Organizational Credibility Research Articles

Managing digital records within Nigeria's regulatory framework

Nigeria has a complicated legal and regulatory environment. This complicated history brings to mind the oft-quoted Biblical phrase, “There was no king in Israel, and every man did what was right in his own eyes.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982 Judges 17:6) As the technological landscape began to change, strong legislative frameworks are now required to guarantee the security, accessibility, and integrity of digital information. Since enacting the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) in 2019, and the subsequent passing into law of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, and establishing the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Nigeria has reached landmark milestones in Nigeria's journey toward improving data protection and privacy. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent developments in Nigeria's data protection landscape and implications for digital records management in government agencies and businesses. This paper further tries to examine the implications of these developments for digital records management within Government Agencies and Businesses. It will also provide a brief history of digital records in Nigeria. Furthermore, it will analyze key provisions of the NDPA and the NDPC's strategic priorities and identify opportunities and challenges for aligning records management practices with the new framework. The paper also reviews the relationship between records management and organizational credibility in Nigeria, discussing how proper record management is crucial for the credibility of public institutions and organizations in Nigeria. Additionally, it attempts to show the benefit of data-driven regulatory approaches to assist organizations in navigating Nigeria's complex regulatory landscape. This paper offers recommendations for businesses, agencies, and regulators to utilize the NDPA and its strategies to enhance the adoption of digital records management. The methodology for selecting and analyzing sources involved a comprehensive literature review and policy analysis, focusing on key legal documents, academic articles, and reports from relevant agencies.

Navigating Sustainability and Inclusivity: Women-Led Community-Based Businesses in Post-Disaster Recovery

Community-based businesses have emerged as a means of addressing socio-economic challenges in the aftermath of disasters. This study investigates the contribution of women-led community-based businesses to recovery and their long-term sustainability. It draws upon case studies in the Tohoku region of Japan and Banda Aceh, Indonesia, areas impacted by major earthquakes and tsunamis over a decade ago. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that the community-based businesses surveyed had evolved from mere “reconstruction goods” by maintaining sustained commitment and developing products. Enhancing organizational credibility through quality improvement efforts was crucial for securing long-term contracts with private companies, a key factor for business continuity. However, prioritizing sustainability often came at the cost of diminished community inclusivity, as differences in skill levels and misaligned values among participants led to departures. This study highlights the challenges in balancing business longevity with maintaining businesses’ role as spaces for social interaction and community rebuilding.

Unveiling organizational appeal in Lithuania: A study on employee perceptions of organizational attractiveness as an employer

In recent times of uncertainty, new post-COVID-19 reality, and fierce competition for talented employees, organizational attractiveness as an appealing employer has emerged as one of the paramount facets, deeply integrated into strategic processes within organizations. However, there are many considerable challenges in understanding employee perceptions and meeting their expectations to become an employer of choice. The aim of the study is to examine Lithuanian employees’ attitudes toward different organizational attractiveness attributes, offering empirical insights for organizations to enhance their organizational attractiveness. To explore the manifestation of organizational attractiveness in Lithuanian organizations, 464 employed residents were surveyed using convenience sampling. Their attitudes were measured through the dimensions of social value, benefit value, development value, engagement value, economic value, management/leadership value, and work-life balance value. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the questionnaire data. The results indicated that employees emphasized social (M = 7.44), management/leadership (M = 7.05), engagement (M = 6.80), and work/life balance values (M = 6.79), while benefits (M = 6.60), development (M = 6.54), and economic (M = 6.20) values received comparatively lower evaluations. Practical recommendations include promoting social responsibility, providing work opportunities, investing in employee’s development, fostering autonomy, improving leadership skills, and implementing systems for work-life balance and economic incentives. Upholding promises to employees is crucial for organizational credibility. By implementing these recommendations, organizations can enhance their attractiveness to both current and prospective employees. This study underscores the need for further research on sector-specific organizational attractiveness.

