bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A “system dynamics‐based Balanced Scorecard” to support strategic decision making
Authors: Barnabè Federico
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the development of a “dynamic Balanced Scorecard” and to demonstrate that matching the traditional Balanced Scorecard (BSC) architecture with system dynamics principles offers better support for strategic management decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a case study related to a service‐based business. The maps, the mathematical model and the BSC developed according to system dynamics modelling principles are discussed.

Findings

A system dynamics‐based BSC, particularly if embedded into a management flight simulator, would allow exploration and understanding of features of complexity and dynamics, consideration of feedback loops rather than unidirectional causality, the use of mapping tools for a more comprehensive design of the strategy maps, the facilitation of a process of organisational learning; and support for policy design and strategic analysis performed by managers.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is two‐fold: first, it shows that by using system dynamics modelling principles it is possible to overcome positively some limitations of the original BSC framework; second, the paper provides information and suggestions that are helpful for companies that are interested in developing strategic management systems based on both BSC architecture and on system dynamics principles and simulation tools (e.g. the management flight simulator).
IT and non‐IT factors influencing the adoption of BSC systems: a Delphi study from Bahrain
Authors: Kamhawi Emad M.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This study aims to underline the role of information technology (IT) in adopting Balanced Scorecard (BSC) systems/initiatives in Bahrain. It seeks to highlight this role through comparing the IT‐related factors/requirements against the non‐IT‐related ones that contribute to the implementation of such systems. Moreover, it provides a better understanding for the adoption of such systems through investigating the availability of such factors in Bahraini organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A Delphi method was utilised relying on a panel of 67 BSC experts from 34 Bahraini organisations.

Findings

The results indicated that IT requirements for adopting BSC initiatives had the same level of importance compared to non‐IT requirements. From the non‐IT‐related requirements, management factors such as “clear strategic management” and “top management support”, and implementation factors such as “preparing implementation plans” and “proper training and guidelines” came on the top of the requirements list. On the other hand, the study suggests software interface characteristics such as “graphical user interface” and “easy to use application”, and data quality factors such as “standard data formats” and “data accuracy” as the top IT‐related requirements.

Originality/value

This study extends current research efforts related to the adoption of BSC systems. It provides insights for understanding how organisations get ready to implement such initiatives in both IT and non‐IT‐related areas. Moreover, it equips practitioners with an initial checklist of pre‐requisites for undertaking such performance management systems.
Knowledge transfer between Russian and Western firms
Authors: Michailova Snejina , Jormanainen Irina
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This paper seeks to challenge some assumptions that have long existed in the international business and knowledge management literature about knowledge transfer between Western and Russian firms. It aims to open a debate among scholars and practitioners in these fields on issues related to knowledge transfer in this context.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper offers a critical analysis of issues regarding knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity in the context of business interactions between Russian and Western firms.

Findings

The paper argues that in the later stages of post‐Socialist transition it is no longer valid to attach rigidly the roles, respectively, of sole receiver to Russian and sole transmitter to Western firms. Further, the paper questions the view that problems in the knowledge transfer process are mainly attributable to the lack of absorptive capacity in Russian firms. As post‐Socialist transition has advanced, this is no longer the typical case. While Russian firms have taken the learning race seriously and have substantially enriched their knowledge stock, Western firms operating in the Russian market have primarily “learned by doing” and have not intentionally invested in improving their own absorptive capacity.

Research limitations/implications

The paper invites scholars to examine knowledge transfer between Russian and Western firms in a more nuanced manner that takes into account the changes evident in the latest stage of post‐socialist transition. It advocates against subscribing to well‐established assumptions that were valid in the beginning of post‐Socialist transition, but are not aligned with changed economic realities.

Practical implications

Western managers are advised to invest more effort into enhancing their understanding of the local knowledge and specific requirements and needs for knowledge transfer to local Russian firms. They should intentionally invest in enhancing their own internal absorptive capacity. Russian managers need to pay attention to the dynamics of the absorptive capacity‐learning feedback loop, as well as to the distinction between potential and realised absorptive capacity.

