This paper aims to develop and validate a framework about the enablers and constraints to the creation, sharing and use of knowledge, by analyzing how enablers and constraints in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop and validate a framework about the enablers and constraints to the creation, sharing and use of knowledge, by analyzing how enablers and constraints in a particular information environment – advocacy networks – impact each of the phases of the knowledge process.
Design/methodology/approach
The setting chosen for this research is a group of leading international non‐governmental organizations (INGOs), and their NGO partners in a developing country, pursuing a policy advocacy strategy in the context of an international donors conference. The qualitative research follows an embedded case study design with two levels of data collection and analysis: intra‐organizational: an individual INGO; and inter‐organizational: the advocacy network to which this INGO belongs.
Findings
Most enablers and constraints are internal to organizations and focus on the phases of knowledge use. Constraints associated with organizations' cultures, individuals' information‐processing preferences, and politics are prominent. The validated framework can then explain how specific constraints influence particular phases of the creation, sharing and use of knowledge and the nature of these constraints in settings where particular organizational cultures dominate.
Originality/value
Researchers have studied the enabling conditions through which knowledge is created and shared. Some contributions have focused on the role of personal beliefs and formal procedures; higher codification of knowledge; social capital; or technology and measurement, among others. The literature has been mainly focused on identifying particular constraints, without paying much attention to how they are manifested in the distinct phases of the knowledge process. This paper aims to make a contribution in this area.
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Juan Carlos Hallak and Andrés Tacsir
The goal of this paper is to develop a classification of traceability systems that will help academics and policymakers think of them as a tool for differentiation in agri-food…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this paper is to develop a classification of traceability systems that will help academics and policymakers think of them as a tool for differentiation in agri-food value chains.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the analysis of case studies and a literature review, the authors develop a conceptual framework to classify traceability systems based on two dimensions: their scope in the value chain (individual vs integrated) and the type of information they contain (basic vs advanced).
Findings
Integrated traceability systems provide a variety of benefits vis-à-vis individual systems as a tool to achieve greater product differentiation by meeting current and latent requirements from foreign countries' governments and consumers. Also they serve as a platform for including advanced (vis-à-vis basic) information into the system.
Research limitations/implications
A series of studies would be required to quantify the relative costs of different traceability systems and compare them on a cost-benefit basis. Nevertheless, since integrated traceability systems are subject to coordination failures, significant public focus and efforts should be placed on the potential promotion of those systems.
Originality/value
This paper provides a novel classification of traceability systems that distinguishes them according to scope and information content.
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Alexis Villacis, Jeffrey Alwang and Victor Barrera
Motivated by transformations in global food systems and increasing demand for multidimensional credence attributes, the authors analyze cacao value chains in Ecuador – the main…
Abstract
Purpose
Motivated by transformations in global food systems and increasing demand for multidimensional credence attributes, the authors analyze cacao value chains in Ecuador – the main producer of fine and flavor cacao worldwide. The authors identify opportunities and discuss how private and public sector initiatives can help meet emerging challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary information was collected through interviews of actors in the Ecuadorian industry during spring/summer 2020, including cacao producer associations, exporter associations, chocolate processing firms, public institutions and local universities. Two focus groups were also conducted with producers from associations in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Findings
Findings suggest new opportunities for cacao producers and chocolate processors have emerged from the global market transformation. To exploit these, firms need to personalize and differentiate their products, for example, by using quality certifications such as organic and fair trade. Market developments, such as European cadmium regulations and the necessity of worldwide traceability systems, are driving exporters to enhance Ecuador’s cacao value chains. The sector still requires coordination to reap the benefits associated with demands for credence attributes.
Originality/value
Findings are supported by two case studies. The first focuses on how associativity can help those producing high-quality beans to differentiate themselves in modern agri-food markets. The second describes the success of a local chocolate firm and its links with local farmers.
