The objective of this paper is to explore the tensions shaping hybrid organizations. For this pur... more The objective of this paper is to explore the tensions shaping hybrid organizations. For this purpose we investigate ten MFIs in Kenya and Vietnam that are transforming from non for profit to for profit organizations. While scholars tend to consider hybridiy as a homogenous form, our analysis based 62 interviews with active actors in microfinance reveals plurality. Using the paradox lens, we identified three main areas of tensions--redefining identity, legitimizing transformation and redefining boundaries—which significantly participate in shaping hybrid organizations. Our results suggest that hybrid organizations struggle to cope with the tensions emerging from the multiple institutional logics especially as the balance between the logics is changing and the tensions are evolving over time. Our evidences show that hybridity is not a given, on the contrary there is a strong push towards a ‘monologic’ form. Retaining hybridity requires efforts and adaptation.
Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, 2009
... Acquier, A., & Gond, J.-P. (2007), Aux sources de la responsabilité sociale de l'en... more ... Acquier, A., & Gond, J.-P. (2007), Aux sources de la responsabilité sociale de l'entreprise : à la (re)découverte d'un ouvrage fondateur, Social Responsibilities of the ... Carroll, A. (1979), Three dimensional conceptual model of corporate social performance, Academy ...
Conclusion 6.8 Characteristics of the Dutch ethical investment field CHAPTER 7 Corporations' resp... more Conclusion 6.8 Characteristics of the Dutch ethical investment field CHAPTER 7 Corporations' responses to ethical investment _____________________________________________________________________ 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Presentation of the case studies 7.3 Perception of ethical investment
3 Corporate Social Responsibility is a quite recent concept in Belgium which has gained significa... more 3 Corporate Social Responsibility is a quite recent concept in Belgium which has gained significant momentum since 1995. In May 1997, Belgium set up a legal framework for sustainable development. In April 2006, the government adopted a Reference Framework for CSR followed in 2007 by the CSR action plan. Next to governmental initiatives, the number of actors and platforms involved in CSR has significantly increased leading to the multiplication of CSR initiatives. However, it would be overoptimistic to state that CSR is a well and equally established concept and a set of practices among all Belgian companies. Indeed, CSR in Belgium offers great disparities and diversities. Based on multiple sources of information, the paper provides a descriptive and narrative view on CSR in Belgium, gradually leading towards reflection by the end of the paper. After a brief overview of the context for corporate social responsibility in Belgium, the paper investigates the different components that ha...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deepen the discussion about religious organisations’ (R... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deepen the discussion about religious organisations’ (ROs) potential to practise their faith by means of their investments, rather than keeping both issues separate. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopted a qualitative exploratory approach using seven cases of social shareholder engagement (SSE) by Christian organisations. It focused on creating knowledge from best practices. Findings – Within the three Christian organisations studied, the authors identified three significant features that relate to their religious nature and affect their SSE: having a structured belief system, a grassroots network and a long-term perspective. These features can be instrumental in impacting company behaviour and society at large. Research limitations/implications – The authors chose three ROs for their relevance and comparative features, but this limited sample size makes it hard to generalise the research findings. Practical implications – This p...
This paper provides a summary of the symposium on the institutional and social construction of Re... more This paper provides a summary of the symposium on the institutional and social construction of Responsible Investment (RI), held at the 22nd IABS Conference. In the context of the symposium, we propose to move beyond the dominant focus on the financial impact of RI to consider the potential of emergent institutional and sociological perspectives to explain the practices and concepts related to RI. In doing so, our aim is to explore in greater detail the current changes in the RI infrastructure and the impact of these changes on wider issues of corporate sustainability and social responsibility
Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 2021
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the topic and review the contributions of the s... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the topic and review the contributions of the special issue papers on cross-sector dialogue for sustainability. The paper also presents avenues for further research. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a review of the current literature on cross-sector partnership and dialogue. It explores the current issues in cross-sector partnerships through a discussion of the papers accepted for the special issue, their focus, findings and key contributions. Findings It highlights three main key research themes and learnings from the special issue papers: a high level of “hybridity” of collaboration forms, which involve important tensions; a need to understand partnership in its context and the importance of the individual level in cross-sector collaboration. Practical implications The authors call for attention to be paid to two forms of myopia: a tendency to view partnerships primarily from a resource-based view (without much att...