Originality/value

Unlike the mainstream literature that has examined knowledge transfer between Western and Russian firms, this paper provides a fairer, more balanced view, aligned with changed realities, of the issues associated with knowledge transfer between Russian and Western firms.
Automatic generation of mobile widgets
Authors: Raibulet Claudia , Cammareri Daniele
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Mobile widgets represent applications exploiting web technologies and providing specific functionalities in an efficient and user‐friendly way. Owing to the low or medium complexity of the mobile widgets, their development may be simplified and optimized through automatic mechanisms. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an approach to the automatic generation of widgets, which is based on the separation of concerns between the specification of their structural and functional characteristics, and their appearance. The structural and functional features are expressed at a high abstraction level through the authors' Widget Markup Language, while their appearance through pre‐defined or personalized templates. The authors' automatic generator of mobile widgets translates the XML‐based documents containing the widgets description based on the Widget Markup Language into functional widgets for various available technologies.

Findings

The main non‐functional properties of the authors' widget generator are related to its extensibility towards new technologies, and the structural and functional aspects of the widgets. The validation of their solution has been done through various case studies, among which they mention the DISCo widget, a mobile widget which provides academic information for the students of the Computer Science Department at the University of Milano‐Bicocca in Italy.

Originality/value

The main advantages of the authors' approach for the development of mobile widgets can be summarized as following: adherence to the Write‐Once‐Run Everywhere paradigm, which allows developers to save time and to not have to be aware of all the differences among the different technologies; the high‐level specification of a widget is simpler than its creation from scratch, and is, therefore, accessible to a greater number of potential developers; separation between the specification and the graphical layout of the widgets; generating widgets can consider, in addition to the platform, the characteristics of devices such as screen resolution or pointing mechanism, saving the developer the management of these aspects and industrial production of widgets, such as scalable management of creating and updating a large number of applications.
An energy efficient pedestrian aware Smart Street Lighting system
Authors: Müllner Reinhard , Riener Andreas
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Conventional street lighting systems in areas with a low frequency of passersby are online most of the night without purpose. The consequence is that a large amount of power is wasted meaninglessly. With the broad availability of flexible‐lighting technology like light‐emitting diode lamps and everywhere available wireless internet connection, fast reacting, reliably operating, and power‐conserving street lighting systems become reality. The purpose of this work is to describe the Smart Street Lighting (SSL) system, a first approach to accomplish the demand for flexible public lighting systems.

Design/methodology/approach

This work presents the SSL system, a framework developed for a dynamic switching of street lamps based on pedestrians' locations and desired safety (or “fear”) zones. In the developed system prototype, each pedestrian is localized via his/her smartphone, periodically sending location and configuration information to the SSL server. For street lamp control, each and every lamppost is equipped with a ZigBee‐based radio device, receiving control information from the SSL server via multi‐hop routing.

Findings

This research paper confirms that the application of the proposed SSL system has great potential to revolutionize street lighting, particularly in suburban areas with low‐pedestrian frequency. More important, the broad utilization of SSL can easily help to overcome the regulatory requirement for CO2 emission reduction by switching off lampposts whenever they are not required.

Research limitations/implications

The paper discusses in detail the implementation of SSL, and presents results of its application on a small scale. Experiments have shown that objects like trees can interrupt wireless communication between lampposts and that inaccuracy of global positioning system position detection can lead to unexpected lighting effects.

Originality/value

This paper introduces the novel SSL framework, a system for fast, reliable, and energy efficient street lamp switching based on a pedestrian's location and personal desires of safety. Both safety zone definition and position estimation in this novel approach is accomplished using standard smartphone capabilities. Suggestions for overcoming these issues are discussed in the last part of the paper.
Foreign vs domestic investors and the post‐announcement drift
Authors: Geoffrey Booth G. , Kallunki Juha‐Pekka , Sahlström Petri , Tyynelä Jaakko
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate who causes post‐announcement drift and whether this drift is observed for various types of news announcements.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Finnish share ownership data, the authors examine the trading behavior of foreign and domestic investors during the post‐announcement periods of scheduled earnings and unscheduled non‐earnings announcements.

Findings

The results show that the post‐announcement drift exists for both types of news, but only if the news is negative. As a group, foreign investors react first by selling shares of firms reporting negative information. Domestic investors act in the opposite manner.

Originality/value

The results imply that the post‐announcement drift is a special case of a more general post‐disclosure phenomenon and that investor differences (most likely information processing skills) is one likely explanation for its pervasiveness.
Determinants of leasing propensity in Canadian listed companies
Authors: Callimaci Antonello , Fortin Anne , Landry Suzanne
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between a firm's propensity to lease and several firm characteristics: tax position, financial constraint, ownership structure, growth, and size.

