Erin Lynn Wilkus, Gian Nicola Francesconi and Matthias Jäger
This impact assessment provides empirical evidence from household producer surveys to test the assumptions surrounding the contribution of participatory varietal selection (PVS…
Abstract
Purpose
This impact assessment provides empirical evidence from household producer surveys to test the assumptions surrounding the contribution of participatory varietal selection (PVS) activities on seed sector development. The purpose of this paper is to focus on household access and adoption of common bean varieties from seed provision services and local markets to determine if, and under what social conditions, PVS activities stimulated seed uptake and market participation.
Design/methodology/approach
The propensity score matching technique and simple regression analysis were used to estimate the impact and compare household performance across three farmer groups located in Hoima, Uganda.
Findings
PVS increased access to and adoption of improved varieties and supported additional intermediate development outcomes when farmer group characteristics were aligned with PVS efforts. Specifically, PVS was more likely to stimulate market purchases of newly introduced varieties in the farmer group located closest to markets. The project did not however, improve all the development objectives that were evaluated. PVS most critically, did not increase the probability that households received the specific varieties they desired.
Research limitations/implications
This study found that PVS can support the key pillars of seed sector development. In addition to increasing household access to new varieties, free seed dissemination promoted market participation and stimulated local seed market development.
Originality/value
This study addressed the need to consider intermediate development outcomes in impact assessments of development interventions. The findings clarified the contribution of PVS in the context of broader development goals and identified farmer group dynamics associated with enhanced impacts among rural producers in Uganda.
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Christine G. Kiria Chege, Stella Namazzi, Mercy M. Mutua, Kevin Omondi Onyango and Matthias Jager
Malnutrition remains a big public health issue especially in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyze factors that influence consumption of nutrient-rich…
Abstract
Purpose
Malnutrition remains a big public health issue especially in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyze factors that influence consumption of nutrient-rich foods among children aged 6–59 months and women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in the urban informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala, Uganda. This study uses multicomposite soft porridge as an example of a nutritious product.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 574 households from urban informal settlements in Kampala and Nairobi. A systematic random sampling approach was used to select respondents, and interviews were conducted on their sociodemographics, porridge consumption and purchase behavior. Probit regression models were used for the analysis.
Findings
Results indicate that households with access to nutrition information are more likely to consume porridge with diversified ingredients, compared to households without nutrition information. Additionally, consumption of fortified porridge flour has a lower probability of consuming porridge flour with diversified ingredients.
Practical implications
The evidence echoes the need for increased dissemination of nutrition information, which will trigger willingness to pay and consumption of nutritious foods. Further, it underpins the need for processor-level interventions to avail these foods at affordable prices for the benefit of low-income consumers.
Originality/value
This is among the first papers assessing factors that influence consumption of nutritious and diversified soft porridge by children aged 6–59 months and women aged 15–49 in the informal settlements of East Africa.
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Rosina Wanyama, Theda Gödecke, Matthias Jager and Matin Qaim
Micronutrient malnutrition is a public health problem in many developing countries, especially in the poorest population segments. Fortification and other food-based approaches…
Abstract
Purpose
Micronutrient malnutrition is a public health problem in many developing countries, especially in the poorest population segments. Fortification and other food-based approaches, such as using more nutritious ingredients in processing, could help to address this problem, but little is known about poor consumers’ attitudes toward nutritionally enhanced foods. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether poor consumers in Africa would purchase foods with more nutritious ingredients and the related willingness and ability to pay.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey and choice experiment were conducted with 600 randomly selected households in the poorest neighborhoods of Nairobi (Kenya) and Kampala (Uganda). Participants were asked to choose between various alternatives of porridge flour with different types of nutritional attributes. The data were analyzed with mixed logit models. Porridge flour is widely consumed among the urban poor, so that the example can also provide interesting broader lessons.
Findings
Poor consumers welcome foods that are micronutrient-fortified or include new types of nutritious ingredients. However, willingness to pay for nutritional attributes is small. New ingredients that are perceived to have little effect on taste and appearance are seen more positively than ingredients that may change food products more notably.
Practical implications
New nutritionally enhanced foods have good potential in markets for the poor, if they build on local consumption habits and are not associated with significant price increases.
Originality/value
This is among the first studies to explicitly analyze poor consumers’ preferences for nutritionally enhanced foods.
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This paper aims to examine the piloting of an experience-based training module on greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting. The training is designed to promote knowledge and skills of both…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the piloting of an experience-based training module on greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting. The training is designed to promote knowledge and skills of both, students and professionals, in the context of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. The paper’s purpose is to evaluate the suitability of the chosen environment of a learning factory (LF).
