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Corporate Responsibility and Identity: from a Stakeholder to an Awareness Approach

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  • Pasi Heikkurinen
  • Tarja Ketola

Abstract

Firms are encouraged to manage their corporate responsibility and identity in accordance with the popular stakeholder theory. Managers are, however, confronted with the complexity of the praxis and related ethical dilemmas, as the expectations of their external stakeholders may be myriad, ambiguous and self‐contradictory, or even non‐existent in the global and dynamic business contexts. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to (a) review and critically discuss the stakeholder approach in striving for a responsible identity and (b) introduce an alternative approach that can address its inadequacies and shortcomings. The study outlines an alternative theorem, the awareness approach to responsible identity. In the conclusions, the article proposes how firms can adopt a responsible identity that leads to a desired image and reputation, and maps out further research opportunities. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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  • Pasi Heikkurinen & Tarja Ketola, 2012. "Corporate Responsibility and Identity: from a Stakeholder to an Awareness Approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 326-337, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:21:y:2012:i:5:p:326-337
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.744
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    14. Ángela González-Moreno & Pablo Ruiz-Palomino & Francisco J. Sáez-Martínez, 2019. "Can CEOs’ Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation Improve Firms’ Cooperation in International Scenarios?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-14, December.
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    16. H. L. Zou & R. C. Zeng & S. X. Zeng & Jonathan J. Shi, 2015. "How Do Environmental Violation Events Harm Corporate Reputation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 836-854, December.
    17. Juan Jose Duran & Nuria Bajo, 2014. "Institutions as Determinant Factors of Corporate Responsibility Strategies of Multinational Firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(6), pages 301-317, November.
    18. Dingzu Zhang & Lijuan Pan & Luqi Liu & Huixiang Zeng, 2023. "Impact of executive pay gap on environmental, social, and governance disclosure in China: Is there a strategic choice?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2574-2589, September.
    19. Gain Park & Hyun Soon Park, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Korea: How to Communicate Global Issues to Local Stakeholders," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(2), pages 77-87, March.
    20. José V. Frias‐Aceituno & Lázaro Rodríguez‐Ariza & Isabel M. Garcia‐Sánchez, 2014. "Explanatory Factors of Integrated Sustainability and Financial Reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 56-72, January.
    21. J. Alfredo Flores‐Hernández & Jesús J. Cambra‐Fierro & Rosario Vázquez‐Carrasco, 2020. "Sustainability, brand image, reputation and financial value: Manager perceptions in an emerging economy context," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 935-945, July.
    22. Pasi Heikkurinen & Jukka Mäkinen, 2018. "Synthesising Corporate Responsibility on Organisational and Societal Levels of Analysis: An Integrative Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 589-607, May.
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    24. Anne Michaels & Michael Grüning, 2016. "Interne Treiber von CSR-Publizität: Der Einfluss von Corporate Identity," Sustainability Nexus Forum, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 315-324, December.
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