Design/methodology/approach

Controlling for industry, total lease share, operating and capital lease share ratios, obtained using an income statement approach, are regressed on a trichotomous tax variable, a dichotomous cash flow coverage ratio variable, debt over fixed assets, ownership concentration, market to book value of shares and the natural log of sales.

Findings

Total lease share increases with leverage, tax position and growth; it decreases with cash flow coverage, ownership concentration and firm size. Results for operating lease share are similar to those for total lease share. In contrast, capital lease share decreases with tax position and increases with ownership concentration and size.

Research limitations/implications

The results suggest that leasing offers added debt capacity and increases in financially constrained firms. Firms that pay high taxes seem to place more value on the constant stream of tax deductions from the rental payments than on deductions from decreasing interest costs and amortization. Finally, highly concentrated Canadian firms may use less leasing because they are more family‐controlled.

Originality/value

The literature offers mixed reasons for firms' decisions to lease or purchase assets. This study provides further evidence in a rich setting. In 2001, the Canadian tax authorities changed the tax treatment of leases, thus providing an opportunity to validate prior results on the impact of taxes on leasing. By including two different measures of financial constraint, this study disentangles the substitution and the added debt capacity hypotheses.
Assessing probabilities of financial distress of banks in UAE
Authors: Zaki Ehab , Bah Rahim , Rao Ananth
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Commercial and Islamic banks are important players in the UAE financial market. However, little is known about their financial distress because these financial institutions usually resolve financial distress within their own organisations, which means that outsiders cannot explicitly observe distress. The purpose of the research is therefore to identify the main drivers of financial institutions' financial distress.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper estimates a probability distress prediction model using the BankScope Database and the annual reports of UAE financial institutions submitted to UAE Security Exchange Authority. The paper also analyses the impact of macroeconomic information for forecasting financial institutions' financial distress.

Findings

The fundamentals of financial institutions in terms of cost income ratio, equity to total assets, total asset growth and ratio of loan loss reserve to gross loans (all these variables with a lag of one year) positively impacted the probability of financial distress in the next year. Recent findings for emerging economies have cast some doubt on the usefulness of macroeconomic information for financial institutions' risk assessment. Similar results are found for UAE financial institutions in predicting the probability of financial distress.

Originality/value

This is the first study to provide empirical evidence on the drivers of financial distress of commercial and Islamic banks in UAE during 2000‐2008, and to examine the extent of the financial distress that can be can be attributed to internal bank‐specific fundamental factors and external factors in the economy.
Supply chain enhancement through product and vendor development programme
Authors: Hasrulnizzam Wan Mahmood Wan , Mat Tahar Nurulain , Nizam Ab Rahman Mohd , Baba
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to review the methods used by an automotive manufacturer in enhancing the supply chain management (SCM) system through a set up termed product and vendor development (PVD) programme. PVD was developed to eliminate problems faced due to late delivery and poor quality of supplies and availability of supplies at the lowest possible costs.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the step‐by‐step methodologies that have been employed by the PVD.

Findings

Results overtime show that the PVD has improved the SCM system especially in the areas of quality and delivery services, other services and cutting costs that manufacturers had to face due to problems that arose in the shortcomings of the supply services.

Research limitations/implications

The PVD has managed to promote the localization programme and has also been able to establish qualified vendors through the structured vendor performance evaluation.

Practical implications

Findings also establish that the PVD team is the key to success for development of the PVD programme.

Originality/value

The paper presents an original discussion about viewing PVD programme from a successful automotive manufacturer. The structured PVD programme helps the team better understand the product development process involving supplier selection and supplier performance measure.
Management control competencies and ERP: an empirical analysis in France
Authors: Azan Wilfrid , Bollecker Marc
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The present paper seeks to address the issue of MIS where developments in IT have had a significant impact on competencies.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper explores this notion which has received little coverage in IS literature to date, with a focus on the field of accounting and management control. Many authors have voiced their uncertainty about how the control function will evolve in the future. In effect, IS developments challenge controllers' legitimacy if the latters' know‐how fails to keep up with technological developments. This paper analyses the makeup of controllers' competencies and, in particular, the need for the latter to be able to use ERP systems. It proposes the concept of technological contingency as a means to understand evolutions in ERP controllers' competencies in comparison with traditional controllers.

