Mette Andersen and Tage Skjoett‐Larsen
The paper aims to present a conceptual framework for analysing CSR practices in global supply chains. It also seeks to demonstrate how a pioneering Swedish company, IKEA…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to present a conceptual framework for analysing CSR practices in global supply chains. It also seeks to demonstrate how a pioneering Swedish company, IKEA, implements and manages CSR practices at its suppliers.
Design/methodology/approach
A case analysis of IKEA illustrates the implementation and management of CSR practices in supply chains. The focus is on internal and external integration of CSR practices in the supply chain. IKEA holds a leading position in its supply chain and is a global brand‐owner. Personal interviews are performed with employees from one of the company's trading areas.
Findings
Practising CSR in supply chains requires that CSR is embedded within the entire organisation, including subsidiaries abroad and offshore suppliers. It includes employee training and sharing of experience, training of key personnel at the supplier level, positive incentives for suppliers in the form of long‐term contracts and enlarged purchasing orders, and regular auditing of suppliers' performance.
Research limitations/implications
The paper focuses on CSR practices in a specific company's supply chain. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalised to other companies. Also, the practices have been studied from the perspective of the focal company.
Practical implications
The CSR practices of IKEA can serve as inspiration for other companies that are considering adopting corporate codes of conduct.
Originality/value
The paper presents a company that has a long tradition for working with environmental and social issues. The paper demonstrates how the actual management of CSR practices is determined by context‐dependent factors.
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Jesper Clement, Mette Skovgaard Andersen and Katherine O'Doherty Jensen
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of disagreement between companies and consumers with respect to misleading information and to make suggestions as…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of disagreement between companies and consumers with respect to misleading information and to make suggestions as to how the conflict might be resolved.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on qualitative research methods, the authors discuss possible grounds for controversies with respect to product information and present a possible framework, inspired by the work of Boltanski and Thévenot, for examining these controversies.
Findings
An analysis of arguments shows that consumer representatives and companies, not surprisingly, agree on general moral principles as, for instance, the importance of not lying about the product; however they tend to disagree about where the boundaries between acceptable and misleading information should be drawn in practice. The findings point to the fact that the differences might partly be explained by Boltanski and Thévenots' “orders of worth” and that this classification would seem to provide a fruitful tool for identifying the character and basis of differences of opinions regarding whether or not product information is deemed to be misleading and hence form the basis for a new tool in the management toolbox for testing potentially misleading information.
Research limitations/implications
The data behind the analysis are limited and retrieved in a Danish environment, for which reason more research should be carried out in order to broaden the perspectives of the research.
Practical implications
To reduce controversies the paper proposes a reciprocal recognition of the particular order of worth from which an assessment is made.
Originality/value
Qualitative methods, in this case the combination of qualitative interviews combined with an analysis of arguments, shed light on the core problem concerning misleading information.
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The Danish Social Democrats have been through a lengthy period of ideological change and transformation, whose effects have become particularly manifest in recent times. This…
Abstract
The Danish Social Democrats have been through a lengthy period of ideological change and transformation, whose effects have become particularly manifest in recent times. This chapter argues that these developments are to be seen in the light of the particular Danish political context and developments, already prefigured at the dawn of the century. Notably, the populist and anti-immigration right in Denmark which quickly made use of the political opportunities to exploit the weaknesses, indecision and the ambiguities on the Right and the Left to gain support. The strategy repertoires activated by the Social Democrats to stem the electoral appeal of the right-wing populist anti-immigration have shifted from attempts to isolate, ignore and dismiss the saliency of some policy issues, towards efforts to adverse and recently to accommodate and co-opt stricter positions on immigration and tougher integration politics. While it is premature to tell whether the Social Democratic right wing turn on immigration helped undermining the populist right-wing momentum, the party has not yet managed to take back the support it hoped for. Moreover, the paradigm shift on immigration and the opening up to transversal alliances might mobilise new friends, but also shed old ones. The new pattern undertaken by the Danish Social Democrats seems also to require internal consent, more control and party discipline to avoid internal disagreements and criticism from within the party. Our interviews unravel some discontent with the restrictive right turn on immigration bubbling under the surface among the party ranks and files.
