Abstract
There is increasing consensus that Human Resource Development (HRD) has a central
role to play in promoting the principles and practices of corporate responsibility (CR).
An important HRD intervention involves developing responsible leaders able to attract
support for CR throughout the organisation, but empirical research is lacking in this
area. This article contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge of responsible
leadership development (RLD) by addressing two questions: first, how does RLD
engender learning that goes beyond basic cognitive awareness? Second, what affects
participants’ abilities to manifest this learning in the workplace? A review of the RLD
literature reveals a ‘knowing-doing gap’, which, it is posited, may be linked to a lack
of theorisation around power. This issue is investigated by means of a case study on a
responsible leadership development programme run by a professional services firm.
Drawing on Bourdieusian concepts of language and power, the study reveals some of
the mechanisms that inspired new socially responsible values whilst also demonstrating
some of the contextual barriers inhibiting their manifestation in the workplace. It is
argued that HRD professionals need to engage with Bourdieusian ideas of language
and power to promote deeper learning around responsible leadership, which can more
easily be embedded into the workplace
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 560-576 |
Journal | Human Resource Development International |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 25 Sep 2014 |
Keywords
- responsible leadership
- leadership development
- HRD
- corporate socialresponsibility
- corporate responsibility
- Bourdieu