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This chapter examines fund managers’ accountability as an intermediate organisational and psychological mechanism between formal performance management systems and decision-making behaviour. We challenge the simplistic ‘what you measure is what you get’ assumption underlying many applications of accountability, arguing that accountability is not merely a contractual or metric-based mechanism but involves a complex social and psychological process. Drawing on ideas from agency, stakeholder, and legitimacy theory, we analyse how formal controls, informal norms, and self-imposed standards interact in the volatile environment that makes up fund management. We explore the tensions between short-term financial targets and long-term sustainability goals, particularly under growing Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) pressures. We argue that accountability can enhance deliberation and transparency, while excessive process imposition may crowd out intuitive expertise, foster short-termism, and induce gaming behaviour. We conclude that effective accountability systems must integrate quantitative performance measures with qualitative, culturally embedded practices that support ethical reflection and balanced trade-offs between investor returns and societal value.

Purpose

A status quo situation has occurred among actors, policymakers, producers, retailers and consumers where no one takes the lead on the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) fight. Common theoretical approaches to behaviour including awareness, understanding and use are insufficient in the AMR context. In this paper, the authors suggest the application of accountability literature to fully understand the status quo situation with AMR.

Design/methodology/approach

AMR in food has become an alarming problem in the past decade and is an increasing threat to global health. The knowledge about AMR often comes from a medical context where the perspective is completely different. Therefore, it is difficult for consumers to apply this to a grocery store context purchasing food.

Findings

This paper uses the concept of accountability and the significant other within the accountability field and discusses how this could help overcome the non-action state of mind of consumers and other actors.

Practical implications

Enhanced accountability could significantly improve One-Health solutions for combating AMR. By fostering a culture of shared responsibility and transparent communication among stakeholders, the silo effect may be mitigated, promoting collaborative efforts. Accountability mechanisms should ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and communicated across sectors, such as health care, agriculture and policymaking. Educational initiatives can increase AMR awareness, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions. Integrating perspectives from various domains will facilitate the development of holistic strategies, thus improving the overall effectiveness of efforts to address AMR and ensuring a sustainable approach to public health.

Social implications

Enhanced accountability in AMR management can lead to significant social benefits. By promoting transparency and collective responsibility, communities can foster greater trust and cooperation among various stakeholders, including health-care providers, policymakers and consumers. Increased awareness of AMR can empower individuals to make informed decisions, thereby promoting public health and safety. Socially, this could lead to more sustainable practices in antibiotic use and a reduction in the spread of resistant infections. In addition, fostering a culture of accountability ensures that efforts to combat AMR are more inclusive, equitable and effective, ultimately benefiting society as a whole.

Originality/value

The proposal to create strategies according to a basis of accountability can be applied at all levels of the AMR problem and for all actors. This therefore provides important knowledge about how AMR can be approached in a more long-term way where initiatives to prevent the spread of AMR do not take place in parallel or become difficult to access.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health issue heavily influenced by human behavior. Effective communication and awareness-raising are crucial in curbing AMR, with social network sites (SNSs) significantly shaping health behaviors. Despite their potential, current analyses of AMR on SNSs have focused mainly on top-down communication initiatives.

Objective: This study aims to examine AMR on Instagram (Meta Platforms), identifying key actors, content themes, and the nature of the communication to understand how AMR is portrayed and perceived.

Methods: Based on the sender-message-channel-receiver model, this study used content analysis to review publicly accessible posts on Instagram. The data refer to 24 months, focusing on the hashtag “#antibioticresistance.” After cleaning the data, 610 posts (10% of the total 6105) were analyzed.

Results: Content creators were predominantly information drivers or professionals in science and health. Posts frequently featured text-dominated visuals or images of bacteria and laboratory tests. However, the AMR posts were found to be siloed, with limited engagement beyond specific interest groups. The study highlighted the neutrality and accuracy of the content but noted the challenge of reaching a broader audience.

Conclusions: While Instagram serves as a platform for accurate and informative AMR communication, the post of it remains confined to niche groups, limiting its broader impact. To enhance engagement, AMR discussions should be integrated into more general interest content, use visually compelling formats, and encourage institutional participation and interactive user engagement.

