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With the empirical evidence on the purchase behaviour of tinned tomatoes, food labelling and the safety consciousness of consumers in Ghana were examined.

Primary data were obtained from 130 consumers. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and multinomial probit analysis were applied.

Consumers use tinned tomatoes for cooking because of its easy accessibility in nearby shops, guaranteed constant supply, attractive package, it being affordable/cheaper, its better colour, advertisement/promotion, and longer shelf life. There is a low level of food safety consciousness among consumers since only one-fifth read labels on tinned tomatoes very often, and one-fifth do not read labels at all. Consumers frequently check on tinned tomatoes' most essential information: brand/type, manufacturing and expiry dates, and weight/volume. Age, residential status, contact information, nutritional benefits and affordability influence the choice of retail brand of tinned tomatoes. The health label consumer segment and conventional label consumer segment were identified, with the majority being the former.

The sample size used for the study could be improved in terms of number and geographical coverage. This is because the study was limited to only one main urbanised area in Ghana. Therefore, it will be worthwhile for a further study to be conducted by comparing urban and rural consumers in Ghana and other countries within Africa, to either validate or reveal a different trajectory of consumer behaviour relevant to marketing, policy and practice.

Tomato paste (tinned tomatoes) is consumed in almost all homes in Africa, but there are food scare concerns about tinned tomatoes due to reported cases of adulteration with unhealthy materials such as starch and food colour, leading to negative health implications on consumers. This makes the reading of tinned tomato labels very crucial. Thus, it is of policy relevance to investigate consumers' reading behaviour of label information on tinned tomatoes in Ghana. However, previous studies on food labelling focussed on food and nutrition labelling and implications of food labelling on consumers' purchase behaviour, with most of them outside Africa.

The purpose of this study is to test the modulating role and threshold of governance quality in the cost of living–energy poverty nexus.

Two-step System Generalized Methods of Moment empirical model with linear interaction between cost of living and governance quality was estimated. This study used data on 40 African countries over 20 years (2000–2019).

The paper shows that the conditional effect of inflation on energy poverty is negative. Thus, governance quality acts as a moderator on the relationship between inflation and energy poverty beyond a threshold. The study's principal practical implication is that governance quality reverses inflation's positive unconditional effect on energy poverty, and governance quality may be improved beyond specific policy-defined thresholds to achieve the desired goal of lowering energy poverty. Nonetheless, governance quality at initial stages would not drive the needed reduction in energy poverty unless it goes beyond the threshold of 0.03, 0.02 and 0.07.

This study recommends that policymakers should initiate policies that would ensure increased access to clean energy.

This study's main contributions are that the authors estimated the threshold beyond which governance quality reverses the adverse impact of inflation on energy poverty. Further, the authors have shown that governance quality is a catalyst to reduce energy poverty.

This paper examined the factors influencing the participation of rice processors in short supply chains and the participation impact on the amount of rice processed, per capita expenditure of household and value of sales.

The Seemingly Unrelated Regression and Doubly Robust Augmented Inverse Probability Weighting Model (AIPW) were used to analyse the determinants of short supply chain participation and the impact of short supply.

From the results, the mean value of rice processed was GH₵18385 (US$ 3,069.28), with the minimum value being GH₵ 25 (US$ 4.17) and the maximum GH₵ 67200 (US$ 1,1218.70) per annum. Processed rice aroma and grade characteristics positively influence the value of processed rice sold via short supply chains as well as the expertise rate of the processor, Farmer-Based Organisation membership, and marketing information availability. Women rice processors' per capita expenditure, total sales value and the value of processed rice was positively influenced by the short supply chain participation.

Even though the sample size was appropriate, a larger sample size could further support the study's finding since a limited geographical area with predominant domestic rice processors was studied. Again, future studies should consider behavioural theories, such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, amongst others, in understanding the reasons for the choices of short supply chains compared to other sales outlets.

Although there is a growing body of literature on rice, most of the studies focussed on the marketing outlet of rice producers, rice processing, constraints and opportunities faced by rice farmers and processors and an out-grower scheme involving rice processors amongst rice producers with none of these on the choice of short supply chains amongst women processors. Also, amongst all the studies on rice producers, none applied a theory; however, the Women in Development (WID) Theory was used to analyse the impact of the short supply chain on the impact on household per capita expenditure (poverty), the value of sales and amount of rice processed, a modest theoretical contribution of the paper to literature.

This study aims to examine the impact of socioeconomic factors on electricity usage and assess the feasibility of implementing a mini-grid system in Kasangazi, Malawi. The primary aim is to understand the community’s current and potential utilisation of electrical equipment.

A mixed-methods approach was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Information was gathered through structured questionnaires, and energy audits were conducted among 87 randomly selected households from 28 Kasangazi communities. Data analysis relied on descriptive statistics using IBM SPSS version 28.

The study indicates that every household in Kasangazi uses non-renewable energy sources: 60 households use disposable batteries for lighting, 20 for radios and all use firewood, freely sourced from local forests, for cooking and heating water. The study shows that firewood is the community’s preferred energy source, illustrating the challenges faced in the fight against deforestation. Most household income comes from farming, with smaller contributions from businesses, employment and family remittances. Access to higher education is scarce, with only one out of 349 family members receiving tertiary education. Despite the constraints of low education levels and income, there is a demand for larger electrical appliances such as stoves and refrigerators. This underscores the need for mini-grid solutions, even in less technologically advanced, agriculture-dependent communities.

