Finance and the social mission: a quest for sustainability and inclusion

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-242
Author(s):  
Munacinga Simatele ◽  
Phindile Dlamini
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Group Lending ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mission Drift ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
The Social ◽  
Management Approaches

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to probe whether the quest for sustainability in financial social enterprise institutions leads to mission drift. Both formal and informal institutions play an important role as interventions to promote inclusion. They struggle between an explicit social mission and the implicit quest for sustainability. The debate remains on whether such organisations can achieve financial sustainability without compromising outreach. Design/methodology/approach The study uses interviews and focus group discussions in nine different hybrid organisations involved in providing different types of financial services in Swaziland. Findings The results suggest that smaller and informal enterprises tend to have less mission drift. Their risk mitigation and management approaches such as group liability and use of traditional governance structures are more adapted to the characteristics of the groups served. The modus operandi of larger enterprises tends to mimic mainstream lenders with risk mitigation measures that are inherently unsustainable for this type of market. Research limitations/implications Sustainability in financial enterprises requires new contextualised models of risk management and client selection more appropriate for excluded groups. Moreover, using group lending as a measure of outreach maybe flawed. Other forms of social capital can be used to increase outreach even in the absence of group lending. The perceived trade-off between commercial gain and outreach is somewhat complex. Mission drift seems to depend on the capital structure. Originality/value The paper contributes to an infant but important debate on how sustainability can be achieved without compromising outreach in financial institutions designed to increase financial inclusion.

A reflection on survey research in hospitality

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 3412-3422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Dolnicar
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Substantial Risk ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Survey research has developed to become the default empirical approach to answering research questions in the field of hospitality (and many other fields of research within the social sciences). This paper aims to reflect on the use of survey research in hospitality and offers recommendations for improvement. Design/methodology/approach First, known dangers to validity associated with survey research are discussed. Next, a sample of studies recently published in leading hospitality journals is assessed in view of these known dangers. Finally, recommendations are offered for editors, reviewers, readers and authors to mitigate the risk of drawing invalid conclusions based on survey research. Findings Survey research is very common in hospitality research and is used to investigate a wide range of research questions and constructs under study. The nature of constructs studied, the answer scales used and the nature of the samples point to a substantial risk to the validity of conclusions drawn. Practical implications A number of risk mitigation measures are proposed that can help authors minimise the risks to validity arising from known dangers associated with survey research. These same risk mitigation measures can be used by editors and reviewers in the assessment of manuscripts and by readers to evaluate the validity of conclusions drawn in already published work. Originality/value The value of this study lies in reflecting from a distance on how the survey research is conducted in the social sciences in general and in hospitality research in specific. The paper reveals that some routine approaches particularly prone to undermining the validity of conclusions may have been adopted and offers a few suggestions how this risk can be mitigated.

Risk mitigation modelling of international construction projects executed by Indian firms: a structural equation modelling approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 2687-2713
Author(s):  
Satish Kumar Viswanathan ◽  
Kumar Neeraj Jha
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
International Construction ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
International Projects

PurposeA number of previous studies have investigated international construction project risks and have proposed risk mitigation measures without examining their interdependence. The purpose of the current study is to identify the influence of various risk mitigation measures on macro-level risk factors in the international marketplace.Design/methodology/approachThe authors initially identified 26 risk variables and nine risk mitigation measures through a literature review, which were then verified for their pertinence to international projects by three experts. Subsequently, 105 questionnaire survey responses were collected and analysed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling to test the interrelations between the risk variables and mitigation measures.FindingsThe findings suggest that joint ventures with local partners is emerged as the most critical risk mitigation measure that influences the international projects, which are exposed to political, project and firm-specific risk factors. Further, it is worth noting that among the recognised risk mitigation measures in international projects, offering more local employment is the least critical mitigation measure in the international projects.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study are based on the macro-risk factors encountered by Indian construction firms in international projects, mostly from specific Asian and African regions. Thus, the opinions of construction firms from the developed countries might be different.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study to existing knowledge is empirical evidence of the interrelationships between risk mitigation measures and risk factors that are portrayed as latent variables of different manifest risk variables. The generated model can assist construction firms in emphasising several risk mitigation methods, in order to reduce risk and enhance performance in international construction projects.