Findings

Technological progress broadens controllers' competencies, and ERP plays the role of a medium through which increased contingency takes place. Organisations of a certain size are compelled to implement ERP, leading to management controllers having to adjust their skills set. The study provides an ERP model to be used by controllers.

Research limitations/implications

The antecedents of the evolution can be more developed in another study.

Practical implications

The managerial impact is considerable. It is crucial for French university programmes to rapidly develop greater focus on ERP training, and job and skill referentials need to be updated in organisations, especially promotion, valorisation, evaluation, and career development systems. Being an IS specialist in a large corporation can confer real legitimacy as it becomes an imperative. For business organisations, interpersonal relations have changed completely; communication takes place through integrated tools and there is less face to face, but on the other hand relationships are pre‐ordained by IS tools. The way economic, accounting, and financial knowledge is disseminated will also change as it is communicated more explicitly.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, studies on management controllers' skills in an ERP environment are nonexistent. This is the first study on this subject.
A study of determinants impacting consumers food choice with reference to the fast food consumption in India
Authors: Anand Ritu
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this case study is to explore and study the determinants (demographics and psychographics) impacting consumers food choice towards fast food in India.

Design/methodology/approach

Food choice variables have been explored using literature reviews and exploratory survey of young consumers in the age group of 20‐40. Data obtained from the reliable sources (e.g. the World Health Organisation, Euromonitor International and Datamonitor International) have been used to study the implications of consumer food choice and growing trend towards organic food.

Findings

Based on literature reviews and exploratory surveys, the key determinants impacting consumers food choice are passion for eating out, socialize, ambience and taste for school and college goers and convenience for dual‐income families in urban India. Findings indicate that fast food companies can no longer rely on convenience as USP in India, unless the implications of same on consumers health is given equal importance in the years to come.

Research limitations/implications

Data obtained from the convenience sample and literature reviews have been generalized for inferring consumption patterns of Indian consumers (population).

Practical implications

This case study focuses on growing trends towards organic food and green consumerism in view of rising global obesity with fast food consumption in Western countries and significantly very less in India despite obesity being an epidemic in India.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on determining a food choice model in wake of changing food and eating habits in India, using literature reviews, exploratory surveys and reliable data sources.
Global HRM and the dilemma of competing stakeholder interests
Authors: Lähteenmäki Satu , Laiho Maarit
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the meaning of socially responsible human resource management (HRM) in the global business context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a multiple case study and is descriptive. The study focuses on four case studies of two Finnish multinational companies. The data sources are company documents and web sites, newspapers, financial periodicals and web‐based open communication channels.

Findings

The study shows the contextual nature of socially responsible HRM and highlights the need to recognise the magnitude of the issues and viewpoints that affect the evaluation of social responsibility from the HRM point of view. The study also reveals the gap between the rhetoric used by top management and the messages given out by the HR function.

Research limitations/implications

The four cases examined in this study do not allow for empirical generalisations.

Practical implications

The study stresses that the costs and consequences of unethical behaviour cannot be overlooked when aiming to maintain the image of a socially responsible company.

Originality/value

This study addresses a research gap in HRM studies by adopting an ethical perspective and suggesting that instead of balancing global integration with responsiveness to local customs companies should find a balance between profitability and responsibility. The study provides rich material for discussion and illustration.
CSR matters in the development of Mauritius
Authors: Deepa Gokulsing Roshni
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Rethinking development along the lines of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new and exciting area of research and development practice. Newly emerging forms of global governance are now relying on private actors (business, non governmental organizations (NGOs)) rather than states. Therefore, CSR policy and programmes are necessary steps in securing responsible corporate behaviour in support of development. The objectives of this paper are to identify the areas of interventions for CSR activities and examine the rationale behind the CSR activities in Mauritius. It aims to analyse the relation between business and poverty reduction and also the successes and failures of CSR initiatives and how the programmes are delivering to the company's business objectives. In short, how is CSR redefining development?

Design/methodology/approach

Both primary and secondary data have been collected for this study. Qualitative methods of data collection were privileged to address complex issues such as the relationship between CSR and development. In‐depth interviews were carried out and seen as an appropriate research technique in order to explore and capture the perspectives of the stakeholders, namely private sector and the NGOs on CSR. Secondary sources in the form of company publications, annual reports, press cuttings, web sites of companies and survey reports were consulted.

