Job challenges are hindrances too: examining experiences of managers and employees in Finnish SMEs

PurposeThe study aims to explore job demands experienced by employees and managers in micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on the job demands framework, the study discusses the experienced demands from the perspective of challenges that create opportunities for learning and achievement and hindrances that create obstacles for work. The study builds on the idea that the same demand can be perceived both as a challenge and a hindrance. That approach opens a path to responding to challenges by reformulating working practices and removing hindrances by designing, developing and crafting jobs and tasks.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyzed open-ended survey responses (N = 306) to study experienced job demands in 50 micro-enterprises and SMEs, how the perceived demands differ between employees and managers and whether they represent challenge or hindrance demands.FindingsThe authors identified 17 job demand categories most including both challenge and hindrance demands. Time management and prioritization was the most central challenge and hindrance category for both employees and managers. For employees, sales and stakeholder relationships represented the second largest challenge category and communication and information flow was the second largest hindrance category. For managers, the second largest challenge and hindrance categories were organization and management of activities and the fragmentation of work, respectively.Originality/valueBy focusing on employee experience, the achieve a more nuanced understanding of the SME context, which has been dominated by managerial evaluations. The study also advances the discussion on job demands by extending our knowledge of demands that may be experienced both as a challenge and a hindrance.

More Bang for Their Buck: Why (and When) Family Firms Better Leverage Corporate Social Responsibility

Family firms take different strategic actions because of their desire to grow and preserve socioemotional wealth (SEW), but pursuing SEW also generates what we call SEW resources that deliver advantages in certain contexts. We develop and test this idea with respect to corporate social responsibility (CSR). We theorize that SEW resources such as reputation, strong stakeholder relationships, and long-term orientation help family firms better leverage symbolic CSR to enhance short-term firm performance and better leverage substantive CSR to enhance long-term firm performance. Regression analyses on a 20-year panel of S& P 500 firms provide supportive evidence. Findings indicate that family firms not only “do it differently” to preserve SEW; they sometimes “do it better” because of SEW.

CSR and shared value in multi-stakeholder relationships in South African mining context

Purpose Mining is surrounded by controversy, in spite of corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects. This study aims to explore the theory on CSR and shared value (SV) and identified a gap in an approach to implementing CSR and SV. Perceptions of multi-stakeholder relationships in the South African mining context were elicited. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research design included 17 semi-structured interviews with 3 stakeholder groups, including members of the community, government representatives and mining management and secondary data of company documents on CSR. Findings The qualitative research revealed important gaps between CSR and SV theoretical frameworks, normative ethical approaches and operationalizing of these at the mine to the detriment of effective multi-stakeholder relationships. Practical implications Mines have to engage with the community and government stakeholders proactively and build relationships. Social implications Ethical normative approaches have to be considered. Government has to take note of this study’s findings with regards to negative consequences of institutionalized CSR for trust between mines and communities. Originality/value The literature review differentiates theoretically between normative and instrumental stakeholder theory, philanthropic and business case CSR, SV and their implicit normative ethical approaches. The semi-structured interviews revealed legacy issues and lack of engagement between mine and community as main barriers to multi-stakeholder relationships and raised important questions on normative ethical approaches to CSR and SV. The direct and indirect barriers by government, community and mine management are identified and differentiated.

Social Network Relationships between Biomass Industry Stakeholders in the Agricultural Waste Power Generation Industry—A Case of Northern Jiangsu, China

This study aimed to explore the impact of the interaction between stakeholders in the sustainable development of the biomass industry and to reveal network issues relating to material flow and information flow under the current biomass energy development model. This study focused on the agriculture and forestry waste power generation industry. Taking the biomass industry in Nanjing, Suqian, and Yancheng as examples, the study selected six stakeholder groups involved in the industry and conducted field investigations by using semi-open interviews and questionnaires. The research mainly applied social network analysis methods, combined with UCINET software, to draw a network diagram of the stakeholder relationships and to quantitatively analyze stakeholder centrality and overall network density. The results revealed that (1) the biomass enterprises had the highest centrality in the overall network, which played a vital role in the construction of the overall network; (2) the farmers were positioned at the outer fringes of the industrial social network and their information acquisition capabilities and degree of control over the network were the lowest; and (3) the overall network density was low, which showed that the connections between stakeholders were not close enough to support the circulation of material and information in the overall network.

