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1 – 5 of 5

Abstract

Purpose

Sustainability is understood as a complex and integrating area, involving the most diverse areas and fields of knowledge. Because of the innumerable socio-environmental challenges in the current scenario, a sustainable development that finds the necessary changes and advances for communities, industry and the various stakeholders involved is required. In this process of promoting sustainable development, universities stand out for being institutions capable of taking an analytical and questioning look at the directions of the society in which they are inserted and not just helping them to pursue them, serving as a model and living laboratory for the implementation of greener practices in cities. One of the actions that contributes to the consolidation process of a more sustainable university and the development of the green campus is the use of green marketing, understood as a set of all the practices that involve conventional marketing, focused on the search to reduce the negative impact or promote positive effects on the relationship between the institution and the environment. This paper aims, based on the balanced scorecard (BSC), to propose a strategic management tool as support for green marketing strategies, thus promoting, more quickly, the promotion of sustainable development in higher education institutions (HEIs).

Design/methodology/approach

Four universities were chosen, from the literature, in terms of best practices for sustainable development, where the main dimensions used by green marketing were mapped. Based on them, the BSC structure was adapted to enhance its strategies.

Findings

To achieve the objective of this work, this paper proposed an adaptation of the original BSC for better management of green marketing strategies for universities, based on four dimensions: community members, university members, product and strategy.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is to propose a BSC as a strategic management system focused on the green marketing of universities to accelerate the promotion of sustainable development in HEIs.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 21 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 March 2021

Simone Sehnem, Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Diogo Amarildo da Conceição, Darciana Weber and Dulcimar José Julkovski

There is no literature that sought the revision and integration of ecological modernization of theory (EMT) and circular economy (CE). This article aims to answer the questions…

1090

Abstract

Purpose

There is no literature that sought the revision and integration of ecological modernization of theory (EMT) and circular economy (CE). This article aims to answer the questions: How have companies developed circular economy practices within their operations? Why have companies invested in circular economy practices? Based on the answers to these questions, it would be possible to understand how the assumptions of EMT explain the adoption of CE practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method is based on multiple case studies with Brazilian craft brewery companies.

Findings

Companies studied have pursed the adoption of circular economy practices, but the full potential of the use of biological cycles within their processes of production has been hampered by the lack of external policies and clear governance toward circular economy. Thus, pollution prevention policies may be an important driver for organizations be able to advance in circular economy practices.

Research limitations/implications

Research limitations are coverage only of organizations located in an emerging country. A second limitation is that the data saturation was partially achieved in some of the analyzed cases, especially by the limitation of the time period surveyed (transversal research). The longitudinal evaluation is timely for circular economy surveys.

Practical implications

The formulation of a regulatory framework through a participative, interactive and decentralized process, capable of delegating responsibilities and incentives to all entities, to contemplate a tax restructuring for the alcoholic beverage sector, could corroborate to create a new standard of action for the sector.

Social implications

This document highlights how the principles of ecological modernization can contribute to the advancement of the circular economy. The understanding can help in the design of processes that provide circular and sustainable operations as a social good in a effective value.

Originality/value

The principles from EMT, such as the development of an institutional environment towards corporate environmental proactive, could enhance the adoption of circular economy practices within the brewery sector. Despite of the class association of the brewery sector has supported the companies studied to move forward in other matters, a clear governance is necessary to guide organizations towards circular economy practices.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 June 2021

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

Breweries in Brazil are looking at whether a circular economic model could boost productivity and increase competitive advantage.

Originality/value

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Details

Strategic Direction, vol. 37 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0258-0543

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Maria Conceição A. Silva Portela, Ana Santos Camanho, Diogo Queiroz Almeida, Luiz Lopes, Sofia Nogueira Silva and Ricardo Castro

In a context of international economic crisis the improvement in the efficiency and productivity of public services is seen as a way to maintain high-quality levels at lower…

Abstract

Purpose

In a context of international economic crisis the improvement in the efficiency and productivity of public services is seen as a way to maintain high-quality levels at lower costs. Increased productivity can be promoted through benchmarking exercises, where key performance indicators (KPIs), individually or aggregated, are used to compare health units. The purpose of this paper is to describe a benchmarking platform, called Hospital Benchmarking (HOBE), where hospital’s services are used as the unit of analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

HOBE platform includes a set of managerial indicators through which hospital services’ are compared. The platform also benchmarks services through aggregate service indicators, and provides an aggregate measure of hospital’s performance based on a composite indicator of the service’s performances. These aggregate indicators were obtained through data envelopment analysis (DEA).

Findings

Some results are presented for Portuguese hospitals for the trial years of 2008 and 2009, for which data is publicly available. Details for the service-level analysis are provided for a sample hospital, as well as details on the aggregate performance resulting from services performances.

Practical implications

HOBE’s features and outcomes show that the platform can be used to guide management actions and to support the design of health policies by administrative authorities, provided that good quality and timely data are available, and that hospitals are involved in the design of the KPIs.

Originality/value

The platform is innovative in the sense that it bases its analysis on hospital’s services, which are in general more comparable among hospitals than indicators of hospital overall performance. In addition, it makes use of DEA to aggregate performance indicators, allowing for user choice in the inputs and outputs to be aggregated, and it proposes a novel model to aggregate service’s efficiencies into a single measure of hospital performance.

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2011

Maria Conceição A. Silva Portela, Ana Santos Camanho and Diogo Nóvoa Borges

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the implementation of a web‐based platform integrating benchmarking and data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the Portuguese secondary…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the implementation of a web‐based platform integrating benchmarking and data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the Portuguese secondary schools.

Design/methodology/approach

The benchmarking platform is designed around a set of key performance indicators that are displayed using benchmarking graphs. These indicators are also aggregated through the methodology of DEA to provide a summary measure of performance.

Findings

The benchmarking platform developed enables schools to perform internal and external evaluation through a standard model that is based on indicators of school activities. It encourages schools' efforts of continuous improvement and increases society awareness regarding schools' context and results obtained.

Practical implications

The benchmarking platform can be useful for schools and general public. For the general public, there is a tool that allows the construction of user‐defined rankings online and benchmarking tools that allow the comparison of performance of a specific school with others. In addition to these features, schools have in the BESP platform a repository of historical data, and the possibility to see a set of graphs that show for some indicators their evolution over time.

Originality/value

This paper describes a breakthrough in the Portuguese education context. The BESP platform is the first in this context to combine DEA and benchmarking tools in a web‐based environment, designed to enable real‐time performance assessments.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

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