Papers by Stelios Zyglidopoulos
Multinationals’ misbehavior
Journal of World Business, 2021
Multinational companies have been a force for good but, unfortunately, some misbehave. Our compre... more Multinational companies have been a force for good but, unfortunately, some misbehave. Our comprehensive literature review on multinationals’ misbehavior reveals three ideas. First, most research focuses on the interaction between the multinational and its institutional context, but insights vary depending on whether the drivers of misbehavior lie inside or outside the multinational. Second, we find a dearth of studies on social and environmental misbehavior, and an overemphasis on the study of governance dimensions, especially corruption. Third, we uncover three implicit assumptions that shaped past analyses: data availability, bad contexts leading good multinationals astray, and a focus on topical novelty.</p
Organizational Dynamics, 2020
Please cite this article in press as: P. Hirsch, et al., Can a leader of moral character survive ... more Please cite this article in press as: P. Hirsch, et al., Can a leader of moral character survive and do good in a corrupt organization?, Organ Dyn (2020),
Organization Studies, 2019
Introduction: Two Perspectives on Current Global Challenges Given the increased complexity of our... more Introduction: Two Perspectives on Current Global Challenges Given the increased complexity of our global world, many authors have been trying to make sense of the numerous challenges that we face (Fiss & Hirsch, 2005). In this review, we take two different, but complementary perspectives, on these challenges. To this end, we review two very important recent books on this matter that are written by two of the keenest observers and commentators on today's world developments, Thomas Friedman and Niall Ferguson. Friedman's book Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations (2016), and Ferguson's The Square and the Tower: Networks and power, from the Freemasons to Facebook (2017), offer very different interpretations and guides to doing just that, making sense of today's increasingly complex challenges. Friedman identifies three major accelerations (technological change, digital globalization and climate change) that disrupt and displace our global reality. And, although he acknowledges that these accelerations challenge our social structures, which are not ready to deal with them, he remains optimistic about the opportunities these challenges provide us. Ferguson, on the other hand, draws on a detailed historical analysis in what he conceives to be a major theme in human history; i.e. the interplay between social networks and hierarchies. He makes the point that human history can be characterized as long epochs, where hierarchical structures dominated humanity, and more dynamic eras, where networks had an advantage over hierarchies. Following a rather pessimistic approach, he argues that many times in history, times disturbingly similar to the current ones, networks have run amok, plunging their societies into bloodshed. At least partly these different interpretations can be attributed to the different backgrounds of the authors.
Journal of Management Inquiry, 2019
What conditions must be present for multinational companies (MNCs) to benefit from corruption? We... more What conditions must be present for multinational companies (MNCs) to benefit from corruption? We argue that corrupt acts by organizations can be profitable if four conditions are met: there must be an opportunity to do so, the risks must be perceived as low, the organization must be willing to engage in corruption, and it must have some skill in converting such acts into organizational advantages. We believe all of these conditions are necessary for organizational corruption to “pay off.” We argue that these conditions would most likely be present in MNCs from corrupt environments investing in other countries rife with corruption. However, if each of the conditions must be present for the return on corruption to be sufficient, each also offers opportunities to eliminate organizational corruption.
Journal of Business Research, 2012
Stakeholder Theory
The stakeholder perspective is an alternative way of understanding how companies and people creat... more The stakeholder perspective is an alternative way of understanding how companies and people create value and trade with each other. Freeman, Harrison and Zyglidopoulos discuss the foundation concepts and implementation of stakeholder management as well as the advantages this approach provides to firms and their managers. They present a number of tools that managers can use to implement stakeholder thinking, better understand stakeholders and create value with and for them. The Element concludes by discussing how managers can create stakeholder oriented control systems and by examining some of the important stakeholder-related issues that are worthy of future scholarly and managerial attention.
Journal of Management Studies, 1999
This paper provides a theoretical link between the initial environmental conditions surrounding a... more This paper provides a theoretical link between the initial environmental conditions surrounding a ®rm's birth and ®rst few years of operations and its process of technological change. The main argument is that initial environmental conditions in¯uence the technological trajectories of business ®rms. Four mechanisms through which this in¯uence is carried out are technological paradigm, dominant logic, organizational structure, and con®guration. These mechanisms act as carriers of initial in¯uences and constrain the future technological developments, restricting thus the possible technological trajectories a ®rm can follow. This paper discusses the above mechanisms and a number of propositions concerning the kind of in¯uence dierent initial environmental conditions have on technological change. The paper concludes with implications for further research.
