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1 – 9 of 9Monika Hartmann, Sarah Heinen, Sabrina Melis and Johannes Simons
All food sectors, especially meat production and processing, has been in the dock over the last decades. CSR is considered as a way for an enterprise to increase its reputation…
Abstract
Purpose
All food sectors, especially meat production and processing, has been in the dock over the last decades. CSR is considered as a way for an enterprise to increase its reputation and safeguard against risks, e.g. food safety, environmental or social incidence. Thus, it is not surprising that CSR has gained importance for meat companies. However, the question arises whether consumers are indeed aware and appreciative of this involvement. This paper seeks to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenient sample of 123 consumers was interviewed with a standardized questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive as well as uni‐ and multivariate methods.
Findings
The results show that CSR is hardly known by German consumers and only plays a moderate role in their present purchase behavior. However, consumers are interested in CSR and the survey results reveal a potential for CSR to become an important determinant in consumers' purchase decision of meat.
Research limitations/implications
Concerning the interpretation of the results, there exist potential limitations that arise from the small sample size, the method of data collection and a social desirability bias in responses. Future research may analyze the role of CSR in consumers' purchase decisions using non‐hypothetical choice experiments.
Practical implications
There is scope for companies to gain competitive advantage by responsible conduct and by spreading information about that in a thoughtful and authentic manner. This holds especially for the area of animal welfare.
Originality/value
There exists little research that analyzes consumers' attitudes towards and perception of CSR for the food sector and no study so far has concentrated on the meat industry. This study provides information for decision makers in food companies and researchers interested in the impact of CSR on consumers' attitudes and behavior.
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Sarah Price, Jeffery Bray and Lorraine Brown
Employees eat regularly in workplace foodservice settings, thus the food served can significantly impact their overall diet. Workplace foodservice providers are facing several…
Abstract
Purpose
Employees eat regularly in workplace foodservice settings, thus the food served can significantly impact their overall diet. Workplace foodservice providers are facing several challenges, including changing consumer demands, partial blame for high levels of obesity and the delivery of accessible information that can encourage healthier food choices. The purpose of this paper is to explore the industry perspective on consumer information needs and to assess the challenges faced by foodservice providers in terms of responding to these in a workplace setting.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach was adopted, involving ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with contract catering managers in the UK and Germany.
Findings
Canteen operators have a sound understanding of what is important to their customers. However, the amount of dish information currently provided is limited, and the reasons for this are discussed. The menu remains the traditional medium of communication of information on dishes, but there is openness to technical platforms, which not only reduce information overload but also increase customer engagement.
Practical implications
Technological solutions are discussed as a way to overcome barriers to information provision providing workplace caterers with a clear approach to effectively communicate enhanced dish information.
Social implications
The provision of enhanced dish information has been found to influence consumers’ to make more healthful selections. This is an important public health issue given the growing rates of obesity and diabetes type 2.
Originality/value
This study makes an original contribution by exploring the industry perspective on consumer needs for information and on how this information can be provided.
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Jenny Barber, Sarah E Hillier, Geoff Middleton, Richard Keegan, Hannah Henderson and Jacquie Lavin
– The purpose of this paper is to assess the feasibility and benefits of providing weight management support via the workplace.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the feasibility and benefits of providing weight management support via the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
Quasi-experimental design using non-random assignment to a 12-week Slimming World (SW) weight management programme, either within the workplace or at a regular community group. Weight was recorded weekly and a 39-item questionnaire focused on mental and emotional health, self-esteem, dietary habits and physical activity habits administered at baseline, 12 weeks, six and 12 months.
Findings
In total, 243 participants enroled (workplace n=129, community n=114) with 138 completers (defined as those weighing-in at baseline and attending at least once within the last four weeks; workplace n=76, community n=62). Completers reported a mean weight change of −4.9 kg±3.4 or −5.7 per cent±3.8. Mental and emotional health scores increased (p < 0.05) from baseline to 12 weeks. Self-worth scores increased (p < 0.05) from baseline to 12 weeks, six and 12 months. Healthy dietary habit scores increased and unhealthy dietary habit scores decreased (p < 0.05) from baseline to 12 weeks, six and 12 months. Healthy physical activity habit scores improved (p < 0.05) from baseline to 12 weeks and six months. There were no significant differences between groups.
Research limitations/implications
Participant demographic was predominantly female (94 per cent) aged 42.3 years, with only 13 men participating.
Practical implications
The results support the use of a 12-week SW weight management programme as a credible option for employers wanting to support staff to achieve weight loss and improve psycho-social health outcomes which could lead to improvements in quality of life and work performance.
Originality/value
Provides evidence for the delivery of weight management support via the workplace.
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Joseck Nyaboro, Kwangsoo Park and Jaehyun Park
The study explores how the comparative tourism destination could incorporate the merits of the competitive tourism destination by implementing a socio-technical design application…
Abstract
Purpose
The study explores how the comparative tourism destination could incorporate the merits of the competitive tourism destination by implementing a socio-technical design application for smart tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this issue researchers have conducted a case study in Egypt, because Egypt is one of the most popular tourism comparative destination. It includes two field studies and qualitative interviews conducted in Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt.
Findings
Egypt has diverse comparative advantages in terms of touristic features; however, the dysfunctional flow of information among the stakeholders was a hindrance to be a competitive destination. Based on this problem statement, the researchers synthesized “M-Tour” as a new socio-technical design application, moving toward the competitive destination from the comparative ones.
Originality/value
The present study makes two contributions. First, it theoretically conceptualizes an integrated model of how a tourism comparative destination can incorporate the competitive advantages by a socio-technical design application called M-Tour. Second, it empirically explores the tourists' latent requirements in Egypt by two field studies in order to develop a smart tourism design application as a new socio-technology.
