Steve O. Michael, Awilda Hamilton and Marlene R. Dorsey
Describes a free market economy as a competitive, self‐regulatingmarket. In this environment, marketing becomes a powerful instrument formatching products and services to people′s…
Abstract
Describes a free market economy as a competitive, self‐regulating market. In this environment, marketing becomes a powerful instrument for matching products and services to people′s needs. The competitive nature of the market necessitates a continuous exploration of changes in people′s needs and a constant adaptation of the organization and its output to these changes. The success of this adaptation enhances product or service quality and ensures institutional survival. Explains that adult and continuing education can become more effective by adopting marketing strategies, and provides important marketing strategies that may be found relevant in the administration of adult and continuing education programmes under a free market economy.
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J.A.F. Nicholls, Marlene Lyn‐Cook and Sydney Roslow
Many less developed countries depend on a few traditionalcommodities for their foreign exchange earnings. These exports aresubject to the vagaries of the world commodity markets…
Abstract
Many less developed countries depend on a few traditional commodities for their foreign exchange earnings. These exports are subject to the vagaries of the world commodity markets which have declined in the 1980s. To bolster their dwindling foreign sales, some emerging nations have sought to foster new, non‐traditional exports. We examine the experience of Jamaica in its identification and targeting of such products for export. The actions adopted by the public sector for increasing export‐led growth and the corollary reactions of the private sector are ancillary but key considerations because these, in turn, develop general strategies for exporting non‐traditional products.
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Liliana Ávila, Luís Miguel D.F. Ferreira and Marlene Amorim
Social enterprises live in the limbo between social and market objectives, posing many operations management challenges. This study extends the discussion of operational…
Abstract
Purpose
Social enterprises live in the limbo between social and market objectives, posing many operations management challenges. This study extends the discussion of operational priorities, which has focused on purely for-profit organisations, to the context of social enterprises by exploring, from a resource-based perspective, which resources and operational priorities are most important to them and how they are used to respond to conflicting demands.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple case study research was carried out involving five Portuguese social enterprises, representative of the main sectors in which social enterprises operate in Europe. Ten semi-structured interviews with directors and other high-ranking respondents were conducted, and content was analysed to gather evidence on the key resources and operational priorities pursued by social enterprises. Cross-case conclusions were drawn, resulting in theoretical propositions and a conceptual framework.
Findings
Findings suggest that social enterprises rely on intangible resources and combine different operational priorities, which may vary throughout their lifecycle. Community engagement has emerged as a specific operational priority, in addition to those already reported in the manufacturing and services literature. To balance conflicting demands, most social enterprises studied combine innovation with community engagement or customer focus.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the development of knowledge about the operations strategy in the specific context of social enterprises, an organisational model that has not been systematically addressed in the operations management literature, and brings the discussion of operational priorities into the social enterprise field, thus strengthening the link between these two fields.
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This paper describes the personal history and intellectual development of Morris B. Holbrook (MBH), a participant in the field of marketing academics in general and consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper describes the personal history and intellectual development of Morris B. Holbrook (MBH), a participant in the field of marketing academics in general and consumer research in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper pursues an approach characterized by historical autoethnographic subjective personal introspection or HASPI.
Findings
The paper reports the personal history of MBH and – via HASPI – interprets various aspects of key participants and major themes that emerged over the course of his career.
Research limitations/implications
The main implication is that every scholar in the field of marketing pursues a different light, follows a unique path, plays by idiosyncratic rules, and deserves individual attention, consideration, and respect … like a cat that carries its own leash.
Originality/value
In the case of MBH, like (say) a jazz musician, whatever value he might have depends on his originality.
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Francine Richer and Louis Jacques Filion
Shortly before the Second World War, a woman who had never accepted her orphan status, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, nicknamed ‘Little Coco’ by her father and known as ‘Coco’ to her…
Abstract
Shortly before the Second World War, a woman who had never accepted her orphan status, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, nicknamed ‘Little Coco’ by her father and known as ‘Coco’ to her relatives, became the first women in history to build a world-class industrial empire. By 1935, Coco, a fashion designer and industry captain, was employing more than 4,000 workers and had sold more than 28,000 dresses, tailored jackets and women's suits. Born into a poor family and raised in an orphanage, she enjoyed an intense social life in Paris in the 1920s, rubbing shoulders with artists, creators and the rising stars of her time.
Thanks to her entrepreneurial skills, she was able to innovate in her methods and in her trendsetting approach to fashion design and promotion. Coco Chanel was committed and creative, had the soul of an entrepreneur and went on to become a world leader in a brand new sector combining fashion, accessories and perfumes that she would help shape. By the end of her life, she had redefined French elegance and revolutionized the way people dressed.
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Liliana Ávila and Marlene Amorim
This paper aims to describe an exploratory study aiming to identify the mechanisms adopted by social enterprises for effective operations based on volunteer work.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe an exploratory study aiming to identify the mechanisms adopted by social enterprises for effective operations based on volunteer work.
Design/methodology/approach
An inductive multiple case study method was used addressing three social enterprises whose operations rely on a volunteer workforce.
Findings
Volunteer-based operations benefit from the establishment of a formal structure, involving different levels of volunteering complemented with other mechanisms, namely, educate and train, empower and connect. Special attention must be given to first-level volunteers, reinforcing the range of practices to motivate and engage them, as they serve as intermediaries between the paid employees and lower-level volunteers.
Practical implications
The study provides valuable insights for managers for the implementation of effective operations, building on volunteer work, aiming at the generation of social and economic value.
Social implications
Due to their innovative character, social enterprises are well-positioned to mobilize more and more qualified volunteers for a significant change in their communities. Adopting a more strategic and structured approach to volunteer management can enable these organizations to take advantage of it.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on social enterprise by identifying a set of mechanisms adopted for effective volunteer-based operations. It also contributes to the literature on volunteer management by addressing an underexplored context.
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The environmental justice perspective represents a significant reframing of the traditional environmental discourse. Although few scholars in the environmental field pay attention…
Abstract
The environmental justice perspective represents a significant reframing of the traditional environmental discourse. Although few scholars in the environmental field pay attention to environmental framing, it is extremely important in the field. Environmental activists, policymakers, government, politicians, and business have long perceived, contextualized, and battled over environmental issues by establishing frames of reference. Framing refers to the process by which individuals and groups identify, interpret, and express social and political grievances. It is a scheme of interpretations that guides the way in which ideological meanings and beliefs are packaged by movement activists and presented to would-be supporters. Beliefs are important because they can be defined as ideas that might support or retard action in pursuit of desired values, goals, or outcomes. Social movement collective action frames are injustice frames because they are developed in opposition to already existing, established, widely accepted ideas, values, and beliefs. However, the social movement frames are intended to identify, highlight, and/or define unjust social conditions. Activists trying to develop new frames have to overcome the hurdle that many people (including would-be supporters) might accept the established or hegemonic frame as normal and/or tolerable. Collective action frames deny the immutability of undesirable conditions and promote the possibility of change through group action. Hence, social movement activists become potential social change agents in charge of their own destiny. They feel empowered to alter conditions (Goffman, 1974; Snow & Benford, 1992, 1988; Snow, Rochford, Worden, & Benford, 1986; Turner & Killian, 1987; Piven & Cloward, 1979, p. 12; McAdam, 1982; Gamson, 1992; Gamson & Meyer, 1996).