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Robert A Smith and Helle Neergaard
This paper aims to explore the “Fellowship-Tale” as an alternative tale type for narrating entrepreneur stories. The authors illustrate this by telling the Pilgrim business story…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the “Fellowship-Tale” as an alternative tale type for narrating entrepreneur stories. The authors illustrate this by telling the Pilgrim business story. It is common for the deeds of men who founded businesses to be narrated as heroic entrepreneur stories. Such fairy tales are dominant narratives in Western culture but do not resonate with everyone, particularly women. Consequentially, many businesswomen do not engage in the rhetoric of enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative, analytic approaches adopted in this study include narratology, semiotics and aesthetics. This complementary triage helps us appreciate the complexity of entrepreneur stories while unravelling the nuances of the tale. It also permits triangulation of the data gathered from an in-depth interview of the respondent with newspaper and Internet research.
Findings
The research indicates that “fellowship-tales” provide a viable and credible alternative to the fairy-tale rendition common in entrepreneur and business stories.
Research limitations/implications
An obvious limitation is that one merely swaps one narrative framework for another, albeit it offers dissenting voices a real choice.
Practical implications
This study has the potential to be far reaching because at a practical level, it allows disengaged entrepreneurs and significant others the freedom to exercise their individual and collective voices within a framework of nested stories.
Originality/value
A key contribution is to challenge the hegemony of a dominant and embedded social construct allowing new understandings to emerge via a novel combination of research methodologies.
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Jeanette Wassar Kirk, Nina Thorny Stefansdottir, Ove Andersen, Mette Bendtz Lindstroem, Byron Powell, Per Nilsen, Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen and Marie Broholm-Jørgensen
To explore the mechanisms of the implementation strategy, “oilcloth sessions” and understand and explain the ripple effects of oilcloth sessions as a strategy to implement a new…
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the mechanisms of the implementation strategy, “oilcloth sessions” and understand and explain the ripple effects of oilcloth sessions as a strategy to implement a new emergency department.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative design was used whereby data were collected using field notes from an ethnographic study of the oilcloth sessions and follow-up semi-structured interviews with staff, managers and key employees who participated in the oilcloth sessions. The data analysis was inspired by the realist evaluation approach of generative causality proposed by Pawson and Tilley.
Findings
The primary ripple effect was that the oilcloth sessions were used for different purposes than the proposed program theory, including being used as: (1) a stage, (2) a battlefield, (3) a space for imagination and (4) a strategic management tool influencing the implementation outcomes. The results bring essential knowledge that may help to explain why and how a well-defined implementation strategy has unplanned outcomes.
Originality/value
Unintended outcomes of implementation strategies are an underexplored issue. This study may help implementation researchers rethink the activities required to reduce unintended negative outcomes or explore potential unplanned outcomes and, in this way, hinder or enhance outcomes, effectiveness and sustainability. Future studies within implementation research should incorporate attention to unintended outcomes to fully understand the impact of implementation strategies.
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Mohammadreza Akbari and Robert McClelland
The purpose of this research is to provide a systematic insight into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate citizenship (CC) in supply chain development, by analyzing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to provide a systematic insight into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate citizenship (CC) in supply chain development, by analyzing the current literature, contemporary concepts, data and gaps for future discipline research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research identifies information from existing academic journals and investigates research designs and methods, data analysis techniques, industry involvement and geographic locations. Information regarding university affiliation, publishers, authors, year of publication is also documented. A collection of online databases from 2001 to 2018 were explored, using the keywords “corporate social responsibility”, “corporate citizenship” and “supply chain” in their title and abstract, to deliver an inclusive listing of journal articles in this discipline area. Based on this approach, a total of 164 articles were found, and information on a chain of variables was collected.
