330 Wirtschaft
Refine
H-BRS Bibliography
- no (33) (remove)
Document Type
- Article (16)
- Conference Object (13)
- Part of a Book (2)
- Book (monograph, edited volume) (1)
- Periodical (1)
Year of publication
Keywords
- sustainability (4)
- Strategy (3)
- governance (3)
- resources (3)
- DWT-digital work transformation (2)
- Entrepreneurship (2)
- Ghana (2)
- Innovation (2)
- Institutions (2)
- Market segmentation (2)
Towards a conceptual framework for sustainable business models in the food and beverage industry
(2020)
The role of tourism entrepreneurship in rural development continues to be a subject of interest and debate among academia and practitioners. Theoretically, it is anticipated that tourism entrepreneurship will lead to livelihood diversification, enhancement and ultimately a revitalization of the rural economy. While tourism is posited as an accessible entrepreneurship pathway, there is a dearth of information regarding rural dwellers’ actual experiences with it, especially within the Ghanaian context. Using a case study approach and qualitative data from Wli; a rural tourism destination in Ghana, this paper delves into the opportunities and concerns associated with tourism entrepreneurship in rural areas. Data was obtained between November and December 2016 from 27 persons who were either tourism enterprise owners or employees. Findings from the study showed that entrepreneurial activities centred on the provision of accommodation, food and beverage, souvenir and guiding services. The nature of the activities enabled easy transfer of existing skills and knowledge. Further, entry into tourism entrepreneurship was perceived to be easy by the majority of study participants. These findings confirm the potential for tourism to be employed in boosting entrepreneurial activities in rural areas. Nevertheless, there were concerns regarding access to credit, institutional support, unhealthy competitions, low incomes, unguaranteed pensions, and seasonality and skewness of demand. These concerns threatened the growth and sustainability of tourism entrepreneurship within the community. From a policy perspective, there is a need for institutional recognition and support for tourism entrepreneurial intentions and activities in rural areas. Practice-wise, credit facilities need to be designed specifically for tourism-related rural enterprises. Further, periodic skills and knowledge augmentation programmes must be initiated to help expand the skill sets for the rural entrepreneurs. Finally, there is a need for the formation of traderelated networks to provide a platform for knowledge and experience sharing among the entrepreneurs.
Studies in entrepreneurship education in hospitality and tourism has indicated that further attention could be given toward helping students to develop creativity and critical thinking skills, engage in deeper self-discovery experiences, and understand tourism more fully to help prepare them for entrepreneurial roles. This study aims at evaluating Hospitality entrepreneurial modules offered in Tourism programs in Ghanaian institutions. The curriculum of Tourism in two tertiary institutions in Ghana offering Tourism is studied. The research highlights on the need to integrate hospitality technical skills into Tourism education to create a culture that will enhance the growth of entrepreneurial hospitality into Tourism as culinary Tourism is becoming common. Some of the challenges faced by tourism students and entrepreneurship educators are highlighted. Structured interview technique was used to collect data from 20 purposive sampled students of the selected institutions. The results revealed that the level of importance and attention given to hospitality skills in tourism and the perception of students on acquisition of the required competencies is minimal. It is therefore recommended that more skills and competences in hospitality operation, food and beverage production and service be introduced in tourism education in a more holistic manner with emphasis on skill acquisition in order to make the tourism graduate more creative and critical thinker in today’s global competitive environment.
The reported research examines the impact of product portfolio labeling strategies on brand reputation and equity. A netnographic approach allowed to observe winery portfolio labeling approaches and create a typology of winery labeling strategies. Expert evaluation served to assess the dependent variable brand equity by deploying a regression analysis. For the observed wine industry, being part of the food industry, creating consistent and recognizable brands has a direct relevance for reducing (sustainability-related) food information overload and thereby building sustainable brand equity. The results uncover the relative importance of each of the six identified labeling strategies as well as their impact on reputation and brand equity creation. The results point to the need to establish a consistent, strategically founded product communication. Such an approach, with a positive effect on reputation building can serve to build sustainable brand equity. “Stuck in the middle”-type strategies apparently diminish winery brand equity exploitation. The findings contribute to the knowledge on food labels in product communication strategies and their impact on organizational brand equity, thereby having high relevance for the implementation of environmental certification initiatives in an organizational context. The article deploys a novel research approach in an under-researched area to provide new insights for further research as well as implications for practice.