The final chapter of the book provides the reader with a concise summary and integrated analysis of chapters ‘Performance and Fund Managers’ Expertise,’ ‘Searching for Expert Fund Managers,’ ‘Judgments and Decisions by Expert Fund Managers,’ ‘Individual Foresight and Fund Management Expertise,’ ‘Artificial Intelligence in Discretionary Fund Management,’ ‘Integrating ESG Information in Active Fund Management,’ and ‘Analysing Fund Managers’ Accountability.’ The focus lies on the insights gained from the individual chapters, as well as what can be learnt in general, contributing to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of fund management expertise. The chapter illustrates what fund management expertise is, how it is used and why it matters. It concludes by offering suggestions for future research as well as some practical implications.

Rural tourism has been emphasized as a highly prioritized sector by numerous countries due to its potential to retain and attract new inhabitants, create new jobs, and improve livelihoodsAU: Please note that per publisher requirement reference citation “UNWTO 2023” is not allowed in the abstract section. Hence, we have deleted the same in the abstract.. However, a significant challenge lies in the dual task of attracting tourists while preserving cultural heritage and mitigating the negative effects associated with tourism. Measuring and understanding the factors that determine a place’s attractiveness and the spatio-temporal behaviour of tourists in real-time can provide valuable insights into engaging tourists and identifying practices useful for preserving cultural heritage.

An important aspect of tourist engagement is its susceptibility to activities, encounters with various services, interactions with local communities, and landscape experiences. However, a majority of previous studies on tourist engagement have focused on post hoc survey-based data or online platforms. Despite the evident importance of geographical context in tourism, there remains a gap in tourism research regarding on-site real-time factors related to tourists’ spatiotemporal engagement and its impact on experienced value.

By integrating GPS trajectories and OpenStreetMap data with surveys, this chapter aims to explore how this method can capture tourists’ engagement and its effects on experienced value. By illustrating the implementation of this method in rural destinations, this chapter contributes to customer engagement research by exploring and depicting the nature of individuals’ spatiotemporal engagement in a destination and providing insights into how engagement influences value co-creation processes.

A large number of destinations around the world are struggling with the delicate balance of developing tourism and the hospitality industry in a sustainable way. The challenge for many destinations is to find a way forward, for existing and new jobs, to contribute to economic growth and for the preservation of the cultural heritage. At the same time, with more visitors there are increased risks of negative impact on society, the environment, and, not least, on the cultural heritage that for many visitors is a reason to travel. This anthology approaches the challenges facing tourism and the hospitality industry by emphasizing insights that can enable the necessary transition to sustainable visits. Through twelve chapters, experienced researchers from different disciplines discuss empirical studies of visits in the broad sense. Their analyses cover central themes in tourism and hospitality studies, i.e. tourism, destinations and destination management, host-guest relations, imageries, representation, and sustainability.

The aim of this paper is to provide new insights into the pre-merger phase of M&A. It examines capabilities of serial acquirers, that is, expertise and routines. This is done by conducting a study of two successful serial acquirers. The study identifies and describes what elements expertise and routines consist of and how they are related, explaining how both are needed for a successful pre-merger phase. Moreover, it consolidates present knowledge on expertise and routines in the pre-merger phase and adds new empirical and theoretical insights. The result is the pre-merger capability typology showing in a fine-grained manner which capabilities and elements are important. Arguably, the study provides a holistic view of acquisition capabilities of successful serial acquirers in the pre-merger phase.

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms survive exposure and proliferate in the presence of therapeutic levels of antimicrobial drugs. Because antimicrobial resistance is increasing, it is vital to encourage consumers to change and adopt smarter antibiotic behaviour. Despite World Health Organization's efforts to combat antibiotic resistance and their emphasis on the importance of public involvement, the role of consumers has been overlooked. The manifold responsibility for antibiotic resistance extends across different actors, including food retailers and consumers. Given this shared responsibility, a blame game arises and no action occurs. To overcome this status quo situation, we draw attention to the potential role of individual responsibility and social pressure to encourage consumers to adopt smart antibiotic behaviour but also to empower them. Conditions must be put in place to enable consumers' critical evaluation of the health-related and ethical aspects of their food choices. Such behaviour can be facilitated using digital innovations to support informed choices, in store and online.