Southern sustainability initiatives in agricultural value chains: a question of enhanced inclusiveness? The case of Trustea in India

AbstractRecent studies have shed light on the emergence of Southern sustainability initiatives in commodity-based value chains. These initiatives position themselves as countering the exclusionary nature of many global multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), as critically analysed by previous studies. However, a common theoretical perspective on the inclusiveness of MSIs is still lacking. By drawing on the theory of regimes of engagement, we develop a theoretical framework which helps understanding the overt and subtle practices of including or excluding different stakeholders in MSIs. We apply this framework to 'Trustea', an Indian MSI for sustainable tea production, to further investigate the 'inclusiveness paradigm' of Southern sustainability initiatives. Our findings highlight the complexity of stakeholder engagement across the different phases of Trustea's development, from initiation and code development to formal launch and roll-out. We find that different types of engagement can exist in parallel. Justifiable engagement is expressed in the participating organisations' reference to a shared common goal of Trustea, whereas familiar engagement is linked to the rootedness of the individuals involved in the Indian tea industry. Strategic engagement, in turn, comes to the fore through the strong emphasis on developing an Indian code for sustainable tea production and promoting adoption among tea growers. The importance of reaching this objective has led to the replication of exclusionary patterns also noted for global MSIs, as small-scale producers and other weak actors have been largely excluded from decision-making processes, despite informal efforts aimed at substitution of representation

Out of Balance:Global–Local Tensions in Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships and the Emergence of Rival Initiatives in Producing Countries

Studies on multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have highlighted the potential for conflict in MSPs, and particularly at the global–local interface has been identified as a key source of tension for partnerships in global value chains. This article uncovers the nature of global–local conflicts, how these conflicts can play out in global MSPs, and how this can lead to the emergence of local competing initiatives. Based on three cases of global MSPs (on palm oil, soy, and ethical trade), the article identifies a set of four global–local tensions, which led to repeated disagreement and contestation in the studied MSPs. As the responses by MSPs to these tensions were insufficient to resolve conflict, local rival initiatives were created in all cases by previously participating Southern actors. These were driven by a combination of strong disagreement over time, coalition-building among Southern actors along national lines, and increased legitimacy of solutions outside the established MSPs.</p

Sustainable business model innovation: The role of boundary work for multi-stakeholder alignment

This study focuses on the boundary-spanning nature of sustainable business model innovation, studying multi-stakeholder engagement and alignment. Drawing on the concept of boundary work, we explore the different types of organizational boundary changes between focal companies and their external stakeholders, investigating specifically the process of exploring, negotiating, disrupting and realigning organizational boundaries. Based on an exploratory study of nine different sustainable business model initiatives from for-profit and non-profit organizations, our analysis shows how actors involved need to find alignment at normative, instrumental and strategic dimensions in order to achieve sustainable value creation. However, complexity for alignment emerges through different understandings of value,diverging interests, division of risks and responsibilities, and existing processes and activities that limits actors’ openness to align. Mutual boundary changes are thus necessary in the process of multi-stakeholder engagement in order to enhance organizations’understanding of value and to capture the envisioned value. This paper functions as an agenda-setting paper, presenting first insights on how the boundary work lens can advance our understanding of alignment processes between focal organizations and their external stakeholders, required for sustainable business model innovation

Pregnant women's perception of cesarean section on demand

Aims: To assess pregnant women's awareness of and attitudes towards cesarean section (CS) on demand, as well as to identify specific target groups by focusing on differences dependant on the participants' background, parity and intended mode of delivery. Methods: The study was conducted at two centers during three months. German-speaking pregnant women were invited to answer an anonymous, structured questionnaire. We compared urban vs. rural, nulliparous vs. parous and women opting for a CS vs. denying this wish, with regard to awareness and attitudes towards CS on demand. Results: Ninety-two percent of the 201 participants were aware of the possibility to deliver by CS on demand. Their sources of information were mostly print media reports, television, or friends. Pain avoidance and missing the birth experience were the main reasons for and against CS on demand, respectively. For women opting for CS on demand, traumatically-experienced previous birth and the child's well-being were other important reasons for a CS. Conclusions: Because negative birth experience appears to be decisive for pregnant women's attitude towards CS on demand and their perception of CS seems to be partly based on misconceptions, antenatal counseling should focus on these aspect

Harnessing Wicked Problems in Multi-stakeholder Partnerships

Despite the burgeoning literature on the governance and impact of cross-sector partnerships in the past two decades, the debate on how and when these collaborative arrangements address globally relevant problems and contribute to systemic change remains open. Building upon the notion of wicked problems and the literature on governing such wicked problems, this paper defines harnessing problems in multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) as the approach of taking into account the nature of the problem and of organizing governance processes accordingly. The paper develops an innovative analytical framework that conceptualizes MSPs in terms of three governance processes (deliberation, decision-making and enforce-ment) harnessing three key dimensions of wicked problems (knowledge uncertainty, value conflict and dynamic complexity). The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil provides an illustrative case study on how this analytical framework describes and explains organizational change in partnerships from a problem-based perspective. The framework can be used to better understand and predict the complex relationships between MSP governance processes, systemic change and societal problems, but also as a guiding tool in (re-)organizing governance processes to continuously re-assess the problems over time and address them accordingly

Partnering for Change in Chains: the Capacity of Partnerships to Promote Sustainable Change in Global Agrifood Chains

Intersectoral partnerships mirror the changing nature of the relationships among state, business and civil society organizations, and are often considered innovative mechanisms to overcome single actor failure in the context of globalization. This article analyzes the capacity of partnerships to promote sustainable change in global agrifood chains from a governance and a development perspective. The global coffee, cotton, and cocoa chains serve as main fields of application. From a governance perspective, the emergence of partnerships is largely positive inasmuch as partnerships act as initiators and agents of change which, although still mostly confined to niche markets, unfolds a chain-wide governance effect. From a development perspective, partnerships can be viewed critically as their top-down and business-driven nature leads to uncertain benefits for producers and results in the marginalization of certain development concerns. These differing conclusions can be explained by the fact that partnerships largely embody the neoliberal agenda, which raises specific questions, particularly from a development perspective

The emergence of Southern standards in agricultural value chains:A new trend in sustainability governance?

The objective of this paper is to understand and trace the emergence of Southern standards in global agricultural value chains. While the trend towards private standards established by developed country or ‘Northern’ actors has received significant attention in the literature, recently an emergent counter-trend can be observed which manifests in the development of standards by Southern producer country actors. This may be attributed to the perceived lack of legitimacy of global standards, especially from a Southern perspective. The paper therefore applies a legitimacy perspective to analyse the emergence of new Southern standards in Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil, Brazilian soy and South African fruit production. The analysis reveals that Southern standards both target different audiences to obtain legitimacy and rely on different sources of legitimacy as compared to established Northern standards. This is done explicitly in order to create cognitive and moral distance to Northern standards and ultimately to reclaim the issue areas occupied by Northern standards. The paper discusses and reflects on the implications of the emergence of Southern standards for sustainability governance and concludes with the identification of future research opportunities on Southern standards. Keywords: Private governance, Sustainability standards, Legitimacy, Global value chain