Sustainability in Higher Education has been investigated mainly through examining institutional approaches, curricula content, or students’ and teachers’ perceptions of sustainability in practice. However, a deep characterisation of the foundations of this phenomenon is lacking. This article aims to address the existing lack of depth and comprehensiveness by identifying and categorising the critical attributes of Sustainability in Higher Education. Categories are the basic levels for knowledge classification, and critical attributes relate to the main perceived characteristics within categories. Both were structured through a literature review and a systematic analysis using the Proknow-C method. A set of 2,513 studies on sustainability in education and related fields, published between 2000 to 2015, enabled the identification of 259 as appropriate for devising four categories: foundations, knowledge, personal, and integrative assets with 4, 4, 4, and 3 attributes respectively. From these, 129 papers presented at least four relationships among attributes of all categories. An assessment between the attributes identified for the selected studies delivered 85 analyses, with the following findings: (i) epistemologies of Sustainability in Higher Education develop in learning context; (ii) creativity should better link foundational and personal assets; (iii) transdisciplinarity is an epistemic transgression; (iv) resilience of active learners emerges in knowledge and personal assets relationships; (v) knowledge deconstruction and affectiveness form active learning; (vi) personal assets need to fit to complex dynamics of reality. Our analysis provides a means of benchmarking existing practice for Sustainability in Higher Education, and can be used as the basis for building capacity in a systematic way
Purpose -The aim of this study is to propose a method for assessing the service recovery performance of a manufacturing company with value-added services. Service recovery performance is assessed by an index with value ranges from 0 to 100 percent. Design/methodology/approach -A tree-like structure was built to represent service recovery. This structure was weighted according to the degrees of each dimension's relative importance using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. After construction, the dimensions were evaluated by considering how much they were applied during the process; the service recovery index and the gaps between importance and application were determined. The method was tested in a multinational manufacturing company and in two buyer companies. Findings -It was possible to identify the most important service recovery dimensions from the perspective of a manufacturing company ("speed of recovery", followed by "empowerment") and the respective degree of application according to the buyers; the gaps between importance and application were determined, and a set of suggestions for the service recovery process was made. Practical implications -The proposed method can be adapted for other companies, including those in other industries. Analysis of the degree of the application of the dimensions of recovery can be extended to other customers, which allows for the measurement of service recovery performance. Originality/value -The recovery service is an organisational process relevant to manufacturing enterprises with value-added services, which require measurement of their performance. The authors found no other references to a method that allows organisations to assess their performance in relation to recovery dimensions.
Redesign can reduce the environmental impact generated by product packaging. The literature presents the elements to be observed in a packaging redesign, as well as the important role of the retailer in delivering more sustainable outcomes through consideration of product packaging. However, the literature is almost silent on the motivations, opportunities and barriers faced by the retailers that try to improve the packaging of the items sold in their stores. To fill this gap, a case study approach was adopted which investigated a global supermarket chain through interviews with senior management and participant observation. Findings suggest that the greatest motivation to the packaging redesign seems to be the economic gains (for the supermarket and its suppliers), which cogenerate environmental gains. The opportunities include the adjustment of the packaging size or type. Sizes could be increased when consumers buy more than one package during a single visit to the supermarket, or reduced when consumers discard part of a perishable product without consuming it (due to over-large packaging). Barriers result from commercial uncertainties associated with: how the new packaging will affect the sales of other items? How the new design will influence the number of times that a consumer visits the supermarket? And how the new design will affect the amount of money spent by the consumer on each visit? Further studies could investigate: how to mitigate these uncertainties? How to leverage sustainability based on the economic focus? How to identify redesign opportunities among thousands of sold items? And how to better convince the suppliers that reject the supermarket proposals? The understanding developed from the case study has facilitated the derivation of a number of propositions aiming to leverage sustainability gains from packaging redesign in practice.
Benefit corporations (BCs) and certified benefit corporations (B Corps) are organizations committed, beyond profit, to leveraging positive environmental and social impacts. Considering their potential contributions to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development, they have received growing attention in the academic literature. To date, no study has carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) and discussed the state of the art of BC and B Corp management research.
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