Tanisha Wright-Brown, Sandy Brennan, Michael Blackwood and Jennifer Donnan
Almost five years after legalization, the unlicensed cannabis market is still thriving in Canada, and legacy cannabis retailers continue to face barriers to legal market entry…
Abstract
Purpose
Almost five years after legalization, the unlicensed cannabis market is still thriving in Canada, and legacy cannabis retailers continue to face barriers to legal market entry. This study aims to shed light on these challenges and offer policy recommendations supporting legacy retailers and the government’s goals of enhancing public safety and displacing the unlicensed market.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviewed online sources, including the media, gray literature, government, and other policy and legal websites, to identify legacy retailers’ challenges to entering the Canadian ecosystem since legalization and policy approaches of legalized jurisdictions with similar issues.
Findings
Legacy retailers face financial, legal and social barriers to entering the legal market. The Canadian government should focus on lowering and eliminating these barriers by developing programs that reduce financial risks and required capital, facilitate partnership programs and accelerators, provide innovative options that reduce overhead expenses, encourage pooled ownership to support small businesses, prioritize market entry for equity-deserving individuals and enable automatic expungement. A description of programs that have been implemented in other jurisdictions to address similar barriers is provided.
Practical implications
The policy recommendations in this paper would enable increased entrepreneurship and employment in a growing sector. While the tax revenue earned from the new market entrants may not be enough to support all the recommended policy initiatives, it could be reinvested to fund some of them creating sustainable growth opportunities.
Originality/value
The paper provides practical, timely policy recommendations on expanding the legal cannabis market in Canada and addressing unintended negative consequences of current policies.
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Majid Eghbali-Zarch, Jennifer Marlowe and Sandy Brennan
The case builds upon the theoretical literature in strategy and decision-making under uncertain, complex and ambiguous situations inherent in nascent industries (Eggers and Moeen…
Abstract
Theoretical basis
The case builds upon the theoretical literature in strategy and decision-making under uncertain, complex and ambiguous situations inherent in nascent industries (Eggers and Moeen, 2019). It also bases its analysis of the central decision in the case, the merger between Aphria Inc. and Tilray, on the pertinent literature on mergers and acquisitions (DePamphilis, 2015). DePamphilis (2015). Mergers, acquisitions, and other restructuring activities: An integrated approach to process, tools, cases, and solutions. 8th ed. Academic press, San Diego, CA. Eggers and Moeen (2019). Entry Strategy for Nascent Industries: Introduction to a Virtual Special Issue. Strategic Management Journal. 42 (2), pp. 1–15.
Learning outcomes
Assessing/reassessing sources of competitive advantage and recognizing how changes in policy and technologies and globalization can change industry dynamics. Identifying the challenges that companies face when developing strategy in nascent and emerging industries and the related (sub)sectors. Analyzing a merger and deciding if it is warranted, financially and strategically. Applying industry analysis to understand dynamic forces impacting an industry, the attractiveness of an industry and how industry structures affect a company’s strategy.
Case overview/synopsis
The global cannabis industry emerged after Canada, selected states in the US and some other countries across the world started to legalize recreational and/or medical cannabis. Similar to any industry in its nascent stages, the industry structure was undefined, product definitions and categories were unclear and competitive landscape was evolving. It was key for decision makers such as Irwin Simon, the CEO of Aphria Inc., to devise a strategy that would enable the firm to navigate the tides of the nascent industry. Simon had a background in consumer packaged goods industry and was a proponent of gaining market power through industry consolidation moves such as mergers and acquisitions. In 2020, encounters with Tilray’s CEO presented Simon with a merger opportunity with potentials for complementarities and cost savings. The challenge for Simon was to convince the Aphria’s shareholders that the potential gains from this move outweighs its challenges.
Complexity academic level
Strategy courses (undergraduate and graduate level) • During a session on nascent industry analysis, to illustrate how companies decide whether to enter a market, how to grow and position themselves. • During a session on mergers and acquisitions, to illustrate how a company can use such strategies to gain market power and pursue consolidation. International business courses (undergraduate and graduate level) • During a session on navigating the tides of an industry that is in its nascent stage, both at the individual country level and at the global level. Cannabis industry courses (undergraduate level) • During a session on the national and global prospects of the industry from an investment, entrepreneurial or policy-making perspective. • During a session on mergers and industry consolidation strategies.
