Ecoprofit environmental certification as a public good: SWOT analysis of a relationship network

The present work aims at carrying out an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Ecoprofit certification through an institutionalist framework capable of incorporating the role of enterprises, institutions and relationship networks. Through the analysis of case studies on cooperation and on the food farming industry it is possible to subdivide the possible markets into 4 stages of maturity, according to the different degree of interaction among the agents, and to investigate the present and future role of environmental certifications seen as social capital increase vectors, thanks to their capability of recognizing and producing a culture of quality and, therefore, of sustainable development.

Managing U.S-EU Trade Relations through Mutual Recognition and Safe Harbor Agreements:"New" and "Global" Approaches to Transatlantic Economic Governance?

governance; regulation; regulations; regulatory competition; directives; implementation; WTO

“Made in China”: Crisis begets quality upgrade

The quality of manufactured products made in China has improved tremendously in the past several decades. In this paper, we argue that crises are instruments for the upgrade of Chinese manufactured goods. We first develop a theoretical framework to show that a crisis, if used wisely, could present good opportunities for entrepreneurs and local governments to form collective action to improve product quality. Next, we empirically test the hypothesis using a panel data set from 1990 to 2008 covering more than 100 clusters in the Zhejiang Province of China.Cluster, crisis, manufacturing industry, quality upgrade,

Sustainability as Justice Engaging With North American Alternative Seafood Networks Through Participatory Action Research

Transformations in the ways we relate to the ocean are long overdue given the myriad of anthropogenic problems that exist – from overfishing to plastic pollution and acidification to ‘slavery-at-sea ’ and loss of access and fishing rights. Yet alongside the hegemonic modes of ocean exploitation exist diverse alternative economies, including those associated with alternative seafood networks, that aim to create different and more-than-economic relationships with marine systems. To situate my research within the broader literature, I interpret the widely used Brundtland Report definition of sustainability, “meet[ing] the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED 1987, p. 43), as intra- and inter-generational justice, in line wit h Gottschlich and Bellina (2016), Fredericks (2012), and Baumgartner and Quaas (2010). My thesis begins in Chapter 1with an examination of food security through a sustainability-as-justice lens, incorporating an analysis of seafood production compared to undernourishment by country, a literature review of the transformative potential of alternative seafood networks, and policy and market-based recommendations for U.S. practitioners. For Blue Transformation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s plan foraquatic food systems from 2022-2030 (FAO 222), t o meaningfully contribute to food security as intended, a sustainability-as-justice lens is necessary to ensure procedural, distributive, and recognitive forms of justice important to the pillars of food security. This justice lens ultimately calls into question afundamental normative assumption of sustainable development –economic growth. In Chapter 2, I present results from participatory action researchas a participatory and emancipatorymethod–a way of enacting sustainability-as-justice. Questioning the extent of justice enacted through existing seafood sustainability certifications and motivated by the desire of seafood enterprise operators to hold themselves accountable and apart from a seafood system they seek to transform, this research lays the groundwork for an alternative to existing third-party seafood certifications. This research was inspired by Participatory Guarantee Systems, a peer-reviewed alternative to Organic certification for small-scale and alternative agricultural producers. Through this collaborative project, I worked with members of the Local Catch Network, a community-of-practice made up of alternative seafood networks from across the United States and Canada. Together, wecreateda self-evaluationtool to help seafood enterprise operatorsevaluate their practices in relationship to the Local Catch Network’snine core values, which encompass social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The output from this tool includes a set of103 accountability indicators that encompass multiple facets of justice and have the potential to form the basis for a seafood specific Participatory Guarantee System. By incorporating indicators both related to individual business practices and levels of collaboration in advocacy, this research sets up a system for future analysis of the capability of alternative seafood networks to both self-transform as well as to create change in the wider seafood system

IT Governance and Green IT Model for Large Mauritian Organisations

This study explores IT governance and Green IT in large companies from the five main pillars of the Mauritian economy. An IT Governance and Green IT model comprising of IT Governance and Green IT decision archetypes, mechanisms and influencers is developed from company executive interviews, analysis of organisation and government documents as well as a survey of firms. Recommendations are then provided to improve the governance of IT and Green IT in large Mauritian enterprises

