The purpose of this paper is to provide a view on key social enterprise research priorities from the perspective of the UK's national body for social enterprise.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a view on key social enterprise research priorities from the perspective of the UK's national body for social enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
The suggestions are informed by the coalition's ongoing policy work, especially preparation for a Ministerial Summit on social enterprise held on the 12 March 2009. Preparation involved building on extant policy positions and desk research, and extensive consultation with coalition members and the wider social enterprise movement, including regional consultation events, an online forum, semi‐structured interviews and workshops and discussion at the summit itself.
Findings
A number of areas of particular interest for future research are identified in the context of a highly dynamic policy, political and economic climate for social enterprises.
Research limitations/implications
The recommendations are based on limited time for original research and are the opinion of an organisation that exists to promote social enterprise.
Originality/value
It is hoped that future research in the areas identified will inform the policy agenda, raising the profile of social enterprise research, increasing its impact and ultimately leading to better support for and understanding of social enterprises.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the development and impact of the Social Enterprise Journal (SEJ) from its inception in 2005 until present day.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the development and impact of the Social Enterprise Journal (SEJ) from its inception in 2005 until present day.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses the thematic content of SEJ and its impact data from 2005 until 2017.
Findings
SEJ has broken new ground in the study of social enterprise (SE). It was the first journal back in 2005 to commence the exploration of this field and since has been the first to publish works on defining SE, their performance management, critical perspectives plus international differences. The paper shows that in the early years, SEJ was dominated by conceptual work aiming to understand SE plus their governance and performance management, which was mainly based on UK descriptive case studies and uncritical. By 2010, SEJ became established internationally with various issues being 100 per cent dominated by international aspects of SE. Recent more critical work has also enabled a process of “myth busting” in the SE field. This paper also shows the growth of SEJ in downloads and citations.
Practical implications
The paper demonstrates the important role SEJ has played in both improving practice and informing policy.
Originality/value
The paper is the first to review the development and impact of SEJ.
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Andrea J. Cullen and Margaret Taylor
The purpose of this paper is to determine those factors perceived by users to influence the successful on‐going use of e‐commerce systems in business‐to‐business (B2B) buying and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine those factors perceived by users to influence the successful on‐going use of e‐commerce systems in business‐to‐business (B2B) buying and selling transactions through examination of the views of individuals acting in both purchasing and selling roles within the UK National Health Service (NHS) pharmaceutical supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature from the fields of operations and supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) is used to determine candidate factors that might influence the success of the use of e‐commerce. A questionnaire based on these is used for primary data collection in the UK NHS pharmaceutical supply chain. Factor analysis is used to analyse the data.
Findings
The paper yields five composite factors that are perceived by users to influence successful e‐commerce use. “System quality,” “information quality,” “management and use,” “world wide web – assurance and empathy,” and “trust” are proposed as potential critical success factors. Of these, all respondents ranked information quality, system quality, and trust as being of most importance, but differences in the rankings between purchasing and selling respondents are evident.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical study is limited to a single supply network, and although the findings seem intuitively to be of relevance to other sectors and supply contexts, there remains an opportunity to test this through further research. There is also an opportunity to extend the survey research, particularly into the wholesaler organisations that operate in the sector of study.
Practical implications
The managerial implications that result from this research provide practical guidance to organisations in this sector on how to ensure that e‐commerce systems for B2B buying and selling are used successfully.
Originality/value
This paper furthers knowledge and understanding in the fields of operations management, IS, and SCM, by suggesting potential determinants of successful e‐commerce use in both buying and selling organisations within supply networks.
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The study applies a multimodal approach to position aesthetic innovation, i.e., the strategic use of aesthetic design attributes, such as color and shape, as an institutionalized…
Abstract
The study applies a multimodal approach to position aesthetic innovation, i.e., the strategic use of aesthetic design attributes, such as color and shape, as an institutionalized aspect of competition, rather than as a firm-specific differentiation strategy, in settings that favor the symbolic meanings of products. Empirically, the study offers a detailed case study of the personal computer (PC) industry to examine the institutionalization of aesthetic innovation as a dimension of competition across industrial firms. The study examines the color and shape of PCs over the 1992–2003 period and situates changes to these attributes in the competitive conditions that characterized the industry, paying particular attention to the introduction of the Apple iMac in 1998. Furthermore, it examines the discursive manifestations of aesthetic innovation by content analysis of reviews of PCs and interviews with industry executives. Findings demonstrate that, in a period coinciding with a decline in demand for PCs and an overall mature market as well as with the introduction of the iMac, the majority of firms engaged in aesthetic innovation and used a greater number of aesthetic words in describing their PCs.
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The chapter examines and challenges the assumed necessity of a linkage between remembered series of exchanges, amicable social relations, and prestige found in the work of Marcel…
Abstract
Purpose
The chapter examines and challenges the assumed necessity of a linkage between remembered series of exchanges, amicable social relations, and prestige found in the work of Marcel Mauss and many subsequent theorists of reciprocity and gift exchange.
Methodology
The chapter uses the nearly 500 year history of the giving and taking of the Koh-i-noor Diamond by rulers of South and Central Asia, commencing with Babur, the first Mughal emperor, and ending with Queen Victoria, which includes some gift giving and much taking by force, to explore what happens when only two of the three elements Mauss assumed central to understanding gift exchange are present.
