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The measurement capabilities of the data envelopment analysis (DEA) models are used to train the artificial neural network (ANN) models for the best performance modeling of the sawmills in Ontario. The bootstrap DEA models measure robust technical efficiency scores and have benchmarking abilities, whereas the ANN models use abstract learning from a limited set of information and provide the predictive power.

The complementary modeling approaches of the DEA and the ANN provide an adaptive decision support tool for each sawmill.

The trained ANN models demonstrate promising results in predicting the relative efficiency scores and the optimal combination of the inputs and the outputs for three categories (large, medium and small) of sawmills in Ontario. The average absolute error in predicting the relative efficiency scores varies from 0.01 to 0.04, and the predicted optimal combination of the inputs (roundwood and employees) and the output (lumber) demonstrate that a large percentage of the sawmills shows less than 10% error in the prediction results.

The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated DEA-ANN model that can help in the continuous improvement and performance evaluations of the forest industry working under uncertain business environment.

The paper extends the robust political economy framework to analyze the impact of tariffs on the entrepreneurial market process. It proposes that the unintended consequences of using trade policy to bolster a nation's economy will inevitably prevent an economy from allocating its resources to their highest-valued use. The study aims to expand the robust political economy literature to international trade.

The paper develops a robust analysis of trade policy and illustrates it with two case studies of trade wars: The Chicken War (1963) and the US–Canada softwood lumber disputes (1982-present).

The paper provides theoretical insights into how the entrepreneurial market process is distorted by trade barriers. The case studies show that the theoretical insights have real-world implications that should not be ignored when planning trade policy.

This paper applies a robust political economy framework to international trade.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the degree of consumer interest in an eco‐labeling program for the Ontario wine industry and determine whether there is a willingness‐to‐pay a premium for eco‐labeled Ontario wines.

The study was a quantitative survey of 401 wine consumers in Ontario, collected at Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) retail stores and winery retail stores. Results were analyzed using quantitative non‐parametric statistical analyses.

It was revealed that while most Ontario wine consumers do not presently purchase eco‐labeled wine regularly, the majority (90 per cent) are at least somewhat interested in purchasing eco‐labeled wine and that the majority would be willing to pay a premium of $0.51 or more (65 per cent). Consumers also indicated a preference for a seal of approval style label with multiple levels that contained a website from which they could obtain detailed information on certification.

These results provide valuable insights into wine consumers' purchasing behaviours and purchasing preferences with regards to environmentally friendly products. This information can be useful to those involved in implementing the Ontario wine industry's sustainability initiative, Sustainable Winemaking Ontario (SWO), and to wineries and winegrowers who are interested in promoting their actions taken to improve sustainability.

There is presently no published research investigating the potential role for an eco‐labeling and certification program for the Ontario wine industry, or any other Canadian wine industry. There is also a limited research on willingness‐to‐pay within the food and beverage sector.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the culture in the logging industry in the East Kootenay/Columbia region in British Columbia, Canada, is changing as warm winters resulting from climate change drive expansion of a native tree-killing pest, the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae).

The paper is derived from historical records and 11 months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted from July 2010 to May 2011.

This analysis found that the insect outbreaks are generating a heightened sense of economic and physical vulnerability in the logging industry, undermining previous assumptions of sufficiency and confidence.

This paper presents results from a study of a specific region, and caution should be used when comparing these results with similar phenomena in other contexts.

The forest industry is an important employer throughout the British Columbia interior; the cultural changes documented here indicate that climate change, manifested in insect outbreaks, is generating cultural dislocation that can have negative consequences beyond the immediate economic impacts.

This paper provides a detailed analysis of how an unanticipated consequence of climate change is driving adjustments in a subculture in a technologically advanced society.

Disputes about Canadian exports of softwood lumber to the U.S. have persisted for more than a century. In this paper the roots of the disputes and the prospects for their resolution are examined. The focus is on the following key factors: (1) the nature of supply and demand; (2) the normative differences underlying the systems of timber management in the two countries and differences about what constitutes a “level playing field”; (3) rent seeking by stakeholders; and (4) weakness in bilateral and multilateral trade dispute resolution institutions. The paper concludes that there are good reasons to expect short term solution to the current dispute but persistence of the disputes in the long run.

