How Does Reciprocity Affect Undergraduate Student Orientation towards Stakeholders?

José-Luis Godos-Díez, Roberto Fernández-Gago and Laura Cabeza-García
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José-Luis Godos-Díez: Department of Business Administration, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 León, Spain
Roberto Fernández-Gago: Department of Business Administration, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 León, Spain
Laura Cabeza-García: Department of Business Administration, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 León, Spain

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: Nowadays, students are more aware of the impact of companies on their stakeholders and the need for properly handling their expectations to operationalize corporate social responsibility. Nevertheless, little is known about how certain individual traits may relate to their stance on the issue. This exploratory research contributes to stakeholder theory by analysing the effect of the individual’s decision-making process, including the consideration of their social preferences, on their orientation toward stakeholder management. Here, we draw upon a theoretical model for resource-allocation decision-making consisting of reciprocal and non-reciprocal components. Our data, from undergraduate students enrolled in different degrees, were collected through a questionnaire and two social within-subject experiments (ultimatum and dictator games). Thus, our results show that the presence of a reciprocal component when decisions are made is positively linked to an instrumental orientation toward stakeholders. In addition, a greater non-reciprocal component in the decision-making process corresponds to a more normative orientation.

Keywords: stakeholder orientation; reciprocity; ultimatum game; dictator game; management education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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