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed content and approach were initially created as basic training for cooperation partners from industry and auditing by applying Bloom’s taxonomy up to the level of analyzing, evaluating and creating in a close-to-reality industrial environment. Subsequently, the training was adapted for higher engineering education. Three consecutive exercises are explained concerning the crucial stages of carbon footprinting. To provide support for the authors’ suggestion that LFs are effective for the training in the field of GHG accounting, pre- and post-test and questionnaires were applied.
Findings
This case study reveals that LFs facilitate training participants to reliably identify, classify and quantify emission sources because of their authentic characteristics. Findings in this paper indicate that engineering students prefer this education practice over other formats.
Practical implications
This case study on active learning may prompt other universities to introduce similar concepts and content. Also, industrial professionals can benefit from this application-oriented teaching method.
Originality/value
Despite the urgent and far-reaching need for better awareness and expertise, there is an absence of initiatives that practically teach them. To the best of the authors‘ knowledge, this paper describes the first training of its kind used in an LF.
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Helge Fischer, Linda Heise, Matthias Heinz, Kathrin Moebius and Thomas Koehler
The purpose of this paper is to introduce methodology and findings of a trend study in the field of e-learning. The overall interest of the study was the analysis of scientific…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce methodology and findings of a trend study in the field of e-learning. The overall interest of the study was the analysis of scientific e-learning discourses. What comes next in the field of academic e-learning? Which e-learning trends dominate the discourse at universities? Answering such questions is the basis for the adaptation of service strategies and IT-infrastructures within institutions of higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
Which e-learning formats dominate the current scientific discourse? To answer this question, a trend study based on a content analysis was performed. The abstracts of 427 scientific articles of leading German-speaking e-learning conferences Gesellschaft für Medien in der Wissenschaft and E-Learning-Fachtagungen der Gesellschaft für Informatik e. V. (GMW and DeLFI) – published from 2007 to 2013 – were examined. A category scheme was derived from the Horizon Report. The category scheme then was gradually expanded and adapted to the data material during the investigation.
Findings
This paper found that the detailed analysis of the frequency distribution over the seven years reflects the intensity of scientific discussion towards e-learning trends within the investigation period, and conclusions about the didactical or technical potentials of innovations can be drawn because both conferences are different in terms of their objective. The authors also classified the life stages of selected innovations based on the Gartner hype cycles, and the striking findings of the study will be formulated in the form of assumptions, which reflect the development potential of learning management, mobile learning, virtual worlds, e-portfolio, social media and Massive Open Online Courses in German Higher Education.
Research limitations/implications
Only abstracts of the selected contributions were investigated. Errors in the category allocation due to unclear terminology cannot be excluded. Organisers of the investigated conferences often define the (main) topics. This influenced the spectrum of represented topics overall, as well as the focus of individual contributions. The above-presented study was conducted at German-speaking conferences and, therefore, reflects the situation in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. No conclusions about actors or institutional relationships can be made, in contrast to the original assumptions of discourse analysis. The categorial classification of contributions does not allow any conclusions about the quality of the discourse.
Originality/value
The study shows how proceedings of scientific conferences can be used for trend studies. It became clear that discourse analytical studies can be used complementary to other methods of future studies. The advantage of this methodology lies mainly in the easy access to the text material, as conference proceedings are mostly available online. In addition, the analysis of large amounts of data (or texts) can be greatly facilitated by use of digital technologies (e.g. by automatic analysis of keyword). This paper makes an important contribution to the diffusion of digital media in higher education.
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Jan-Ole Brandt, Lina Bürgener, Matthias Barth and Aaron Redman
This paper aims to provide a holistic approach to assessing student teachers’ competence development in education for sustainable development (ESD). This is to provide evidence on…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a holistic approach to assessing student teachers’ competence development in education for sustainable development (ESD). This is to provide evidence on which teaching and learning formats help to foster which aspects of ESD-specific professional action competence in teachers. The studied competencies consist of content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and the willingness to actively support and implement ESD.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study design was used on two sequential modules of a university’s teacher education program. A mixed-methods approach was applied that combined surveys, videotaped and PhotoVoice-supported focus groups, as well as pre- and post-assessment tools. Qualitative data analysis was based on the coding paradigm of the qualitative content analysis, whereas quantitative data were interpreted by means of descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests.
