Given the increased social and environmental problems in China, this book looks into the social and environmental disclosure practices of socially responsible Chinese listed firms by constructing a stakeholder-driven, three-dimensional, disclosure index. The book contains a three-part study: the first part explores the current status of social and environment disclosure practices. The second part empirically examines the relationship between corporate social and environmental disclosure and various influencing factors (i.e. stakeholders' power and corporate characteristics). The third part empirically examines the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting (i.e. publishing a CSR report and the quality of the CSR report) and socially responsible reputation. The book finds that the CSR report provided more stakeholder-relevant social and environmental disclosure than the annual report. It also finds that corporate characteristics such as firm size, profitability and industry classification are all statistically significant factors influencing the social and environmental disclosure of the Chinese firms studied. Shareholders significantly influenced firms' social and environmental disclosure, and creditors significantly influenced firms' disclosure related to their environmental performance. The final part of the study reports that publishing a CSR report and CSR reporting quality had a positive influence on firms' socially responsible reputations and that the CEO/chairman duality negatively influenced firms' socially responsible reputation. This book will be of interest to those who are keen to learn more about corporate social responsibilities in the context of Chinese firms.

Increasingly in the public discourse there are references to the knowledge economy, knowledge society, knowledge workers and knowledge organisations. The argument is that knowledge is becoming the main economic resource, replacing the natural resources that drove the industrial revolution. The new knowledge economy is driven by knowledge development, innovation and highly skilled employees. Increasing investment in higher education and in universities is in line with this strategy and understanding. In an earlier book, Creating Collaborative Advantage edited with Richard Ennals, Professor Hans Christian Garmann Johnsen argued that it is knowledge that links social and economic processes. He believes that what is missing in the current discussion on innovation is a conceptualisation of exactly what knowledge is. In The New Natural Resource, he digs deeper into what it is and how it develops and subsequently leads to widespread change. The author argues that knowledge is inherently a social phenomenon. That is why social processes are closely linked to economic development, and why this relationship becomes even more apparent in the new knowledge economy. Knowledge is not an objective entity, established once and for all. Knowledge development is interrelated with values, norms, perceptions and interpretations. We need to know what the mechanisms are by which knowledge becomes legitimate, true and relevant.

The journey to purchase for the family shop or the B2B buyer is impacted by media, advice, packaging and trial. The sales and marketing challenge is what to say, and where to say it. Shoppernomics, based on research and case studies from US and UK, examines the path taken by the potential buyer. The authors describe the key drivers and barriers on the journey to purchase. They identify the need to get key messages, key partners and key media all working together, and a framework for success. The authors challenge the budget split between sales and marketing as possibly the largest barrier to successful shopper marketing and identify core stores and the areas they serve as being equally important targets for investment. Shoppernomics provides the manual for achieving successful companies serving happy and loyal customers, as the ultimate goal for manufacturers, retailers and brands. It reminds marketers that it is what customers take from their product or service that is important, not what they think they are delivering. It reminds sales people that nothing is more important than matching supply and demand in the eyes of the customer regardless of who actually makes the ultimate sale. Shoppernomics is designed to deliver fast results for companies prepared to recognise that they are not perfect, and go the extra mile to find out why.

Business frameworks sit at the heart of successful businesses. The second edition of The Business Models Handbook brings together the most helpful and widely used models into one invaluable resource. Business models add structure and clarity to business problems, help practitioners overcome the everyday challenges they face and enable the organization to grow and be profitable. Each chapter of this book focuses on an individual business framework, giving an overview of 50 of the best-known frameworks. These cover essential business topics such as benchmarking, competitive intelligence, gap analysis and value chains. In this second edition, these include Kay's distinctive capabilities, Customer Activity Cycle and the 3C framework. It also covers the most recent developments in applying these models, including how to embed them remotely. Authored by a leading global market researcher with a background working on over 3,000 different research projects and supported by real-world case studies for each model, The Business Models Handbook is an invaluable resource for any professional or student. Online resources include lecture slides that align with each chapter.

