Background
Methods
Study design
Parent themes and subthemes | Definitions |
---|---|
Prior conditions | All prior experiences, perceptions and attitudes that can shape the organization’s knowledge about the EWC and persuade them to adopt it |
Previous practice
| Any organizational experiences that can help create knowledge about the EWC |
Innovativeness
| The organization’s perception of the EWC as a new idea |
Norms of the social system
| Perceptions of practices and behaviors that the organization is expected to conduct in relation to the EWC. These norms are set by the organizations’ social network (peers, clients, public, audience, etc.) |
Perceived need or problem
| The recognition of the organization’s internal need or problem that can be addressed by adopting the EWC |
Characteristics of the adoptera
| Any characteristic of the decision making unit (i.e. organization) that will shape their knowledge and attitudes towards the EWC |
Communication behaviour
| Descriptors of the organizations’ internal and external communication style, habits, exposure to media and involvement in social and public networks |
Personality variables
| Human personality characteristics perceived to be associated with or attributed to the organization |
Characteristics of the innovationb
| Characteristics of the EWC perceived by the organizations that may persuade them to adopt it |
Compatibility
| The perception by organizations that the EWC is consistent with their existing values, practices, experiences or needs |
Complexity
| The perception by organizations that the EWC is difficult to understand or implement |
Relative advantages
| The perception by organizations that the EWC is better than potential alternatives and can be measured in terms of benefits |
Data collection
Data analysis
Results
Adoption of the EWC by cross-sector partners and decision making context
“I think we kinda assumed that we had to do it, like it wasn’t an option to not do it is the way I saw it, because, well it’s a retailer campaign and we’re a big retailer so we wouldn’t really not do it, I guess.” - Food retailer
Description of the participating organizations and their roles
Characteristic | Frequency (n) | Percent (%) |
---|---|---|
Type of partnerb
| ||
Retail food industry (retailers and retail associations) | 8 | 44 |
Communications (media, advertising, and spokespeople) | 6 | 33 |
Health organizations (NGO, provincial and territorial) | 4 | 22 |
Perceived type of relationship | ||
Paid contractor | 6 | 33 |
Unpaid volunteer (in-kind) | 2 | 11 |
Cost-sharing collaborator | 6 | 33 |
Both paid-contractor and cost-sharing collaborator | 1 | 6 |
No response | 3 | 17 |
Head office locationa, b
| ||
West Coast or Prairies | 3 | 17 |
Central Canada | 12 | 67 |
Maritimes or Far North | 3 | 17 |
Regional activitya, b
| ||
National | 7 | 39 |
Most Provinces and Territories | 2 | 11 |
West Coast and Prairies | 2 | 11 |
Central Canada | 4 | 22 |
Maritimes or Far North | 3 | 17 |
Active outside of Canada | ||
Yes | 3 | 17 |
No | 15 | 83 |
Organizational size | ||
Small (fewer than 50 employees) | 2 | 11 |
Medium (between 50 and 250 employees) | 2 | 11 |
Large (over 250 employees) | 14 | 78 |
Congruency of organizational mission with healthy eating or healthy lifestyles | ||
Yes | 14 | 78 |
No | 3 | 17 |
No answer | 1 | 6 |
“Well I think that because Health Canada was funding the development of the artwork and they helped fund a lot of base costs and then we also paid for production and materials and distribution and, you know, added support and staff and that type of thing. So it was a jointly funded program.” – Food retailer
“We weren’t just diffusers; we were real partners in this cause.” - Media
“Our role was to translate the message from Health Canada into a more accessible form for average people and families at home to give them recipes, to inspire them and to really get them on the right path to making better food choices for their families.” - Media
Prior conditions: previous practice
“We had worked with them before, you know we had that already… the relationship developed, and so we didn’t have to worry about worrying, you know about things like oh, how will they react or whatever, like we knew what to expect from them.” - Media
Prior conditions: innovativeness
“I felt that they were messages that I’ve seen a million times before delivered through other campaigns by other organizations. I didn’t think it was unique to Health Canada, you know.” - Food retailer
“Oh! Yeah, I think that, again it’s the collaboration that was unique about this - multiple retailers all at once communicating a message.” – Food retailer
Prior condition: norms of the social system
“Well, it was a campaign that brought together the majority of retailers, you know. So, we knew that our competitors would probably be participating and we didn’t want be left out.” – Food retailer
Prior conditions: perceived need or problem
“The important part is for us to raise awareness about healthy eating. […] food is very much a part of our culture, and historically some of our choices are not what we would consider healthy.” – Health organization
Characteristics of adopters: communication behavior
“It would take me like hours to tell you about all the things that we do in community to teach kids how to eat healthy. You know from getting out, going to schools and having kids coming to our schools and hiring dietitians to talk to kids” – Food retailer
Characteristics of the adopter: personality variables
“A core essence of what we’re about is helping Canadians […], and so a program that helps support our overall arching objective of helping people to understand that direct relationship between the food they eat and how they feel and how they live is a benefit.” – Food retailer
“We felt also that Health Canada had a very strong message but they also didn’t really have, you know, a huge budget to accomplish this. So, if this was not Health Canada, for us it probably wouldn’t have been worth our while, but we wanted to make the effort because we think that it’s a good message […] So, we really made an effort to, you know, meet all the requirements they had.” - Media
Characteristics of the innovation: compatibility
“Because we are a media company […] our mandate is to entertain and not really to educate the public on healthy lifestyles. It’s a cause that we consider important, that we think is noble like I mentioned before, but this doesn’t mean that it’s a cause that our organization supports systematically.” - Media
“Just tips for families ‘cause that’s really our demographic right, it’s families that are on the run and on the go and… So the campaigns really seemed to fit with the timing.” – Food retailer
“So, it’s a lot of work goes into, you know. I’m the type… I don’t just wanna take a poster and stick it up on a wall.” – Food retailer
Characteristics on the innovation: complexity
“I initially I found it hard to sort of understand what they were trying to accomplish. And maybe it was because, you know, you’ve got the big forum and the big conference call and that and that’s where I found that it was hard to understand at the very beginning as to what exactly what they were doing and maybe I wasn’t in the ground level to really understand and that’s what my perception was.” – Food retailer
Characteristics of the innovation: relative advantages
“Well I think it’s partnering with a credible organization, so we are trying… like our goal is to demonstrate to our customers that we are committed to health and wellness. And, by partnering with a credible organization like Health Canada, it’s… you know, positive for us.” – Food retailer
“Yeah, I think a coordinated effort is certainly preferred as opposed to… you know we may not have gotten involved as an individual company in the Eat Well Campaign specifically, just because we have lot of other things going on as well in the same areas as far as communicating health messages. So, that was an important part of it.” – Food retailer
“It is healthy lifestyles, after all. It’s a great cause. It’s understood that yes, there is revenue coming in, there is an advertising investment associated with this, but we always prefer to work on projects like this one, in partnership, when it’s a good cause.” - Media
“Whenever we do a program like this, we don’t just offer it to the customers. We also send it out to all of our employees as well” – Food retailer
“Right, because often times vendors will pay money to be in your flyer. So, you know, if you take away products that you’re gonna make money on to put in an Eat Well Campaign, that you don’t know if you’re gonna make any money on, then, you know, that would be one of the challenges.” - Retailer