David Ness

The role and characteristics of social entrepreneurs in contemporary rural cooperative development in China: case studies of rural social entrepreneurship

Rural communities in China have experienced rapid changes in recent years under the governments policy of ‘new countryside development’. Remarkably, there has been an increase in social entrepreneurship led by village leaders and capable individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit. This research is based on in-depth interviews with several of these social entrepreneurs in multiple villages in Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces in China. It aims to explore the key issues related to the role of social entrepreneurship and leadership in developing rural cooperatives. The findings suggest that there are multiple key characteristics of social entrepreneurship in the process of rural cooperative development. The research findings have implications for rural community development in transitional economies in terms of developing social entrepreneurship capabilities.

Towards an Integrated Model

This chapter highlights the key elements for stronger rural communities, drawing together the themes and proposals from the preceding chapters and constructing an integrated model. With stronger communities at its core, the model recognises the key role of social enterprises in job creation and community transformation, supported by various actors working together, combining their capabilities and sharing their assets in a synergistic, effective and efficient manner. Set within the community’s political, cultural, socio-economic and environmental context, the model also highlights the importance of community empowerment, equitable development and cross-organisation governance. The chapter also sets out a direction for further research, including on the ground application and testing of the integrated model, and the extension of the approach to other communities in China and beyond.

Toward a Resource‐Efficient Built Environment: A Literature Review and Conceptual Model

Summary Amid continued growth in the building stock, the pursuit of sustainable buildings is dominated by a focus on carbon neutrality and green, often overlooking resource consumption and its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and planetary degradation. Accordingly, this article seeks to highlight the importance of a resource-efficient built environment, which enables required functions to be delivered with less assets, and to put forward an approach toward this objective. In this regard, the circular economy (CE) concept seeks to extract more value from resources by using them for as long as possible, thereby increasing economic prosperity and employment while reducing waste, greenhouse emissions, and pollution. Thus far, application of CE principles has largely concentrated on the industrial sector, such as through industrial symbiosis and its extension to urban symbiosis/metabolism. Their application to cities and, in particular, the built environment has been limited and the body of literature is relatively undeveloped. Insight is offered into how this field of research might be developed and applied to enable a more resource-efficient, low-carbon built environment with socioeconomic benefits. It reviews literature on the CE and industrial ecology, their application to industrial and urban contexts, and the gaps pertaining to the building sector. A proposition for extending research and its application to the built environment is then put forward, encapsulated in a conceptual model. This is seen as an important first step in influencing policy makers and repositioning resource efficiency firmly on the sustainable and carbon neutral building agenda.

A Unified Model of Product Service Systems Representation

This paper proposes a model to represent the structure of different types of Product Service Systems (PSS). The model can fill the current research gap that different types of PSS cannot be represented by a unified expression. In current research studies, PSS is divided into three main categories and each type has different ways to be modelled. Designers have to develop different types of PSS through very different ways. The model is developed on a new concept of Virtual Product, which represent the PSS from a customers viewpoint. Based on this concept, different types of PSS can be represented in a unified model.

Transforming Rural Communities in China and Beyond

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Soniclean—Product-Oriented Servitization

price are net prices, subject to local VAT. Prices indicated with * include VAT for books; the €(D) includes 7% for Germany, the €(A) includes 10% for Austria. Prices indicated with ** include VAT for electronic products; 19% for Germany, 20% for Austria. All prices exclusive of carriage charges. Prices and other details are subject to change without notice. All errors and omissions excepted. Y. Zhu, H. Lan, D.A. Ness, K. Xing, K. Schneider, S.-H. Lee, J. Ge Transforming Rural Communities in China and Beyond

Hewlett Packard Australia—Towards Sustainable Product Service Systems

The concept of servitization advocates fostering fusion and growth of service in goods-based organizations and transition from manufacturing by standard industry classifications to those similarly classified as services, including maintenance, spares provision, condition monitoring. It represents a strategic paradigm shift from the production of undifferentiated physical products for specific markets to the production of services bundled with products to provide tailored solutions for specific customers.

A TRIZ-based multi-route model for product-service system design innovation

Drawing upon several case studies, this chapter first explains the Hewlett-Packard (HP) approach to servitisation, including the provision of managed and monitored computing and print solutions for clients. HP’s ‘Living Progress’ strategy which seeks to simultaneously drive human, economic and environmental progress, is also introduced.

Social Responsibility Towards More Balanced Urban–Rural Development in China

This paper proposes an integrated method for innovative product-service system (PSS) design based on the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) methodology. Extant TRIZ-based approaches for PSS innovation are largely based on a single mode of solution development. They are limited to deal with only technical-contradiction problems either through direct use of the adapted inventive principles or by applying the contradiction matrix to solve conflicts with some simplified rules. By integrating multiple TRIZ tools, the proposed new method is capable of providing three different search routes and their combinations for generating innovative product-service solution concepts. In comparison with other similar TRIZ-based approaches, this method is more flexible and effective in solving problems of different natures, i.e., technical contradictions, physical contradictions, and non-contradictions, as well as their mixes. A real-life case study on a datacentre PSS design is presented at the end of this paper to illustrate the application of the new method.

Carbon Trade, Forestry Land Rights, and Farmers’ Livelihood in Rural Communities in China

Whilst seeking to embrace a ‘green economy’, China has an opportunity to develop its own version, not merely adopt western concepts. In this regard, the notion of a ‘socialist ecological civilisation’ has been canvassed by leaders such as Pan Yue, placing increased emphasis on social justice and equity. Such a civilisation and economy may be supported by a community wide ecological value system, akin to corporate social responsibility, which integrates notions such as human well-being, fair sharing of wealth, social responsibility and inclusion, and respect for nature and its scarce resources. This may form the basis for ecological education programs, thereby inculcating hearts and minds, guiding socially responsible behaviour and decisions, and motivating ‘social-preneurs’. The value system may be used to highlight the inequity and social challenges associated with imbalanced development and urbanisation in China, including the 80 million ‘children left-behind’ and environmental degradation. The proposition is put forward that rural community enterprise and infrastructure development may not only slow the population flow to cities, but also enable communities to share prosperity in an environmentally friendly manner. The use of emissions trading and offsets may form a platform for such rural enterprise development and investment, and this forms the basis of the paper. China is piloting carbon trading schemes in seven locations, accompanied by Certified Emissions Reductions offsets. Similar to the Clean Development Mechanism, rural areas may benefit by sale of domestic carbon credits from plantations that sequester carbon, enabling urban areas to offset their emissions. Examples of such plantations and schemes are presented. Carbon offsets and enterprises are seen as a possible solution to the urban–rural imbalance. This will require social and environmental entrepreneurship, leadership and capability building within rural communities, supported by partnerships and training from urban based corporations and NGOs, so that carbon finance and investment opportunities may be realised.