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Jessica Lichy, Jillian Dawes Farquhar and Maher Kachour
The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of marketing in MENA by investigating how women entrepreneurs use social networking sites (SNS) in marketing their businesses…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of marketing in MENA by investigating how women entrepreneurs use social networking sites (SNS) in marketing their businesses in Lebanon.
Design/methodology/approach
To address contextual issues arising from research in this region, this study consists of a two-phase research design of, first, a panel of specialised business commentators and, second, digital qualitative data collection that enabled access to hard to reach informants.
Findings
The study reveals that the activities of women entrepreneurs are fundamentally enabled by SNS as it allows them to optimise their networks in prospecting, communicating and developing relationships with stakeholders. It also allows them to support the social fabric of the family unit by providing an extra source of income and facilitating connections.
Research limitations/implications
This study draws on a single country within the MENA region; nonetheless, the analysis offers new and nuanced understanding to marketing of small businesses in uncovering how Lebanese women entrepreneurs are able to build and run their businesses using SNS.
Practical implications
This research demonstrates how women entrepreneurs can set up and run businesses using SNS to reach and extend their networks in a culturally diverse and growing economy. SNS provides an inclusive platform through which women build and run a small business.
Social implications
This research responds to a World Development aim of studying the relationships between gender and trade such as women entrepreneurs using social technologies.
Originality/value
This research responds to a World Development aim of studying the relationships between gender and trade, here by investigating how women entrepreneurs set up and run small businesses enabled by SNS.
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If law's foundational promise lies in the belief that it promotes the social good, then we need to reassess the limits of that promise. Exploring the often problematic translation…
Abstract
If law's foundational promise lies in the belief that it promotes the social good, then we need to reassess the limits of that promise. Exploring the often problematic translation of legal goods into social ones, the central claim is that the legal discipline has been limited by a “legal imperative” that manifests itself in an excessive focus upon law as a social tool and attitude of complacency in the face of law's limits. Seeking to displace this approach, the author argues for an attitudinal shift that expresses honesty about limits, greater social inquisitiveness and care about law's promise.
The recent years have been marked by the increasing participation of women in the labour force internationally. Especially in the industrialised countries of Western Europe and…
Abstract
The recent years have been marked by the increasing participation of women in the labour force internationally. Especially in the industrialised countries of Western Europe and North America, this labour force participation is now well over 40%. Globally, however, the estimate is around 33%. A large number of these women are still found in the agriculture sector and the informal sector of industry. For those working in the formal industrial sector, a significant portion work in the shopfloor of assembly line operations for products ranging from electronics to textiles. Women in management comprise less than 1% of all economically active women. For the purposes of this paper, a “manager” is defined as a person who has latitude in decision making as to the allocation and use of organisational resources, including physical, financial, and human resources.
The purpose of this paper was to study how psychiatric doctors practise leadership in multidisciplinary healthcare teams. The paper seeks to answer the question: How do…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to study how psychiatric doctors practise leadership in multidisciplinary healthcare teams. The paper seeks to answer the question: How do psychiatric doctors lead multidisciplinary teams during treatment conferences?
Design/methodology/approach
Six psychiatric teams were studied at a university hospital. Each team was observed over a period of 18 months, and data were collected during four years (2008-2011). Data were collected through interviews with doctors (n = 19) and observations (n = 30) of doctors’ work in multidisciplinary psychiatric teams.
Findings
Doctors in a multidisciplinary team use either self-imposed or involuntary leadership style. Oscillating between these two extremes was a strategy for handling the internal tensions of the team.
Research limitations/implications
The study was a case study, performed during treatment conferences at psychiatric wards in a university hospital. This limitation means that there is cause for some caution in generalising the results.
Practical implications
The results are useful for understanding leadership in multidisciplinary medical teams. By understanding the reversible logic of leadership, cooperation and knowledge sharing can be gained, which means that a situation of mere peaceful coexistence can be avoided. Understanding the importance of the informal contract makes it possible to switch leadership among team members. A reversible leadership with an informal contract makes the team less vulnerable. The team’s professionals can thus easily handle difficult situations and internal tensions, facilitating leadership and management of multidisciplinary teams.
Originality/value
Doctors in multidisciplinary psychiatric teams use reversible leadership logic.
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Nina Geuens, Erik Franck, Peter Vlerick and Peter Van Bogaert
Preventing burnout and promoting psychological well-being in nurses are of great importance. In this study the effect of an online, stand-alone individualized preventive program…
Abstract
Purpose
Preventing burnout and promoting psychological well-being in nurses are of great importance. In this study the effect of an online, stand-alone individualized preventive program for nurse burnout based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is described and explained.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method study with an explanatory sequential design was applied. Quantitative data were collected from September 2015 to March 2016 during an intervention study with a pretest-posttest wait-list control group design within a population of hospital nurses in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Consecutively, 13 nurses from the intervention group who fully completed the program were interviewed.
Findings
All interviewed participants experienced some sort of effect due to working with the program. Emotional exhaustion remained stable in the intervention group and increased in the control group. However, this difference was not significant. Personal accomplishment decreased significantly within the intervention group when compared to the control group. This might be explained by the self-awareness that was created through the program, which confronted participants with their weaknesses and problems.
Originality/value
This study adds to the understanding of online individual burnout prevention. The results suggest the feasibility of an online program to prevent nurse burnout. This could be optimized by complementing it with organizational interventions, introducing refresher courses, reminders and follow-up. Furthermore, additional attention should be devoted to preparing the implementation in order to minimize attrition rates.
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