Browsing by Author "Surmeier, Annika"

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    B Corp certification in Africa: motivations, opportunities and challenges in promoting socially and environmentally responsible management practices
    (2025) Grand, Savannah; Surmeier, Annika; Zolfaghari, Badri
    African businesses are increasingly recognising the importance of balancing profit with social and environmental responsibility, aligning with the global trend toward sustainable practices. B Corp certification, a globally recognised standard and associated certification system, offers businesses a formal pathway to commit to these values. However, despite its international prominence, the adoption of B Corp certification in Africa remains limited. African businesses face unique challenges such as limited resources, complex regulatory environments, and varying levels of awareness about sustainability. There is limited insight into the specific motivations, challenges, and contextual factors that shape how African businesses navigate and implement the certification process. This suggests a significant gap in understanding the unique motivations, challenges, and contextual factors that influence how African businesses navigate and implement the certification process. This study contributes to addressing this gap by using purposive sampling of 12 participants and employed thematic coding to analyse qualitative data. The interviews were conducted with key stakeholders such as representatives from certified B Corps in Africa, sustainability experts and members of B Lab. The findings show that African businesses pursue B Corp certification to tackle specific social and environmental challenges while boosting their brand reputation locally and globally. The certification provides external validation that builds trust with stakeholders, including consumers, partners, and investors. It is also seen as a strategic asset for attracting socially conscious audiences and aligning business operations with international sustainability standards. The study identifies several challenges that hinder the adoption of B Corp certification in Africa. Smaller companies, in particular, find the financial burden of certification challenging. Moreover, a lack of awareness and understanding of B Corp standards, which are often not fully adapted to local contexts, further complicates the process. The study contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable business practices in Africa by offering valuable insights into how B Corp certification can drive social and environmental change on the continent
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    Hybrid organisations in global value chains: insights from Uganda's coffee sector
    (2025) Mukanza, Patrick; Surmeier, Annika
    Global value chains (GVCs) represent a core paradox of modern capitalism. While they generate employment opportunities in emerging economies, they also contribute to systemic inequalities, precarious labour, and environmental degradation. In response, upgrading has been proposed as a strategy for organisations to improve their position, capture value, and address social or environmental concerns. Hybrid organisations, those blending commercial and social goals, are increasingly recognised as important actors capable of challenging dominant GVC dynamics by promoting inclusive and sustainable upgrading. However, their role in African contexts remains under-researched. This study addresses this gap by investigating how hybrid organisations in Uganda's coffee sector contribute to GVC upgrading processes, by focusing on the challenges and opportunities they encounter. Uganda's coffee sector, which supports 1.8 million smallholder households and accounts for 22% of the country's export earnings, faces challenges such as price volatility, unequal power relations between local and international actors, weak infrastructure, and climate threats. These difficulties are indicative of broader global inequalities, in which, smallholder farmers in the global South commonly create value that is largely captured in the global North. Drawing on 49 interviews conducted across Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with stakeholders including farmers, hybrid organisation managers, industry experts, state actors, and international traders, the study applies a value chain analysis and examines 13 hybrid organisations using a comparative case study approach. Empirically, the findings show that hybrid organisations, positioned between smallholder farmers and international traders, contribute to economic upgrading by engaging in functional upgrading strategies such as domestic roasting, direct trade to consumer markets, and moving processing stages closer to origin. They also seek to enhance value capture at the local level by strengthening farmers' capabilities in quality control and post-harvest handling, which contributes to both product and process upgrading. In terms of social and economic upgrading, hybrids support more stable and inclusive farmer participation in the value chain by extending microloans, offering pre-financing to support farm-level investments, and providing agronomic training that strengthens farmers' agency and market positioning. Environmental upgrading is also promoted by hybrids through the adoption of climate- resilient practices, including agroforestry, composting, and soil management, which help farmers adapt to climate threats while improving long-term productivity. Yet these efforts face constraints. These include limited access to affordable finance, especially among locally embedded hybrids, and policy directions that are not well aligned with the quality-focused, socially embedded strategies many hybrids pursue. Conceptually, the study shows that hybrid organisations do not simply operate in weak institutional environments, they emerge in response to them. In areas where public or market-based support structures fall short, hybrids have emerged and filled such gaps. Their ability to combine commercial and social goals, and to work collaboratively across sectors and actors, positions them as relevant partners in efforts to promote more inclusive and sustainable upgrading in coffee value chains.
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    Open Access
    Luxury Tourism in South Africa: navigating opportunities and barriers to address sustainability challenges
    (2025) Chasenski, Daniella; Surmeier, Annika; Zolfaghari, Badri
    The global luxury tourism industry is increasingly challenged to balance growth and sustainability, particularly in developing regions such as South Africa. This study explores the opportunities and challenges faced by luxury tourism businesses in integrating sustainability into their operations. Focusing on three luxury game lodges in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, this research analyses how these businesses navigate the tensions between environmental conservation, socio-cultural impact, and economic viability. Key research questions include: How do they navigate sustainability challenges within their unique contexts? What are they currently doing, and what more can they do? How can luxury tourism businesses improve their sustainability practices? This study adopts an exploratory, qualitative research approach, using a multiple-case study design. Data was collected through nine semi-structured interviews with heads of environment and sustainability, lodge managers and game rangers, alongside document analysis, to examine sustainability strategies and their implementation across the selected lodges. Findings reveal that while lodges have implemented sustainability initiatives, they continue to face systemic barriers such as guest expectations, financial constraints, infrastructure limitations, and reliance on international tourism. However, innovative solutions, including community-driven conservation, local economic integration, and sustainable business models, demonstrate how luxury and sustainability can coexist. This research contributes empirical insight to a limited body of literature on sustainability in South African luxury tourism. It provides practical recommendations for industry stakeholders and policymakers, such as addressing neocolonial ownership structures, developing standardised impact assessment models, aligning sustainability with guest expectations, and leveraging public-private partnerships to scale green technologies. Future research should adopt a mixed-methods approach to quantify long-term sustainability impacts, guest perceptions, and policy effectiveness, strengthening the evidence base for a more equitable and resilient luxury tourism sector.