bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does basic need satisfaction foster engagement by serving as a personal demand? A mediation model based on a self-determination perspective
Authors: Waqas Muhammad , Fatima Tehreem , Anjum Zafar Uz Zaman
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Taking job demand-resource (JD-R) and self-determination perspective, the current study focused to see how basic need satisfaction (BNS) – as a personal demand – impacts work engagement directly and indirectly through personal resource (i.e. self-efficacy). Moreover, the aim was to test the dimension-wise impact of BNS, i.e. the need for autonomy, need for belongingness and need for competence in the aforementioned relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is a time-lagged survey in which three-wave data of 398 white-collar employees were collected from the service and manufacturing sector of Pakistan through convenience sampling. Each wave of data collection was two months apart. The matched responses yielded an overall response rate of 66.33%. The collected responses were duly analysed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

Results of the study confirmed all direct and indirect hypotheses encompassing the impact of the combined BNS construct on work engagement via self-efficacy. Nonetheless, in the dimension-wise analysis, the indirect impact of the need for job autonomy on work engagement was not validated. This depicted that the need for competence and relatedness are more important predictors of work engagement through the self-efficacy path.

Originality/value

It has been observed that prior research on work engagement was mainly focused on the role of job demands (JDs) and personal resources; however, the role of personal demands along with personal resources has little been discussed. The authors tested the total as well as the specific impact of each component of basic need on work engagement making it possible to examine the total predicting role of basic need satisfaction and the specific contribution of satisfaction of each need on work engagement.
Unripe carob pods: an innovative source of antioxidant molecules for the preparation of high-added value gummies
Authors: Spizzirri U. Gianfranco , Caputo Paolino , Nicoletti Rosa , Crupi Pasquale , D'Ascenzo Fabrizio , Oliverio Rossi Cesare , Clodoveo Maria Lisa , Aiello Francesca , Restuccia Donatella
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to investigate unripe carob pod as a source of antioxidant molecules useful in the eco-friendly synthesis of a gelatin conjugate. This one was involved in the preparation of gummies able to produce remarkable human health benefits.

Design/methodology/approach

Eco-friendly strategies (ultrasound-assisted extraction, low temperatures and eco-friendly solvents) were employed in the extraction of active molecules. Antioxidant molecules were involved in the grafting reaction with gelatin chains (ascorbic acid/hydrogen peroxide couple as initiator system). Gelatin conjugate represents a useful material able to prepare gummies with remarkable rheological and antioxidant performances over time.

Findings

Experimental results confirmed that the green approach allowed the achievement of extracts with remarkable antioxidant properties due to the presence of phenolic moieties. Gelatin conjugate synthesis preserved these functionalities, usefully exploited in the preparation of gummies with significant structural and biological features.

Originality/value

Compared to the literature data the preparation of the gummies with outstanding biological properties was performed by employing functional gelatin synthesized by an eco-friendly approach.
MR.D.I.Y. “the Malaysian sweetheart”
Authors: Kheng Yeoh Khar , June Sethela
Published: July 2023

Learning outcomes

Upon completion, successful students will be able to examine the importance of digitalisation as a competitive tool in business management; use a suitable theory to justify the need for an organisation to engage in e-commerce; develop suitable strategies/solutions to challenges faced by a business organisation in the world of digitalisation of business; explain the way data analytics and digitalisation can affect business strategies and marketing functions; and identify and explain various considerations in the internationalisation of business.

Case overview/synopsis

MR.D.I.Y. “The Malaysian Sweetheart” is a case about a home improvement company that has transformed itself from a regular hardware shop into a favourite home improvement retailer in Malaysia. The case looked at the influence of e-commerce and digital transformation marks a rethinking of how an organisation uses technology, people and processes in pursuit of new business models and new revenue streams, driven by changes in customer expectations around products and services. Such transformation has indeed created opportunities and challenges for business organisation throughout the globe in their pursuit of staying competitive for MR.D.I.Y. even though they are considered the largest home improvement retailer in Malaysia. The case also introduces the students to the Uses and Gratification Theory that underpins the e-commerce business model. The management of the company is concerned about its future given the rising competition and gloomy economic conditions.

