A Constant Dance: A Social Practice Perspective of Frontline Responsible Management

There is a growing interest and attention for organizations to move from a shareholder capitalist to stakeholder capitalist business model, in which delivering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance is becoming more pronounced. Because of this transition, there is growing pressure for managers at all levels to act in sustainable, socially responsible, and ethical (SRE) ways; yet the current management models are based on maximizing economic value and scientific management. Therefore, the attempts to try and manage 21st century organizations with 20th century management practices and the aspirations of responsible management education have not demonstrated the desired effect (Laasch & Gherardi, 2019), as seen by continued business failures. It is not yet understood whether it is possible for the everyday manager to effectively navigate the tensions and contradictions of trying to deliver economic value to shareholders, social and ecological value to other stakeholders, while simultaneously attending to regulatory policies and, in the process, avoiding burnout for overtasked managers. Conducted in a debt remediation call center in the Dominican Republic, this study used an eclectic design integrating abductive analysis with a cultural-historical activity theory methodology to explore responsible management practices at the lowest levels of management. The findings describe responsible managers as pressure moderators enacting four primary elements: 1) embracing a pluralistic logic of responsibility, 2) accepting tensions with resilience, 3) engaging practices dynamically to moderate pressures, and 4) learning primarily on the job amid real work. In this organization, moderating the pressures of emotional labor was the primary object of their attention.