scholarly journals Mirroring the zeitgeist: an analysis of CSR policies in the UK’s food, soft drink and packaging industries

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Topić ◽  
Gemma Bridge ◽  
Ralph Tench
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Soft Drink ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Activism ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Packaging Industry ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore changes in corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies in food, soft drinks and packaging industries to capture changes in CSR implementation given increased environmental activism. The paper takes an exploratory approach in reviewing CSR policy changes to explore to what extent companies change CSR policies with increased environmentalism. Design/methodology/approach A comparative website analysis was used to analyse CSR policies of companies in the food, soft drinks and packaging industries in the UK. The companies were selected for the analysis based on their annual turnover and 23 companies were analysed (seven for the soft drinks industry, eight for the food industry and eight for packaging industry). Five interviews were conducted with packaging and retail professionals, and the findings were analysed by using thematic analysis, which captured trends in responses. Findings The findings show that companies are implementing and communicating CSR policies heavily focussed on reducing the environmental impact of their work and matching social debates on human rights, with which traditional CSR policies (corporate governance, supporting local communities and consultation with stakeholders) are fading away. Instead, companies have shifted attention towards the gender pay gap, modern slavery and extensive environmentalism. The interviews with packaging professionals and CSR managers from the retail industry show that the packaging industry designs CSR policies in line with requests from supermarkets, which are, in turn, influenced by consumer activism. Practical implications This paper shows the circular relationship between media coverage, consumer activism, which comes as a result, and the impact and changes this brings to the industry. To avoid reputation damage, companies should closely follow media debates to pre-empty consumer criticism and activism. Social implications The findings show that companies are “mirroring the zeitgast” and going with trends to meet consumer expectations, which brings into question the sincerity of CSR policies and revives the criticism of capitalism and raises a question whether CSR is used by companies as a smokescreen that on the outset makes a difference to the society but keeps status quo intact. Originality/value The paper provides an insight into CSR implementation of three industries that faced heavy criticism from campaigners and the general public for their environmental impact. The paper shows how the CSR policy shifted to match this expectation and thus provides a good ground for studying the evolution of CSR using a case study from three selected industries.

The global refugee crisis and the career ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Julia Richardson ◽  
Charlotte M. Karam ◽  
Fida Afiouni
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Host Community ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relevant Stakeholder ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Business Media

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special issue about the “Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis on the Career Ecosystem” and summarise the key contributions of the included practitioner and scholarly papers which examine refugee business and labour market experiences. The paper also examines the impact of media reports to provide a broader understanding of the context within which the current refugee crisis is evolving. Design/methodology/approach The authors begin with a delineation of the concept of a career ecosystem in the context of refugee crises. The authors then employ this framing as a backdrop to engage in a basic analysis of business media coverage of the most recent Syrian refugee crisis, and a summary of the practitioner and scholarly papers. Findings The findings of the media analysis suggest major coverage differences between different groups of countries in the number of documents identified, the proposed aim of business engagement with refugees, and substance of the extracted statements generally. Research limitations/implications The analysis of business media coverage is rudimentary and intended only as a prompt for further conversations about how contemporary media commentary impacts on career opportunities for refugees and relevant stakeholder practices. Practical implications This paper demonstrates the importance of including broader considerations of refugee careers that explore the interaction and intersection with transnational and local ecosystem of labour markets while paying attention to the sociocultural and political refugee-host community dynamics. Originality/value This paper presents a more systems-oriented perspective and provides both practice and scholarly perspectives on the composite and dynamic nature of the refugee crisis on career ecosystems more broadly.

scholarly journals Does the Prevalence of Obesity Affect the Demand for Soft Drinks? Evidence from Cross-Country Panel Data

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 938
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Ferretti ◽  
Michele Mariani ◽  
Elena Sarti
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Soft Drink ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Reverse Causality ◽  
Soft Drink Consumption ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Prevalence Of Obesity ◽  
The Impact

