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The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the need to revitalize the systemic nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and offer some suggestions about how this might be accomplished. The authors introduce the concept of systemic CSR and associate it with micro-to-macro transitions, the need to make systemic objectives explicit and the responsibility of system participants to regulate their behavior to contribute to these outcomes.

The authors comment, from a systemic perspective, on four different management approaches to CSR – shareholder value, corporate social performance, stakeholder theory and corporate citizenship. Three general systemic principles that participants can use as decision-making guides are a focus on value creation, ongoing assessment of collective outcomes and reflective engagement in the aggregation process.

The authors observe that businesses routinely demonstrate their ability to think in systemic terms in strategic contexts that require it. If businesses can address systemic issues in these contexts, then they can also apply systemic logic in furtherance of collective (or system-level) objectives.

The authors propose an approach to CSR that emphasizes micro-to-macro transitions, the need to make systemic objectives explicit and the responsibility of system participants to regulate their behavior to contribute to these desired objectives. Systemic CSR is unique in its explicit focus on the micro-to-macro transition (i.e. the process of aggregation), systemic objectives and the need to actively insource responsibility for contribution to the realization of those objectives.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences of family business owners in an externally induced crisis from a resource-based perspective.

The paper employs a qualitative case study approach involving 22 firms.

In the aftermath of the BP oil spill, a series of ripple effects impacted family firms both negatively and positively. The paper outlines five ways that family firms may improve company performance in crisis situations.

Although our study is rich in qualitative detail, it is important to recognize that the BP oil spill represents a unique crisis context and caution should be exercised in generalizing the study's findings.

While ripple effects may be powerful at the industry and industry sub-group level, the paper provides evidence that family firms may overcome these external effects using one or more of five strategic initiatives: strong networking relationships, idiosyncratic local knowledge, flexibility, rapid response, and exercising trust with caution.

The study validates the potential utility of a ripple effect model in the study of family businesses and externally induced crises. It has the potential to contribute to improving management response.

The purpose of this paper is to examine why social entrepreneurs in the USA choose to operate an entirely fair trade business and the factors that affect fair trade social entrepreneurship. Fair trade seeks to benefit producers in developing countries by providing a market for their goods in developed countries. Fair trade enables all parties in the supply chain to make living wages and/or a profit.

Using a qualitative multiple case study approach of social entrepreneurs in 35 US fair trade companies, the authors develop a model and nine propositions to explain the findings.

The authors identify three primary motivational factors (ethical belief, religious faith, and business values), four contributory factors that strengthen fair trade engagement (family member involvement, the trend toward for profit status, industry professionalism, and consumer education), and three negative factors that work to discourage involvement (loss of identity, lack of industry consensus, and the shortage of retailers). The authors conclude by using the findings to consider the future of US fair trade social entrepreneurship.

The authors recognize limitations due to the sample size.

The authors believe that fair trade is worthy of further study and increased awareness.

Increased awareness of fair trade may lead to better consumer buying decisions.

The authors contribute to the development of theory in the study of fair trade, which has rarely been studied in the context of US social entrepreneurs.

This paper aims to investigate business managers’ assessment of stakeholders’ influence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The key stakeholders included “employees” and “unions” as internal and “public”, the “media” and the “government” as external stakeholders. The purpose was to estimate the influence of stakeholders that managers perceive as important. Moreover, the study sought to identify association between the CSR construct and corporate reputation and in turn whether this influences business performance.

This study uses a mail survey with a random sampling of senior managers sourced from Dun & Bradstreet’s Australian business database, focusing on large organizations (i.e. minimum $10 million p.a. reported sales and minimum 100 employees) as the selection criteria. A conceptual model was developed and tested using structural equation modeling.

The results identified that “employees” and the “public” are perceived to be the influential stakeholder groups in CSR decision-making. There was evidence of a positive relationship between the CSR construct and reputation, which in turn influenced market share, but not profitability.

This study examined a cross-section of organizations using Dun & Bradstreet’s database of Australian businesses and may not fully represent the Australian business mix. The effective response rate of 7.2 per cent appears to be low, even though it is comparable with other research in the CSR area. There may have been some self-selection by the respondents, although there were no statistically significant differences identified in the corporate characteristics of those invited to participate and those responding with usable questionnaires.