Findings
Based on a review of the historical material, the chapter demonstrates that though historical narratives or memories of exchanges were central to enhancing the prestige of the parties to the exchange and the diamond itself, that process could and did occur in the absence of any on-going amicable social relations, including in situations in which exchange or transfer of the diamond were coerced and nothing was given in return to the dispossessed former owner of the gem.
Originality/value
By suggesting an alternative configuration of the factors necessary for the association of exchange and prestige, the chapter provides the opportunity to reconsider assumptions common in the literature on gift exchange and further enhance our understanding of this central element of social theory.
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Maria Isabel Roque and Maria João Forte
Iranian history, with roots in the oldest civilizations in western Asia, has provided significant heritage, both tangible and intangible, allowing the country to be considered as…
Abstract
Iranian history, with roots in the oldest civilizations in western Asia, has provided significant heritage, both tangible and intangible, allowing the country to be considered as a major cultural tourism destination for both nationals and foreigners. The focus on Iranian history and heritage aims to confirm the country’s potential for attracting international tourists, while a negative image prevails abroad of a radical theocratic regime with a hostile internal political environment, alongside the instable geopolitical situation of the region. However, the changing political situation, now more secure and safe, allows an attempt to remove these prejudices, which may be achieved through the promotion of heritage and cultural tourism.
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Syed Ale Raza Shah, Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente, Magdalena Radulescu, Qianxiao Zhang and Bilal Hussain
This paper aims to emphasize economic complexity, tourism, information and communication technology (ICT), renewable energy consumption and foreign direct investment (FDI) as the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to emphasize economic complexity, tourism, information and communication technology (ICT), renewable energy consumption and foreign direct investment (FDI) as the determinants of carbon emissions.
Design/methodology/approach
These economies rely on the tourism sector, and Asian countries rank among the top tourism economies worldwide in terms of tourism receipts. This study uses a series of empirical estimators, i.e. cross-sectional augmented auto-regression distributive lag and panel cointegration, to validate the main hypotheses.
Findings
The econometric results confirm an inverted U-shaped association between economic complexity and carbon emissions, validating the economic complexity index induced environment Kuznets curve hypothesis for the selected Asian economies.
Research limitations/implications
Finally, the empirical results admit articulating some imperative policy suggestions to attain a sustainable environment on behalf of outcomes.
Practical implications
Furthermore, ICT and renewable energy consumption are environment-friendly indicators, while FDI and the international tourism industry increase environmental pressure in selected countries. In addition, this study also explores the interaction between renewable energy and ICT with FDI and their effects on carbon emissions. Interestingly, both interaction terms positively respond to the environmental correction process.
Originality/value
Because ICT with FDI may not reduce environmental pollution unless the energy used in FDI projects is greener. Moreover, in Asian economies, industrial and other sectors could increase environmental quality via the role of ICT in FDI.
研究设计/方法/途径
这些经济体依赖旅游业, 就旅游收入而言, 亚洲国家在全球旅游经济体中名列前茅。本研究使用一系列经验估计量, 即 CS-ARDL 和面板协整来验证我们的主要假设。
研究目的
本文强调经济复杂性、旅游、信息和通信技术 (ICT)、可再生能源消费和外国直接投资 (FDI) 作为碳排放的决定因素
研究发现
计量经济学结果证实了经济复杂性与碳排放之间的倒 U 型关联, 验证了 ECI 对选定亚洲经济体的环境库兹涅茨曲线 (EKC) 假设。
研究限制/影响
最后, 实证结果承认阐明了一些必要的政策建议, 以代表结果实现可持续环境。
实践意义
此外, 信息通信技术和可再生能源消耗是环境友好型指标, 而外国直接投资和国际旅游业增加了选定国家的环境压力。此外, 本研究还探讨了可再生能源和 ICT 与外国直接投资之间的相互作用及其对碳排放的影响。有趣的是, 这两个交互项都对环境校正过程做出了积极响应。
研究原创性/价值
ICT 与 FDI 可能不会减少环境污染, 除非 FDI 项目中的能源使用更环保。此外, 在亚洲经济体中, 工业和其他部门可以通过 ICT 在 FDI 中的作用提高环境质量。
关键词
环境库兹涅茨曲线; 外商直接投资;信息和通信技术; 可再生能源;旅游;亚洲主要旅游经济体
文章类型: 研究型论文
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As recent events in the Middle East and North Africa suggest, nonviolent revolutionary movements may represent an oppressed population's most promising path to ridding itself of…
Abstract
As recent events in the Middle East and North Africa suggest, nonviolent revolutionary movements may represent an oppressed population's most promising path to ridding itself of an authoritarian regime. But as the diverging experiences of Tunisia and Egypt on the one hand, and Libya, Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen on the other suggest, nonviolent victory is never a foregone conclusion. This chapter seeks to contribute to our understanding of nonviolent revolutionary success through an analysis of one of the world's first nonviolent revolutions, that of Iran in 1977–1979. Based on historical evidence, I argue that friendly international relations between the United States and Iran is a key factor in explaining both the revolutionaries’ preference for nonviolent tactics and the government's inability to repress the movement. Jimmy Carter's human rights framework served as an important incentive for revolutionaries to remain nonviolent while ensuring that state repression of unarmed protesters would come at a political price high enough to discourage the government from resorting to overwhelming violence.