Much has been said and written about the 'financial tsunami' and subsequent economic dislocation that occurred in the opening decade of the 21st Century. Professor Ivo Pezzuto is described by business scholars as an expert on the global financial crisis. He has lectured about it at conferences and seminars; written some of the most read and quoted papers; contributed to what is considered the most authoritative book on the subject; and to one of the best known US-based blogs dealing with it. In Predictable and Avoidable, Dr Pezzuto offers business school students; academics; and industry experts in the fields of finance, risk management, audit, corporate governance, economics, and regulation, a truly independent and unbiased analysis of the financial crises starting in 2007 and one of the first fully considered expositions of the financial, governance and regulatory reforms needed for the future. Augmented with personal interviews involving selected global thought leaders and industry experts, the author's narrative focuses on the technical issues that led to the global crisis, but also addresses the human, cultural, and ethical aspects of the events from both sociological and managerial perspectives. The book exposes the root causes and contributes significantly to the debate about the change needed in the banking and finance industries and to supervisory frameworks and regulatory mechanisms. This analysis enables readers to understand that the crisis we have seen was predictable and should have been avoidable, and that a recurrence can be avoided, if lessons are learned and the right action taken.

In recognising the realms of eco-marketing, sustainable marketing, social marketing and ethical consumption, this collection provides an accessible overview of the multifaceted and challenging nature of green and ethical issues. In revealing that there are many ways to explore the consumption activities of green and ethical consumers, the contributors point to some of the weaknesses identified in previous marketing research. The book also considers fundamental ways in which marketing academics and marketing practitioners can gain a more holistic understanding of the demographic, psychological and socio-cultural influences upon the green and ethical consumer. The contributors offer insights underpinned by holistic and cross-cultural perspective. As a result, this collection will advance marketing theory as well as offer valuable implications and recommendations for managers, practitioners and policymakers, the joint efforts of which are needed to ensure a more 'green', ethical and sustainable marketplace. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Marketing Management.

Oil exploration in the developing world has been and continues to be a high profile and high risk activity attracting media coverage and stimulating much debate. In Governance of the Petroleum Sector in an Emerging Developing Economy, Professor Kwaku Appiah-Adu has assembled an edited volume that provides insight into critical aspects of this highly sensitive activity. Professor Appiah-Adu's starting point is Ghana, where he has been closely involved in national policy-making. The book makes comparisons between that African country and others as diverse as Trinidad and Tobago, and Norway. The contributors, global experts in their respective fields, explore five critical themes and propose strategies for progress in each. You will find an in-depth analysis relating to: turning oil and gas wealth into sustainable and equitable development; entrenching transparency and stakeholder engagement; effective management of the oil and gas sector; and safeguarding security and the environment. Finally, country specific models and lessons, particularly for Ghana and other African oil producing nations, are offered. This book serves as reference for business practitioners, policy makers, scholars, students and anyone interested in gaining insight into the oil and gas sector, particularly as it pertains to Ghana and other African petroleum producing nations, with lessons drawn from the global arena and international best practice.

Effective sustainability communication can deliver business value. Get it wrong, however, and the reputational damage will be costly. Stakeholders, and the general public as well as activists, are unforgiving of companies whose products, services, business practices or culture fall short of their socially responsible rhetoric. Based on close to one hundred in-depth interviews with leading experts, Christian Conrad and Marjorie Thompson's The New Brand Spirit helps corporate communications and marketing professionals tackle this conundrum by providing a first-hand view of eight distinct and relevant stakeholder perspectives. Nineteen comprehensive and well-researched best practice cases from sustainability leaders like IBM, Unilever, Marks & Spencer and Puma will inspire all those tasked with communicating sustainability with practical and applicable tools and lessons learned. The result is a book that will enable senior executives, corporate communication professionals and brand managers to decide when, to whom and how to communicate sustainability related messages - and when not to.

