Radboud Educational Repository (Radboud Univ.)
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Muddling through the aisles: food waste policy in Dutch supermarkets
No full textThis thesis investigates how the Dutch supermarket chains Albert Heijn, Jumbo and PLUS responded to the European Union’s 2018 Waste Framework Directive (WFD) between 2019 and 2024, and how these actions contributed to reducing food waste. The study uses case studies, in-store observations in Nijmegen and analysis of corporate and policy documents. The research applies Charles Lindblom’s concept of “muddling through” to explain how supermarkets make changes step by step rather than through large reforms. The results show that supermarkets rely on small, testable initiatives such as dynamic pricing, artificial intelligence for demand forecasting, food donation programs and customer awareness campaigns. These actions are often tested on a small scale, adapted based on feedback and then expanded. Albert Heijn achieved significant reductions through AI-based forecasting and targeted discounts. Jumbo made progress with dedicated areas for near-expiry products and campaigns to reduce household waste. PLUS focused on local solutions supported by its cooperative structure. Although these incremental strategies lead to measurable reductions in waste and operational benefits, they may be too slow to meet EU and national targets. The findings provide insights for policymakers and retailers on how to design effective and scalable food waste reduction measures
Navigating the future of car sharing: how anticipation shaped the strategic development of MyWheels as a niche platform
No full textThis thesis investigates how anticipation has shaped the development of the Dutch car-sharing platform MyWheels and its responses to regime pressures within the broader transition towards sustainable mobility. The research focuses on the internal development of a platform over time and how it strategically adapts to a changing environment. Central to this analysis is the concept of anticipation: the way in which actors use expectations about the future to guide decisions in the present. Using an innovation biography approach, the historical trajectory of MyWheels is reconstructed from its grassroots origins in 1993 to its current role as one of the largest car-sharing platforms in the Netherlands. The development of MyWheels is examined through the lens of the multi-level perspective (MLP) and anticipation theory (anticipation for the future (AfF) and anticipation for emergence (AfE)). By tracing how anticipation for the future and anticipation for emergence shaped five different strategic responses, the thesis demonstrates that anticipation is not static but changes in function as niche actors scale and professionalize. This analysis advances anticipation research by offering one of the first empirical studies to show how different anticipatory logics co-exist and interact within an organizational trajectory
Balancing Finance and Impact: ESG implementation as a catalyst for scaling Corporate Social Innovation in the banking sector
No full textThis qualitative single-case study investigates how ABN AMRO implements Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles within its investment policies to grow its Corporate Social Innovation (CSI) initiative, the Sustainable Impact Fund (SIF), towards systemic change. Through interviews and document analysis, this research explores how the bank uses its inclusive (ESG) strategy and the SIF’s role in growing for more impact, encountering critical stakeholder trade-offs, managed by stakeholder theory. The findings reveal that ABN AMRO uses a structured approach to ESG implementation, enclosing proactive and bounded policies with strong governance and accountability mechanisms. The SIF is identified as a key enabler for CSI, in particular for companies requiring tailor-made equity, as they are not bankable in the conventional manner. Furthermore, the pursuit of systemic change is shaped by internal factors, such as profit and risk aversion, and external stakeholder demands like regulatory pressures and societal expectations. These lead to various trade-offs, often resulting in more incremental progress. Therefore, this research contributes to academic insights by showing how large financial institutions balance financial objectives with their ESG ambition, while managing conflicting stakeholder demands in their pursuit of impactful CSI
Legitimizing the unhealthy: A discourse analysis of fast-food companies’ legitimation strategies on social media
No full textAs fast-food companies face increasing criticism for their role in the global obesity crisis, understanding how they maintain legitimacy is of critical relevance. This study investigates how leading fast-food companies (McDonald’s, KFC, and Burger King) use social media to legitimize obesity-related products. Using a discourse analysis, 131 posts across Facebook, X, and Instagram were analyzed with an abductive approach. A deductive analysis based on Ban (2016) and Glozer et al. (2019) revealed that frames and discursive legitimation strategies were largely absent. An inductive analysis identified four alternative strategies: collaborations, cultural resonance, playful language, and economic appeal. These strategies form a broader pattern of strategic avoidance, where brands deliberately evade health-discourse in favor of socially aligned messaging. Building on this, the study proposes the social alignment frame, a new frame through which companies legitimize their products by embedding them within culturally familiar, entertaining, and economically appealing contexts. This frame prioritizes pragmatic legitimacy and cognitive legitimacy, avoiding moral justifications. The findings extend discursive legitimacy theory and highlight the subtle ways brands use social media to shape public perception. These insights have important implications for public health communication and regulatory policy
Turning the Tide: from Structural to Green Flood Defense? A Research on the Influence of Governance Arrangements on Collaborative Efforts for the Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Protection in the Western Scheldt
No full textThis research took a closer look at contemporary challenges of sea-level rise, flood safety and nature deterioration in the Western Scheldt. Climate change and disappearance of estuarine nature as a result of anthropogenic activities, make the entanglement of flood risk management (FRM) with nature conservation objectives complex. Nature-based solutions (NBS) for flood protection can facilitate mutual benefits for these tasks, but its implementation goes paired with many governance challenges.