Findings

Although CSR initiatives go quite a long way back in Mauritius, it is still believed that CSR is not embedded in its corporate culture. However, in some cases, CSR is merely being used as window‐dressing, for the gallery as a sideshow since it is a trendy issue and that everyone is doing it alongside with the wide media coverage. For CSR to become the national development tool, it is important that coordinated and concerted efforts be undertaken at the private sector level, in the civil society and at government level in achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development.

Originality/value

This work contributes to the scarce literature on CSR in Mauritius as well as in the African continent, investigating the relationship between CSR and development in the Mauritian context. It also provides an extensive and critical literature review on CSR and CSR activities in Mauritius.
Product strategy vis‐à‐vis environment: are strategies of pesticide manufacturers in India sustainable?
Authors: Narula Sapna A. , Upadhyay K.M.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present strategic responses of leading Indian pesticide manufacturers to the voice of stakeholders and regulatory authorities regarding environment friendly products and processes. The study has made a unique attempt to analyze the product portfolio of selected Indian vs multinational companies with respect to market attractiveness as well as environmental attractiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

A comparison of corporate, business and operational level strategies of domestic vs multinational companies impacting environment has been made by selecting two companies of each type from the industry on the basis of their turnover. The product portfolios of selected companies have been analyzed on the basis of a matrix constructed for market attractiveness and environmental attractiveness.

Findings

The study finds that both domestic and multinational companies have been making efforts to reorient their product strategy towards a relatively greener portfolio. Also, multinationals are having more environmentally safer products than their domestic counterparts. Indian firms have been catching up by acquiring brands/companies to expand/reorient their product portfolios, whereas multinationals have been adopting merger and acquisition strategies as well as launching new products using indigenous research and development of their parent companies. Related diversification is the preferred strategic move by both the groups, though in different areas.

Practical implications

The study classifies the products of various companies on the basis of market as well as environmental attractiveness and also recommends the strategies to manage a product portfolio. Similar kind of portfolios could be constructed and used for analyzing the product mix of firms in other sectors.

Originality/value

The originality of the study lies in the fact that, although the pesticide industry is very important to study from both an environmental and a strategic perspective, no effort has ever been made to study the environmental strategies of firms and also the comparison of domestic as well as multinational firms. The product portfolio based on market as well as environmental attractiveness devised in the study is novel in nature.
Conceptualising corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social investment (CSI): the South African context
Authors: Hinson Robert E. , Ndhlovu Tidings P.
Published: July 2011

Purpose

With globalisation pressures and increasing burdens on governments to provide comprehensive social services, there is now a need to better understand how firms play their part in sharing these burdens. Views vary from those who believe that CSR and CSI are distractions from profit maximisation to those who argue that participation in such activities contributes to positive social transformation and also benefits participating firms themselves. This paper seeks to conceptualise these debates.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper largely utilises a literature review to derive the research conclusions. Specifically, it examines how CSR, CSI and the socially responsible investment (SRI) index has been used to evaluate corporate behaviour in South Africa, as a novel way of addressing pressing development problems.

Findings

CSI has emerged from the specificities of South African historical development, and it has arguably been driven primarily by legislation and industry charters. It is in this context that CSI, with its paraphernalia of the SRI Index and social capital market, promises to present a new and radical way of addressing developmental problems.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the few studies examining the phenomenon of corporate social investment from a developing economy context.
Corporate sustainability reporting of major commercial banks in line with GRI: Bangladesh evidence
Authors: Khan Habib‐Uz‐Zaman , Azizul Islam Muhammad , Kayeser Fatima Johra , Ahmed Khadem
Published: July 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the tendencies of sustainability reporting by major commercial banks in Bangladesh in comparison with global sustainability reporting indicators outlined in the GRI framework together with banks' predilection toward reporting 16 GRI financial service sector (FSS) specific performance indicators.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the GRI G3 guidelines, the paper investigated banks' reporting in five broad areas of sustainability, such as environment, labour practices and decent works, product responsibility, human rights and society. The 2008/2009 annual reports of 12 major commercial banks listed on Dhaka stock exchange were analysed and coded using a content‐based technique.