Findings
There has been visible growth in published articles over the last 18 years regarding supply chain sustainability, CSR and CC. Analysis of the data collected shows that only five literature reviews have been published in this area. Further, key findings include 41% of publications were narrowly focused on four sectors of industry, leaving gaps in the research. 85% centered on the survey and conceptual model, leaving an additional gap for future research. Finally, developing and developed nation status should be delineated, researched and analyzed based on further segmentation of the industry by region.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to reviewing only academic and professional articles available from Emerald, Elsevier, Wiley, Sage, Taylor and Francis, Springer, Scopus, JSTOR and EBSCO containing the words “corporate social responsibility”, “corporate citizenship” and “supply chain” in the title and abstract.
Originality/value
This assessment provides an enhanced appreciation of the current practices of current research and offers further directions within the CSR and CC in supply chain sustainable development.
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Jeanette Kirk, Thomas Bandholm, Ove Andersen, Rasmus Skov Husted, Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Per Nilsen and Mette Merete Pedersen
The aim of this study is to explore and discuss key challenges associated with having stakeholders take part in co-designing a health care intervention to increase mobility in…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to explore and discuss key challenges associated with having stakeholders take part in co-designing a health care intervention to increase mobility in older medical patients admitted to two medical departments at two hospitals in Denmark.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a qualitative design to investigate the challenges of co-designing an intervention in five workshops involving health professionals, patients and relatives. “Challenges” are understood as “situations of being faced with something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person's ability” (Cambridge Dictionary). Thematic content analysis was conducted with a background in the analytical question: “What key challenges arise in the material in relation to the co-design process?”.
Findings
Two key challenges were identified: engagement and facilitation. These consisted of five sub-themes: recruiting patients and relatives, involving physicians, adjusting to a new researcher role, utilizing contextual knowledge and handling ethical dilemmas.
Research limitations/implications
The population of patients and relatives participating in the workshops was small, which likely affected the co-design process.
Practical implications
Researchers who want to use co-design must be prepared for the extra time required and the need for skills concerning engagement, communication, facilitation, negotiation and resolution of conflict. Time is also required for ethical discussions and considerations concerning different types of knowledge creation.
Originality/value
Engaging stakeholders in co-design processes is increasingly encouraged. This study documents the key challenges in such processes and reports practical implications.
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Charlotte Brøgger Bond, Mette Jensen Stochkendahl, Karen Søgaard and Lotte Nygaard Andersen
Health ambassadors are co-workers assigned to facilitate healthy choices amongst the ambassadors'' colleagues and are increasingly used in workplace health promotion. In a…
Abstract
Purpose
Health ambassadors are co-workers assigned to facilitate healthy choices amongst the ambassadors'' colleagues and are increasingly used in workplace health promotion. In a municipality in the southern region of Denmark, occupational health and safety (OHS) representatives were appointed as health ambassadors to facilitate the development of healthy lifestyle initiatives at the ambassadors' workplace and the uptake of various health offers from the municipality's workplace health programme amongst the ambassadors' colleagues. The aim of this study was to understand how employees and managers from the municipality experienced the health ambassador-facilitated implementation of the health programme.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was designed as an interview study with (n = 13) semi-structured interviews. Using purposeful sampling, the authors invited participants who held different positions (e.g. managers and regular employees) on two different work teams in the municipality. The work teams (a construction team and a healthcare team) differed in gender profile and work tasks but were both categorised as physically heavy work. Malterud's systematic text condensation was used to devise the strategy for the analysis.
Findings
The authors' findings show that the employees considered health a private matter that the workplace should not interfere with, and this challenged the implementation of the health programme. Secondly, the health ambassadors were not properly trained to facilitate health initiatives amongst the ambassadors' colleagues; instead, the managers were the driving force in the implementation of health initiatives.
Originality/value
The study provides useful insights into the processes of implementing health in the workplace and emphasises the importance of involving employees in design and planning of initiatives for workplace health promotion.