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PurposeThis study expands the isomorphic logic on the participatory guarantee system (PGS) alternative certification method, which aims to level the supply chain sustainability field to determine how the alignment of disadvantaged agrifood stakeholders (e.g. small/applicant farmers, local organizations, consumers and volunteer auditors) might neutralize the negative effects of stakeholder heterogeneity (SH) on PGS recognition.Design/methodology/approachThe sample comprised 113 multilateral matching questionnaires collected from disadvantaged agrifood stakeholders participating in the PGS activities of the Green Conservation Label managed by Taiwan's Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation (TOAF). This study adopted hierarchical regression to test the hypotheses.FindingsStakeholder alignment, external community (EC) constructs, similar backgrounds (SBs) and value congruence (VC) diminish the negative effects of SH on PGS recognition.Social implicationsPGS is an agrifood supply chain social movement designed to allow underprivileged actors to enact solutions collectively to address social inequities and ecological problems through fair procedures, collective assignments and collaborative intentionality. PGS members who leverage VC, SB and EC will have a greater chance of successfully overcoming their institutional disadvantages.Originality/valueBased on the PGS activities initiated by disadvantaged agrifood stakeholders, this study transformed isomorphic logics, including coercive, mimetic and normative isomorphisms, into a mechanism with which individuals can build a governance structure that helps disadvantaged agrifood stakeholders develop alternative institutions by pooling their resources.

PurposeThe spatial and psychological distance within agri-food chains provides both profit and risk for supply chain members. Grounded on the transaction cost economics (TCE) and institutional theory (IT), the purpose of this paper is to test whether the adoption of multiple supply chains (MSCs), which adopt both traditional and shortened supply chains, can be used to manage uncertainty and mitigate the risk associated with a supply chain.Design/methodology/approachIn order to test the hypothesis, matched questionnaire surveys were developed to collect the data from farm managers and consumers. Completed questionnaires were received from 112 respondents. The hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test hypotheses.FindingsThe result shows the positive effects of environmental and behavioral uncertainties on MSC adoption and represents the diminished moderating effects of institutions (industrial and consumption tendency) on the relationship between uncertainties and MSA adoption.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only explored producers and their recommended consumers; future studies can undertake questionnaire designs (one producer-to-many consumers) and empirical analyses with analytic hierarchy process theory to reexamine the hypotheses proposed in this study.Practical implicationsMSC adoption is a way to manage uncertainties resulting from spatial and psychological distance in the supply chain. Producers and consumers show their risk preferences by SC adoption after considering pre-constructed societal norms. Therefore, the consumers' and producers' choice of a supply chain reflects a process of communicating risk. The adoption of a mixed governance mode (MSC adoption) and accessing information about common practices are two ways to decrease such uncertainties.Social implicationsThere are multiple goals (traceability, fairness, efficiency, well-being) in the food supply chain that may be satisfied by MSC adoption. Therefore, policymakers should understand the different values of various supply chains and facilitate the development of various supply chain modes.Originality/valueThis study integrated the undersocialized and oversocialized perspectives (TCE and IT) to understand how uncertainties of supply chains may be diminished. Based on these perspectives, it found that the adoption of the mixed governance mode and accessing of institutional information are two ways to decrease such uncertainties.

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate whether animation can help to improve the comprehension of universal healthcare symbols for middle-aged and older adults. Background The Hablamos Juntos (HJ) healthcare symbol system is a set of widely used universal healthcare symbols that were developed in the United States. Some studies indicated that HJ healthcare symbols are not well-understood by users in non-English-speaking areas. Other studies found that animations can improve users' comprehension of complex symbols. Thus, we wanted to test whether animation could help to improve users' comprehension of HJ symbols. Methods The participants included 40 middle-aged and 40 older adults in Taiwan. We redesigned the 12 HJ symbols into three visual formats—static, basic animation, and detailed animation—and compared them to find which best improved the participants' guessability scores. Results (1) Middle-aged adults' comprehension of static and basic animated symbols was significantly better than that of older adults, but there was no significant difference in the guessability scores between the two age groups in terms of detailed animated symbols; (2) In general, both basic animation and detailed animation significantly improved the guessability score, but the effect with detailed animation was significantly greater than that with basic animation; (3) Older women were more receptive to detailed animation and showed better guessing performance. Conclusion Detailed animation contains more details and provides a more complete explanation of the concept of the static symbols, helping to improve the comprehension of HJ symbols for middle-aged and older adult users. Application Our findings provide a reference for the possibility of new style symbol design in the digital and aging era, which can be applied to improve symbol comprehension.