Design and construction risks in BOT type mega transportation projects

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 2223-2242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hande Aladağ ◽  
Zeynep Işık
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Occupational Accidents ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transportation Projects ◽  
Construction Risks ◽  
Design And Construction

Purpose In build-operate-transfer (BOT) transportation projects, design and construction phases are critical in terms of their effect on time and cost overruns. The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of risk factors affecting these phases and their significance level for BOT transportation projects. Design/methodology/approach Design and construction risks were determined and then validated by focus group discussions. Afterwards, an illustrated case study was presented to better understand the effects of determined risks in a BOT mega transportation project. As the last step of the study, the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process method was used to prioritize risk factors. Findings The prominent risk factors were found out as occupational accidents, integration between design and construction phases and excessive design variations. Research limitations/implications Different kinds of BOT transportation projects in different countries might be executed very differently considering specific social, political, economic and other factors. However, the results of the study are important in terms of the specific lessons learned from the case study that can be used as a foundation for developing possible risk mitigation measures. Originality/value Though the risk management of BOT projects has been investigated frequently in the literature, there is a knowledge gap in the quantitative evaluation of risk significance specific to design and construction risks. The prioritization of determined risks with an associated case from a mega transportation project will contribute to the BOT project practitioners about possible challenges in design and construction phases in BOT mega transportation projects.

Essay Gifts: gifting for greater good

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Sarah Babb ◽  
Tina Retief ◽  
Geoff Bick
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Entrepreneur ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
The Social

Subject area The subject areas are marketing, entrepreneurship, strategy or organisational design, operating in emerging markets and social entrepreneurship. Study level/applicability The study is applicable to MBA students, masters-level students and students of executive education. Case overview The case outlines the context and current decisions and dilemma facing Essay Gifts, which is a successful enterprise based in Cape Town, South Africa, supplying a local market in corporate gifting since 2006. The emerging market is facing economic decline and rising unemployment sitting at 25 per cent and up to 48 per cent in the youth market. After seven years of operating from a home-based office, Beatrice has moved into an office block in an upcoming area in Cape Town as they anticipate bullish targets for the upcoming year. The decision facing her now is whether to also sign a lease for a vacant retail shop downstairs from her office to sell ready-made gifting solutions. To meet the social mission, Essay Gifts is using township-based suppliers to develop the products, and this is proving an often unreliable and inconsistent source of supply and the current orders may not even be met at this particularly busy end-of-year period. How does Beatrice scale the business and what business is she in after all? Is she an entrepreneur, striving to increase the size of her business and her revenue, or is she a social entrepreneur creating employment opportunities for others? Expected learning outcomes The paper enables to identify the determining features of a social enterprise and the dynamics involved in balancing the social and commercial missions; understand the complexities of entrepreneurial operations in emerging markets; identify scaling up and strategic growth strategy options for social enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises; and distinguish entrepreneurial marketing strategies in contrast with traditional marketing strategies. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

scholarly journals Assessing the quality, readability and reliability of online information on COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. e3591210680
Author(s):  
Paulo Cardoso Lins-Filho ◽  
Millena Mirella Silva de Araújo ◽  
Thuanny Silva de Macêdo ◽  
Andressa Kelly Alves Ferreira ◽  
Maria Cecilia Freire de Melo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Reading Levels ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Content Quality ◽  
Flesch Reading Ease ◽  
Health Related

During a public health crisis, the dissemination of reliable information, advice and experts’ opinions is essential for improving public comprehension of potential or actual health threats and enables the public to take informed decisions about risk mitigation measures. This study aimed to assess the quality, reliability and readability of internet-based information on COVID-19 available on Brazil’ most used search engines. A total of 68 websites were selected through Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The websites content quality and reliability were evaluated using the DISCERN questionnaire, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) criteria, and the presence of the Health on Net (HON) certification. Readability was assessed by the Flesch Reading Ease adapted to Brazilian Portuguese (FRE-BP). The web contents were considered moderate to low quality according to DISCERN and JAMA mean scores. Most of the sample presented very difficult reading levels and only 7.4% displayed HON certification. Websites of Governmental and health-related authorship nature showed lower JAMA mean scores and quality and readability measures did not correlate to the webpages content type. COVID-19 related contents available online were considered of low to moderate quality and not accessible to general population. These findings indicate the need for further efforts on improving the quality of health-related content on internet, especially during public health emergencies.