Phenomenological Analysis of Factors that Affect the Increase in the Willingness to Reengage Volunteer Rescuers and Saviors of the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The present study aimed to analyze the factors that influence the increase in the desire to re-engage volunteer rescuers and saviors of the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This qualitative descriptive phenomenological study involved the participation of volunteers who had not volunteered in the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) for at least one year but expressed a willingness to be re-engaged. The semi-structured in-depth interview process and data collection continued until the theoretical saturation stage was reached. The collected data was analyzed using the interpretive approach and the 7-step Claesian method. The results show that several factors influence the increase in the desire to reengage volunteer rescuers and members of IRCS. These factors were categorized into 136 codes, 63 main codes, 20 clusters, 7 classes, and 3 themes, namely "organizational support and understanding," "work characteristics," and "organizational credibility." The results of the study indicate that each of the identified factors plays a significant role in the dynamics of the re-engagement process for rescuers and volunteer rescuers within the IRCS. The experiences of volunteer rescuers and members can be utilized to enhance the recruitment and retention of volunteer human resources within the IRCS.

The evolutions achieved in companies with the implementation of Environmental, Social and Governance: Integrative review

Contemporary businesses are being actively prompted to craft innovative and environmentally responsible solutions. Integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices can furnish companies with a plethora of competitive benefits, setting them apart in the market landscape. In line with this viewpoint, our current endeavor seeks to dissect how companies progress through the adoption of ESG measures, and the array of advantages this adoption brings forth. The study employed an integrative review methodology, which involves comprehensively examining and describing a topic by gathering information from various published sources. Through this research approach, it becomes evident that companies embracing ESG practices can realize cost savings linked to environmental, legal, and reputational risks. Moreover, such adoption leads to heightened operational efficiency and enhanced long-term resilience. Among the research findings, a clear trend has emerged where discussions surrounding the implementation of ESG within the business realm have grown significantly in recent years. In essence, this assertion emphasizes the significance of integrating ESG factors into investments. However, it's crucial to comprehensively grasp both their benefits and drawbacks. This, in turn, bolsters the organization's credibility, augments financial performance, and enhances overall productivity. This collective effort contributes to the cultivation of a more conscientious and responsible business ecosystem. The dedication to these principles should be authentic and tangibly manifested across all facets and undertakings of the company.

Determinants of social organizational credibility: Towards a formal conceptualization

Organizational credibility is an important component of organizational survival. The need to build and maintain organizational credibility in the social media context is specifically significant, largely due to the popularity of the medium in the current interactive communication environment. Social media, however, create a challenging environment for accurate information consumption, because it excludes the journalistic gatekeeper, are subject to misinformation and allow for information proliferation by both official and nonofficial users. For organizations to enhance their credibility in the social media context, it is important, firstly, to determine what constitutes social organization credibility. To establish an enhanced understanding of social organizational credibility and to build towards a formal conceptualization, this article quantitatively explored the preliminary identified determinants of social organizational credibility among active social media users. An exploratory factor analysis indicated that social organizational credibility consists of the determinants of trustworthiness, qualified resonance, homophily, personable interaction, informed conversation, and apt social word-of-mouth. Furthermore, the results also highlighted that an organization’s connections (including social media influencers and experts) are also a key determinant of social organizational credibility. This research provides guidance as to how social media users assess an organization’s credibility in the social media context, which could help alleviate the misinformation stigma that is associated with social media as an interactive communication platform. The identified determinants and the conceptualization of social organizational credibility extend existing organizational credibility literature and provide organizations with much needed guidelines to enhance their credibility in the social media context.

Effects of Informational Asymmetries on Job Seekers’ Ratings of Organizational Credibility

Recruiters need to develop successful recruitment strategies and techniques to attract new employees by examining the employment process from the job seeker’s point of view. This study aimed to examine the impact of additional information from an external source (Wall Street Journal) on the relationship between job previews used in recruitment and applicants' perceptions of corporate credibility. Results of an experimental study with 2 × 3 factorial design show that that while the presence of realistic job previews did not affect credibility ratings, additional information did moderate the relationship between job previews and perceived credibility. The findings suggest that providing consistent information in the job preview and external sources enhances perceived credibility. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed

The Constructive Influence of the Homeland in Refugee Organizing: Darfurian Asylum Seekers in Israel

Abstract Refugee community organizations (RCOs) typically engage with hostland governments, non-profit organizations, and international agencies. To do this, RCOs adopt norms and standards valued by hostland actors. Research assumes that this engagement should be one of the central functions of RCOs; it focuses on the ways in which these agencies influence RCOs including how to make this relationship more productive. Yet, these agencies do not have a meaningful influence in the case study examined here—Sudanese Darfurian RCOs in Israel. Tracing community organizing for over a decade, this article demonstrates that norms from the homeland have become increasingly influential. Simultaneously, there has been a tremendous amount of organizational stability. This article argues that adoption of management structures which are familiar and trusted from the homeland can enhance organizational credibility. This, in turn, facilitates relatively high levels of organizational longevity and satisfaction amongst constituents.

