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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the organizational structure and R&D management alignment in an internationalized public company.

The authors performed a descriptive qualitative research using the single case method of EMBRAPA.

The results indicated that EMBRAPA organizational structure provides a structural framework for R&D management, promoting knowledge and infrastructure sharing. The internationalization, especially through LABEX, allows researchers to interact with research centers of excellence abroad. This makes strategic planning (Sistema de Inteligência Estratégico da EMBRAPA – Agropensa, portfolios and project arrangements) results in R&D projects, through macro programs, generating innovations for Brazilian agriculture.

It should be noted that this study presents some limitations, among them, the fact that only one company is being analyzed.

Therefore, EMBRAPA’s organizational structure provides a structural framework for R&D management, promoting knowledge sharing and infrastructure. This makes the strategic planning (Agropensa, portfolios and arrangements) to result in R&D projects, via macro programs, generating innovations for the Brazilian agriculture. On the contributions to the advancement of knowledge with regard to the professional management of public research institutes, it is worth synthesizing, therefore, the following practical evidence in the field and that they were key to the successful management of R&D activities in EMBRAPA.

The choice of this company is due to its importance for the Brazilian agricultural development, to the innovations generated for the modernization of agriculture and due to it being a public, internationalized R&D company, and with a trajectory of four decades of existence.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the value that UK trade unions now place on the living wage.

The author is the TUC’s Pay Policy Officer and examines the issue from a practitioner’s perspective.

The living wage now has a well-established place within the hierarchy of pay demands adopted by UK trade unions. This continues a tradition of unions supporting norms and regulations as an adjunct to collective bargaining. However, support had to be achieved through a process of negotiation with the broader UK living wage campaign.

The paper concludes that there are good prospects for the living wage, and thus for the continued trade union support.

The living wage standard is seen as having a strong moral basis, which often helps to win agreement with good employers. This results in a steady stream of workers out of in-work poverty. The credit for such pay increases is often shared between employers and trade unions.

The paper is written by a practitioner with inside knowledge and experience of the entire course of the living wage campaign in the UK and how it has been adopted and integrated by trade unions.

At the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) in Paris, 195 governments reached an agreement pivotal not only for countries but also for companies. The Paris Agreement makes it impossible to practice business as usual. The transition to a low-carbon coffee industry could be achieved by fostering corporate sustainability. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of how to adopt the principles of Paris Agreement by enhancing the corporate sustainability of a Mexican coffee-roaster company using the inventory phase of the life cycle assessment tool.

The data collection process followed the requirements of the International Reference Life Cycle Data System Handbook, developed by the Institute for Environment and Sustainability in the European Commission Joint Research Centre, and data on packaging materials and energy production were drawn from a commercially available database in the LCA software SimaPro.

Compiling data on the energy of the firm’s material flows in a firm revealed opportunities to improve energy efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The results of the inventory analysis can be used to evaluate the specific environmental impacts of the coffee-roasting process at this Mexican coffee company. Data compilation activities for energy flows identified the need to install liquefied petroleum gas measuring devices and individual measuring devices for electricity consumption in different areas of the coffee plant. It is recommended that, while implementing this option, the company also develop an energy management program to achieve energy efficiency.

The inventory data in this case study permit comparisons of the current state of the system studied and its possible future states and offer stakeholders relevant information on resource use. Similarly, the project results provide the basis for future research on environmental performance in the coffee industry in Mexico and for the development of policies regarding the production process in the coffee supply chain. Consequently, this research can help fulfil Mexico’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.

Reaching the goal of the Paris Agreement will require gathering key information for each single company. The current case study has provided key data to foster the principles of sustainability in the Mexican coffee industry to help this sector to transit toward sustainable development, which is a new demand of the Mexican society. Even though it may seem simple, this is the hardest step for enhancing stakeholder involvement in corporate sustainability.

The main contribution of this research to science and practice is to confirm that fostering corporate sustainability is easier and more feasible when energy flow information is available.

Micro-enterprises, like any other business entity, face financing challenges. However, micro-enterprises often cannot access financial institutions as they cannot fulfill the conditions to obtain financing facilities from a formal financial institution. As such, they have to rely on family or friends for financing needs. The most critical challenge faced in this regard to Muslim micro-enterprises is finding out a way in which family and friends could give a financial helping hand without the involvement of riba (interest). At the same time, the person giving the financing can enjoy a profit. This paper aims to propose the Tawarruq Fardi Financing (TFF) model that Islamic micro-enterprises could use to fulfill their financial needs. It becomes a solution when obtaining financing from friends and family or any other third party who could be a private investor who does not want to engage in an equity relationship.

This study adopts a qualitative research methodology, combining descriptive and content analysis using the inductive reasoning approach.

The paper's outcome shows that the proposed TFF could assist Islamic micro-enterprises in obtaining Shariah-compliant financing without engaging in an equity partnership. It allows them to fulfill their financing needs bearing in mind the interest of both parties involved in the transaction.

This research will assist Islamic micro-enterprises to find out a Shariah-compliant financing facility from family, friends and any other private investors without entering into an equity relationship. The proposed model would be a Shariah-compliant alternative to interest-free loans and engaging in an equity relationship for the sake of getting benefits for both parties involved in the transaction.

The purpose of this paper is to assert the link between the process of EU accession, the consolidation of democratic processes and the improvement of economic and tourism infrastructure to incoming tourism flows.

The methodology of this paper involves explanation of an analysis exploring links between governmental systems and the order necessary for economic development and tourism. The argument is supported by the recent history of tourism development in three countries, two within the EU and one outside.

