The Impact of Sustainability and Leadership on the Innovation Management of Michelin-Starred Chefs

This study considers relationships among leadership styles and skills (sustainability leadership, innovation leadership and sustainable innovation) as drivers of sustainable innovation capability in the Michelin-starred restaurant context. The study used semi-structured qualitative interviews with a sample of nine chefs in Germany. The purpose was to examine the impact of sustainability and leadership on the innovation management of Michelin-starred chefs and to determine crucial aspects impacting haute cuisine innovations. Following earlier research, the findings indicate that a holistic view of sustainability is held by high-end chefs in this sector with considerations for the four main pillars (environmental, social, economic, cultural). Leadership style was seen as key to innovation management in the haute cuisine context. However, the interviews revealed that the issue of environmental sustainability was perceived to be of lessor significance when considering innovations in haute cuisine, due to customer expectations and insufficient legislation or government incentives. The external factors of market demand, involvement by a variety of stakeholders, and guest values/needs were viewed as key determinants of innovation type, success and directions. The internal factors of fitting with the business vision, brand loyalty of consumers, and employee skills and engagement were identified as key drivers of innovation decisions and success.

A 10 nation exploration of trustworthiness in the workplace

In the context of the workplace, and especially in today’s often fast-paced, cross-cultural and virtual work environment, a basic type of trust—“swift trust”—forms quickly based on cognitive processes and beliefs, or stereotypes, of another. Interpersonal trust is in large part based on these contextualized assessments of the extent to which another person is trustworthy. While trust across cultural boundaries has been examined, there is a lack of research investigating how trustworthiness is determined cross-culturally, especially with respect to what heuristics are used in the development of trust. The current project explored how trustworthiness is conceptualized and described for both colleagues and supervisors across 10 nations using the Stereotype Content Model. Qualitative descriptors of trustworthy supervisors and colleagues were coded based on the importance ascribed to warmth and competence, and these codes were used as the basis for cluster analyses to examine similarities and differences in descriptors of role-based trustworthiness. Both differences and similarities in the expectations of trustworthiness were found across the national samples. Some cultures emphasized both warmth and competence as equally important components to developing trustworthiness, some emphasized only warmth, while others emphasized only competence. Variations of trustworthiness stereotypes were found in all but two national samples based on role expectations for supervisors and colleagues. Data from the GLOBE project related to societal cultural practices and cultural leadership prototypes were drawn on to discuss findings.

Cross-Cultural Leadership Enables Collaborative Approaches to Management of Kauri Dieback in Aotearoa New Zealand

In Aotearoa/New Zealand, the soilborne pathogen Phytophthora agathidicida threatens the survival of the iconic kauri, and the ecosystem it supports. In 2011, a surveillance project to identify areas of kauri dieback caused by Phytophthora agathidicida within the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park (WRRP) highlighted the potential impact of the pathogen. A repeat of the surveillance in 2015/16 identified that approximately a quarter of the kauri area within the Regional Park was infected or possibly infected, an increase from previous surveys. The surveillance program mapped 344 distinct kauri areas and showed that 33.4% of the total kauri areas were affected or potentially affected by kauri dieback and over half (58.3%) of the substantial kauri areas (above 5 ha in size) were showing symptoms of kauri dieback. Proximity analysis showed 71% of kauri dieback zones to be within 50 m of the track network. Spatial analysis showed significantly higher proportions of disease presence along the track network compared to randomly generated theoretical track networks. Results suggest that human interaction is assisting the transfer of Phytophthora agathidicida within the area. The surveillance helped trigger the declaration of a cultural ban (rāhui) on recreational access. Te Kawerau ā Maki, the iwi of the area, placed a rāhui over the kauri forest eco-system of the Waitākere Forest (Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa) in December 2017. The purpose of the rāhui was to help prevent the anthropogenic spread of kauri dieback, to provide time for investment to be made into a degraded forest infrastructure and for research to be undertaken, and to help protect and support forest health (a concept encapsulated by the term mauri). Managing the spread and impact of the pathogen remains an urgent priority for this foundation species in the face of increasing pressures for recreational access. Complimentary quantitative and qualitative research programs into track utilization and ecologically sensitive design, collection of whakapapa seed from healthy and dying trees, and remedial phosphite treatments are part of the cross-cultural and community-enabled biosecurity initiatives to Kia Toitu He Kauri “Keep Kauri Standing”.