The impact of soft drinks on obesity has been widely investigated during the last decades. Conversely, the role of obesity as a factor influencing the demand for soft drinks remains largely unexplored. However, understanding potential changes in the demand for soft drinks, as a result of changes in the spread of obesity, may be useful to better design a comprehensive strategy to curb soft drink consumption. In this paper, we aim to answer the following research question: Does the prevalence of obesity affect the demand for soft drinks? For this purpose, we collected data in a sample of 97 countries worldwide for the period 2005–2019. To deal with problems of reverse causality, an instrumental variable approach and a two-stage least squares method were used to estimate the impact of the age-standardized obesity rate on the market demand for soft drinks. After controlling for several demographic and socio-economic confounding factors, we found that a one percent increase in the prevalence of obesity increases the consumption of soft drinks and carbonated soft drinks by about 2.37 and 1.11 L per person/year, respectively. Our findings corroborate the idea that the development of an obesogenic food environment is a self-sustaining process, in which obesity and unhealthy lifestyles reinforce each other, and further support the need for an integrated approach to curb soft drink consumption by combining sugar taxes with bans, regulations, and nutrition education programs.

End-to-end sustainability: trade-offs, consumers’ perceptions and decisions beyond B2C interfaces

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Lee Park ◽  
Mauro Fracarolli Nunes ◽  
Alessio Ishizaka
Keyword(s):  
Supplier Selection ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Corporate Image ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Credibility ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Selection Decisions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to examine the extended effects of corporate (ir)responsibilities in supply chains. More specifically, the authors compare the impact of social and environmental initiatives and failures in the reputational capital of supply chain partners. The authors investigate how (and if) companies’ decisions to prioritize different sustainability dimensions in their supplier selection processes (i.e. sustainability trade-offs) affect consumers’ perception of corporate image, corporate credibility-expertise, attitude towards the firm and word-of-mouth. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted three behavioural vignette-based experiments with 562 participants from the USA, relying on analysis of variance and t-tests analyses. Findings Results show that consumers perceive social irresponsibility cases as more severe than environmental ones in suppliers’ operations, penalizing buyers’ corporate image, corporate credibility-expertise and word-of-mouth. Corporate image, attitude towards the firm and word-of-mouth also have significant differences between social and environmental trade-offs. Statistically significant differences were also found between scenarios that portrayed the discovery of an irresponsible action and ones that reinforced the previous irresponsible practice in companies’ suppliers. Practical implications When types of irresponsibility practices are presented, the discovery of child labour and modern slavery conditions in suppliers damage how consumers perceive the company on corporate image and their attitude towards the organization and how they will spread word-of-mouth, reinforcing the importance of considering sustainability issues when making supplier selection decisions. Originality/value The study contributes to the understanding of how companies are perceived by their consumers regarding irresponsible practices and their impact on firms’ supplier selection decisions. Furthermore, data suggests that consumers might hierarchize sustainability dimensions, perceiving social irresponsibility cases as more severe than environmental irresponsibility ones.

Pay inequality and job satisfaction of law firms: the role of strategic positioning

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-213
Author(s):  
Ki Kyung Song ◽  
Eunyoung Whang
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Strategic Positioning ◽  
Pay Gap ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Generic Strategy ◽  
Pay Inequality ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Using Porter’s (1980) generic strategy to define strategic positioning of law firms, this paper aims to explain why some law firms have more/less pay inequality than others do and examine the impact of pay inequality on law firms’ partners and the job satisfaction of their associates. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses data from The American Lawyer. The strategic positioning, compensation and job satisfaction scores of 614 firm-year observations of US law firms are hand-collected over the period from 2007 to 2016. Findings Non-equity partners at law firms with differentiation strategy (Porter, 1980) are more likely to build rainmaking ability than those at law firms relying on billable hours. As a result, law firms with differentiation strategy have a narrower pay gap between their equity and non-equity partners than those firms relying on billable hours. After controlling for the effects of strategy on pay inequality using two-stage and three-stage least squares models, this paper finds that a wider pay gap deprives associates of job satisfaction. Originality/value Considering strategic positioning, this paper validates why some law firms have more/less pay inequality and proves how pay inequality affects job satisfaction.

