Will Low | Royal Roads University (original) (raw)
Papers by Will Low
The introduction of “design thinking” into the Business-school curriculum is a relatively new phe... more The introduction of “design thinking” into the Business-school curriculum is a relatively new phenomenon, and standard practices and curricula have not yet been established. This paper examines the design-thinking programs of 12 North American MBA programs and identifies four themes related to the concept’s adoption.
Humanistic Management in Practice, 2010
Social Enterprise Journal, 2013
ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ There is a growing academic literature exploring the fair trade movement but, ... more ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ There is a growing academic literature exploring the fair trade movement but, to date, there has been little explicit discussion of accountability within the movement. This paper aims to cast the development of the fair trade movement within a shift from trust-based relationships to standards-based systems. The authors particularly aim to focus on the dominance of an external accountability approach being used for Fair Trade Labelling Organization International (FLO) certified products versus an internal accountability approach being adopted through organizational self-assessment of World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) members. Design/methodology/approach ‐ While this is predominantly a conceptual paper, the authors draw on primary research with northern and southern fair trade organizations (FTOs). Five southern FTOs were interviewed along with three northern FTOs. Findings ‐ The paper illustrates the conflict that Power expressed about trust increasingly being placed in formalized "rituals" of auditing rather than in organizations. Standards-based certification has played a crucial role in mainstreaming fair trade food which reduces the trust relationship to a label and relies on market-based mechanisms of "ethical consumerism" to signal (dis)content with the operations of the certification system. By contrast, organizational self-assessment under development by WFTO, which has proven popular amongst southern FTOs, fitting their organisational culture(s) and contributing to organisational learning and democracy, creates greater accountability to internal stakeholders such as producers. Originality/value ‐ This paper draws direct comparisons between the FLO system of certification of products and the WFTO process of self-assessment of organizations. It demonstrates that the WFTO system builds on the movement's tradition of democracy and trust. Producers, southern FTOs, and northern FTOs must demonstrate their democratic principles throughout the supply chain up to consumers. Conversely the FLO system governs the products themselves and largely leaves the participants, other than producer groups, free of demands for corporate social responsibility and organizational learning.
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 2007
This paper examines the modern iterations of ethical consumption which, we argue, are dominated b... more This paper examines the modern iterations of ethical consumption which, we argue, are dominated by a highly individualised form, 'shopping for a better world', and margin-alises the more overtly politicised and collective approach. This dissociative transform-ation of ethical ...
International Marketing Review, 2005
Purpose This paper examines the ethics of marketing both fair trade products and the movement&a... more Purpose This paper examines the ethics of marketing both fair trade products and the movement's message of change, as fair trade shifts from a distribution system that relied on alternative distribution channels to one that is increasingly reliant on the commercial mainstream. The marketing ...
critical perspectives on international business, 2012
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emeral... more If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
The introduction of “design thinking” into the Business-school curriculum is a relatively new phe... more The introduction of “design thinking” into the Business-school curriculum is a relatively new phenomenon, and standard practices and curricula have not yet been established. This paper examines the design-thinking programs of 12 North American MBA programs and identifies four themes related to the concept’s adoption.
The Warehouse Group’s “Red Sheds” have become familiar landmarks across New Zealand. The Wareho... more The Warehouse Group’s “Red Sheds” have become familiar
landmarks across New Zealand. The Warehouse Group
(TWG) has grown from one Auckland store in 1982 to
New Zealand’s largest general merchandise retailer in 2008 with a network of over 80 stores nationwide from Invercargill to Kaitaia. Other local “big-box” retail chains have limited themselves, to date, to larger urban areas and therefore The Warehouse has borne the brunt of New Zealand’s version of the global backlash characterised as the “anti-Wal-Mart” phenomenon. While nowhere near the size of any of the big box retailers in the USA, TWG’s commercially successful strategy of expansion into smaller
communities has led to characterisations of the company as the “shop that ate New Zealand”. Research into the impact of big-box retail exists elsewhere but in New Zealand the critiques of TWG are based largely on anecdote, with parallels assumed between Wal-Mart and The Warehouse.
Development in Practice, Jan 1, 2002
While the Aotearoa New Zealand Development Studies Network (DEVNET) has existed for some time, th... more While the Aotearoa New Zealand Development Studies Network (DEVNET) has existed for some time, this is only its second biennial conference, bringing together over 300 people working in the broad field of development, internationally and locally. Giving any sense of ...
