Corporate behaviour is the actions of a company or group who are acting as a single body. It defines the company's ethical strategies and describes the image of the company. Studies on corporate behaviour show the link between

corporate communication Corporate communication(s) is a set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications aimed at creating a favourable point of view among stakeholders on which a company depends. Riel, Cees B.M. van; Fo ...

and the formation of its identity.

Role

Not only does corporate behaviour play various roles within different areas of a business, it also enables businesses to overcome any problems they may face. For example, due to an increase in

globalisation Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

, language barriers are likely to increase for organisations creating major problems as day-to-day business may be disrupted. Corporate behaviour enables managers to overcome this problem by improving flexibility. Also, many businesses are struggling to remain competitive in terms of quality and productivity due to intense competition within markets. However, corporate behaviour is able to fix this issue by allowing managers to empower their employees as they are the ones who are able to make a change. Positive corporate behaviour can result in employees feeling happy and content at work providing their best outcome. This is beneficial for management as it could lead to effective teams being created thus resulting in innovative ideas which is beneficial for the business. It also helps to decrease labour turnover enabling the organisation to retain its most valuable employees.

Importance

Corporate behaviour is important in strengthening relationships within organisations between individuals, teams, and in the organisation as a whole. It is important as it reflects the values of the business and the extent to which it is ethical. Corporate behavior refers to the company values that defines it and makes it different and better than other companies. Portraying positive corporate behavior within a company facilitates strong

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

image creation; consequently branding then strengthens the importance associated with corporate behavior.

Influential factors

PESTLE A mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used to prepare ingredients or substances by compression (physics), crushing and shear force, grinding them into a fine Paste (rheology), paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. ...

factors influence corporate behaviour in many ways. They cause organisations to change the way they operate; however, the size and nature of change is dependent upon which factor is causing the change (political, economic, social, technological, legal, or environmental). External forces are a significant factor of influence over corporate behaviour, hence the term

corporate citizenship Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in, with, or s ...

Political

Political factors such as

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...

, the rule of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and the status of

governments A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

influence corporate and economic landscapes. Examples of political factors could be changes in government legislation. This could affect an organisation's corporate behaviour as they would have to change the way they operate in order to implement these changes; some employees may not like the new changes made.

Economic

Recession is an example of an economic factor. If the economy were to be in a recession, businesses may find they have to reduce jobs. This would affect corporate behaviour as business teams would be short of skills and ideas in order to operate effectively. According to the 2013 National Business Ethics Survey of the US workforce, economy and misconduct are not interdependent, which was the traditional view. The report suggested that even though the economy grew in 2011 and 2013, misconduct in businesses was at its lowest. A

mixed economy A mixed economy is an economic system that includes both elements associated with capitalism, such as private businesses, and with socialism, such as nationalized government services. More specifically, a mixed economy may be variously de ...

signifies intersections of interests between the private sector of corporations, and the public sector of government.

Social

Changes in trends and the market is a social factor which affects corporate behaviour. Organisations may have to change their products or services in order to keep up to date with new trends. In order to do this, employees may be required to learn new skills within a short amount of time to make these changes; relationships between employees and management could be at risk due to these changes. Moral imperatives and expectations are also taken into account. Where social issues are shared by many companies across multiple industries, it may often be addressed most effectively through cooperative models and initiatives.

Technological

Implementing technology within organisations could mean more virtual meetings and fewer face to face meetings. As a result, relationships between management and employees could weaken as a result of less face to face conversations.

Legal

Legislative rules such as tax may increase which would increase an organisations costs. Changes such as changing the way the organisation operates may have to be made in order to cover these extra costs.

Environmental

Corporate Environmental Responsibility aims to create goodwill for corporations in various ways, with regards to society. Environmental factors could be any factors which prevent damage to the environment. For example,

remote work Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...

may be required to reduce the number of employees physically travelling to offices thus reducing

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

. However, this may lead to isolation as communication is reduced, weakening corporate behaviour within firms.

Stakeholder influence

Businesses have many stakeholders who influence corporate behaviour. However, businesses who adopt the

stakeholder theory The stakeholder theory is a theory of organizational management and business ethics that accounts for multiple constituencies impacted by business entities like employees, suppliers, local communities, creditors, and others. It addresses morals ...

are likely to appeal more to their stakeholders as they are showing their care and commitment towards them. This helps to strengthen the corporate behaviour within a firm and reduces the need for stakeholders to demand change. With the various factors affecting society and economy in modern times, stakeholders are increasingly showing an interest in

Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

(CSR). ''Strategic CSR'' is also considered a

marketing strategy Marketing strategy refers to efforts undertaken by an Organizational structure, organization to increase its sales and achieve competitive advantage. In other words, it is the method of advertising a company's products to the public through an est ...

and therefor a potential source of

competitive advantage In business, a competitive advantage is an attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors. A competitive advantage may include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost power source, highly skille ...

Notes

{{Anthropogenic effects on the environment Corporate governance Corporate conduct Corporate personhood Management cybernetics