Responsible Learning Organisation for
Sustainability
ELS59206
Weekly Article Assignments
Anneli Janzer
,Week 1
Article 1 (L2)
Aguinis, H. (2017). On Corporate Social Responsibility, Sensemaking, and the Search for
Meaningfulness Through Work. Journal of Management, XX(X), 30.
General notes
Embedded CSR = is integrated within an organization’s strategy as well as daily
operations; positive effect on employees
Peripheral CSR = is implemented as an initiative that is not part of a firm’s core
activities, and examples include philanthropy, charity, and a recycling program; null or
negative effect on employees also negative effect if CSR creates too much work outside of
one’s job
“sensemaking factors”= variables that influence how individuals give meaning to
ongoing experiences
o Across three levels of analysis: intraindividual, organizational, extraorganizational
(=between internal and external stakeholders)
o SF on intraindividual level
work orientation: job orientation vs career orientation vs calling orientation
moral identity
environmental values
“looking at individuals as proactive and intentional agents who engage in the
process of making sense of CSR as they seek and find meaningfulness
through work” (p.23).
o Intraorganizational level:
process/structure (organizational drivers)
embedded vs peripheral CSR
top-down and bottom up CSR
o extraorganisational level
external stakeholders
national culture
family
most sensegiving processes are actually top down, controlled, and implemented with little
input from employees, which in turn actually restricts their sensemaking process.
Hackman & Oldham, 1975: Job Characteristics Model (JCM)
o “meaningfulness of work”=”degree to which the employee experiences the job as
one which is generally meaningful, valuable and worthwile
o Meaningfulness of the work is enhanced by 3 core dimensions: skill variety, task
identity, task significance
Deontic justice theory: individuals also care about justice, because perceptions of fairness
are related to their own morals and ethics
Build on theories of work orientation from several authors (see p. 10): 3 different work
orientations through which employees make sense of their work
o Those with strong job orientation: focus on material rewards that can help fulfil
ambitions outside of work/contribute to one’s self-concept of being a provider for
the family
o Those with strong career orientation: concentrate more on promotion and
advancement; can improve self-esteem and increase social standing and power
o Those with strong calling orientation: work as a way to contribute to the
common good and improve the world
Work-life-balance literature helps to undertand how employees make sense of CSR and
search for and find meaningfulness (p.14)
Bottom-up processes=social intrapreneurship=corporate social entrepreneurship=issue
selling=job crafting
Relation between CSR and organizational identification was stronger in collectivistic
cultures; institutional collectivism was related to CSR, no relation found between in-
group collectivism and CSR
“CSR in individualistic cultures also had a positive effect on employees because
employees are treated better, which according to a review of attribution theory and CSR
, (Donia & Tetrault Sirsly, 2016), would be considered an intrinsic motive of CSR (i.e.,
benefits are internal to the organization) (p.16).
“The role of CSR as a predictor of individual-level outcomes, including attitudes,
perceptions, and behaviors such as organizational commitment, OCBs, and job
satisfaction, among others.” (p.23)
Questions
1) what is corporate social responsibility according to yourself?
For me CSR is a tool of an organization to take responsibility for its actions, beyond revenue
generating processes. It reflects the identity of an organization as well as its values.
2) which of the levels as mentioned in the article is the most promising level
according to you?
For me the most promising level is the intraorganizational level. At this level I believe you
can make individual workers aware of the identity of the organization and if their values are
in line with the ones of the organization. As an organization you can also influence the
productivity and motivation of your employees, using top-down and bottom-up mechanisms
as well as feedback from your employees in order to improve your CSR, and therefore the
work environment of your employees. Especially embedded vs peripheral CSR can make a
difference, primarily when employees have strong environmental values and the organization
itself only incorporates sustainability on a peripheral level. The intraindividual level strongly
depends on the individual itself, which can change over time, but is very difficult to alter
externally. The same accounts for the intraorganizational level.
Article 2 (L2)
Inigo, E. A., & Blok, V. (2019). Strengthening the socio-ethical foundations of the circular
economy: Lessons from responsible research and innovation.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.053
General notes
Definition CE: an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and
design. It replaces the ‘end-of-life’ concept with restoration, shifts towards the use of
renewable energy, elimi- nates the use of toxic chemicals, which impair reuse, and aims
for the elimination of waste through the superior design of materials, products, systems,
and, within this, business models.” & CE focuses on achieving a closed-loop, material and
energy balanced economy, through the application of the 3R principles - Reduce, Reuse,
and Recycle.
Criticism on CE for focusing solely on environmental and economic pillars, RRI
(responsible research and innovation) has stronger focus on inclusion of socio-ethical
issues (principles of transparency, democracy, mutual responsiveness)
o Scientific perspective: certain arrangement of the economic system towards closed-
loop material and energy flows
o Policy perspective: embark different social actors towards sustainable development
o Business perspective: tool for resource productivity
o Ownership, value capture and distribution of waste streams for recycling
industries, how to involve public in design of socially acceptable/desirable
environmental solutions not covered in CE framework; business models and role of
consumers only scarcely discussed
o Lack of stakeholder engagement has been signalled as impeding factor for success
of CE projects
Other schools of thought: C2C, the blue economy (Pauli, 2010), integral supply
management control
