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Corporate Governance and Sustainability Development Goals: Boeing Case Study

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Cutting-Edge Business Technologies in the Big Data Era (SICB 2023)

Part of the book series: Studies in Big Data ((SBD,volume 136))

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the Boeing controversy that emerged after the 2018 and 2019 crashes of two 737-MAX jetliners. It is specified that both tragedies were driven by changes made to a vital flight management system that Boeing had not informed regulators, authorities, and major airlines about. As a result, 346 individuals were killed, and Boeing attempted to blame the crew members instead of accepting responsibility for the tragedies. Boeing’s governance philosophy prioritized profit maximization for shareholder advantage and market competitiveness, leading to an agency conflict between shareholders and Board members that resulted in values violations and stakeholder neglect. This paper presents a thorough analysis that makes it clear that Boeing’s culture shifted after its acquisition of McDonnell Douglas, incentivizing stock price over quality and safety. Such a culture shift created a toxic corporate climate where whistleblowers were ignored and engineers were intimidated if they overlooked cost and time objectives. Concerning sustainability, the study revealed that Boeing violated several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including goals 3, 8, and 17, and neglected the notion of a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) by focusing solely on the economic component and disregarding stakeholders’ concerns. The study proposes ways to help Boeing recover from the scandal, including attaining a healthy balance between shareholders’ values and stakeholders’ concerns, enhancing stakeholder engagement by strengthening transparency, honesty, and psychological safety in Boeing’s corporate culture, and making progress towards SDGs by complying with human rights and social justice guidelines, emphasizing all four principles of TPL, and engaging more meaningfully with key stakeholders in their value chain.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Administrative Sciences, Applied Science University (ASU), Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain

    Marwan M. Abdeldayem, Saeed Hameed Aldulaimi & Abdulhameed Baqi

  2. College of Computer Information Technology, American University in the Emirates (AUE), 503000, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Ibrahim A. Abu-AlSondos

Authors
  1. Marwan M. Abdeldayem
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  2. Saeed Hameed Aldulaimi
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  3. Ibrahim A. Abu-AlSondos
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  4. Abdulhameed Baqi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marwan M. Abdeldayem .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Business, Information Systems and Business Analytics, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Saad G. Yaseen

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Abdeldayem, M.M., Aldulaimi, S.H., Abu-AlSondos, I.A., Baqi, A. (2023). Corporate Governance and Sustainability Development Goals: Boeing Case Study. In: Yaseen, S.G. (eds) Cutting-Edge Business Technologies in the Big Data Era. SICB 2023. Studies in Big Data, vol 136. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42455-7_30

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