Building Value through Marketing provides a hands-on guide to understanding and building compelling marketing plans that create value, not only in profit terms but also for customers and stakeholders. Working step-by-step through strategy development, this book empowers those responsible for creating or managing new products or services to have the right mindset, understand the most important marketing tools that they can use and apply these to create unprecedented levels of value. Founded on the principle of Service Dominant Logic, the book is organized into three key sections: "The Value Mindset," "The 12 Building Blocks of Value," and "Value-Focused Marketing in Action," which walk through the process of value-focused product and service development. The strategies and tools put forward have been tested successfully across multiple industries and countries and are grounded in academic theory, emphasized by real-life case studies throughout. Readers will gain the ability to align their marketing scholarship and practices with the current definition of why a business exists and the role that marketing plays within these business practices. This is essential reading for those studying Marketing Planning and Strategy at Advanced Undergraduate, Postgraduate and MBA levels. Its uniquely applied approach also makes it an excellent guide for marketing practitioners and institutions offering professional qualifications.

Equality, Diversity and Opportunity Management presents a comprehensive analysis of the processes of governance, leadership, policy and strategy formulation, decision-making, practical and financial management, and real-world implementation of the Equality, Diversity, Opportunity, and Discrimination (or anti-Discrimination) Agenda. The leadership, cost, and management of the Agenda for Equality, Diversity, Opportunity, and Discrimination (or anti-Discrimination) is discussed in three mandatory areas: c Employment and the Workplace c Service Provision and customer service c Neighbourhood and Community Management The necessary choice of these three key areas of application reflects a typical focus of government policy, legislation, and case law for the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and in many other countries that implement active Human Rights Agendas. You will find the book strongly orientated towards issues of corporate governance, personal and vicarious responsibility, leadership, cost management, implementation, and delivery. It deals directly, professionally, and in a non-opinionated manner with challenging (and sometimes unpopular or unwanted) issues of equality and inequality, diversity, a lack of opportunity or social mobility, and the widespread incidence of discrimination. The work suggests practical and realistic means to deal with such issues, whether at the level of corporate governance, leadership, policy and strategy, the incurring of unnecessary cost, or at the level of operational and departmental management procedure and process. Equality, Diversity and Opportunity Management is written at the same time from scholarly, objective, applied, proportionate, 'hands-on', and practitioner based perspectives.

Practitioners of marketing in higher education and all academics across all disciplines who work in higher education are aware of the importance of marketing to their careers, their department, and their institution. Chancellors, University Presidents, Deans, Heads of School, Directors of Research, Directors of Programs and faculty, as well as those who work in departments of marketing within higher education institutions, recognise the increasing utility of marketing what they have to offer. Our purpose in this research based book on higher education marketing is to bring to the diversity of these publics a more sophisticated way of thinking about, and methods for, marketing higher education. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Marketing Management.

Corporate Risk and Governance addresses corporate risk management and governance requirements affecting large organizations in all industry sectors and countries. The book strongly advocates implementation of Corporate Governance Codes, ISO 31000 Risk Management, ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management and PAS 200 Crisis Management but warns against treating any standard or model slavishly, as if it can offer easy salvation or a simple route to a risk nirvana. Alan Waring challenges many hallowed beliefs, attitudes and practices that continue to hamper the delivery of effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and thereby good governance. Those boardroom and corporate cultures that are complacent about risk exposures and risk management or, worse, encourage 'chancers' and a 'what can we get away with' attitude, are examined in depth along with what is required to embed a culture of responsible risk-taking. Some 75 cases from around the world provide graphic examples and lessons to be learned. Although the text includes some summary practical guidance, this book is designed primarily as a thinking aid rather than a risk management cookbook. It is something to encourage better informed risk-decision making; a more informed view of enterprise risk exposures, control and mitigation issues and an awareness of boardroom and corporate culture issues and their impact on effective ERM.

