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The food sovereignty concept has gained prominence in public policy discourses in the global South during the last decades. However, food sovereignty has contested definitions and is interpreted differently by conflicting societal interests. Consequentially, the translation of food sovereignty concepts into concrete policies and practices is often characterized by conflicts and controversies rooted in different institutional logics guiding the involved actors. In this article, we analyse how the logics of the corporatized agro-food system affected the local implementation of top-down state-induced public food sovereignty-based policies in Bolivia. We conducted a multiple-case study of public food procurement markets for school feeding programs involving three rural municipalities and small-scale producers in the Altiplano region. The data consists of 53 interviews conducted during 2011–2015. We found that corporate food regime logics influence the local policy implementation process in three ways. First, by framing the chosen policy design as neoliberal individualistic and transaction-based market-orientated. Second, by envisioning for the Aymara subsistence peasants a socially and culturally undesirable identity and class transformation; and thirdly, indirectly through the dependency of the school feed program on adjacent field-level institutions shaped by the corporate food regime logics. We conclude that the corporate food regime logics shaped the notion of what was considered legitimate practices and processes required for smallholders to access the public food procurement market, whereas their own conceptions aligned with food sovereignty principles were disregarded.

Climate smart agriculture (CSA) is gaining increased recognition as a way for farmers to tackle the effects of climate change. However, both improved understanding of the reasons for CSA adoption and an overview of the current literature is needed. Hence, this thesis explores the methods currently being used to investigate adoption of climate smart agriculture in lower-middle- and low-income nations, as well as the reasons for successful adoption in these nations. Several studies have been made on correlations between independent variables and CSA adoption. Yet, it seems that the studies keep to the same parameters. This scoping review explores the research designs, variables used, and syntheses the current literature on CSA adoption in lower-middle- and lower-income nations using the PRISMA-ScR framework. The study finds that the current literature is highly focused on East Africa, while no studies investigate the adoption of CSA solutions in Central Africa, South-, and Central Asia. Moreover, the study discovers a clear preference towards non-experimental studies (94%) over experimental studies (6%). Using the QualSyst tool most of the studies were assessed to have a “strong” quality. It was also concluded that variables such as education, experience, training, gender, property rights, farm size, accessibility to labor, extensions services, agricultural knowledge groups, and accessibility to markets were important factors for farmers when deciding on CSA adoption. This paper argues for an increasing use of experimental studies, enhanced narrative understanding of CSA, continued use of multivariate and multinomial echometric models, and an improved linkage between independent variables used and theoretical reasoning.

Recently, increasing attention has been paid to entrepreneurial ecosystems and the process of their formation and function. Researchers have noted the important role that intermediary organizations such as incubators play in connecting various actors within ecosystems. Yet our understanding of this role is limited to a few empirical insights. Using resource dependence and embeddedness as theoretical lenses, the present research examines the role of incubators in entrepreneurial ecosystem formation and function, and analyzes how intermediation activities shape collaboration patterns embedded within entrepreneurial ecosystems. Our findings are based on an empirical investigation of two entrepreneurial ecosystems, one in Kenya and one in Uganda. Our analysis of 38 semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurial actors in these ecosystems reveals the underlying structural, operational, and relational conditions that influence the actors’ interaction with each other. We propose three collaboration patterns that emerge among actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems under these conditions: one-sided dependency-based, joint dependency-based, and mutual dependency-based collaborations. We discuss these patterns in detail and identify the circumstances in which each is most likely to occur. This empirical setting clearly shows that beyond their primary roles of providing space, network, and advice to entrepreneurs, intermediary organizations in entrepreneurial ecosystems play a significant role in orchestrating collaborations. Finally, we reflect on the limitations of this study and offer implications for future research.