By applying an institutional lens through the use of the Policy Arrangement Approach (PAA) on dynamics of Collaborative Governance(CG), this research aimed to gain insight into the role of institutional context and effective collaboration across policy sectors for NBS implementation. The research answered the following research question: ‘What factors facilitate or constrain collaborative dynamics in the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) for flood protection in in the Western Scheldt?’
The key findings show that: 1) the actor constellation is important for the facilitation of collaboration. Intrinsic motivation among civil servants can steer governance processes and contribute to wider policy change. 2) Fitting financial resources, coordination tools and legal frameworks should complement such actors because current arrangements proved to constrain them in generating capacity for taking action across sectoral boundaries
Psychological resilience in long-term, man-made crises: the case of entrepreneurs in Groningen
No full textThis research explores how entrepreneurs in Groningen build psychological resilience while dealing with the long-term negative consequences of recurring earthquakes caused by gas extraction. Ten entrepreneurs were interviewed using a combination of life story and semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis and the Gioia method were used to analyse the data. The results show that building psychological resilience is not a process that is done alone, but that it is built and shaped through interaction with the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Three main aggregate dimensions were identified: emotional damage support, personal adaptive capacity, and institutional engagement and support. While all the entrepreneurs showed psychological resilience, some also experienced negative effects such as overaccommodation or suppressing emotions. These results contribute to the growing literature on the emotional side of entrepreneurship and building psychological resilience in extreme environments. The results offer practical implications for support programmes and can also be relevant for other regions facing long-term, man-made crises
De kunst van bescheiden opscheppen.
No full textSelf praise is een veelvoorkomend online fenomeen op LinkedIn. Deze scriptie onderzocht het effect van twee specifieke verzachtende technieken: referenties van derden en het benoemen van hard werken. De evaluatie van de zender is opgesplitst in de gepercipieerde competentie, het gepercipieerd carrièresucces, de intentie tot samenwerken en de intentie tot netwerken. Naast de twee losse effecten, is er ook een mogelijk interactie-effect onderzocht tussen beide technieken. Hiervoor is een digitaal experiment uitgevoerd met een 2x2 tussenproefpersoonontwerp bij 124 Nederlandse professionals. Zij werden blootgesteld aan fictieve LinkedIn-berichten met self praise, variërend in de aanwezigheid van de verzachtende technieken. De resultaten tonen aan dat enkel referenties van derden een significant positief effect hadden op het gepercipieerde carrièresucces van de zender. Andere effecten bleken niet significant
De Impact van Voorspelbaarheid in Marketingteksten van Luxe- en Impulsproducten.
No full textEffectieve tekstuele communicatie is essentieel in marketing, maar er is een spanningsveld tussen het verwerkingsgemak van een tekst en de impact ervan. Dit onderzoek had als doel om te bepalen hoe de voorspelbaarheid van woorden in marketingteksten en het type product de consumentenrespons beïnvedt.
Middels een experiment werden reclame-uitingen systematisch gevarieerd in tekstvoorspelbaarheid (voorspelbaar vs. onvoorspelbaar) en producttype (impuls vs. luxe). De resultaten tonen aan dat de effectiviteit van een tekststrategie sterk afhangt van het type product, wat de universele adviezen over tekstvoorspelbaarheid deels tegenspreekt
Constructing identity: the role of disability networks in identity regulation and identity work
No full textThe aim of this thesis has been to further our understanding of how disability networks shape identity construction through the interplay of identity regulation and identity work. Disability networks are in-company networks designed to support and connect employees who share experiences related to disability. My analysis demonstrates how identity regulation is exercised both top-down by organizational actors and through discursive practices, role modelling, internal communication and thematic framing. Identity work fosters through emotional recognition, storytelling, peer interaction and collective reflection. Subgroups offer targeted support but risk fragmentation of the collective mission of inclusion. I contribute to diversity and identity literature by showing how a disability network functions as a space of identity construction
‘The effect of value framing on the intention to consume red meat and plant-based alternatives in young adults’
No full textThis study investigates the effect of value framing on the intention to consume red meat and plant-based alternatives (PBAs) in young adults. The central research question was: ‘Can value framing be used to decrease the intention to consume red meat and increase the intention to consume plant-based alternatives in young adults?’. To investigate this, we ran an online experiment. Participants were shown a video with either biospheric, egoistic, altruistic, or hedonic value framing, or a video with no value framing. Afterwards, questions about intention to consume and value orientation had to be answered. The results indicated that value framing did not significantly increase the corresponding value orientation. Furthermore, although videos with value framing tended to lower the intention to consume red meat and increase the intention to consume PBAs compared to videos without value framing, these effects were not statistically significant . Likewise, no significant differences were found when comparing specific value frames to each other