In Obstructive Marketing, Maitland Hyslop deals with a very negative kind of activity which embraces activities, legal or otherwise, designed to prevent or restrict the distribution of a product or service, temporarily or permanently, against the wishes of the product manufacturer, service provider or customer. When the author defined this phenomenon as Obstructive Marketing and started to research it more than a decade ago, it was seen as a valid concept that was perhaps ahead of its time. The World has moved on and in the era of globalization a study of this negative aspect of marketing is now required. Obstructive Marketing is now seen as the business equivalent of asymmetric warfare, which is increasingly understood because the rise of the South and East at the expense of the North and West has brought some Obstructive Marketing stratagems into sharp focus. Using the author's own research, this book explains what Obstructive Marketing is and why it is not called Anti-Marketing. The author explains who practises Obstructive Marketing, where, when and how; and why businesses are particularly vulnerable when entering new markets and engaging in change and innovation. Intriguing concepts such as cultural risk are illuminated along with formal links between Obstructive Marketing, asymmetric warfare and terrorism. This all leads to identification of the need for a strong Government/Business partnership to counter the effects of this darkest kind of marketing.

The way organizations manage their value chain has changed dramatically over the past decade. Today, organizations take account of economic issues, but they also adopt a broader perspective of their purpose including social and environmental issues. Yet despite its global spread, sustainable value chain management remains an uncertain and poorly defined ambition, with few absolutes. The social and environmental issues that organizations should address easily can be interpreted as including virtually everything. Current literature on the topic seeks to understand the effects and management of initiatives dealing with diversity, human rights, safety, philanthropy, community, and environment. However, the penetration of social and environmental considerations into value chain management is described as 'desire lacking reality' thereby making the idea a patchy success. The objective of this research anthology is to investigate different angles of sustainable value chain management. The book's 27 chapters fill holes and explore new fields; the chapters are organised in five sections: Sustainable value chains - context, drivers, and barriers; Sustainable value chains - managing activities; Sustainable value chains - managing networks and collaboration; Sustainable value chains - integrative perspectives; and Sustainable value chains - specific sectorial and industry perspectives.

The business benefits of lower energy consumption are clear: lower energy costs, energy tax avoidance, selling excess CO2 credits, immediately adding savings to the bottom line and improved competitiveness. However, with a need to focus on day to day business management activities, implementing energy reduction programmes stretches the capabilities and know-how of responsible managers. Kit Oung's Energy Management in Business is an expert's guide to energy reduction. It covers four important aspects of managing energy: strategy for successful implementation, available tools and techniques, generating sustainable quick wins and active management involvement. This book offers distilled practical concepts with real life case studies chosen to build insight, and illustrate how managers and engineers can relate to a broad range of energy reduction opportunities. We take energy for granted, like the air we breathe. We need to engage employees with energy management in two ways. In a more general sense, for those using energy for normal working practices, awareness and behaviour change are key. For those with more direct influence over energy using systems, engagement is also fundamental. Energy Management in Business places the process firmly in the context of commercial and industrial business practice. The book is an excellent companion for any organisation seeking ISO 50001 certification and a reduced energy consumption, as well as those that simply wish to better understand the options, strategies and risks that every business now faces.

Expanding disciplinary Space: On the Potential of Critical Marketing provides an introduction to the major perspectives in critical marketing studies. It contains theoretical reflections on critical marketing whilst building on the key concepts and ideas, which are vital to the subject, through detailed empirical studies. An international collection of marketing experts discuss the eclectic character and potential of the critical turn within marketing theory and practice. Chapters explore topics such as marketing academia, consumer research, political marketing, marketing ethics, postcolonial epistemic ideology in marketing, marketing theory, and marketing for community development. The text is essential reading for all those interested in contemporary developments in marketing theory and practice irrespective of the discipline from which they originate. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Marketing Management.

Managing the transition towards sustainable enterprise is a daunting task for corporations and business leaders. Uniquely combining practice and theory, this textbook provides a management perspective, by considering the extent to which the 'business case' for sustainability can be proven. Drawing on examples from twenty frontrunner companies located in the Netherlands, it builds upon a unique research project in which CEOs and middle-managers gave access not only to their decision-making process, but also revealed how their perceptions shaped the transition process. This book identifies four different archetypes of business cases and related business models that business students and managers can use to identify phases and related attitudes towards sustainability. Structured around this four phase model, the book provides in-depth analysis and insight into: theoretical concepts and overview of the relevant literature the business case for sustainability behavioural characteristics of each phase and the typical barriers between them more than seventy tipping points the role and different categories of stakeholders; approaches to shaping stakeholder dialogue; effective engagement of stakeholders in each phase of transition how companies move through the phases towards higher levels of sustainability insights of employees of the 20 companies to illustrate whether the business case was really achieved summary of the interventions and efforts which have proved successful in these companies. In addition to being a source of inspiration for company managers, this book aims to offer students of vocational and academic institutions at undergraduate and postgraduate level insight into real-life transition processes towards sustainability.