Accession to the EU (especially in the case of Eastern European countries) constitutes a way to emulate the democratic freedoms and greater economic prosperity of existing EU member states. Tourism is one of the areas of economy that benefits from the stability and growth EU membership can bring. Accession to the EU has had beneficial effects for acceding in terms of political stability and tourism growth.

The opportunities that EU membership can bring to tourism development for example (also strategies to exploit these opportunities) depend to a large degree on the international relations between the EU and its rivals. The extent to which tourism demands ebb and flow is governed by a range of factors, but the issues of conflict and security are game breakers. Understanding the factors and trends involved in the peaceful resolution of conflict (democratic model) or use of force to resolve conflict (military model) is key in the analysis of future tourism opportunities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate purchasing practices in service triads by exploring the link between ex ante contracting and ex post contract management and how these practices influence the satisfaction of buyers and suppliers (in concessionary arrangements) with their relationship in terms of meeting the needs of the buyer’s customers.

An in-depth exploratory multiple case study was carried out in a shop-in-shop context. Multi-method and multi-source data collection included interviews, documents and the contracts between buyer and supplier, providing evidence of the formal and relational structures in both the contracting and contract management stages.

The case findings provide evidence that behavioural standards established in a social contract are important prerequisites for the establishment and subsequent management of a formal contract. Second, this study shows that, when outsourcing core services in a service triad, a combination of performance-oriented and behavioural-oriented contract terms, covering a mix of topics related to both the customer-experience and to buyer-supplier-oriented aspects, contribute to aligning the buyer’s, suppliers’ and customers’ interests. The main findings are presented in a causal model and formulated as propositions.

This paper is one of the first studies to explore how core services are outsourced in a service triad. It provides evidence that the social contract between buyer and supplier influences the establishment of the formal contract as well as contract management, and a mix of contract topics, some related to the customers’ experience and others purely buyer-supplier oriented, contribute to the alignment of buyer’s, suppliers’ and customers’ interests.

Ah la famille …! We tend to say that we do not choose it. But there are beautiful family stories, even in business, and particularly in France. Indeed, when it comes to business, the French take family as a serious matter – with about 80% of all companies in the country family controlled. Whether big or small, French family businesses are particularly noticeable in sectors such as food and beverages, as well as luxury.

The chapter gives a general overview of family firms in France, considering in particular their main legal structures, how diverse they are in reality, and finally their governance rules, and notably their family constitutions. It concludes that business and family stories often prove to be a good match, at least in France.

Incorporating flipped learning (FL) into teaching English as a foreign language may improve student learning outcomes. This study gathered information on Saudi EFL teachers' readiness and willingness to apply FL. So, it aims to describe Saudi EFL teachers' readiness and willingness to apply FL in language classrooms and to find suitable guidelines for Saudi EFL professional development (PD) designers to follow.

This descriptive study involved 153 male and female Saudi EFL teachers as participants, investigating the perspectives and perceptions of these teachers within the context of foreign language teaching in Saudi Arabia. Surveys in Qualtrics were employed as the primary data collection tool for the study.

Results showed that teachers' self-efficacy of their current teaching was high. Most participants had positive attitudes and abilities related to FL, although they also identified potential challenges related to its engagement and assessment. Teachers expressed a strong willingness to participate in PD in this area, with a preference for online videos and group workshops.

The study emphasizes the importance of PD for Saudi EFL teachers. In addition, it offers guidelines for planning effective PD.

To better understand the impact of choosing a carbon data provider for the estimated portfolio emissions across four asset classes. This is important, as prior literature has suggested that Environmental, Social and Governance scores across providers have low correlation.

The authors compare carbon data from four data providers for developed and emerging equity markets and investment grade and high-yield corporate bond markets.

Data on scope 1 and scope 2 is similar across the four data providers, but for scope 3 differences can be substantial. Carbon emissions data has become more consistent across providers over time.

The authors examine the impact of different carbon data providers at the asset class level. Portfolios that invest only in a subset of the asset class may be affected differently. Because “true” carbon emissions are not known, the authors cannot investigate which provider has the most accurate carbon data.

The impact of choosing a carbon data provider is limited for scope 1 and scope 2 data for equity markets. Differences are larger for corporate bonds and scope 3 emissions.

The authors compare carbon accounting metrics on scopes 1, 2 and 3 of corporate greenhouse gas emissions carbon data from multiple providers for developed and emerging equity and investment grade and high yield investment portfolios. Moreover, the authors show the impact of filling missing data points, which is especially relevant for corporate bond markets, where data coverage tends to be lower.

In light of the new way of interpreting work spearheaded by Generation Z, the objectives of this study are to investigate (1) whether young entrepreneurs identify their start-ups with “zebras” – that is, as a concrete response to the evanescence and fantasy of “unicorns” based on the simultaneous pursuit of profit and social value, mutualism and resilience – and (2) whether they adopt a “teal” organizational configuration – that is, one characterized by evolutionary purpose, self-management and wholeness.

Through a qualitative approach with 41 interviews, this study focuses on start-uppers and companies that are particularly innovative and promising in the Italian context, as selected by Forbes magazine in its ranking of the brightest entrepreneurs, leaders and stars under 30.

The results suggest that young entrepreneurs recognize the importance of the common themes of the zebra movement and therefore identify their startups with zebras. More specifically, Generation Z entrepreneurs: (1) pursue a dual (economic and social) purpose, (2) are mutualistic and (3) build their organizations with resilience and capital efficiency. In addition, the interviews show that the organizational approach taken follows the paradigm of teal organizations, particularly in terms of evolutionary purpose, distributed leadership and decision-making power, and employee wholeness and empowerment.

This is the first study to analyze the evolutionary trends of animal entrepreneurial “species” led by Generation Z entrepreneurs and organized on the basis of the teal paradigm.