companies

Theorizing the Sharing Economy

mhg — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 13:08:23 +0000

Variety and Trajectories of New Forms of Organizing

Cover page of the book.

The sharing economy is one of the most influential developments of the last decade. The emergence of new forms of organizing it brings with it has affected modern (business) life at multiple levels: sharing organizations have blurred the distinction between the individual roles of provider, user, and employee; they have introduced organizational practices of coordinating members and communities; and they have sparked societal, political, and economic debates in multiple fields.

Local and sustainable food businesses - Assessing the role of supply chain coordination

mhg — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 06:52:08 +0000

In food supply chains, products and services are continuously adapted to changing consumer demands. As the public becomes more concerned about environmental and social issues, sustainable business models are becoming more and more important. Altogether consumers' growing demand for local food has led to an increased importance of local food production and distribution networks.

Roadmap E-Mobility Germany: Objectives, Chances, Risks, necessary Measures and Policy Initiatives

mhg — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 09:20:19 +0000

Cover picture of the publication

Summary

In one of its focal areas the Evolution2Green project aimed to identify obstacles and path dependencies in the field of electromobility, to identify successful approaches to the transition
to electromobility, as well as necessary measures. The facts summarized in the roadmap answer many questions that are currently being raised in the field of electromobility:

Developing sustainability in vocational education and training

gru — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 15:36:12 +0000

Date of publication:

12.09.2016

Vocational education and training for sustainable development promotes competency in sustainable living and economic activities in order to preserve the natural basis of life for future generations. This requires bringing economic, social and ecological responsibility together in a harmonious way.

What can we do at the work bench, in the office or behind the counter in order to promote sustainable development? Which professional skills are necessary for a more sustainability-oriented work model? And what does a place of learning that facilitates these kinds of changes look like?

Research Project: „Well-Being Transformation Wuppertal (WTW)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 13:16:51 +0000

May 2015 to Apr 2018

What do a sustainable economy, quality of life and urban transformation mean in cities such as Wuppertal, which are struggling with deep structural changes? How can impulses for more sustainability coming from the city’s civil society be described, structured and supported? How can quality of life be decoupled from material economic growth and resource consumption? The project WTW seeks comprehensive answers to these questions.

Transparency and transformation in the sustainable food economy. Collaborative approaches for more sustainability from the resource to the end consumer (Transkoll)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 13:04:41 +0000

Apr 2015 to Mar 2018

The final goal of this project is to develop and validate a toolbox of instruments and methods for small and medium sized enterprises (KMUs) that help to integrate sustainability in the whole food industry chain. Furthermore, the goal is to learn more about motives of action, structural and psychological barriers – respectively the behavior of the employees and the companies that have business relationships. It will also be evaluated how to establish transparency between the resource and the consumer and how to tackle insufficient consumer willingness to get product information.

Webseite:

verantwortungsvoll-handeln.de

SMEs and rural areas under demographic change – opportunities by social-environmental acting? (Regio TransKMU)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:53:14 +0000

Jan 2015 to Dec 2017

Hardly any trend in Germany is discussed as intensely as demographic change. Rural regions will be particularly affected. It intensifies the internal migration already taking place and may lead to negative impacts on regional social structures. It also exacerbates the existing or expected lack of specialists, which especially affects small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and therefore the competitiveness of a region. The question emerges: which factors can increase the attractiveness of regions as a place to live and the attractiveness of SMEs as employer in a way that makes people want to stay. Given this context, the research project Regio TransKMU researches whether and how SMEs that act sustainably (in social and environmental terms) can shape rural areas and make them more attractive.

Webseite:

Regio TransKMU

New ways, strategies, business and communication models for bio-plastics (BiNa)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:49:40 +0000

Apr 2015 to Mar 2018

Are bioplastics in production, use and at the end of the life cycle really more sustainable than the fossil competitors and which challenges are caused by the sustainability assessment? Which ecological potential provides the cascade use? What is the common level of knowledge of bioplastics and how does the general public assess the use of bioplastics? Which information mediums are effective, if the topic has to be communicated adequate for the customer? These and further question are in the focus of the research platform BiNa.

