Money,Comfort or Environment? Priorities and Determinants of Energy Efficiency Investments in Irish Households

Energy efficiency is an effective strategy to reduce household energy consumption. Investments in energy efficiency measures (EEMs) result in reduced energy bills and increased comfort for households, while also contributing to national environmental targets. This article examines an energy efficiency scheme in Ireland and investigates the factors that determine investments in energy efficiency measures and the motivations of Irish households to participate in energy saving programs and adopt EEMs. The paper investigates three key research questions: the determination of investments in EEMs, with special focus on motivations and their relative importance; the consistency of motivations over the course of the decision-making process; and the consistency of determinants and motivations for investments in EEMs across different measures. The paper studies the implementation of seven energy efficiency measures in residential houses throughout Ireland. Results indicate that the decision to ultimately apply and invest in EEMs is mainly driven by monetary or economic factors such as gains in energy savings and the private cost of the measures. Comfort gains are found to be a secondary factor and environmental benefits of EEMs are found to be of little concern when making investment decisions. Finally, we suggest focusing on providing information about the benefits of the EEMs on energy savings and improvements in comfort in order to increase the adoption of EEMs by households in Ireland.     

Rethinking the Employees’ Perceptions of Corporate Citizenship Dimensionalization

The article suggests that the four-factor model of corporate citizenship (CC: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary responsibilities) does not fairly represent all pertinent dimensions of employees’ CC perceptions. Based on an empirical study with a sample of 316 employees, we show that, at least in some contexts, individuals distinguish seven CC dimensions: (1) economic responsibilities toward customers; (2) economic responsibilities toward owners; (3) legal responsibilities; (4) ethical responsibilities; (5) discretionary responsibilities toward employees; (6) discretionary responsibilities toward the community; and (7) discretionary responsibilities toward the natural environment. We do not suggest that this seven-factor model represents all of the (more) relevant CC dimensions in the employees’ minds. We aim to share evidence showing that the four-factor model proposed by Maignan et al. (Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 27(4):455–469, 1999) may be refined, at least when the employees are the stakeholders in question.     

Differences in Organizing Between Unions and NGOs: Conflict and Cooperation Among Swedish Unions and NGOs

The protection of workers’ rights is at the heart of the ongoing debate on business ethics. In balancing transnational corporations’ (TNCs) influence in private regulatory systems intended to protect workers’ rights in emerging economies, several authors have emphasized the importance of cooperative relationships between unions and NGOs. In practice, however, conflict has often entered into union–NGO relations, weakening the protection of workers’ rights. We argue that cooperative union–NGO relationships are difficult to form in part because of the differences existing between how unions and NGOs organize. More specifically, based on two qualitative studies, we demonstrate that the problems stem from differences in organizing related to (i) identity construction, (ii) governance systems, and (iii) resources. The article concludes with a discussion on the possibility of successful union–NGO cooperation and improved protection of workers’ rights in emerging economies.     

The survival and success of Canadian penny stock IPOs

We analyze the survival and success of a large sample of Canadian penny stock initial public offerings (IPOs), launched mostly by small and unprofitable firms from 1986 to 2003. The failure rate of these IPOs is lower than in the US for larger IPOs, probably because of lax delisting rules and the market’s capacity to refinance non-profitable firms. The survival of new issuers is significantly associated with their characteristics at the IPO and with the level of initial listing requirement they meet. The involvement of reputable intermediaries in the IPO process mitigates this effect. Success, estimated by the graduation to a senior exchange, is not linked to the financial conditions at the IPO. Overall, Canada seems to have developed a particular strategy to finance the growth of small firms even if the propensity to fail of firms listed at a pre-revenue stage is very high.     

Government measures in support of the financial sector in the EU and the United States

In the last issue of Intereconomics, a first article by the present authors looked into the measures that central banks have taken in support of the financial sector in an effort to mitigate the effects of the financial crisis. This second article describes the measures taken by governments to contain the impact of the financial crisis and discusses potential exit strategies. Although the focus is on the measures implemented by euro area governments, the article also compares these measures with the ones taken in the United Kingdom and the United States.     