The purpose of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of the nature of participatory curriculum development in higher education institutions. We conducted a longitudinal case study that scrutinized an international participatory curriculum development process. Our research spanned six universities across four countries in Africa. We used cultural-historical activity theory as a theoretical lens to identify the critical tensions underlying the curriculum development activity. Six primary contradictions and four secondary contradictions were identified. These tensions were mainly rooted in issues concerning stakeholder relations, rule rigidity, and resource availability. We integrate a stakeholder perspective and discuss how practitioners who seek to design and implement effective participatory curriculum development processes can benefit from applying a combination of activity system and stakeholder analyses during planning as well as implementation stages., The purpose of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of the nature of participatory curriculum development in higher education institutions. We conducted a longitudinal case study that scrutinized an international participatory curriculum development process. Our research spanned six universities across four countries in Africa. We used cultural-historical activity theory as a theoretical lens to identify the critical tensions underlying the curriculum development activity. Six primary contradictions and four secondary contradictions were identified. These tensions were mainly rooted in issues concerning stakeholder relations, rule rigidity, and resource availability. We integrate a stakeholder perspective and discuss how practitioners who seek to design and implement effective participatory curriculum development processes can benefit from applying a combination of activity system and stakeholder analyses during planning as well as implementation stages.

The purpose of the study is to test the hypothesis that retrospectively mapping the learning process facilitates a more critical, creative and complex engagement in end-of-course reflection. We conducted an random experiment where six groups out of a total of 13 groups in a project management course conducted a process-modelling workshop prior to writing a group reflection papers. The data consists of 13 group reflection papers and 20 questionnaire responses. The reflection paper were analysed using theory of transformative learning. Our findings indicate that the process-modelling tool itself did not afford a higher level of reflection, but it seems that the technology may have helped the students to enrich their reflective narrative by better linking meaning making and description of conflict with confirmative and transformative learning experiences., The purpose of the study is to test the hypothesis that retrospectively mapping the learning process facilitates a more critical, creative and complex engagement in end-of-course reflection. We conducted an random experiment where six groups out of a total of 13 groups in a project management course conducted a process-modelling workshop prior to writing a group reflection papers. The data consists of 13 group reflection papers and 20 questionnaire responses. The reflection paper were analysed using theory of transformative learning. Our findings indicate that the process-modelling tool itself did not afford a higher level of reflection, but it seems that the technology may have helped the students to enrich their reflective narrative by better linking meaning making and description of conflict with confirmative and transformative learning experiences.

Business and management education worldwide continues to be a very popular field of study. Unfortunately, much of African management education is simply repackaged material designed by professionals and scholars in advanced economies. This special issue highlights both the theoretical and the empirical complexities and obstacles that must be overcome in order to advance and develop relevant African management education. We include a proposed model for developing and implementing management education in African focusing on relevance − identifying the unique cultural aspects involved in business and social relations in Africa., Business and management education worldwide continues to be a very popular field of study. Unfortunately, much of African management education is simply repackaged material designed by professionals and scholars in advanced economies. This special issue highlights both the theoretical and the empirical complexities and obstacles that must be overcome in order to advance and develop relevant African management education. We include a proposed model for developing and implementing management education in African focusing on relevance − identifying the unique cultural aspects involved in business and social relations in Africa.

Although inclusion in formal value chains extends the prospect of improving the livelihoods of rural small-scale producers, such a step is often contingent on compliance with internationally-promoted food safety standards. Limited research has addressed the challenges this represents for small rural producers who, grounded in culturally-embedded food safety conceptions, face difficulties in complying. We address this gap here through a multiple case study involving four public school feeding programs that source meals from local rural providers in the Bolivian Altiplan. Institutional logics theory is used to describe public food safety regulations and to compare them to food safety conceptions in the local indigenous Aymara rural setting. We identify a value-based conflict that leads to non-compliance of formal food safety rules that jeopardizes the participation of small farmers in the market. These include: (1) partial adoption of formal rules; (2) selective adoption of convenient rules; and (3) ceremonial adoption to avoid compliance. Decoupling strategies allow local actors to largely disregard the formal food safety regulations while accommodating traditional cultural practices and continuing to access the market. However, these practices put the long-term sustainability of the farmers’ participation in potentially favorable opportunities at risk., Although inclusion in formal value chains extends the prospect of improving the livelihoods of rural small-scale producers, such a step is often contingent on compliance with internationally-promoted food safety standards. Limited research has addressed the challenges this represents for small rural producers who, grounded in culturally-embedded food safety conceptions, face difficulties in complying. We address this gap here through a multiple case study involving four public school feeding programs that source meals from local rural providers in the Bolivian Altiplan. Institutional logics theory is used to describe public food safety regulations and to compare them to food safety conceptions in the local indigenous Aymara rural setting. We identify a value-based conflict that leads to non-compliance of formal food safety rules that jeopardizes the participation of small farmers in the market. These include: (1) partial adoption of formal rules; (2) selective adoption of convenient rules; and (3) ceremonial adoption to avoid compliance. Decoupling strategies allow local actors to largely disregard the formal food safety regulations while accommodating traditional cultural practices and continuing to access the market. However, these practices put the long-term sustainability of the farmers’ participation in potentially favorable opportunities at risk.

