Susanne Padel, Nicolas H. Lampkin, Stephan Dabbert and Carolyn Foster
Organic farming is recognised in the European Union as one possible model to improve the sustainability of agriculture. During the 1990s the sector grew rapidly (to 3% of…
Abstract
Organic farming is recognised in the European Union as one possible model to improve the sustainability of agriculture. During the 1990s the sector grew rapidly (to 3% of agricultural area in 2000), caused in part by policy support measures in member states and the EU. The paper summarises the development of the organic sector, discusses reasons for policy support, and reviews the main policy measures at EU and country level in three areas: legislation defining organic production, direct payments and other measures. It concludes that in future the integration of policy measures within countries and at EU level should be improved, in particular through the development of national and European action plans for organic farming.
Susanne Padel and Carolyn Foster
The purpose of the paper is to explore the values that underlie consumers purchasing decisions of organic food.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to explore the values that underlie consumers purchasing decisions of organic food.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on data from focus groups and laddering interviews with a total of 181 regular and occasional consumers of organic food that were contrasted with survey results of other studies.
Findings
The results show that most consumers associate organic at first with vegetables and fruit and a healthy diet with organic products. Fruit and vegetables are also the first and in many cases only experience with buying organic product. The decision‐making process is complex and the importance of motives and barriers may vary between product categories.
Research limitations/implications
While further research would be required to facilitate full understanding of the consumer‐decision making process with regard to organic produce, this work indicates the complexity of the process and the likelihood of variation between different product categories. Future research should consider tradeoffs that consumers make between values and product as well as consumer segmentation.
Originality/value
Prior research concerning the consumer decision‐making process with regard to organically produced food is limited. Theses findings have implications for future sector‐based communications to consumers and, potentially, for product development and labelling.
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Uwe Latacz‐Lohmann and Carolyn Foster
Considers the present situation and future challenges of marketing organic food, drawing on experiences in Germany and the UK. Argues that the existing marketing structure in the…
Abstract
Considers the present situation and future challenges of marketing organic food, drawing on experiences in Germany and the UK. Argues that the existing marketing structure in the UK, dominated by the supermarkets, is not effectively meeting demand because of structural incompatibilities between organic farming and supermarketing. In Germany, increasing supply is not reaching the consumer because the prevailing niche marketing structure is unable to deal with large quantities, a situation to which production‐oriented rather than market‐oriented organic aid schemes have contributed. In both countries, the main challenge lies in broadening the appeal of organic food and establishing a broad consumer base without compromising its identity. In the UK, there is potential for the expansion of small‐scale, decentralized marketing outlets, while in Germany greater involvement by supermarkets appears to be appropriate.
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Lauren Gurrieri and Jenna Drenten
The purpose of this study is to explore how vulnerable healthcare consumers foster social support through visual storytelling in social media in navigating healthcare consumption…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore how vulnerable healthcare consumers foster social support through visual storytelling in social media in navigating healthcare consumption experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a dual qualitative approach of visual and textual analysis of 180 Instagram posts from female breast cancer patients and survivors who use the platform to narrate their healthcare consumption experiences.
Findings
This study demonstrates how visual storytelling on social media normalises hidden aspects of healthcare consumption experiences through healthcare disclosures (procedural, corporeal, recovery), normalising practices (providing learning resources, cohering the illness experience, problematising mainstream recovery narratives) and enabling digital affordances, which in turn facilitates social support among vulnerable healthcare consumers.
Practical implications
This study highlights the potential for visual storytelling on social media to address shortcomings in the healthcare service system and contribute to societal well-being through co-creative efforts that offer real-time and customised support for vulnerable healthcare consumers.
Social implications
This research highlights that visual storytelling on image-based social media offers transformative possibilities for vulnerable healthcare consumers seeking social support in negotiating the challenges of their healthcare consumption experiences.
Originality/value
This study presents a framework of visual storytelling for vulnerable healthcare consumers on image-based social media. Our paper offers three key contributions: that visual storytelling fosters informational and companionship social support for vulnerable healthcare consumers; recognising this occurs through normalising hidden healthcare consumption experiences; and identifying healthcare disclosures, normalising practices and enabling digital affordances as fundamental to this process.
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Silvia Ines Monserrat and Claire A. Simmers
The purpose of this paper is to examine the legacies of Carolyn R. Dexter through the lens of a broader perspective on faculty work productivity and impact.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the legacies of Carolyn R. Dexter through the lens of a broader perspective on faculty work productivity and impact.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used critical biography, a qualitative methodology, to explore and explain the development and contributions of Carolyn R. Dexter.
Findings
Carolyn R. Dexter was both a product and an anomaly of her times. By contemporary academic standards Dexter’s publication productivity was limited, yet her influence was strong on many individuals and organizations. She promoted internationalization of professional organizations and supported gender equality.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of authors’ interpretation is recognized.