Futures, 2004
Strategic foresight, in the sense of 'understanding the future' [R.A. Slaughter. Futures studies ... more Strategic foresight, in the sense of 'understanding the future' [R.A. Slaughter. Futures studies as an intellectual and applied discipline. American Behavioral Scientist 42(3) (1998) 372-385; A.N. Whitehead. Modes of Thought. Free Press, New York, 1966], can play a significant role in the long term success, or failure, of business corporations. However, in understanding the development and management of strategic foresight within business enterprises, instances where lack of foresight was exhibited, can be equally instructive, especially when these business organizations are some of the world's largest multinational corporations and they are faced with a situation they had met before: new market entry. By drawing on 42 in depth interviews, conducted by one of the authors with executives from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) currently operating in China, this paper identifies the causes and consequences in the lack of foresight exhibited by many MNEs in their Chinamarket entry strategies. In this way the foresight failure is distilled into two factors: Failure of understanding, and Failure of anticipation.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2021
How can stakeholder theory contribute to opportunity theory? We suggest that stakeholder theory a... more How can stakeholder theory contribute to opportunity theory? We suggest that stakeholder theory affords appropriate theoretical lenses for grounding the opportunity-actualization perspective more firmly within the real-world constraints of business venturing. Actualization departs from a strong focus on entrepreneurial agency to conceptualize how pre-existing environmental conditions determine what entrepreneurial action can achieve. We explain that stakeholder theory can strengthen the outward-looking orientation of actualization by (1) bringing the entirety of stakeholders centre-stage, beyond a narrow focus on market stakeholders, and (2) stressing the importance of noneconomic considerations for the actualization of economic opportunities. Our theorization culminates in the concept of ‘strategic opportunity thinking’ (SOT). We conceptualize SOT as a way of protecting entrepreneurs from the blind-to-stakeholders mindset that either sleepwalks them into the territory of non-opport...
Global Strategy Journal, 2021
This article examines how different international diversification strategies impact the legitimac... more This article examines how different international diversification strategies impact the legitimacy challenges multinationals face and the way they manage their corporate and social responsibilities. Analyzing these questions in a sample of companies in extractive industries, we find that those who pursue resource-seeking investments that involve locating extraction operations overseas respond with the largest improvement in their corporate-level social performance (CSP). Those pursuing efficiency-seeking by establishing processing subsidiaries abroad increase their CSP less, with the smallest increase for those pursuing market-seeking through marketing and sales operations overseas. For each type of activity established overseas, the increase in CSP becomes greater the more developed the company's home country and the larger its international footprint, but is not dependent on the host country's level of development. These findings suggest that, in today's globalized world, the legitimacy challenges that result from subsidiaries' activities increasingly need to be managed at a global, corporate level. Managerial Summary: This article investigates the relationships between different international diversification strategies, the different legitimacy challenges they
Business & Society, 2020
Secrecy and “social cocooning” are critical mechanisms allowing the normalization of corruption w... more Secrecy and “social cocooning” are critical mechanisms allowing the normalization of corruption within organizations. Less studied are processes of normalization that occur when corruption is an “open secret.” Drawing on an empirical study of Greek public-sector organizations, we suggest that a second-order normalization process ensues among non-corrupt onlookers both inside and beyond the organization. What is normalized at this level is not corruption, but its tolerance, which we disaggregate into agent-focused tolerance and structure-focused tolerance. Emphasizing the importance of non-corrupt bystanders, we claim that second-order normalization helps corruption persist in situations where its presence is openly acknowledged. This adds an important new dimension to normalization theory and we unpack its implications for both future research and practice in this area.
Journal of World Business, 2018
In this paper, we investigate the impact of internationalization on the corporate social performa... more In this paper, we investigate the impact of internationalization on the corporate social performance (CSP) of extractive industry firms (EIFs). We argue that internationalization positively impacts their CSP because, as they internationalize, they increasingly benefit from actions that help them enhance their social licenses to operate (SLOs) and hence have a greater need to increase both the overall social (SP) and environmental (EP) aspects of their CSP. We hypothesize that as EIFs internationalize, both their SP and EP grow; that SP grows more relative to EP; and that the level of development of EIFs' home countries moderates these relationships.
Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society, 2001
Journal of Business Research, 2019
To date, there has been little agreement on the role of organizational slack in firms' Environmen... more To date, there has been little agreement on the role of organizational slack in firms' Environmental Performance (EP). Drawing on the Behavioral Theory of the Firm (BTOF), we advance this line of inquiry by conceptualizing the distinct effects that absorbed slack and unabsorbed slack have on EP as well as how industry discretion, firmspecific regulatory pressures, and EP-aspiration levels moderate these effects. We test our hypotheses with a unique panel of 753 US public firms for the period 1991-2008. As hypothesized, our findings indicate that unabsorbed slack has a positive effect on EP, while absorbed slack has a negative one. Industry discretion, firmspecific regulatory pressures, and EP aspiration levels moderate these relationships in distinct ways. We discuss the implications of our research on managerial and policy decision-making.
