Call for Chapters 

Ethics, CSR and Sustainability (ECSRS) Education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region: Conceptualization, Contextualization, and Empirical Evidence

To be published by Routledge – GVV Series  (2019)

Noha El-Bassiouny, The German University in Cairo, Egypt
Dina El-Bassiouny, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
Ehab K. A. Mohamed, The German University in Cairo, Egypt
Mohamed Basuony, The American University in Cairo, Egypt 

Dear colleagues and friends,

We would like to cordially invite you to contribute a chapter to our upcoming book to be published by Routledge as part of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) series entitled “Ethics, CSR and Sustainability (ECSRS) Education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region: Conceptualization, Contextualization, and Empirical Evidence”. Please find below relevant details about the book and timeframe for submissions. Feel free to forward this call to interested colleagues or students.

Synopsis

The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is gaining prominence in recent times. The significance of the CSR concept in the MENA region cannot be underestimated. The reason is that the MENA region is undergoing significant socio-political and developmental transitions. Although CSR research in the region is growing, little research has addressed CSR education and its potential impact. The relevance of the GVV methodology and pedagogy to CSR and ethics education has been documented in the literature. The aim of this handbook is to compile conceptual, contextual, and empirical research that addresses the concept of CSR, ethics, and broadly sustainability education in the MENA region, with special emphasis on how educators can bridge to the GVV approach.

Statement of Aims

CSR has an important role to play in the socio-economic development of the MENA region given its high volatility and developmental needs (Al-Abdin et al., 2018). Recent literature has highlighted, however, that the vitality of the institutional environment and the needs of multiple stakeholders in the CSR ecosystem varies in the Middle East (Al-Abdin et al., 2018; Jamali and Neville, 2011), and that the Middle East has a specific understanding of CSR that is not necessarily consistent with the notion of CSR in the West (Jamali and Sidani, 2012).  

Apart from this variety in CSR needs and in the interaction between business and societal stakeholders in the region, CSR remains a vital and emerging research domain in developing countries in general (Jamal and Karam, 2016), and in the Middle East region in specific (Al-Abdin et al., 2018). Despite the multiplicity of studies showing the potential impact of CSR and the variety of approaches utilized by MNCs and SMEs in the MENA region (for a review see Al-Abdin et al., 2018), studies on CSR education in the region remain almost non-existent.

Although studies have documented the potential impact of demographic factors, such as religiosity and education (Cheah et al., 2011; Jamali and Sidani, 2013), on CSR managerial attitudes, little research exists on the educational preparation that these potential managers get. Recently, the new and emerging concept and methodology of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) approach has made global presence (see e.g. Arce and Gentile, 2015). The GVV approach highlights that ethics education needs to be positive and starts on the premise that people in organizational settings know the right thing to do and want to act upon it, i.e. it is post-decision making (Gentile, 2012). In addition to the fact that there is almost no literature on CSR education in the MENA region, bridging with the GVV approach, is non-existent to-date.  

The aim of this handbook is to delve into the conceptualization and contextualization of CSR education, and associated concepts (such as ethics and sustainability education), in the MENA region and how they can further relate to the GVV methodology and approach. Due to the recent association between Ethics, CSR, and Sustainability (ECSRS) in the literature (Seto´-Pamies and Papaoikonomou, 2016), studies researching any of these three topics in terms of education are welcome.

[For more information on the GVV pedagogy, please visit www.GivingVoiceToValues.org, and www.MaryGentile.com]

Potential Topics

–          Novel conceptualizations of ECSRS education in the MENA region in general or in specific contexts, such as particular countries, and how recommendations could be made to relate to the GVV methodology.

–          Case studies of ECSRS education curricula in particular contexts (e.g. universities or courses), and how this could better relate to the GVV approach.

–           Empirical studies which test for the effect of particular pedagogical tools related to ECSRS, and how this could relate to the GVV methodology.

Table of Contents

The book will be divided into Introduction, Part I: Conceptual Nuances of ECSRS Education in the MENA Region (2 chapters – Chapter Two: An Overview of ECSRS Literature in the MENA region; Chapter Three: A Conceptualization of ECSRS Education in the MENA Region), Part II: Contextual Embeddedness of ECSRS Education in the MENA Region (3 chapters – Chapter Four: ECSRS Education in Country A; Chapter Five: ECSRS Education in Country B; and Chapter Six: ECSRS Education in Country C), Part III: Empirical Examples of ECSRS Courses (2 chapters – Chapter Seven: Business Ethics Course in University A; Chapter Eight: Business Ethics Education in University B).

Overview of Chapters

Part One will cover the conceptual foundations of the book. The first chapter will relate an overview of the topic of ECSRS in the region (in terms of literature). This will be followed by another chapter that relates the factors that could impact ECSRS education in the region (e.g. religion, socio-economic factors, etc). Part Two will cover the contextualization of ECSRS in the MENA region. It will offer 3 examples of ECSRS education in prominent countries of the region. Finally, Part Three will offer particular examples of courses that relate to ECSRS as best practices in the region. All chapters have to relate how to bridge with the GVV methodology and pedagogy.

Deadlines

–          Interested authors should send preliminary expressions of interest (500 words maximum) to Elbassiouny.noha@gmail.com on or before 10^th of June, 2018. Please include a short bio of the authors (maximum 150 words). We will respond with confirmation before 30^th of July, 2018.

–          Full chapters (7,000 – 8,000 words including references and endnotes) are due by 1^st of May, 2019.

–          There will be a double-blind review process. Review results will be communicated to the corresponding author by 30^th of June, 2019.

–          Final chapters are due by 30^th of September, 2019.

References

Al-Abdin, A.; Roy, T.; and Nicholson, J. (2018). Researching Corporate Social Responsibility in the Middle East: The Current State and Future Directions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25, pp. 47 – 65.

Arce, D.; and Gentile, M. (2015). Giving Voice to Values as a Leverage Point in Business Ethics Education, Journal of Business Ethics, 131 (3), pp. 535 – 542.

Cheah E.; Jamali, D.; Johnson, J.; and Sung, M. (2011). Drivers of corporate social responsibility attitudes: The demography of socially responsible investors. British Journal of Management, 22 (2), pp. 305–323.?

Gentile, M. (2012). Values-Driven Leadership Development: Where We Have Been and Where We Could Go. Organization Management Journal, 9 (3), pp. 188 – 196.

Jamali, D.; and Karam, C. (2016). Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries as an Emerging Field of Study, International Journal of Management Reviews, 00, pp. 1 – 30.

Jamali D.; and Neville, B. (2011). Convergence versus divergence of CSR in developing countries: An embedded multi-layered institutional lens. Journal of Business Ethics, 102 (4), pp. 599–621.?

Jamali, D.; and Sidani, Y. (2013). Does religiosity determine affinities to CSR? Journal of Management. Spirituality & Religion, 10 (4), pp. 309–323.?

Jamali, D.; and Sidani, Y. (2012). Introduction in: Jamali D., Sidani Y. (eds) CSR in the Middle East: Fresh Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, London

Seto´-Pamies, D.; & Papaoikonomou, E. (2016). A Multi-level Perspective for the Integration of Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Sustainability (ECSRS) in Management Education, Journal of Business Ethics, 136, pp. 523-538.

 

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