Asia is no longer simply the continent to which the world turns for outsourcing and off shoring of production, leaving retailing to Western countries. Asia now contains many of the world's largest markets plus many emergent markets as well. North America is fast ceding ground to China as the world's largest economic power. Europe has been able to make productivity gains from trade, fiscal and monetary harmonization to remain globally competitive while Africa, whose nations practice free trade, is largely ignored both in terms of forgiving debt and providing further credit. Each chapter of this volume details the characteristics of an individual market in Asia and demonstrates the challenges that marketers are likely to face in these environments. Covering not just production or consumption but trade as it is practiced now, this book outlines the new norms, conventions and service performance levels that these markets demand.

Marketing High Profit Product/Service Solutions addresses one of the most exciting and growing strategic marketing opportunities facing product and service companies - 'bundling'. Many customers want bundled products and services which represent integrated solutions to their problems, rather than buying individual products and services piecemeal, and if you become that supplier it can transform a company. There are many outstanding examples: Magna International grew in several stages from a supplier of basic individual auto parts to a company manufacturing a product/service 'super-bundle'; ultimately sourcing and assembling the entire car itself. GE developed their business involving the supply of medical imaging machines to hospitals to become a 'super-bundler' of complete hospital radiological floor imaging operations planning, installation, and integration. IBM transformed their position as a supplier of individual hardware, software, and peripherals to companies into a product/service solution 'bundler' of increasing complexity, and finally into the 'super-bundle' of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing); representing an outsourced and complete integrated IT solution set for clients' entire global operations. Roger More explores what was learned by these leading companies (amongst others) when they transformed their market strategies to become bundlers of complex integrated customer solutions. Over many years the author has developed and tested new concepts, maps and tools for use by a wide variety of managers in developing strategies for these bundled product/service solutions. His book now offers these maps and tools to all who invest in a copy.

Why do winning brands appear to be more creative and authentic than less successful ones? Despite the strong link between famous brands and the products sold under their name, there is still a gap in understanding the relationship between product design and brand-building - Monika Hestad plugs that gap. Branding and Product Design discusses key questions about the link between product and brand and about design processes and innovation. It examines these questions on both macro and micro levels and provides the reader with tools to help understand the role of products in building a brand, and how to bring the brand and the product design process together. These are based on the author's research into branding and product design, her years of teaching these topics, and her own industrial practice. Qualitative interviews delivering an 'insider' perspective on major brands bring abstract concepts to life. The book includes case studies from well-known and up-and-coming brands and will prove invaluable to design practitioners, marketers, managers and other professionals working close to designers. It will also benefit those teaching and studying, particularly if they are involved in the new higher education programmes where business schools and design schools are co-operating to reflect the intersection between design and branding.

After a century in which charities suspected the motives of cynical business people, and business people dismissed the contributions of amateur volunteers, the two sectors are coming together today as never before. The third sector has increased its business capacity through the experience gained from a decade of providing commissioned services to the public sector. Society today expects employers to do more to engage with both communities and good causes and the business case for doing so can be and is being made. But business also realises that charities do conscience better than they can and so co-working is increasingly being sought. In Partners for Good, Tom Levitt points the way to successful partnerships at local, national and international levels. There is now even an agreed international standard on what constitutes the social responsibility obligations of organisations operating in all sectors, in all parts of the world, over and above international legal frameworks. Sustainability today refers to the triple bottom line (financial, social, environmental) rather than being a green concept alone. On the down side, grants and other funding opportunities provided by governments to the third sector over the last ten years are suddenly ending and support structures are disappearing. The incentives for forging successful and sustainable win:win partnerships between businesses and charities in the new Big Society are therefore high, however demanding the time scale on offer.

