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This chapter presents the current research status of family constitutions from an economics perspective. It locates the family constitution as part of the family and business governance structure of a family firm and the owner family. The typical structure and content of a family constitution are introduced. The chapter focuses on the status of research about family constitutions and provides a structured map for future research. With regard to extant research, it must be stated that the stock of literature is small. The contributions to literature are categorized in surveys; conceptual contributions; survey data; small sample, qualitative, empirical studies; and big sample, quantitative, empirical studies. The latter group includes three studies with a separate family constitution variable. This small number symbolizes that the family constitution still is an under-researched area. Therefore, family constitution research is far away from being able to answer central questions of advice-seeking owner families like, for example, whether a family constitution affects family performance, firm performance, or both; or whether the development process of a family constitutions disposes of an effect on family or firm performance separately from the hypothesized effect of the family constitution document.

The concept of development has gone through several paradigm shifts in the last six decades, from the post World War II idea of “modernization” to sustainability and gradualist institutions-concerned strategies, although the neoliberal laissez-faire approaches still hold considerable influence, even in international organizations. Development is a complex concept. Definitions have changed throughout time and it is crucial to understand the concept vis-à-vis tourism. It is no longer possible to defend that tourism investments will automatically create development. Understanding the nuances of the concept has become essential if one is to sustain that tourism does play a role in development.

The purpose of this paper is to address the challenges developing countries face in attempting to balance sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) health and safety measures against concerns about protectionism, illustrated by the impact of trade barriers on the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Bangladesh. The paper then provides recommendations to overcome the effects of these trade barriers.

The author uses a close doctrinal approach for the first three parts of the paper by analysing the provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) SPS Agreement and the effect of those provisions in creating domestic compliance gaps in the Bangladeshi fisheries and aquaculture sector. A qualitative approach is then adopted in suggesting potential reforms and future directions to assist the Bangladeshi fisheries and aquaculture sector overcome SPS trade barrier issues.

To overcome the market access issues created by SPS trade barriers, Bangladesh and other developing countries require multilateral assistance, accommodation by trading partners and internal reforms. This includes reforming internal governance structures, improving trade participation and negotiation, increasing infrastructure investment and learning from similar countries who have improved their supply chain management.

This paper will have significant implications by contributing to law and policy reform debates involving international trade law and domestic compliance gaps. It will also assist other developing countries that experience SPS trade barriers to learn from the experience of the Bangladeshi fisheries and aquaculture sector.

This paper has practical implications by providing recommendations for how Bangladesh can overcome SPS trade barriers and improve its market access. This will help Bangladesh integrate into the global trading system by enhancing its participation in the SPS framework.

By addressing and providing recommendations for the SPS trade barrier challenges faced by Bangladesh fishery and aquaculture sector, this paper provides a framework to improve the economic development and global competitiveness of the industry. This will contribute the gross domestic product growth and help increase the overall living standards of the people involved in the fisheries and aquaculture business in Bangladesh.

This paper is an original work that has not been published elsewhere. It is the first time a paper has dealt with the legal, policy and compliance challenges faced by the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Bangladesh.

In times of crisis, the fundamental principles of companies erode, leading to strategy shifts. This paper aims to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) is on management’s agenda in times of crisis, indicating CSR embeddedness into corporate strategy. The focus is on the four pillars of CSR: social, environment, economy and governance.

Starting points are competing hypotheses based on shareholder and stakeholder theory. Chief executive officer (CEO) letters to shareholders of German HDAX firms from 2003 to 2012 are analyzed by means of computer-aided text analysis.

The authors find that CEOs talk less about CSR in times of crisis, especially about social and governance issues, indicating that CSR is not fully embedded into corporate strategy, and that, in times of crisis, other aspects gain more importance on management’s agenda.

CEO communication is an indicator for management’s attention. Less talk about CSR in times of crisis does not automatically indicate less real CSR activity. This study is a starting point for analyses of the discrepancy between both, if any exists.

Managers should regard CSR as a strategic and trust enhancing element and stick to CSR even when under pressure from market distortions.

Environment issues – exposed to companies’ attention for a long time – are embedded into corporate strategy. More research and management attention is essential to get the other CSR aspects woven into company DNA as well.