Edible insects are an integrated part of the food sector in many South-East Asian countries. While the majority of studies focus on Thailand and its cricket farming sector, neighbouring countries like Cambodia and Laos also form a regional market for edible insects. The aim of this research was to describe the informal food sector for wild caught crickets in Cambodia. The information was collected in April-May 2012. Information on collection equipment and techniques, processing and trade were obtained from light trap owners, traders, market vendors and governmental representatives. Five cricket species were identified to be the main trade object. Cricket trapping contributed to livelihoods of rural households operating in a self-governing market. As the crickets are caught from the wild, the sustainability of the market has to be questioned. The use of a framework to structure future studies on edible insects in South-East Asia is discussed. Insect trapping and trading is not institutionally anchored as either agriculture or fisheries – or another sector – and provides an interesting case of a food market operating in between the institutionalised sectors., Edible insects are an integrated part of the food sector in many South-East Asian countries. While the majority of studies focus on Thailand and its cricket farming sector, neighbouring countries like Cambodia and Laos also form a regional market for edible insects. The aim of this research was to describe the informal food sector for wild caught crickets in Cambodia. The information was collected in April-May 2012. Information on collection equipment and techniques, processing and trade were obtained from light trap owners, traders, market vendors and governmental representatives. Five cricket species were identified to be the main trade object. Cricket trapping contributed to livelihoods of rural households operating in a self-governing market. As the crickets are caught from the wild, the sustainability of the market has to be questioned. The use of a framework to structure future studies on edible insects in South-East Asia is discussed. Insect trapping and trading is not institutionally anchored as either agriculture or fisheries – or another sector – and provides an interesting case of a food market operating in between the institutionalised sectors.

Executive Summary Purpose International capacity building projects in the field of research are inter-organizational and transcultural processes. Conducting efficient leadership in these processes can present challenges related to cultural backgrounds, power relations, economy etc. This study aims to uncover where and how challenges arise when conducting leadership as a project manager in capacity building projects. Design/Methodology/Approach To understand common challenges in project management, the study uses basic theories in project management and organizational change. The framework for analysis is based on Stacey’s complexity theory and appreciative inquiry. The data consists of 11 interviews with project managers and administrators. The study analyses data using qualitative methods and assumes a social constructivist worldview. Findings The study makes conclusions based on the challenges of project managers in capacity building projects: - Project managers benefit from establishing interdependence in the project group and demonstrate cultural understanding. - Project managers should be aware and distinguish between static (cannot be changed) and dynamic (can be controlled by the project manager) factors. - It is only possible to plan certain things. Unpredictability is an inherent factor in project management Research Limitations/Implications The study does not assess overall project success according to common project success criteria (time, money and scope). Instead, it analyses project manager’s experiences during capacity building projects. The interviews with project managers are collected in 2008 and 2009 and 2018. The study uses key informant interviews from two of the three parties (Danida and the North partner), without participation from the South partner. A methodological triangulation is not used. Practical Implications The study provides a ge