Complexity academic level

The target group for this case is undergraduate students. Specifically, it is suitable for those in the field of Entrepreneurship taking e-commerce/small business management/entrepreneurship courses. The main purpose of this case study is to assist students in critically examining how a small business evolved from a tiny neighbourhood shop to become a household name at the national level and eventually emerged as the largest home improvement company locally and abroad. Specifically, the case can be applied to topics like Retailing in Electronic Commerce, Innovative EC Systems, Social Commerce and Launching an Online Business, which all are related to the courses on E-Commerce, and this case is also suitable to any other contemporary business management module. Additionally, educators can use this teaching case as a tool in an executive programme for senior, middle and lower managers to shape their thoughts and attitudes toward managing a contemporary retailing business. With this case, it is hoped that students would be able to understand and decide wisely if they encounter similar circumstances in the future.

Supplementary material

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
CEO power and open innovation: evidence from China
Authors: Tan Manqing
Published: July 2023

Purpose

How to successfully drive open innovation (OI) has become an important issue. However, the existing literature on the determinants of OI focuses on organizational and situational factors, while the “human side” of it remains poorly understood. To address such problem, this paper examines the impact of two core qualities of CEOs – CEO power and social capital – on three representative OI modes from a micro-level perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the data of 4,213 firm-year observations from Chinese A-share listed companies. A panel logit model is used to test the hypotheses, and the author also uses clustering robust standard errors to ensure the robustness of the model.

Findings

A powerful CEO can drive the firm's adoption of technology, organization and market-oriented OI, and different types of social capital have a differential impact on such relationship. Specifically, the CEO's political social capital has a negative moderating effect, while his/her stronger business social capital can enhance the positive relationship between CEO power and various types of OI activities, as well as mitigate the negative effect of political social capital.

Originality/value

This paper echoes the call for more attention to be paid to the microfoundations of OI and provides theoretical implications for research on the convergence of OI and strategic leadership.
Integrating training for organizational sustainability: the application of Sustainable Development Goals globally
Authors: Bilderback Stephanie
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to emphasize integrating training for organizational sustainability with the United Nation’s (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It shows how SDGs can be included in the training, development programs and incentives to promote sustainable practices. It guides organizations to set long-term sustainability objectives to stay competitive and adapt to changing conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper conducts a review of the literature on the topic of integrating training for organizational sustainability with the SDGs. The research includes investigating the 17 SDGs and their specific areas of improvement, the benefits and challenges of integrating training for organizational sustainability with the SDGs and the best practices of organizations that have successfully integrated training for organizational sustainability with the SDGs.

Findings

The findings of this study were obtained through a systematic review of literature on the topics of human resource development, corporate social responsibility, organizational sustainability and the integration of training to promote sustainable and ethical behavior. A total of 36 articles were selected from a pool of 120 articles identified through a comprehensive search of electronic databases such as Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The selected articles were analyzed in detail, and information from the UN was also incorporated into the analysis. The review focused on examining the impact of integrating sustainability training with the SDGs on organizational sustainability. The results of this analysis suggest that integrating sustainability training with SDGs has a positive impact on organizations. This impact includes promoting sustainable practices, improving employee satisfaction and productivity, reducing environmental impact and enhancing the organization’s reputation. The study found that regular progress reviews and long-term objectives are essential for organizations to remain competitive and adapt to changes.

Originality/value

This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the 17 SDGs and how they can be integrated with training for organizational sustainability. It provides practical guidance for organizations on effectively incorporating the SDGs into their training and development programs, performance evaluations and incentives. The paper also includes case studies and best practices of organizations that have successfully integrated training for organizational sustainability with the SDGs, making it an original and valuable resource for organizations looking to promote sustainable practices within their operations.
Challenges in identifying studies to include in a systematic literature review: an analysis of the organizational growth and decline topics
Authors: Dantas Ricardo , Fleck Denise
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to check the fragmentation of knowledge across multiple sources of evidence, identifying, scrutinizing and outlining suggestions concerning the challenges researchers face when using multiple sources of data to identify studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This study produced a comprehensive database of 15,848 items from Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO on the organizational growth and decline topics. The analyses carried out to check the fragmentation of scientific knowledge and the challenges in identifying studies have made use of the basic data frame functions in R’s language and the Bibliometrix and Corpus R’s packages.

