Abstract
The recent failures and scandals involving many large businesses have highlighted the importance of corporate social responsibility as a fundamental factor in the soundness of the free market system. The corporate social responsiveness orientation of business executives plays an important role in corporate decision making since managers make important decisions on behalf of their corporations. This paper explores whether there is a relationship between an individual's degree of religiousness and his or her corporate social responsiveness (CSR) orientation. The results of a survey of 473 business students found a significant relationship between degree of religiousness and attitudes toward the economic and ethical components of CSR. Some explanations as well as limited generalizations and implications are developed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott, W. F. and J. R. Monsen: 1979, ‘On the Measurement of Corporate Social Responsibility’, Academy of Management Journal 22, 501–515.
Abratt, R. and D. Sacks: 1988, ‘The Marketing Challenge: Towards Profitable and Socially Responsible’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 497–507.
Anderson, J., Jr.: 1986, ‘Social Responsibility and the Corporation’, Business Horizons 29, 22–27.
Andrews, K. R.: 1980, ‘Directors' Responsibility for Corporate Strategy’, Harvard Business Review 30, 30.
Angelidis, J. and N. Ibrahim: 1991, ‘Toward a Contingency Model of Corporate Social Responsibility’, SE TIMS Proceedings.
Arlow, P.: 1991, ‘Personal Characteristics in College Students' Evaluations of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility’, Journal of Business Ethics 10, 63–69.
Arlow P. and T. Ulrich: 1980, ‘Business Ethics, Social Responsibility, Business Students: An Empirical Comparison of Clark's Study’, Akron Business and Economics Review 6, 17–23.
Arslan, M.: 2001, ‘The Work Ethic Values of Protestant British, Catholic Irish and Muslim Turkish’, Journal of Business Ethics 31(4), 321–339.
Aupperle, K. E., A. B. Carroll and J. P. Hatfield: 1985, ‘An Empirical Examination of the Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Profitability’, Academy of Management Journal 28, 446–463.
Aupperle, K. E., F. B. Simmons III and W. Acar: 1990, ‘An Empirical Investigation Into How Entrepreneurs View Their Social Responsibilities’, 1990 Proceedings of the Academy of Management.
Baig, E.: 1987, January 19 ‘America's Most Admired Corporations’, Fortune, 18–31.
Berenheim, R.: 1988, May ‘An Outbreak of Ethics’, Across the Board, 14–19.
Bok, D.: 1986, ‘Can Ethics be Taught?’, Change 8, 26–30.
Brenner, S. and E. Molander: 1977, ‘Is the Ethics of Business Changing?’, Harvard Business Review 5, 55–71.
Bulik, B.: 2002, ‘Can CEOs Defend Corporate America's Image?’, Chief Executive 180, (July), 5–58.
Burton, B. and W. Hegarty: 1999, ‘Some Determinants of Student Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation’, Business and Society 38, 188–205.
Carroll, A.: 1979, ‘A Three Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Performance’, Academy of Management Review 4, 497–505.
Carroll, A.: 1991, ‘The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders’, Business Horizons 34, 39–48.
Carroll, A. B.: 1989, Business and Society, Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western, p. 39.
Cavanagh, G. F.: 1999, ‘Spirituality for managers: Context and critique’, Journal of Organizational Change Management 12(3), 186–195.
Coffey, R. E., C. W. Cook and P. L. Hunsaker: 1994, Management and Organizational Behavior Burr Ridge, Irwin IL, p. 87.
Conlin, K.: 1986, ‘Business Schools with a Conscience’, The New York Times E7.
Dearborn, D. and H. Simon: 1958, ‘Selective Perception: A Note on the Departmental Identification of Executives’, Sociometry 21, 140–144.
DeSalvia, D. and G. Gemmill: 1971, ‘An Exploratory Study of the Personal Value Systems of College Students and Mangers’, Academy of Management Journal 14, 227–238.
Fisher, A.: 1990, ‘How to Cut Your Legal Costs’, Fortune 121, 185–192.
