Focusing on a rural community in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, this research examines the Atlantic Canadian context for farm-to-school programs, gauging interest and attitudes and examining current barriers which prevent more locally grown food from being served in the school cafeteria. A major component of this research is a comparative case study using a successful American farm-to-school program in Hancock County, Maine. By way of comparative study, this research examines how stronger farm-school partnerships can be developed in Atlantic Canada. Results in Nova Scotia indicate financial and structural barriers, as well as a number of community assets, including a strong belief on the part of relevant stakeholders that farm-to-school programs have the potential to increase student health and foster economic well being for farmers. This paper puts forth recommendations and strategies for expanding farm-to-school programs in Nova Scotia based on results from the comparative case study.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in local procurement create supply chain value. The study investigated supply chain value creation (SCVC) by testing three initiators of SCVC: entrepreneurial competencies; supply chain collaboration; and supply chain trust as well as the moderation effects of trust on SCVC. Feedback from a cross-sectional survey of 294 respondents in the construction, furniture and fitting, food processing and agricultural sectors was utilized to test hypothesized relationships. The study employed factor analysis and structural equation modelling to conduct analysis. The unit of analysis was an SME and level of analysis was the SME owner-manager. The results show that building value-driven supply chains in Uganda’s local procurement context requires SME owner-managers to integrate competencies, share information with customers, communicate collaboratively with suppliers and build an optimal level of trust. Supply chain trust is highly regarded in facilitating the exchange of resources within local communities but the owner-managers’ perspective – which differs in terms of how they view customers and suppliers – alters how managers assess trusted customers and suppliers, and what different tactics they may employ in building trust in customer, as opposed to supplier, relationships. The research findings demonstrate how managers, who trust customers on the basis of transparency and reliability, by contrast trust suppliers on the basis of operational flexibility, fairness and market credibility. The study contributes to existing knowledge by separating out and defining the key competencies most important in the management of local SME supply chains: opportunity competence and commitment competence. These are what the study has named Entrepreneurial Supply Chain Value-creating Competences (ESCVC). In addition, the study illuminates how trust increases the value suppliers create for the focal firm. Finally, by demonstrating that cost and goal congruence are not key value drivers, the research provides compelling evidence for why managers should instead focus on developing competencies, facilitating the flow of information and building trust in order to optimally benefit from local supply chains. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / PhD / Unrestricted

The construction of wind power is strongly associated with negative local externalities in terms of noise, shadows, visual impact and effects on local environment. To compensate for these negative effects, wind developers seek to find methods to create more local value. The purpose of this study has thus been to identify and evaluate potential methods to increase the local value creation from onshore wind power projects, mainly in the Swedish context. Firstly, from the literature review and interviews, four different approaches to create local value has been identified. The four identified methods to create local value are (1) community funds, (2) local ownership, (3) modernization and (4) local content. Of these identified methods, local content is deemed to have most potential in creating local value. The use of local content has generally been strong in the UK, why this study comprises a field study that reveal that British wind developers manage to appoint up to 20-30 % of the total capital expenditure to local companies. Compared to Sweden, the same number is as little asone percent. The explanation to this significant difference could be explained by “three I:s”,, namely, (1) Identification of local companies, (2) Information of opportunities and requirements and (3) Incentive creation for the main contractors. For Swedish developers to overcome the problems associated with the three I:s, the study presents seven activities that are possible to implement directly into the development process of wind power. Together these activities create a comprehensive way of enhancing the possibility for local companies to be involved in the construction phase, and by doing so, increasing the local value creation.