Findings

This study confirms the fragmentation of scientific knowledge as well as it identifies the following challenges: missing information in key fields, nonexistence of standards in terminology, limitations on data extraction, duplicates and multiple formats of cited reference. Additionally, it suggests practical coping procedures and advances implications for stakeholders and an agenda for future research.

Originality/value

This study provides valuable and practical examples with empirical confirmation of scientific knowledge fragmentation and offers an integrated view of many challenges in the process of identifying studies. Moreover, by offering suggestions to address these challenges, this study not only offers a practical guide to scientific researchers but also initiates a wider discussion regarding knowledge organizing in social sciences.
An analysis of differences in behaviors and practices of security-conscious users and regular users on mobile devices
Authors: Mujeye Stephen
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the differences in security-conscious (group A) and regular (group B) users’ behaviors and practices on mobile devices.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was used to investigate the differences in behaviors and practices of security-conscious users (group A) and regular users (group B) on mobile devices. Each group will have 50 participants for a total of 100.

Findings

The analysis revealed differences in the behaviors and practices of security-conscious and regular users. The results indicated that security-conscious users engage in behaviors and practices that are more secure on mobile devices when compared with regular users.

Research limitations/implications

The results will help recommend the best behaviors and practices for mobile device users, increasing mobile device security.

Social implications

The results will help society to be more aware of security behaviors and practices on mobile devices.

Originality/value

This study answers the call for addressing the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in mobile device security. It develops a research instrument to measure the differences in behaviors and practices of security-conscious and regular mobile device users.
SERVQUAL model with extended variables of safety awareness and energy conservation: impact on consumer satisfaction with mediating and moderating effect
Authors: Bhojak Nimesh P. , Modi Ashwin , Momin Mohammadali
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the impact of service quality, as measured by the SERVQUAL model with extended variables of safety awareness and energy conservation, on consumer satisfaction. It also explores the mediating effect of energy conservation and the moderating effect of consumer residence of electricity on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a quantitative research approach, with data collected from 1,004 respondents through a questionnaire from the household consumers of UGVCL. The survey measures service quality using the SERVQUAL model with the additional variables of safety awareness and energy conservation. The data is analyzed using structural equation modeling, mediation and moderation to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that service quality, safety awareness and energy conservation all have a positive impact on consumer satisfaction expect responsiveness. Energy conservation also mediates the relationship between service quality and satisfaction, indicating that when consumers perceive higher service quality, they are more likely to conserve energy and thereby increase their satisfaction. Additionally, the moderating effect of consumer residence of electricity shows that the impact of service quality and safety awareness on satisfaction is stronger for consumers living in areas with higher electricity rates.

Originality/value

The paper lies in its investigation of the impact of service quality on consumer satisfaction using the SERVQUAL model, with the inclusion of two additional variables, safety awareness and energy conservation. Furthermore, this study examines the mediating effect of energy conservation and the moderating effect of consumer residence of electricity on the relationship between service quality and consumer satisfaction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to incorporate these variables in examining the relationship between service quality and consumer satisfaction in the context of energy services. Therefore, this study offers a novel contribution to the existing literature on service quality and consumer satisfaction.
What's in a name? Exploring the intellectual structure of social finance
Authors: Carè Rosella , Weber Olaf
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This paper offers a bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature on social finance. It provides an overview of the research field by identifying gaps in the existing academic literature and presenting future research directions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses co-word analysis and visualization mapping techniques.

Findings

This study's findings show that the social finance research field comprises five main research clusters and four main research hotspots—impact investing, social entrepreneurship, social impact bonds, and social innovation—which represent the core of this research domain. The authors also identify the researchers and the research institutions that have contributed to the development of social finance. In addition, emerging research areas are mapped and discussed.