From “virtuous” to “pragmatic” pursuit of social mission

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 970-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. McDonald ◽  
Jay Weerawardena ◽  
Sreedhar Madhavaram ◽  
Gillian Sullivan Mort
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Work ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Fiscal Sustainability ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
The Social ◽  
Non Profit Organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a sustainability-based typology for non-profit organizations and corresponding strategies to sustain the mission and/or financial objectives of non-profit organizations. The balance of mission and money, known in the non-profit literature as the double bottom line, is a challenge for professional managers who run non-profits and scholars who study them. Design/methodology/approach – Typologies are often used to classify phenomena to improve understanding and bring about clarity. In this paper, non-profit organizations are viewed from a social and fiscal viability perspective, developed from the long standing challenge of balancing mission and money. Findings – The typology developed in this paper identifies several normative strategies that correspond to the social and fiscal viability of non-profit organizations. In fact, the strategies offered in this paper can help non-profit managers achieve organizational sustainability, thus enabling them to continue what they are meant to do – to provide greater social value to their constituents. Research limitations/implications – The typology presented is a classification system rather than a theoretical typology. Its purpose is to help managers of non-profits to recognize threats to their organizations’ long-term survival and offer strategies that if adopted can move the organizations to less vulnerable positions. However, the recommended strategies are by no means exhaustive. Furthermore, the focus of the paper is on non-profit organizations, not profit-driven or hybrid entities. The sustainability-based typology of non-profit organizations and the corresponding strategies have implications for practitioners and academics. The typology and its contents can help managers assess their non-profits, competitive environment and their current strategies, plan their double bottom line strategies and last but not the least, develop and implement strategies for social and fiscal sustainability. In addition, our paper provides great opportunities for future research to subject our typology and its contents to conceptual and empirical scrutiny. Practical implications – The strategies described here are developed based on scholarly research and examples from successful non-profits. The typology and the related list of strategies provide a manager with the tools to accurately diagnose organizational challenges and adopt plans to improve the organization’s viability. Social implications – Non-profit organizations are an integral part of society that bolsters economic prosperity, environmental integrity and social justice. This paper may provide guidance for a number of non-profit managers to keep their organizations operating and serving important social missions. Originality/value – In the context of organizations for social mission, several typologies exist that looked at firms from the perspectives of ownership versus profit objectives, entrepreneurship conceptualizations of economists and origins and development paths of social enterprises. While these typologies provided foundations for theoretical and empirical work into social enterprises, our typology offers strategies for the sustainability of mission and/or money objectives of non-profits. The value of this research lies in integrating virtuous and pragmatic objectives of non-profit sustainability that, in turn, can ensure the social mission of non-profits.

Study on Social Stability Risk Analysis for Nuclear Power Projects

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhu Rongxu ◽  
Zhao Feng ◽  
Wang Haifeng
Keyword(s):  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Evaluation Index System ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Working Process ◽  
Theoretical Support ◽  
The Social ◽  
Power Project

In this paper, the social stability risk analysis of nuclear power projects is carried out, and the working process of social stability risk analysis and risk evaluation index system of social stability is established. The social stability risk analysis of nuclear power plant in Guangdong province was taken as an example to introduce the application in this paper, at the same time for the current nuclear power project should focus on risk points to put forward risk mitigation measures and recommendations. This study can provide theoretical support and technical support for the social stability risk analysis of nuclear power projects, and provide decision support for the construction of nuclear power projects.

