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1 – 8 of 8This chapter examines the explosion in International Humanitarian Law between the US Civil War and World War I. The primary foci are the Hague Conventions on land warfare and the…
Abstract
This chapter examines the explosion in International Humanitarian Law between the US Civil War and World War I. The primary foci are the Hague Conventions on land warfare and the Geneva Conventions for the sick and wounded. This body of treaties is the foundation of IHL and the modern laws of war. Most of central issues in the international laws of war emerge in this period.
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Jeremy B. Williams and Rebecca Keogh
Scholars working in the field of the economics of education have long documented how investment in girls’ education delivers the greatest return in terms of societal wellbeing…
Abstract
Scholars working in the field of the economics of education have long documented how investment in girls’ education delivers the greatest return in terms of societal wellbeing (see, e.g., Dollar & Gatti, 1999; Forbes, 2000; Klasen, 2002). Unfortunately, mainstream economists have quite a narrow interpretation of wellbeing, the rate of growth in gross domestic product (GDP) usually serves as the main barometer. The problem here is that higher rates of economic growth do not necessarily imply improved outcomes in terms of gender equality. Getting girls in school certainly represents progress. There are 129 million girls around the world who are not in school (UNICEF, 2022), and there are numerous obstacles to overcome if this problem is to be seriously addressed. The good news is that far more attention is being devoted to girls’ education and the empowerment of women today than in the past, as countless NGOs and charities have sprung up in recent years that focus on these issues. A key question, however, is whether it is sufficient just to get girls to attend school. Less attention seems to be paid to what they actually do when they get there. Admittedly, some education is better than none at all, but what if girls attended schools where the measure of success was less focussed on exam results, getting a good job, and growing GDP? In this chapter, we present the case for school education that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Green School for Girls (GS4G) – a pilot programme – seeks to implement a curriculum and pedagogy that will produce strong, independently minded, entrepreneurial young women, capable of earning a good living for themselves and their families in a fashion that is in harmony with the interests of the community and the natural environment.
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Resource mobilization has come to dominate contemporary discourse on the making and survival of social enterprises (SEs). Emphasizing the socially constructed nature of…
Abstract
Purpose
Resource mobilization has come to dominate contemporary discourse on the making and survival of social enterprises (SEs). Emphasizing the socially constructed nature of idiosyncratic firm resource environments, this study integrates bricolage and social exchange theory to explore the means at hand and the kinds of practices SEs in China employ to mobilize resources to address persistent social problems.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a qualitative multiple case design, the research contribution is developed in the context of four SEs based in two cities in China selected through a two-stage process. The main data for the inquiry come from 21 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants in 2018 and 2019. The authors supplemented this with secondary data about each SE curated from social media platforms and publicly available documentary sources, including press statements, reports and popular press video interviews.
Findings
The research findings suggest that SEs in China tend to follow a two-step resource mobilization process: fraternize and exchange. Leveraging the means at hand – “social practice know-how” and the practice of “proactiveness,” SEs strategically engage with actors in their environment (fraternize) to understand and explore the possible sources of the resources they require. Nevertheless, fraternization alone is not sufficient; SEs must demonstrate exchange values (social, economic, functional and regulatory) to convince resource owners to either directly release resources (funds, the right of use of empty spaces, technologies, time and efforts) or offer them indirect support (certification, government procurement). The process of fraternizing within the contingencies of organizing, intertwined with social exchange practices, constitutes the success of resource mobilization. The combination and reconfiguration of the expanded repertoire of mobilized resources provide opportunities for the SEs to make do and, in return, help them maintain their status as valued SEs in China.
Originality/value
This study extends the understanding of bricolage through a social exchange lens to unpack the process through which SEs in China mobilize appropriate resources for their businesses. Emphasizing the importance of the social dimension of bricolage in resource mobilization, a two-step model, comprising fraternization exhibited in the form of social practice know-how and proactiveness and social exchange, is presented as an essential mechanism in SEs’ resource mobilization in China.
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Mukta Srivastava, Sreeram Sivaramakrishnan and Neeraj Pandey
The increased digital interactions in the B2B industry have enhanced the importance of customer engagement as a measure of firm performance. This study aims to map and analyze…
Abstract
Purpose
The increased digital interactions in the B2B industry have enhanced the importance of customer engagement as a measure of firm performance. This study aims to map and analyze temporal and spatial journeys for customer engagement in B2B markets from a bibliometric perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The extant literature on customer engagement research in the B2B context was analyzed using bibliometric analysis. The citation analysis, keyword analysis, cluster analysis, three-field plot and bibliographic coupling were used to map the intellectual structure of customer engagement in B2B markets.
Findings
The research on customer engagement in the B2B context was studied more in western countries. The analysis suggests that customer engagement in B2B markets will take centre stage in the coming times as digital channels make it easier to track critical metrics besides other key factors. Issues like digital transformation, the use of artificial intelligence for virtual engagement, personalization, innovation and salesforce management by leveraging technology would be critical for improved B2B customer engagement.
Practical implications
The study provides a comprehensive reference to scholars working in this domain.
Originality/value
The study makes a pioneering effort to comprehensively analyze the vast corpus of literature on customer engagement in B2B markets for business insights.
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Maria Fernandez de Osso Fuentes, Brendan James Keegan, Jenny Rowley and Esther Worboys
This paper aims to investigate place marketing and branding at the micro-place scale through the case study of St Christopher’s Place in London (UK). This study illustrates the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate place marketing and branding at the micro-place scale through the case study of St Christopher’s Place in London (UK). This study illustrates the distinctive differences of micro-place marketing, in comparison to city and country levels.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory case study was conducted through a sequential mixed methods approach involving direct observation, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and social media analysis. Analysis of data was performed by using thematic analysis and triangulation of quantitative measures collected through the questionnaire and social media analysis.
Findings
Analysis of data illustrated noticeable differences of place management at the micro-place level compared to city or country scale of place marketing and branding. The function of emotional marketing leading to value co-creation is more effective at this level, establishing close and personal ties between occupiers and customers. Yet, measurement of micro-place marketing and branding value creation is difficult to achieve.
Originality/value
This study draws attention to the unique value and benefits of place branding at smaller spatial scales. Findings contribute to the place micro-brand concept by adding knowledge of micro-places through place management activities comparing them with city and country scales, and emotional marketing value co-creation practices, including challenges relating to measurement.
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Gilang Puspita Rini and Amie Kusumawardhani
This study aims to identify factors that can improve customer service performance by verifying the relationships between these factors, such as customer orientation, firm-specific…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify factors that can improve customer service performance by verifying the relationships between these factors, such as customer orientation, firm-specific resource integration, transactive memory system and service innovation capability. In other words, this study identifies the determinants of customer service performance from the perspective of the resource advantage theory of competition.
Design/methodology/approach
This research was conducted through an online survey of hotel managers and supervisors in Indonesia, which produced 327 questionnaires that could be processed with a response rate of 70.6%. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses with the help of AMOS 23.
Findings
This study confirms that firm-specific resource integration can improve customer service performance, with the antecedents of the former being customer orientation and a transactive memory system.
Research limitations/implications
This research was conducted with a sample of three-, four- and five-star hotels, which have different conditions. In future research, it would be interesting to compare how such hotels over a larger geographical area behave in improving customer service performance using the investigated variables.
Originality/value
This research provides additional insight into the resource advantage theory of competition, namely, that integrated enterprise-specific resources are good antecedents for innovation and customer service performance.
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