New Innovations in Economics, Business and Management Vol. 9

Food is a physiological need with an important social and cultural dimension. Eating habits have traditionally been one of the most stable factors of people's entire sociocultural heritage. However, today we are living in a time of important changes, with a great impact on the nutritional status of the population, motivated, among others, by new lifestyles and conditions, the advancement of technology and distribution systems, the emergence of new foods, new forms of preparation and processing.

The main aim of this study is to investigate whether or not there has been a change in the daily dietary patterns of adults during the Coronavirus quarantine. To reach this aim, the objectives set are the following: Analyze food consumption trends, study the food consumer typologies, look at the new target post covid group of consumers, analyze the perception of distribution channels, investigate buying from groceries online and indicate the platforms for selling local food.

The impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on people's food interests, opinions, and behaviour is described in this study. In addition, an online survey (Spanish population, n = 232) looked into how food buying habits changed during the pandemic. To try to cover the whole Leon territory and reach the greatest number of persons through mobile phones, tablets, and computers, the questionnaire was created using the Google Forms tool and distributed using instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp, social media such as Facebook, and Twitter, social networking sites such as LinkedIn and ResearchGate, and email through snowball sampling. The statistical analysis was carried out under the SPSS program.

Using the Mediterranean Diet as a reference for healthy uptake, we may infer that the examined Spanish adult population is quite close to having good healthy dietary habits. During the confinement of COVID-19, there was an improvement in dietary behaviours.

The world economy has been thrown into disarray by the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries are attempting to combat the epidemic's economic and social implications by adopting severe measures to stabilize markets, which would include monetary interventions. Bans on social gatherings had a negative societal impact, disrupting social activities such as education, sports, festivals, and religious activities. The economic impact, on the other hand, includes financial losses and job losses in the agriculture, hotel, trade, and industry sectors, as well as a decrease in foreign direct investments. In this paper, we investigate the role of governments in mitigating the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19. We also attempt to examine government fiscal and monetary policy initiatives, as well as how such policies might be sustained. Using Ghana as an example, this study indicates that integrated monetary and fiscal policies save lives by reducing the loss of income and jobs, preventing business bankruptcies, and eventually increasing economic recovery. We propose a CCCRD Model which could serve as a global strategy for governments in the fight against COVID-19. As a result, policymakers must use this as a clarion call and strategically connect resources, people, the environment, and the economy, while also providing enough support in such turbulent times. However, to promote such monetary and financial policies, they must be backed by legislation that could help in enhancing their sustainability.

This paper presents a methodological discussion of interdisciplinary approach in economics. Bimodal methodology means a combination or synthesis of philosophical and mathematical methods. It needs an  observation of short history of economic methodology, two concepts the vision of the world, three methodological trends about it. The philosophical background of economic methodology includes philosophy of economics and its appropriate discipline. Key methodological views in economic theory are presenting of positivism particularly of Mill, Marshall, Popper, Lakatos, Friedman and Dewey. Four methodological point of views are a concrete application in economic science, namely methodological individualism, methodological holism, institutional individualism and methodological institutionalism. Mathematical views of economic methodology  have always been present in economic research. Last example is the New Macroeconomic Concensus "model (NCM), to ensure constant interrelationship and the interaction of these two important fundamental economic paradigms – neoclassical and post-Keynesians. the main methodological views on economic theory can explain the economic life in all its dimensions - the micro - macro - and geo-economic levels.

In this work, a thorough research and study was carried out to determine the conditions prevailing in the breeding and operation of fur-bearing breeding units in Greece that are bred exclusively in the Region of Western Macedonia and to investigate development strategies of the sector. Particularly, all of the parameters that affect the effectiveness of breeding units were examined, and appropriate solutions to the fur industry's difficulties and weaknesses were appraised and provided.  The need for fur farms was prompted by the development of the fur clothing industry in the cities of Western Macedonia. The work focuses on industry practices and conditions from a technical standpoint, as well as the production process and development prospects through proposed strategies based on discoveries, literature, theoretical analyses, statistical analyses, and primary sources from direct personal connections.

The overall conclusion of the work is that the fur industry will continue to develop dynamically, as everything points in that direction, and that this development will considerably help to the improvement of the living standards of the area's residents.

This book analyzes the growing influence of China in Madagascar. It also examines the dynamic and application of China’s power of strategy in Madagascar. Those strategies of power are particularly focused on many economic, political or cultural initiatives. The goal is to set  , not only a healthcare diplomacy based on friendship, mutual respect, mutual benefit but also making differences with traditional foreign policies by the Western countries such as Canada, French or the United States.