Stigma, tensions, and apprehension

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 609-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Maringe ◽  
Jennifer Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Positioning Theory ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper examines the experiences of engaging with academic writing of international doctoral students in the schools of humanities and education at a UK university. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the real accounts of international students whose cultural and language backgrounds are often marginalised and considered, not as facilitators, but as barriers to academic writing in the western context of universities. Design/methodology/approach – Developed broadly within an interpretive post-positivistic paradigm, the study utilised Harré and van Lagenhove, 1999 Positioning theory and Goffman’s theory of Stigma to interrogate accounts of 12 students from the two schools in a year-long project involving three focus group discussions, questionnaire responses and personal reflective summaries by the students. Findings – The paper highlights the notions of stigma associated with their foreign writing conventions and how students experience tensions and apprehensions about their ability as they painfully negotiate the new academic writing conventions of the institution. International students position themselves as vulnerable outsiders working within an ill-defined but highly valued language environment. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to the extent that it utilises a very small number of students as its key source of evidence. However, the study was not aimed at providing generalisation as much as it sought to explore issues associated with the use of language by international studying in UK universities. Practical implications – The study has practical implications for the professionals in HE to develop clear guidelines about what constitutes good English and to provide greater support to international students who see themselves as vulnerable outsiders in an environment which marginalises their linguistic and cultural identities. Social implications – The study has implications for the social, cultural, and academic integration of international students in HE institutions. Originality/value – The paper signals a need for diverse writing frameworks which seek to promote rather than silence and marginalise potentially rich sources of knowledge and understanding in an increasingly globalising world.

scholarly journals Parental interpretations of “childhood innocence”

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 580-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura McGinn ◽  
Nicole Stone ◽  
Roger Ingham ◽  
Andrew Bengry-Howell
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
General Recognition ◽  
Open Relationship ◽  
Thematic Network Analysis

Purpose Despite general recognition of the benefits of talking openly about sexuality with children, parents encounter and/or create barriers to such communication. One of the key barriers is a desire to protect childhood innocence. The purpose of this paper is to explore parental interpretations of childhood innocence and the influence this has on their reported practices relating to sexuality-relevant communication with young children. Design/methodology/approach In all, 110 UK parents and carers of children aged between four and seven years were involved in focus group discussions. The discussions were transcribed and thematic network analysis was subsequently applied to the data. Following the reading and re-reading of the transcripts for meaning, context and content, individual comments and statements were identified within the data set and grouped to generate themes. Findings Childhood innocence was commonly equated with non-sexuality in children and sexual ignorance. Parents displayed ambiguity around the conceptualisation of non-innocence in children. Parents desire to prolong the state of childhood innocence led them to withhold certain sexual knowledge from their children; however, the majority also desired an open relationship whereby their child could approach them for information. Originality/value UK parents have a strong desire to maintain the social construction of their children as inherently innocent. This discourse is affecting the way in which they communicate about sexually relevant information with their children.

scholarly journals Corporate governance practices and outcomes in social enterprises in the UK

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Mswaka ◽  
Olu Aluko
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Mission ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Governance Models ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Enterprise Governance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the growth of social enterprise in the UK in the context of the renewed interest in the creative use of organisations with a social mission to complement public service delivery. Given the impact of globalisation and increased demands for effective social welfare interventions, this paper specifically focuses on the nature and type of social enterprise governance models and how they influence their outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises a mixed method approach involving the complementary use of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Findings – The paper finds that the way in which the social enterprise governance structure is designed ultimately influences its outcomes. In particular, those with stewardship governance models tend to perform better than those with democratic models of governance. This leads to a conclusion that in the social context of the UK, social enterprise should aim for a paradigm shift in the design and selection of governance models. Research limitations/implications – Comparative regional experiences in other regions or social contexts could enrich our understanding of whether these results are applicable across the board. Practical implications – This paper is of potential benefit to researchers and particularly those designing policies for the governance of social enterprise. Originality/value – The study employs innovative analytical theoretical lenses not normally associated with the social economy, namely agency, stewardship and resource dependency theories to provide a more in-depth analysis of the governance of contemporary social enterprise.

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