Council of Europe Mission. Conflict Impact with Russia

Over the years, international organizations have played critical roles in the interactions and relationships that develop within the international system between and among states. The Russian Federation joined the Council of Europe in 1996 to strengthen its democratic policies. The nature of Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe is somewhat paradoxical, given how far it strayed from the organization’s objectives and principles. This also includes the organization's credibility and ability to promote democratic values throughout the Russian Federation by applying the European Convention on Human Rights. In light of the latest developments in the conflict with Russia, the issue of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, on which the Council of Europe is mainly focused, seems to be a key point in the European debate and beyond. This paper summarized all points where the Council of Europe deviated from its principles and objectives. The Council of Europe, among others, has to strengthen its authority and become more resilient to afford future crises. The main question of this paper is directly related to the research strategy which is the first element. The general question of this paper is as follows: Can the mission and purpose of the Council of Europe be considered fulfilled in any case of the existence of this organization?

The Influence of Charismatic Leadership Communication Towards the Credibility of Public Organisation in Malaysia

The credibility of public organisation as the source of information often receives negative intuition and misinterpretation from the public at large. Since credibility of public organisation is very much related to public trust, scholars have focused on antecedents of organisational credibility such as leadership constructs to restore trust and confidence among the public. Yet not much research has investigated the role of charismatic leadership communication in building and establishing organisational credibility of the public organisation. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between charismatic leadership communication and the influence of its three dimensions (task oriented, enthusiasm and empathy) with organisational credibility of public organisation in Malaysia. This study employed a quantitative approach to measure participants' perception on their organisational leadership communication and credibility. A total of 368 public organisation employees which were selected through stratified random sampling participated in the survey. The hypothesis of this study was tested using Pearson correlation to examine the relationship between the constructs, whereas multiple regression was used to examine the variance of each dimension of charismatic leadership communication on organisational credibility. The finding reveals that there is a significant relationship between charismatic leadership communication and public organisation credibility, while task-oriented communication appears to be the most significant dimension influencing the credibility of Malaysia public organisation. The implication of the study suggested that public organisational credibility is influenced by the way the information was delivered by the organisation through its charismatic leaders. Theoretical and practical contributions were advanced in this study. Keywords: Charismatic leadership communication, empathy, enthusiasm, task-related communication, organizational credibility.

Problematizing Scientization in International Organizations

Comparative education studies examined the roles multilateral organizations and non-governmental organizations play in global governance and international development. Emphasis has been given to their engagements both at policy and practice levels as well as their impacts. Generally, the mechanisms international organizations use to govern education and development seem qualitatively to change over time. The most recent emerging research trajectory explains how international organizations primarily use the power of scientific knowledge for organizational legitimacy, credibility, and impact. This is referred to in the literature as soft governance, epistemic governance, scientization, or scientific multilateralism, as it significantly relies on the authority of scientific knowledge as opposed to hard, financial preconditions, for global governance and development. Our understanding of scientization is still in its ‘infancy’, partly due to its relatively recent emergence and partly due to the use of varied indicators to assess it across organizational types. To contribute toward further theorization, this study problematizes scientization in international organizations, with a focus on multilateral, intergovernmental organizations. The study is organized around answering this overarching question: What are the conceptual and methodological attributes or features of scientization in international organizations? Using sociological theories and conceptions of policymaking and transfer, it discusses core substantive, methodological, and theoretical issues of scientization having relevance for further research.

