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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the different classifications of existing reference documents related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to propose a complementary approach of this subject in regard to ISO26000.Design/methodology/approachThe publication of ISO 26000 in November 2010, an International Standard providing guidelines for CSR, seems to have modified the landscape of reference documents by bringing up the issue of legitimacy in the overview of the standards. The paper analyzes four different classifications of existing reference documents related to CSR in order to understand their approach.FindingsThe issue of the purpose and legitimacy of tools evoked by ISO 26000 experts enables this paper to propose a complementary approach to existing classifications, by positioning the main tools related to CSR in relation to each other.Originality/valueThis article presents a comparison of existing classification of CSR standards in regard to ISO26000.

International Business researchers have recently become interested in attributional complexity (AC) in the context of cross-cultural leadership effectiveness. Despite this recent surge in interest in this construct, we know very little about its measurement properties in cross-cultural situations. Given that attributions vary across cultures, verifying the validity (measurement invariance and nomological validity) of the Attributional Complexity Scale (ACS) is a research imperative. In study I, we examine the measurement invariance of ACS using a reduced version of the original scale (ACS-18) in five countries. The results suggest that the ACS shows metric invariance in that it has a similar factor structure across the five societies examined and in two other independent samples. In study II (France), we provide evidence of AC's predictive validity based on its relationship to a key construct in its nomological network, namely, isomorphic attribution. In study III (United States), we provide additional evidence of nomological validity by showing the relationship between AC and biculturalism. Our results demonstrate the importance of AC and imply that researchers in cross-cultural contexts can safely use the ACS-18 without risking substantive misinterpretation. We discuss results, future research directions, implications, and limitations of the study.

PurposeAlthough the international business literature has examined leader traits that are desirable in different cultures, it has not examined critical behaviors or managerial attributions of credit and blame. Credit and blame attributions have important consequences for the desirability of leadership across cultures. Arguing that these types of managerial attributions are likely to have a strong impact on what constitutes desirable leadership; the authors examine them in five countries, namely, USA, France, India, Turkey and Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to contribute by examining the influence of credit and blame attributions on subordinate satisfaction and leadership perceptions (desirability), unaddressed in the literature.Design/methodology/approachThe model was tested using questionnaire responses of subordinates in a variety of business organizations, from the five countries indicated, including manufacturing, telecommunication, financial and other services.FindingsUsing the implicit leadership theory, the authors contribute by demonstrating the importance of these attributions for leadership perceptions in five different cultures. The results are supportive of the hypotheses and suggest the important moderating role of subordinate performance for leadership perceptions. The authors discuss findings in the context of the literature, highlight contributions and identify limitations and future directions.Originality/valueUsing the implicit leadership theory, the authors contribute by demonstrating the importance of these attributions for leadership perceptions in five different cultures.

© The Author(s) 2018. In organization studies, there is a cleavage in the literature that separates 'questions' and 'questioning' at a very fundamental philosophical level. On the one hand, the objective notion of 'questions' has already been well addressed. On the other hand, the process of 'questioning' remains under-researched. Although questioning the process of questioning is challenging, this is precisely where American pragmatism can be helpful. As we explore in this essay, the forward-looking quality of pragmatist inquiry is what motors the process of questioning. Our pragmatist-inflected argument is that questioning does not always have to serve critique and position building in the organization studies field. Rather, questioning out of curiosity can build new dialogue and open up new methodological avenues. This will help change the habitual ways in which we explore ideas, problems and situations in organization studies as well as lead to more democratic forms of organizing.

PurposeThis paper contributes to the social pillar of sustainable supply chain management. It does so by investigating how women managers in the maritime sector handle work-family conflict, thereby acting as institutional entrepreneurs to create a work-family balance logic. The maritime sector is a male-dominated supply chain management environment, which suffers from a talent gap of a lack of women executives. One reason for this problem is work-family balance issues that deter women from staying in the workforce.Design/methodology/approachThe authors interviewed 35 women working as port managers in different developing countries. The authors analyzed their strategies in coping with the conflict between family and work to create a work-family balance logic.FindingsThe authors found four different types of strategies to handle work-family conflicts. Responses showed that women executives in this sector can be institutional entrepreneurs. Based on the findings, the authors were able to confirm and contribute to the existing model proposed by Silva and Nunes (2021) on sustainable supply chain logic. The authors also provided recommendations for these women as institutional entrepreneurs and for policymakers to retain women talent in the supply chain management.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focuses on a specific supply chain management sector, which is the maritime sector. It also relies exclusively on interview data.Practical implicationsThe authors propose recommendations to develop a work-family balance logic and retain talented women in the supply chain industry based on monitoring equality and supporting their need for a work-family balance, both in the short and long terms.Originality/valueThe authors interviewed women executives in one of the most male dominated sectors. The authors studied their ability to cope with work-family conflicts and identified four ways to create a work-family balance logic. These findings enabled us to show the contribution and limits of women executives as institutional entrepreneurs for work family balance logics in male dominated sectors.

How do key cultural aspects of individualism/collectivism and gender egalitarianism shape the decision making of female managers from developing regions when handling major work–family conflicts (WFC)? We address this question by drawing on a qualitative study of 50 female managers from developing countries in Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa who work in one particular male-dominated industry. We examine the major WFC incidents experienced by our study participants through the theoretical lens of work–life shock events outlined by Crawford et al. We contribute to the episodic approach to WFC research by shedding light on important aspects of the sociocultural role of extended families and the collectivistic values prevalent in developing regions, as well as on pervasive (low) gender egalitarian norms. The accounts of our female managers reveal how major events are perceived and how women use multifaceted methods to handle them, allowing us to propose a decision-making framework and associated cues with three broad types of decision making: (1) self-directed—choosing work; (2) consultative—choosing work; and (3) consultative—choosing family. Alongside this, we offer revealing insights into how the abovementioned cultural aspects help to shape the logic of consequences (through which people assess the impact of alternative actions) and the logic of appropriateness (through which people act according to their identity), thereby influencing WFC decision making during major episodes of conflict.