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This chapter focuses on the largely unexplored within- and cross-category spillovers between category kings and commoners within the field of the sharing economy. Going beyond the reputational spill-overs that are the main focus of extant literature, the authors also consider spill-overs in awareness, regulation, and customer usage between category kings and commoners, providing a holistic view of what it means to be a commoner in the same or adjacent category as a king. On the basis of a mixed-method study based on semi-structured interviews with UK sharing platforms and a consumer survey, the authors show that category commoners are affected by kings differently depending whether they are in the exact same sub-category or in an adjacent one within the same larger category. This chapter expands extant work on within and cross-category dynamics by taking the less popular perspective of the less visible category members. Studying these dynamics in the setting of the sharing economy also contributes to the authors’ knowledge of what enables/hinders the growth of a new field as a whole. Finally, the findings have important policy implications.

A recent contribution entitled Global Responsibility and the King Reports was made to the literature that represents a significant advancement in the understanding of how standards of good governance are practised. The corpus revealed key insights about macro-institutional governance regimes, yet, extraordinarily little about meso-organisational and even less so, micro-individual corporate governance practice. This study aims to shed light on the micro-individual level of corporate governance practice which has remained obscured by drawing pragmatic insights from the landmark South African King Code experience that may be applied to other governance jurisdictions for global organisational responsibility.

To unearth micro-individual corporate governance code practices, a phenomenological exploration of corporate governance practitioners’ (CGPs) perceptions was conducted. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with senior board members of securities-exchange listed companies were conducted with 10 directors of leading multinational South African corporations listed on Africa’s largest formal financial market; the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Recursive analysis of the qualitative data revealed key attributes that render a corporate governance code “fulfilling” as a consequence of being perceived as subjectively valuable by practitioners who are the ultimate end-users of the King Codes for advancing good corporate governance practice in each of their respective companies.

Two categories of fulfilling micro-perceived value attributes (MPVAs) of corporate governance codes emerged, namely, internal and external MPVAs. The three internal MPVAs are, namely, (I1) Meaningful innovation, (I2) Ethical pragmatism and (I3) Cultural transformation. The three external MPVAs are, namely, (E1) Governance legitimacy, (E2) Societal licencing and (E3) Risk mitigation. From these six attributes, two testable corporate governance code development propositions are advanced, namely, (P1) a corporate governance code with a higher constitution of MPVAs will fulfil CGPs more than one with less. (P2) A more fulfilling corporate governance code will enjoy higher adoption, application and/or compliance rates.

Illumining the subjective experiential perceptions that constitute the fulfilment of a corporate governance code deepens the pragmatic understanding of the “demand-side” or consumption of such codes in practice. Knowing these fulfilling MPVAs may also result in the development of codes that enjoy wider adoption and compliance rates thereby enhancing global corporate responsibility pragmatism through enhanced good governance. This study sheds light on the nexus where normative corporate governance principles and the enactment thereof meet at the coalface of organisational activity with an emphasis on those attributes that render them valuable to practitioners.

This article suggests that both producers and analysts are strategic about categorization. Producers use categorization to maintain a balance of differentiation and legitimacy, whereas analysts seek to influence categorization and clarify boundaries. Ideas are explored for software producers and Gartner, the preeminent high-technology analyst. Findings show evidence of strategic categorization. Producers move to proximate market categories in response to competition. Gartner reports on large categories and those that receive investment and stops reporting on categories that have fuzzy boundaries. Compared to analysts, producers may be more influential in category creation than previous research has acknowledged.

Declares that diffusion (a term employed to describe the process whereby an innovation or a new idea or practice spreads through a social system over time) is a summary term used to embrace studies which trace the process of diffusion, the process of adoption and the patterns of influence involved. Acknowledges that even allowing for low involvement of marketing research in diffusion, marketing management's interest in this area can be guided and controlled. States that information is diffused through some form of communication channel – these may be one of two types: vertical channels, which exist if ‘there is a meaningful difference in the interests, social status, demographic or economic characteristics of the communication units’; and horizontal channels, which occur where communications flows among members of groups with similar interests and characteristics – these groups may be work groups, social groups, etc. Investigates sources of information and influence – in particular the two basic ones of: impersonal sources via the mass media; and personal sources involving the opinion leader in a two‐step flow of communication. Closes by discussing the implications of the two‐step flow for marketing in depth, with recommendations.