Public food procurement offers the prospect for an alternative development path toward market inclusion, upgraded skills, and raised income for smallholder farmers. In Bolivia, the current public administration favors smallholder participation by regulating a preference of up to 40% for smallholders and local producers as opposed to other types of suppliers. However, smallholders' provision to local public institutions remains limited. To analyze the reasons for this, three municipalities with different approaches to smallholder procurement were investigated in a multiple-case study. Using transaction cost theory, our findings show that high transaction costs and pure market coordination act as strong barriers to smallholders' active participation. We found that hybrid governance structures, based on different types of relationship-oriented coordination and market exchange enable the inclusion of smallholders via: a) direct and active support from decision-makers, b) gate openers at the municipalities, and c) community embeddedness that supports trust-building and reduces uncertainty. Thus, our study contributes to opening up the ‘black box’ of hybrids in transaction cost theory by illustrating how social capital influences the mechanisms through which resources are distributed – a dimension inadequately considered in the traditional transaction cost theory approach., Public food procurement offers the prospect for an alternative development path toward market inclusion, upgraded skills, and raised income for smallholder farmers. In Bolivia, the current public administration favors smallholder participation by regulating a preference of up to 40% for smallholders and local producers as opposed to other types of suppliers. However, smallholders' provision to local public institutions remains limited. To analyze the reasons for this, three municipalities with different approaches to smallholder procurement were investigated in a multiple-case study. Using transaction cost theory, our findings show that high transaction costs and pure market coordination act as strong barriers to smallholders' active participation. We found that hybrid governance structures, based on different types of relationship-oriented coordination and market exchange enable the inclusion of smallholders via: a) direct and active support from decision-makers, b) gate openers at the municipalities, and c) community embeddedness that supports trust-building and reduces uncertainty. Thus, our study contributes to opening up the ‘black box’ of hybrids in transaction cost theory by illustrating how social capital influences the mechanisms through which resources are distributed – a dimension inadequately considered in the traditional transaction cost theory approach.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate which dimensions of price satisfaction influence producers’ trust in buyers and assess the mediating role of such trust in the relationship between price satisfaction and producer loyalty in fresh fruit supply chains. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study design using both semi-structured interviews and structured questionnaires was used. The study was conducted in the Eastern part of Kenya and included 600 smallholders. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings The results show that price fairness, price reliability, and relative price are dimensions of price satisfaction that affect producers’ trust in the buyer. Moreover, trust between the producer and the buyer is found to be a strong mediator between price satisfaction and producer loyalty. The findings support recent studies about trust and its mediating role. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on a cross-sectional study design, limiting the causal inferences which can be drawn. Producers’ preferences change with time and future studies should be based on longitudinal designs. Originality/value This paper shows the relationship between the multi-dimensional nature of price satisfaction and producer loyalty with trust as a mediating variable in the business-to-business (B2B) context. Although B2B relationships have been shown to be of great importance for smallholders in enhancing business performance with their buyers, little attention has been given to the role of trust as a mediator. This study offers interesting insights into the how trust plays a mediating role between price satisfaction and loyalty in a developing country context., Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate which dimensions of price satisfaction influence producers’ trust in buyers and assess the mediating role of such trust in the relationship between price satisfaction and producer loyalty in fresh fruit supply chains. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study design using both semi-structured interviews and structured questionnaires was used. The study was conducted in the Eastern part of Kenya and included 600 smallholders. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings The results show that price fairness, price reliability, and relative price are dimensions of price satisfaction that affect producers’ trust in the buyer. Moreover, trust between the producer and the buyer is found to be a strong mediator between price satisfaction and producer loyalty. The findings support recent studies about trust and its mediating role. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on a cross-sectional study design, limiting the causal inferences which can be drawn. Producers’ preferences change with time and future studies should be based on longitudinal designs. Originality/value This paper shows the relationship between the multi-dimensional nature of price satisfaction and producer loyalty with trust as a mediating variable in the business-to-business (B2B) context. Although B2B relationships have been shown to be of great importance for smallholders in enhancing business performance with their buyers, little attention has been given to the role of trust as a mediator. This study offers interesting insights into the how trust plays a mediating role between price satisfaction and loyalty in a developing country context.