Findings

The results show that information on society is addressed most extensively with regard to extent of reporting. This is followed by the disclosures prepared on decent works and labour practices and environmental issues. Furthermore, the disclosures of product responsibility information and the information for human rights are rather scarce in banks' reporting; on the subject of FSS‐specific disclosures, only seven items out of 16 are disclosed by all sample banks.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of the study indicate that Bangladeshi commercial banks' social disclosures could develop in this style to become more holistic and over time (in association with the country's central bank involvement) to resemble a type of structured reporting to the point where they are properly labelled per se.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the social disclosure literature, in particular in a developing countries banking sector context, seeing as it disseminates evidence of the standing on social disclosures practices at the level of GRI with developing countries' banks data.
Corporate responsibility performance in the forest industries
Authors: Amberla Tomi , Wang Lei , Juslin Heikki , Panwar Rajat , Hansen Eric , Anderson Roy
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The basic purpose of this research is to compare and describe various aspects related to student perceptions of forest industry CR performance in Finland and the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

With a quantitative research method, this study investigated 568 students. CSR and CSR reporting are the fundamental concepts that shape the development of the hypotheses and thus are integral to this empirical study.

Findings

Finnish students have a stronger belief that reporting is reliable and open than their US counterparts. Finnish students show more positive views on the way forest industry companies implement environmental responsibility than their US counterparts. US students show more positive views on social responsibility, especially those connected with stakeholder relations, than their Finnish counterparts.

Originality/value

The obvious connections between reporting views and perceptions of corporate responsibility highlight the significance of reliable reporting in the context of CR. Major fields of study significantly affected student perceptions of CR. The results of the study can help schools and enterprises to design proper CR‐related education courses or programs. Results of this study indicate that the CR weakness of the industry still lies in environmental responsibility. Thus, while forest industry companies should strive to apply a multi‐dimensional CR strategy, emphasis should still be on the environmental component.
Cause‐Related Marketing in financial service organisations in Cyprus
Authors: Papasolomou Ioanna , Demetriou Marlen
Published: July 2011

A corporation’s reputation is one its most important assets, affecting its competitive advantage as well as building both financial and social success. Corporate reputation depends on how the company conducts or is perceived as conducting its business. The ability to build a sustainable corporate reputation is more important than ever before as stakeholders are more educated, more knowledgeable, and more demanding. This paper discusses the efforts of two of the largest financial service organisations in Cyprus to build a sustainable corporate reputation through an emphasis on Cause‐Related Marketing. It paper analyses the effectiveness of such cause related marketing for building and sustaining a corporate reputation.
Integrate Protected Areas into Broader land, Seascapes and Sectors from a Social Responsibility of the 292 Environment perspective
Authors: Ş Topal R. , Öngen A.
Published: July 2011

IUCN ‐ The World Conservation Union defines a protected area as an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means. The Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) describes a protected area as a geographically defined area, which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objective. Protected areas‐national parks, wildlife reserves, wilderness areas, etc. ‐ are the cornerstones of national and international conservation strategies. They act as refuges for species and help maintain critical ecological processes and ecosystem services that intensely managed landscapes and seascapes cannot provide. These places provide space for natural evolution and future ecological restoration. In recent years there has been growing recognition of the benefits that protected areas provide for people: genetic resources for pharmaceuticals and agriculture, traditional medicines; recreational opportunities and ecotourism revenues; sustainable sources of goods such as non‐timber forest products; and refuge for traditional and vulnerable human societies (Dudley et al. 2005). A wide range of management objectives, approaches and types of governance are used within protected areas in different countries. In terms of management objectives, these range from strict protection and exclusion of humans to broad‐scale approaches that include cultural landscapes such as farms and managed forests. IUCN‐The World Conservation Union subdivides protected areas into six categories based on management objectives: Ia: strict nature reserve/wilderness protection area; Ib: wilderness area; II:national park; III:natural monument; IV:habitat/species management area; V:protected landscape/seascape; and VI:managed resource protected area. In terms of governance types, protected areas may be managed directly by a government, co‐managed with other actors such as nongovernmental organizations, or even declared and managed collectively by indigenous peoples and local communities or by the relevant individual or corporate landowner. Today, there are more than 100,000 designated protected areas in the World Database on Protected Areas covering around 11.4 per cent of Earth’s land surface, along with more than 1,300 marine protected areas covering less than 0.5 per cent of the oceans (Dudley et all. 2005).
From what we say to what we tell: the rhetoric of social responsibility in France
Authors: Ocler Rodolphe
Published: July 2011