Responsible Investment (RI) mainstreaming has been announced for almost 10 years, sometimes being... more Responsible Investment (RI) mainstreaming has been announced for almost 10 years, sometimes being presented as a solution to the disconnect of financial markets from the real economy. But despite repeated financial crises, there is no clear evidence of RI mainstreaming truly materializing so far. This study was motivated by the desire to more fully understand the evolution of responsible investment among mainstream investors. We studied the media coverage for the emerging field of responsible investment in the financial press between 1985 and 2010, including an in-depth content analysis of a selected sample of 89 articles. Using convention theory, this paper reports the multiplicity of salient representations in the press: the collective beliefs of responsible investment. A first level result decomposes the history of responsible investment into five successive RI periods. A second level result highlights collective beliefs for RI which drive the mimetic process of conventions. The case of RI mainstreamin...
Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 2016
In a context where the necessary transition to a climate-resilient economy creates financing need... more In a context where the necessary transition to a climate-resilient economy creates financing needs as well as new and underestimated financial risks for investors, low-carbon or carbonefficient financial indices represent a rapidly growing and promising instrument. By building and testing representative optimization methodologies for low-carbon stock indices, this study investigates their ability to both (i) allow investors to hedge against climate-related financial risks and (ii) promote companies with higher contribution to the energy transition. The analysis is based on a large European stock index for which we benefit from a complete set of bottom-up calculated environmental indicators, including indirect and avoided carbon emissions figures. The results indicate that mainstream low-carbon indices methodologies fail to address the challenges they are based on and call for further improvements in order to align diversified financial instruments with ambitious climate objectives.
The objective of this paper is to explore the tensions shaping hybrid organizations. For this pur... more The objective of this paper is to explore the tensions shaping hybrid organizations. For this purpose we investigate ten MFIs in Kenya and Vietnam that are transforming from non for profit to for profit organizations. While scholars tend to consider hybridiy as a homogenous form, our analysis based 62 interviews with active actors in microfinance reveals plurality. Using the paradox lens, we identified three main areas of tensions--redefining identity, legitimizing transformation and redefining boundaries—which significantly participate in shaping hybrid organizations. Our results suggest that hybrid organizations struggle to cope with the tensions emerging from the multiple institutional logics especially as the balance between the logics is changing and the tensions are evolving over time. Our evidences show that hybridity is not a given, on the contrary there is a strong push towards a ‘monologic’ form. Retaining hybridity requires efforts and adaptation.
Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, 2009
... Acquier, A., & Gond, J.-P. (2007), Aux sources de la responsabilité sociale de l'en... more ... Acquier, A., & Gond, J.-P. (2007), Aux sources de la responsabilité sociale de l'entreprise : à la (re)découverte d'un ouvrage fondateur, Social Responsibilities of the ... Carroll, A. (1979), Three dimensional conceptual model of corporate social performance, Academy ...