This paper undertakes a longitudinal examination of the diffusion of a relatively new organizational activity - university student business incubators - by studying the processes through which actors grounded in three different institutional logics interact in the organizational field of higher education. Applying neo-institutional theory, we examine the development of student incubation activities in the field of general state-funded Danish universities. We review institutional pressures from the political sphere that led to the diffusion of student incubation, introducing a three-phase process involving experimentation, demonstration, and integration. Our study shows that universities’ responses changed over the period from initial coercive isomorphism and structural and functional decoupling of incubation from core activities towards a higher degree of integration, although still loosely coupled. The process was facilitated by the institutional logic of entrepreneurial culture that integrated elements of the commercial and classic university logics. We find that the diffusion and adaptation process were mainly influenced by resources available, organizational constituencies mobilized, discretional power, and congruity between competing logics. Our findings have theoretical and empirical implications for the development of entrepreneurial promotion activities associated with pre-existing institutional structures as well as the political/institutional dimensions of entrepreneurship relative to the role of the contemporary university., This paper undertakes a longitudinal examination of the diffusion of a relatively new organizational activity - university student business incubators - by studying the processes through which actors grounded in three different institutional logics interact in the organizational field of higher education. Applying neo-institutional theory, we examine the development of student incubation activities in the field of general state-funded Danish universities. We review institutional pressures from the political sphere that led to the diffusion of student incubation, introducing a three-phase process involving experimentation, demonstration, and integration. Our study shows that universities’ responses changed over the period from initial coercive isomorphism and structural and functional decoupling of incubation from core activities towards a higher degree of integration, although still loosely coupled. The process was facilitated by the institutional logic of entrepreneurial culture that integrated elements of the commercial and classic university logics. We find that the diffusion and adaptation process were mainly influenced by resources available, organizational constituencies mobilized, discretional power, and congruity between competing logics. Our findings have theoretical and empirical implications for the development of entrepreneurial promotion activities associated with pre-existing institutional structures as well as the political/institutional dimensions of entrepreneurship relative to the role of the contemporary university.

Drawing on the triple helix framework and organizational institutionalism, this article applies a qualitative research approach to analyze structures, institutional logics, power relations that shape inter-organizational relations and the structuration of a knowledge production system in an emerging economy. Findings highlight the emergence of a fifth-helices knowledge production system includes the state, science and education, industry, international actors, and society. The system comprises two major segments, one associated with the traditional command economy and characterized by institutional control that reproduces an ill-adopted and less transparent system based on systemic power. At the border of this system, a marketand quality-oriented segment emerges through marked-oriented evolution and collaborative co-evolution processes driven by institutional agency. The system-level dynamics are characterized by political ambidexterity that enables the state to maintain control by privileging traditional science and education constituencies, and at the same time support the transition of the knowledge production system towards international methodology and quality standards through relational mechanisms such as cooperation, harmonization, and partnership. Our research shows that the proposed framework offers a valuable basis for deriving realistic policy and program recommendations to guide national and international actors in designing interventions and collaboration within knowledge production systems in developing countries.

Innovation og entreprenørskab er på den nationale dagorden, også når det gælder universitetsuddannelserne. Universiteterne skal sikre et højt fagligt niveau hos de studerende, og samtidig skal universiteterne bidrage til at øge innovationskapaciteten i samfundet. Undervisere og studerende skal i større udstrækning bidrage til værdiskabelse til gavn for hele samfundet gennem bedre integrationen mellem undervisning, forskning og innovation. Vi står med en klar udfordring, og innovations- og entreprenørskabspædagogikken kan være en del af løsningen. Innovationspædagogikken handler om at bringe innovationsprocessen ind i en fagdisciplinær kontekst hvor den studerende, gennem at arbejde med sin egen faglighed, udvikler sit blik for og evnen til at skabe værdi gennem at sætte sin egen faglige viden i spil. Således kan innovation og entreprenørskab skabe rammerne for at koble de videnskabelige discipliners kernefaglighed til løsningen af påtrængende samfundsmæssige problemer.