Rural Social Entrepreneurship (RSE) is considered an essential factor for achieving Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) and improving rural people's socio-economic status through increasing production, productivity, reducing unemployment, and accelerating the progress in achieving SDGs. The paper aims at examining the role of social entrepreneurship in achieving (SRD) in Sudan with reference to Wad Balal Project for investment and rural development in Gezira State, which established in 2005 in small villages in Gezira State through mobilizing of local savings and resources for creating job opportunities, sponsoring poor households, improving the infrastructures, and reducing poverty. The study depends on cross-sectional data collected through a questionnaire and focus group discussion from 100 head of households in the village under research. A questionnaire is internally consistent, and its questions are stable. Frequencies and percentages have been used for describing the basic characteristics of the respondents. Statistical t-test was adopted to test the opinions of respondents about the role of the project based on the Likert scale. The results revealed that the project has significantly increased the opportunities of job and training as well as household income, the results also confirmed that the project has improved the status of education and health services in the village. The project has extended and established many branches; the project also diversified its investment to cover more kinds of investments, the project reinvested 50% of its profits and directed the rest to charity, and social services in the village, many lessons can be learned from the project story. The research recommended that a similar social entrepreneurship project can be generalized to more villages in Sudan and other developing countries to accelerate sustainable rural development. Local communities have to support similar initiatives for developing their villages.
The purpose of this study is to research the antecedents of the sustainable travel decision-making of European travelers and thereby identify important lessons for the transition towards sustainable travel and tourism. The study is based on data collected through a representative survey, conducted in five European countries, with a sample of n = 5024 respondents. The results of descriptive statistics, EFA (Exploratory Factor Analysis) and FA (Factor Analysis) are presented in order to explore sustainable travel decision-making through environmental (policy-related and personal) attitudes and travel mode decision priorities in the European context. Furthermore, the study provides new evidence regarding the under-researched phenomenon of the attitude–behavior gap by presenting a model for the sustainability-oriented decision-making of travelers, including attitudes and travel mode priorities as antecedents. The results confirm the existence of moral licensing in travel decision-making, thereby extending the relevance of this theory into travel and tourism, which has not been done before. The denial of environmental issues is also being researched as regards its interaction with positive environmental attitudes, environmental travel mode priorities and non-environmental travel priorities, thereby advancing our understanding of the interplay between these categories. The interplay between the four categories furthers our understanding of the perplexity of travelers in terms of sustainable travel decision-making.
This article examines similarities and differences in the attitudes and social representations of destination managers towards implementing sustainable tourism between the mountain regions of the Alps and the Dinarides. Bearing in mind the transnational impacts (i.e., environmental, economic and social) of the tourism industry the research methodology adopted an international perspective by sending a questionnaire to tourism organizations in fourteen different countries in the Alps and the Dinarides. The research is interdisciplinary in nature, because it integrates knowledge from sustainability and management science with tourism geography and social psychology. The findings confirm that social representations of sustainable tourism differ significantly in the two mountain regions.
The article improves understanding on leveraging new technology for DT (digital transformation) of grape harvest in SME wineries. It provides evidence on technologies used and workplace types deployed in grape harvesting, as well as strategic paths in deploying new technology, thereby contributing to the literature on networked sensing and seizing capabilities in the wine industry 4.0. The research approach is explorative and qualitative drawing on 31 interviews with wine industry 4.0 experts and managers, mostly owners of SMEs: wineries, wine software and wine machinery enterprises. Resulting findings serve as a roadmap for digital transformation of grape harvest process in SME wineries explaining technologies and work roles necessary for DWT (digital workplace transformation), as well as strategic paths of deployment of novel grape harvest technology. Previous research on the wine industry 4.0 has focused on BMI, while this research expands the focus to include a wider concept of technology adoption strategy as well as DWT. The research identifies two types of factors impacting the strategic deployment of grape harvest technology: pull factors, also termed servitization factors, as well as push factors, termed also digital transformation factors.
This study set out to uncover brand positioning configurations by presenting state-of-the-art brand management literature and applying a novel, mixed-methods approach to examine the under-researched wine industry transformation towards open innovation in branding. German winery brands were analyzed using a multimethod approach leaning on a novel netnographic methodology and multiple sources. The sample included 572 wineries from all 13 German wine regions with website text data and online review text data from each winery. The study identified nine prime words used to describe both brand identity as well as wine brand image. It revealed word–price clusters of brand identity and image. The results offer insights into communication and pricing opportunities for wine brand identity as well as image, thereby contributing to open brand innovation.
