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1 – 10 of 10Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen, Linne Marie Lauesen and Arno Kourula
The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent the conventional stakeholder model mirrors managerial perceptions of the stakeholder environment in the Swedish fashion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent the conventional stakeholder model mirrors managerial perceptions of the stakeholder environment in the Swedish fashion industry. The authors aim to adopt a novel approach to stakeholder measurement, as the traditional stakeholder model is constrained by its static two-dimensional nature, which captures neither the nuances of the stakeholder literature nor the dynamics of the firm’s stakeholder universe.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirically, the paper is based on findings from a survey among 492 Swedish fashion manufacturers and retailers.
Findings
The paper reports significant discrepancy between the conventional stakeholder model and the perceptions of real-life managers of the stakeholder environment. On the surface, their understanding is more in line with the managerial model of the firm from which the stakeholder literature originally departs. It is argued, however, that the discrepancy may be rooted in technology rather than theory as the stakeholder model is constrained by its static two-dimensional nature, which captures neither the nuances of the stakeholder literature nor the dynamics of the firm’s stakeholder universe. The paper, therefore, introduces an animated alternative to the conventional stakeholder model that provides a richer graphical representation of a firm’s stakeholder universe.
Research limitations/implications
The paper refers to the open-ended questions in the survey in terms of descriptive statistics, and not the entire quantitative measures in the survey. This is because these questions are crucial to the authors’ approach to the suggested new stakeholder model, which is not tested quantitatively, but should be perceived as explorative – as a qualitative outcome of the survey. The survey is conducted through the web in the Swedish fashion industry only; thus; the authors’ suggested model needs further quantitative qualification, which the authors plead for in future research.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper is its novel approach to stakeholder measurement based on the perceptions of real-life managers of the stakeholder environment of the Swedish fashion industry. The traditional stakeholder model is constrained by its static two-dimensional nature, which the paper’s animated three-dimensional alternative provides a richer graphical representation of a firm’s stakeholder universe.
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Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen, Rebecca Earley and Kirsti Reitan Andersen
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how organisational complexities influence the design of circular business models, which have recently been introduced as a new panacea for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how organisational complexities influence the design of circular business models, which have recently been introduced as a new panacea for aligning the interests of business with the needs of the environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The Service Shirt, a new garment concept, is used as an illustrative case example for demonstrating some of the organisational complexities of making circular business models operable. The shirt was developed through a series of design workshops for the fashion brand Fashion Alpha.
Findings
The analysis highlights multiple challenges emerging when a fashion product with a significantly extended lifecycle passes through different users, organisations and business models. It is concluded that it is difficult to talk about a circular business model (singular) as circular economy solutions depend on the contributions of multiple stakeholders with business models.
Practical implications
The findings illustrate how fashion companies interested in the circular economy fundamentally have to rethink conventional approaches to value, organisational boundaries and temporality.
Originality/value
Drawing on a case example from the fashion industry, the paper demonstrates the organisational complexities linked to the design of new business models based on circular economy thinking, as these require the coordination of actions between autonomous actors driven by different logics regarding value creation, value delivery and value capture.
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Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen, Kirsti Reitan Andersen and Ana Lucia Diaz Schiavon
This study aims to show how a massive open online course (MOOC) can be used as an educational tool to diffuse specialised corporate sustainability research globally to a broad…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to show how a massive open online course (MOOC) can be used as an educational tool to diffuse specialised corporate sustainability research globally to a broad range of learners.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on insights from the design and implementation of a sustainable fashion MOOC. The MOOC was launched in late 2019 on a global learning platform and has recently passed 40,000 enrolments (February 2022). The presentation of the MOOC draws on quantitative and qualitative data available to instructors on the global learning platform.
Findings
Based on the data about the learners and their use of the MOOC, this study demonstrates how MOOC can be a powerful tool to diffuse sustainability research to new groups of learners, who differ significantly from the typical students at business schools and universities in the West. Moreover, the findings also demonstrate how the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the MOOC’s popularity.
Originality/value
This study provides new empirical evidence on how sustainability research can be translated into online education material of relevance for a broad range of learners from around the world. Moreover, the study also points to the number of practical and structural challenges linked to the future mainstreaming of MOOCs and other types of online education material.
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Kerli Kant Hvass and Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen
The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and solutions emerging when fashion brands develop and test circular economy solutions within their existing business models.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and solutions emerging when fashion brands develop and test circular economy solutions within their existing business models.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a 34-month case study in a global fashion brand, which launched a new in-store product take-back initiative.
Findings
The results indicate that fashion brands need to cope with multiple challenges in the process of developing circular business models in the organization, including: diverging perspectives of value and unclear success criteria, poor alignment with existing strategy, limited internal skills and competences, and limited consumer interest.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this paper are grounded in a single case study and thus limitations associated with broad generalizations apply. In addition, the paper only investigated one aspect of circularity, namely, product take-back and did not investigate design for circularity, product reuse, recycle and other circularity related issues.
Originality/value
The findings derive from practical experiences of a fashion brand implementing an in-store product take-back system in the existing business model. The study reveals new insights into the actual process of making circular fashion operable.
