An Institutional Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in Kenya

There is little doubt that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now a global concept and a prominent feature of international business, with its practice localised and differing across countries. Despite the growing body of research focussing on CSR in developing countries, there is dearth research on CSR institutionalisation in African countries. Drawing on institutional theory (IT), this article examines the focus and form of CSR practice of companies in Kenya. It is evident from our findings that the nature and orientation of CSR differ across companies with operations only in Kenya and those headquartered abroad or with international operations. Significantly, firm-related drivers such as public relations and performance, as well as global institutional pressures explain the focus and form of CSR in Kenya. This article concludes that for the institutionalisation of CSR in Kenya, attention must be paid to conditions that stifle CSR uptake such as lack of government regulations, and the government’s capacity and commitment to enforce regulation. The establishment of functional CSR institutions and a vibrant civil society that advance civil regulation ought to be encouraged.     

Understanding modelling in technology and science: the potential of stories from the field

This paper tells the story of how two biotechnologists used models, one working as a technologist and the other as a scientist. These stories were collected during the development of the key ideas about the nature of technology and technological knowledge during the latest curriculum development in New Zealand. Their stories of how and why they used models provided insight into the different role of modelling in technology and science. This difference can be linked to the fundamental difference between technology as a discipline that attempts to intervene in the world and create something other, and science as a discipline that attempts to explain the world. The stories illustrate the differences in the purpose, outcome and the underpinning reasoning across technology and science. We suggest that using such stories supports learning about the nature of technology and the nature of science and provides an opportunity to add a critical dimension to the development of technological literacy and scientific literacy.     

The Role of Economics in Interdisciplinary and Problem-Oriented Programs

Although research on the teaching of economics beyond the introductory course appears to be increasing, it is still rare. This study is one of the few that deals with the intermediate level. Ault and Rutman used a three-part test (one part of which was made up of an essay question) in measuring student knowledge before and after instruction in intermediate theory. They compared an experimental group being taught through a problem-centered format (in combination with the usual lecture-discussion approach) with a control group getting only the lecture-discussion treatment. The experimental students did no better than the control students, but the authors discuss several variables that might help to explain these results.     

Business reactions to the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak in Scotland

The paper focuses on two aspects of the 2001 foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Scotland that have been largely ignored: first, business managers perceptions of the impact of FMD during and immediately after the outbreak; and second, reactions to the outbreak in terms of action taken by businesses and advice sought. A panel survey of non-farm businesses conducted in April, June and September of 2001 is analysed to shed light on these issues. We find that even at the time, the vast majority of businesses did not report any real impact, although businesses in rural areas and in the tourism industry were more likely to feel some impact - either positive or negative. We show that business managers appeared to favour private sources of advice, although some public sources were found to be very useful, and that some actions, such as increased advertising in tourism businesses, could be more effective than others, such as making redundancies. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of the findings for contingency planning in the event of future FMD outbreaks.     

The Size of Terroir: A Theoretical Note on Economics and Politics of Geographical Indications

Geographical indications (GI) certify the geographical origins of a product and delineate the specific area in which the certified product must be produced. Despite a large literature on the economics of GIs, few papers have explored the question of the optimal size of GI regions. This note presents a flexible conceptual framework to explore the economics and politics of the delimitation of a GI. The general framework describes the efficiency and distributional effects of the size of a GI and shows how this affects interest groups’ incentives to influence government decision‐making.