Practical implications
Dexter’s career is an example of faculty work productivity and impact which is broader than publication productivity. This work illustrates the appropriateness of qualitative research, specifically, critical biography, in placing important management figures in context.
Originality/value
Studies focusing on women leadership at The Academy of Management, the preeminent professional association for management and organization scholars, are limited. Carolyn R. Dexter’s leadership provides a roadmap illustrating practical contributions of faculty productivity and impact beyond publications. Throughout her academic life Carolyn Dexter made her faculty work “meaningful” to the organizations in which she worked and to the people she encountered.
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Traditionally, facilities professionals are responsible for maintaining business operations after a disaster by safeguarding people and the physical infrastructure. While most…
Abstract
Traditionally, facilities professionals are responsible for maintaining business operations after a disaster by safeguarding people and the physical infrastructure. While most organisations equate disaster preparedness to business continuity, the aftermath of 9/11 brought forth some startling realisations about business survival and business crisis. Boeing, a global company that was affected in a number of unexpected ways, embarked on an approach that separated, yet integrated the Disaster Preparedness Community with the Business Community. The result was a Business Continuity Model that fostered further development of robust Business Continuity Plans to serve employees, customers, stakeholders and community. Facilities professionals, equipped with an understanding of today’s business crisis and the Business Continuity Model, can serve as a partner to their Business Continuity Representative to educate, develop and execute a Business Continuity Plan that ensures business continuance through any unforeseen event.
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Giuseppe Grossi, Ileana Steccolini, Pawan Adhikari, Judy Brown, Mark Christensen, Carolyn Cordery, Laurence Ferry, Philippe Lassou, Bruce McDonald III, Ringa Raudla, Mariafrancesca Sicilia and Eija Vinnari
The purpose of this polyphonic paper is to report on interdisciplinary discussions on the state-of-the-art and future of public sector accounting research (PSAR). The authors hope…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this polyphonic paper is to report on interdisciplinary discussions on the state-of-the-art and future of public sector accounting research (PSAR). The authors hope to enliven the debates of the past and future developments in terms of context, themes, theories, methods and impacts in the field of PSAR by the exchanges they include here.
Design/methodology/approach
This polyphonic paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach. It brings into conversation ideas, views and approaches of several scholars on the actual and future developments of PSAR in various contexts, and explores potential implications.
Findings
This paper has brought together scholars from a plurality of disciplines, research methods and geographical areas, showing at the same time several points of convergence on important future themes (such as accounting as a mean for public, accounting, hybridity and value pluralism) and enabling conditions (accounting capabilities, profession and digitalisation) for PSA scholarship and practice, and the richness of looking at them from a plurality of perspectives.
Research limitations/implications
Exploring these past and future developments opens up the potential for interesting theoretical insights. A much greater theoretical and practical reconsideration of PSAR will be fostered by the exchanges included here.
Originality/value
In setting out a future research agenda, this paper fosters theoretical and methodological pluralism in the interdisciplinary research community interested in PSAR in various contexts. The discussion perspectives presented in this paper constitute not only a basis for further research in this relevant accounting area on the role, status and developments of PSAR but also creative potential for practitioners to be more reflective on their practices and also intended and united outcomes of such practices.
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Carolyn Maniukiewicz, Sarah Williams and William Keogh
The delivery of assistance to SMEs, provided by enterprise councils at the local level, can vary between those bodies which are innovative and those which are pedestrian in their…
Abstract
The delivery of assistance to SMEs, provided by enterprise councils at the local level, can vary between those bodies which are innovative and those which are pedestrian in their approach. Although it is generally accepted that most small firms in the UK sell to local markets, SMEs based within the Aberdeen area of Scotland play an important role in exporting and employment. The potential for birth and growth of firms exists in a number of targeted key sectors which aid the economic development of the Aberdeen area. However, assistance is required to bring people together in order to encourage networking, and this paper seeks to explore the process of facilitating an enterprise culture by examining the collaboration and partnership roles played by a LEC and a university in initiatives which foster enterprise. The relationship of the researchers and practitioners is similar to the model outlined by Oakey and Mukhtar where research and practice are used to inform each other, over time, to identify policy needs. The initiatives examined in this paper are the Entrepreneurs’ Club where established entrepreneurs mix with others at the new venture stage, and the Chrysalis Elite programme which links graduates with existing owner managers, creating a work‐based project involving groups of students. These links extend to the wider business community and organisations, including local entrepreneurs (who provide prizes and guidance), 3i and the Local Investors Network Company (LINC), who offer advice and opportunities. The main outcomes for policy in this paper are that collaboration between a LEC and a university can be very effective in assisting individuals or groups to meet the challenge of building entrepreneurial networks and that effective support can be provided for students to gain experience from the business community.