Webseite:

www.biokunststoffe-nachhaltig.de

New opportunities for a sustainable food system through transformative enterprise models (nascent)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:44:55 +0000

Apr 2015 to Mar 2018

In order to develop a sustainable food supply system, that enables food sovereignty and resilient food production on a regional level, the focus on local initiatives is increasing.

Initiatives with transformative potential are no longer exclusively situated in the sphere of either production or consumption, they are not only situated in either urban areas or the countryside, and are not only driven by economical success and/or limited by ecological demands. Instead these initiatives may diminish the impact of exogenous shocks and facilitate creative adaptation to changing environmental, socio-economic, and political conditions.

Webseite:

http://www.nascent-transformativ.de

Sustainable consumption and management of marine fish (KoBeFisch)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:40:39 +0000

Nov 2014 to Mar 2018

KoBeFisch has the hypothesis that European fisheries policies has not been able to prevent overfishing due to its current responsibility structures. In the current EU fisheries management, it is governmental actors that have the responsibility. For example, the council of ministries determines many regulations, including the catch quotas. At the same time, fishermen and fish consumers have almost no opportunity to influence the catch quotas in order to shift to more sustainable fishing. In KoBeFisch, alternatives are researched and developed on how governmental and non-governmental actors could share more responsibility for sustainability. Traditional coastal fishermen are considered alongside fish consumers as a point of special interest in the analysis.

Sustainable use and production of ornamental plants: demand driven development of new proce-dures and products (ProKonZier)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:38:02 +0000

Jan 2015 to Dec 2017

Ornamental plants are an integral part of people’s life and consumption. Three out of four households buy a decorative plant at least once in the year. The project will take use of the big sustainability potential of the ornamental plant industry by developing new business models. Currently, the environmental conditions in the production sites are aligned to growth performance and sales quality, but not to later everyday – and environmental conditions at the consumers’ households. As a result, ornamental plants show there stress symptoms. In addition, many consumers lack the necessary competence in plant care. Product failures are the result.

Living Labs in the Green Economy - Real-world Innovation for User-Integration and Sustainability

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:33:25 +0000

Mar 2015 to Feb 2018

The project demonstrates the potential of LivingLabs in the Green Economy. Within the project, innovations for assistance systems in the key areas of sustainable consumption (“living”, “retail”, “mobility”) are developed. In three German LivingLabs, companies and research organizations create and test new prototypes and business models with specific engagement of users.

Webseite:

http://www.innolab-livinglabs.de

Internet driven business modells for collaborative consumption contributing for a sustainable economy (PeerS)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:27:28 +0000

Feb 2015 to Jan 2018

The project aims to assess the sustainability potential of peer-to-peer sharing. With the help of a strong partnership with practioners, the project shall contribute to a professionalization of the platforms and their establishment as a sustainable consumer alternative. Through a dialogue with practice partners from sectors such as mobility (Drivy, flinc), accommodation (Wimdu) and clothing (Kleiderkreise), the environmental and social impacts of peer-sharing will be examined. The project will also determine to which extent rebound effects can occur

Webseite:

http://www.peer-sharing.de/

Integrating Employees as Consumers into Sustainability Innovation Processes (IMKoN)

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 11:50:59 +0000

Apr 2015 to Mar 2018

Companies as well as consumers depend on sustainability innovations for contributing to an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable economy. So far, the number of genuine sustainability innovations is, however, still limited in their scope and scale. Open Innovation, that is integrating e.g. customers into the innovation process, is one way of promoting the development and diffusion of sustainability innovations. Plenty of research has been conducted on the integration of customers as consumers by now, yet little attention has been paid to employees in their role as consumers. But there is evidence that employees in their double role as both company members and consumers bear a substantial potential to foster sustainable innovations tailored to the companies’ and the consumers’ needs.

Webseite:

http://www.imkon.de

Mobile Living – Innovative Housing and Mobility Services

mah — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 11:47:56 +0000

Jun 2015 to May 2018

The research project wants to initiate a knowledge brokerage process between joint housing initiatives and housing companies. Innovative ideas from joint housing and mobility concepts are going to be designed to be compatible and economically viable. Furthermore, the research project offers a knowledge pool containing promising ideas and concepts.