The international #metoo campaigns are influenced by local social norms, institutional responses to gender-based sexual violence, and neo-patriarchy. Therefore, some…
Abstract
The international #metoo campaigns are influenced by local social norms, institutional responses to gender-based sexual violence, and neo-patriarchy. Therefore, some characteristics are highly locally specific. The chapter describes the local characteristics of the #jaztudi campaign in Slovenia by analysing women's testimonies, and media and social reactions. The #jaztudi started in 2018 initiated by four women public intellectuals one of whom is the author of this chapter. The chapter takes as its starting point an overview of gender-based inequalities that women in post-socialist Slovenia are facing. Women's testimonies reveal that sexual violence happens at home, in educational, healthcare, religious, public and private institutions as well as at work and in leisure time, and has great impact on the women's lives. In a short period of time, by compiling and publishing the testimonies, the #jaztudi campaign created a snowball effect and contributed to the launching of new on-line and media-supported discussions about sexual violence, notably by Catholic priests, and the painful and demeaning treatment that women encounter in different health institutions. The campaign facilitated the emergence of alliances among new cases of sexual violence in a relatively short period of time, and contributed to some degree to awareness raising. The campaign encouraged the emergence of a new sensitivity much needed in order to reach new political agreements. Taking into account that sexual violence is historically a patriarchal strategy used to control women, it is urgent to implement the ‘yes means yes’ model of consent of the Istanbul convention in Slovenia, and to create the political and social conditions in which sexual harassment and violence against women are unacceptable.
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Raji Ajwani-Ramchandani and Sonali Bhattacharya
COVID-19 not only has impacted adversely the health infrastructure, taking away lives of millions of people but it has also crippled the economy. The worst effected were food…
Abstract
Purpose
COVID-19 not only has impacted adversely the health infrastructure, taking away lives of millions of people but it has also crippled the economy. The worst effected were food supply chain due to restrictions imposed on operations of shops and retail outlets. The consumers were suffering due to lack of supply. Similarly, agriculture produce were getting wasted due to lack of cold storage.
Methodology
In this case we have proposed how a mobile-based application solution during COVID lockdown can successfully transform the livelihood of rural farmers in the state of Maharashtra (India), a state worst affected by the pandemic.
Result
The technology-integrated supply chain model jointly developed by financial institutions, self-help groups (SHGs) and NGOs has enabled direct selling of fresh produces by rural women farmers to urban large residential societies at their doorsteps. It has provided a solution of municipality waste management by converting the waste to compost, getting them collected and used in the farmlands.
Implications
It will help the urban consumers to have the continuous supply of fresh vegetables and fruits available at their doorsteps, and keep a track of transport of foods from farm to fork. The farmers will be able to get better price for their produce. The model will also contribute towards circular economy (CE) through citizen partnership.
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José Antonio Romero Tellaeche and Rodrigo Aliphat
This study estimated total import demand elasticities concerning income, import prices and domestic prices. A high propensity to import constitutes a significant obstacle to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study estimated total import demand elasticities concerning income, import prices and domestic prices. A high propensity to import constitutes a significant obstacle to economic growth in Mexico since the benefits of increased exports or any other aggregate demand expansion leak to the rest of the world.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper estimated a Vector Error Correction Model of the total import demand elasticities concerning income, import prices and domestic prices. Total imports are a dependent variable, while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and import and domestic prices are the independent variables.
Findings
The principal finding is that an increase of 1 peso in the Mexican GDP leads to a rise of 0.50 pesos in Mexican imports; the elasticity of import demand for prices is low. Still, the elasticity of import demand for domestic prices is 2.14 times greater than that for import prices. These results have significant economic policy implications, such as promoting the expansion of the domestic market and the national content of exports.
Research limitations/implications
It is tempting to estimate the import demand function for the entire 1993–2019 period since such data is available. But by doing so, the authors would overestimate the propensity to import, given that from 1993 to 2019, the proportion of imports as a percentage of GDP went from 11.37 in 1993 to 29.66 in 2019. Therefore, it makes more sense to estimate the import demand function from 2000 to 2019, a period with a stable proportion of imports to GDP.
Originality/value
A high level of imports in developing countries means that much of their aggregate demand is filtered abroad. Therefore, the low impact of its exports on GDP is related to the Mexican economy’s high imports. The authors calculate this relationship with new data and methods.
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Edit Lippai-Makra, Zsuzsanna Ilona Kovács and Gábor Dávid Kiss
This paper aims to investigate the non-financial reporting (NFR) practices of Hungarian listed public interest entities for 2016–2018 in terms of the required disclosure content…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the non-financial reporting (NFR) practices of Hungarian listed public interest entities for 2016–2018 in terms of the required disclosure content based on the 2014/95/EU Directive (ED).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply content analysis methodology on Hungarian firms subject to mandatory reporting under the ED. The target variable in the multivariate model is the reporting quality (Qi) measured by a combined index.
