Literature Review
The literature review will focus on three main aspects, as discussed in the research objectives/questions:
Indigenous perspective and reconciliation
Reconciliation is an individual or collective process taken by organizations and communities to fulfill the social and economic goals together (Lokko, et al. 2018:3). The history of relationships between the nation and Indigenous people is complex and has historically damaged the Indigenous people, communities, and culture. Therefore, the indigenous people represent the complicated colonial histories and unbalanced power dynamics. Where, Aboriginal is the term that is used in Australia to refer to Indigenous people (Thiessen, 2023). The need for reconciliation has been presented for decades, but the attention increased when the UN presented the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which recognized this issue as critical and presented principles for treating indigenous people, fairly, all over the world. The key principles of this declaration are: self-determination, participation, and respect for the rights and roles of Indigenous peoples within society (Lokko, et al. 2018:3).
Due to colonization, Indigenous people have experienced systematic discrimination, in terms of health, and education, basic rights, economic rights, knowledge development, etc. (Bastien, et al. 2023). Historically, the organizational plan for reconciliation with Indigenous people focused on health and public health issues, when the companies need to understand and present long-term impacts to minimize the effects of colonization and racism (Lokko, et al. 2018:3). Moreover, indigenous people live in remote regions of Australia, which does not provide enough employment opportunities for them (Fleming, 2015:1). Although, the Australian states, territory and federal governmental invest in cultural aligned economies and take indigenous management initiatives, still there is a high demand that public and private sector combinedly facilitate development of indigenous communities (Fleming, 2015:2).
Over the years, the business environment has been continuously changing and companies around the world struggle to adapt to changes and fulfill the needs and rights of the stakeholders. Similarly, organizational theorists and researchers have notified that practice so the organizations are largely culture-bound (Mangaliso et al. 2022:1). Where, the failure to recognize the importance of the Indigenous perspective and adopt a reconciliation plan to adapt corporate strategies to support the Indigenous views and cultures are found to be the root cause of this problem (Mangaliso et al. 2022:1). Furthermore, the recent broader social and political development have an impact on organizational practices which have affected the corporate actions that can provoke and encourage negative ethical, social and environmental externalities of the business conduct (Jongwe et al. 2020:1).
This has also raised the importance of the corporate responsibility and sustainability (CRS), which requires firms to have intact responsibility–sustainability model and a voluntary strategic approach to consider different communities perspectives and rights (Jongwe et al. 2020:1). Hence, the Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting has become an important part of the company’s strategic strategy. This is an initiative taken by organizations to demonstrate or communicate that they value and take social responsibility to protect the rights of different stakeholders (Schneider, et al. 2012:20). Where, companies use annual reports, websites, and newsletters to communicate their CSR activities to different stakeholders. For community activities, firms also publish separate sustainability reports to present their social responsibility goals, plans, and statements of corporate intent, etc. (Schneider, et al. 2012:20). Yet, there is still a need for the governmental and business sector to invest in culture-aligned, market-driven programs and to find ways to better understand the critical factors to achieve success with Indigenous businesses, and perspective (Fleming, 2015:3).
The Australian government policy seeks companies to take an initiative that can help to overcome the persistent Indigenous disadvantage in terms of economic context. For which, companies can adopt new employment models to provide cultural diversity and initiate programs (make investments) that can promote social and Indigenous entrepreneurship, which will have shared economic and social goals (Spencer, et al. 2016:1-2). The key barriers the firms face to effectively demonstrate commitment to indigenous communities can be due to internal and external factors, both. Where, the external factors are: government policies, the role of external agencies and NGOs, lack of accessibility to indigenous communities, etc. While, the internal factors will include a lack of human capital, extensive infrastructure gaps, lack of planning and strategic goals to support community programs, etc. (AIFS, 2015). Lack of capital and funding is also a barrier faced by organizations.