Findings
The results from this study clearly indicate that the two courses contributed to a shift in students’ non-cognitive dispositions. The study also provides evidence on the students’ competence development and demonstrates how two different learning settings support different dimensions of teachers’ professional action competence in terms of ESD.
Originality/value
The triangulation of data enabled not only a mere competence assessment but also deeper insights into learning processes, as well as into the drivers of and barriers to competence development. Furthermore, the study introduces an innovative approach to assessing the development of PCK.
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This volume of Progress in International Business Research comprises of a selection of 12 competitive papers from the 34th EIBA (European International Business Academy) annual…
Abstract
This volume of Progress in International Business Research comprises of a selection of 12 competitive papers from the 34th EIBA (European International Business Academy) annual conference, which was held in Tallinn, Estonia in December 2008 with the theme “International Business and the Catching-up Economies: Challenges and Opportunities”. It addresses two main issues – (1) the internationalization process and (2) the role of knowledge and innovation for internationalization – that are important in the current economic slowdown both for catching-up and for other economies, scholars, and practitioners.
The ability of a manufacturing system to respond to customer demand in a timely fashion is widely accepted as a source of competitive advantage. While quick response concepts at…
Abstract
Purpose
The ability of a manufacturing system to respond to customer demand in a timely fashion is widely accepted as a source of competitive advantage. While quick response concepts at system level have been widely discussed in a range of industry sectors, such as textile, electronics and fast moving consumer goods, few studies so far have specifically investigated the responsiveness of the component supply chain. This exploratory study hence aims to reconcile the considerable ambiguity that exists around the concept of supplier responsiveness, supported by an empirical investigation into the automotive parts industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyses the responsiveness of first‐tier automotive suppliers in Europe. The research is based on a multi‐method approach comprising of a survey, coupled with in‐depth processing mapping and complimenting interviews of production control staff at a subset of the surveyed companies.
Findings
The findings suggest that supplier responsiveness is constrained by both endogenous factors originating from within their own manufacturing operations, as well as exogenous factors related to both their respective up‐stream and downstream tiers. Furthermore, the study highlights how first‐tier suppliers are “squeezed” between demanding vehicle manufacturers on the one hand, and an unresponsive raw material supply base on the other, constraining their overall ability to respond to changing market requirements.
Research limitations/implications
The conclusions derived from this research are bound by the sample these are drawn from, and additional large‐scale analyses are suggested as further research.
Originality/value
While the concept of “responsiveness” has been widely discussed in the supply chain literature, this debate has largely remained in the realms of qualitative description. Few studies have empirically addressed the issue of supply chain responsiveness, and if so, often focused on a subset of factors (e.g. schedule variations) only. In this paper, an holistic approach to responsiveness is adopted that aims at identifying the key variables that impact on supply chain responsiveness, as well as providing quantitative evidence to support these claims.
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Andreas Reichhart and Matthias Holweg
While the concept of supply chain responsiveness (SCR) has received considerable attention in the operations management literature, mostly under the auspices of concepts such as…
Abstract
Purpose
While the concept of supply chain responsiveness (SCR) has received considerable attention in the operations management literature, mostly under the auspices of concepts such as build‐to‐order, mass customisation, lean and agility, so far there is a lack of comprehensive definition of SCR, as well as a defined relationship between “responsiveness” and “flexibility”. Also, the frameworks at hand tend to consider only a subset of factors previously identified in the literature, and thus do not comprehensively portray the cause‐and‐effect relationships involved. This paper aims to address these gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper synthesises the existing contributions to manufacturing and supply chain flexibility and responsiveness, and draws on various related bodies of literature that affect a supply chain's responsiveness such as the discussion of product architecture and modularisation.
Findings
Four types of responsiveness are identified: product, volume, mix, and delivery, all of which can relate to different time horizons, and can be present as either potential or demonstrated responsiveness. It is argued that a supply chain can feature different levels of responsiveness at different tiers, depending on the configuration of the individual nodes, as well as the integration thereof. Furthermore, a holistic framework is proposed, distinguishing between requiring and enabling factors for responsiveness, identifying the key relationships within and between these two categories.
Research limitations/implications
The definition and framework proposed provide novel insights into the concept of SCR as well as a clear terminology that will inform future research. The framework developed in this paper is suitable for both qualitative and holistic quantitative studies.
Originality/value
In addition to a detailed review of the factors associated with SCR, a generic definition of responsiveness is developed. The paper proposes a definition of four types of responsiveness which will support further empirical studies into the concept and its application. Furthermore, a holistic framework is developed that allows for cause‐and‐effect relationships to be investigated and dependencies to be identified.