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– The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships of selected measures of environmental sustainability and the level of corruption within countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships of selected measures of environmental sustainability and the level of corruption within countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The design uses secondary data from Transparency International on perception of corruption within countries. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) environmental sustainability assessment is one measure of environmental sustainability used in the study. World Bank data on CPIA Policies and institutes for environmental sustainability that foster and protect sustainable use of natural resources and manage pollution and its data on the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of the percent of population with access to improved drinking water were two specific measures used to indicate environmental sustainability. A series of statistical tests were used to examine the relationships among perceptions of corruption and a country’s policies and reported improvements in environmental sustainability.
Findings
The findings are mixed; the level of corruption does not appear to always be negatively associated with environmental sustainability as was expected.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited by the availability of data from reliable sources over a period of time. The corruption data, while the best available, are based on opinions and perceptions. Only selected aspects of a country’s environmental sustainability were examined; these included the Environmental Sustainability Index, evaluations of selected countries; policies and institutions; and the improvement in the percent of the population with access to safe drinking water.
Social implications
In general, the less corruption, the better the record of environmental sustainability. However, corruption may not be a negative influence on specific selected aspects of environmental sustainability as would be anticipated.
Originality/value
This study examines selected aspects of the potential relationships between corruption and environmental sustainability measures. There is little, if any, research into this relationship.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the topic of sustainable construction and provide an adequate discussion of the current thinking. Achieving a balance between economic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the topic of sustainable construction and provide an adequate discussion of the current thinking. Achieving a balance between economic, social and ecological aims is a challenge. Managing and implementing sustainability requires the commitment of all stakeholders and new ways of working, thinking and learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology of this study consists of a literature review in the research field of sustainable construction and its associated impacts upon the climate, waste production and energy, materials and water usage. The aim is not to provide an in-depth, detailed analysis of specific processes and cases in the construction sector, but to present the need for rethinking sustainable construction in comprehensive terms.
Findings
The paper provides insights about the importance of sustainable construction. It suggests that all stakeholders at all stages should commit to sustainability to enable change in perception to start with.
Research limitations/implications
Further investigation on methods and techniques and interviews to construction companies will suggest a consistent framework for implementation “real-time”.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the importance of a coordinated supply chain action in the construction sector and emphasizes the need for construction companies to train and invest in resource- efficient building methods and practices. This will manage the balance between stability and change.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates the need to study further how resources efficiency can be adopted in the construction sector to further enable sustainability.
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Lijo John and Gopalakrishnan Narayanamurthy
Sustainability as a construct is still debated and is yet to attain a consensus among researchers and practitioners. Sustainable development has been seen differently by players…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainability as a construct is still debated and is yet to attain a consensus among researchers and practitioners. Sustainable development has been seen differently by players from different industry sectors. There is need to understand the commonality prevailing on sustainability practices across different industry sectors to arrive at a consensual sustainability definition. The purpose of this paper is to propose four dimensions of sustainability and studies how it captures sustainability practices across key industrial sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
Current study argues the case for sustainability using four constructs, namely, economical, environmental, ethical, and social. Subsequently a holistic definition with a model is proposed incorporating the four constructs for sustainability. Studies documenting sustainability practices across industries, namely, automobile, infrastructure, cement and concrete, electronics, mining, paper, pharmaceutical, and logistics were reviewed to validate the applicability of the proposed four construct model across different key industrial sectors.
Findings
Current study validates the industry independence of the proposed four constructs of sustainability model through a literature review. Very few studies have documented industry-specific sustainability practices and much lesser have studied the ethical dimension of sustainability. Furthermore, the organizational strategic plan is developed for incorporating the environmental, economical, ethical, and social needs into the organizational business operations at the strategic, tactical, and the operational levels.
Research limitations/implications
Proposed model needs to be applied in multiple case organizations from diverse sectors to evaluate its capacity to capture the aspects of sustainability across different sectors. Future study could attempt to understand the interrelationships between the identified constructs and how they impact each other within different industrial sectors.
Practical implications
Model linked to organizational business operations at the strategic, tactical, and the operational levels helps in the alignment of the organizational activity towards the strategic intent of the organizational sustainability philosophy in the business ecology. It also helps in equipping the organization to achieve the operational excellence and the strategic business growth at the same time.