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Brian L. Rubin, Carmen L. Brun, Jaliya Stewart Faulkner, Michael K. Freedman, Kurt Lentz and Jae C. Yoon
The purpose of this paper us to summarize the remarks of the Commissioners and participants in several panel sessions and workshops during the 2013 annual “SEC Speaks” conference…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper us to summarize the remarks of the Commissioners and participants in several panel sessions and workshops during the 2013 annual “SEC Speaks” conference held by the Practising Law Institute in cooperation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, discussing the SEC's accomplishments in 2012 and its agenda for 2013.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper summarizes remarks by Chairman Walter and Commissioners Aguilar, Paredes, and Gallagher; provides highlights from panel sessions and workshops concerning the Division of Corporation Finance, the Division of Trading and Markets, the Division of Enforcement, the Division of Investment Management, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations as well as highlights from the panel sessions relating to Accounting, Risk, Strategy and Financial Innovation. Judicial and Legislative Developments, and Ethics.
Findings
The summaries provide an overview of the SEC's most important current rulemaking, projects and policy priorities.
Originality/value
The paper presents current SEC issues and developments addressed by experienced SEC lawyers.
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Mark J. Mendell, Terry Brennan, Lee Hathon, J. David Odom, Francis J. Offerman, Bradley H. Turk, Kenneth M. Wallingford, Richard C. Diamond and William J. Fisk
The goal of this project was to develop practical strategies for preventing building‐related symptoms in office buildings, based on the experience of those who investigate…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this project was to develop practical strategies for preventing building‐related symptoms in office buildings, based on the experience of those who investigate buildings with health complaints, and suitable for use by those who own, lease, or manage office space.
Design/methodology/approach
Ideas from six experienced building investigators on primary causes and key prevention strategies were gathered and prioritized through consensus and voting in a structured, multi‐day workshop.
Findings
IEQ investigators from diverse climatic regions agreed on the most important problems causing symptom complaints in office buildings, and the key strategies for prevention. The top ranked problems identified were, in priority order: excessive building moisture, inadequate outdoor air, excessive dust, pollutant gases and odors, inadequate thermal control, and inadequate attention by management to indoor environments. The highest priority recommended prevention strategies for building‐related symptoms were: managing moisture at building exteriors, operating ventilation systems per design intent, providing at least the minimum recommended ventilation rates, and maintaining indoor temperatures at 72°F±2° (22°C±1°). Available scientific findings were generally consistent with these recommendations.
Research limitations/implications
Validity of these findings, from a subjective synthesis of empirical knowledge, not from scientific research, has not yet been scientifically confirmed.
Practical implications
These recommendations, including managing moisture at building exteriors, providing adequate ventilation, and controlling indoor thermal conditions, provide practical, empirically based guidelines for those who own, manage, or maintain office buildings.
Originality/value
The empirical knowledge of practitioners, concentrated and synthesized here, offers more direct guidance for health‐protective strategies in office buildings than current science.
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Saud Albusaidi and Aslam A. Wadair
Universities worldwide benefit significantly from the presence of international students although previous research has predominantly focused on their economic impact rather than…
Abstract
Universities worldwide benefit significantly from the presence of international students although previous research has predominantly focused on their economic impact rather than acknowledging their substantial cultural and academic contributions. This chapter aims to bridge this gap by investigating the dual impact of international students on academics and culture in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with a specific focus on two universities in Oman. The research employs semi-structured interviews conducted with both local and international students. The findings underscore a mutually beneficial exchange and contribution between local and international students, extending beyond the confines of classrooms into extracurricular activities. While positive interactions and shared learning experiences are evident, the study also sheds light on existing tensions, such as discrimination and negative perceptions of certain cultural elements. Through these insights, this chapter aims to guide both local and international universities in effectively fostering inclusive and diverse activities that promote academic and intercultural competence among students.
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Abstract
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The paper considers the phenomenon of Big Data through the work of Hannah Arendt on technology and on thinking. By exploring the nuance to Arendt’s critique of technology, and its…
Abstract
The paper considers the phenomenon of Big Data through the work of Hannah Arendt on technology and on thinking. By exploring the nuance to Arendt’s critique of technology, and its relation to the social and political spheres of human activity, the paper presents a case for considering the richness of Arendt’s thought for approaching moral questions of Big Data. The paper argues that the nuances of Arendt’s writing contribute a sceptical, yet also hopeful lens to the moral potential of Big Data. The scepticism is due to the potential of big data to reduce humans to a calculable, and thus manipulatable entity. Such warnings are rife throughout Arendt’s oeuvre. The hope is found in the unique way that Arendt conceives of thinking, as having a conversation with oneself, unencumbered by ideological, or fixed accounts of how things are, in a manner which challenges preconceived notions of the self and world. If thinking can be aided by Big Data, then there is hope for Big Data to contribute to the project of natality that characterises Arendt’s understanding of social progress. Ultimately, the paper contends that Arendt’s definition of what constitutes thinking is the mediator to make sense of the morally ambivalence surrounding Big Data. By focussing on Arendt’s account of the moral value of thinking, the paper provides an evaluative framework for interrogating uses of Big Data.