Findings
The authors find that the ED had a moderate impact on Hungary's reporting quality because the overall disclosure of the sample only increased from low to medium level. The authors found that the value of intangible assets is a determinant of the reporting quality before and after the implementation of the ED. The findings support the effect of coercive isomorphism on Hungarian NFR practices.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of the research is the number of firms examined. However, the authors covered the entire (non-bank) community of the Hungarian firms subject to the ED.
Practical implications
The authors suggest that reporting entities build upon the synergy between intellectual capital disclosure and NFR when elaborating their reporting strategies. The authors recommend the integration of ethical matters into corporate strategies and policies. Policymakers may consider the revision of the Hungarian regulations. The authors suggest academics embrace these topics in teaching.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the impact of ED in the context of Hungary. The authors contribute to the existing literature by adding the results of the ridge regression model, highlighting the importance of intangible assets.
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Graham Heaslip, Gyöngyi Kovács and Ira Haavisto
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the financial and material flows in cash-based responses (CBRs) and their implications for humanitarian operations. This research proposes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the financial and material flows in cash-based responses (CBRs) and their implications for humanitarian operations. This research proposes to view cash as a commodity used by humanitarian actors in emergency operations and therefore aims to explore how CBRs impact on humanitarian logistics and ultimately, affect beneficiaries.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach of grounded theory was chosen for this inquiry because it allowed the researchers to generate a general explanation for the process of CBRs in emergency situations based on the views of participants interviewed. Interviews were conducted with senior managers, supply chain managements and logistics officers from international humanitarian organisations (HOs), United Nations agencies and commercial organisations involved in humanitarian operations. Examples of topics covered during the field work included, procedures and policy; knowledge and information management; systems and technology; actors and agents.
Findings
The impact of CBRs on humanitarian operations can though not be understated. They alter supply chain design, the very role of beneficiaries as well as HOs, and change the strategy of aid delivery from push to pull. Perhaps, the most important factor is the elimination of many logistical activities that needed to be performed by HOs. Delivering cash diminishes the needs for lengthy procurement and assessment processes, pre-positioning, transportation and distribution. This bears the potential of significant reductions in costs for delivering humanitarian aid at the same time as it is an important move from aid to trade.
Practical implications
The challenge for humanitarian agencies in the coming years is to overcome their fears surrounding CBRs, and to implement cash programmes where they are judged to be the most appropriate response. This will require not only a change in donor policies, but also a fundamental change in the skill set of humanitarian logisticians, who are used to identifying needs and providing commodities and thus to maintaining control over the provision of assistance.
Originality/value
The contribution of this research is twofold: this is the first examination of cash-based interventions in humanitarian operations through the prism of supply chain management. Second, the research is field based and grounded in empirical observations thus adding to the literature and offering insights to practice.
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Diego Vega and Christine Roussat
Service development and outsourcing are growing trends in humanitarian logistics (HL). Humanitarian organizations (HOs) have developed specialized units to perform logistics…
Abstract
Purpose
Service development and outsourcing are growing trends in humanitarian logistics (HL). Humanitarian organizations (HOs) have developed specialized units to perform logistics activities on behalf of other aid organizations, as a commercial logistics service provider (LSP) would do. The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of HOs acting as LSPs and the differences with their commercial counterparts.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a two-level content analysis of 149 annual reports from 50 local and international HOs, performed with the help of qualitative data analysis software. First, a manifest content analysis identified the number of occurrences of logistics-related words and later, a latent content analysis studies the use in context of such words to characterize the nature of HOs as LSPs.
Findings
Evidence shows that some international HOs – in some cases through specialized logistics units – perform the same activities as commercial LSPs, providing similar services. However, due to the characteristics of the humanitarian context, HOs acting as LSPs can offer a wider range of value-added and dedicated services to clients (other HOs) than commercial LSPs.
Research limitations/implications
Exploring the activities performed by HOs on behalf of other aid organizations and characterizing them as service providers constitutes a first attempt to grasp the unique features of these particular humanitarian LSPs. The results open the discussion about the services HOs offer, thus contributing to theory development in HL.
Practical implications
The identification of HOs acting as LSPs introduces a new actor to the humanitarian network, which the authors refer to as humanitarian service provider (HSP). This supposes two main managerial implications. First, the results support the idea of seeing servitization as a competitive difference, having a substantial impact on the way HOs build their strategies and achieve competitive advantage. Second, HSPs can push their commercial equivalents to identify new activities or services to offer and maintain their competitive advantage with regard to the newcomers.
Originality/value
This paper furthers the discussion on the concept of HSPs and demonstrates its uniqueness, thus contributing to the ever-growing body of knowledge of HL research.
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Graham Heaslip, Gyöngyi Kovács and David B. Grant
The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review and conceptual consideration of servitization in humanitarian logistics (HL) and provide a research agenda for HL…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review and conceptual consideration of servitization in humanitarian logistics (HL) and provide a research agenda for HL scholars and insight for practitioners and by doing so will fill a gap in existing research and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a literature-based approach that extends concepts usually applied in a commercial context to the area of HL.