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Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen and Mahad Huniche
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how negotiations between the constituencies affect the processes and outcomes of lean projects in Danish public sector organisations.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how negotiations between the constituencies affect the processes and outcomes of lean projects in Danish public sector organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a qualitative analysis of interviews with managers and employees who have participated in lean projects in the Danish public sector. Negotiated order theory serves as the overarching theoretical framework for the analysis.
Findings
The paper concludes that the processes and outcomes of lean depend not only on the technology itself, but also the negotiation context in which the planning and implementation of lean projects take place. Lean implementation is not a neutral and value‐free activity; it is fluid and open for multiple interpretations, interests, and logics.
Research limitations/implications
The project is based on qualitative data from lean projects in the Danish public sector. It cannot be concluded that the findings can be generalised to reflect all types of lean projects across organisational and geographical settings.
Originality/value
The paper adds value to the relatively scarce literature on lean management in the public sector by exploring how negotiative processes influence the planning, implementation, and maintenance/development of lean projects.
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Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen and Mahad Huniche
The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of lean implementation in Danish public sector organisations. It is proposed to structure the paper around a theoretical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of lean implementation in Danish public sector organisations. It is proposed to structure the paper around a theoretical model based on a negotiated order perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on interviews with 29 managers and employees from Danish public sector organisations who have been involved in the planning and implementation of lean projects over the past few years.
Findings
The paper identifies a number of factors within the structural context and the negotiation context which are deemed important for the fate of lean projects in the public sector.
Originality/value
The qualitative study brings new insights into the debate on the barriers and success factors in the lean transformation process in the public sector.
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Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen and Kirsti Reitan Andersen
– The purpose of this paper is to explore current barriers and opportunities for sustainability in the fashion industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore current barriers and opportunities for sustainability in the fashion industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a study among 36 fashion experts from academia, industry, and non-governmental organizations, who took part in an online study on sustainable fashion.
Findings
The results from the study indicates that the fashion industry faces immense social and environmental challenges and that the scale and scope of current approaches to sustainability are limited and fail to address more fundamental challenges linked to the dominant business models and consumption behaviors.
Research limitations/implications
As the study is based on the knowledge, values, attitudes, and cultural stances of the participating experts it cannot claim to provide a picture of the “real world.” Nonetheless it contributes with a nuanced understanding of current challenges and opportunities within the industry, as experienced by key stakeholders in the field.
Originality/value
The expert study approach moves beyond “good practice” case studies and allow a broader discussion of micro- and macro challenges for sustainability within the fashion industry. The learnings gained through such an approach could inspire future system level research as well as business model innovation in the industry.
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Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen, Morten Hove Henriksen, Claus Frier, Jeanette Søby and Vernon Jennings
– The objective of the paper is to describe and discuss how the biotech company Novozymes integrates stakeholder thinking into everyday sustainability practices.
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of the paper is to describe and discuss how the biotech company Novozymes integrates stakeholder thinking into everyday sustainability practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on first-hand experiences as well as secondary information from Novozymes' stakeholder-oriented sustainability activities.
Findings
The paper illustrates how a company is striving to transform the general stakeholder principles into concrete, manageable actions. Moreover, the paper describes some of the needs, challenges, and paradoxes experienced by an organisation that is trying to make sense of stakeholder thinking.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of how various stakeholder relations management methods can be used in practice to integrate sustainability in an organisation.
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Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen and Frantisek Sudzina
The purpose of this paper is to outline the anatomy of firms which adopt comprehensive performance measurement (PM) systems in order to gain an understanding of how internal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline the anatomy of firms which adopt comprehensive performance measurement (PM) systems in order to gain an understanding of how internal (organisational capabilities) and external (perceived environmental uncertainties) factors shape performance measurement practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper hypothesises that firms dominated by organic capabilities and operating in unpredictable markets are more likely to adopt comprehensive PM systems. The statistical test of these hypotheses is based on a 2008 survey of 299 Danish firms.
Findings
This paper concludes that a limited number of internal and external factors have a significant influence on the adoption of PM systems. There is no consistent pattern, however, between the different sub‐categories of organisational capabilities/perceived environmental uncertainties and PM adoption.
Originality/value
Much has been said about how changes in the environment and business structure require firms to develop new ways to measure performance. Less has been done to study whether firms adopting comprehensive PM systems actually match the characteristics of the “new economy”. The findings from this study indicate that the relationship between PM adoption and the organisational characteristics/external environment is more complicated than anticipated.
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Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen and Sarah Netter
– The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers and opportunities for business models based on the ideas of collaborative consumption within the fashion industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers and opportunities for business models based on the ideas of collaborative consumption within the fashion industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on a multiple-case study of Scandinavian fashion libraries – a new, clothes-sharing concept that has emerged as a fashion niche within the last decade.
Findings
It is concluded that fashion libraries offers interesting perspectives, e.g. by allowing people to experiment with styles without having to pay the full cost and becoming a meeting place for young designers and end consumers. However, at present fashion libraries remain a small-scale phenomenon with difficulties reaching the mainstream market, not least due to limited financial and human resources as well as conventional fashion consumption patterns.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to the new phenomenon of fashion libraries and does not cover other types of collaborative consumption within the fashion industry (Swap-parties, etc.).
Originality/value
The paper is one of the first attempts to examine new business models of collaborative consumption in general and the fashion library concept in particular. The study contributes to the discussions of whether and how fashion sharing and collaboration holds promise as a viable business model and as a means to promote sustainability.
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