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1 – 10 of 101Anne Tallontire and Valerie Nelson
The recent departure of Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) from Fairtrade International is the most seismic event in the fair trade movement in the past decade. This paper aims to analyse…
Abstract
Purpose
The recent departure of Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) from Fairtrade International is the most seismic event in the fair trade movement in the past decade. This paper aims to analyse recent dynamics between and within multiple fair trade strands and the attendant changes in vision and approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use and develop a framework focusing on the relationship between business and development to analyse the dominant narratives and practices of each different strand of fair trade. To unpack the various fair trade narratives, they have conducted a narrative analysis of policy documents and online debates in the wake of the split in the fair trade movement and they draw on recent impact studies.
Findings
The politicising narrative in fair trade stresses governance and voice based on clear structures of representation within the standards body, and recognizes the value of development inputs that do not focus solely on technical and quality development, but lead to organisational advocacy and representational capacity of producer organisations and the regional networks. In contrast “pragmatism” focuses more on economic empowerment and using the market to drive change, an approach that is gaining greater traction with the split of FTUSA from FLO, the most prominent body within Fairtrade International.
Practical implications
The analysis raises implications with regards to how impact analysis captures both the pragmatic and politicising narratives.
Originality/value
The paper's originality/value lies in its novel use of narrative analysis and its early analysis of the shifting dynamics within fair trade precipitated by the departure of FTUSA.
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Bob Doherty and Benjamin Huybrechts
This paper seeks to pinpoint the role played by social enterprises in the growth and mainstreaming of fair trade.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to pinpoint the role played by social enterprises in the growth and mainstreaming of fair trade.
Design/methodology/approach
The review encompasses seminal papers on the growth and mainstreaming of fair trade.
Findings
A crucial role is played by social enterprises in establishing fair trade in the mainstream. However this mainstreaming is contested and is argued by some to also lead to potential mission drift.
Research limitations/implications
This review primarily investigates the Northern aspects of fair trade, in particular the role of social enterprise in the market growth of fair trade and its mainstreaming. However more research is required to unpack the producer perspectives of mainstreaming fair trade.
Practical implications
The article investigates one of the pioneering fields of social enterprise to see what lessons can be drawn for other social enterprise sectors that have mainstream ambitions.
Originality/value
This contribution provides a novel review to demonstrate the role played by social enterprise in the growth of fair trade. It argues that the dual mission of fair trade is out of balance and is in danger of becoming reduced to a certification scheme based on minimum compliance. However a rebalancing of social and commercial objectives and acknowledging the innovative approach of fair trade social enterprises would strengthen this pioneering social movement.
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“Questionable” books are as easily identified and as quickly discovered as brightly dyed Easter eggs. The titles of such books invariably terminate with interrogation marks; not…
Abstract
“Questionable” books are as easily identified and as quickly discovered as brightly dyed Easter eggs. The titles of such books invariably terminate with interrogation marks; not with dots, dashes, or asterisks. Nevertheless, even a well read scholar finds himself hard put to recollect half a dozen illustrative titles unless he has previously indulged in considerable bibliographic dowsing. The reason so few examples readily come to mind is that intriguing interrogatory titles are actually few in number.
Aundrea Kay Guess and Carolyn Conn
For four years, Valerie Thorpe was Director of Accounting for Taurus Construction. She was fired by the company's owner, Vic Bullard, when she refused to falsify accounting…
Abstract
Synopsis
For four years, Valerie Thorpe was Director of Accounting for Taurus Construction. She was fired by the company's owner, Vic Bullard, when she refused to falsify accounting entries. Bullard's directive would have lowered profits, thereby deceiving his business partner and committing tax evasion. Until her firing late in the spring of 2011, Valerie had a few concerns about Bullard's lack of ethics in his business dealings. However, she has not questioned him previously because of her own emotional condition after the unexpected death of her husband. During the spring 2011 semester in graduate school, Valerie was inspired when her classmates recounted their own experiences of resigning from jobs because of unethical managers and owners. Valerie had thought of resigning from Taurus; but, Bullard fired her first. Six months after her firing, Valerie is seriously contemplating whether she should report Bullard's tax evasion to the Internal Revenue Service.
