WHO IS MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THE MEAT WE EAT IS SAFE?

We report results of an analysis of the attribution of relative responsibility across the stages of the food chain for ensuring food safety. Specifically, we identify perceptions of the share of the overall responsibility that each stage in the food chain has to ensure that the meat people cook and eat at home does not cause them to become ill. Results are reported for two groups of stakeholders: consumers and farmers, and for two types of meat: chicken and beef. The stakeholders’ opinions regarding the relative degrees of responsibility of the sequential food chain stages (feed supplier, farmer, livestock transportation, abattoir,… consumer) are elicited via surveys using the Maximum Difference technique (best-worst scaling). The data are analyzed using mixed logit models estimated via Bayesian techniques. We find that consumers and farmers both tend to allocate a relatively low share of responsibility to their own food safety role. So, consumers tend to think farmers are more responsible for ensuring meat safety than farmers do. Similarly, farmers tend to think consumers have a greater degree of responsibility than consumers themselves believe. Thus, there is a consistent pattern of downplaying the extent of one’s own responsibility. Further, consumers tend to allocate the highest shares of responsibility to the middle stages of the meat food chain. This contrasts with farmers who tend to allocate the highest shares of responsibility to the latter stages of the chain towards consumers, believing that the earlier stages of the chain (until the livestock arrive at the abattoir) have a relatively low share of responsibility. The analysis is currently being extended to a third group of food chain actors: abattoir workers.Maximum Difference, Best Worst Scaling, Responsibility, Food Safety, Perception, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q18, Q51, D03, D12,

Determinants of Corporate Social Disclosure in the Franchising Sector: Insights from French Franchisors’ Websites

This paper focuses on the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the franchising sector. More specifically, a set of research hypotheses derived from Regulation Theory and Transaction Cost Analysis addresses the relationships first between the chain size and the extent of corporate social disclosure (CSD) on franchisors' websites, and then between the percentage of company-owned units within the chain and the extent of corporate social disclosure (CSD) on franchisors' websites. The empirical study encompasses a total of 136 French franchise chains. Findings reveal that 86.03% of these franchisors communicate about their CSR activities on their website. Moreover, a significant relationship exists between chain size (respectively, the percentage of company-owned units within the chain) and the extent of CSD provided on franchisors' websites.Franchising, Corporate social responsibility, Corporate social disclosure, Chain size, Percentage of company-owned units

Cross-collaborative supply chains. How logistics services contribute to social responsibility.

Abstract Purpose - The collaboration between profit and nonprofit entities has become a burning topic in supply chain management studies and corporate strategies. The world’s largest logistics service providers (LSPs) have been developing several practices improving social responsibility while collaborating with nonprofit actors. In particular, their core competences and offered services become extremely relevant in the context of humanitarian logistics initiatives. A key purpose of this article is to examine the projects currently undertaken by LSPs in humanitarian logistics. Methodology/Approach - This research follows a qualitative approach based on multiple case studies. Findings - The paper provides an overview of the leading LSPs’ involvement in humanitarian logistics and presents an analysis of their current “best practices” services in disaster relief with high impact in terms of social responsibility. Research Limitations/implications - There has been increased interest on the part of international academic and professional communities in humanitarian logistics. This study constitutes a platform for benchmarking analysis of logistics services to assure effective implementation of social responsibility principles. Originality/Value of paper - Humanitarian logistics is a rather new field in logistics management. This paper addresses the innovative socially responsible initiatives undertaken by the main international LSPs in the area of humanitarian logistics. Keywords - logistics services, logistics service providers, humanitarian logistics and supply chain management, disaster relief, social responsibility, profit/nonprofit collaboration Type of paper - Research pape

[Review of the Book \u3ci\u3eThe Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in the Global Economy\u3c/i\u3e]

[Excerpt] In The Promise and Limits of Private Power, Richard Locke analyzes and evaluates private sector corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on working conditions in global supply chain factories. The book synthesizes findings from a multi-year project that has already generated several important articles on various aspects of supply chain labor dynamics. The book is structured around a strong central theme. Corporate codes of conduct and other private, voluntary steps indeed can have some positive effects on working conditions in supply chain factories, but results are mixed. They are not sufficient for sustained improvements. Public regulation through effectively enforced legal standards must be part of the equation. In sum, private voluntary regulation can best succeed when \u27layered\u27 on and interacting with public (state) regulation

A Provisional Framework for Studying Information Connectivity in Food Networks

Through a discussion of peculiarities of food supply, involving focus on information connectivity, a preliminary framework is sought that underlines joint responsibility in a complete supply chain of actors working in network context to achieve safe, quality and economic provision of products to end-use.Food chains and networks, Complete chain and network approach, Information connectivity, Enterprise modelling, Product traceability, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization,

Responsible chain management: a capability assessment framework

In recent years, increased attention has been paid to issues of responsibility across the entire product lifecycle. Responsible behaviour of organizations in the product chain is dependent on the actions of other parties such as suppliers and customers. Only through co-operation and close interaction between the different parties involved is it possible to come to a specified form of responsible chain management. Drawing on stakeholder theory and literature on the resource-based view of the firm, this article presents a framework for assessing the organizational capabilities of responding to claims from internal and external parties. Interpretations of stakeholder interests, integration into business processes, monitoring these processes, and communication with stakeholders are the central processes in this framework. The application of this framework to three cases of responsible chain management illustrates the functioning of the framework as a tool for assessing organizational capabilities

Labour and Women’s Rights in the Discount Business: Aldi’s special bargains from China

Based on surveys of 80 workers in the Pearl River Delta region of China, this report uncovers extensive labor violations in factories that supply Aldi, the top German discount retailer. The study is part of an ongoing CCC effort to push retailers to take responsibility for conditions in their garment supply chain. The report also promotes cross-sector initiatives to strengthen the movement towards corporate global accountability

Extended Product Responsibility: An Economic Assessment of Alternative Policies

Extended Product Responsibility embodies the notion that agents along a product chain should share responsibility for the life-cycle environmental impacts of the product, including those associated with ultimate disposal. Extended Producer Responsibility is a narrower concept which places responsibility on producers and focuses primarily on post-consumer waste disposal. Manufacturer "take-back" requirements are the policy lever most often associated with Extended Producer Responsibility. In this paper, the authors discuss alternative incentive-based policies that are consistent with the objectives of Extended Product and Producer Responsibility. They argue that an upstream combined product tax and recycling subsidy (UCTS) is generally more cost-effective and imposes fewer transactions costs than the take-back approach. They also consider the strengths and weaknesses of a policy not targeted at producers: unit-based pricing of residential waste collection and disposal. The authors find that this option shows potential for achieving non-trivial reductions in solid waste. Widespread application in the U.S. of a $1.00 charge per 32-gallon bag could reduce total municipal solid waste disposed by approximately 13 percent per year.