TY - JOUR
T1 - Responsible Leaders for Inclusive Globalization
T2 - Cases in Nicaragua and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
AU - Mària, Josep F.
AU - Lozano, Josep M.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - The current globalization process excludes a significant part of humanity, but organizations can contribute to a more inclusive form by means of dialogue with other organizations to create economic and social value. This article explores the main leadership traits (visions, roles and virtues) necessary for this dialogue. This exploration consists of a comparison between two theoretical approaches and their illustration with two cases. The theoretical approaches compared are Responsible Leadership, a management theory focused on the contribution of business leaders to create a better society as developed by Maak and Pless; and the Work of Translation, a sociological theory which stresses the need for dialogue between organizations to build an alternative to hegemonic or the so-called neo-liberal globalization as formulated by Santos. Both approaches, in what seems an unlikely pairing at first, are compared in terms of their perspectives, diagnoses of the present situation, the main task to be performed by leaders, styles of this task and leadership outcomes. The illustrative cases include a federation of co-ops in Nicaragua and an employer organization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We contend that, although these economic development organizations are not private firms, the leadership characteristics of their respective leaders are highly valuable and inspiring for business leaders and multinational corporations wishing to act responsibly at the local and global levels, thus contributing to this more inclusive form of globalization.
AB - The current globalization process excludes a significant part of humanity, but organizations can contribute to a more inclusive form by means of dialogue with other organizations to create economic and social value. This article explores the main leadership traits (visions, roles and virtues) necessary for this dialogue. This exploration consists of a comparison between two theoretical approaches and their illustration with two cases. The theoretical approaches compared are Responsible Leadership, a management theory focused on the contribution of business leaders to create a better society as developed by Maak and Pless; and the Work of Translation, a sociological theory which stresses the need for dialogue between organizations to build an alternative to hegemonic or the so-called neo-liberal globalization as formulated by Santos. Both approaches, in what seems an unlikely pairing at first, are compared in terms of their perspectives, diagnoses of the present situation, the main task to be performed by leaders, styles of this task and leadership outcomes. The illustrative cases include a federation of co-ops in Nicaragua and an employer organization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We contend that, although these economic development organizations are not private firms, the leadership characteristics of their respective leaders are highly valuable and inspiring for business leaders and multinational corporations wishing to act responsibly at the local and global levels, thus contributing to this more inclusive form of globalization.
KW - Democratic Republic of the Congo
KW - Nicaragua
KW - Responsible Leadership
KW - Work of Translation
KW - inclusive globalization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78650512123&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10551-010-0628-5
DO - 10.1007/s10551-010-0628-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78650512123
SN - 0167-4544
VL - 93
SP - 93
EP - 111
JO - Journal of Business Ethics
JF - Journal of Business Ethics
IS - SUPPL. 1
ER -