As illiberalism and populism are on the rise in many countries, organizations increasingly find themselves operating in politically turbulent and unsettled contexts (Adler et al., 2023; De Cleen et al., 2018; Swidler, 1986). Such political environments have a consequential effect on how organizations evolve, strategize, or communicate (e.g., Blake et al., 2022). Operating in an illiberal context, for example, can also affect the ways organizations create their identity – an evolving social construct crucial to organizational life (Cornelissen et al., 2021; Rao et al., 2003). Prior research has shown that organizational forms and identities are shaped by politics (Kenny et al., 2016; Rao, 1998), and operating in an illiberal political milieu can mean that organizations nearly organically develop their identity with respect to this political context. Constructing identity based on the illiberal context, however, can be restricting, meaning that organizations whose origin is embedded in such a political environment may want to move beyond this image by defining themselves outside of the political and crafting an identity in relation to an alternative future (Augustine et al., 2019; Gümüsay & Reinecke, 2024). Nevertheless, how organizations construct identity exactly towards alternative futures in an illiberal political context is not yet well understood.

Building on the scholarship of organizational identity and future-making processes, I shed light on this conundrum by focusing on three independent media outlets (namely, Magyar Hang, Telex, and Válasz Online) in Hungary that emerged within the last six years as a reaction to the increasing political control over the media by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government (Bátorfy & Urbán, 2020). In particular, these outlets were founded by journalists whose former publications were either shut down or taken over by individuals aligned with the government (Nolan, 2019).

Drawing on interviews with journalists and analysis of archival data, I find that the news organizations initially constructed their identity in opposition to the illiberal regime. Specifically, Magyar Hang, Telex, and Válasz Online’s early identity was largely shaped by the founding context, where they sought to resist government encroachment on the media landscape by utilizing a counter-identity (cf. Rao et al., 2013). However, as the outlets matured and professionalized, their identity shifted towards defining themselves based on an alternative future (Monticelli & Escobar, 2024) – one in which media and press freedom are no longer constrained by illiberalism. In this imagined future, the newspapers’ identity moved beyond the contemporary political situation; that is, aspiring to operate as if within a functioning democracy (cf. Griffith et al., 1956). In crafting this organizational identity, the three news outlets increasingly emphasized qualities beyond their political origins, such as professionalism, dependence on the readers, and craftsmanship-like organizational culture.

First, this paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on organizing towards alternative futures (Augustine et al., 2019; Gümüsay & Reinecke, 2024; Monticelli & Escobar, 202) by furthering our understanding of how organizations construct identities in relation to envisioned futures. Second, this work also speaks to the scholarship on societal grand challenges (e.g., George et al., 2016) by examining how organizations and their identities are shaped within illiberal political contexts.

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Building on institutional and stakeholder perspectives, we investigate the impact of global Climate Change Agreements (CCA), specifically Copenhagen Accord and Paris Agreement, on the association between Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) performance indicators and financial performance. Using panel data-set of 1162 firms located in ten countries from 2008 to 2018, we find that CCA significantly statistically weakens the negative relationship. Results indicate a stronger effect of CCA for firms in developed countries compared to those in developing countries. Also, CCA influences the moderating effect of financial slack and results show that slack resources allow a stronger influence of CCA on the performance effect of ESG activities. This study provides theoretical and empirical understanding of the influence of international climate change agreements on firm performance.

Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are for-profit companies accredited by the U.S. non-governmental organization B Lab for meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance. These companies use business as a mechanism to address social and environmental challenges, embedding values of social responsibility into their strategies and operations. The number of B Corps has grown to nearly 8,000 across more than 90 countries. Some, like Natura and Rally Software, are now publicly traded. The rise of B Corps provides a compelling example of organizations pursuing both business and social goals simultaneously. Their hybrid approach—adopting business practices to fulfill a social mission—distinguishes B Corps from other for-profit enterprises (Dacin et al., 2011).

Ironically, many studies have viewed this unique combination of business and social goals as a source of potential failure, due to tensions that arise from trying to meet both objectives (Santos et al., 2015; Tracey et al., 2011). To address these tensions, most scholars, including Pache and Santos (2013) and Wry and York (2017), have suggested either separating or integrating social and business goals. However, a notable exception is the work of Smith and Besharov (2017), which argues that sustaining the tension between social and business goals can actually drive the success of social enterprises. While these studies have advanced our understanding of the hybrid nature of social enterprises, there remains a gap in explaining how the joint pursuit of social and business goals impacts the strategic orientations of enterprises.

