Acts that matter – an analysis of Kiva

Abstract

Purpose

The goal of this paper is to provide insight into how global social responsibility is performed through economic, mental and even physical investment and engagement by consumers and organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

An illustrative analysis from the corporate website and blogs of an ethical organisation is undertaken. The analytical approach is communicative and inspired by discourse and legitimation studies and more particularly based on the framework of legitimation in discourse and communication developed by Theo van Leeuwen.

Findings

The paper claims that new forms of value creation and a new relational logic of ethics – a so-called “logic of matter” – are emerging. From the three types of relational logic of matter ethics – an ethics of care, an ethics of reversibility and an ethics of activism – the ethics of activism plays the most important role in our material.

Research limitations/implications

The analytical examples presented in this paper demonstrate how the new relational ethics seem to transcend the dichotomy of self-interest and the interests of the other.

Practical implications

The paper provides insights into understanding how new forms of relational and reversible relationships are constructed.

Originality/value

To the authors' knowledge, similar studies on the emergence of new relational studies in light of the new economy have not previously been undertaken.

Citation

Timm Knudsen, B. and Ellerup Nielsen, A. (2013), "Acts that matter – an analysis of Kiva", Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 603-621. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-01-2012-0001