Beyond “Doing as the Romans Do”: A review of research on countercultural business practices

There has long been a dominant logic in the international business literature that multinational corporations should adapt business practices to “fit” host cultures. Business practices that are congruent with local cultural norms have been advocated as effective and desirable, while practices that are incongruent have been deemed problematic. We examine and challenge this persistent assumption by reviewing the literature showing evidence for both benefits and acceptance of countercultural practices (i.e., practices that are seemingly incongruent with local cultural norms or values), and disadvantages and rejection of local practices. Drawing on the literature reviewed, we offer four types of theoretical (ontological, epistemological, causal, and functional) explanations as to why and when countercultural business practices might be preferred. Finally, we provide a springboard for a future research agenda on countercultural practices, centered around understanding the circumstances under which businesses and local stakeholders might benefit from the use of countercultural practices based on such factors as strategic intent, local preferences, institutional drivers, and social responsibility.

Geospatial Assessment of the Consumption and Absorption of Residential and Educational Land Uses of Zaria and Sabon Gari Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Human variables such as population increase and distribution, as well as economic expansion, have a strong impact on land usage. Zaria and Sabon Gari local government areas are endowed with various types of institutions that attract people from far and near to its space for studies and employments. This in turn leads to increase in population growth and the expansion of residential land use (LU). Thus, this study assessed the Land Consumption Rate (LCR) and Land Absorption Coefficient (LAC) of the residential and educational LUs using geospatial technique. The study analyzed Landsat imagery of 1987, 1999, 2006, and 2018. The study utilized a combination of quantitative (pixel-based) and qualitative (digitizing) methods of image classification for classifying the residential and educational LUs and biophysical covers. Quantitative assessment of the LU dynamics was achieved by the post-classification computation of LU dynamics, LCR, and LAC. The results revealed that residential LU occupied an area of 2594.25ha in 1987, 2815.15ha in 1999, 4042.54ha in 2006, and 8033.19ha in 2018. In the same vein, the educational LU occupied area of 2623.41ha in 1987, 2991.87ha in 1999, 3021.10ha in 2006, and 3093.75ha in 2018. The LCR values for residential LU were 0.555%, 0.468%, 0.579%, and 0.803% for the years 1987, 1999, 2006, and 2018 respectively. The LCR reduced from 1987 to 1999 and then increased from 1999 to 2018. The LAC values for the residential LU increased across the period of the study. The study concluded that the exploitation of the new lands for residential and educational LUs could be as a result of the demographic and institutional drivers of LU. The study suggested that the urban planning authority should develop planning measures that will regulate the already crowded residential LU in the study area.was transformation of rocky surface and waterbody into urban area, which was caused by population growth, human and agricultural activities in Zuru metropolis.

Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination Hazards: The Case of On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement, Kampala, Uganda

Socio-institutional factors are poorly addressed in the risk assessment of groundwater contamination. This paper contributes to the development of a socio-institutional assessment framework based on a case study of contamination by on-site sanitation (OSS) in an informal settlement of Bwaise (Kampala, Uganda). We conducted a snapshot survey of the recent extent of groundwater contamination by OSS using microbial and hydro-chemical indicators. Through transition arenas and key informant interviews, we investigated the socio-institutional drivers of the contamination. Overall, 14 out of the 17 sampled groundwater sources tested positive for Escherichia coli during the wet season. Nitrate concentrations at four sources exceeded the World Health Organization guideline value (50 mg/L), attributed to OSS. Despite the high contamination, the community highly valued groundwater as an alternative to the intermittent municipal water supply. We deduced six drivers of groundwater contamination, including land-use management, user attributes, governance, infrastructure management, groundwater valuation, and the operating environment (“LUGIVE”). Qualitative indicators for each of the drivers were also construed, and their interlinkages presented in a causal loop diagram, representing a socio-institutional assessment framework. The framework can help policymakers and the community to analyze various socio-institutional control levers to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination by OSS in informal settlements.

Ever Changing Times: Sustainability Transformations of Galician Small-Scale Fisheries

The Galician small-scale fisheries sector has been experiencing important changes. The presence of a wide range of ecological, economic, social and institutional drivers have forced the statu quo toward new transitions with the potential to generate desirable transformative changes. Sustainability transformations mean that changes fundamentally alter the entire system’s ecological and/or social properties and functions. However, there is a limited understanding of how a transformative change may look in small-scale fisheries, when and by whom it can be triggered, supported, and implemented. To cover this research gap, the objectives of this paper are twofold: to document the current state of the art of Galician small-scale fisheries, and to evaluate the innovations and changes that occurred between 1990 and 2020, to explore whether such changes have scaled-up as seeds of desirable transformative changes and, if not, what obstacles and/or barriers have been identified in the scientific literature. We selected two cases, the Galician shellfisheries and the Marine Protected Area of Fishing Interest Os Miñarzos, to understand when and how profound changes in small-scale fisheries took place. We hypothesize that obstacles for building resilience to consolidate transformative changes once triggered are the still moderate effectiveness of the fisheries management systems, the low progress of incorporation of scientific and traditional knowledge into decision-making processes and policy arenas, the lack of studies about socio-economic contribution to coastal communities and commercialization models, and the presence of persistent ecological and economic drivers hindering desirable transformative changes.

Institutional Drivers for Corporate Social Responsibility of Ghanaian Firms

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has dominated the academic space with a significant number of studies focusing on attempting to establish the relationship between corporate responsibility and firm performance. Minimal empirical attention is, however, accorded to attempting to establish what drives corporate responsibility among firms. This study sought to examine the institutional drivers for CSR practices of firms in Ghana using a mixed-method approach. An interview was conducted with personnel in charge of executing their respective firm’s corporate responsibility initiatives to obtain a firsthand insight into the level of appreciation for CSR among Ghanaian firms as well as to identify the drivers for CSR. The drivers for CSR were classified into internal and external institutional drivers. The study sourced for data for its analysis by administering questionnaires to 100 respondents. Responses were quantitatively analyzed using a regression technique. Among the internal drivers for CSR, it was found that only board commitment to CSR was a significant and positive driver of corporate responsibility. International trade relations, the media, and the local community were similarly found to be significant and positive drivers of CSR among the external drivers. Regulations was found to be a significant driver for CSR but impacted on corporate responsibility negatively. It is recommended that incentives by the government, award schemes, and enforcement of CSR reporting be implemented to drive a broad adoption of CSR among firms in developing nations.