This BALTA SERC II research on farmers' markets (FMs) provides an opportunity to drill down into ... more This BALTA SERC II research on farmers' markets (FMs) provides an opportunity to drill down into one of the key themes -local and organic food systems -identified in the SERC II B1 scoping project. The objective of this research is to examine the current and potential role of FMs in the development of local food systems. This research is informed by the following theories: clustering, actor network, and social embeddedness.
This discussion paper is based on empirical material looking at the social impact of The Warehous... more This discussion paper is based on empirical material looking at the social impact of The Warehouse (TW) on small town NZ. The results of this research show that Māori have a more positive orientation to The Warehouse than the non-Māori population. This paper provides some explanations of why this could be the case in small town New Zealand. The discussion paper suggests that large-format retail researchers need to be more careful when arguing that large-format retailers negatively affect small towns: the impact of their entry depends on socio-economic factors and the ethnic circumstances of various groups in the community and their outlying areas.
Social Responsibility: Corporate Governance Issues, …, Jan 1, 2003
Social reporting is crucial for organisations claiming to practice corporate social responsibilit... more Social reporting is crucial for organisations claiming to practice corporate social responsibility. Reporting is essential for engaging with stakeholders, and establishing a dialogue that leads to mutual learning and action.
Report prepared for the British Columbia Ministry of …, Jan 1, 1993
University of Auckland …, Jan 1, 2008
Eileen Davenport runs her own consulting business focused on community development, organization ... more Eileen Davenport runs her own consulting business focused on community development, organization change and quality management systems.
Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Jan 1, 2002
As the work of NGOs broadens and becomes more complex, concerns about their capacity and sustaina... more As the work of NGOs broadens and becomes more complex, concerns about their capacity and sustainability will loom much larger and have more significant implications for development processes. The main issue addressed in this paper is how NGOs and donors variously view the relationship between capacity building and financial and organisational sustainability. To this end we firstly explore varying definitions of capacity building, highlighting distinctly Pacific perspectives of the concept and subsequently look at emerging practices used by Pacific NGOs to create sustainable organisations. The role of donor organisations in Pacific NGO capacity building is critiqued. We conclude that despite considerable rhetoric about the need for donors to adopt more coordinated approaches to capacity building, there is limited evidence to suggest that donors are prepared to act together to set up, for example, joint capacity building funds. Donors must accept that the long-term processes of development and the roles played by Non-Governmental and Community Based Organisations require a rethinking of the standard funding cycle and the focus on 'exit strategies'.
Journal of business Ethics, Jan 1, 2009
The introduction of “design thinking” into the Business-school curriculum is a relatively new phe... more The introduction of “design thinking” into the Business-school curriculum is a relatively new phenomenon, and standard practices and curricula have not yet been established. This paper examines the design-thinking programs of 12 North American MBA programs and identifies four themes related to the concept’s adoption.
Humanistic Management in Practice, 2010
Social Enterprise Journal, 2013
ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ There is a growing academic literature exploring the fair trade movement but, ... more ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ There is a growing academic literature exploring the fair trade movement but, to date, there has been little explicit discussion of accountability within the movement. This paper aims to cast the development of the fair trade movement within a shift from trust-based relationships to standards-based systems. The authors particularly aim to focus on the dominance of an external accountability approach being used for Fair Trade Labelling Organization International (FLO) certified products versus an internal accountability approach being adopted through organizational self-assessment of World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) members. Design/methodology/approach ‐ While this is predominantly a conceptual paper, the authors draw on primary research with northern and southern fair trade organizations (FTOs). Five southern FTOs were interviewed along with three northern FTOs. Findings ‐ The paper illustrates the conflict that Power expressed about trust increasingly being placed in formalized "rituals" of auditing rather than in organizations. Standards-based certification has played a crucial role in mainstreaming fair trade food which reduces the trust relationship to a label and relies on market-based mechanisms of "ethical consumerism" to signal (dis)content with the operations of the certification system. By contrast, organizational self-assessment under development by WFTO, which has proven popular amongst southern FTOs, fitting their organisational culture(s) and contributing to organisational learning and democracy, creates greater accountability to internal stakeholders such as producers. Originality/value ‐ This paper draws direct comparisons between the FLO system of certification of products and the WFTO process of self-assessment of organizations. It demonstrates that the WFTO system builds on the movement's tradition of democracy and trust. Producers, southern FTOs, and northern FTOs must demonstrate their democratic principles throughout the supply chain up to consumers. Conversely the FLO system governs the products themselves and largely leaves the participants, other than producer groups, free of demands for corporate social responsibility and organizational learning.
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 2007
This paper examines the modern iterations of ethical consumption which, we argue, are dominated b... more This paper examines the modern iterations of ethical consumption which, we argue, are dominated by a highly individualised form, 'shopping for a better world', and margin-alises the more overtly politicised and collective approach. This dissociative transform-ation of ethical ...
