The authors would like to acknowledge all those who assisted in preparing the 2011 EABIS Colloquium1, reviewing the papers and supporting the editorial process, not least those who reviewed the papers.

The Guest Editors would like to offer their special thanks to Elena Urizar, Project Coordinator at EABIS for her capable managing of the submissions and his comprehensive support in the editorial processes throughout. The Guest Editors would also like to thank Mollie Painter-Morland (EABIS, Academic Director), Jacqueline Brassey (EABIS Senior Fellow, Associate Research Director) and David Bevan (EABIS Associate Research Director, CEIBS Shanghai) for their additional review support.

This special issue of Corporate Governance is produced by The Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) in close collaboration with INSEAD – The business school for the world. The issue builds on the content and insights from the EABIS 10th Annual Colloquium on “A new era of development: the changing role & responsibilities of business in developing countries”. The EABIS Annual Colloquium addressed these challenges with an interdisciplinary approach (social sciences, economics, applied sciences & technology). The Colloquium is a platform for knowledge exchange, setting a new agenda in business innovation, research and education, and opening the field of CR and sustainability to development issues and perspectives from developing countries. The venue for the 2011 Colloquium was the INSEAD Europe Campus in Fontainebleau from 26-28 October 2011 and was chaired by Dipak Jain, Dean of INSEAD and Luk Van Wassenhove, Academic Director of INSEAD Humanitarian Research Group.

The theme of the 2011 Colloquium: Corporate Responsibility and Developing Countries

The EABIS Colloquia from 2002 to 2011 have taken disciplinary perspectives on the corporate responsibility (CR) agenda. The first two Colloquia explored general knowledge dimensions and societal expectations about the role of business in society. In subsequent years the conference themes have taken on more specific disciplinary approaches (Table I). The Colloquia in 2010 and 2011 are more clearly focused around frameworks suggested by contemporary taxonomies of the global economy.

Background and context

The last 50 years have seen extraordinary changes in development, both in terms of economic growth and approaches to development. As we enter the next decade, a new era for development is needed. The key requirements for this new era need to be analyzed now, and sustainable strategies must be created. Two unique challenges for business in developing countries are already clear:

1.
Defining strategies and partnerships that enhance the stability and sustainability of business and market development.
2.
Companies must innovate to deliver profitable products and services in developing countries, building on synergies in product development and fulfilment across countries, but also accounting for national and regional differences and constraints.

Themes that arise from this double challenge include:

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Taking stock of successes and failures in development over the past 50 years.
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Identifying the major factors that will underpin a new era of development.
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Showcasing business innovation in response to critical challenges in developing countries.
•
Shaping a new agenda for integrating development in management practice, research & education.

Relevance

The thematic focus in developing countries is nevertheless and especially relevant due to:

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The growing importance & geopolitical significance of developing and emergent countries.
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The particular dynamics between social and economic development that set a distinct CR agenda on societal issues.
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The changing role of developing countries as new key actors in shaping global and regional governance.
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The role of multi-national companies (MNCs) from these countries as new powerful agents of change in a post-crisis global economy.
•
The CR and sustainability challenges related to potentially unrestrained industrialization, urbanization and demographic change in developing countries.

Selected papers

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A=Academic paper.
•
P/C=Practitioner/Consultant paper.

Overall perspectives

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“A new era of development: the changing role and responsibility of business in developing countries.” Joris-Johann Lenssen, EABIS, Brussels and Luk N. Van Wassenhove, INSEAD, France (A).
•
“Business and development: making sense of business as a development agent.” Michael Blowfield, University of Oxford, UK (A).
•
“Re-thinking the role of the corporate sector in international development.” Peter Davis, University of Reading, UK (A).

