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1 – 10 of 133Peter Jones, Daphne Comfort and David Hillier
The purpose of this paper is to outline the origins and nature of the pop up retail phenomenon, examine the development and characteristics of pop up shops within the UK and offer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline the origins and nature of the pop up retail phenomenon, examine the development and characteristics of pop up shops within the UK and offer some reflections on the impact of pop up shops within the UK’s town and city centres and on the role of pop up shops within the wider retail economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper begins with a brief review of the pop up retail phenomenon and this is followed by an examination of the development and characteristics of pop up shops in the UK. The information on which the paper is based is drawn from the corporate websites of pop up shop operators and property management companies and agencies.
Findings
The paper reveals that pop up shops have been developed in a variety of formats and locations within the UK and a number of factors driving pop up shop development are identified including high retail vacancy rates in shopping centres, relaxations in planning regulations, the opportunity for retailers and entrepreneurs to market test products and brands and changes in customer behaviour and consumer culture. Looking to the future pop up shops may make but a small physical contribution to increasing the number of retail units on the High Street but by enhancing the experiential environment for consumers, they may make an important contribution to the quality of shopping.
Originality/value
The paper provides an accessible review of the origins, development and possible impact of pop up shops within the UK and as such will interest property professionals, academics and students interested in changes in the retail environment.
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Peter Jones and Daphne Comfort
This paper offers some reflections on changes in the relationships between sustainability and the hospitality industry following the onset of the Coronavirus Disease 2019…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper offers some reflections on changes in the relationships between sustainability and the hospitality industry following the onset of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. (Covid-19 is officially a pandemic, but the term “COVID-19 crisis” is used throughout this paper because the authors feel that it captures the wider impacts of the crisis, rather than just focussing on the disease itself).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the COVID-19 crisis, emphasises the role of hospitality in economic and social life and reviews how the crisis has changed the relationships between sustainability and the hospitality industry.
Findings
The paper reveals the dramatic effect the crisis has had on sustainability in the hospitality industry. That said, though the crisis has offered a vision of a more sustainable future, this vision may pose a major challenge for the industry and for many of its traditional customers.
Research limitations/implications
The paper outlines some of the theoretical, operational, strategic and research implications of the crisis for the hospitality industry and for hospitality scholars.
Originality/value
This paper provides a reflective review of changes in the relationships between sustainability and the hospitality industry following the onset of COVID-19.
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Peter Jones and Daphne Comfort
Modern slavery has been identified as a problem in the construction industry, but the issue has received very limited attention in the academic literature. This exploratory paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Modern slavery has been identified as a problem in the construction industry, but the issue has received very limited attention in the academic literature. This exploratory paper looks to explore one of the ways in which the United Kingdom (UK)'s largest housebuilding companies have publicly addressed the issue by reviewing their modern slavery statements.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a simple methodological approach to review the modern slavery statements of the largest housebuilding companies within the UK and offers some reflections on these statements.
Findings
The findings identified a number of policy and practice responses, which characterised the selected housebuilding companies' approaches to modern slavery. The companies' approaches to modern slavery statements were seen as aspirational and perhaps best described as a work in progress.
Research limitations/implications
The authors recognise that the paper has a number of limitations. The empirical material for the review is drawn exclusively from the corporate websites of the selected housebuilding companies at a set point in time and does not include any primary information supplied by, or obtained from, the companies' executives, managers or employees or any information obtained from the companies' contractors, subcontractors or suppliers.
Originality/value
The paper offers an exploratory review of the modern slavery statements published by the largest housebuilding companies within the UK. As such, the review makes a small contribution to addressing a gap in the academic literature on modern slavery within the housebuilding industry and will hopefully stimulate future research in the field.
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Peter Jones and Daphne Comfort
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) agreed at a United Nations General Assembly in 2015 embrace an ambitious and wide ranging set of global environmental, social and economic…
Abstract
Purpose
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) agreed at a United Nations General Assembly in 2015 embrace an ambitious and wide ranging set of global environmental, social and economic issues designed to effect a transition to a more sustainable future. The United Nations called on all governments to pursue these ambitious goals but also acknowledged the important role of the private sector in addressing the SDGs. This paper offers an exploratory review of how some of the UK's largest volume housebuilders publicly claim to be committed to addressing the SDGs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides an outline of the characteristics of sustainable development, of the SDGs and of the frame of reference and method of enquiry employed in the study, prior to reviewing the findings from the largest UK housebuilders.