The paper is the first to research CSR in times of crisis in depth: CSR as umbrella covers social, environment, economy and governance issues. The institutional level of analysis ensures that implications for the business-society link are central.

This paper aims to address the evolution of corporate governance in Germany with a particular regard to whether there can be observed a gradual convergence to a shareholder primacy corporate governance system.

To investigate a potential shift of the German corporate governance system to an Anglo-American tiled corporate governance system, the authors have empirically assessed on a polynomial base 52 separate company and corporate governance variables for 20 years (1995-2014).

This research suggests that a gradual convergence has taken place prior to the global financial crisis. However, the results suggest that the convergence process experienced a slowdown in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, which may be linked to the stability of the German corporate governance system during the global financial crisis and the political environment during this time.

This paper contributes to the research by not only analysing the development of the German corporate governance system but also identifying new reasons for this development and explaining why a new convergence process may be observed in the future again.

The purpose of this paper is to offer an exploratory case study comparing one Brazilian beef processor's relationships supplying two different distribution channels, an EU importer and an EU retail chain operating in Brazil.

The paper begins with a short review of global value chains and the recent literature on trust. It gives the background to the Brazilian beef chain and presents data obtained through in‐depth interviews, annual reports and direct observation with the Brazilian beef processor, the EU importer and the retailer. The interviews were conducted with individual firms, but the analysis places them in a chain context, identifying the links and relationships between the agents of the chains and aiming to describe each distribution channel.

Executive chain governance exercised by the domestic retailer stimulates technical upgrading and transferring of best practices to local suppliers. Consequently, this kind of relationship results in more trust within the global value chain.

There are difficulties and challenges facing this Brazilian beef processor that are party related to the need to comply with increasingly complex and demanding food safety and food quality standards. There is still a gap between practices adopted for the export market and practices adopted locally. The strategies of transnational retailers in offering differentiated beef should be taken in account.

The research outlines an interdisciplinary framework able to explain chain relationships and the kind of trust that emerges in relationships between EU importer/retail and a developing country supplier.

This paper aims to provide insight whether disclosed compliance with the German Corporate Governance Code (GCGC) leads to higher valuation on the German stock market.

Based on agency theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory, the authors conduct a meta-analysis and evaluate the value relevance of the compliance with the GCGC.

The research finds that compliance with the GCGC is mainly not a value-relevant factor for German companies listed at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The research considered is not fully comparable with regard to observation date, full integration of the GCGC rules and company selection/sample size. Future research is encouraged to research the valuation effects of compliance with the GCGC for a longer time horizon, the use of uniform performance measures and the integration of all GCGC rules.

Compliance with the GCGC has not proven to be a value-driver for German listed companies. The authors recommend companies to search for opportunities to make their corporate governance more comprehensive by expanding their corporate governance reporting and thus providing deeper insights on how their processes of management and control work.

The paper is the first investigation integrating the results of ten years of “code compliance – market valuation” research in Germany. We detect reasons why soft law regulation by corporate governance codes did not function on the German stock market. We additionally address behavioral aspects why investors do not give enough relevance to companies’ corporate governance statements so far.

This paper suggests that a corporate-environmental food regime is emerging as part of a larger restructuring of capitalism. Like past food regimes, it reflects specific social and political compromises, which I interpret through the social movement concept of interpretive frames. The diasporic-colonial food regime of 1870–1914 grew up in response to working class movements in Europe, and created a historically unprecedent class of commercial family farmers. When world markets collapsed, those farmers entered into new alliances, including one that led to the mercantile-industrial food regime of 1947–1973. Lineaments of a new food regime based on quality audited supply chains seems to be emerging in the space opened by impasse in international negotiations over food standards. Led by food retailers, agrofood corporations are selectively appropriating demands of environmental, food safety, animal welfare, fair trade, and other social movements that arose in the interstices of the second food regime. If it consolidates, the new food regime promises to shift the historical balance between public and private regulation, and to widen the gap between privileged and poor consumers as it deepens commodification and marginalizes existing peasants. Social movements are already regrouping and consolidation of the regime remains uncertain.