How social entrepreneurship can be useful in long-term recovery following disasters

Using Outcome Harvesting to evaluate socio-economic development and social innovation generated by Social Enterprises in complex areas. The case of BADAEL project in Lebanon

This paper delves into the utility of Outcome Harvesting as an effective methodology for evaluating development projects that seek to cultivate and advance social enterprises within intricate and multifaceted contexts. Amidst the ever-evolving socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics characterizing complex environments, traditional evaluation approaches often fall short in capturing the nuanced outcomes of such projects. By adopting Outcome Harvesting, this study argues that evaluators gain a robust tool to systematically collect, analyze, and interpret the intended and unintended impacts of development initiatives in complex and changing contexts. The utilization of mixed methods in the gathering of both primary and secondary data to effectively implement the Outcome Harvesting method has been influenced by overarching theoretical frameworks in the realm of social enterprises. This approach resulted in a comprehensive research methodology that seeks to synergize the strengths of the Outcome Harvesting method within the broader context of understanding and advancing the concept of social entrepreneurship.

The Integration of Social Science for Community Engagement in the Humanitarian Fields of Conflicts and Disasters: A Scoping Review

Community engagement (CE) is essential to humanitarian assistance, and the social sciences have been credited in recent epidemics and disease outbreaks as having played a crucial, supportive role. Broadening this attention to other humanitarian fields, this scoping review asks what lessons learned can be found in grey and peer-reviewed literature on the integration of the social sciences in CE for conflicts and disasters. Using an analytical framework developed through a UNICEF-led project called Social Science for Community Engagement (SS4CE) in Humanitarian Action, we identified 1093 peer reviewed publications and 315 grey literature reports of possible relevance. The results show that only a small minority-18 publications and 4 reports-tangibly comment on the relevance of social sciences, mostly only in passing and implicitly. While social science techniques are used and the importance of understanding a community's cultural, linguistic, and religious context is emphasized, further discussion on the integration of transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary social sciences is absent. Furthermore, CE is mostly seen as an instrumental ('means to an end') involvement, for example to collect data in emergency situations and receive feedback on interventions, but not as a critical and transformative intervention. We conclude that unlike the attention given to social sciences in disease outbreaks, there is a knowledge gap and an accordingly proper planning and implementation gap regarding the potentiality of social science to improve CE across all humanitarian contexts of disasters and conflicts.

Transparency in humanitarian logistics and supply chain: the moderating role of digitalisation

Purpose

Mismanagement and corruption in disaster relief operations (DROs) have created a demand for transparency and visibility in humanitarian logistics and supply chains. The global relief organisations and recent research endorse the adoption of digital solutions in DROs. The purpose of this research is to examine the moderating role of digitalisation in enhancing transparency in humanitarian logistics and supply chains of DROs in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing the quantitative research method, the data were collected from 340 disaster relief workers through survey questionnaires using the snowball sampling technique. The data were analysed in the SmartPLS3 software of PLS-SEM.

Findings

The findings suggested that in Pakistan, where corruption and mismanagement in humanitarian logistics and supply chain have been the greatest concerns of all the stakeholders, digitalisation of the DROs is a way forward to create transparency in the system and build the trust of the donor organisations and public.

Research limitations/implications

The sample included only 340 disaster relief workers, future researchers may test the proposed model on a larger sample size and from different stakeholders' perspectives such as the disaster victims, government agencies and NGOs.

Social implications

The ultimate beneficiaries of a digitalised and transparent humanitarian logistics and supply chain will be the society as a whole and particularly the victims of the disasters. By adopting the appropriate technologies in DROs, the victims will receive timely and entitled resources, and early warnings will save many lives.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the body of knowledge by providing the first empirical evidence of examining the moderating role of digitalisation in creating transparency in humanitarian logistics from one of the top ten most disaster-affected nations.

Social entrepreneurship, co-production, and post-disaster recovery

Post-disaster recovery requires co-production; that is, the inputs of citizens are essential for successful community recovery to occur. Citizens contribute to post-disaster recovery by volunteering, taking on consultative and decision-making roles within their communities, and directly participating in post-disaster reconstruction efforts. Without meaning ful contributions from citizens-the intended beneficiaries-unilateral efforts by public officials and authorities will inevitably fail. This study shows that social entrepreneurs can thus play a critical role in spurring post-disaster recovery by facilitating co-production. It focuses on the role of social entrepreneurs after disasters and centres on one rural village, Giranchaur Namuna Basti in the Sindhupalchowk District of Nepal. Specifically, the study uses the case of the Dhurmus Suntali Foundation's Namuna village project in Giranchaur following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on 25 April 2015 to examine the pivotal role that social entrepreneurs assume in promoting voluntary activities, community engagement, and participation in post-disaster recovery efforts.

Supply Chain Operations Management in Pandemics: A State-of-the-Art Review Inspired by COVID-19

Pandemics cause chaotic situations in supply chains (SC) around the globe, which can lead towards survivability challenges. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that has severely affected global business dynamics. Similar vulnerabilities have been caused by other outbreaks in the past. In these terms, prevention strategies against propagating disruptions require vigilant goal conceptualization and roadmaps. In this respect, there is a need to explore supply chain operation management strategies to overcome the challenges that emerge due to COVID-19-like situations. Therefore, this review is aimed at exploring such challenges and developing strategies for sustainability, and viability perspectives for SCs, through a structured literature review (SLR) approach. Moreover, this study investigated the impacts of previous epidemic outbreaks on SCs, to identify the research objectives, methodological approaches, and implications for SCs. The study also explored the impacts of epidemic outbreaks on the business environment, in terms of effective resource allocation, supply and demand disruptions, and transportation network optimization, through operations management techniques. Furthermore, this article structured a framework that emphasizes the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies, resilience strategies, and sustainability to overcome SC challenges during pandemics. Finally, future research avenues were identified by including a research agenda for experts and practitioners to develop new pathways to get out of the crisis.

The Role of Transparency in Humanitarian Logistics

Human suffering has increased in recent years owing to increased intensity ad frequency of disasters. These are expected to further increase in the coming years due to climate change. Although natural disaster risks to humans cannot be completely eliminated, they can be minimized through efficient and effective humanitarian logistics (HL). Considering the importance of HL in reducing the impacts of disasters through fair distribution, this study aims to address the following question: “How can the performance, efficiency and effectiveness of HL be improved through transparency?” The primary data were collected through an online structured questionnaire from the employees participating in relief operations in Pakistan. This specific research model is reflective. Therefore, a covariance-based structure equation model (CB-SEM) based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with SmartPLS software was used. The study tested the items’ reliability, discriminate validity, goodness of fit, and psychometrical soundness of the hypothesized model. The study results indicate that the relationship between predictor variables (disclosure, clarity, accuracy, corporate governance, decision making and accountability) and the response variable (effective HL) is mediated by public trust. Furthermore, the study suggests that public trust plays an imperative role in enhancing the performance, efficiency and effectiveness of HL. In addition, first, the study findings are expected to be beneficial for all stakeholders of disaster risk management, especially for governments, donors and humanitarian organizations (HOs), because they are persistently seeking strategies to assist victims. Second, most importantly, this study raises awareness of the need to carefully evaluate decisions related to the fair distribution of relief items. Third, the structure of this article reveals research gaps and promising areas for further research. This article provides a deeper understanding of transparency in HL using empirical data, which has not been explored before.