Gemma Lewis, Stuart Crispin, Laurie Bonney, Megan Woods, Jiangang Fei, Sarah Ayala and Morgan Miles
The purpose of this paper is to explore how traditional agribusiness firms can differentiate their product through innovation and branding at the value chain level, through the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how traditional agribusiness firms can differentiate their product through innovation and branding at the value chain level, through the application of entrepreneurial marketing (EM). Traditionally, fresh vegetable products have been marketed as unbranded commodities.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the research aim, this paper used a case study, which included semi-structured interviews with managers and personnel and unstructured observation of supply chain processes.
Findings
The findings are based on a Tasmanian fresh broccoli value chain and suggest that EM could be effectively integrated at a multi-firm level. Clear communication, knowledge sharing, and trusting relationships are necessary to create a shared vision and a sustainable value chain.
Research limitations/implications
An increasing number of firms in the agribusiness sector are looking for strategies that can enhance value for themselves and members of their chain. EM as a strategy can help an entire value chain achieve product differentiation and co-innovation, with flow on benefits to the consumer.
Originality/value
There is limited research at the entrepreneurial and marketing interface that explores the application of EM at an inter-organizational level. This paper is one of the first to investigate EM in context of a supply chain management, using a value chain innovation framework.
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Layla Jayne Branicki, Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor and Sarah Rachael Livschitz
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how entrepreneurial behaviors support small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) resilience, refine the concept of entrepreneurial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how entrepreneurial behaviors support small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) resilience, refine the concept of entrepreneurial resilience, and identify how SME resilience might be promoted.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were collected in the UK via 11 focus groups which provided a sub-sample of 19 SME participants.
Findings
Because of their experience operating in uncertain environments, their direct experience of adversity, and the informal organizational settings they inhabit, entrepreneurs are often highly resilient and possess capabilities that enable SMEs to be resilient. Entrepreneurial resilience provides a basis for SME resilience that differs significantly from best practices as understood in larger firms.
Research limitations/implications
Exploratory qualitative research on a small sample (n=19) limits the generalizability of this work. Further research could quantitatively test the paper’s findings and/or examine the link between entrepreneurial resilience and the resilience of larger firms.
Practical implications
Rather than encouraging formal planning and redundancy, policy and practice designed to promote the resilience of SMEs should pay greater attention to building capacities to cope with uncertainty, generating and leveraging personal relationships, and activating the ability to experiment and think creatively in response to crises.
Originality/value
This paper draws on organizational psychology research to refine understanding of entrepreneurial resilience and to empirically examine and inductively theorize the multi-level relationships between entrepreneurial resilience and SME resilience.
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Paul J. Jackson, Nicolette Michels, Jonathan Louw, Lucy Turner and Andrea Macrae
This chapter contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning in extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship education. It draws on research from two annual ‘Business…
Abstract
This chapter contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning in extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship education. It draws on research from two annual ‘Business Challenge Weeks’ (BCW) held at Oxford Brookes University in 2021 and 2022, in which teams of postgraduate students from three faculties worked on external client projects, supported by an academic mentor. It presents and discusses findings derived from a survey and interviews conducted after the second of these years. The chapter takes a transdisciplinary perspective, after Budwig and Alexander (2020), Piaget (1972) and Klein et al. (2001) and explores the relationship between this and the enterprise and entrepreneurship development pipeline set out by QAA (2018). It analyses the experiences of the three main participating groups engaged in the challenge weeks – students, external clients and academic mentors – and explores the organising challenges inherent in multiparty pedagogical initiatives. The chapter contributes to knowledge in this area by revealing and reflecting on the motivations and expectations of the three participant groups, the roles they played during the week and the outcomes they reported. It also expands understanding of transdisciplinary enterprise pedagogy.
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Erica S. Jablonski, Chris R. Surfus and Megan Henly
This study compared different types of full-time caregiver (e.g., children, older adults, COVID-19 patients) and subgroups (e.g., disability, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study compared different types of full-time caregiver (e.g., children, older adults, COVID-19 patients) and subgroups (e.g., disability, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation) in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic for potentially meaningful distinctions.
