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Abstract

Financial institutions are one of the key elements in the present-day crisis. That is why it is necessary to analyze how they respond to this situation of crisis from the point of view of social responsibility. To answer these questions, it is essential to analyze the relationship between these organizations and their stakeholders and the study has focused in the analysis of identified stakeholders, relationship mechanisms in place for them and what their expectations are in defining social responsibility policies.All these issues have been analyzed using the information obtained via a survey sent to a set of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) managers at some financial institutions. The analysis has revealed the evolution undergone in terms of the procedures to be followed to incorporate the expectations of stakeholders in the management of Social Responsibility as well as relating those aspects to the ones that lend greater attention in the current situation of economic crisis.

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Abstract

Implementation of Social Responsibility (SR) Policies in the company management, whatever their legal form, is becoming increasingly more relevant largely due to a growing social demand.The aim of this study is to show that the implementation of these policies directed to the development of an

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Abstract

The past few years have been witness to a significant progress of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Spain due to the development of several initiatives promoted, initially by the private sector, and from 2004 thanks to the determined governmental promotion. The most visible result of the new public policies of CSR promotion was the creation of three areas for dialogue (Parliamentary Subcommittee, Forum of Experts and The Table for Social Dialogue) where companies, union and business organizations, experts, mass media, academic and social organizations, along with public administrations, in order to supply the government with concrete guidelines for the promotion and dissemination of the practices of RSE. The present work analyzes the speeches made public by the three forums for dialogue with the aim to investigate to what extent this process of dialogue has contributed to clarify the objective and the road toward sustainability. Set against the general satisfaction with which the conclusions of the three areas of dialogue have been greeted, our work presents some reflections on the possible capture of the process and of its results on the part of the corporations’ interests in detriment of the sustainability.

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Abstract

Social Capital (SC) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) lead to the emergence of new business perspectives. The theoretical framework shows the dimensions that are applicable to SC and CSR, environmental strategies, an explanation of behaviour for generating SC, and responsible government. We then present a study in Social Economy Enterprises (SEE), in which we consider the suitability of these organisations collaborating with the university. The hypotheses were compared with descriptive models, contingency testing and linear regression, based on the opinion of 42 SEEs. The results indicate the most important SC and Environmental Responsibility variables. They also suggest that environmental obligations are not important for collaboration with the university. Finally, companies consider it advantageous to have social relations in their CSR activities, as they have a positive influence on levels of social commitment.

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the results of the research carried out in Valencia during the years 2007-2008 aimed at understanding the involvement and participation that socially responsible companies in the Valencian Community have in the field of Social Action both quantitatively and qualitatively, from the perspective of corporate citizenship At present, scholars studying business reality are betting on the change of model or paradigm in the companies. Companies should not only obtain financial gains, but also they should work on achieving environmental and social benefits. The ones that do not keep in mind cenvironmental and social responsibilities, will not have a competitive business in the long-term. Surely, companies will not be able to compete for money but they will for other aspects (social and environmental). Stakeholder groups in corporations can no longer be just the owners, since from this new perspective other interest groups are contemplated such as clients, suppliers and the citizenship. The contributions of the business sector to the sector of the social economy are still small but varied (contributions in kind, financial donations, sponsorship, corporate volunter programs, among others) if compared with the contributions carried out by other institutional sectors. This article summarizes the main results of a pioneering empirical investigation in this field.

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Abstract

Society increasingly demands more social and environmental commitment from companies, above and beyond the strictly economic environment. This is causing the Social Economy Companies (CSE) to adopt Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices directed at satisfying the expectations of their different interest groups, especially when they can explain, to a certain extent, the achievement of competitive advantages. Theoretical works are appearing in related literature highlighting the adoption by the CSE’s of behaviours that are features of the CSR’s. However, there is a lack of empiric studies validating these appreciations. Within this context, the aim of the present work is to contrast, with the information obtained from surveys of 70 CSE’s, to what extent these organizations are adopting behaviours that are features of the CRS, if the degree of adoption differs between the cooperatives and the labour societies and if this adoption is affected by the values shared by this type of organizations.

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Abstract

It is interesting to identify the different levels of heterogeneity that the governance of cooperative entities specifically presents In Social Economy. Furthermore, its differentiating characteristics, as extracted from the seven cooperative principles, based on values such as the participative democracy (ICA, 1997), constitute the guidelines of cooperative governance, reflected in aspects such as the form of management, organizational structure, activities, membership requirements and relations with the socio-economic and environmental factors. In a world in constant change and under the current credit crunch scenario, it seems interesting to carry out a study from the perspective of the demands from the Social Corporate Responsibility, with the aim to describe the role defined by the different agents in the participation and the cooperative governance. These relations undoubtedly have an impact on the economic and social goals and results achieved by the cooperatives. Our study aims to analyse and show the results for a set of cooperatives based in the Aragonese region, and to highlight the different results obtained according to the form of participation and the groups of interest involved.

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Abstract

Many fruit and vegetables producers have taken collective action to improve their position in the supply chain and to face changes that have recently occurred in the consumer behaviour and the distribution. Strategies for chain integration are different in each country depending on the tendency to undertake collective actions and on public incentives to cooperate. This paper deals with the organisations of F&V producers as a form of collective action and makes a comparative analysis on the situation in the Autonomous Community of Valencia, the Netherlands and the main state producers in the USA. The objective of this work is twofold: First, to discuss the efficiency of producer organisations as an instrument to coordinate and adapt to the market, and second, to analyse producers’ hesitation in taking part in these organisations.