Research methodology
Field Based Research. Interviews with the case protagonist.
Relevant courses and levels
The case is suitable for graduate and undergraduate courses in business ethics, accounting ethics, entrepreneurship, income tax accounting and an undergraduate auditing class.
Theoretical basis
This is a real-life case applying ethical frameworks coverage of which can be challenging as students perceive those theories and frameworks as “dry.”
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Valérie Guillard and Céline Del Bucchia
Purpose – The present article explores a relatively new way for consumers to dispose of items they no longer use, namely free recycling websites. Online recycling is based on an…
Abstract
Purpose – The present article explores a relatively new way for consumers to dispose of items they no longer use, namely free recycling websites. Online recycling is based on an encounter with an unknown recipient to give something away ‘in person’.
Methodology – A phenomenological approach was used to understand the meaning of giving through free recycling websites. Placing the focus on the donor's perspective, we analysed Internet postings and conducted 27 in-depth interviews.
Findings – Our research shows that (1) when the object is given, the online giver is less concerned about the risk of refusal, since the recipient has deliberately made the choice to take the item; (2) when the item is received, the encounter with the recipient removes the anonymity of charities and (3) in return, the encounter with the recipient offers the giver acknowledgement for the gesture without committing them to a relationship with the recipient in the way a gift to kith or kin might do.
Research implications – While former literature has highlighted certain tensions in the gift economy, this study shows how free recycling websites can help to alleviate such tensions.
Social implications – The research highlights how this system of object disposition enhances social interactions between two strangers that share an interest in the same object.
Originality – The article shows how this new form of gift-giving relationship is both rewarding and liberating: it is rewarding thanks to the interaction with the recipient (unlike donations to charities) without necessarily creating a bond of dependence (unlike giving to someone you know).
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For many years now food and drugs authorities (and the public) have been complaining about the low meat content of meat pies on sale and the need of a standard is self‐evident…
Abstract
For many years now food and drugs authorities (and the public) have been complaining about the low meat content of meat pies on sale and the need of a standard is self‐evident. The pie filling is not visible to the purchaser and often consists of a mixture of meat and cereal from the appearance of which it is impossible to assess the amount of meat present. The sale of made up cooked foods has increased among all such products in recent years, but for meat pies the increase has been phenomenal.
In September 1985, eight sets of children's books from Australia began an odyssey that will take them into all fifty states and Canada by the end of 1988. The books— and the…
Abstract
In September 1985, eight sets of children's books from Australia began an odyssey that will take them into all fifty states and Canada by the end of 1988. The books— and the resource, reference and display materials that accompany them—were chosen specifically for their value in introducing non‐Australians to Australia and her children's literature. They also provide an ideal starting point for library collection development.
IN the Coventry tragedy, the central (Gulson) library was destroyed. Although not a library of the largest size, it was a considerable one, built up with the greatest skill…
Abstract
IN the Coventry tragedy, the central (Gulson) library was destroyed. Although not a library of the largest size, it was a considerable one, built up with the greatest skill, foresight and devotion by at least four of the best librarians of modern times, backed by a good committee for a generation. Three of these librarians have since commanded the largest municipal libraries of Great Britain.
This paper reports an exploration of changing the legitimacy judgments of Emirati women employees in the UAE’s public sector. This paper aims to fill the research gap on gender at…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reports an exploration of changing the legitimacy judgments of Emirati women employees in the UAE’s public sector. This paper aims to fill the research gap on gender at employee, rather than managerial level, a topic that has already generated considerable research.
Design/methodology/approach
Data derived from semi-structured interviews with 29 Emirati women working in the public sector is analyzed using NVivo 12 to identify their attitudes to, and experience of, participating in the workforce.
Findings
Interview narratives reveal that women not only consider that they have the right to enhanced professional status but also view this as exerting a positive impact on their personal lives.
Research limitations/implications
It is suggested that this emerging sense of entitlement to work may be traced to the early political endorsement of women in the UAE workforce, underscoring the value of political and judicial agendas that contribute to female legitimacy and their rigorous implementation.
Originality/value
This study highlights the imperative of political goodwill and equitable legislation, as well as the need to assess Islamic values versus patriarchal biases in relation to women in the workforce.
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