Women's leadership in traditional villages in Samoa: The cultural, social, and religious challenges

<p>Samoan legends and myths document that matriarchal leadership existed prior to colonisation and Christianity. This was evident in the administration of Queen Salamasina, the first official tafa’ifā (holder of four paramount chiefly titles) in the history of the country. However, the era of matriarchs began to erode and was completely worn away with the introduction of male leadership, firstly, and most severely, by Christian missionaries in 1830, and later by colonial powers after World War 2. Leadership positions in families, churches, local government, national government, and most cultural, religious, and modern organisations have been predominantly held by males. Aspiring women leaders strive to gain leadership positions, but are faced with a variety of restrictions. Therefore, a search for gender equality in participation and representation in traditional village judiciaries (local government) warrants this study. This study focussed on exploring the challenges that impede Samoan women from leadership positions in local government (pulega o nu’u). This qualitative study employed multiple methods for data collection consisting of interviews, observations, and document analysis. Interviews and observations were facilitated by the talanoa research framework, an indigenous research method effective for indigenous people conversing in their own vernacular, in this case, in the Samoan language. The data collected from interviews and observations was analysed by thematic analysis where major themes were constructed from consistent patterns emerging from coding, recoding, and interpreting data. Participants were selected through a purposeful sampling technique to yield in-depth information for the study. The study found that barriers limiting women’s opportunities for leadership positions in traditional villages in Samoa are based on cultural values, religious beliefs, and social assumptions. Cultural values are most influential in people’s perception of a leader, as male leadership is entrenched as the true cultural norm. Religious beliefs that emphasise the importance of the father as the leader and the head of the family reinforce cultural restrictions on women accessing leadership positions. Social assumptions that associate women’s work with household tasks further curb women’s leadership aspirations. The participants in this study believed their rights to leadership were disrupted by the structure of the local government, as leadership for them has been restricted to the confinement of the women’s committees. Women cannot participate fully in village councils (fono a le nu’u) because they neither hold matai titles nor recognised by male leaders. In addition to not gaining full participation in village councils, women without matai titles were excluded from standing for parliament. This study sets the platform to generate further dialogue about the exclusion of women from positions of authority in local government, as well as addressing general gender inequality issues. This study also makes a valuable contribution to feminist thinking, promotes the field of women’s leadership, and makes an important contribution to the Pacific cultural leadership, specifically.</p>

Women's leadership in traditional villages in Samoa: The cultural, social, and religious challenges

<p>Samoan legends and myths document that matriarchal leadership existed prior to colonisation and Christianity. This was evident in the administration of Queen Salamasina, the first official tafa’ifā (holder of four paramount chiefly titles) in the history of the country. However, the era of matriarchs began to erode and was completely worn away with the introduction of male leadership, firstly, and most severely, by Christian missionaries in 1830, and later by colonial powers after World War 2. Leadership positions in families, churches, local government, national government, and most cultural, religious, and modern organisations have been predominantly held by males. Aspiring women leaders strive to gain leadership positions, but are faced with a variety of restrictions. Therefore, a search for gender equality in participation and representation in traditional village judiciaries (local government) warrants this study. This study focussed on exploring the challenges that impede Samoan women from leadership positions in local government (pulega o nu’u). This qualitative study employed multiple methods for data collection consisting of interviews, observations, and document analysis. Interviews and observations were facilitated by the talanoa research framework, an indigenous research method effective for indigenous people conversing in their own vernacular, in this case, in the Samoan language. The data collected from interviews and observations was analysed by thematic analysis where major themes were constructed from consistent patterns emerging from coding, recoding, and interpreting data. Participants were selected through a purposeful sampling technique to yield in-depth information for the study. The study found that barriers limiting women’s opportunities for leadership positions in traditional villages in Samoa are based on cultural values, religious beliefs, and social assumptions. Cultural values are most influential in people’s perception of a leader, as male leadership is entrenched as the true cultural norm. Religious beliefs that emphasise the importance of the father as the leader and the head of the family reinforce cultural restrictions on women accessing leadership positions. Social assumptions that associate women’s work with household tasks further curb women’s leadership aspirations. The participants in this study believed their rights to leadership were disrupted by the structure of the local government, as leadership for them has been restricted to the confinement of the women’s committees. Women cannot participate fully in village councils (fono a le nu’u) because they neither hold matai titles nor recognised by male leaders. In addition to not gaining full participation in village councils, women without matai titles were excluded from standing for parliament. This study sets the platform to generate further dialogue about the exclusion of women from positions of authority in local government, as well as addressing general gender inequality issues. This study also makes a valuable contribution to feminist thinking, promotes the field of women’s leadership, and makes an important contribution to the Pacific cultural leadership, specifically.</p>