RT Article
T1 Prosociality in Business: A Human Empowerment Framework
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 159
IS 2
SP 361
OP 380
A1 Brieger, Steven A.
A1 Terjesen, Siri A.
A1 Hechavarría, Diana M.
A1 Welzel, Christian
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V
YR 2019
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1785604368
AB This study introduces a human empowerment framework to better understand why some businesses are more socially oriented than others in their policies and activities. Building on Welzel’s theory of emancipation, we argue that human empowerment—comprised of four components: action resources, emancipative values, social movement activity, and civic entitlements—enables, motivates, and entitles individuals to pursue social goals for their businesses. Using a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs from 43 countries, we report strong empirical evidence for two ecological effects of the framework components on prosociality. We find that human empowerment (1) lifts entrepreneurs’ willingness to choose a social orientation for their business, and (2) reinforces the gender effect on prosociality in business activity. We discuss the human empowerment framework’s added value in understanding how modernization processes fully leverage the potential of social business activities for societies.
K1 CSR
K1 Institutions
K1 Culture
K1 Global entrepreneurship monitor
K1 Female entrepreneurship
K1 Social Entrepreneurship
DO 10.1007/s10551-018-4045-5