Based on literature in corporate responsibility and formal leadership systems Erik G. Hansen develops a conceptual "Responsible Leadership Systems Framework" structuring leadership instruments and tools into seven interconnected key areas. The framework is applied in qualitative multi-case studies in seven of the largest German stock corporations.

Several global crises such as climate change, the global financial breakdown and corporate corruption scandals have diminished the legitimacy of business. One possible answer to this situation is the concept of corporate responsibility (CR), a voluntary approach aiming at the integration of economic with social, ethical and environmental goals. Erik G. Hansen addresses this gap. Rooted in literature on CR and formal leadership systems he develops a conceptual Responsible Leadership Systems framework structuring leadership instruments and tools into seven interconnected key areas. The framework is applied in qualitative multi-case studies in seven of the largest German stock corporations. The results show that leading companies increasingly make CR part of their strategies, structures, management instruments and tools.

Autorentext
Dr. Erik G. Hansen gained his doctoral degree at the Institute for Information, Organization and Management of Prof. Dr. Prof. h.c. Dr. h.c. Ralf Reichwald at Technische Universität München.

Inhalt
Point of Departure.- Research Gap and Research Objective.- Outline of Thesis.- Foundations of Corporate Responsibility.- An Introduction to Corporate Responsibility.- Motivation for CR.- Organisational Learning for CR.- Summary of Part I.- Towards a Responsible Leadership Systems Framework.- The Interface of CR, Leadership, and Organisational Culture.- Core Fields of the RLS Framework.- Contextual Fields of the RLS Framework.- Summary of Part II.- Responsible Leadership Systems in Multinational Corporations.- Method.- Results.- Discussion.- Summary and Outlook.- Summary and Major Findings.- Implications for Theory.- Implications for Management.- Limitations and Further Research.- Outlook.