Negotiating Stakeholder Relationships in a Regional Circular Economy: Discourse Analysis of Multi-scalar Policies and Company Statements from the North of England

Circular economy (CE) literature discusses the need for cooperation between different stakeholders to promote a CE; there is also an assumption regarding the benefits of loop closing on a local or regional scale. However, the potentially conflicting priorities, understandings, and expectations of the stakeholders involved have not been sufficiently addressed. Regional (or local) authorities have a responsibility to promote prosperity for stakeholders in their administrative region, within the constraints of national policy; conversely companies can have financial imperatives associated with stakeholders who may be globally distributed. Evidence of these conflicting priorities, the various positions stakeholder take, and their expectations of each other can be seen in the language choices regional actors make in their public-facing policy and report documents. The aim of the paper is to consider the challenges for creating a regional-scale CE that might arise from the differing priorities and values of companies and public agencies relating to specific places. It uses discourse analysis (including critical approaches) to examine how policy and business documents represent the stakeholders of the CE, their place in it, their priorities, and, importantly, the relationship between CE actors, focusing on the case of North Humberside on the North East coast of England. The plans set out in these reports are designed for external stakeholders and allow us to gain an insight into company and policy thinking in relation to CE developments in the coming years, including how they view each other’s roles. Findings indicate a shared motivation across scales and sectors for the CE as a means towards sustainable growth within which business plays a central role. However, there is a critical double disjuncture between different visions for implementation. First, between policy scales, a regional-scale CE is prioritised by regional policymakers, who have an interest in economic advantage being tied to a specific place and call for national scale support for their actions. Second, between regional policymakers and business, companies focus on their own internal operations and potential supply chain collaborations, with little attention given to the regional scale. This can be seen in the way organisations represent the actors of a nascent CE differently. In addition, a hegemonic business-focused growth discourse excludes other visions of the CE; the public are relegated to a passive role primarily as consumers and recipients of under-specified “opportunities” of wealth creation. CE theorisations need to incorporate and address these critical perspectives in order to support the development of strategies to overcome them.

Bodies and Documents: The Material Impact of Collaborative Information- Sharing Within the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program

This study examines information-sharing practices within the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), focusing on the program as it is administered within Ontario. I analyze 61 documents for their content, codification of stakeholder relationships, and discourse regarding the program. Documents were selected based on their creation, use, or circulation within Ontario, and based on the likelihood that at least one stakeholder group would look to the document for (what they perceive to be) reliable information. Documents include, for example, SAWP contracts, webpages describing program requirements, and e-pamphlets on workplace safety and accessing services. Document analysis was supplemented by interviews with industry and service provider experts, which guided interpretation of documents’ significance. I argue that documents function as material actors, alongside (and sometimes beyond) human actors, and make physical impact on SAWP bodies and realities. Documents construct and uphold neoliberal structures surrounding the program by contributing to the creation and sustaining of incomplete, labour-centric individuals. Through consistent sharing of narrow, “work” information, and the rare inclusion of more well-rounded, “non-work” knowledge, documents subtly discipline the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable communication. In doing so, material actors (alongside other SAWP actors) perpetuate a foreign worker program which does not consider the varied, complex needs of whole persons but, instead, treats them as disposable labouring bodies.

Influence of stakeholders' perception on value creation and measurement: the case of football clubs

PurposeThe presented study aims to identify and classify the value factors that influence the value of football clubs from the stakeholder perspective, while also discussing how these factors can affect the choice of valuation methods. The paper considers how value should be measured from the perspective of stakeholders. Research focuses on clubs embedded deeply in a wide interrelated network of stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachA mixed research approach was established in order to obtain a more holistic understanding of value creation, value factors and measurement. The research builds on observational study with a mix of retrospective longitudinal study of Polish men's football clubs and interviews with stakeholders, which are then triangulated as part of a critical discussion on valuation methods.FindingsThe results show the most significant value factors determined by the stakeholders. The study discusses which performance and value measures should be used to measure value for the stakeholders of football clubs. Intellectual capital methods and asset-based methods should definitely be relied on as part of measuring the performance of football clubs within the stakeholders' network. All findings suggest the use of the multivariate valuation method in accordance with previous research.Originality/valueThe classified key value factors enable the management of football clubs to properly manage stakeholder relationships and address various stakeholders' concerns in a sustainable way. The paper proposes a research process, which may also be implemented in other studies in the non-profit sector and contributes to the literature in the fields of sports management.

