Exploring how organizational performance feedback influences corporate social responsibility (CSR): the moderating role of LGBT inclusion

Purpose

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) captures organizational actions that account for economic, social and environmental performance. CSR is becoming increasingly relevant for organizations because of changing societal norms and attitudes. Prior research on CSR shows that socially responsible actions are beneficial for the firm and the society. However, much less is known about the antecedents of CSR. The authors suggest that CSR is a strategic organizational decision and use organizational performance feedback theory to explain how organizations decide on CSR activities.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a longitudinal sample of 189 US public firms with 1,050 observations, the authors test how performance decreases below aspirations and performance increases above aspirations influence CSR. The authors also test for the moderation effect of LGBT inclusion on these relationships as a proxy for CSR consistency and stakeholder support.

Findings

The authors find that as organizational performance decreases further below aspirations, CSR increases and LGBT inclusion strengthens this increase. The authors also find that as performance increases above aspirations, organizations become more engaged in CSR, but LGBT inclusion does not moderate this relationship.

Originality/value

Prior research recently started extending the performance feedback theory to CSR, but empirical findings on the relationships between performance feedback and CSR are seemingly inconclusive. Moreover, studies had primarily focused on performance below aspirations and to a much lesser extent on performance above aspirations. This study aims to better integrate organizational performance feedback theory to the CSR discourse.

Motives in creating an LGBTQ inclusive work environment: a case study

Purpose

The purpose of this inquiry is to examine why companies create LGBTQ-inclusive work environments and how these firms advance LGBTQ-inclusiveness through CSR practices and address challenges presented by strategic duality.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a qualitative multiple case study design, data was collected and then triangulated from interviews and company documents. NVivo, a qualitative research program, was used to organize, sort, query and model the data.

Findings

Several themes were identified as reasons why Fortune 500 organizations sought to create LGBTQ-inclusive work environments. Themes include a positive return on investment, advancing human rights issues within the framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR), internal organizational pressure and parity with other Minnesota companies. Findings are examined through the theoretical lens of strategic duality.

Research limitations/implications

Primary theoretical implications include contributions to our understanding of strategic duality by providing a first-hand account from people in organizations that encountered imperatives that to some degree are in conflict. By design, the multiple case study methodology does not allow generalizations to be drawn beyond the organizations included in this study.

Practical implications

Both managers and researchers will find this study provides valuable insight on how people and organizations experience and navigate strategic duality (pairs of competing imperatives) within the context of the motivation behind creating an LGBTQ-inclusive work environment.

Originality/value

This inquiry provides a unique and valuable account as to why organizations choose to invest resources in creating a LGBTQ-inclusive work environment, the return on investment (ROI) and examines competing imperatives (strategic dualities) faced by management. Similar multiple case studies of this qualitative nature are rare, possibly even non-existent and, therefore, this study makes a significant contribution to the literature.

Gender diversity and firm value: evidence from UK financial institutions

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is, first, to empirically examine whether the appointment of females (board gender diversity) to the corporate boards of UK financial institutions can improve firm value, and second, to examine whether having females on the boards of UK financial institutions can impact firm value during the pre-/post-global financial crisis periods.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses secondary data obtained from DataStream covering 63 financial institutions over a period of 12 years. A number of additional statistical estimations, including random effects and fixed effects, are conducted to test the robustness of the findings.

Findings

The outcome of this empirical research shows that the presence of females on the corporate boards of UK financial institutions has a positive and statistically significant relationship with firm value. The authors’ evidence reveals a positive and statistically significant impact on the firm’s value prior to the financial crisis, that is, during the pre-crisis period (2000-2006), meaning that women contributed significantly to the firm’s value. However, after the financial crisis, the presence of females on the board had no significant effect on the firm’s value. A reasonable explanation may be that, whilst the financial crisis was over in the period 2009-2011, the entire UK economy was still experiencing an economic downturn, and financial firms were no exception, irrespective of whether there was female representation on any corporate board. Overall, the findings are consistent with the prior studies.

Practical implications

The results have practical implications for governments, policy-makers and regulatory authorities, by indicating the importance of women to corporate success.

Originality/value

Despite several research projects on board gender diversity (BGD), this research is unique compared to the previous empirical studies, primarily because it is the first-time research of this nature is empirically ascertaining BGD and firm value in UK financial institutions, also during the pre-/post-financial crisis era. This paper contributes to the corporate governance literature by offering new insights on board diversity and firms’ value relationship. Overall, the results help fill any gaps on gender diversity and firm value in UK financial institutions.