Business Ethics Quarterly, 2016
ABSTRACT:In this article, we explore the Corporate Social Performance (CSP) of Developing Country... more ABSTRACT:In this article, we explore the Corporate Social Performance (CSP) of Developing Country Multinationals (DMNCs). We argue that in competing internationally, DMNCs often face both reputation and legitimacy deficits, which they address by improving their CSP. We develop a series of hypotheses to explain the variation in CSP between DMNCs and domestic-only firms from developing countries and also examine variations in CSP between DMNCs depending on the extent of their multinationality and portfolio of host countries. Our findings support all our hypotheses, which suggest that DMNCs display enhanced levels of CSP compared to their domestic-only counterparts. CSP is also found to be positively related to the DMNCs’ degree of multinationality, but with a declining incremental impact, whereas entry into developed markets leads to a greater improvement in DMNCs’ CSP than expansion into developing markets. We highlight the implications of our findings for managers and researchers.
Museum Promotion and Cultural Image: The case of the Acropolis Museum
This case study examines a process of reputation building in the context of cultural organization... more This case study examines a process of reputation building in the context of cultural organizations in order to attract their audience. During the past 30 years, museums have evolved as sophisticated cultural industries, while a business mentality has become a trend in the cultural sector. We chose the Acropolis Museum, as a new, emerging cultural organization in the European periphery which engages in public actions in the form of symbolic initiatives, in order to set a specific cultural agenda for Greek and international media. We scrutinize seven symbolic initiatives publicized by the museum as attributes that influence media content. One of our basic objectives is to compare museum promotion tactics to corporate promotion strategies, while assessing whether cultural organizations imitate corporate promotion practices. We conducted a content analysis about organizational, symbolic actions derived primarily by the museum’s press releases. An open coding technique was deemed appropr...
Museum Management and Curatorship, 2015
This case study examines a process of agenda building in the context of cultural organizations. W... more This case study examines a process of agenda building in the context of cultural organizations. We chose the Acropolis Museum, as a new, emerging cultural organization in the European periphery which engages in public actions, in the form of symbolic initiatives, in order to set a specific cultural agenda for Greek and international media. We scrutinize seven symbolic initiatives publicized by the museum, as attributes that influence media content. We conclude that development of cultural/educational services, advertising and marketing, visitor/customer relations, partnerships, symbolic actions, special events, and supporting services constitute significant cultural attributes, which strategically become a part of the media agenda, thereby contributing toward the building of a museum agenda.
Ontological Inattention and Epistemological Naivety: A Critique of Entrepreneurial Alertness
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014
ABSTRACT Contemporary entrepreneurial discourse is erected on the conviction that it is only a ha... more ABSTRACT Contemporary entrepreneurial discourse is erected on the conviction that it is only a handful of individuals who are alert to entrepreneurial opportunities. The present paper explains that this idea emerges on the background of an ontologically oversimplified landscape that encourages the fallacious impression that that non-enterprising individuals should be non-alert to opportunities. This critical exercise intends to contribute on three fronts: i) to the emerging field of Critical Entrepreneurship Studies, ii) to the (critical realist) discourse that underscores the value of ontological reflexivity for the soundness of our scholarly practices, and iii) in calling attention to the ways through which the careless use of our words can misdirect our scholarly imagination. Concerning the former, in questioning the presumption that entrepreneurs belong to a special minority capable of perceiving opportunities, the presumed uniqueness of enterprising individuals is fundamentally undermined. Concerning the latter, the current paper affords a highly edifying case of the ways through which ontological inattention encourages epistemologically naïve inferences. With respect to the distorting “power of words” it is explained how the (unwitting or not) use of perceptual vocabulary can generate metaphysical illusions with attendant ideological effects.
Journal of Management Inquiry, 2015
In this article, I identify two kinds of corruption: first-order and second-order corruption. Fir... more In this article, I identify two kinds of corruption: first-order and second-order corruption. First-order corruption is the abuse of power by either individuals or groups for private gain given a system of existing rules or norms, whereas second-order corruption is the abuse of power by individuals or groups in that they change the existing rules or norms to benefit from them unfairly. I argue that second-order corruption has certain unique characteristics that make it harder to identify and more harmful for both the corporation and society in the long run, and conclude by suggesting some ways to deal with it.
Small Business Economics, 2014
The notion that opportunities exist objectively ''out there'' has been repeatedly assaulted by sc... more The notion that opportunities exist objectively ''out there'' has been repeatedly assaulted by scholars who counter that opportunities are subjectively constructed or created. This paper intends to restore the balance by bringing the critical strands of inquiry themselves under critical scrutiny. Beyond the formulation of some original lines of critique and the drawing of attention to some foundational yet insufficiently studied issues, this article further contributes the following: (1) it juxtaposes a taxonomical ordering of constructivist approaches; (2) it identifies angles of complementarity and contradiction with the objectivist perspective; and (3) it brings subtle conceptual distinctions into prominence. Keywords Entrepreneurial opportunities Á Austrian economics Á Philosophy of the social sciences Á Constructivist ontology Á Conceptual analysis JEL Classifications B52 Á B25 Á L26 Á B53
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Papers by Stelios Zyglidopoulos