Skip to main content

Collective Action and Responsible Partnerships

The Josef Ressel Center for Collective Action and Responsible Partnerships (JR Center CARe) explores the emergence, management, evaluation, and legitimacy of so-called Collective Action initiatives. We understand collective action initiatives as collaborative, long-term cooperation processes between companies and other stakeholders in order to solve social and environmental challenges.

Project duration: September 1, 2020 – September 30, 2022
Funding: Josef Ressel Centers (JR-Centers) of the Christian Doppler Forschungsgesellschaft (CDG)
Project Partner: Josef Manner & Comp AG, Kapsch TrafficCom AG and Simacek Facility Management Group GmbH

Josef Ressel Centers are jointly financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and the corporate partners.

Research Questions

© Adobe Stock
  • What drives companies to engage in collective action initiatives?
  • What basic conditions are suitable for the development of collective action initiatives?
  • How can collective action initiatives be managed more effectively and what success factors can be identified?
  • How can the success of collective action initiatives be measured?
  • Where do collective action initiatives derive their legitimacy?

Types of Collective Action Initiatives

Collective action initiatives can generally be distinguished into regulatory initiatives and implementation initiatives. Regulatory initiatives aim to close regulatory gaps – for example by creating industry codes, certifiable standards or legally binding agreements. In contrast to this, in implementation initiatives, which are often also referred to as partnerships, companies and other stakeholders join forces to jointly address a certain problem which is usually limited to a certain region (e.g. shortage of skilled workers, energy supply or digitization). Both types of collective action are being addressed at the JR Center CARe.

Publications

Why companies team up for sustainable development: Antecedents of company engagement in business partnerships for sustainability

Authors: Riegler, M., Burton, A., Scholz, M., de Melo, K.
Year of publication: 2023

Business Strategy and the Environment
Article in scientific journal (peer reviewed)

Antecedents of Business Engagement in Partnerships for Sustainability

Authors: Riegler, M., Burton, A., Scholz, M.
Year of publication: 2022

ISBEE Congress 2022, International Society of Business, Economics, and Ethics, Bilbao (ES), July 2022
Presentation at scientific conference

Authors: Riegler, M., Burton, A., Scholz, M., Jarmai, K.
Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings
Contribution in anthology/conference proceedings (full paper)

 

Assessing the Legitimacy of Corporate Political Activity: Uber and the Quest for Responsible Innovation

Authors: Scholz, M., de los Reyes, G.
Year of publication: 2022

11th Trans-Atlantic Business Ethics Conference (TABEC) 2022
Presentation at scientific conference

Fifth Annual Forum: Business Ethics in the 6ix, May 16-17, 2022; online
Presentation at scientific conference

Journal of Business Ethics, 2022 – Springer
Article in scientific journal (peer reviewed)

Corporate Political Engagement

Author: Scholz, M.
Year of publication: 2022

Mont Blanc Circle Prag (CZE)
Presentation at practice oriented event

FASPE (Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics) 2022, April 26.
Keynote at scientific conference

Wandel der gesellschaftspolitischen Positionierung von Unternehmen

Author: Scholz, M.
Year of publication: 2022

Zivilgesellschaft in Zahlen-Bertelsmann Stiftung by Joris-Johann Lenssen
Article in industry media

Warum machen wir jetzt Nachhaltigkeit zu dem Thema, das es jetzt ist

Author: Scholz, M.
Year of publication: 2022

iwp-Abendveranstaltung
Presentation at practice oriented event

Wenn CEOs politisch handeln

Author: Scholz, M.
Year of publication: 2022

Hays Top Management Magazin 2022
Article in industry media

Antecedents of Business Engagement in Inter-Organizational Collaborations for Sustainability

Authors: Riegler, M, Jarmai, K, Scholz, M
Year of publication: 2021

37th EGOS Colloquium, Amsterdam (NL)
Presentation at scientific conference

Business Cooperation as Innovation Enabler

Author: Jarmai, K.
Year of publication: 2021

SDG Business Forum 2021, March 9.
Podium at practice oriented event

Collective Corporate Action for Sustainability

Authors: Scholz, M., Riegler, M. Damoser, W., Jarmai, K.
Year of publication: 2021

In Fritz, J. & Tomaschek, N. (Eds.): University – Society – Industry. Beiträge zum lebensbegleitenden Lernen und Wissenstransfer, Band 10, Waxmann Verlag.
Contribution in anthology/conference proceedings (full paper)