Country perspectives and country cases

•
“Institutional analysis to understand the growth of microfinance institutions in West African economic and monetary union.” Arvind Ashta, Groupe ESC Dijon Bourgone, France and Ndeye Salimata Fall, International University of Grand Bassam, Cote d’Ivoire (A).
•
“Novel linkages for development: corporate social responsibility, law and governance: exploring the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill.” Adaeze Okoye, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK (A).
•
“CSR and inequality in the Niger Delta (Nigeria).” Cécile Renouard and Hervé Lado, ESSEC Business School – IRENE Institute, France (A).
•
“Value-added reporting as a tool for sustainability: a Latin American experience.” Luis Perera Aldama, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Chile and Adrián Zicari, ESSEC Business School, France (A).
•
“Creating shared value as a differentiation strategy: the example of BASF in Brazil.” Heiko Spitzeck, Fundação Dom Cabral, Brazil and Sonia Chapman BASF’s, Fundação Espaço Eco, Brazil (A).
•
“Enabling healthcare services for the rural and semi-urban segments in India: when shared value meets the bottom of the pyramid.” Mark Esposito, Grenoble Ecole de Management, France, Amit Kapoor, Institute for Competitiveness, India and Sandeep Goyal, Management Development Institute, India (A).
•
“Corporate philanthropy in russia: evidence from a national awards competition.” Yury Blagov and Anastasia Petrova-Savchenko, St Petersburg University Graduate School of Management, Russian Federation (A).

Dimensions of development

•
“In search of viable business models for development: sustainable energy in developing countries.” Ans Kolk, University of Amsterdam Business School, The Netherlands and Daniel van den Buuse, University of Amsterdam Business School & Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands (A).
•
“CSR in industrial clusters: and overview of the literature.” Peter Lund-Thomsen, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark and Renginee G. Pillay, University of Surrey, UK (A).
•
“Sustainable Globalization and implications for strategic corporate and national sustainability.” Ravi Fernando, Malaysia Blue Ocean Strategy Institute, Malaysia (A).

Notes

1. More information about the colloquium can be found at: www.insead.edu/events/eabis/home/

About the Guest Editors

Professor Gilbert Lenssen is President of the Academy of Business in Society. He was Professor of International Management at Leiden University, Professor of International Management at the College of Europe (Bruges/Warsaw) and Visiting Fellow in Strategic Management at Templeton College, University of Oxford. He was a member of the Board of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and member of the editorial board of Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, of The Journal for Strategy and Management and The Journal for Management Development. He is currently also Visiting Professor at Cranfield University, and teaches modules on “Managing the Sustainable Enterprise” at RSM School of Management, Rotterdam, and ENPC Paris. He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (London) since 1995.

Professor Luk Van Wassenhove’s research and teaching are concerned with operational excellence, supply chain management, continual improvement and learning. His recent research focus is on closed-loop supply chains (product take-back and end-of-life issues) and on disaster management (humanitarian logistics). He holds editorial positions for several journals, e.g. for Production and Operations Management. He publishes regularly in Management Science, Production and Operations Management, and many other academic as well as management journals (like Harvard Business Review and California Management Review). He is the author of many award-winning teaching cases and regularly consults for major international corporations. In 2005, Professor Van Wassenhove was elected Fellow of the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS). In 2006, he was the recipient of the EURO Gold Medal for outstanding academic achievement. In 2009 he was elected Distinguished Fellow of the Manufacturing and Services Operations Management Society (MSOM), and received the Lifetime Achievement Faculty Pioneer Award from the European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) and the Aspen Institute. Professor Van Wassenhove is the incoming president of the Production and Operations Management Society. In 2011 he was elected member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Sciences and he holds the Francqui Chair at the Université Catholique de Louvain. Before joining INSEAD he was on the faculty at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. At INSEAD he holds the Henry Ford Chair of Manufacturing. He also created the INSEAD Social Innovation Centre and acted as academic director until September 2010.

As Director General, Simon Pickard is responsible for implementing EABIS’ overall knowledge development and learning strategy for 2008-2010. This incorporates direct oversight of EABIS’ multi-million euro programmes on research, education and training, and by extension the building of EABIS’ strategic international partnerships. He also leads the Coordination Office in Brussels and oversees EABIS’ growing network. Simon joined EABIS as Deputy Director in March 2006, following the completion of his MBA at HEC School of Management in Paris. In this position, he led the internal governance, membership and all Brussels-based operations. Prior to attending business school, he worked for Oxbridge Academic Programmes, a not-for-profit organization based in New York, USA, in management then an executive capacity.

Joris-Johann Lenssen is a Research Manager at the Academy of Business in Society (EABIS). He holds a Diploma from the University of Marburg in Political Science, Sociology and Peace and Conflict Studies. He joined EABIS in 2009 and is working on several projects related to corporate governance.

Gilbert Lenssen, Luk Van Wassenhove, Simon Pickard, Joris-Johann LenssenBased at EABIS, Brussels, Belgium. Luk Van Wassenhove is based at INSEAD Humanitarian Research Group, Fontainebleau, France.

Corporate responsibility and the role of business in development

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