Ford, R. and F. McLaughlin: 1984, ‘Perceptions of Socially Responsible Activities and Attitudes: A Comparison of Business Deans and Corporate Chief Executives’, Academy of Management Journal, 27 666–674.
Friedman, H. H.: 1985, ‘Ethical Behavior in Business: A Hierarchical Approach from the Talmud’, Journal of Business Ethics 4(2), 117–130.
Galen, M.: 1992, April 13 ‘Guilty! Too Many Lawyers and Too Much Litigation’, Business Week, 60–65.
Gandz, J. and N. Hayes: 1988, ‘Teaching Business Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 657–669.
Goodman, C. and G. Crawford: 1974, ‘Young Executives: A Source of New Ethics?’, Personnel Journal 63, 180–187.
Graafland, J.: 2002, ‘Modelling the Trade-off Between Profits and Principles’, De Economist 150, 129–154.
Hathaway, J. W.: 1990, ‘Students Teach Business a Lesson’, Business and Society Review 19, 58–61.
Hollon, C. and T. Ulrich: 1979, ‘Personal Business Ethics: Managers vs. Managers-to-be’, Southern Business Review 5, 17–22.
Hosmer, L.: 1985, ‘The Other 338: Why a Majority of our Schools of Business Administration do not Offer a Course in Business Ethics’, Journal of Business 4, 17–22.
Ibrahim, N. and J. P. Angelidis: 1990, ‘Board Member Characteristics and their Level of Involvement in Strategic Management’, SE TIMS Proceedings.
Ibrahim, N. and J. P. Angelidis: 1993, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: A Comparative Analysis of Perceptions of Top Executives and Business Students’, The Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business 29(3), 303–314.
Ibrahim, N. L., R. P. McDougall and G. Greene: 1991, ‘Characteristics and performance of Christian Based companies’, Journal of Business Ethics 10, 123–132.
Kelley, L. and A. Whatley: 1987, ‘Assessing the Effects of Culture on Managerial Attitudes: A Three-culture Test’, Journal of International Business Studies 18, 17–31.
Kesner, I. F. and D. E. Dalton: 1986, ‘Boards of Directors and the Checks and (IPM) Balances of Corporate Governance’, Business Horizons 29, 17–23.
Kohlberg, L.: 1976, ‘Moral Stages and Moralization: The Cognitive Developmental Approach’, Moral Development and Behavior: Theory, Research, and Social Issues (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York).
Lewis, D. E.: 2001, ‘Workplace Spirituality Moves up on the Agenda Some Workers Seek More Than Just a Job’, Boston Globe, G.1.
Lewin, T.: 1986, ‘Young, Eager, and Indicted’, The New York Times 25.
Longenecker, J., J. McKinney and C. Moore: 1989, ‘The Generation Gap in Business Ethics’, Business Horizons 32, 9–14.
McGuire, J., A. Sundgren and T. Schneeweis: 1988, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Financial Performance’, Academy of Management Journal 31, 854–872.
McMahon, T.: 1986, ‘Models of Relationship of the Firm to Society’, Journal of Business Ethics 5, 181–191.
Meglino, B. M. and E. C. Ravlin: 1998, ‘Individual Values in Organizations: Concepts, Controversies, and Research’, Journal of Management 24(3), 351–389.
Moskowitz, M.: 1972, ‘Choosing Socially Responsible Stocks’, Business and Society Review 1, 71–75.
Murray, T. J.: 1987, ‘Ethics Programs: Just a Pretty Face?’, Business Month 129, 30–32.
Nadesan, M. H.: 1999, ‘The Discourses of Corporate Spiritualism and Evangelical Capitalism’, Management Communication Quarterly 13(1), 3–42.
Newstrom, J. and W. Ruch: 1976, ‘The Ethics of Business Students: Preparation for a Career’, AACSB Bulletin 12, 21–29.
Nunnally, J.: 1978, Introduction to Psychological Measurement (McGraw-Hill, New York).
Paul, C.: 1991, ‘Reflections on the Utility of a Middle Aged Field’, California Management Review 33, 86–87.
Posner, B. and W. Schmidt: 1984, ‘Values of the American Manager: An Update’, California Management Review 26, 206–216.