Perennial grain crops in the West Soudanian Savanna of Mali: perspectives from agroecology and gendered spaces

Perennial grain crops may play an important role in environmentally sound and socially just food systems for Africa. We study the future possibility of integrating perennial grains into Malian farming systems from the perspective of agroecology, and more specifically using a gendered space approach. We interviewed 72 farmers across the sorghum-growing region of Mali. We found that perennial grains offer a vision for transforming human relations with nature that mirrors the resource sharing of customary land tenure, including patterns of extensive and intensive land use in time and space. Women interviewees identified a broad set of potential advantages and challenges to perennial grain production. Advantages include reduced labour, saving seed, and improving food security. Women farmers were concerned about livestock, water access, and resource limitations. We argue that perennial grains may increase access to land and natural resources for women farmers. Perennial grains may improve soil quality, reduce labour early in the rainy season, and provision more resources from fallow lands. Pastoralists stand to benefit from improved pastures in the dry season. We conclude that investments are needed to develop viable crop types in consideration of the complexity of West African farming systems and the local needs of women farmers and pastoralists.     

A paradigm shift in African agricultural research for development: the role of innovation platforms

To demonstrate the development impact of their outputs, agricultural research and development (R&D) organizations used to focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of technologies. In recent years, innovation systems thinking has started to address institutional and organizational barriers to technological change in African agriculture. The main approach used has been the multi-stakeholder innovation platform (IP). This paper analyses the requirements for improving the competence and skills of IPs actors in agricultural value chains, food systems, and natural resource management. As case studies, it uses IPs in the maize and cassava value chains that were initiated in the dissemination of new agricultural technologies in Africa (DONATA), in both West and Central Africa, and made reference to the rice IPs facilitated by AfricaRice. Yields and incomes in maize and cassava IPs significantly increased and inter-actor relationships and behavioural change among the diverse social and economic operators were enhanced. This achievement built on three capacity development interventions: (i) learning workshops that sensitized and informed technocrats and policy-makers and nurtured their involvement and ownership, (ii) competence and skill training of IP facilitators and practitioners, and (iii) coaching and mentoring of these facilitators and practitioners. To better facilitate IPs, facilitators and practitioners need to learn to observe, recreate, test, and perfect the IP process and value chain approach. Practicable tools that can be visualized and put into practice by the IP actors are essential. The DONATA on which the paper is based has been invaluable in terms of experiential learning.     

Food security as resilience: reconciling definition and measurement

In this article, we draw out a set of axioms for food security measurement that follow directly from the internationally agreed 1996 FAO definition. Building on recent work on the theory and measurement of development resilience, we then propose an empirical strategy to measure food security that addresses these measurement axioms better than do prevailing measures. We empirically illustrate this approach using a panel data set from northern Kenya.     

The Spanish Code for Good Corporate Governance (Olivencia Report): An Ethical Analysis

The aim of this article is to analyse the Report on good corporate governance (Olivencia Report) from an ethical point of view. This report was drawn up by a group of experts at the request of the National Commission of the Spanish Stock Exchange Commission (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores), in winter 1998, and began to be implemented over late 1998.This paper is the result of several sessions of discussions with businessmen and managers about the role that can be played by the Olivencia Report, its virtues and weaknesses.Our general criticism is that this Report sets out from a concept of the company as Shareholder and not as Stakeholder. This approach affects three concrete aspects of the report that we analyse in greater detail:– The affirmation as to the company's ultimate objective.– The role of the independent non-executive consultant.– The role of the vice president.We believe that this code could be very important and useful for guiding future trends in companies governing bodies, but we think that these weaknesses in its approach represent a lack of ethical sensibility and that it does not match the moral level of a modern society.