Development of a knowledge broker group to support evidence-informed policy: lessons learned from Myanmar

Background Globally, policy-makers face challenges to using evidence in health decision-making, particularly lack of interaction between research and policy. Knowledge-brokering mechanisms can fill research–policy gaps and facilitate evidence-informed policy-making. In Myanmar, the need to promote evidence-informed policy is significant, and thus a mechanism was set up for this purpose. This paper discusses lessons learned from the development of the Knowledge Broker Group–Myanmar (KBG-M), supported by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Applied Mental Health Research Group (JHU) and Community Partners International (CPI). Methods Sixteen stakeholders were interviewed to explore challenges in formulating evidence-informed policy. Two workshops were held: the first to further understand the needs of policy-makers and discuss knowledge-brokering approaches, and the second to co-create the KBG-M structure and process. The KBG-M was then envisioned as an independent body, with former officials of the Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) and representatives from the nongovernmental sector actively engaging in the health sector, with an official collaboration with the MoHS. Results A development task force that served as an advisory committee was established. Then, steps were taken to establish the KBG-M and obtain official recognition from the MoHS. Finally, when the technical agreement with the MoHS was nearly complete, the process stopped because of the military coup on 1 February 2021, and is now on hold indefinitely. Conclusions Learning from this process may be helpful for future or current knowledge-brokering efforts, particularly in fragile, conflict-affected settings. Experienced and committed advisory committee members enhanced stakeholder relationships. Responsive coordination mechanisms allowed for adjustments to a changing bureaucratic landscape. Coordination with similar initiatives avoided overlap and identified areas needing technical support. Recommendations to continue the work of the KBG-M itself or similar platforms include the following: increase resilience to contextual changes by ensuring diverse partnerships, maintain advisory committee members experienced and influential in the policy-making process, ensure strong organizational and funding support for effective functioning and sustainability, have budget and timeline flexibility to allow sufficient time and resources for establishment, organize ongoing needs assessments to identify areas needing technical support and to develop responsive corrective approaches, and conduct information sharing and collaboration between stakeholders to ensure alignment.

A System for the Inclusion of the Informal Recycling Sector (IRS) in Mexico City’s Solid Waste Management

With 19 million inhabitants, Mexico City is the most populated agglomeration in Latin America, concentrating 30% of the national population. More than 61% of municipal solid waste (MSW) is sent to landfills, and 13% of MSW is recovered by Informal Sector Recyclers (ISRs) for recycling, which is the most crucial treatment option in the city. This article adopts a systemic approach to addressing the problem of the operationalization of relationships between ISRs and public services in Mexico City to design a recursive organizational structure with the identification of the critical roles and functions of management and governance in multi-level and multi-stakeholder relationships to integrate ISRs into MSW management. Using the Viable System Model (VSM) recursive structure to propose functional organizational structures in Mexico City is a new route for the study and application of systemic thinking in ISR integration. The VSM of the recycling system in Mexico City considers the recycling activities and characteristics of the territory at each recursion level. The authorities of the corresponding hierarchical level, who have sufficient knowledge of the physical and socioeconomic characteristics of the territory, are responsible for the design and operations.

Stories of Change in Nutrition in Ghana: a focus on stunting and anemia among children under-five years (2009 – 2018)

The current study aimed to understand why child stunting and anemia (CS&A) rates declined in Ghana between 2009 and 2018, and which priority policies and programs will further improve nutrition outcomes. Trends and potential drivers of stunting (height-for-age z-score < -2.0 SD) and anemia (hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL), and decomposition analysis of DHS data (2003 to 2014) were conducted. The quantitative evidence was triangulated with Net-Map analysis of nutrition stakeholder relationships and influence, desk review of policies and programs 2009–2019, and in-depth interviews with 25 stakeholders who provided additional insights to explain CS&A trends. Declines in stunting (29.6%) and anemia (14.1%) in children were observed at the national level, but with important subgroup variations. Decomposition analyses identified changes in the household, maternal, and child characteristics (including wealth, use of antenatal services, maternal education, and immunization) as correlates of anemia reduction. Stunting reduction was linked with changes in bed-net utilization, household wealth, and pregnancy care service utilization. Additionally, multiple policies and programs initiated/implemented across multiple sectors were considered potentially relevant to CS&A reduction over time, including those focused on infant and young child feeding, water and sanitation, social protection, and health care access. Initiation/strengthening of these interventions was stimulated by awareness creation and subsequently increased prioritization of stunting. However, program delivery was limited by deficits in government funding, perceived low priority of child anemia, low implementation capacity and coverage, and weak coherence across sectors. Reduced CS&A resulted from improved access to services implemented across multiple sectors, albeit limited by implementation scale and capacity. Further reduction in CS&A requires enhanced multi-sectorally coordinated actions and capacity.