Are hedge fund returns affected by media coverage of macroeconomic news?

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-439
Author(s):  
Sandip Dutta ◽  
James Thorson
Keyword(s):  
Hedge Funds ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Hedge Fund ◽  
Real Sector ◽  
Macroeconomic News ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
News Announcements ◽  
Hedge Fund Returns ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Extant literature suggests that the difficulty associated with the interpretation of macroeconomic news announcements by the market in general in different economic environments, might be the reason why most studies do not find any significant relationship between real-sector macroeconomic variables and financial asset returns. This paper aims to use a different approach to measure macroeconomic news. The objective is to examine if a different measure of a macroeconomic news variable, constructed from media coverage of the same, significantly affects hedge fund returns. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a news index for unemployment, which is a real-sector variable, constructed from newspaper coverage of unemployment announcements and examine its impact on hedge fund returns. Findings Contrary to the other studies that examine the impact of macroeconomic news on hedge fund returns, the authors find that media coverage of unemployment news announcements significantly affects hedge fund returns. Practical implications Overall, this paper demonstrates that the manner in which the market interprets macroeconomic news announcements in different economic environments is probably a more relevant factor for hedge funds and is more likely to impact hedge fund returns. In conjunction with variables – constructed from media coverage of unemployment news announcements – that factor in the manner of interpretation, it is found that surprises also matter for hedge fund returns. This is an important consideration for hedge fund managers as well. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines the impact of media coverage of macroeconomic news announcements on hedge fund returns and finds significantly different results with real-sector macro variables.

The allure of the bottle as a package: an assessment of perceived effort in a packaging context

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Söderlund ◽  
Jonas Colliander ◽  
John Karsberg ◽  
Karina T. Liljedal ◽  
Erik Modig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Soft Drink ◽  
Product Evaluations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Effort ◽  
Quality Perceptions ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to assess the impact of perceived effort related to packaging on overall product evaluations. Perceived effort, defined as the consumer’s perceptions of how much manufacturer effort that lies behind an offer, is assumed to contribute to evaluations by signaling unobservable characteristics of an offer. Design/methodology/approach Three between-subjects experiments were conducted with soft drink bottles, which were subject to variation in perceived effort. Findings The results show that perceived effort was positively associated with overall evaluations. The results also show that the impact of perceived effort was mediated by product quality perceptions, which indicates that effort signals quality. Originality/value Perceived effort has to date not been examined in the packaging literature. The present findings thus imply that models of packaging characteristics and their impact on consumers would benefit from including the effort aspect.

Eco product development combining eco design and life cycle assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Jamile Damasceno Barbosa ◽  
Vitor Hugo de Paiva Santos ◽  
Priscilla Cavalcante de Araújo ◽  
Felipe Lucas de Medeiros ◽  
Letícia Yasmin da Silva Otaviano
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Real Problem ◽  
Cotton Swab ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Original Product ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe paper aims to propose the development of an eco product to replace the traditional cotton swab that meets the expected needs, besides having a bias based on sustainability and economic viability.Design/methodology/approachThe applied nature article opted for an exploratory and descriptive study, with the objective of seeking a solution to a real problem: to reduce the environmental impact in the disposal of cotton swabs. To test this hypothesis, the exploratory stage evaluated the literature on the principles of eco design and environmental marketing to understand market viability and environmental impacts. The descriptive phase presented a comparative analysis between the original product and the proposed one, in terms of production processes and impacts of the product life cycle. Thus, an alternative product was conceived and validated applying the life cycle analysis (LCA).FindingsThe paper provides a comparative analysis between the eco product and the traditional product in order to validate the hypothesis that the new proposal reduces the environmental impact. It was found that both productive processes have similar impacts; however, the raw material of the proposed eco product demonstrated a significant reduction in the impact caused on the environment, considering cradle to cradle analysis.Originality/valueThis paper conceives an eco product as an alternative to traditional cotton swab, presenting an innovative potential in line with worldwide sustainability trends.