Entrepreneurship holds significant potential for advancing developing countries but there is increasing recognition that these effects will not only depend on easing capital constraints and institutional support but also on entrepreneurial talent and learning. Based on analyzing nine case studies of microenterprise growth in Tanzania, this study therefore investigates what microenterprise founders learn about effective resource orchestration (RO) from organizational process experience. Our findings suggest that they first learn to orchestrate relatively simple and informal ‘micro-programs’ for gathering resources. Only upon organizational growth, they experience an internal ‘organizing shock’ that draws their attention to more effective RO. However, due to environmental conditions, this experience can take place comparably late in the growth process, thereby increasing the chances of unnecessary and costly organizational failure. In this regard, we find that only those founders that rapidly make sense of ineffective processes, gain management knowledge from different sources, and devote time and energy to managerial tasks, manage to sustain organizational growth by learning to make ‘fixes’ for internal problems and diversify more strategically. The findings lead to a set of propositions about founders’ learning from organization process experience in opportunity-rich, growth-constrained environments, and are integrated into a framework for microenterprise growth.

As farmers field school (FFS) increases in use in agricultural extension and rural development, understanding how FFS-introduced knowledge retained and diffused among participants and their community is needed. This study aimed to investigate how farmers’ learning determines their adoption of the FFS-introduced innovations and how these innovations are communicated among farmers. Results show that farmers’ cognitive ability to adjust, test, and adopt FFS-introduced innovations in combination with farmers attitude towards these innovations and linkages to the social system and dynamics of these linkages determine the process of utilizing the obtained knowledge and its outcomes. Adoption-diffusion of FFS-introduced innovations is a context-dependent interrelated process, strongly influenced by farming and cultural background, social coherence, collective tradition and connections with external actors that construct the social system where the process is embedded in. The implications are relevant both within the fields of agricultural extension and rural development and for the diffusion of innovation theory.

This paper addresses impacts of the institutional framework on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) innovation and networking practices. Through an explorative study of a domestic SME-dominated sector in Vietnam, we find that the institutional framework limits incentives for long-term investments, resulting in exploitative cost-control strategies rather than product-oriented innovation. Due to dominating social norms, SMEs form trust-based friendship networks, potentially limiting knowledge acquisition and weakening business rationality. Institutional pressures reinforce negative influences on SMEs' incentives to develop innovation ambidexterity. The findings suggest that new institutional economic sociology provides a promising foundation for understanding how institutional frameworks influence SMEs' innovation practices in emerging economies., This paper addresses impacts of the institutional framework on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) innovation and networking practices. Through an explorative study of a domestic SME-dominated sector in Vietnam, we find that the institutional framework limits incentives for long-term investments, resulting in exploitative cost-control strategies rather than product-oriented innovation. Due to dominating social norms, SMEs form trust-based friendship networks, potentially limiting knowledge acquisition and weakening business rationality. Institutional pressures reinforce negative influences on SMEs' incentives to develop innovation ambidexterity. The findings suggest that new institutional economic sociology provides a promising foundation for understanding how institutional frameworks influence SMEs' innovation practices in emerging economies.

This study investigates how smallholders in Manafwa District, Uganda, perceive the utility of trees in the farm landscape, and their experience of engaging in markets for their agroforestry tree products. The determinants of farmers’ commercialisation of their tree products were identified, and theoretical models constructed to explain the decision making processes which occur. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to collect data, and the analysis was conducted using the grounded theory approach. The study found that: i) farmers perceive a wide range of benefits from trees, but they prioritise private, excludable, short term goods and services; ii) commercial decision making is complex, comprising both subjective and intersubjective factors which can vary in their relative importance; and iii) market constraints such as price fluctuation discourage some farmers from engaging in value chain upgrading of their tree products, despite the potential financial rewards. It is concluded that smallholders’ commercial decisions are not simply a function of assets, rewards and risk, but that personal attitudes, values and aspirations also play a significant role in determining farmers’ engagement in markets.