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The utility of social obligations in the UK energy industry
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Sharratt, Diane, Brigham, Bitten H. and Brigham, Martin (2007) The utility of social obligations in the UK energy industry. In: ESRC Workshop on Beyond Principal-Agent - New Perspectives on Utility Regulation, Birkbeck, Univ London, London, England, 3 Oct 2003. Published in: Journal of Management Studies, Vol.44 (No.8). pp. 1503-1522. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00736.x ISSN 0022-2380.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00736.x
Abstract
The imposition of social obligations on the UK energy supply industry provides an important opportunity to examine how social responsibilities are construed by companies and how these constructions relate to perceptions of the role of regulation, specifically the scope for compromise and influence with the regulator. Our data suggest four templates for understanding this relationship: embracing social obligations, business as usual, management deliberation, and conflicts with commerce. First, embracing social obligations is based on competitive advantage and struggles for market leadership, and highlights informal mechanisms in attempts to influence the regulatory agenda. Second, business as usual reflects pre-existing standard operating procedures and a generalized approach to serving the broad consumer base in line with regulation as formal policing procedures. Third, management deliberation is a way of either reflecting upon or stalling progress on social issues, and suggests compromise and passivity in regulatory relations. Fourth, conflicts with commerce focuses on the inherent difficulties of reconciling social obligations with economic regulation and a profit orientation, so that meeting minimum standards or the risk of regulatory censure may be sensible strategies. Together these templates emphasize the subjective and multiple nature of social responsibility and of regulatory relationships, and demonstrate struggles for the strategic and operational meaning over the nature of public interest and competitive advantage.
| Item Type: | Conference Item (Paper) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HF Commerce H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School | ||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Management Studies | ||||
| Publisher: | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. | ||||
| ISSN: | 0022-2380 | ||||
| Official Date: | December 2007 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | Vol.44 | ||||
| Number: | No.8 | ||||
| Number of Pages: | 20 | ||||
| Page Range: | pp. 1503-1522 | ||||
| DOI: | 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00736.x | ||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||
| Conference Paper Type: | Paper | ||||
| Title of Event: | ESRC Workshop on Beyond Principal-Agent - New Perspectives on Utility Regulation | ||||
| Type of Event: | Workshop | ||||
| Location of Event: | Birkbeck, Univ London, London, England | ||||
| Date(s) of Event: | 3 Oct 2003 |
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