Textile and Apparel Industries

It’s All About Stakeholders: Corporate Moral Responsibilities, Stakeholder Capitalism, and Hypocrisy Perceptions

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Abstract

Industries are embracing stakeholder capitalism (SC) as their corporate moral responsibilities (CMR). However, corporations, in spite of their CMR promises, do not always act as promised, and contradict their commitments with immoral actions, potentially generating hypocrisy perceptions among various stakeholders. Thus, this research investigates how such CMR inconsistencies might be perceived as corporate hypocrisy (PCH) by stakeholders, how SC issues might impact such relationships, and how such PCH might be variably evoked in different types of stakeholders. An online experimental survey was designed to collect data from 503 US stakeholders using Qualtrics. Results indicated CMR inconsistency to significantly affect PCH. Further, stakeholders moderated the relation between inconsistency and PCH. Finally, SC issues had a direct effect on PCH, with PCH being highest for issues related to workers. The study underscores the importance of CMR in stakeholders’ perceptions, highlighting the consequences for corporations that may consider SC as a discretionary obligation.

Keywords: retail, moral responsibilities, stakeholder capitalism, corporate hypocrisy

How to Cite:

Goswami, S. & Bhaduri, G., (2020) “It’s All About Stakeholders: Corporate Moral Responsibilities, Stakeholder Capitalism, and Hypocrisy Perceptions”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 77(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.11733