The Role of Accounting and Professional Associations in IT Security Auditing: An AMCIS Panel Report

Information systems security is a critical area of inquiry and closely allied with IT audit skills from the accounting discipline. While accounting scholars are well informed about IT audits, information systems scholars interested in the security aspects of IT audits sometimes lack knowledge about the process through which scholars and professionals become security and audit experts in order to assess the quality of information-security implementations. IT audit knowledge enriches cybersecurity professors for both teaching and research. Individuals skilled in accounting, such as graduates from combined accounting/information systems departments in business schools, are naturally oriented to industry certification groups and their professional certifications, but mainstream IT academics are not. In this paper, we report on a panel discussion at AMCIS 2017 that focused on how researchers and educators who seek professional certifications offered by organizations such as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) can gain much richer knowledge of and insights into IT security assurance, which they can use for both teaching and research purposes. Such certifications provide valuable perspectives for the classroom and for research and are useful for IT professors interested in all aspects of security

The Development of Information Assurance and Cyber Security Competencies

Information assurance and cybersecurity has become a critical element in the daily lives of almost every individual and organization across the globe. To be able to protect Personal Identity Information (PII), Intellectual Property (IP) and organizational trademarks requires producing more cybersecurity practitioners. The problem being addressed by this study is the identification of comprehensive competency levels for information assurance and cybersecurity practitioners is unknown. This research created definitions for three levels of cybersecurity practitioners that can be utilized by government, industry and academia individuals and organizations. 14 core competencies for cybersecurity practitioners were identified and defined. The Qualtrics survey was distributed through email by sending a link to survey participants. To obtain the opinions of the government the survey was distributed to the United States Army Information Technology and Security community and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Technology. To gain insight from the academia community the survey was distributed to the Purdue community and affiliates of the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) and the Department of Computer and Information Technology. For input from the industry the following Information Assurance and Security departments of the following companies received the survey: Lockheed Martin Cybersecurity, Cook Medical, RSA Security, LLC., Dell, Cisco, SAP Software Solutions, and Business Applications and Technology. The data was analyzed using SPSS a statistical software package available to Purdue faculty, staff, and students. Overall there were 61 government participants, 27 industry participants, and 13 academia participants. The one-way ANOVA test for all the government, industry and academia practitioners yielded many significant findings. Some of the most important competencies that spanned across all affiliations and levels were Access Control and Incident Management and Response. This research aimed to identify a broad list of competencies that could be used to design training, curriculum, and certification courses for cybersecurity practitioners

Global responsibility and strategic risk management

The emergence of a global business risk, caused by a more intense companies’ strategic and organizational complexity, leads both the researchers and the enterprises to a concept of a global responsibility as a paradigm for effective relationships with all stakeholders. This global concept of responsibility must include the areas of legal, economic, social and environmental commitment and suggests an integrated approach to risk management. The aim of this article is to propose a theoretical framework about the relations among stakeholders’ expectations, responsibility areas and risk management. By means of a qualitative analysis, the authors intend to suggest some reflections about the approach of some meaningful global companies towards their potential risks and the relationships with their stakeholders

Charter for Change: Stryker’s Journey Towards Sustainability

abstract: Charter for Change: Stryker’s Journey Towards Sustainability is a project focused on brining a holistic sustainability strategy to Stryker’s Sustainability Solutions (Stryker). Stryker is a reprocessor and remanufacturer of single-use medical devices. While the inherent business of reprocessing is sustainable by extending the useful life of devices, there should be alignment between the core of the business, the operations and actions that it takes. Through creating and implementing a sustainability charter that outlines environmental goals for Stryker to achieve by 2025, it provides the organization with a systems approach to sustainability and embeds it within the culture. In order for the project to be successful, Senior Leadership had to sign off and make sustainability a top priority for the organization. The sustainability charter allows Stryker to do well by doing good