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Andrea Lorena González, Juan Carlos Hallak, Gabriel Scattolo and Andrés Tacsir
The purpose of this research is to analyze the ability of agrifood systems to construct “customized competitiveness” strategies that can allow firms to meet the specific and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to analyze the ability of agrifood systems to construct “customized competitiveness” strategies that can allow firms to meet the specific and constantly changing demands of foreign markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The research performs a comparative analysis of three case studies of agrifood systems in Argentina: lemon, pork, and dairy products. The authors obtained primary data from 79 semi-structured interviews with key persons in each agrifood system carried out online between March 2020 and February 2021. Secondary data was obtained from databases, academic studies, and reports from business associations and public agencies.
Findings
The authors find wide disparities in the development of customized competitiveness strategies between the studied agrifood systems (higher in lemon, lower in dairy products, and incipient in pork). The authors attribute the disparity to the varying degrees in which these systems are capable of coordinating their own actions and their interactions with State agencies.
Originality/value
The paper provides comparative evidence about the role of private coordination in the ability of agrifood systems to construct customized competitiveness strategies.
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Lina M. Gomez and Lucely Vargas Preciado
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a well-known practice among organizations around the world. It has become a refreshing alternative of conceiving and doing business that…
Abstract
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a well-known practice among organizations around the world. It has become a refreshing alternative of conceiving and doing business that encompasses economic, social, and environmental operations for achieving competitive advantage.
This article was based on the information from The 5th International Conference of Institutes and Libraries for Chinese Overseas Studies held in the University of British Columbia…
Abstract
Purpose
This article was based on the information from The 5th International Conference of Institutes and Libraries for Chinese Overseas Studies held in the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada in which the author was a presenter in session 4.2.9a of the Early life of Yuan Shikai and the formation of Yuan family. The paper aims to include comprehensive analysis and development of the history of Chinese migration. An annotated bibliography of suggested readings was offered to highlight the subject knowledge for further research in this area.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper includes comprehensive analysis and development of the history of Chinese migration and the experiences and family histories of overseas Chinese in Canada. An annotated bibliography of suggested readings was offered to highlight the subject knowledge for further research in this area.
Findings
The paper offers full description and comprehensive analysis of the history of Chinese migration and overseas Chinese studies in Canada. A bbibliography of suggested readings was offered for further research in this area.
Research limitations/implications
This research study has a strong subject focus on Chinese migration, overseas Chinese studies, and resource-sharing in the subject area. It is a specific field for research in Asian studies.
Practical implications
The result of this study will assist students, researchers, and the general public in the area of overseas Chinese studies and developing their interests in the social and historical value of Chinese migration history and resource-sharing in the area.
Originality/value
Very little research has been done in the area of Chinese migration and historical development. The paper would offer historians, sociologists, ethnologists, librarians, administrations, professors, as well as students in the fields of Asian history, anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, and other Asian-related interdisciplinary studies.
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This paper explores the role of accounting in ecological reconstitution and draws attention to the public value as a topic of strategic interest for developing it.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the role of accounting in ecological reconstitution and draws attention to the public value as a topic of strategic interest for developing it.
Design/methodology/approach
The process of ecological reconstitution described by Latour in the “Politics of Nature” is traced towards a distinct set of accounting practices. These accounting practices, designated here as full-tax accounting, offer indications of the changing shape and role of accounting in ecological renewal.
Findings
Full-tax accounting extends the planetary public towards the inclusion of nonhuman planetarians. It establishes matters of care in multimodal accounts and haunts constitutional processes with the spectre of exclusion. Starting with full-tax accounting, public-value accountants emerge as curators of matters of care.
Research limitations/implications
The association of accounting in ecological reconstitution with matters of care highlights the mediating and immersive effects of accounting practice, inviting accounting scholars to explore these effects more systematically.
Practical implications
Accountants need to reconsider their stewardship role in relation to the fundamental uncertainties implied in planetary public-value accounting, support the process of ecological reconstitution by associating themselves with matters of care and develop ethics of exclusion.
Social implications
Broad alliances among planetary accountants are needed to extend the terms of ecological reconstitution, to gain and preserve attunement to matters of care and defend these attunements, in the atmospheric politics of ecological renewal, against regressive tendencies.
Originality/value
In problematising public value, the paper draws attention to a convergence of interests among scholars in accounting, public sector research and the environmental humanities. It presents a case for planetary accounting in ecological reconstitution that calls for participation from across disciplines, professions, arts and environmental activism.