Personal values and electronic waste disposal behaviours among households in Cape Coast Metropolis
(2021)
The study examined social values that accounted for electronic waste recycling and reuse behaviours. Via a crosscommunity survey of 193 of households in the Cape Coast Metropolis, a correlational design was employed in the study. Partial Least Squares-Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Results from the analysis showed the influence of altruistic values (β = 0.275, p < 0.05) on reuse behaviour. Similarly, environmental awareness (β = 0.213, p<0.05) also showed significant influence on participation in recycling, whereas psychological ownership significantly influenced both reuse (β = 0.319, p < 0.05), and participation in recycling (β = 0.339, p < 0.05), The joint significance of altruistic values, environmental awareness and psychological ownership to explaining recycling participation was 21.3% (R2 = 0.213, p < 0.05) and that of reuse was 24.6% (R2 = 0.246, p < 0.05). The results of the study showed that individuals who are knowledgeable about the state of their environment were more likely to participate in recycling. On the other hand, individuals with altruistic values preferred giving unwanted electronic equipment to others for reuse. Altruistic values are particularly true of collectivist cultural orientation. Psychological ownership was significant in predicting both behaviours, however, the effect size on reuse was moderate. Psychological ownership due to waste aversion and frugality lead consumers to keep, and subsequently give to close relatives in their social network. It was recommended that individuals should be encouraged to patronize formal recycling services. as a way to show concern for the well-being of others by reducing pollution due to improper waste treatment. Again, like in developed economies, second-hand collection systems for unwanted electronic products can be developed, and made convenient for individuals with reusable items, who may be willing to donate or even resell.
There is severe clinical vitamin A deficiency (VAD) prevalence among Ghanaians and many African countries. Foodbased diets has been suggested as a more sustainable approach to solving the VAD situation in Africa. In this study, A participatory action research between orange flesh sweet potato farmers, gari processors within central region and academia was adopted to develop gari containing provitamin A beta-carotene. Gari is a major staple for Ghanaians and people in the West African subregion due to its affordability and swelling capacity. It is mainly eaten raw with water, sugar, groundnut and milk as gari-soakings or with hot water to prepare gelatinized food called gari-kai in Ghana or “eba” among Nigerians. However, gari is limited in provitamin A carotenoids. Orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is known to contain large amount of vitamin A precursor. Therefore, addition of OFSP to gari would have the potential to fight the high prevalence rate of vitamin A deficiency amongst less developed regions of Africa. To develop this, different proportions of orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) was used to substitute cassava mash and fermented spontaneously to produce composite gari - a gritty-crispy ready-to-eat food product. Both the amount of OFSP and the fermentation duration caused significant increases in the β-carotene content of the composite gari. OFSP addition reduced the luminance while roasting made the composite gari yellower when compared with the cake used. Addition of OFSP negatively affected the swelling capacity of the gari although not significant. The taste, texture, flavour and the overall preferences for the composite gari decreased due to the addition of the OFSP but fermentation duration (FD) improved them. The sample with 10% OFSP and FD of 1.81 days was found to produce the optimal gari. One-portion of the optimal gari would contribute to 34.75, 23.2, 23.2, 27, 17 and 16% of vitamin A requirements amongst children, adolescent, adult males, adult females, pregnant women and lactating mothers respectively. The study demonstrated that partial substitution of cassava with OFSP for gari production would have the potential to fight the high prevalence rate of vitamin A deficiency amongst less developed regions of Africa while involvement of farmers and processors prior to the design of research phase enhanced the adoption of intervention strategies.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that various types of business model extensions (hospitality and tourism, online sales platforms, and sustainability) have on the winery business. The research is based on company data and online observations of N = 886 German wineries and deploys a content analysis, netnography, and structural equation modeling (SEM) in order to test the hypothesis on business model extensions of wineries, which have been set forth in the previous literature. The findings indicate that business model extensions related to online sales platforms have a positive impact on winery business size. These results mean that developing online sales platforms enlarges the winery BM (business model) size and type (manager-run, state-owned, or cooperatives). The paper presents in detail the impact of winery BM extensions on winery BM model type and size, thereby contributing to the literature on business model innovation.