Using the case study of a small firm this research study aims to understand the actions required for diffusion of an innovation in a small firm.

The research used a qualitative approach involving interviews, referring to archival documentation and observations to understand the actions required for diffusing an innovation in an SME.

From this case study various institutional actions specific to a small firm were identified as a result of government intervention. Classic theories of adoption and use such as, TAM, TPB, TRA or DoI can quantify measures but cannot explain the impact of the actions that the applied King et al. framework did. Further, although these actions are not directly evident, using the qualitative findings and analysis it can be seen that they are important for the diffusion of an innovation. It can also be learnt that these institutional actions can be vitally important for the growth and development of a future innovation. Although the role of government intervention was small in monetary terms, the mere presence of government representation was critical to ensure that the proposed plans and measures were implemented in the appropriate manner and at the appropriate time, both for the small firm and for the government. In terms of the theoretical framework's institutional actions it can be learnt that not all action outcomes are clearly visible. Some are tangible, while others are not. This implies that to diffuse innovation, there needs to be an understanding of monetary, human and other such resources to form a better understanding. However, most importantly it can be concluded that the diffusion framework developed by King et al. provides a clear picture of the diffusion of an innovation and is most useful for understanding not only national government interventions that previous research identified. Previous institutional actions research has not clearly shown how a micro understanding of the impacts of the various actions can be obtained, of which this study provides further evidence.

Collaborative arrangements between HEIs, SMEs and government funding agencies are increasingly encouraged. This paper examines and understands the impacts of strategies used for diffusing innovations, of which the SME and KTP contexts have fewer studies.

Proposes a framework for the analysis and the execution of policies aimed at the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries. This framework is derived from institutional theory that offers, we argue, an alternative for those interested in understanding the forces that influence the adoption of ICTs in developing countries. We use the framework as a lens to tease out meanings of the Chilean case and identify possible courses of action that a country in a similar situation may take to expand and boost the expansion of ICTs. By drawing on the framework, we theorize about why some policies achieve their objectives while some others may not. We conclude by suggesting ways in which the framework can be applied by planners and decision makers in the formulation and evaluation of national ICTs policies.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance of intersectional theory (Crenshaw, 1989; Winker and Degele, 2011) in understanding how youth workers name themselves in their everyday lives. An intersectional approach will assist youth workers in developing a clear understanding of their own self as they work with young people from diverse and challenging backgrounds.

This research takes a qualitative approach, using in-depth interviews with cisgendered, female lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents of different social class, religion, ethnicity and age about their everyday experiences.

Intracategorical and anticategorical intersectional approaches (McCall, 2005) were used to assist in understanding how these professionals chose to name themselves in their personal and working lives.

The youth work literature, although focussed on the importance of issues of diversity, has not engaged with the ideas of intersectionality. The focus on intersections of sexuality, as well as social class, religion, ethnicity and age, fills another gap in the literature where less attention has been paid to the “category” of sexuality (Richardson and Monro, 2012; Wright, 2016b). These findings will be useful for youth workers and for practitioners and their trainers from a range of professional backgrounds such as therapists, social workers, teachers and health care practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the value of the Certified B Corporation (B Corp) structure for a long-term commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) achievements. Organizations of all sizes are now focusing on commitment to achieving social purposes beyond philanthropy and on reporting their CSR performance as a means of accountability.

The authors studied 45 Founding Certified B Corps to check how many had maintained their certification by filing B Impact Reports with B Lab, how many Impact Reports they had filed and if the reports showed progress toward CSR goals.

The results showed that all Founding B Corps submitted multi-year B Impact Reports, made progress toward CSR goals, maintained their commitment to a social contribution and made profit from 2010 to 2015. The B Impact Reports identified their goals and progress in the five Impact areas that were then assessed by B Lab.

The Certified B Corp structure can be confidently used by small companies that desire to do good and want an outside assessor to help establish CSR goals and provide a method for accountability. The reports are published on the B Lab Web site, providing an additional means of publishing CSR accomplishments.

This research provides information for those businesses, particularly small ones, that wish to establish their commitment to CSR in a public way and are certified by a third-party assessor.