A relational approach to responsibility in organizations: The logic of gift and Lévinasian ethics for a ‘corporeal’ responsibility

The main purpose of this article is to classify some of the main theories on responsibility in organizations using a relational approach, according to the logic of gift. Since the logic of gift can be quite ambiguous and ambivalent, it will be necessary to clarify what this logic means from a philosophical point of view. In order to reach this purpose, a Lévinasian approach to responsibility will be used. After having clarified the concept of responsibility here adopted, the article will focus on relationships and their meaning. I argue that many of the theories on responsibility in organizations lack of the complexity and pluralism that the logic of gift can provide for the comprehension of relationships of responsibility. After having mapped the main theories on responsibilities in organizations using the logic of gift, the article will propose an evolutionary path to develop existing or new theories according to this approach.     

CONSUMER CREDIT: EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN MICRO DATA

In this paper we analyse unique data on credit applications received by the leading provider of consumer credit in Italy (Findomestic). The data set covers a five‐year period (1995–1999) during which the consumer credit market rapidly expanded in Italy and a new law (the usury law) came into force that set a limit on interest rates charged to consumers. We compute behavioural changes by controlling for changes in the observable characteristics of the Findomestic clientele and argue that, under suitable identifying assumptions, these changes can be given a structural interpretation. If the usury shock is assumed to have affected credit supply but not credit demand—that is, if the usury law had a differential impact on the supply of various types of credit but a uniform impact on demand—then we can identify and estimate a demand equation. Our key finding is that demand is interest‐rate elastic, particularly in the more affluent North. (JEL: D14, E21, G21)     

Bivariate Semi-Markov Process for Counterparty Credit Risk

We consider the problem of constructing an appropriate multivariate model to study counterparty credit risk in the credit rating migration problem. For this financial problem different multivariate Markov chain models were proposed. However, the Markovian assumption may be inappropriate for the study of the dynamics of credit ratings, which typically show non Markovian-like behavior. In this article, we develop a semi-Markov approach to study the counterparty credit risk by defining a new multivariate semi-Markov chain model. Methods are given for computing the transition probabilities, reliability functions and the price of a risky Credit Default Swap.     

A Procedural Evaluation of an Analytic-Deliberative Process: The Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

The U.S. Department of Energy's Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA) was an ambitious attempt to direct its cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation toward the most significant risks to the Columbia River resulting from past plutonium production. DOE's approach was uncommonly open, including tribal, regulatory agency, and other Hanford interest group representatives on the board that was to develop the assessment approach. The CRCIA process had attributes of the "analytic-deliberative" process for risk assessment recommended by the National Research Council. Nevertheless, differences between the DOE and other participants over what was meant by the term "comprehensive" in the group's charge, coupled with differing perceptions of the likely effectiveness of remediation efforts in reducing risks, were never resolved. The CRCIA effort became increasingly fragmented and the role its products were to play in influencing future clean-up decisions increasingly ambiguous. A procedural evaluation of the CRCIA process, based on Thomas Webler's procedural normative model of public participation, reveals numerous instances in which theoretical-normative discourse disconnects occurred. These had negative implications for both the basic procedural dimensions of Webler's model-fairness and competence. Tribal and other interest group representatives lacked the technical resources necessary to make or challenge what philosopher Jurgens Habermas terms cognitive validity claims, while DOE and its contractors did not challenge normative claims made by tribal representatives. The results are cautionary for implementation of the analytic-deliberative process. They highlight the importance of bringing rigor to the evaluation of the quality of the deliberation component of risk characterization via the analytic-deliberative process, as well as to the analytic component.     

Does Religiosity Influence Retention Strategies in Nonprofit Organizations?

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Despite the rise of interest in nonprofit organizations’ (NPOs) retention strategies and organizational behaviour...