Kenya as a touristic destination is well known as an exotic country offering many different landscapes as well as the diversity of wildlife; this is typical for several African countries. To ensure a sustainable tourism development, different forms of tourism have to be considered. One of these forms could be eco-mountain bike cycling tours, as these tours are gaining in popularity, for example in Germany. The aim of this study was to obtain results regarding the market potential for mountain bike eco-tourism in Kenya. The up-and-coming tourism branch of mountain biking was examined in connection with the increasing demand for long-distance travel. The results of this study showed that mountain biking in exotic countries like Kenya has market potential in principle. However, it was also found that mountain biking alone is not a sufficient pull factor for tourists. The combination with other activities turned out to be promising. It was found that tourist packages that include mountain biking as an activity are perceived as attractive. Moreover, it was obtained that not only tourists who ride a mountain bike regularly are addressed as a target group. Even "regular" tourists find mountain biking an attractive (touristic) activity, especially in combination with game drives. Experts also assess the market potential for eco-mountain bike tourism as positive and find existing routes and accommodation attractive. The findings are giving indications for the possibilities to develop eco-mountain bike tourism as a touristic alternative and addition to existing touristic products.
In times of climatic or political grievances that affect not only human life worldwide, but also the environment and the economic situation of a country, a change in the way of thinking about tourism is beginning and the sector of ecotourism is also becoming increasingly important in Germany. The applicability of this form of tourism in the East African destination Kenya in the form of a travel package that is both partly unique and can be designed individually describes the subject matter of this elaboration and is illustrated using the example of the charitable organization Mully Children's Family and the related registered tourism company, MCF Africa Safaris. The underlying research aims to determine how to transform the organisation's own tree planting initiative into a niche tourist market and how this must be geared to gain the interest of the German eco-tourist. Based on the evaluation of the research results, there is high potential, which is dedicated to the implementation of a form of travel consisting of the active support of the named charity and its initiative as well as individually selectable holiday activities in the target market Kenya. As a result, there are basic prerequisites, the consideration of which is essential for the successful integration of the so-called niche market tree planting and the branch-specific nature of ecotourism in the Kenyan travel market.
What are the processes behind efforts for more sustainable mountain destinations in the German Alps and what are the views of different tourism stakeholders on these processes? The research deals both with threats pushing the agenda of sustainable development (such as climate change and depletion of resources), indicators of sustainable tourism (to measure the scope of change), as well as cross-border cooperation and stakeholder engagement in the German Alps. The data was collected through 30 interviews with individuals dealing with tourism development and sustainable tourism development in the German Alps. The findings suggest that a holistic approach and collection and dissemination of data and knowledge on sustainability are the basis for developing sustainable mountain tourism. Implementation and monitoring should focus on specific flagship sustainable tourism products, as well as on a destination in a broader sense and the sustainable tourism market. Three themes emerged as important for implementation of sustainable tourism in the German Alps: indicators of sustainable tourism, cross-border cooperation and stakeholder engagement.
Based on the WEF Travel & Tourism Report data, this study deploys k-means cluster analysis to build a global typology of national destination governance. Previous studies have focused on case studies, while this chapter focuses on classification of different destination types, by deploying indicators a set of following relevant indicators: wastewater treatment, fixed broadband internet subscriptions, ground transport efficiency, quality of roads, quality of railroad infrastructure, reliability of police services, ease of finding skilled employees. The results present a four-cluster solution of national destination governance types, as well as their major characteristics. The chapter than provides and discusses important implication for theory and practice of destination governance.
Research on entrepreneurial eco-systems is evolving with exhortations for empirical studies at regional and local levels to augment national surveys. The study, therefore, sought to explore the entrepreneurial eco-system of the Central Region, which is relatively well-endowed with natural resources but lags behind in economic advancement in Ghana. Through descriptive research design, quantitative data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from a convenience sample of 44 entrepreneurs under the presidential business support programme in the Central Region of Ghana, in 2019. Data were analysed, by conducting descriptive analysis such as means (M) and percentages and by exploratory factor analysis, with the IBM SPSS Version 25. Descriptive results of 37 valid responses showed that the respondents were satisfied, in varying degrees (M = 4.19-5.65), with 11 factors within the eco-system; the top three factors were demand, security and availability of raw materials. Respondents were, however, not satisfied with access to business development services, access to finance, rent charges and access to repairers of equipment and thus, pose as challenges to their entrepreneurial pursuits. Principal component analysis revealed inter-connectedness among the factors in the eco-system with strong loadings of measures of institutions and resource endowment under the two components of the solution. Based on the findings, it is concluded that the entrepreneurs surveyed were satisfied with more factors in the EES of the Central Region while they were dissatisfied with relatively few but critical factors in the EES, thereby posing as major challenges to their entrepreneurial activities. As an exploratory study, the findings suggest that the entrepreneurial eco-system of the Central Region of Ghana is, to some extent, supportive of entrepreneurial activities but has key challenges. To achieve maximum outcomes, policy interventions should collectively address, at a time, factors that interact strongly to influence entrepreneurship within the system.
