Can businesses abandon the axiom that the customer is always right when consumers start questioning the ethics of business practices? Professor Craig Smith examines the theory and practice of ethical purchase behaviour, a crucial mechanism for ensuring social responsibility in business. He explains how and why consumers have used their purchasing power to influence corporate policies and practices. He argues the case for the social control of business, drawing on perspectives from marketing, economics, politics, sociology, and business policy. He concludes that the market may act as an arbiter of 'good' and 'bad' business practice. Dr Smith considers the practical aspects of ethical purchase behaviour, focusing on consumer boycotts as a specific form of this consumer behaviour, and explains how boycotted businesses should respond. This title, first published in 1990, is ideal for both business students and those who have a business of their own.

Can businesses abandon the axiom that the customer is always right when consumers start questioning the ethics of business practices? Professor Craig Smith examines the theory and practice of ethical purchase behaviour, a crucial mechanism for ensuring social responsibility in business. He explains how and why consumers have used their purchasing power to influence corporate policies and practices. He argues the case for the social control of business, drawing on perspectives from marketing, economics, politics, sociology, and business policy. He concludes that the market may act as an arbiter of good and bad business practice. Dr Smith considers the practical aspects of ethical purchase behaviour, focusing on consumer boycotts as a specific form of this consumer behaviour, and explains how boycotted businesses should respond. This title, first published in 1990, is ideal for both business students and those who have a business of their own. "

Corporate responsibility has gone global. It has secured the attention of business leaders, governments and NGOs to an unprecedented extent. Increasingly, it is argued that business must play a constructive role in addressing massive global challenges. Business is not responsible for causing most of the problems associated with, for example, extreme poverty and hunger, child mortality and HIV/AIDS. However, it is often claimed that business has a responsibility to help ameliorate many of these problems and, indeed, it may be the only institution capable of effectively addressing some of them. Global Challenges in Responsible Business addresses the implications for business of corporate responsibility in the context of globalization and the social and environmental problems we face today. Featuring research from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, it focuses on three major themes: embedding corporate responsibility, corporate responsibility and marketing, and corporate responsibility in developing countries.

This book offers 32 texts and case studies from across a wide range of business sectors around a managerial framework for Sustainable Business. The case studies are developed for and tested in executive education programmes at leading business schools. The book is based on the premise that the key for managing the sustainable business is finding the right balance over time between managing competitiveness and profitability AND managing the context of the business with its political, social and ecological risks and opportunities. In that way, a sustainable business is highly responsive to the demands and challenges from both markets and societies and managers embrace the complexity, ambivalence and uncertainty that goes along with this approach. The book presents a framework that facilitates the adoption of best business practice. This framework leads executives through a systematic approach of strategic analysis and business planning in risk management, issues management, stakeholder management, sustainable business development and strategic differentiation, business model innovation and developing dynamic capabilities. The approach helps broaden the understanding of what sustainable performance means, by protecting business value against sustainability risks and creating business value from sustainability opportunities.

Corporate responsibility has gone global. It has secured the attention of business leaders, governments and NGOs to an unprecedented extent. Increasingly, it is argued that business must play a constructive role in addressing massive global challenges. Business is not responsible for causing most of the problems associated with, for example, extreme poverty and hunger, child mortality and HIV/AIDS. However, it is often claimed that business has a responsibility to help ameliorate many of these problems and, indeed, it may be the only institution capable of effectively addressing some of them. Global Challenges in Responsible Business addresses the implications for business of corporate responsibility in the context of globalization and the social and environmental problems we face today. Featuring research from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, it focuses on three major themes: embedding corporate responsibility, corporate responsibility and marketing, and corporate responsibility in developing countries.

This book offers 32 texts and case studies from across a wide range of business sectors around a managerial framework for Sustainable Business. The case studies are developed for and tested in executive education programmes at leading business schools. The book is based on the premise that the key for managing the sustainable business is finding the right balance over time between managing competitiveness and profitability AND managing the context of the business with its political, social and ecological risks and opportunities. In that way, a sustainable business is highly responsive to the demands and challenges from both markets and societies and managers embrace the complexity, ambivalence and uncertainty that goes along with this approach. The book presents a framework that facilitates the adoption of best business practice. This framework leads executives through a systematic approach of strategic analysis and business planning in risk management, issues management, stakeholder management, sustainable business development and strategic differentiation, business model innovation and developing dynamic capabilities. The approach helps broaden the understanding of what sustainable performance means, by protecting business value against sustainability risks and creating business value from sustainability opportunities.

The burgeoning field of marketing ethics looks at the moral issues and controversies surrounding marketing theory and practice. This four-volume set focuses on understanding marketing ethics from a management perspective, including articles that: provide ways of thinking about marketing ethics; offer a descriptive account of how marketers make decisions with ethical content; present normative guidance for marketing decision-making; and address specific ethical issues in marketing practice. The editors' introduction provides an overview of the literature included in the set as well as identifying directions for future research. Volume One: Foundations of Marketing Ethics provides a conceptualization of the field, including some of the earliest contributions on the topic. Volume Two: Positive Marketing Ethics looks at how managers make ethical marketing decisions. Volume Three: Normative Marketing Ethics focuses on normative marketing ethics, which is primarily concerned with the prescriptive considerations of how marketers should make decisions with ethical content. Volume Four: Ethical Issues in Marketing addresses the effects and possible solutions to the major ethical issues arising in the practice of marketing, both at the micro/firm level and at the more macro/systemic level.