Purpose – This paper aims to report on a case study conducted to help plan a rollout process for hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) type food safety policies at a frozen pie facility in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Design/methodology/approach – Existing company policies were prioritized using a quality function deployment tool, which quantified the qualitative material in the original manual based on a number of developed criteria. Interrelations between the different required tasks were also quantified to facilitate effective implementation. Findings – The use of quality function deployment was shown to be useful in speeding up the implementation of food safety policies in the facility. Practical implications – Quality function deployment, originally from new product design, proved useful when applied to HACCP implementation. Originality/value – This paper discusses the use of product development tools to facilitate the effective introduction of HACCP like procedures. Thus it will be of use to academics and practitioners interested in HACCP implementation.

Many firms have turned to strategies based on collaborative initiatives with stakeholders to generate the valuable knowledge resources needed to be successful in today's global economy. Firms in natural resource-based industries such as mining, energy and forestry, which typically provide the backbone for regional development in their production locations, have become leaders in establishing innovative sustainability initiatives that integrate a range of stakeholder interests. Using a case-based inductive theory-building approach, this paper presents a model of a strategic knowledge network based on collaboration between firms in Canada's west coast forest products industry and their stakeholders. It presents a three-phase model with the important knowledge creating variables, the knowledge resources accruing from the network, and the performance implications for the firms. The model has value for firms in other resource-based industries that face stakeholder conflicts and are working to incorporate sustainability principles into their strategies.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend our understanding of corporate governance, social issues and capital markets by distinguishing between the socially responsible investing phenomenon and mainstream investing with respect to social issues. It attempts to clarify the domain by casting it in the theoretical frame of prospect theory and mental modeling. With a qualitative study done among large institutional investors in the Canadian securities industry, the article derives a proposed mental model of these institutional investors' cognitive model of social issues as they impact investments.Findings – The institutional investors in this study know exactly where value is derived from social investments suggesting that there may be more alignment between directors, investors and societal expectations than has been previously suggested.Research limitations/implications – The limited number of organizations in the study reduces the generalizability of the findings.Practical implications – Managers and directors must have an understanding of how shareholder value and responsibilities intersect. In our research, we have found that these executives positioned their firms as leaders on the social responsibility front. Interestingly, their major shareholders also understood how responsibility and shareholder value intersected and as a result, financial performance was not sacrificed.Originality/value – The findings from this research shed light on previous scholars' questions regarding the alignment of interests between managers, directors and social expectations. The firms analyzed make strategic investments that are considered to meet social expectations but that are also perceived to add value to the organization making the firm more attractive to institutional investors.

An important factor that leads governments to engage in public service contracts with nonprofit organizations is the belief that they share similar ethical and value orientations that will allow governments to reduce monitoring costs. However the notion of the existence of similarities in ethical climate has not been systematically examined. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ethical climate in government and nonprofit sectors and to determine the extent to which similarities (and differences) exist in ethical climate dimensions. Using survey data and structural equation modeling technique, the factor structure equivalence and measurement invariance of the ethical climate in the two sectors are tested. Results indicate that while there is a significant overlap in shared perception of ethical climate dimensions, there are also key differences between the two sectors. The outcome of this research provides important preliminary insights for public policy makers in government to better understand the implications of using the nonprofit sector for service delivery.

Appropriate enablers are essential for management of intellectual capital. Through the use of structural equation modeling, we investigate whether organic renewal environments, interactive behaviors, and trust are conducive to intellectual capital management processes, as they each depend upon the establishment of a climate emphasizing mutual respect. Owing to a lack of clarity in the literature, we tested the ordering of the variables and found statistical significance for two ordering alternatives. However, the sequence presented in this article provides the best statistical fit: an organic renewal environment provides a foundation for interactive behaviors, which leads to trust, and thus is consistent with the development of intellectual capital management pro- cesses within the organization

This article presents the results of a study that analysed whether social responsibility had any bearing on the decision making of institutional investors. Being that institutional investors prefer socially aligned organizations, this study explored to what extent the corporate actions and/or social/environmental investments influenced their decisions. Our results suggest that there are specific variables that affect the perceived value of the organization, leading to decisions to not only invest, but whether to hold or sell the shares, and therefore having a consequential impact on the capital market’s valuation.