Findings
The findings revealed that seven of the largest housebuilding companies claimed to be committed to contributing to the SDGs, though the scale and the extent of their claimed commitments varied. In reviewing the housebuilders approach to the SDGs, the authors drew attention to three challenges the housebuilders may face in pursuing their claimed commitment to the SDGs, namely, concentrating on specific goals, measurement and reporting.
Originality/value
The paper offers an accessible review of how seven of the UK's largest housebuilders claimed to be committed to addressing the SDGs.
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Peter Jones and Daphne Comfort
The purpose of this review paper is to extend the literature on animal welfare in the hospitality industry by exploring how some of the major fast-food companies have publicly…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this review paper is to extend the literature on animal welfare in the hospitality industry by exploring how some of the major fast-food companies have publicly addressed this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews, and reflects on, the animal welfare statements and policies posted on the Internet by five major fast-food companies, namely, Yum! Brands, Restaurant Brands International, McDonald's, Domino's Pizza Group and Subway.
Findings
The findings reveal that four interlinked themes, namely, strategic corporate commitment, a focus on supply chains, policies on specific categories of animals and food products, and auditing, illustrated the selected companies approach to animal welfare. The authors also raise a number of issues about the selected companies' approaches to animal welfare including the aspirational nature of their commitments, the emphasis on regular audits, the role of external assurance in the reporting process, the role of animal welfare pressure groups and campaigns, and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Research limitations/implications
The paper's empirical material is drawn from the corporate websites of five fast-food companies, but the paper has theoretical and practical implications and provides a platform for future research.
Originality/value
The paper offers a simple review of the way five major fast-food companies have addressed the issue of animal welfare.
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Peter Jones, David Hillier and Daphne Comfort
The purpose of this commissioned paper is to offer some personal reflections on sustainability within the hospitality industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this commissioned paper is to offer some personal reflections on sustainability within the hospitality industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper opens by identifying sustainability as a teasing paradox for the hospitality industry and a short discussion of the characteristics of sustainability. It then explores the growing interest in corporate sustainability and offers a review of the range of academic research into sustainability within the hospitality industry literature. More generally, the authors suggest three fundamental sets of issues that currently face the industry, namely, defining sustainability within the industry, materiality and independent external assurance and sustainable consumption and the industry’s commitment to continuing economic growth.
Findings
In addressing these three sets of issues, the authors make a number of suggestions. First that definitions of sustainability within the hospitality industry can be interpreted as being constructed around business imperatives rather than an ongoing commitment to sustainability. Second that materiality and external assurance are not treated comprehensively within the industry, which undermines the credibility of the sustainability reporting process. Third that the concept of sustainable consumption and any critique of the industry’s commitment to economic growth are conspicuous by their absence in the both the research literature on sustainability and in sustainability reporting within the industry.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that the hospitality industry may need to examine how it defines sustainability, to extend its sustainability reporting to embrace materiality and external assurance and to address the issues of sustainable consumption and continuing economic growth if it is to demonstrate a worthwhile and enduring commitment to sustainability.
Originality/value
The paper provides some accessible personal reflections on sustainability within the hospitality industry and, as such, it will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners interested in the hospitality industry and more widely within the business and management community.
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Peter Jones, David Hillier and Daphne Comfort
The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on the sustainability reports published by the two market leaders in ocean cruising industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on the sustainability reports published by the two market leaders in ocean cruising industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper begins with short reviews of the growing interest in the commitment to corporate sustainability and of the growth and market structure of the ocean cruising industry by way of setting the context for the commentary. This commentary is based on a review of the most recent sustainability reports published by the two leading ocean cruising companies which account for almost 75 per cent of total industry revenues.
Findings
The findings of the paper reveal that the two major ocean cruising companies, namely, Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises, published extensive sustainability reports covering a wide range of environmental, social, economic and governance issues. The other leading ocean cruising companies posted limited information on their approach to sustainability on their corporate websites and some posted no information on sustainability. However, the authors suggest that given that the two major cruising companies account for 70 per cent of ocean cruising passengers, the industry compares favourably in its sustainability reporting with other players in the hospitality industry and the service sector. That said, the authors also suggest that approaches to sustainability within the cruising industry, which are based on continuing growth, present testing management challenges for the leading cruising companies.