Conclusion 6.8 Characteristics of the Dutch ethical investment field CHAPTER 7 Corporations' resp... more Conclusion 6.8 Characteristics of the Dutch ethical investment field CHAPTER 7 Corporations' responses to ethical investment _____________________________________________________________________ 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Presentation of the case studies 7.3 Perception of ethical investment
3 Corporate Social Responsibility is a quite recent concept in Belgium which has gained significa... more 3 Corporate Social Responsibility is a quite recent concept in Belgium which has gained significant momentum since 1995. In May 1997, Belgium set up a legal framework for sustainable development. In April 2006, the government adopted a Reference Framework for CSR followed in 2007 by the CSR action plan. Next to governmental initiatives, the number of actors and platforms involved in CSR has significantly increased leading to the multiplication of CSR initiatives. However, it would be overoptimistic to state that CSR is a well and equally established concept and a set of practices among all Belgian companies. Indeed, CSR in Belgium offers great disparities and diversities. Based on multiple sources of information, the paper provides a descriptive and narrative view on CSR in Belgium, gradually leading towards reflection by the end of the paper. After a brief overview of the context for corporate social responsibility in Belgium, the paper investigates the different components that ha...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deepen the discussion about religious organisations’ (R... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deepen the discussion about religious organisations’ (ROs) potential to practise their faith by means of their investments, rather than keeping both issues separate. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopted a qualitative exploratory approach using seven cases of social shareholder engagement (SSE) by Christian organisations. It focused on creating knowledge from best practices. Findings – Within the three Christian organisations studied, the authors identified three significant features that relate to their religious nature and affect their SSE: having a structured belief system, a grassroots network and a long-term perspective. These features can be instrumental in impacting company behaviour and society at large. Research limitations/implications – The authors chose three ROs for their relevance and comparative features, but this limited sample size makes it hard to generalise the research findings. Practical implications – This p...
This paper provides a summary of the symposium on the institutional and social construction of Re... more This paper provides a summary of the symposium on the institutional and social construction of Responsible Investment (RI), held at the 22nd IABS Conference. In the context of the symposium, we propose to move beyond the dominant focus on the financial impact of RI to consider the potential of emergent institutional and sociological perspectives to explain the practices and concepts related to RI. In doing so, our aim is to explore in greater detail the current changes in the RI infrastructure and the impact of these changes on wider issues of corporate sustainability and social responsibility
Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 2021
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the topic and review the contributions of the s... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the topic and review the contributions of the special issue papers on cross-sector dialogue for sustainability. The paper also presents avenues for further research. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a review of the current literature on cross-sector partnership and dialogue. It explores the current issues in cross-sector partnerships through a discussion of the papers accepted for the special issue, their focus, findings and key contributions. Findings It highlights three main key research themes and learnings from the special issue papers: a high level of “hybridity” of collaboration forms, which involve important tensions; a need to understand partnership in its context and the importance of the individual level in cross-sector collaboration. Practical implications The authors call for attention to be paid to two forms of myopia: a tendency to view partnerships primarily from a resource-based view (without much att...
Responsible Investment (RI) mainstreaming has been announced for almost 10 years, sometimes being... more Responsible Investment (RI) mainstreaming has been announced for almost 10 years, sometimes being presented as a solution to the disconnect of financial markets from the real economy. But despite repeated financial crises, there is no clear evidence of RI mainstreaming truly materializing so far. This study was motivated by the desire to more fully understand the evolution of responsible investment among mainstream investors. We studied the media coverage for the emerging field of responsible investment in the financial press between 1985 and 2010, including an in-depth content analysis of a selected sample of 89 articles. Using convention theory, this paper reports the multiplicity of salient representations in the press: the collective beliefs of responsible investment. A first level result decomposes the history of responsible investment into five successive RI periods. A second level result highlights collective beliefs for RI which drive the mimetic process of conventions. The case of RI mainstreamin...
Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 2016
In a context where the necessary transition to a climate-resilient economy creates financing need... more In a context where the necessary transition to a climate-resilient economy creates financing needs as well as new and underestimated financial risks for investors, low-carbon or carbonefficient financial indices represent a rapidly growing and promising instrument. By building and testing representative optimization methodologies for low-carbon stock indices, this study investigates their ability to both (i) allow investors to hedge against climate-related financial risks and (ii) promote companies with higher contribution to the energy transition. The analysis is based on a large European stock index for which we benefit from a complete set of bottom-up calculated environmental indicators, including indirect and avoided carbon emissions figures. The results indicate that mainstream low-carbon indices methodologies fail to address the challenges they are based on and call for further improvements in order to align diversified financial instruments with ambitious climate objectives.
Uploads
Papers by Céline Louche