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The purpose of this study is to identify how craft spirits distilleries use elements of the storytelling narrative as part of a storytelling marketing strategy.

A case study approach was undertaken based on seven craft distilleries in and around Chicago, IL. Data were collected from various sources including direct observation and secondary data based on online press coverage company websites and social media.

In the sample of firms, the authors identified the following seven categories of storytelling themes: craft, innovation, origins, myth, celebrity, provenance and collectability. These categories comprise both functional and emotional components which are strongly associated with the concept of authenticity.

This research is the first of its kind to investigate storytelling within the craft spirits sector. The results are relevant to develop strategies for marketing craft spirits brands. Findings are relevant for spirits distilleries in Chicago, IL but have transferable learnings for beverage categories who desire to stage meaningful, valued customer experiences.

Animal spirits in modern economics has a specific meaning; it refers to the restless and inconsistent element in the economy as well as the peculiar relationship people have with ambiguity and uncertainty, which tends to lead to paralysis or incredible confidence and energy in decision‐making and risk taking. Animal spirits have also been used to explain peaceful periods and instability or interpret track records of success and periods of disarray or spectacular failure, high levels of trust and confidence or extreme pessimism and distrust. Willingness to undertake extreme effort or self‐sacrifice to get things done is another expression of animal spirits, which can again go in the opposite direction with people shirking responsibilities, and practicing generalized selfishness or individualism. Such behaviours can have visible effects on the performance of public agencies or civil service agencies, in the behaviour of leaders in the public or private sector, or in the economic performance of a country. Differences across agencies and countries over time can also be explained if one is able to distinguish the effect of animal spirits. Using a logistic model, this paper tests for the existence of “animal spirits” in the capacity development interventions spearheaded by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)‐funded institutions. The analysis and findings highlight, amongst others, the importance of non‐economic factors in shaping the capacity development sphere. Understanding this nature of animal spirits is critical to designing and implementing effective programs for capacity development in Africa. It is particularly important to focus on issues of leadership and leadership development, including the capacity for leaders to instil confidence and piece together stories that motivate people into a common vision of the future or to achieve common objectives.

The consumption patterns of beer, wine and spirits in the UK are analysed to find reasons for the rapid growth in recent years of wine consumption. Data are presented together with the demand model and estimation results. Consumption of the three beverages is simulated to see the effect of various levels of tax and the effects of changes of preference over time. Growth in income, changing preferences and lower tax rates are found to be possible causes for the growth in wine consumption and the corresponding fall in spirits consumption.

Clinical governance and leadership concepts can lead to more or less successful implementations of new clinical practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine how Fiery Spirits, as institutional entrepreneurs can, working in a team, implement sustained change in hospital clinical practice.

This paper describes two case studies, conducted at two Swedish hospitals over a period of two years, in which changes in clinical practice were implemented. In both cases, key-actors, termed Fiery Spirits, played critical roles in these changes. The authors use a qualitative approach and take an intra-organizational perspective with semi-structured in-depth interviews and document analysis.

The new clinical practices were successfully implemented with a considerable influence of the Fiery Spirits who played a pivotal role in the change efforts. The Fiery Spirits persuasively, based on their structural and normative legitimacy and the adoption of learning processes, advocated, and supported change.

Fiery Spirits, given flexibility and opportunity, can be powerful forces for change outside the trajectory of management-inspired and management-directed change. Team members, when inspired and encouraged by Fiery Spirits, are less resistant to change and more willing to test new clinical practices.

The paper complements literature on how the Fiery Spirit concept aligns with concepts of clinical governance and leadership and how change can be achieved. Additionally, the findings show the effects of legitimacy and learning processes on change in clinical practice.

Nahua ritual specialists of northern Veracruz, Mexico, portray spirit entities by cutting their images from paper. Paper cutting is an ancient craft in Mesoamerica that traces back to the pre-Hispanic era. The impetus to materialize the spirits in this way is the result of the highly abstract and pantheistic nature of the Nahua religious system. In pantheistic thought, the cosmos itself is the deity and all apparent diversity can be seen as different aspects or manifestations of a seamless sacred unity. The Nahua ritual specialist places the paper figures on elaborate altars where he or she dedicates special offerings to them. The fundamentally economic nature of Nahua ritual exchange is revealed – with the aid of ritual economy – through examination of multiple factors: the symbolic meanings of sacred chanting and altar construction, the role of religion in constituting Nahua ethnic identity in the face of domination by mestizo elites, and the ecological context that renders life precarious for indigenous horticulturalists of this region of Mexico.