Originality/value
The paper provides an accessible commentary on current approaches to sustainability in the ocean cruising industry, and as such, it will interest professionals working in the cruise industry and more generally in the hospitality industry as well as academics and students interested in hospitality management and sustainability.
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Peter Jones, David Hillier and Daphne Comfort
The purposes of this paper are to provide a preliminary examination of the extent to which Europe’s leading commercial property companies are embracing the concept of materiality…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this paper are to provide a preliminary examination of the extent to which Europe’s leading commercial property companies are embracing the concept of materiality and commissioning independent external assurance as part of their sustainability reporting processes and to offer some wider reflections on materiality and external assurance in sustainability reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper begins with an introduction to corporate sustainability, an outline of the European property market and of the drivers for, and challenges to, sustainability for property companies and a review of the characteristics of materiality and external assurance. The information on which the paper is based is drawn from the leading European commercial property companies’ corporate websites.
Findings
The paper reveals that all of Europe’s leading property companies had either reported or provided information on sustainability but that only approximately half of these companies had embraced materiality or commissioned some form of independent external assurance as an integral part of their sustainability reporting processes. In many ways, this reduces the reliability and credibility of the leading property companies’ sustainability reports. Looking to the future, growing stakeholder pressure may force more of the leading European property companies to embrace materiality and commission external assurance as systematic and integral elements in the sustainability reporting process.
Originality/value
The paper provides an accessible review of the current status of materiality and external assurance among Europe’s leading commercial property companies’ sustainability reporting and as such it will interest professionals, practitioners, academics and students interested in the sustainability in the property industry.
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Peter Jones, David Hillier and Daphne Comfort
Corporate social responsibility, sustainability and business ethics.
Abstract
Subject area
Corporate social responsibility, sustainability and business ethics.
Study level/applicability
This case has been designed for undergraduate students, with two target audiences. The first is business and management students following modules in corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and business ethics. Here the accent is on allowing the students to explore and debate how CSR agendas are emerging within a specific sector of the retail economy. The second is students pursuing fashion, clothing, textile, retailing and consumer studies degrees and here the focus is on how some of the leading fashion goods retailers are addressing CSR. More generally the case can also be used on “Contemporary Issues” modules within general business and management programmes.
Case overview
This small case offers an exploratory review of the emerging CSR issues currently being publicly addressed by the world's leading fashion goods retailers. It includes a brief introduction to CSR; a brief thumbnail sketch of the fashion goods industry; details of the method of enquiry; a description of the CSR issues currently being publicly addressed by the top ten fashion good retailers on their corporate web sites; and some critical reflections on the CSR agendas being pursued by these retailers. The case study is novel in two ways. First, it focuses upon what is an emerging market issue rather than on emerging markets per se though a number of the issues raised in the case have major implications for emerging economies. Second, it addresses the CSR issues being addressed by a number of the leading fashion goods retailers and as such it a not a case which relates to individual decision making. While the case is principally focussed upon the retail sector it ranges across the whole of the supply chain.
Expected learning outcomes
The paper provides an accessible review of the CSR issues and agendas currently being pursued by the leading fashion goods retailers and as such it will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners who are interested in both the fashion industry and corporate sustainability.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available, please consult your librarian for access.
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Peter Jones, David Hillier and Daphne Comfort
Within town and city centres in the UK the challenges of managing public spaces, concerns about crime, the fear of crime, anti‐social behaviour and environmental problems and the…
Abstract
Within town and city centres in the UK the challenges of managing public spaces, concerns about crime, the fear of crime, anti‐social behaviour and environmental problems and the desire to maintain and enhance vitality and viability are important and interlinked issues. During the past two decades a number of policy and management initiatives have been introduced in an attempt to address these issues and to promote sustainable town and city centres. Town Centre Management (TCM) schemes, for example, were established in a growing number of towns and cities from late 1980 onwards (e.g. Jones 1990). The basic aim ofTCM has been to regenerate, sustain and develop the well being and to manage the potential of town and city centres by encouraging stakeholders and local businesses to work together in purposeful partnerships to ensure the co‐ordination and development of services. There are a number of variations in the structure and funding regimes of the 250 or so TCM schemes across the UK but they generally involve some kind of public sector/private sector partnership and funding, albeit in varying proportions, a focus on a particular area and co‐ordinated management.
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