Methodology/Approach
Data from the 9,854 full-time caregivers identified in Phase 3.2 (July 21–October 11, 2021) of the US Census Household Pulse Survey (HPS) were analyzed in this study using multinomial logistic regression to examine relationships between caregiver types, marginalized subgroups, generation, and vaccination status.
Findings
The prevalence of caregiving was low, but the type of full-time caregiving performed varied by demographic group (i.e., disability, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, generation, and vaccination status). The relative risk of being a COVID-19 caregiver remained significant for being a member of each of the marginalized groups examined after all adjustments.
Limitations/Implications
To date, the HPS has not been analyzed to predict the type of full-time informal caregiving performed during the COVID-19 pandemic or their characteristics. Research limitations of this analysis include the cross-sectional, experimental dataset employed, as well as some variable measurement issues.
Originality/Value of Paper
Prior informal caregiver research has often focused on the experiences of those caring for older adults or children with special healthcare needs. It may be instructive to learn whether and how informal caregivers excluded from paid employment during infectious disease outbreaks vary in meaningful ways from those engaged in other full-time caregiving. Because COVID-19 magnified equity concerns, examining demographic differences may also facilitate customization of pathways to post-caregiving workforce integration.
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Matthew Tickle, Sarah Schiffling and Gaurav Verma
This paper aims to explore the impact of fourth-party logistics (4PL) adoption on the agility, adaptability and alignment (AAA) capabilities within humanitarian supply chains…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the impact of fourth-party logistics (4PL) adoption on the agility, adaptability and alignment (AAA) capabilities within humanitarian supply chains (HSCs).
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews with individuals from a large non-government organisation were combined with secondary data to assess the influence of 4PL adoption on AAA capabilities in HSCs.
Findings
The results indicate that HSCs exhibit some of the AAA antecedents but not all are fully realised. While 4PL positively affects the AAA capabilities of HSCs, its adoption faces challenges such as the funding environment, data security/confidentiality and alignment with humanitarian principles. The study suggests an AAA antecedent realignment, positioning alignment as a precursor to agility and adaptability. It also identifies three core antecedents in HSCs: flexibility, speed and environmental uncertainty.
Practical implications
The study shows the positive impact 4PL adoption can have on the AAA capabilities of HSCs. The findings have practical relevance for those wishing to optimise HSC performance through 4PL adoption, by identifying the inhibiting factors to its adoption as well as strategies to address them.
Originality/value
This research empirically explores 4PL’s impact on AAA capabilities in HSCs, highlighting the facilitating and hindering factors of 4PL adoption in this environment as well as endorsing a realignment of AAA antecedents. It also contributes to the growing research on SC operations in volatile settings.
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Sara Jane Wilkinson and Sarah Sayce
About 27 per cent of the total UK carbon emissions are attributed to residential buildings; therefore, improvements to the energy efficiency of the stock offers great potential…
Abstract
Purpose
About 27 per cent of the total UK carbon emissions are attributed to residential buildings; therefore, improvements to the energy efficiency of the stock offers great potential. There are three main ways to achieve this. First is a mandatory approach, minimum energy efficiency standards are set and applied to new and existing buildings. Option 2 is voluntary, using energy ratings that classify performance to stimulate awareness and action. Third, financial measures, incentives and taxes, are applied to “nudge” behaviours. Most westernised countries have adopted a combination of Options 2 and 3, with the belief that the market will incentivize efficient properties. The belief is voluntary measures will stimulate demand, leading to value premiums. This paper aims to seek a deeper understanding of the relationship between energy efficiency and the value of residential property in Europe and, by so doing, to determine whether stronger policies are required to realise decarbonisation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews the current academic literature and large-scale quantitative studies conducted in Europe, mostly using hedonic pricing analysis to seek a relationship between energy performance certificates (EPCs) and either capital or rental values. It compares these to the reported findings of three case study projects that take a variety of different research approaches, all of which have the ambition to understand market behaviours and stimulate occupier or/and owner demand for energy efficient buildings.