This study underscores that in Sub-Saharan Africa, factors like household size, income and education levels do not significantly influence the electricity demand but should be taken as part of the fundamental human rights. Rural populations express a desire for electricity due to the convenience it offers, particularly for appliances like refrigerators and stoves. Mini-grids emerge as a viable alternative in regions where grid electricity provision is challenging. It is concluded from this paper that the issue of using renewable energy should not only be taken for environmental preservation but also to promote energy access, augmenting efforts in supplying electricity to the remotest parts of the country.

This study aims to examine the market structure and the factors influencing the price of fuelwood in the Dormaa Municipal in the Bono region of Ghana.

A total of 200 fuelwood harvesters, 20 wholesalers and 20 retailers were sampled by using probability and non-probability sampling methods. Gini coefficient was used to analyse the market structure, whereas quantile regression was used to analyse the factors influencing the pricing of fuelwood.

The study results indicated that the fuelwood harvesters’ market is less concentrated, with a Gini coefficient of 0.22, likewise the fuelwood intermediaries’ market, with Gini coefficients of 0.22 and 0.32 for wholesalers and retailers, respectively. The price of fuelwood decreased when sold through the retailer and wholesaler outlets, but the price increased when sold via the end-user outlet. Less smoky fuelwood species attracted higher prices, whereas easy-to-light fuelwood species were sold at lower prices. Furthermore, fuelwood from Perpewa (Celtis zenkeri) and Acacia (Senna siamea) species received the highest prices in the market. It is recommended that fuelwood harvesters establish woodlots with acacia (Senna siamea), especially and Perpewa (Celtis zenkeri), both of which emit less smoke and have high calorific value with fast rotation period. This will ensure fuelwood availability and offer better prices to the harvesters, as such species command high prices in the market.

There is paucity or near unavailability of literature on the market structure and the influence of the hedonic attributes on different quartile prices of fuelwood; the result of this study provides the foundational springboard for future studies on fuelwood marketing.

High levels of interior water vapour lead to condensation and black mould that in turn represent significant risks to residential properties and their occupants. Beliefs about window opening are good predictors of the degree to which householders will actually open windows to purge their homes of water vapour, including water vapour that they themselves generate. The present study tested if a short information-giving intervention could enhance householders’ beliefs that foster window opening as purge ventilation and, in turn, lead to greater window opening.

Data were collected from 242 UK householders with robust psychometrically sound measures embedded in an online self-report survey that also presented the intervention information.

The intervention led participants, and males in particular, to have significantly greater concerns about condensation and mould and significantly less concerns about heat loss costs arising from opening windows, and these altered beliefs in turn predicted a greater intention to open windows in the future.

By sharing simple information, surveyors and other building professionals can help householders take the simple step of opening their windows and so reduce the threats that condensation and mould present to themselves and their homes.

This is the first study to test (1) a time-based model that predicted the intervention would have a positive effect on specific window opening attitudes and that those new attitudes would in turn affect window opening intentions, and (2) if the intervention had different effects on men and women.

The purpose of this study is to extend the findings from a very limited number of studies that have focused on the potential antecedents of firm diversity. Specifically, the authors examined the extent to which a set of firm-level diversity management initiatives, which included diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) policies and oversight structures, senior leader values and utility perceptions about DE&I and DE&I dissemination strategies, may be related to firm-level reported diversity – overall, and that which is specific to gender, ethnicity, race and disability.

The data for this study were gathered from a national sample of 200 US restaurant and foodservice companies during the third quarter of 2021 by an independent data collection firm.

After controlling for firm size, age, ownership structure and chain affiliation, the results from a series of regression analyses showed that formal diversity management policies and procedures (e.g. policies beyond those legally mandated), structural oversight of diversity management initiatives (e.g. designated diversity leader) and beliefs among senior leaders regarding the utility of diversity management initiatives, were positively related to firm-level diversity. There were also several notable differences in the significance of the findings across the four diversity groups, indicating support for a contingency explanation.

There are two unique contributions to this study. First, by considering a more support-based (vs compliance and control) approach to managing DE&I that is authenticated by senior leadership’s beliefs about the utility of DE&I, the findings advance the understanding of the nature and scope of diversity management initiatives that may influence firm-level diversity – in general, as well as that which may be specific to restaurant and foodservice settings. Additionally, the findings offer industry-specific insights regarding the extent and relevance of DE&I policies and practices that have been adopted by restaurants and foodservice organizations and prescriptive guidance for future inquiry on this topic.

This paper examines what facilitates the swift reconfiguration of freight movements across transport modes in the wake of a major disaster.

A qualitative research approach focussing on the New Zealand (NZ) domestic freight transport operations in the wake of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake is used with data collected through 19 interviews with 27 informants. The interviews are thematically analysed by using the framework method.

The paper provides rich and detailed descriptions of the ability of a freight transport system to recover from a disaster through rapid modal shifts. This paper identifies nine factors enabling modular transport operations and highlights the critical role of physical, digital, operational and inter-organisational interconnectivity in the aftermath of a disaster.

Although the management of freight disruptions has become a prevalent topic not only in industry and policy-making circles, but also in the academic literature, qualitative research focussing on the ability of commercial freight systems to adapt and recover from a disaster through rapid modal shifts is limited. This qualitative study sheds light on the mechanisms underlying the continuity of freight operations in the wake of a disaster and provides a comprehensive understanding of modular transport operations and the ability of freight systems to keep goods moving.