International Marketing Review, 2005
Purpose This paper examines the ethics of marketing both fair trade products and the movement&a... more Purpose This paper examines the ethics of marketing both fair trade products and the movement's message of change, as fair trade shifts from a distribution system that relied on alternative distribution channels to one that is increasingly reliant on the commercial mainstream. The marketing ...
critical perspectives on international business, 2012
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emeral... more If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
The introduction of “design thinking” into the Business-school curriculum is a relatively new phe... more The introduction of “design thinking” into the Business-school curriculum is a relatively new phenomenon, and standard practices and curricula have not yet been established. This paper examines the design-thinking programs of 12 North American MBA programs and identifies four themes related to the concept’s adoption.
The Warehouse Group’s “Red Sheds” have become familiar landmarks across New Zealand. The Wareho... more The Warehouse Group’s “Red Sheds” have become familiar
landmarks across New Zealand. The Warehouse Group
(TWG) has grown from one Auckland store in 1982 to
New Zealand’s largest general merchandise retailer in 2008 with a network of over 80 stores nationwide from Invercargill to Kaitaia. Other local “big-box” retail chains have limited themselves, to date, to larger urban areas and therefore The Warehouse has borne the brunt of New Zealand’s version of the global backlash characterised as the “anti-Wal-Mart” phenomenon. While nowhere near the size of any of the big box retailers in the USA, TWG’s commercially successful strategy of expansion into smaller
communities has led to characterisations of the company as the “shop that ate New Zealand”. Research into the impact of big-box retail exists elsewhere but in New Zealand the critiques of TWG are based largely on anecdote, with parallels assumed between Wal-Mart and The Warehouse.
Development in Practice, Jan 1, 2002
While the Aotearoa New Zealand Development Studies Network (DEVNET) has existed for some time, th... more While the Aotearoa New Zealand Development Studies Network (DEVNET) has existed for some time, this is only its second biennial conference, bringing together over 300 people working in the broad field of development, internationally and locally. Giving any sense of ...
This BALTA SERC II research on farmers' markets (FMs) provides an opportunity to drill down into ... more This BALTA SERC II research on farmers' markets (FMs) provides an opportunity to drill down into one of the key themes -local and organic food systems -identified in the SERC II B1 scoping project. The objective of this research is to examine the current and potential role of FMs in the development of local food systems. This research is informed by the following theories: clustering, actor network, and social embeddedness.
This discussion paper is based on empirical material looking at the social impact of The Warehous... more This discussion paper is based on empirical material looking at the social impact of The Warehouse (TW) on small town NZ. The results of this research show that Māori have a more positive orientation to The Warehouse than the non-Māori population. This paper provides some explanations of why this could be the case in small town New Zealand. The discussion paper suggests that large-format retail researchers need to be more careful when arguing that large-format retailers negatively affect small towns: the impact of their entry depends on socio-economic factors and the ethnic circumstances of various groups in the community and their outlying areas.
Social Responsibility: Corporate Governance Issues, …, Jan 1, 2003
Social reporting is crucial for organisations claiming to practice corporate social responsibilit... more Social reporting is crucial for organisations claiming to practice corporate social responsibility. Reporting is essential for engaging with stakeholders, and establishing a dialogue that leads to mutual learning and action.
Report prepared for the British Columbia Ministry of …, Jan 1, 1993
University of Auckland …, Jan 1, 2008
Eileen Davenport runs her own consulting business focused on community development, organization ... more Eileen Davenport runs her own consulting business focused on community development, organization change and quality management systems.
Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Jan 1, 2002
As the work of NGOs broadens and becomes more complex, concerns about their capacity and sustaina... more As the work of NGOs broadens and becomes more complex, concerns about their capacity and sustainability will loom much larger and have more significant implications for development processes. The main issue addressed in this paper is how NGOs and donors variously view the relationship between capacity building and financial and organisational sustainability. To this end we firstly explore varying definitions of capacity building, highlighting distinctly Pacific perspectives of the concept and subsequently look at emerging practices used by Pacific NGOs to create sustainable organisations. The role of donor organisations in Pacific NGO capacity building is critiqued. We conclude that despite considerable rhetoric about the need for donors to adopt more coordinated approaches to capacity building, there is limited evidence to suggest that donors are prepared to act together to set up, for example, joint capacity building funds. Donors must accept that the long-term processes of development and the roles played by Non-Governmental and Community Based Organisations require a rethinking of the standard funding cycle and the focus on 'exit strategies'.
Journal of business Ethics, Jan 1, 2009