Moreover, B Corps, in particular, offer fertile ground for further theorizing and investigation of social performance for several reasons. First, B Corps are required to integrate social performance into their operations and report on multiple dimensions of social impact across thematic areas such as workers, governance, community, and the environment, based on assessment standards. They also have the flexibility to identify their strategic impact areas. For instance, Rhino Foods, a U.S.-based B Corp manufacturing frozen cookie dough, discovered the exceptional work ethic and loyalty of refugee workers and has since introduced workforce development as a core impact area, focusing on supporting refugees and other individuals facing employment barriers. Second, B Corp certification represents a transnational movement. Many scholars of transnational movements have struggled to connect the content (political, cultural, or business) with the form (organizational or tactical) of such movements (Bringel and McKenna, 2020). Analyzing B Corps as a transnational movement that blends business and social objectives in various forms (i.e., different impact business models) offers valuable contributions to the field. Third, considering the international and institutional contexts in which B Corps operate can offer managers insights into how social performance can be integrated into strategy. As Ometto et al. (2009) argue, linkages with the institutional context are crucial for the success of social enterprises while remaining committed to their founding goals. Understanding these linkages could also inform policies that mitigate the negative effects of institutional factors on social performance and leverage positive effects for the growth and success of B Corps and other social enterprises.

To advance research on B Corps and capitalize on their potential to contribute to the fields of social enterprises and transnational movements, our study investigates the diversity of B Corps’ impact business models across different institutional contexts. Using a hierarchical clustering approach, our preliminary analysis reveals varying priorities and compromises among B Corps. For example, some B Corps prioritize customer and community impact while placing relatively less emphasis on employee impact. Further investigation is needed to explore how institutional contexts shape such prioritization and compromise within B Corps.

The proposed presentation reports interim findings and scoping of a research project which explores social innovation in Asia-Pacific associations in the fashion industry.

This critical industry is challenged by social issues (e.g., work fairness, environmental sustainability, ethical marketing, information transparency) which many fashion-industry associations seek to address through innovation. But industry associations typically exist as nonprofits and thus may also experience nonprofit-specific innovation-related issues (e.g., limited resources, complex regulation, multistakeholder expectations). Nevertheless, prior to my research, only a scattering of studies had investigated social innovation in industry associations or innovation as a lever of growth and social impact in nonprofits.

Specifically, the project examines social-innovation approaches and mechanisms of fashion-industry associations and their stakeholders in four leading Asia-Pacific fashion nations, viz Cambodia, Vietnam, India, and Australia. It incorporates a global systematic review on innovation in industry associations generally and case studies on innovation in fashion-industry associations in the Asia Pacific.

The proposed presentation details the phased project’s methodology, findings from the literature review and preparatory desktop case-study analysis, and scoping of primary research to enable later completion of the case studies.

Scrutiny of the literature-review corpus reveals industry associations are important socioeconomic contributors yet research on how and why they innovate is nascent and, moreover, is still scarce in Asia-Pacific fashion-industry associations. Further, industry associations measure innovation and its outcomes distinctly and practice innovation aligned with their unique association functions to benefit their local economies and society at large.

In addition to elaborating on these findings, as well as those from the desktop case-study analysis, the presentation outlines a planned program of primary research to further resolve the identified literature gaps. Broadly, this comprises a series of country-by-country personal interviews with fashion-industry association leaders, stakeholders (e.g., entrepreneurs, designers, policymakers), and fashion/innovation scholars.

The three-stage research has meaningful implications for scholarship. It will boost knowledge of fashion-industry social innovation in the Asia Pacific, add to rare global-south innovation and leadership data, establish an international network of current and emerging fashion scholars, and offer an agenda for future study.

The research will also contribute to practice and policy. It will furnish strategies and techniques for developing social-innovation capacity in fashion-industry associations and indirectly in their member organizations, provide ideas for fashion-industry social-innovation policy development and regulatory reform, increase public awareness of fashion-industry social innovation, and build links between socially-minded fashion firms/nonprofits and the community.