The topics of the social and environmental responsibility for the companies, deontological rules, codes of control and ethical charters, exercise of the voting rights to the service of the durable development, choices of investment of the funds, ethical placements are more and more often discussed. The companies and their stakeholders, the investors and the managers financial feel increasingly concerned by these questions. As a result more and more literature can be found on those subjects and more specifically on the strategy developed by firms to implement social responsibility. The perception that companies have of their social responsibility as well as the action plans that they initiate in this field can be analyzed using panoply of semantic tools. Based on four institutional communications produced by the companies themselves, we will determine beyond what is said, what the corporate world really says about social responsibility. The alternative use of two types of tools will enable us to reveal, beyond simple expression, the way in which these organizations conceive their social role: ‐ the interactional view and the relational analysis, as developed by the Palo Alto Group ‐ metaphorical analysis, according to the principal metaphorical families characterized by Morgan (1983)
CSR in South America: Fostering the Dialogue
Authors: O’Keefe William M.
Published: July 2011

Little attention has been given by researchers to the participant progress reporting database established by the UNGC to function as a transparent and easily accessible repository of program information and ready source of best practices for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) participants across the globe. The purpose of this paper is to assess the current database utilization practices of Compact participant organizations in the South American Region and identify steps that can be taken to enrich the dialogue and exchange of best practices among member organizations. For purposes of this study, only those South American countries with Company and Small and Mid‐Size Enterprise (SME) members were included. Due to the rapid rate of change in UNGC membership, the analysis was limited to the documents and links posted on the database as of September 10, 2006. Data analysis was done by country, followed by a detailed analysis of the reporting practices of the two countries with the largest membership, Argentina and Brazil. This study found that four of the ten nations with UNGC membership, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru account for 434 of the 482 Company and SME members. Organizations in Brazil led the way to membership growth at the establishment of the Global Compact in 2000, followed by significant growth in membership across the region in 2003 and 2004. Argentina has the highest proportion of active members (51%), followed by Chile (36%), and then Brazil (26%). Peru has experienced the highest rate of inactivity, with 41 of its 57 member organizations, all of whom joined in 2004, having been recently declared “Non‐Communicating” by Compact administration. The comparative analysis of Brazil and Argentina COP reporting practices reveals that the UNGC members in Argentina, with a 51% reporting rate, have universally adopted a short standardized easy‐to‐read reporting format, while those in Brazil, with a 26% reporting rate, utilize a diverse range of reporting formats involving much longer and more detailed CSR‐related reports. There just 27% of the 33 members posted reports utilizing Portuguese exclusively, while 81 % of the 95 Argentina members utilize Spanish only. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings on the fostering more effective utilization of the UNGC database in order to help member organizations in South America make Corporate Social Responsibility an integral part of their business strategy.
CSR Strategy Formation Processes: A Multiple Case Study from Brazil
Authors: Mostardeiro Marcio
Published: July 2011

Based on a study carried out in 2004‐2005 in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, this paper explores the theme of CSR strategy formation, investigating how three companies from different industry sectors ‐ a chemical products manufacturer, a diesel engine technology development company and a large multi‐media enterprise ‐ have shaped and institutionalised CSR strategies. The data revealed three major categories of interrelated factors that lead to CSR strategy formation, namely, delineating events; stakeholder influence, and drivers for CSR strategies. Delineating events are chronologically ordered events that trigger a process of reflection on CSR issues. Stakeholders such as the company’s president, stockholders, employees, community, customers, and competitors exert considerable influence in the formation of CSR strategies. Drivers are events and processes emerging from the company’s environment, which create the conditions to shape CSR strategies. The first part paper provides a brief discussion of the notion of CSR and examines a selection of management theoretical models that provide essential insights to understand CSR as strategy; the second part focuses on the findings of the exploratory study which provides the basis for this paper.
Logistics sector development potential of world's oil exporters
Authors: Hilmola Olli‐Pekka
Published: July 2011

Purpose

Oil exporters have been identified as having problems in the friendliness and performance of their logistics sector, particularly in general cargo group. The purpose of this research is to identify, through proposed data envelopment analysis (DEA) models, those oil exporters with most potential to develop (who have resources for this through their economic prosperity). Benchmarks of improvement are not only identified among top oil exporters, but also from larger group of emerging countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses two different DEA models, and quantitative data available from economic prosperity and general cargo logistics performance. Models are input oriented, and use the most recent data from year 2009.

