Access to urban markets for small-scale producers of indigenous cereals: a qualitative study of consumption practices and potential demand among urban consumers in Polokwane

This study of urban residents of Polokwane, the capital of the Limpopo province in South Africa, was designed to describe how, where, when and by whom sorghum and millet are consumed; how the subjects of the study perceived these grains; to what extent the produce of small-scale producers was considered acceptable; and to gauge their potential demand for products derived from indigenous cereals. Qualitative data were collected using individual interviews and focus-group sessions. The findings suggest that sorghum, which is easily purchasable in town, is widely consumed, mainly as soft porridge, but also as thick porridge, fermented porridge and sorghum beer. The age of consumers, the closeness of their links with rural areas and their religion influence their consumption of sorghum products. Sorghum is seen as being healthy, nutritious and traditional, but inconvenient to cook and preserve. Millet, which is not readily available in Polokwane, is considered old-fashioned. A ‘need for tradition’, or its opposite, a ‘need for modernity’, among consumers underlies their demand for products derived from indigenous cereals, a demand which is only partially satisfied. Many respondents would be ready to purchase products originating from small-scale farmers; some may believe that the quality of the produce of small farms is better, or may feel solidarity with small farmers and want to support them. This paper presents ideas for further investigation about the possibility of developing specific products and marketing strategies that will allow small-scale farmers to meet an unsatisfied urban demand.     

Exploring the social value of organic food: a qualitative study in France

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether organic foods are used to signal social identity, class or status, i.e. if they have social value. Our analysis is based on two sociological approaches: Bourdieu's theory of social reproduction and symbolic interactionism. This paper analyses three research questions: (1) does organic food have social symbolism?; (2) does the social value of organic food depend on the venue where it is obtained?; (3) are other symbols associated with the social value of organic food? To answer these questions, we gather qualitative data from organic food shoppers' perceptions of the social value of organic food, using a qualitative study, with four group interviews in Montpellier (France) with a total of 20 participants. Results indicate that organic food has a social value for the participants in our group interviews. This social value depends on the venue (community‐supported agriculture, market or supermarket) where organic foods are purchased and also on whether consumers or producers exhibit additional green behaviours to validate their commitment to sustainability. Our results imply that a quantitative study on social value of organic food would be useful to investigate these findings in a larger sample since these findings have several marketing and advertising implications.     

The Common Good of the Firm and Humanistic Management: Conscious Capitalism and Economy of Communion

This study examines corporate stakeholder orientation (CSO) across industries and over time prior to the introduction of mandatory CSR. We argue that CSO is a legitimacy signal consciously employed by firms to demonstrate their shareholder and specific non-shareholder orientations in the midst of institutional pressures emerging from country and industry contexts. Using a 7-code index of CSO on CEO–shareholder communications from India, we find that in general large firms in India exhibit a pre-dominant, significant and rising trend of pro-shareholder orientation in the six-year period immediately preceding the CSR law. Yet, we uncover significant industry differences in CSO potentially driven by four key factors: the degree of competitive dynamics, nature of products and services, extent of negative externalities and social activism, and exposure to international markets. Our findings support the view that while some minimum threshold of regulatory intervention is required to balance the interests of business with society, legislation raises questions in relation to the usefulness of a uniform one-size-fits-all CSR across all industries.     

Mesure de l'Efficacité des Banques dans les Pays en Voie de Développement: Le Cas de l'Union Economique et Monetaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA)*

Résumé: Cette étude se propose de mesurer l'efficacité des banques de l'UEMOA et ses facteurs déterminants, après les réformes bancaires de 1993 à 1996. La méthode de l'enveloppement des données (DEA) a été utilisée pour évaluer l'efficacité technique des banques tandis que celle des frontières stochastiques (SFA) a été utilisée pour estimer l'efficacité‐coût. Les résultats indiquent des évolutions similaires pour les deux types d’efficacité pour tous les pays de l'UEMOA, sauf pour la Côte d’Ivoire et le Burkina Faso. Une analyse plus détaillée suivant le type de banque (locales privées, étrangères ou publiques) révèle que les premières sont les plus efficaces, suivies par les secondes, puis des troisièmes. L'indice de Malmquist montre que l'augmentation de l'efficacité technique est beaucoup plus le fait d’économie d’échelle que de l'incorporation des innovations technologiques. Enfin, l'efficacité des banques de l'UEMOA dépend des variables telles que la solidité financière, le ratio de créances douteuses par pays, la concentration bancaire et le PIB par habitant.     

Futures studies and public decision in Sweden

Futures studies are a decisive part of the public decision process in Sweden, where they appeared after World War II and gained momentum from the 1970s on.Based on a series of interviews conducted in Stockholm in December 2003, this paper presents the main players involved in futures studies in Sweden. It focuses especially on the activities of the Institute for Futures Studies, and that of the Lindbeck Commission on the Future of Sweden, which was a resounding success.The paper gives a detailed account of the interplay between this various actors. There is a strong independence between the public decision making system and the producers of futures studies. Nevertheless, futures studies prove an important instrument for public policy in Sweden, as they raise awareness in the public debate, serve as a tool for consultation, and help define scientific and technological priorities.     

Capital Inflows and Exports Diversification in Sub‐Saharan Africa during the MDGs Era

This paper explores the impact of different forms of capital inflows, including foreign direct investment, foreign aid, portfolio investment, and remittances, on exports diversification in sub‐Saharan Africa during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era. We employ the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator to deal with the endogeneity issue. Using a sample of 35 countries over the period 2000–15, it shows that the impact of capital inflows on exports diversification depends on the type of capital. We find evidence that foreign aid, foreign direct investment, and remittances have positive effects on exports diversification, while portfolio inflows negatively affect exports diversification. Moreover, we find that the impact of capital inflows on exports diversification differs across the region of destination of the exported products. This study underscores the important role of international cooperation and capital inflows in sub‐Saharan Africa, and lends support to policies aiming to attract foreign capital.     

Escaping the Fantasy Land of Freedom in Organizations: The Contribution of Hannah Arendt

Journal of Business Ethics - This article examines why and how workers adhere and contribute to the perpetuation of the freedom fantasy induced by neoliberal ideology. We turn to Hannah...     

On the generalized principal-agent problem: a comment

Faynzilberg and Kumar (Rev Econ Design 5(1):23–58, 2000) show that the usual Mirrlees–Rogerson conditions to validate the first-order approach in moral hazard agency models are no longer valid in the generalized agency case. They consider the risk-averse agent case and identify one set of technological conditions, where the production technology satisfies the linear distribution function condition in actions and types, that validates ex-ante the first-order approach. With the usefulness of their decomposition approach, we show that the first-order approach in the generalized agency case can be checked ex-ante under the Mirrlees–Rogerson conditions when the agent is risk-neutral but there is a binding limited liability constraint on the agent’s wage.