Managers can adopt a stakeholder-influenced CSR strategy to generate strong corporate reputation to improve business performance. It is important to ensure that the interests of “employees” and “public” stakeholders are addressed within organizational strategy. Respondents were less concerned about government stakeholders and thus government involvement in organizational CSR may need to be revisited.

The major concern that emerges from these findings is the absence of the perceived importance of regulatory stakeholders on firms’ CSR activities. Regulatory controls of CSR messages could reduce or eliminate inaccurate and misleading information to the public.

The analysis explains the perceived relative influence of stakeholders on CSR decisions. It also provides an understanding of the link between organizational CSR reputation and organization’s performance.

The Commission appointed jointly by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization continues to plod its weary way towards the establishment of Codex standards for all foods, which it is hoped will eventually be adopted by all countries, to end the increasing chaos of present national standards. We have to go back to 1953, when the Sixth World Health Assembly showed signs of a stirring of international conscience at trends in food industry; and particularly expressed “the view that the increasing use of various chemical substances had … , created a new public health problem”. Joint WHO/FAO Conferences which followed initiated inter alia international consultations and the setting up of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.

In 1899 the medical practitioners of Dublin were confronted with an outbreak of a peculiar and obscure illness, characterised by symptoms which were very unusual. For want of a better explanation, the disorder, which seemed to be epidemic, was explained by the simple expedient of finding a name for it. It was labelled as “beri‐beri,” a tropical disease with very much the same clinical and pathological features as those observed at Dublin. Papers were read before certain societies, and then as the cases gradually diminished in number, the subject lost interest and was dropped.

One of the most serious problems facing the country today is maintaining dietary standards, especially in the vulnerable groups, in the face of rising food prices. If it were food prices alone, household budgetry could cope, but much as rising food prices take from the housewife's purse, rates, fuel, travel and the like seem to take more; for food, it is normally pence, but for the others, it is pounds! The Price Commission is often accused of being a watch‐dog which barks but rarely if ever bites and when it attempts to do this, like as not, Union power prevents any help to the housewife. There would be far less grumbling and complaining by consumers if they could see value for their money; they only see themselves constantly overcharged and, in fact, cheated all along the line. In past issues, BFJ has commented on the price vagaries in the greengrocery trade, especially the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables. Living in a part of the country given over to fruit farming and field vegetable crops, it is impossible to remain unaware of what goes on in this sector of the food trade. Unprecedented prosperity among the growers; and where fruit‐farming is combined with field crops, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower and leafy brassicas, many of the more simple growers find the sums involved frightening. The wholesalers and middle‐men are something of unknown entities, but the prices in the shops are there for all to see. The findings of an investigation by the Commission into the trade, the profit margins between wholesale prices and greengrocers' selling prices, published in February last, were therefore not altogether surprising. The survey into prices and profits covered five basic vegetables and was ordered by the present Prices Secretary the previous November. Prices for September to November were monitored for the vegetables—cabbages, brussels sprouts, cauliflowers, carrots, turnips and swedes, the last priced together. Potatoes were already being monitored.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how clinical registers were designed and used to serve multiple purposes in three health systems, in order to contribute practical experience for building learning healthcare systems.

Case description and comparison of the development and use of clinical registries, drawing on participants’ experience and published and unpublished research.

Clinical registers and new software systems enable fact-based decisions by patients, clinicians, and managers about better care, as well as new and more economical research. Designing systems to present the data for users’ daily work appears to be the key to effective use of the potential afforded by digital data.

The case descriptions draw on the experience of the authors who were involved in the development of the registers, as well as on published and unpublished research. There is limited data about outcomes for patients or cost-effectiveness.

The cases show the significant investments which are needed to make effective use of clinical register data. There are limited skills to design and apply the digital systems to make the best use of the systems and to reduce their disadvantages. More use can be made of digital data for quality improvement, patient empowerment and support, and for research.

Patients can use their data combined with other data to self-manage their chronic conditions. There are challenges in designing and using systems so that those with lower health and computer literacy and incomes also benefit from these systems, otherwise the digital revolution may increase health inequalities.

The paper shows three real examples of clinical registers which have been developed as part of their host health systems’ strategies to develop learning healthcare systems. The paper gives a simple non-technical introduction and overview for clinicians, managers, policy-advisors and improvers of what is possible and the challenges, and highlights the need to shape the design and implementation of digital infrastructures in healthcare services to serve users.