Findings

Major oil exporters are not homogeneous group in their performance turning logistics competence on prosperity. Actually, there could be one group of very low performance identified in general cargo logistics performance as compared to the DEA models, and other group with similar or slightly above performance with general cargo handling. Those performing at the lower end, and with most development potential, include such countries as Russia, Venezuela, Algeria, Qatar, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan (possibly also including Iran, Kuwait and UAE). From the group of major oil exporters, these countries should learn exceptional logistics competence from Malaysia and Canada. Similarly, this research shows that the emerging economies, particularly China, but also India as well as Philippines, Thailand and South Africa are useful benchmarks to develop general cargo logistics performance further (to some extent Korea (South), Taiwan, Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and Lebanon also could be included).

Research limitations/implications

The research is not based on longitudinal data, and should be enlarged to take into account earlier logistics performance index ratings from the World Bank studies (year 2007); this not only to verify the results, but also to highlight possible progress in the development of the logistics sector. Also, other global logistics performance ratings (e.g. from infrastructure) should be taken into account, and DEA models be developed further (often infrastructure drives other layers of performance).

Originality/value

Research work is seminal to study in respect to identifying which countries “lower performing oil producers” include, and which have potential in better developing their logistics sector (general cargo). Among this, research also proposes benchmarks for these countries, not only among oil exporters, but also from other emerging economies. The research findings give a unique and fresh perspective on the logistics performance of oil exporters and emerging economies in general.
Economic‐emission unit commitment solution for wind integrated hybrid system
Authors: Pal Verma Yajvender , Kumar Ashwani
Published: July 2011

Purpose

With the inclusion of significant wind power into the power system, the unit commitment (UC) has become challenging due to frequent variations in wind power, load and requirement of reserves with sufficient ramp rate. The pumped storage units with lesser startup time and cost can take care of these sudden variations and reduce their impact on power system operation. The aim of this paper is to provide a solution model for UC problem in a hybrid power system.

Design/methodology/approach

The model developed has been implemented through GAMS optimization tool with CONOPT solver. The model has been called into MATLAB platform by using GAMS‐MATLAB interfacing to obtain solutions.

Findings

The model provides an efficient operating schedule for conventional units and pumped storage units to minimize operating cost and emission. The effects of wind power and load profiles on emission, operating cost and reserve with enough ramping capabilities have been minimized with the use of pumped storage unit. The commitment schedule of thermal and pumped storage units have been obtained with significant wind power integrated into the system for best cost commitment (BCC) and for a combined objective of cost and emission minimization.

Originality/value

This paper finds that the operating cost and emission in a commitment problem can be reduced significantly during variable wind and load conditions in a hybrid system. The model proposed provides operational schedules of conventional and pumped storage units with variable wind power and load conditions throughout operating horizon. The coordinated optimization approach has been implemented on a hybrid system with IEEE‐30 bus system.
Sustainability criteria for biomass – views of Finnish stakeholders
Authors: Hämäläinen Anne , Panapanaan Virgilio , Mikkilä Mirja , Linnanen Lassi , Heinimö Jussi
Published: July 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find out the views, concerns and opinions of stakeholders in Finland about the on‐going EU‐wide development of sustainability criteria for biomass production and utilization.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews were conducted among Finnish stakeholders in the biomass sector which include representatives from government ministries, associations of industries and agricultural producers, research institutions and non‐governmental organizations.

Findings

The majority of Finnish stakeholders are in agreement that sustainability criteria for biomass are needed because of the expanding and globalizing nature of the use and trade of biomass. Finnish stakeholders generally agreed that they should actively participate in the development of sustainability criteria both at international and local levels. Administrative/technical, environmental, social and economic aspects were elicited as critical factors for the development of sustainability criteria.

Practical implications

This study emphasizes and puts forward the importance of taking stakeholders' viewpoints and their participation in the planning and development of sustainability criteria. This study affirms how Finnish stakeholders can strongly articulate their views and opinions about the sustainability of biomass. These views and concerns of stakeholders can be significant or critical inputs in top level decision making related to biomass production and utilization in Finland and in the EU.

Originality/value

This paper can be a position paper to highlight the concerns of Finnish stakeholders on sustainability criteria development. It also highlights the special circumstances of Finnish biomass. These concerns and circumstances are valuable information for criteria developers, biomass certifiers, decision makers and regulatory bodies.