Those initiatives allow China’s investors to increase their activities. Since the early 2010’s, China’ Madagascar has increased in terms of investment and infrastructure financing. In 2015, China has become the main Madagascar’s trading partner. However, even though China’s policies seem to be attractive, after more than 40 years of presence in Madagascar, it creates more and more dispute between the Malagasy’s government who gave them the right to settle in and the citizens who are afraid to lose their land and all natural resources.

This paper is a study of the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA), its regulatory framework, mission, activities and achievement in Zambia. The institution is now a critical component of the country's economy, and the opportunities it presents for the Authority are vast, not only in terms of industrial development but also in terms of maintaining a strong regulatory environment. Insurance is something people buy to prevent themselves from losing money in the event that something awful happens to them or their property. A contract between the insurer and the insured is known as an insurance policy. The company that offers the insurance coverage is known as the insurer. The proposer, also known as the policyholder, is the individual who takes out the insurance.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages globally, as well as an important source of income for some Countries. It is one of the psychoactive beverages and is the second most traded commodity after oil. Due to its economic and health relevance, it is of great interest to the agri-food sector, and it could be important to assess the environmental impacts associated with its production and consumption. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is recognized as a valid quantitative tool for assessing the sustainability of a product or process. Within this work, an overview of LCA applications in the coffee supply chain was conducted. The results show the studies are still limited, they focus as much on the production phase as on production and consumption, and that there is no agreement either between functional units (FU), which vary depending on the type of research and the type of Country, nor between system boundaries, which consider different stages of production and consumption. There is also no concordance between methodologies and impact categories chosen, which in turn vary according to the method, which is chosen according to the Country of origin of the study. The impact categories most considered are linked to the environmental macro-area, human health and  resources.

With the rise of awareness about sustainability and new production processes, such as Circular Economy, and the publication of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030 in 2015, food systems and urbanisation have become strictly linked to each other: at the increase of the urbanisation should correspond to the rise of the efficiency of food systems to ensure food security and food quality. Food waste could be considered a consequence of the inefficiency and inappropriate current consumption and production paths and food systems applied. The City Region Food Systems (CRFS) developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) could offer cities crucial tools for more efficient food systems. The paper aims to analyse the CRFS model in line with the 17 SDGs for understanding the complex and systemic  linkages between food systems and urbanisation and assess their social and environmental impacts. 

Plastic waste is a serious social issue relevant to every company, regardless of the level of brand luxury. Accordingly, fashion companies are attempting to develop sustainable apparel made from post-consumer plastic bottles. However, previous studies have not examined the effect of this sustainable product type on consumer behavior, whereas comprehensive sustainable development has been extensively discussed in luxury branding research. As a result, the purpose of this research is to see how the introduction of sustainable plastic clothing influences consumer brand attitudes and purchase intentions. We collected 440 samples via an online survey in Japan and conducted moderated mediation analyses; the results showed that the launch of sustainable plastic clothing affects brand attitude positively, influencing purchase intention both directly and indirectly. Additionally, brand luxury and brand experience allegedly weaken the effect of this sustainable product launch, whereas the influence of sustainable product experience is insignificant. Luxury brands should restructure their current marketing to promote sustainable items more effectively and adjust their branding techniques to match with sustainability in order to successfully launch this type of sustainable fashion. Otherwise, their brand elegance may be a liability, as plastic recycling is becoming more and more of a social necessity.

Despite a critical role played by the cross-border movement of goods in international trade, the former has been shown throughout the literature to be made more complex and unpredictable by various factors. In Rwanda as is the case in other various parts of the world, the introduction and implementation of One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) was expected to reduce and ultimately remove such factors. In particular, the purpose of OSBPs adopted, implemented and operationalised at the East African Community (EAC) level is to facilitate cross-border trade and movement of goods. This chapter therefore aims to assess the implementation of OSBPs trade facilitation initiative along the Rwandan customs posts and to examine the extent to which OSBPs initiative affects the movement of goods across the Rwandan customs posts. Descriptive statistics and Multi-Level Model were used to analyse primary data collected across different groups of trading agents. The main results stated that the implementation of OSBPs initiative has had a significant and positive impact on the movement of goods through Rwandan customs posts, implying that the implementation of OSBPs trade facilitation initiative has significantly contributed to improvements in the level of trade facilitation; and thus, streamlined and speeded up the movement of goods through Rwandan customs posts by removing the unnecessary barriers. However, this study calls for involvement and consultations of all border-crossing agencies in order to improve the implementation of OSBPs trade facilitation initiative and continue to facilitate cross-border movement of goods.