Post, J. E.: 1991, ‘Identity Crisis in Middle Age: The Business and Society Field’, California Management Review 33, 83–85.
Powers, C. and D. Vogel: 1980, Ethics in the Education of Business Managers (The Hastings Center, New York).
Preston, L. E.: 1991, ‘Responses’, California Management Review 33, 79–82.
Purcell, T. W.: 1977, ‘Do Courses in Business Ethics Pay Off?’, California Management Journal 19, 50–58.
Samuelson, S.: 1990, ‘The Changing Relationship Between Managers and Lawyers’, Business Horizons 33, 21–27.
Scott, W. and T. Mitchell: 1985, ‘The Moral Failure of Management Education’, The Chronicle of Higher Education 32, 35.
Singhapakdi, A., J. Marta, K. Rallapalli and C. P. Rao: 2000, ‘Toward an Understanding of Religiousness and Marketing Ethics: An Empirical Study’, Journal of Business Ethics 27(4), 305–320.
Smith, D.: 1994, ‘Determinants of Voluntary Association Participation and Volunteering: A Literature Review’, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 23, 243–263.
Smith, W. and R. Blackburn: 1988, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: A Psychometric Examination of a Management Instrument’, Proceedings of the Southern Management Association, 293–295.
Sonnenfeld, J.: 1981, ‘Executive Apologies for Price Fixing: Role Biased Perceptions of Causality’, Academy of Management Journal 24, 192–198.
Stead, B. and J. Miller: 1988, ‘Can Social Awareness be Increased through Business Curricula?’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 553–560.
Stevens, G.: 1984, ‘Ethical Inclinations of Tomorrow's Citizens: Actions Speak Louder?’, Journal of Business Education 59, 147–152.
Stock, H.: 2002, ‘CEOs Scrimp on Social Programs Despite Investor Interest’, Investor Relations Business 4, 1–2.
Ullman, A.: 1985, ‘Date in Search of a Theory: A Critical Examination of the Relationship Among Social Performance, Social Disclosure, and Economic Performance’, Academy of Management Review 10, 540–577.
Unni, V. K. and Chitgopekar: 1989, ‘Orientations Toward Social Responsibility of Women Entrepreneurs’, Southern Management Association Proceedings, 235–237.
Vance, S. C.: 1975, ‘Are Socially Responsible Corporations Good Investment Risks?’, Management Review 64, 19–24.
Verschoor, C. and E. Murphy: 2002, ‘The Financial Performance of Large U.S. Firms and those with Global Prominence: How do the Best Corporate Citizens Rate?’, Business and Society Review 107, 371–380.
Vogel, D.: 1987, ‘Could an Ethics Course have kept Ivan from Going Bad?’, The Wall Street Journal 27, 24.
Watanabe, T.: 1999, ‘Dalai Lama Calls for a New Era of Ethics; Buddhism: Addressing Pasadena Audience, the Tibetan Spiritual Leader Urges Social Service, Tolerance and 'Inner Disarmament’, The Los Angeles Times 1.
Welcomer, S.: 2002, ‘Firm-Stakeholder Networks’, Business and Society 41, 251–257.
White, B. J. and B. R. Montgomery: 1980, ‘Corporate Codes of Conduct’, California Management Review 22, 80–87.
Whitehill, A.: 1989, ‘American Executives through Foreign Eyes’, Business Horizons 32, 42–48.
Wood, D. J.: 1991, ‘Social Issues in Management: Theory and Research in Corporate Social Performance’, Journal of Management 17(2), 383–406.
Zanisek, T. J.: 1979, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: A Conceptual Model Based on Organizational Literature’, Academy of Management Review 4(3), 359–368.
Zigarelli, M.: 1993, ‘Catholic Social Teaching and the Employment Relationship’, Journal of Business Ethics 12(1), 75–83.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Angelidis, J., Ibrahim, N. An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Degree of Religiousness Upon an Individual's Corporate Social Responsiveness Orientation. Journal of Business Ethics 51, 119–128 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000033606.27489.bf
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000033606.27489.bf