Simulating the Cause: How Grassroots Organizations Advance Their Credibility Through the Dramaturgical Curation of Events

To survive, nascent grassroots organizations—and their respective causes—must earn the trust of various audiences that can impact credibility advancement. However, it can be quite difficult for grassroots organizations to access suitable settings, times, and collocated audiences. One context that can yield this type of access is an event as it constitutes a rare opportunity for organizations to engage in practices that impact credibility advancement. We investigate how a volunteer-based grassroots organization orchestrates a high-profile event at the United Nations to promote African diaspora entrepreneurs as a valuable force in the mitigation of development challenges in their home countries. We employ qualitative data collected from ethnographic observations, interviews, and secondary sources and apply grounded theory approaches to demonstrate how organizational credibility can be advanced through performative strategizing within event settings. Drawing from heuristics used in theatrical performances, we found that the grassroots organization mobilized specific audience groups in participative role-playing across two acts, thereby producing and consecrating a temporary simulacrum of a cause-related community it claimed to represent. Our findings demonstrate how an unproven organization can strategically use audience mobilization to convert event settings into performative spaces for simulacrum creation and credibility advancement.

What Drives Performance Measurement in NGOs?: A Case Study from Pakistan

The purpose of this research paper is to understand how an NGO in Pakistan perceives the utility of its performance measurement system and thus what drives design of its PMS. The study explores the phenomenon from the perspective of NGO managers by applying qualitative approach and using critical realism to explore the issue. The paper presents the findings on the basis of an instrumental case study conducted in Pakistan. The research identifies the main objective of PMS in this NGO is to help the organization remain sustainable and its managers’ desire for legitimacy has deeply influenced the design of the PMS of the NGO. Results suggest managers perceive organizational credibility and not the accountability as the most important factor in determining its sustainability. The evidence is based on findings of a single NGO case study from Pakistan. Furthermore, the findings are based only on the perceptions of the managers of the selected organisation. Future research including perception of other stakeholders in other NGOs may help in deepening the understanding of the issue and validating the presented results. However, given that little research has been conducted within the NGO sector on drivers of performance measurement this research provides useful evidence that can be further developed. The paper specifically contributes by extending prior PM literature in an NGO environment. It has implications for the further development of legitimacy theories in the NGO sector. It raises issues about how primary focus of reporting in NGOs is shifting from accountability to show-casing.

Proximate or Primary Source? How Multiple Layers of News Sources on Social Media Predict News Influence

News shared on social media presents multiple layers of sources, from reputable news organizations to individual users who share news on social media. A web-based experiment investigated (a) whether the influence of a primary news source (news organization) on viewers decreases as it becomes less proximate with the presence of a more immediate source (individual user who shared news), and (b) if so, how the evaluations of both sources, along with a varying degree of issue relevance, affect viewers’ agreement with news position. Participants read one news article either shared on Facebook by a well-known celebrity or directly posted onto a news website. The perceived credibility of news organizations predicted viewers’ agreement with the news position, but only when the news was presented on a news web page so that the news organization was shown as the proximate source. When multiple sources were displayed, the influence of news organization credibility disappeared when the given news lacked personal relevance.

Crisis Management, and Charismatic Leadership Communication as Antecedents to the Organizational Reputation

The aim of this study is to measure employees’ perceptions of UAE police’s reputation. Even though these perceptions are formed in the public domain, this study focused on the public sector employees’ evaluation of the Commission’s reputation and credibility. This is solely because they work in it and will be directly affected by negative perceptions, as evident in most alternative media and blogs. Like many other organizations, employees and other internal stakeholders know the organization better than the outsiders, so measuring their perceptions is essential. This study attempts to reflect how UAE police, through its charismatic leadership communication and organizational credibility, earns the trust and confidence of its employees in times of crisis, which is further reflected in its reputation. The present study chooses the situational crisis communication theory to develop its theoretical framework. Originating in attribution theory, the SCCT has been widely used in crisis communication research to test the link between crisis situation and crisis response strategies. The study has employed the SEM-PLS is statistical technique for the analysis of the data. The findings of the study have provided support to the hypothesized results.

