Household behaviour and sustainability: from inactive to involved, and what lies in-between.

In this working paper we present the initial findings from a 2013 postal survey into green and ethical household behaviour. 457 usable questionnaires were returned from 3000 householders in a large northern city in the UK, giving a response rate of 15%. Respondents provided details about their levels of participation in green and ethical activities, their attitudes towards such behaviour, recent purchase decisions in different product categories, and information use and dissemination. Questions were derived from an earlier piece of qualitative research in which we carried out in-depth interviews with self-identified green consumers and a previous quantitative questionnaire. Our latest findings provide evidence to support varying levels of involvement in green and ethical activities, with differences in participation, attitudes, and information seeking. These differences are discussed and marketing implications identified

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

Evaluating the Prevalence and Distribution of Quasi-formal Employment in Europe

To show how formal and informal jobs are not always discrete, this paper uncovers how many formal employees in the European Union are paid two wages by their formal employers, an official declared salary and an additional undeclared wage, thus allowing employers to evade their full social insurance and tax liabilities. Analyzing a 2007 Eurobarometer survey involving 26,659 face-to-face interviews in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU-27), one in 18 formal employees are found to engage in such quasi-formal employment, receiving on average one-quarter of their gross salary on an undeclared basis. Multi-level logistic regression analysis reveals that quasi-formal employment is significantly more prevalent in East-Central Europe, in smaller businesses and the construction sector, and amongst men, younger persons and the lower paid. The dichotomous depiction of employment as either formal or informal therefore needs to be transcended and a finer-grained continuum of types of employment depicted from wholly formal to wholly informal with many varieties in-between. The paper then briefly reviews what might be done to tackle this illegitimate wage practice. This clearly displays that this quasi-formal form of employment needs to be more fully integrated into discussions when discussing how to tackle undeclared work, since some measures that tackle wholly undeclared work, such as reducing the minimum wage, might simply allow formal employers to pay a larger portion of their formal employees’ earnings as an additional undeclared wage, rather than facilitate the creation of fully formal employment.Afin de démontrer que l’emploi formel et l’emploi informel ne sont pas toujours distincts l’un de l’autre, cet article met en lumière comment des travailleurs occupant des emplois dits formels dans l’Union européenne reçoivent, en fait, de leurs employeurs formels, deux types de salaires, soit un salaire officiellement déclaré et un salaire additionnel non déclaré, permettant aux employeurs d’échapper à leurs pleines obligations en matière fiscale et d’assurance sociale. L’analyse des données d’une enquête Eurobaromètre de 2007, comportant 26 659 entrevues en face à face dans les 27 États membres de l’Union européenne (EU-27), révèle qu’un employé sur 18 se retrouve embauché dans ce type d’emploi quasi formel, recevant en moyenne le quart de son salaire brut sur une base non déclarée. Une analyse de régression logistique à niveau multiple révèle quant à elle que l’emploi quasi formel est davantage prévalent dans les États de l’Europe centrale de l’Est, dans les entreprises de moindre taille et dans le secteur de la construction, ainsi que chez les hommes, les jeunes et les bas salariés.Le représentation dichotomique de l’emploi, comme étant soit formel soit informel, mérite ainsi d’être revue en faveur d’un continuum plus raffiné de types d’emplois allant de l’emploi pleinement formel à l’emploi pleinement informel, avec toute une gamme d’entre-deux. L’article passe ensuite brièvement en revue ce qui peut être fait pour s’attaquer à cette pratique de travail illégitime. Il ressort clairement que cette forme d’emploi quasi formel doit être davantage intégrée dans les discussions portant sur la lutte au travail non déclaré, étant donné que certaines mesures allant en ce sens, telle une réduction du salaire minimum légal, peuvent avoir pour résultat d’inciter les employeurs formels à simplement accroître la portion non déclarée du salaire de leurs employés formels plutôt que de faciliter la création d’emplois vraiment formels.Con el fin de demostrar que el empleo formal y el empleo informal no siempre son entidades distintas, este artículo hace resaltar que los trabajadores que ocupan empleos llamados formales en la Unión Europea reciben, en realidad, dos tipos de salario de sus respectivos empleadores, un salario oficialmente declarado y un salario adicional no declarado, lo que permite a los empleadores de eludir las plenas obligaciones en materia fiscal y de ventajas sociales. El análisis de los datos de una encuesta Eurobaromètre de 2007, incluyendo 26 659 entrevistas cara a cara en los 27 estados miembros de la Unión Europea (EU-27), revela que un empleado sobre 18 ocupa ese tipo de empleo casi formal, recibiendo en promedio el cuarto de su salario bruto bajo una forma no declarada. Un análisis de regresión logística de nivel múltiple revela por su lado que el empleo casi formal es sobre todo predominante en los Estados de la Europa Central del Este, en las empresas de talla menor y en el sector de la construcción, así como entre los hombres, los jóvenes y aquellos con bajo salario.La representación dicotómica del empleo, es decir, formal o informal, merece de ser revisada en favor de un continuum más refinado de los tipos de empleos que van desde el empleo plenamente formal al empleo plenamente informal, incluyendo una amplia gama entre los dos. El artículo pasa brevemente en revista las estrategias posibles para atacarse a esta práctica de trabajo ilegitima. Resulta claramente que esta forma de empleo casi formal debe ser mejor integrada en las discusiones que abordan la lucha contra el trabajo no declarado, dado que ciertas medidas que van en este sentido, como una reducción del salario mínimo legal, podrían tener como resultado de incitar los empleadores formales a simplemente aumentar la porción no declarada del salario de sus empleados formales en lugar de facilitar la creación de empleos verdaderamente formales

Marketing in small and medium-sized enterprises: an introduction

Abstrac

The role and relevance model of marketing in small and medium-sized enterprises

Abstrac

Getting the learning right The development of a new educational strategy for the wildlife trusts

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN064336 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Marketing in small and medium sized enterprises

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a full-scale testing of the role of marketing and its relevance in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The objective is to present the results of a rigorous assessment of a new model of marketing in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach – A positivist approach relied on the use of the hypothetico-deductive method to produce the theoretical model. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied to investigate the model. This paper reports on a large-scale questionnaire survey, follow-up interviews with SMEs owner-managers and the use of published accounts to show how companies have performed during this study. Findings – The role and relevance model of marketing in SMEs has been thoroughly investigated and tested. The model offers a straightforward way of diagnosing the situation within an SME. The simplicity of the model allows for a clearer understanding of what is often a complex and messy situation within these companies and their business environment. Some findings suggest a positive link between a company’s financial performance and its approach to marketing within the model. Practical implications – The paper concludes that the model goes a long way to explaining the behaviour of SMEs with regard to marketing. The model appears to be viable and could be used to analyse and diagnose the situation regarding marketing within SMEs. Originality/value – The paper offers a unique theoretical and practical insight into the issue of marketing in SME