scholarly journals Climate risk perception and media framing

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-262
Author(s):  
Renata Peregrino de Brito ◽  
Priscila Laczynski de Souza Miguel ◽  
Susana Carla Farias Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to analyze the media coverage of the impact of extreme weather events (EWE) and related risk management activities in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Using a documentary analysis, the authors examined the media coverage of droughts and floods from 2003 to 2013 with concomitant official reports. Findings The results indicate that although media coverage conveys the direct impact of floods and droughts on society, it underemphasizes the importance of risk management activities. Moreover, the private sector rarely engages in risk management and mitigation activities, despite the documented supply chain disruptions. Research limitations/implications This study focuses solely on media coverage as provided by wide-circulation newspaper in Brazil and would benefit by being extended to all media platforms. Practical implications The results highlight the need for private sector involvement in risk management activities to facilitate the adaptation to climate change. Social implications The study reveals the deficiency of existing reports and lack of awareness regarding EWE. Originality/value The study contributes by focusing on climate awareness and how society can adapt to climate change, as well as how businesses can improve supply chain operations to facilitate smoother risk management.

Spillover of social responsibility associations in a brand portfolio

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 596-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenling Wang ◽  
Daniel Korschun
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Soft Drink ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Frozen Yogurt ◽  
Brand Portfolio ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Corporate Level

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the spillover effect of social responsibility (SR) activity at the product brand level on the full brand portfolio. Extant research has established that SR activity can be beneficial to companies by influencing consumers’ SR associations with the company and its product brands. However, most studies only look at the outcomes of SR implemented at the corporate level (i.e. corporate social responsibility [CSR]). This paper provides a new and expanded perspective by exploring how SR at the product brand level reverberates throughout the full brand portfolio. Drawing on associative network theory, the authors propose a conceptual model that predicts when and how SR associations with a product brand spillover to corporate brand and other product brands and the consequences of this spillover. Design/methodology/approach – Two experiments were conducted to test the conceptual model. The authors used utilitarian products (frozen yogurt, ice cream, and soft drink) in the first experiment and value-expressive products (running shoes, T-shirt and watch) in the second experiment. Findings – Both experiments found support for the proposed spillover effect. The moderating impact of corporate branding strategy and product category fit on the strength of spillover effect were also examined. Practical implications – The findings will help managers make better decisions about which brands (product and corporate level) should be involved in SR activity. Originality/value – This research offers a new perspective to look at the consequences of SR activity and reveals a larger picture than extant research on CSR by indicating the impact of a product brand’s SR initiative on the whole brand portfolio.

Attitude towards soft drinks and its consumption pattern: a study of Gen Y consumers of India

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-366
Author(s):  
Niraj Kumar ◽  
Subhajyoti Ray
Keyword(s):  
Soft Drink ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Consumption Pattern ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gen Y ◽  
Demographic Profiles ◽  
Diet Drinks

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the consumption patterns and attitudes towards soft drinks among Indian youth. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was used to investigate consumption patterns, attitudes, and socio-demographic profiles of college-attending respondents between the ages of 18 and 30. Cluster analysis and factor analysis were undertaken to obtain a better understanding of the attitudes among young consumers towards soft drinks. A logistic regression model was used as a predictor to distinguish between frequent and non-frequent soft drink consumers. Findings Indian youths preferred diet drinks and fruit juices more than regular soft drinks. Soft drinks were mostly consumed as distinct drinks (not as substitutes) and on specific occasions. Easy availability of soft drinks at the locations closure to consumers was a critical factor in determining consumers’ purchase and consumption level. Attitude towards the utility and nutritional dimensions of soft drinks had a positive and significant influence on the frequency of consumption. Practical implications To remain competitive, soft drinks’ companies need to focus more on healthy products and those that are refreshing and relaxing. Social implications Regulating the availability of soft drinks in and around educational institutions will affect consumption of soft drinks and reduce diseases. Originality/value Only a few studies investigating consumption patterns and attitudes among Indian youth towards soft drinks. This study attempts to fill the gap.

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