Place meanings and national parks: A rhetorical analysis of social media texts

Many national parks now use social media to communicate their special qualities of place and guide visitors’ experiences. But, how do they actually construct effective social media messages that resonate with their audiences? To answer this, we used rhetorical discourse analysis to examine a one-year sample of texts from the Facebook posts of three large U.S. national parks. Rhetorical discourses are persuasive; their contents, forms and styles of organization can be studied to understand how social and cultural practices of meaning-making are enacted by communicators in an effort to influence audiences. In this study, we applied Aristotle’s three modes of argumentation (ethos, logos, and pathos) to guide the rhetorical analysis. Results show that agencies primarily provided emotion-laden and informational materials for social media followers in making claims about place and about visitor experiences. Four rhetorical themes about the uniqueness of park places, the management of people, parks and significant life moments, and time and timelessness, were identified. These contributed to an overall discourse about parks and spirituality that seemed intended to reaffirm the perspectives of existing audiences of park visitors. Understanding the rhetorical-discursive qualities of social media messages, however, can help agencies adjust their communication strategies to reach more diverse audiences while deploying a wider range of rhetorical approaches. For park managers the following aspects are of high relevance. - Social media presentations can extend and enhance a national park’s relationship with publics. - Park management agencies use emotion, logic and organizational credibility to construct social media claims. - Parks’ social media texts are rhetorical (persuasive), relying primarily on emotional claims and information dissemination. - Visitor-generated stories re-posted on a park’s social media site can expand both park’s and audiences’ social and cultural perspectives. - Study parks’ social media texts presented rhetorical discourses of spirituality that reinforced traditional place relationships and ways of engaging with national parks. - Social media postings are often directed to people who already visit the park; wider use of rhetorical ideas for more diverse audiences are needed.

Practicing transparency in a crisis: Examining the combined effects of crisis type, response, and message transparency on organizational perceptions

Public relations practitioners allocate a vast number of resources to constructing and building strategic messaging for targeted stakeholders. Two important factors within this message construction deal with organizational crisis responses and message transparency. The present study sought to combine concepts from Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) and message transparency to investigate what combined impact these two fields in public relations research have on perceptions of an organization. By utilizing a 3 (crisis type) X 3 (crisis response) X 2 (message transparency) experimental design, this study (n = 898) found that victim crisis types, rebuild strategies, and high transparency messages resulted in more positive perceptions of the organization. A three-way interaction was also found, namely that use of highly transparent messages contributed to greater perceived organizational credibility when a rebuilding or denial strategy was used in response to a preventable crisis and when a diminishing strategy was used in response to a victim or accidental crisis. Practical and theoretical implications are also discussed.

Consumers’ Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Mediating Role of CSR Authenticity

This study uses information processing and stakeholder theories as its conceptual foundation to explore the effect of authenticity on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and three key customer responses: corporate evaluation, product association, and purchase intention. We conducted a survey in South Korea to test the hypotheses. The results of the analysis of our sample consisting of 417 individuals showed that perceived CSR was positively associated with corporate evaluation, product association, and purchase intention. In addition, the mediating test results indicated that CSR authenticity mediated the relationship between perceived CSR and the three CSR customers’ responses to CSR. This study contributes to research on CSR authenticity and specifically adds to the conversation on the four CSR building blocks, namely, ethical codes, philanthropic contribution, organizational credibility, and resource accommodation in connection with CSR authenticity as a potentially valuable lens in the context of CSR. Managerial implications of these findings are also discussed.

Lessons from Yalta: Imperatives for Post-Covid 19 Higher Education

The goal of this essay is to provide Higher Education institutions with suggestions for maintaining both economic viability and organizational credibility in a Post-Covid 19 environment. Three practical, yet important, objectives for both colleges and universities are identified in light of the pandemic and its aftermath. In particular, the essay targets administrative imperatives and stakeholder-oriented considerations for implementation.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS A TOOL FOR IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

The aim of the article is to demonstrate the relationship between the concepts of corporate social responsibility and sustainable production and consumption. CSR helps the organization increase efficiency and credibility, engage in dialogue and engage stakeholders in cooperation, as well as identify social, environmental and ethical risk management. The implementation of CSR requires a comprehensive change in the functioning of the enterprise. Companies that have implemented CSR should, above all, transparently inform consumers about their products, i.e. implement the principles of the European product policy and the guidelines of sustainable consumption and production. The implementation of CSR principles into the company’s business strategy is conducive to building a long-term competitive advantage and relations with the social environment of companies and its stakeholders. For companies that adhere to the principles of CSR, this helps to effectively use the instruments of sustainable consumption and production and thus contribute to sustainable development while increasing European innovation potential and European competitiveness.