Because extant literature on the service logic of marketing is dominated by a metaphorical view of value co-creation, the roles of both service providers and customers remain analytically unspecified, without a theoretically sound foundation for value creation or co-creation. This article analyzes value creation and co-creation in service by analytically defining the roles of the customer and the firm, as well as the scope, locus, and nature of value and value creation. Value creation refers to customers’ creation of value-in-use; co-creation is a function of interaction. Both the firm’s and the customer’s actions can be categorized by spheres (provider, joint, customer), and their interactions are either direct or indirect, leading to different forms of value creation and co-creation. This conceptualization of value creation spheres extends knowledge about how value-in-use emerges and how value creation can be managed; it also emphasizes the pivotal role of direct interactions for value co-creation opportunities.

Critical service logic: making sense of value creation and co-creation

How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines

The three-pillar conception of (social, economic and environmental) sustainability, commonly represented by three intersecting circles with overall sustainability at the centre, has become ubiquitous. With a view of identifying the genesis and theoretical foundations of this conception, this paper reviews and discusses relevant historical sustainability literature. From this we find that there is no single point of origin of this three-pillar conception, but rather a gradual emergence from various critiques in the early academic literature of the economic status quo from both social and ecological perspectives on the one hand, and the quest to reconcile economic growth as a solution to social and ecological problems on the part of the United Nations on the other. The popular three circles diagram appears to have been first presented by Barbier (Environ Conserv 14:101, doi: 10.1017/s0376892900011449, 1987), albeit purposed towards developing nations with foci which differ from modern interpretations. The conceptualisation of three pillars seems to predate this, however. Nowhere have we found a theoretically rigorous description of the three pillars. This is thought to be in part due to the nature of the sustainability discourse arising from broadly different schools of thought historically. The absence of such a theoretically solid conception frustrates approaches towards a theoretically rigorous operationalisation of ‘sustainability’.

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Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins

Stakeholder theory has gained currency in the business and society literature in recent years in light of its practicality from the perspective of managers and scholars. In accounting for the recent ascendancy of stakeholder theory, this article presents an overview of two traditional conceptualizations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Carroll: 1979, ‘A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Performance’, The Academy of Management Review 4(4), 497–505 and Wood: 1991, ‘Corporate Social Performance Revisited’, The Academy of Management Review 16(4), 691–717), highlighting their predominant inclination toward providing static taxonomic CSR descriptions. The article then makes the case for a stakeholder approach to CSR, reviewing its rationale and outlining how it has been integrated into recent empirical studies. In light of this review, the article adopts a stakeholder framework – the Ethical Performance Scorecard (EPS) proposed by Spiller (2000, ‘Ethical Business and Investment: A Model For Business and Society’, Journal of Business Ethics 27, 149–160) – to examine the CSR approach of a sample of Lebanese and Syrian firms with an interest in CSR and test relevant hypotheses derived from the CSR/stakeholder literature. The findings are analyzed and implications drawn regarding the usefulness of a stakeholder approach to CSR.

A Stakeholder Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Fresh Perspective into Theory and Practice

Re-Thinking Science: Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty

In this paper, we examine critically the notion of “Triple Bottom Line” accounting. We begin by asking just what it is that supporters of the Triple Bottom Line idea advocate, and attempt to distil specific, assessable claims from the vague, diverse, and sometimes contradictory uses of the Triple Bottom Line rhetoric. We then use these claims as a basis upon which to argue (a) that what is sound about the idea of a Triple Bottom Line is not novel, and (b) that what is novel about the idea is not sound. We argue on both conceptual and practical grounds that the Triple Bottom Line is an unhelpful addition to current discussions of corporate social responsibility. Finally, we argue that the Triple Bottom Line paradigm cannot be rescued simply by attenuating its claims: the rhetoric is badly misleading, and may in fact provide a smokescreen behind which firms can avoid truly effective social and environmental reporting and performance.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3857909.pdf

Getting to the Bottom of “Triple Bottom Line”

This article seeks an improved understanding of nurse autonomy by looking at nursing through the lens of what recent feminist scholars have called 'relational' autonomy. A relational understanding of autonomy means a shift away from older views focused on individuals achieving independence, towards a view that seeks meaningful self-direction within a context of interdependency. The main claim made here is that nurse autonomy is, indeed, relational. The article begins with an explanation of the notion of relational autonomy. It then explains both the collective and the individual application of the term 'professional autonomy'. Finally, it argues that both senses of professional autonomy are best understood as relational, and suggests some implications of this conclusion.

/pdf/nurse-autonomy-as-relational-3kxg0umidz.pdf

Nurse Autonomy as Relational

This paper looks at conflicts of interest in the not-for-profit sector. It examines the nature of conflicts of interest and why they are of ethical concern, and then focuses on the way not-for-profit organisations are especially prone to and vulnerable to conflict-of-interest scandals. Conflicts of interest corrode trust; and stakeholder trust (particularly from donors) is the lifeblood of most charities. We focus on some specific challenges faced by charitable organisations providing funding for scientific (usually medical) research, and examine a case study involving such an organisation. One of the principal problems for charities of this kind is that they often distribute their funds within a relatively small research community (defined by the boundaries of a small region, like an American state or Spanish Autonomous region, or a small country), and it often proves difficult to find high-level researchers within the jurisdiction to adjudicate impartially the research grants. We suggest and recommend options appropriate for our case study and for many other organisations in similar situations.

Charitable Conflicts of Interest

The molecular and functional expression of peptide transporters (PEPT1 and PEPT2, PHT1, PHT2) in human nasal epithelium was investigated. Quantitative/reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qPCR/RT-PCR), Western blotting and indirect immuno-histochemistry were used to investigate the functional gene and protein expression for the transporters. Uptake and transport studies were performed using metabolically stable peptides [β-alanyl-l-lysyl-Ne-7-amino-4-methyl-coumarin-3-acetic acid (β-Ala-Lys-AMCA) and β-alanyl-l-histidine (carnosine)]. The effects of concentration, temperature, polarity, competing peptides, and inhibitors on peptide uptake and transport were investigated. PCR products corresponding to PEPT1 (150 bp), PEPT2 (127 bp), PHT1 (110 bp) and PHT2 (198 bp) were detected. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting confirmed the functional expression of PEPT1 and PEPT2 genes. The uptake of β-Ala-Lys-AMCA was concentration-dependent and saturable (Vmax = 4.1 ± 0.07 μmol/min/mg protein, Km =...

Proton-coupled oligopeptide transporter (POT) family expression in human nasal epithelium and their drug transport potential.

Clinical efforts to treat anorexia nervosa (AN) are constantly resisted by patients. Although the primacy of patient autonomy is a cornerstone of modern medical ethics, clinicians will nonetheless ...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/070674370204700308

Chris MacDonald

Papers

Getting to the Bottom of “Triple Bottom Line”

Nurse Autonomy as Relational

Charitable Conflicts of Interest

Proton-coupled oligopeptide transporter (POT) family expression in human nasal epithelium and their drug transport potential.

Treatment resistance in anorexia nervosa and the pervasiveness of ethics in clinical decision making.