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Collaboration in agricultural value chains (AVCs) has the potential to increase smallholders’ participation in international value chains and increase their benefits from participation. This scoping review explores existing collaboration models among stakeholders of AVCs in developing countries, examines enablers and constraints of collaboration and identifies policy gaps.

We systematically searched three databases, CAB Abstracts, Econlit (EBSCO) and Agricola, for studies published between 2005 and 2023 and included 59 relevant studies on AVC collaboration.

The primary motivations for collaboration are to enhance market access and improve product quality. Key outcomes of collaboration include improvements in farmers’ welfare, market participation and increased production; only a few studies consider improved risk management as an important outcome. Robust support from government and non-governmental entities is a primary enabler of collaboration. Conversely, conflicts of interest among stakeholders and resource limitations constrain collaboration possibilities. Collaboration involving high-value crops prioritizes income increases, whereas collaboration involving staple crops focuses on improving household food security.

This study may have publication bias as unsuccessful instances of collaboration are less likely to be published.

This study is unique in highlighting collaboration models’ characteristics and identifying AVC policy and programmatic areas where private firms, farmers’ groups, local governments and donor agencies can contribute.

This study aims to propose a comprehensive framework for assessing circular economy (CE) performance in the agri-food sector. It identifies those indicators that should be used to measure circularity regarding CE strategies, applies them at a microeconomic level and examines the impact of key business determinants (financial, internalization, knowledge, awareness and digitalization).

A literature review was conducted with a focus on CE strategies and related indicators. The framework obtained is applied on a Spanish agri-food sector survey to provide an empirical CE analysis at firm level. A partial least squares based-structural equation modelling method is applied.

The research suggests a set of circularity indicators to assess CE strategies at micro level. The findings reveal the heterogeneity of CE sub-indicators related to narrowing, slowing, closing and regenerating strategies. It also highlights the strong effects that the drivers tested have on CE, especially awareness and knowledge.

This study provides a framework that can guide public policies and business decisions in sectors with significant environmental impacts. It provides a conceptual framework that explains which CE indicators should be considered by governments and regulators when developing policies that seek to promote circular strategies.

In the case of companies, the results show that acquiring more environmental awareness and knowledge is essential for promoting more sustainable work habits that enhance CE.

The paper offers a novel contribution to the CE literature by introducing a multidimensional indicator framework comprehensively applied to the agri-food sector, integrating miscellaneous pillars of circular strategies and business determinants.

Places are the product of a myriad of influences and complexity. However, underpinning all placemaking activity is the legal and regulatory framework which provides a set of governing principles concerning the use of land that includes planning and development considerations. In the United Kingdom, the laws governing the planning system have changed over time and dispersed into separate and increasingly disparate jurisdictional laws and policies. Although this is a system created by central government it, amongst others, has been clear in criticisms of the planning system, describing it as outdated and ineffective, recognizing the need for simplicity, clarity and faster results. This chapter discusses the role and scope of law and policy in placemaking. In addition, it examines the future of the planning system, exploring, among other things, the emerging priority of beauty in placemaking.

This study aims to analyze the emergence of a new structural configuration of globalization, with the 2008 global financial crisis serving as the first symptom of this change. By introducing the “Evolutionary Structural Triptych” (EST), this research seeks to understand the basic components of the new evolutionary trajectory of global capitalism post-2008. The study places emphasis on its interdependent and coevolving economic, political and technological dynamic facets.

This research introduces the EST framework, critically contrasting it with conventional understandings in international political economy (IPE) to provide a comprehensive and structured analysis of global developments after 2008. It traces the phases of global capitalism since Second World War, examines the central dynamic dimensions during each evolutionary phase, identifies the basic patterns and delves into the foundational elements of the emerging era of globalization.

The analysis reveals three key findings. First, the emerging restructured globalization indicates a need for a new balance in the contemporary world system; however, this balance cannot be achieved within the architecture of the old system. Second, the new era of globalization necessitates a re-equilibrated approach across different dimensions of geopolitical stability, economic development and innovation. This approach should emphasize sustainability, adaptability, resilience and inclusivity and lean toward responsible, open and organic innovation models for a revamped global structure. Third, while many current IPE theories tend to compartmentalize aspects of the new globalization, the EST advocates for a holistic perspective that integrates politics, economics and technology within the framework of global trends. This perspective bridges existing gaps and offers actionable insights for a dynamic and inclusive global future.

The paper presents the EST as a novel analytical instrument in the realm of the modern IPE. This tool uniquely places technology and innovation at the forefront, parallel to economic and political spheres, to comprehend the progression of globalization. In doing so, it highlights the intertwined relationship of these structural dimensions in shaping the future of the subject of the IPE.

Considering a normative conception of democracy based on the values of autonomy and inclusiveness, there are many reasons to argue that a democratic global financial governance (GFG) is necessary. However, from an empirical approach, the democratization of GFG seems to be very hard to implement. Taking that into consideration, we discuss the challenges and the feasibility of a democratic GFG. We argue that both the skeptics' negative response and the positive one based on abstract premises are unsuited. A democratic GFG will only be feasible if its institutional framework has as reference a concept of democracy which is compatible with the complexity of this field, and a flexible design suitable for facing its multilevel democratic deficit. The BRICS, on the one hand, are key actors for GFG reforms. However, on the other hand, we face a very unfavorable political scenario to the thematization of the GFG democratization by the BRICS. The literature on this topic is vast, but there is a lack of comprehensive studies. We seek to fulfill this gap and, in addition to our own theoretical contribution, provide a framework for future specific empirical-normative research.

Organization theory seeks to explain how people coordinate their behaviors to achieve common objectives, but it has offered little insight into how organizations emerge from such coordination. Fully understanding entities requires knowing their origins. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to and to suggest an approach for fortifying a foundational weakness in organization theory: pre-organization theory.

To develop pre-organization theory, this paper employs an evolutionary approach that integrates three theories. This paper first employs memetics to articulate a unit of selection, the i-memeplex, and next introduces inducement-contribution theory to tailor the i-memeplex to pre-organization, yielding a founder’s mental map for exchanges of inducements and contributions. It then applies generalized Darwinism to complete its evolutionary theory of pre-organization.

Memetics, inducement-contribution theory, and generalized Darwinism can be integrated to create a promising theoretical solution, but further investigation is needed to assess the empirical and practical value of pre-organization theory.

This paper contributes to organization theory by (1) explicating a foundational weakness in organization theory – its lack of pre-organization theory – and (2) integrating a novel set of theories to develop an evolutionary theory of pre-organization.

The purpose of this research is to emphasize the importance of cybersecurity in the hospitality industry and to propose a particular cybersecurity framework of best practices and techniques to mitigate vulnerabilities and prevent cyberattacks in hotels.

Exploratory research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with hotel managers. The interview content enables the retrieval of real-case cybersecurity incidents, identifies hotels’ vulnerabilities and suggests a new methodological approach to conduct risk assessment in the hospitality industry to mitigate threats and ensure cybersecurity and data protection.

Research results show that hotels need to prioritize cybersecurity and limit cyber threats. To achieve this, hotels must develop effective risk assessment methods and mechanisms followed by implementing the necessary technical and organizational measures to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities, prevent malicious cyberattacks and ensure information security.

This research highlights a new methodological approach to perform effective risk assessment in the hospitality industry as well as a framework of cybersecurity methods and techniques to implement effective controls and mitigate cybersecurity risks.