This volume presents a collection of different views and perspectives, featuring both theoretical and empirical contributions, to provide deep insight into the role of innovation and of non-technological innovation (NTI) in contemporary business. It illustrates how NTI encourages organizational development as well as competitive advantage. Chapters display a variety of research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, including case studies, best practices, surveys, novel approaches to interpretations, concepts and theories. Together they contribute to a significant extension of the existing knowledge on non-technological innovations and their role in organizations. This volume highlights the effects of marketing and organizational innovation strategies on companies' innovation and overall performance, while demonstrating that the effects of NTI may vary depending on the phase of the innovation process, and how it differs within small, medium and large enterprises from manufacturing and service industries. It explores the bidirectional relationship between technological innovation (TI) and NTI, and considers the competences needed to implement NTI. The book is written for scholars and academic professionals from a wide variety of disciplines addressing issues of organizational change and innovation, new management techniques and strategies, and the sustainable growth of organizations. It may also be an interesting source of knowledge for graduate and postgraduate students in management.

With intensifying competitive activity and continuing budget constraints, technology marketing teams are under pressure to be more accountable and deliver measurable results that demonstrate an effective return on investment. To add to the complexity, the market for technology products and services is global, with continuing growth in both developed and developing territories. Taking Technology to the Market provides a practical guide to the critical success factors in marketing technology. It uses a project-based approach, providing comprehensive guidelines for key strategic and tactical marketing programmes. The book will help you improve your chances of developing a winning marketing programme by providing essential steps to success and insight into best practice. Individual chapters provide self-contained guides to planning specific marketing tasks. The range of tasks covers the most common challenges facing marketing teams in technology companies. The book will help you understand the key success factors for overcoming a range of marketing challenges and give you the tools to put specific programmes into action quickly and effectively. The technology sector is a global business characterised by short product cycles, rapid change, longer-term customer relationships, complex decision-making processes, high levels of collaboration and partnership with customers and the supply chain, diverse channels to market and an emphasis on the value of information. These factors make the marketing of technology products and services a distinct discipline within the overall marketing spectrum to which Taking Technology to the Market is the definitive guide.

Over the past four decades many European welfare states have seen an increasing involvement of the commercial sector in their mixed economies of welfare. One aspect of this development that has yet to be fully understood in social policy analysis is the engagement of businesses to address social problems, such as social exclusion, through activities labelled as 'corporate social responsibility' ('CSR'). Although CSR has gained increasing currency on both national and international policy agendas since the 1990s, it remains a topic which is predominantly researched in business schools and from a business perspective. This book aims to redress this imbalance by focusing on the social aspect of CSR. Based on interviews with a wide spectrum of people who work with CSR professionally in England, Denmark and in the EU Commission, the book argues that when CSR is linked to social exclusion it is a way of renegotiating responsibilities in mixed economies of welfare. The book also offers a comprehensive historical understanding of CSR as it traces the emergence and development of CSR in West European welfare economies as diverse as England, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and France. By situating CSR within the conceptual framework of the mixed economy of welfare and using Historical Institutionalism as a theoretical perspective to explore and explain the relationship between the welfare state and CSR, this book makes an innovative contribution to critical debates in comparative social policy.

The leading academic authorities contributing to this book have been involved in major studies carried out for international organisations, individual governments, and national trades' union organisations; in Vulnerable Workers they consider the growth of job insecurity, the prevalence of flexible or temporary work, and the emergence of precarious forms of self-employment. They look at the new market economies of post-communist Eastern Europe and China, where economic development may occur at the expense of workers' lives and health; 'misclassification' by employers of workers as 'contractors', denying them access to rights; and the plight of migrant, transient and 'invisible' workers. The impact of supply chain business strategies on the most vulnerable workers; and on the complex relationships between levels of job security and the presence of different kinds of risks are similarly assessed. The contributors also propose responses to the challenges they highlight. The role of employee representatives is examined, together with the potential to enhance worker capability through organisational change. New legislative approaches, and changes to traditional compensation and social security systems are considered. Academics and researchers, policy makers, regulators, trades unionists and occupational health professionals - and wise employers - will all find a use for this book.