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Poor post-harvest handling practices by seaweed farmers are a key issue in seaweed value chains, contributing to low-quality seaweed being supplied to processors. To address this, a range of advanced drying technologies and methods have been developed, yet uptake by farmers remains low. This study examines factors affecting drying technology uptake by seaweed farmers to identify opportunities to incentivise improved drying practices.

This study draws on a quantitative survey of 273 seaweed farmers in two villages in South Sulawesi, 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork and 166 semi-structured interviews.

Farmers engage in limited adoption of improved drying technologies and practices as they don't receive higher prices for higher quality products, instead aiming to meet only the minimum acceptable standards to avoid a price discount or rejection of their product. Technologies and techniques that have been adopted are often used in ways that differ from their original purpose, such as to reduce drying times and labour input, rather than to produce products of low moisture and dirt contents. Similarly, local traders mix high- and low-quality seaweed in order to supply warehouses with seaweed which on average meets minimum quality standards.

This study reveals that improved drying practices are unlikely to be adopted unless incentivised by more targeted price-grade differentials.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the relationship between the adoption of Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) – which is considered the most important ethical certification standard – and firm performance, building on agency and contingency theories.

The authors analyse secondary longitudinal balance sheet data of listed firms employing a rigorous event-study approach and compare SA8000-certified companies to different control groups based on three matching criteria, i.e., industry, size, and pre-certification performance. The authors then study the moderating effects of the cultural features, the country’s development level, and the labour intensity on the causal relationship through multiple regression methods.

The authors find that SA8000 certification positively affects labour productivity and sales performance but has no effect on profitability. Furthermore, the study supports that the relationship between SA8000 and profitability is moderated by two cultural features of the home country of the firms (i.e. power distance and uncertainty avoidance).

This is the first study, which empirically tests the effects of the ethical certification SA8000 on firm performance using a cross-country sample. In addition, the authors contribute to the wider debate on the effects of corporate social responsibility practices on firm performance.

The complex processes of global organizations poses significant challenges for the global quality management systems (QMSs) responsible for their coordination and effective management. This includes meeting local customers' needs, as well as being responsible for global operational effectiveness, aggregate capacity utilization, cost reduction and standardization. This study examines how all of these ends can be accomplished. Regulating local and global needs emerges as a key issue, but one that lacks clarity. Therefore, this article outlines an approach for developing a coherent, strategic approach.

A field study of eighteen multinational companies (MNCs) examined and mapped the activity of their QMS, defined representative profiles and compared these profiles to strategic, operational and marketing needs.

The data analysis shows several gaps in the approach to global quality management. The lack of coherence and considerable vagueness in addressing inter-organizational processes leads to behavior that fluctuates between absolute autonomy and specific initiatives aimed at reaching the necessary level of integration needed to achieve operational effectiveness.

The innovative mapping process and analysis of the current study provide a tool for differentiating between the local and global needs of MNCs' quality systems, identifying gaps and defining activities aimed at regulating responses while increasing global added value from the QMS. This provides deeper insight into the business needs of global and local QMSs to enhance the value derived from coordination and regulation.