Despite growing competition for resources, government assistance, and consumer support, charities continue to provide numerous vital services to society, ranging from health care to disaster relief. Increased need for charitable support has necessitated that nonprofit organizations seek out the most effective ways to communicate their causes to consumers. However, previous research has produced conflicting results to the question whether charities should motivate donors by using self-benefit appeals (i.e., that highlight the benefits for the donor) or other-benefit appeals (i.e., that highlight the benefits for the recipient of the donation). The current research investigates the conditions under which other-benefit (self-benefit) appeals are more effective than self-benefit (other-benefit) appeals in influencing donation intentions and behaviors (regarding both volunteer time and monetary donations) by examining the moderating role of public self-image concerns.Across five studies, the authors find evidence for the efficacy of other-benefit (versus self-benefit) appeals when the appeal is made in a public setting. Conversely, they find evidence that self-benefit appeals can be more successful than other benefit appeals when the appeal is more private in nature. They suggest that the underlying mechanism behind these findings is consumers’ desire to make a positive impression on others and to adhere to prevailing norms. Because society generally expects a person to make donations out of concern for the recipient and not for him- or herself, other-benefit appeals tend to outperform self-benefit appeals in public environments. In private, when the focus is on the individual self, self-benefit appeals outperform other-benefit appeals.The findings suggest that managers should match the way the donation is requested to the degree to which public self-image concerns are activated in a given context. If the donation request is private, marketers should use appeals that highlight the benefits the donor will obtain (e.g., tax returns, feeling good about oneself). If the donation response is more public in nature, marketers should highlight the benefits to others. Indeed, charities often engage in relatively private (e.g., direct mail solicitations, appeals for donor support over the Internet) and relatively public (e.g., special events, personal fundraising) fundraising and recruitment activities simultaneously. The results suggest that nonprofit marketers should not uniformly use one appeal across these different execution contexts and instead should tailor the appeal to effectively match the setting.

This paper is based on a comparative case study that analyses the development of the wind power industry in two Latin American countries. This study helps us understand the influence of the different economic, institutional, and socio-cultural contexts over the start-up of Renewable Energy (RE) businesses. This research identifies the key role that 'informal' institutional factors play. The paper also explains why supporting networks are local/regional. The paper concludes with implications for potential investors in RE projects in emerging economies. Opportunities for further research are identified.

e-Health is the application of information and communications technology (ICT) to healthcare, and it is a globally accepted tool in addressing the growing health and healthcare needs of all countries. Examples include providing access to specialist care in rural and remote settings through video conferencing, introduction of direct radiography, storing vast quantities of health data in various types of electronic record, providing decision support to clinicians, use of mobile technology for surveillance, and educating patients and citizens through health related web portals. It is a new way of delivering healthcare services that is growing rapidly and globally, and relies heavily on the ICT industry – described by some as an ‘energy hog’. Research into the potential for e-health to have both environmental benefits and costs was first described as an unmet need in 2003, and titled “Environmental e-Health” (Scott, Rush, & Adamowicz, 2003). A working definition of Environmental e-health is - the study of the impact of e-health on the environment and means of mitigating these impacts. Preliminary work demonstrated environmental benefits (reduced air pollution) and costs (worsening e-waste). The fast paced expansion and global adoption of e-health is worsening the e-waste dilemma, but what other impacts - good and bad - might e-health have? To this day the full spectrum of potential benefits and costs associated with e-health are simply unknown. If e-health is to be implemented in an environmentally appropriate manner, an understanding of the environmental benefits and costs associated with e-health is essential. Research into this new field is needed to define the perimeter and content of Environmental e-Health, inform debate, generate new ICT industry efficiencies and opportunities, and impact e-health and environmental practice and policy. Given the pervasive concern for our global environment, all e-health proponents and practitioners have a moral and professional responsibility to ensure an appropriate balance between e-health adoption and preservation of the environment. To achieve this, we must each become aware of, embrace, and actively practice the new concept of Environmental e-health - from conception through to implementation – for all future e-health solutions.