This paper aims to assess how cocoa supply chain companies disclose sustainable development goals (SDGs) information in their sustainability reports. This assessment highlights strategic aspects of sustainable supply chain management and reveals leveraging sustainability points in the cocoa industry.

The two-step qualitative approach relies on text-mining company reports and subsequent content analysis that identifies the topics disclosed and relates them to SDG targets.

This study distinguishes 18 SDG targets connected to cocoa traders and 30 SDG targets to chocolate manufacturers. The following topics represent the main nexuses of connections: decent labour promotion and gender equity (social), empowering local communities and supply chain monitoring (economic) and agroforestry and climate action (environmental).

By highlighting the interconnections between the SDGs targeted by companies in the cocoa supply chain, this paper sheds light on the strategic SDGs for this industry and their relationships, which can help to improve sustainability disclosure and transparency. One interesting input for companies is the improvement of climate crisis prevention, focusing on non-renewable sources minimisation, carbon footprint and clear indicators of ecologic materiality.

This study contributes to policymakers to enhance governance and accountability of global supply chains that are submitted to different regulation regimes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has framed the cocoa industry from a broader SDG perspective. The interconnections identified reveal the key goals of the cocoa supply chain and point to strategic sustainability choices for companies in an important global industry.

Many of the sources constituting the management literature that were dealt with in the previous chapter will also provide business information. However, there are other sources that can be used, particularly for company and industry information.

Increased emphasis on environment, increased faith in private sector forests rather than government‐owned plantations, and improved techniques for tree growing have led to changes in reforestation policies, particularly in timber‐importing countries. Farm and community forestry has become more important, and often involves mixed broadleaved species and selective logging rather than clearfell. Private profitability is often low, but social returns may be considerably greater, warranting government support. While governments have experimented with a variety of instruments to encourage reforestation, policies have not necessarily addressed the main impediments. Measures to increase the share of resource rent gained by tree growers relative to other stakeholders in the timber production pipeline could accelerate plantings.

This paper aims to study the informational dynamics that take place between a firm and its stakeholders with respect to corporate environmental management.

The analysis is based on a case study contrasting environmental information reported by the case firm with environmental information about the firm disclosed by four stakeholder groups or their representatives (governments, the community, environmental non-governmental organizations and investors) over three years. The information flow of disclosure is also considered.

The results suggest that the informational dynamics are composed of multiple related patterns. The patterns range from correspondence between disclosures to stakeholders complementing or contradicting corporate disclosures. Different patterns are associated with different levels of interactions from stakeholders, who are most involved when they combine disclosure patterns around key environmental issues for the forest industry. Limited interactions are observed from the firm, suggesting a symbolic engagement within the dynamics and a strategic accountability approach.

Limitations are found in the focus on disclosure outlets without examination of their production and reception, and in the inherent nature of the documents collected to represent each perspective. Some stakeholder groups were excluded from the study due to data unavailability.

This paper offers an in-depth analysis of firm-stakeholders interactions with respect to environmental reporting and maps the information flow of their disclosure.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a relevant backdrop for the Worldwide Hospitality snd Tourism Themes (WHATT) theme issue on tourism challenges and solution in the Niagara region, and to present the key points discussed during the 2007 WHATT roundtable discussion in the Niagara region, Canada.

The approach of this paper is more a narrative one. It also draws data from a series of web sites to analyse the past and present performance of tourism.

This paper provides a historic perspective of the Niagara region and presented in the context of tourism in the world, Americas, Canada, and Ontario. Then it travels back to explain the origins of WHATT and its scholarly journey over the years. In capturing the essence of the 2007 WHATT roundtable discussion in Niagara, the paper provides a strong foundation for the other nine articles, which follow in this WHATT theme issue.

In a world of theories, this paper provides fresh perspectives on many relevant ideas by using original expert views. Readers who are interested in the Niagara region would benefit from this paper.