A school leader’s achievement is not what they study in learning institutions but the way they organize themselves into problem solving and realistic decision making. While this includes some taught hard skills, the bulk of school activities rely on soft skills. Soft skills, however, are frequently neglected, although they play an important role in school principals’ daily operations as an instructional supervisor. This study aimed to examine the relationship between soft skills training and Principals' performance. The study adopted a cross-sectional mixed survey design. Using Yamane formulae, the sample comprised of 167 principals from 286 public secondary schools in Kiambu County. These were spread proportionally across all the 12 sub-counties in the County. The principal research instrument was primarily a questionnaire. The reliability of the instrument using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was deemed reasonable at.73. The findings showed that a substantial relationship exists between the training of the principal on soft skills and their good performance of the duties. The study suggests routine in-service training should be undertaken in the county to improve the development of soft skills. It is also advisable that undergraduate, postgraduate, or in-service training include soft skills as a unit, to build knowledge of the value of soft skills.
Die Fachhochschulen Bonn-Rhein-Sieg und RheinAhrCampus als Instrumente im regionalen Strukturwandel
(2004)
The Bonn region had to undergo a serious structural change because of the loss of its function as the capital of Germany. In this empirical study the role of the two newly founded universities for applied sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg and RheinAhrCampus in the process of regional structural change is examined. What was and still is their contribution to innovative regional development? The special focus of this study is on the number of students and graduates, the transfer of knowledge and technology and the spin-offs and start-ups.
Developing the Circular Economy in Uganda: Prospects for Academia-Public-Private-Partnerships
(2021)
Issues: Circular economy is a production system that optimizes the reusability of by-products/waste as raw materials. As the global population threatens to reach 9 billion by 2050, consumption levels grow proportionally, raising food, material, and energy demands. In Uganda, soil nutrient depletion and energy poverty are key challenges faced by urban and rural communities. Rampart depletion of natural resources calls for transit from the linear economic models towards sustainable production/consumption technologies. This study investigated prospects for APPP to optimize the reusability of by-products/waste as raw materials. Approach: Quantitative and qualitative tools were used to collect data via document analysis, interviews, and participant observations. The tools were administered to municipal authorities, private waste-collecting agencies in cities and municipalities; officials in Ministries of energy and Agriculture; officials in universities research units and entrepreneurs that deal in agricultural and energy products; officials from civil society organizations. Findings: there are a number of sustainability projects being undertaken by Universities and High schools, Government agencies, companies, and civil society organization isolation. Singlehandedly, individual agencies lack the requisite capacity to develop closed-loop production/consumption models. Analysis of a few successful RRR projects suggests that APPP is positioned to promote CE. Transiting towards a circular economy requires joint ventures to optimize human, technological, and financial resources and develop policy and institutional frameworks. In Uganda, recycling biotic by-products can promote environmental sustainability; reduce stress on natural resources; enable cost savings; promote green entrepreneurship, and create jobs/livelihoods. Conclusion: working jointly, CE could be enhanced via technical and business models by the academia, private capital investment by companies, community engagement by CSOs, and development of supportive policy and institutional frameworks to facilitate decision-making processes. The APPPs are positioned to use interactive platforms for creating awareness and promote sensitization about green values through education and multimedia communication platforms.
This study advances the research and methodological approach to measuring and understanding national-level destination competitiveness, sustainability and governance, by creating a model that could be of use for both developing and developed destinations. The study gives a detailed overview of the research field of measuring destination competitiveness and sustainability. It also identifies major predictors of destination competitiveness and sustainability and thereby presents destination researchers and practitioners with a useful list of priority areas, both from a global perspective and from the perspective of other similar destinations. Finally, the study identifies two major types of destination governance with implications for research, policy and practice across the destination life-cycle. The research deals with the analysis of the secondary data from the World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Index (WEF T&T). Major types of destination governance and predictors of belonging to either one of the types, as well as inside cluster predictors have been extracted through a two-step cluster analysis. The results support the notion that a meaningful model of national-level destination governance needs to take into account different development levels of different destinations. The main limitation of the study is its typology creation approach, as it inevitably leads to simplifications.