The study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between corporate tax and benefits of stakeholders (employees, investors, and the host communities). Primarily, the study investigated the relationship between corporate tax and employees’ wages, dividend, and corporate social responsibility (expenditure). Descriptive research design was adopted and data on selected manufacturing companies were collected from the published annual financial statements of the companies. Ordinary Least Squares was employed in the analysis of data with the aid of E-views software. It was found that there was a significant relationship between corporate tax and wage incidences, and between corporate tax and dividend payment. In addition, it was found that there existed a significant, positive relationship between corporate tax and corporate social expenditure of the selected companies. By implication therefore, the findings revealed that tax payment is a source of motivation for greater hard work, which portends better wage incidences payable to employees, more dividend payment, and more to expend on corporate social responsibility.

The study intended to assess one of the daunting challenges facing the effective operations of Local Councils in Sierra Leone particularly the Bo District Council is the quality of support services that drive accountability in the use of scarce financial resources. The research was carried out in the Bo District Council in Sierra Leone's Southern Region. Bo District Council consists of 16 Chiefdoms, 25 Councilors, 3 Paramount Chiefs, 25 Wards, 16 Committees, 11 Constituencies, and 13 Core Staff Members. The study objectives were; i) to assess the level of respondents' perceptions of management support to the internal audit system; ii) to identify the scale of management support to the internal audit effectiveness, and iii) to establish the relationship between management support and internal audit effectiveness. The 13 core staff members were chosen using a stratified sampling process. The study used a descriptive design, with qualitative and quantitative approaches used to discuss the findings. The Crumb Alpha Test was used to conduct the reliability test, which was found to be valid at 0.765. The study's primary findings include: lack of complete support for the audit committee, lack of independence of internal audit system and insufficient budget allocation.

Joint effort is required in promoting innovation beyond classroom in the face of fostering human development globally. This study assessed social environmental determinants for graduates’ innovativeness development in selected   East Africa countries.  Cross-sectional research design was employed where data were collected once. The data were descriptively analyzed through mean ranking and percents. The results generally show that university and related higher learning institutions were found as the key innovation support determinant for the graduates followed by suppliers of the equipment in the region. It was further found that the graduates who developed innovation rarely protect their innovations. This led graduates not to benefit from their intellectual property copy rights and associated recognized innovation benefits. It is concluded that the number of social environmental determinants that support graduates innovation persist in east African countries, however, majority of graduates do not utilize such opportunities for innovation development. It is recommended that the capacity building and stakeholders engagement measures need to be immediately conducted.

This is an update of a critique of Porter’s cost leadership and differentiation strategies (Datta, 2010a).

In this critique of Porter, the author proposed an alternative competitive framework. He then followed it up by conducting studies of twelve U. S. consumer markets to test his hypothesis.

This update incorporates the result of that empirical research and brings it up to date.

Porter identifies high market share with cost leadership, citing General Motors (GM) as a successful practitioner of this strategy. However, GM became a market share leader in the American automobile industry due to a strategy of market segmentation, differentiation and a broad scope shaped during the 1920s.

Porter argues that cost leadership and differentiation offer an equally viable path to competitive success. Nevertheless, a differentiation strategy based on superior quality compared to competition is more profitable than cost leadership strategy. It can lead a business to become a market share leader, and consequently, even a low-cost leader.

Research indicates that differentiation and cost leadership can co-exist. However, Porter insists that each generic strategy requires a different culture and a totally different philosophy. Yet, the problem is that Porter’s generic strategies are too broad. It is not his logic that is flawed, but his basic premise that prescribes cost leadership strategy as the only route to market share leadership, and presents a narrow view of differentiation with a unique product—sold at a premium price—on the one hand, and a “standard, or no-frills” product on the other.

Mintzburg says Porter’s cost leadership strategy should be called “price differentiation:” a strategy that is based on a price lower than that of the competition. He suggests that business strategy has two dimensions: differentiation and scope. Thus, setting scope aside, competitive strategy has only one component: differentiation.

So, the key question is not whether to differentiate, but how?

First, make customer-perceived quality as the foundation of competitive strategy because it is far more critical to long-term success than any other factor. Second, serve the middle class by competing in the mid-price segment, offering better quality than the competition at a somewhat higher price. It is this path that can lead to market share leadership—a strategy that can be both profitable—and sustainable.