions in which such resources can be relevant. Practical implications – The results imply that firms that are intent on being CSR-active should consider implementing the various management systems relevant for their businesses. Managers responsible for the CSR agenda might wish to highlight the fact that adherence to such systems actually contributes to the bottom line, thus minimizing resistance from decision-makers, who might view CSR as a costly initiative. Originality/value – The study provides an insight into the influence of management systems on CSR performance among firms in a developing country in Asia. This, to the best knowledge of the authors, has not been studied before.

Journal Title: Social Responsibility Journal Volume: 6 Edition: 3 Page Numbers: 362-373
States, Power, Legitimacy, and Maintaining Institutional Control: The Battle for Private Sector Telecommunication Services in Zimbabwe
Author(s): S. Ramakrishna Velamuri; Jerry D. Goodstein

Drawing directly on Stinchcombe (1968, 1983) we study the interdependence between power and legitimacy in state—organization contests for maintaining institutional control. We focus on postcolonial sub-Saharan Africa and the dynamics between the Zimbabwean state and Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, a start-up private firm that challenged the state's rights to monopoly control over the telecommunications sector during the period 1993—1998. Our findings show that in contexts such as postcolonial settings, states use their power to dominate institutional sectors and maintain institutional control. We find as well that states can attempt to reinforce the legitimacy of their use of power and coercion through (1) securing critical property rights and embedding these rights in the state bureaucracy, and (2) calling on other `centers of power'. Finally, our study highlights the ways in which states and challenging organizations engage in various strategies of institutional work to maintain and disrupt, respectively, existing structures and practices of institutional control.

Journal Title: Organization Studies Volume: 30 Edition: 5 Page Numbers: 489-508
The China code: an analysis of China's National Social standards for the textile and apparel industry
Author(s): Bala Ramasamy; Elisabet Garriga

The China Social Compliance for Textile and Apparel (CSC 9000 T) is the first country and
sector specific social standard in the world. The code was established by the China
National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC). The objective of this paper is to evaluate
the CSC 9000T by comparing the extent of its coverage and its implementation vis‐à‐vis
another popular international standard, the SA 8000, and two company level code of
conduct namely Nike and Inditex. The comparison allows an analysis that considers a
universal versus a national code, a comprehensive versus a sectoral code, and a
western‐based versus an Asian‐based code of conduct. Our analysis follows that of Kolks
and van Tulder (2002) which uses the criteria of specificity and monitoring/sanctioning
aspects of the respective codes. Our results provides justifications as to why the CSC
9000 T is a code that should be given attention by the relevant protagonists as it is
based in more systematic interventions to tackle the root causes of poor compliance in
Chinese reality and has a higher degree of legitimacy due to its backing from China’s
social institutions and agencies.

Journal Title: Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal Volume: 17 Edition: 3 Page Numbers: 257-267