Firm-level indicators of instrumental and political CSR processes – A multiple case study

Recent studies have been increasingly distinguishing between instrumental and political approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, few studies have explored the firm-level processes generating these types of CSR engagements. Using Basu and Palazzo’s (2008) proposition to model CSR as a process of sensemaking, we suggest that multinational enterprises use different processes in developing capabilities around instrumental and political CSR. Our qualitative multiple case–study analysis is based on data from 42 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 27 senior managers from British American Tobacco, Nestlé, and Hewlett Packard. Our findings from the three cases indicate that instrumental and political CSR are characterised by different sensemaking processes. We also find evidence for overlapping of processes between instrumental and political CSR.     

The use and effectiveness of top executive dismissal

We provide a systematic assessment of the empirical evidence on the use and effectiveness of top executive dismissal as a governance and performance improvement mechanism. Our results suggest that poor individual and firm performance significantly increase the likelihood of executive dismissal. A strong power base might help under-performing top executives to extend their tenure in office, but effective ownership and governance structures can provide a counterweight to such entrenchment behaviors. However, our review casts doubt on the effectiveness of top executive dismissal as a means to enhance future firm performance: employing meta-analytical techniques we show that, although the dismissal announcement leads to positive abnormal returns, it has no significant effect on long-term measures of firm performance. On the basis of our findings, we develop a conceptual model of the possible antecedents and consequences of top executive dismissal. We derive implications for boards involved in situations of executive dismissal and for the successors of dismissed executives, and we provide directions for future leadership research on executive dismissal.     

Play and learn: Children's agency through the COVID-19 pandemic in Mozambique

Social distancing, one of the measures adopted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, profoundly impacted on the lives of children. The consequences were, however, not homogenous. By focusing on the daily practices of 41 Mozambican children aged 3–10, we consider how differences in socioeconomic backgrounds led children to respond to the social restrictions in ways that made sense to them. Inspired by Abebe (2019), we identify how the interruptions of daily routines enabled specific instances of agency on children's part. These, we argue, produce new forms of continuity.     

Seeing a talking face matters: Infants' segmentation of continuous auditory-visual speech

Visual speech cues from a speaker's talking face aid speech segmentation in adults, but despite the importance of speech segmentation in language acquisition, little is known about the possible influence of visual speech on infants' speech segmentation. Here, to investigate whether there is facilitation of speech segmentation by visual information, two groups of English-learning 7-month-old infants were presented with continuous speech passages, one group with auditory-only (AO) speech and the other with auditory-visual (AV) speech. Additionally, the possible relation between infants' relative attention to the speaker's mouth versus eye regions and their segmentation performance was examined. Both the AO and the AV groups of infants successfully segmented words from the continuous speech stream, but segmentation performance persisted for longer for infants in the AV group. Interestingly, while AV group infants showed no significant relation between the relative amount of time spent fixating the speaker's mouth versus eyes and word segmentation, their attention to the mouth was greater than that of AO group infants, especially early in test trials. The results are discussed in relation to the possible pathways through which visual speech cues aid speech perception.     

COVID-19: Impact on children living in out-of-home care and their carers

Children enter out-of-home care (OOHC) having experienced significant childhood adversities and trauma. Little is known about the short-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on this vulnerable group. To gain some insights, we analysed the early impacts on the well-being and experiences of children in OOHC and their carers using the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study data prior to and post the first lockdown restrictions. A total of 862 children, young people and their carers were interviewed either pre-COVID-19 restrictions (n = 567) (April 2019–March 2020) or post-COVID-19 restrictions (n = 295) (June–December 2020). While the two groups showed no significant differences in socio-emotional well-being, both the pre- and the post-COVID-19 restriction groups of children in OOHC had slight reductions in socio-emotional well-being. The interviews with the post-COVID-19 group showed that the pandemic restrictions affected children's well-being and behaviour, education, social and physical activities, as well as time spent with their birth family. Likewise, interviews with carers post-COVID-19 found a negative effect on carers' well-being, their ability to manage financially and their capacity to care and access services and support. The article contributes new evidence to inform OOHC policy and practice to support service systems facing unique challenges arising from a pandemic.     

Urbanites’ perception of vegetation in landscape-based stormwater management elements (LSM)

Urban Ecosystems - The popularity and use of green infrastructure measures such as green roofs, green walls, and curb extensions is growing, especially in dense urban areas. At the same time, from...