Reclaiming organizational integrity: Addressing past missteps

An article co-authored by GSEM Professor Judith Schrempf-Stirling, Jordi Vives-Gabriel, and Diego M. Coraiola was published in the Academy of Management Perspectives, a top-tier journal. This study bridges the gap between organizational studies and transitional justice studies by offering a novel approach to understanding and managing intergenerational corporate responsibility and the compounding consequences of past irresponsibility. The authors suggest openly communicating efforts to rectify previous issues, transparently sharing their commitment to responsible practices, and rebuilding trust is essential.

ABSTRACT

Organizations are increasingly confronted with critical questions and concerns posed to their legacies of irresponsibility, in other words, the decisions and actions taken by past generations of managers deemed unethical and immoral and with enduring negative social and environmental consequences in the present. However, there is limited guidance for organizations and their managers on how to deal with such legacies. The purpose of this paper is to offer directions on how organizations can approach their troubled pasts. We draw from the literature on transitional justice to develop an approach that organizations can use to deal with their legacies of irresponsibility. This paper contributes to the literature on historic corporate social (ir)responsibility and provides practical guidance for organizations to address the sins of previous generations of managers.

Access the study: Dealing with Organizational Legacies of Irresponsability

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