Originality/value
Current study is unique in its attempt to understand the capability of proposed sustainability dimensions to capture the sustainability practices followed across different industrial sectors.
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The purpose of this paper is to focus on the religious and philosophical ways humans view nature, and how we perceive and treat our planet, including all its living entities. Its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the religious and philosophical ways humans view nature, and how we perceive and treat our planet, including all its living entities. Its purpose is to make a positive influence on individuals living in the Eastern and Western hemispheres, so that those who are unaware may be given an unexpected glimpse at our current human situation, which appears increasingly discouraging with regard to sensitivity towards nature.
Design/methodology/approach
By offering a subtle, insightful view of human nature and its connection to religion and the universe, rather than facts and statistics on pollution alone, this conceptual paper introduces theoretical and philosophical discussions from comparative literature as well as narratives from actual interviews conducted in Japan.
Findings
As human beings, we need to better define our position in this world, in order to learn to appreciate the true value of our own existence. With regard to the question of where humans lie in nature, a basic difference exists between Asian and Western views. The Asian view of nature has traditionally regarded humans and the universe as continually interacting together – human beings are an integral part of life. This differs from the basic Western notion of humans and nature comprising two separate, opposing elements.
Originality/value
This paper offers readers a deeper understanding of how humans feel and perceive nature, to help them realize how urgent it is for us to respect our natural resources on Earth.
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The purpose of this conceptual study is to offer an assessment and evaluation of the literature in the field of international marketing negotiations and to propose a descriptive…
Abstract
The purpose of this conceptual study is to offer an assessment and evaluation of the literature in the field of international marketing negotiations and to propose a descriptive organizing framework which could serve as a basis to integrate and evaluate the existing empirical and conceptual work. The premise of the model is that certain cultural value orientations will be reflected in the characteristics of individuals and in those of their respective companies. Cultural value orientations will, thus, indirectly affect the process of negotiation and the outcomes of the dyadic interaction.
Jack A. Lesser and Lakshmi K. Thumuluri
Examines the extent to which a variety of widely utilized consumer behavior concepts are systematically related. States that within marketing, consumer behaviour research appears…
Abstract
Examines the extent to which a variety of widely utilized consumer behavior concepts are systematically related. States that within marketing, consumer behaviour research appears to lack structure and direction.Attempts to determine the nature of the interrelationships which exist between different widely examined classical consumer concepts and provides some discussion regarding the findings including areas for further comparison.
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Anthony J. Alessandra, Louis H. Knierim and Ugur Yavas
A trend which will have a significant impact on tomorrow's marketing is the growth of the market of the older consumers. In America in 1970 there were 18.6 million people in the…
Abstract
A trend which will have a significant impact on tomorrow's marketing is the growth of the market of the older consumers. In America in 1970 there were 18.6 million people in the 55–64 year age group and 20.0 million people in the 65‐year‐or‐over age group. Projections indicate that people in these age brackets will account for approximately 20 per cent of the American population, reaching 46.9 million by 1985. Besides growing in numbers, older consumers have also achieved a better standard of living within the past 20 years. Business Week claims that the expenditures of older consumers are far larger than the expenditures of the younger market. Projections, furthermore, suggest that older consumers will not only maintain their buying power but may also enjoy a substantially improved economic well being in the next two decades.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of the theory of reasoned action as a general framework to predict knowledge‐sharing behavior and offer practical guidance to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of the theory of reasoned action as a general framework to predict knowledge‐sharing behavior and offer practical guidance to promote knowledge sharing in the Chinese construction sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on survey data, structural equation modeling was applied to test the theory of reasoned action in the architectural design project team context in China.
Findings
The results suggest that attitude toward knowledge sharing is more important than subjective norms in determining architects' willingness to share knowledge. But the two factors are positively correlated.
Research limitations/implications
Although theory of reasoned action provides us with a powerful prediction model, it cannot explain the underlying mental processes. More attention should be paid to the development of the explanatory model in future researches.
Originality/value
The results presented in this paper usefully imply that team managers should focus more on training architects to have a positive attitude toward knowledge sharing, so as to increase knowledge‐sharing behaviors. Moreover, the architectural design organizations should build up a knowledge‐sharing culture so that architects' attitudes toward knowledge sharing become more positive.
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