Findings
The paper initiates a discourse on the importance of taking into account servitization in developing and managing effective emergency relief chains. This paper argues that a broader servitization paradigm needs to be integrated for international humanitarian organisations (IHOs) to maintain a competitive advantage.
Originality/value
The authors investigate servitization as a management innovation in IHOs and plot a research agenda for scholars.
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Tunca Tabaklar, Árni Halldórsson, Gyöngyi Kovács and Karen Spens
Within the emerging research field of humanitarian supply chain management (HSCM) the use of existing theoretical concepts and frameworks to provide explanation and understanding…
Abstract
Purpose
Within the emerging research field of humanitarian supply chain management (HSCM) the use of existing theoretical concepts and frameworks to provide explanation and understanding of the phenomena under scrutiny is not yet well understood. There is still a lack of research on which theoretical approaches are used in this field, and to what extent this emerging field “borrows” theories from other disciplines. The purpose of this paper is therefore to deepen the understanding of HSCM from a theoretical point of view by identifying and evaluating the use of theories in HSCM literature.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review is conducted based on academic journal articles included in a well-recognised and publicly available bibliography on HSCM articles (Tatham, 2015). A content analysis is applied to the articles in terms of level of theory, research methodology, disaster management stages, disaster types, and disaster name/region.
Findings
A trend towards using more established, “middle- range” theories, is evident. However, the use of theoretical approaches is not evenly spread between the different phases of disaster relief. A strong emphasis on SCM as a background discipline is also mirrored in the choice of theories used, which indicates the solidification of humanitarian logistics as a primarily supply chain discipline. The lack of use of other theoretical perspectives and grand theories is, however, still evident, which provides an interesting research agenda for future research.
Research limitations/implications
The use of the bibliography limits the generalisation of the findings although some trends are evident.
Originality/value
This is a first review of theories used in HSCM. It provides an overview of the state of the art of HSCM research but contributes to the maturation of research in this field. The paper concludes with a research agenda.
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Emergency humanitarian medical cold chains (HMCCs) depend heavily on their supporting energy services due to end-to-end temperature requirements in volatile disaster situations…
Abstract
Purpose
Emergency humanitarian medical cold chains (HMCCs) depend heavily on their supporting energy services due to end-to-end temperature requirements in volatile disaster situations. Most energy sources powering emergency HMCCs are fossil-based due to well established processes, regardless of their environmental impact. In response to the recent energy crisis and climate change, a solution to tackle this issue relies on renewable energy sources (RES), whose use has increased to promote climate resilient development. Nevertheless, RESs’ capacity to replace conventional energy services in emergency HMCCs remains poorly understood. This study aims to investigate opportunities for, and barriers to, increasing the use of RESs in emergency HMCCs, thereby enhancing their environmental sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a review of academic and practice literature, interviews with expert practitioners on emergency HMCCs and sustainable energy, and case study examples, this research aimed to analytically generalise the phenomenon by investigating opportunities for, and barriers to, increasing the use of RESs in emergency HMCCs. The phenomenon is illustrated in a novel framework of typical HMCC, that forms a contextual basis for future research.
Findings
A conceptual framework of typical emergency HMCC shows energy-consuming sections where RES can best be increased. This research is put forth in four propositions to manage the opportunities and barriers of the transition.
Originality/value
This research is, to the best of the author’s knowledge, the first attempt to operationalise sustainability by linking energy with HMCCs’ logistical activities in complex emergency settings. The cross-findings from literature, example cases and interviews together demonstrate the need to increase the use of RES in HMCCs, and how to do it.
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Ira Haavisto and Gyöngyi Kovács
– The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for analysing how humanitarian organisations (HOs) address different expectations regarding sustainability.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for analysing how humanitarian organisations (HOs) address different expectations regarding sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative and qualitative content analysis is used to assess the annual reports (ARs) of HOs for their discussions on sustainability overall, and in relation to contextual expectations, subsystems and supply chains, organisational structure and strategy.
Findings
HOs address sustainability primarily from the perspective of contextual expectations from society and beneficiaries. Some fits between supply chain design and societal expectations are attended to, but fits between programmes and contextual expectations are not discussed explicitly.
Research limitations/implications
ARs express what organisations want to portray of their activities rather than being direct reflections of what occurs in the field, hence the use of ARs for the study delimits its findings. However, HOs rarely publish sustainability reports.
Practical implications
Even though there is a general pursuit of the elusive aim of aid effectiveness, organisational structures need to be further aligned with societal aims as to support these.
Social implications
Beneficiaries are still seen as external to the humanitarian supply chain and humanitarian programmes, though their role may change with the introduction of more cash components in aid, voucher systems, and ultimately, their empowerment through these.
Originality/value
The suggested conceptual framework combines elements of contingency theory with a prior four perspectives model on sustainability expectations. The framework helps to highlight fits between the humanitarian context, operations and programmes as well as misalignments between these.