Findings
The large-scale academic study results generally show a positive relationship between observed market prices and EPCs, which are commonly taken as surrogates for efficiency; however, outcomes are variable. One large study found energy upgrades may increase value, but not to the point where costs outweigh the value gain. Other studies found high returns on investment in energy efficiency technologies. The case study projects, however, revealed a more nuanced set of arguments in terms of the relationship between energy efficiency and market behaviours. Whilst there is some evidence that energy efficiency is beginning to impact on value, it is small compared to other value drivers; other drivers, including health, well-being and private sector finance deals, may prove more powerful market drivers. Further, the empirical findings reported point towards the emergence of a “brown” discount being more likely to be the long-term trend than a green premium. It is concluded that the current levels of action are unlikely to deliver the levels of decarbonisation urgently needed.
Research limitations/implications
This is a desktop study of other European studies that may have collected data on slightly different variables.
Practical implications
This study shows that more action is required to realise decarbonisation in new and existing residential property in the European states considered. The sector offers potential for substantial reductions, and other mandatory approaches need to be considered.
Originality/value
This is a timely review of the current outcomes of European programmes (EPCs) adopted in several countries to increase energy efficiency in the residential sector through a voluntary mechanism. The results show that more action is needed.
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Sarah A. Callaghan, Maureen T.B. Drysdale, Ronaldo K.S. Riley, Zana Berisha and Avery J. Beavers
This study aims to investigate university students’ perceptions and experiences of postpandemic campus environments. Posts from a subreddit dedicated to a large…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate university students’ perceptions and experiences of postpandemic campus environments. Posts from a subreddit dedicated to a large, research-intensive Canadian university were analyzed to understand how students were affected by the evolving circumstances, their coping strategies and the resources that could support their flourishing in both academic and campus life.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 42 Reddit posts from 427 unique users were selected for qualitative thematic analysis. Three researchers independently analyzed the posts and developed codes representing recurring themes, categories and subcategories. Discrepancies were resolved through discussion to establish the final themes.
Findings
Six major themes emerged from the analysis: modality of learning, perceived rights, attitudes and expectations, public health safety, political nature, mental health and well-being and communication patterns. Students expressed mixed preferences for learning modalities, concerns about accommodations and perceived freedoms, apprehension about contracting future viruses and the impact of changing university policies on their mental health and well-being.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the growing understanding of university students’ experiences post-COVID-19 pandemic, specifically focusing on their return to in-person learning and their evolving relationships with the campus community. The findings highlight the importance of addressing students’ concerns and providing appropriate resources to support their mental health and well-being during major transitional periods.
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Amaia Maseda, Txomin Iturralde, Gloria Aparicio, Lotfi Boulkeroua and Sarah Cooper
In order to deepen our knowledge of governance of family firms, the purpose of this paper is to focus our attention on the relation between family owners who are members of the…
Abstract
Purpose
In order to deepen our knowledge of governance of family firms, the purpose of this paper is to focus our attention on the relation between family owners who are members of the board of directors and firm performance. Also, this study sheds more light on how the generation in charge of the family firm affects that relationship, as generational involvement may be a unique predictor of governance behavior in these firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors applied a cross-sectional ordinary least squares regression model to test the hypotheses on a sample of 313 non-listed Spanish family SMEs. The authors suggest the possibility of a non-linear relationship between the percentage of ownership by family members of the board of directors and firm performance, and specifically, the authors propose an S-shaped effect that implies two breakpoints.
Findings
The authors find not only that an inverted U-shaped relationship exists, but also an S-shaped relationship between family board members’ ownership and firm performance in family SMEs. Nevertheless, the results are different in comparing first-, second- and later-generation family firms.
Originality/value
This is one of the few empirical studies that examine the relationship between family board ownership and firm performance in the context of non-listed family SMEs. The authors consider that the influences of family directors on the board of directors as well as the concentration of family ownership on the board of directors are worth studying in non-listed family SMEs. Moreover, previous studies have focused mainly on large listed family firms but not on unlisted ones.