This is the third of a series of studies on Chinese brand naming using content analysis from a linguistic perspective. The first study generalized the principles guiding Chinese brands in terms of syllable pattern, tone pattern, compounding structure and semantic preference. The second looked at specific branding rules, focusing on two entirely different products: cosmetic products and bicycles. The present study, following the same linguistic framework of analysis, analyzes three groups of closely related products: spirits, beers, soft drinks, to see how these brands are creatively and distinctively constructed. Finds that the brand naming patterns of the three drinks are basically in agreement with the general Chinese branding principles, and the differences among them directly reflect the development, the consumer markets and characteristics of each product.

There has been a general increase in the use of promotions within UK multiple grocers over recent years, during which the spirits category has grown in both volume and monetary terms. The results from an econometric analysis of weekly cross‐sectional store data and cluster analysis of consumer panel data suggest that promotions have had a slight positive impact on the volume of sales, particularly over the seasonally important Christmas period. However, some promotions, especially multibuys, appear largely to reward loyal buyers, doing little for either volume or monetary growth of the spirits category. Other promotions, such as price and gift offers, appeal more to consumers who do not purchase spirits so frequently and also attract people who are less brand and store loyal. The case study provides clear evidence of the differential impacts which different promotional methods have on sales growth and the need to carefully target different promotional offers to different groups of buyers.

Next after butter and milk—as regards the total number of samples examined—come spirits, of which 6,938 samples were dealt with. Of the articles of which sufficiently numerous analyses were made to furnish reliable data, spirits as a class are the most extensively adulterated, and the 12 per cent. of adulteration recorded for the year under review does not, in all probability, nearly represent the real extent of the evil. Many samples are returned as genuine which have been watered beyond the legal limit because the vendors have exhibited dilution notices, a method of legalising what are essentially fraudulent practices which is, unfortunately, being extended to other foods and drinks, and bids fair to bring the whole execution of the “Acts” to a standstill. In addition to this there are the widest differences of opinion and practice amongst both Public Analysts and Local Authorities as regards those spirits which have been the subjects of prosecution, on account of their origin or mode of manufacture, i.e., for being partially or entirely the product of the “patent still.” Prosecutions of brandy for containing spirit not derived from the grape have been fairly common, and similar offences connected with whisky and rum have also been brought before the courts, and yet the proportion of “spirits” now found to be adulterated is 30 per cent. lower than it was ten years ago, when watering was practically the only offence recorded. In view of the interest aroused and the intrinsic importance of the whole question some details and some guidance also might be looked for in such a report as this. Unfortunately the spirits are all lumped together under one heading, and although the presence in brandy of alcohol not derived from the grape is referred to, no further details are given. It is, no doubt, the case that the Local Government Board is not in a position to express an authoritative opinion on any of the difficult problems to which we have referred, and has no legal power to fix standards or enforce their use; nevertheless the mere statement of the number of prosecutions, of brandy, for instance (for containing other than grape‐derived spirit) together with the maximum and minimum proportions of the foreign spirit or the figures for esters in the corresponding cases would have at least shown to what extent the recently promulgated standards for this liquor had gained acceptance throughout the country.

This chapter examines the economics of alternative healing in Brazil.

Two narratives are selected from extensive observations and interviews over a period of years. The presentation chronicles the accounts of people experiencing physical symptoms who sought further advice from friends and relatives after visits to conventional medical providers failed to cure them.

In response to a recommendation from one of those consulted, one person went to a spirit “received” by a Kardecist/Spiritist healer-medium while the other obtained treatment from an otherworldly being at an Umbanda center. The respective “therapeutic” procedures are described and analyzed in terms of the beliefs and the worldviews of each of the traditions. If satisfied with the outcome, the patient fulfills an implicit bargain with the otherworldly being(s) and its religious group by adopting their beliefs and practices. This conversion is “payment” for the healing services rendered.

Since some treatments are successful and others are not, the implications of this exchange is that many Brazilians may change their religions several times during their lifespan. As a result of this behavior individuals circulate among the several religious groups that are always in competition with each other.

The analysis provides a distinctive insight into, and original way to understand, alternative health care in Brazil.

The purpose of this paper is to show academics and practitioners the practical uses of syndicated data. Toward this end, an analysis of the distilled spirits industry in the USA and the UK is undertaken.

The approach adopted draws on secondary data analysis using syndicated data to draw some preliminary conclusions and uses further analysis to support these conclusions.

The paper supports the usefulness of syndicated data when used creatively across different studies. It also points out the changing direction of distilled spirit consumption within the USA and the UK.

This use of syndicated data helps the academic develop a fuller understanding of the key research questions and gives the practitioner a higher degree of confidence in the direction they take and in the future they anticipate.

This paper emphasises the usefulness of syndicated data.