Green marketing strategies: an examination of stakeholders and the opportunities they present

As green marketing strategies become increasingly more important to firms adhering to a triple-bottom line performance evaluation, the present research seeks to better understand the role of “green” as a marketing strategy. Through an integration of the marketing, management, and operations literatures, an investigative framework is generated that identifies the various stakeholders potentially impacted through the environmentally friendly efforts of a firm. Specifically, the inter-connected nature of the core business disciplines of marketing, management (both strategy and human resources), and operations are examined as controllable functions within an organization from which strategies can be enacted to affect a firm’s stakeholders. The prior research in these areas is examined to identify potential research opportunities in marketing while also offering a series of representative research questions that can help guide future research in marketing.     

Global corporate environmentalism: Theoretical expectations and empirical experience

Since the mid-1980s the concept of corporate environmentalism has taken hold among global stakeholders, promising improved environmental health and safety (EH&S) performance at multinational (MNC) facilities in less developed countries. In this article we examine corporate environmentalism through two lenses: (1) our own empirical case studies of three Third World subsidiaries of USA-based multinationals; (2) evolving theories on EH&S performance at MNC subsidiaries in less developed countries. We suggest that over the past decade there has been a convergence of three theoretical perspectives – neoclassical, radical and ecological – toward consistent predictions of improved EH&S performances and relations with host country governments. However, important differences among the three perspectives remain in how each interprets improved EH&S performance in the context of long-term benefits to corporations, host countries, workers, local publics and the global community. While we find that the neoclassical economic perspective is most consistent with the empirical findings of our three case studies, we also note some debatable neoclassical assumptions concerning whether all stakeholders benefit mutually from superior EH&S performance. In order to gain wide acceptance beyond the corporate sector, the concept of corporate environmentalism must be expanded to include greater labor participation and accounting for ecological interests.     

Unspoken demands for farm technology

For three years in Bolivia (2002–2005) the INNOVA Project finished researching several technologies for sustainable agriculture, started by earlier DFID-funded projects. Before INNOVA started critics suggested that these technologies should be discarded in favour of a demand survey. Instead, INNOVA kept the existing technologies, but judged the demand for them with several methods (CIAL, sondeo technology fair, and others). INNOVA found that there was demand for some of the technologies, but that a survey would have missed much of the demand, which is implicit. That is, people are not initially aware of all their problems or of all the possible solutions. Over the years, farmers made more specific, sophisticated demands on the technologies, which evolved as a result. Demand and supply of farm technology are like two sides of an unfolding conversation.     

Predicting Bank Failures: A Comparison of On- and Off-Site Monitoring Systems

On-site examinations are regulators' primary tool for monitoring the financial condition of federally insured depository institutions. In this paper, we assess the speed with which the information content of the supervisory rating assigned during bank exams—the CAMEL rating—decays. This is an important issue because cost and regulatory burden considerations often cause CAMEL ratings to be assigned relatively infrequently. As a benchmark for information content, we use econometric forecasts of bank failures generated by applying a probit model to publicly available accounting data. When compared with all CAMEL ratings available at a given point in time, the econometric forecasts provide a more accurate indication of failure. Further analysis reveals that this overall finding reflects the tendency for a CAMEL rating's information content to deteriorate noticeably beginning in the second or third quarter after the rating initially was assigned.     

A SAM for Europe: Problems and Perspectives

This paper examines the conceptual and practical problems of constructing a social accounting matrix for Europe. It involves integrating the accounts of member countries within a complete system of regional accounts. The standard matrix framework first proposed by Stone is modified in two respects. First, functional and geographical transactions are distinguished between in order to simplify the accounting structure. Secondly, supraregional accounts are more formally incorporated so as to include accounts for the rest of the world and EC institutions, as well as to accommodate distribution and other transaction costs involved in moving goods, factors and assets between member countries. The general system of regional accounts can then be aggregated, consolidated or apportioned across member states but this has implications for both harmonizing accounts and classifications and considering the extent to which there is truly a ‘single European market’. Finally, the paper considers the availability of data and presents a preliminary compilation of aggregate accounts for three member countries.     

Demand for Sport

This article reviews international literature on the demandfor professional sport. The first part presents a conceptualframework for understanding the sources and determinants ofthe demand for professional sporting contests. The second partreviews empirical evidence on key determinants of attendanceat sporting events, and on other sources of demand, such asbroadcasting, sponsorship, and merchandising. The review concludesthat there is still much to be learned about demand for professionalsport, and that there are no simple lessons to be drawn fromexisting literature. But important messages do emerge from studiesof demand for attendance with regard to effects of uncertaintyof outcome, quality of contest, and quality of viewing.     

Smallholders download and share videos from the Internet to learn about sustainable agriculture

Of 1,211 farmers and their representatives registered on www.accessagriculture.org, 142 participated in an on-line survey in November 2017, designed to learn farmer’s opinions of Access Agriculture, an NGO which hosts a digital platform where anyone can watch or download videos and other information for free. These farmer learning videos all convey practical information on sustainable agricultural innovations, to encourage farmer experiments. Previous experience showed that smallholders liked having their own copy of videos (e.g. on DVD), but this study showed that farmers are now starting to find their own way to the internet to pro-actively search for information. Although some farmers learn about on-line videos by social contacts, most of the farmers found the videos on www.accessagriculture.org by surfing the web. This suggests that limitations of reaching farmers with traditional forms of video distribution (e.g. DVDs and village screenings) will be partly overcome by the Internet. Youth have become the new information brokers for communities, as elders may lack the digital technology skills needed to use the Internet to get agricultural information. To share videos with other community members, youth will benefit from additional tools, such as an app, to allow easy download and sharing with limited data consumption.     

CAS: The rebirth of the industrial sales force

Changes in the technology used by industrial manufacturers will cause changes in the structure of the industry. CAD/CAM/CAE technology is an example. This paper explores the potential impact of CAD/CAM/CAE on the structure of industrial sales channels. These changes are personified by the development of a new member of the industrial sales force—computer aided sales (CAS). The strategic implication of CAS are presented, as is the change in industry structure that preceded the development of CAS.