Gender diversity in the Italian boardroom and firm financial performance

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the relationship between board gender diversity and firm financial performance in Italy, where the recently enforced Law 120/2011 prescribes gender quotas for boards of directors.

Design/methodology/approach

Panel data analysis was used to examine the gender diversity–firm financial performance relationship in an unbalanced panel of 918 Italian listed companies during the years 2011-2014.

Findings

Gender diversity, as measured by the percentage of women on a board and by the Blau and the Shannon indices, has a positive and significant effect on Tobin’s Q, while the presence of one or more women on the board per se has an insignificant effect on firm financial performance.

Practical implications

The results suggest that board gender diversity is not a simple “numbers game”, greater gender diversity may generate economic gains, greater gender diversity does not destroy shareholder value, investors do not penalize companies that increase female representation on their boards and Italian companies should focus their efforts on the right mix of men and women rather than on simply the presence of at least one woman on a board of directors.

Originality/value

Most articles on this topic use data from countries with a legal system based on common law; this paper analyses Italy, a country with a civil law system. This is almost certainly the first study to examine the effect of board gender diversity on firm financial performance in the Italian market.

The impact of demographic factors on the way lesbian and gay employees manage their sexual orientation at work

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence demographic factors have on the way lesbians and gay men manage their sexual orientation at work.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on data taken from a cross-sectional survey of 1,308 gay and lesbian employees working in Germany, four regression models are proposed. The means of handling one’s homosexuality at work was measured by the 31 items containing Workplace Sexual Identity Management Measure from Anderson et al. (2001).

Findings

– Results indicate that being in a relationship is related to increased openness about one’s homosexuality at work. Furthermore, it appears that the older and the more religious lesbian and gay employees are, the more open (and therefore less hidden) about their sexuality they are. Having a migratory background is related to being more guarded about one’s sexual orientation, whereas personal mobility within the country is not related to the way one manages one’s sexual orientation at work. Lesbians tend to be a little more open and less guarded about their homosexuality compared to gay men.

Research limitations/implications

– The focus of this research (and the related limitations) offers several starting and connecting points for more intersectional research on workforce diversity and diversity management.

Practical implications

– The study’s findings indicate the need for an intersectional approach to organizational diversity management strategies. Exemplified by the dimension “sexual orientation”, it can be shown that the impact each dimension has for an employee’s everyday workplace experiences and behavior in terms of a certain manifestation of one dimension of diversity can only be understood in terms of its interplay with other dimensions of diversity.

Originality/value

– It is shown that manifestations of demographic factors that tend to broaden the individual’s coping resources for stigma-relevant stressors lead to more openness about one’s homosexuality in the workplace.

Privatsache und unerheblich für Unternehmen?: Der Stand der Personalforschung zur „sexuellen Orientierung”

In Deutschland und Europa setzen immer mehr Unternehmen Maßnahmen zur „sexuellen Orientierung”, zumeist im Rahmen von aktuell an Bedeutung gewinnenden Diversity Management-Ansätzen. Vor diesem Hintergrund gibt der Artikel einen strukturierten Überblick über den Stand der Personalforschung in diesem Bereich. Neben wenigen Studien zu Bi- und Transsexualität bezieht sich der größte Teil der Forschung auf das Phänomen Homosexualität und lässt sich in drei thematische Gruppen unterteilen: 1. der Umgang mit der eigenen Homosexualität am Arbeitsplatz, 2. das Arbeits- und Organisationsklima für Lesben und Schwule und 3. der organisationale Umgang mit Homosexualität bzw. der „sexuellen Orientierung”. Es zeigt sich, dass schwule, lesbische, bisexuelle und auch transidente Beschäftigte unterschiedlichen Barrieren am Arbeitsplatz begegnen, und entsprechende Maßnahmen von Unternehmensseite dazu beitragen können, diese abzubauen. Es wird diskutiert, inwieweit sich daraus positive ökonomische Konsequenzen für Unternehmen ergeben können.

Shareholder Returns for a Catalyst Award

Using an event study methodology, the authors examine firm share price reactions to the designation of a Catalyst Award. They find a positive relationship between the human resource award and share price reactions. In addition, they find varying degrees of support that timing, firm size, and labor force composition moderate share price reactions. Specifically, the authors find that earlier award announcements generate larger share price reactions than more recent award announcements. They also find support that larger firms reap greater share price reactions than do smaller firms. And last, they find limited support that the proportion of women in an industry moderates the award and share price relationship.