Originality/value

Compared with most previous literature reviews, this work provides a more complete and objective analysis of the entire social finance landscape by revealing the trends and evolving dynamics that characterize its development. To this end, clear terminological boundaries have not yet been established in social finance. The field appears immature because only a few researchers have contributed to it, and papers have yet to be published by top finance journals. Finally, the findings of this research provide directions for future studies.
Inner knowledge management, an innovative model for managers and decision makers
Authors: de la Flor Irina , Sarabia Maria , Crecente Fernando , del Val Maria Teresa
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study seeks to enhance productivity, motivation and well-being of workers by improving decision-making processes. Using inner knowledge management (IKM), this study aims to identify, manage and transform unconscious beliefs and negative emotions that limit decision-making processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology used is empirical research, analyzing multiple cases qualitatively and using the T-test statistical model to analyze the hypotheses. The study tests the relation between different limiting beliefs and negative emotions that influence decision-making processes.

Findings

This study shows that IKM is positively related to the productivity, motivation and well-being of workers.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to workers who are mentally healthy, who work in teams and who seek professional help to achieve their goals.

Practical implications

The results indicate that there is a lot of potential to be explored applying IKM in companies and organizations. Specifically, this study proves that there are several inner knowledge assets that constrain the workers’ potential and therefore affect the efficiency of businesses.

Social implications

The results have strong implications for how companies and organizations can create great value for themselves and their workers.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first data-based study using an IKM model. The importance of this study opens the door to further exploration of the effects on IKM on productivity, motivation and the general well-being of workers.
Climate-related corporate reporting and cost of equity capital
Authors: Nguyen Tam Huy , Yang Yue , Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy , Nguyen Lien Thi Huong
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to examine the reaction of stakeholders (i.e. capital providers) to climate-related corporate reporting. Climate-related corporate reporting is captured by the level of voluntary carbon disclosure, while the recognition and appreciation of capital providers are captured through the cost of equity capital (COE).

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a sample including the 350 largest companies by market capitalization on the London Stock Exchange, UK (FTSE350) from 2015 to 2019. The authors use fixed-effects regression models to examine the effect of climate-related corporate reporting on the COE.

Findings

This study finds that voluntary carbon disclosure proxied by carbon disclosure score is negatively associated with COE. This suggests that firms’ superior quality disclosure of carbon information could contribute to a lower COE. This implies that the market and stakeholders positively appreciate the involvement in climate-related reporting by businesses.

Originality/value

The finding provides insights to regulators, investors and other stakeholders in terms of the positive economic implication of actively engaging in reducing climate change impact through voluntary carbon disclosure. These findings also motivate corporates to be proactively involved in climate-related reporting by extending the quality of carbon information disclosure.
Knowledge rejection: a microfoundation-based framework
Authors: Montgomery Nicolle , Michailova Snejina , Husted Kenneth
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to adopt the microfoundation perspective to investigate undesirable knowledge rejection by individuals in organizations in the context of counterproductive knowledge behavior (CKB). The paper advances a conceptual framework of the conditions of knowledge rejection by individuals and their respective knowledge rejection behavior types.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviews the limited literature on knowledge rejection and outline a set of antecedents leading to rejecting knowledge as well as a set of different types of knowledge rejection behaviors. This study reviews and synthesizes articles on knowledge rejection from a microfoundation perspective.

Findings

The proposed conceptual framework specifies four particular conditions for knowledge rejection and outlines four respective knowledge rejection behavior types resulting from these conditions. Recipients’ lack of capacity leads to ineptitude, lack of motivation leads to dismissal of knowledge, lack of alignment with the source leads to disruption and doubts about the validity of external knowledge lead to resistance. The authors treat these behaviors as variants of CKB, as they can hinder the productive use of knowledge resources in the organization.

Research limitations/implications

Further investigation of both knowledge rejection causes and the resulting knowledge rejection behaviors will ensure a more thorough grasp of the relationships between them, both in terms of the inherent nature of these relationships and their dynamics that would likely be context-sensitive. Although this study focuses only on the individual level, future studies can conduct multi-level analyses of undesirable knowledge rejection, including team and organizational levels.

Practical implications

Practitioners can use the framework to identify, diagnose and manage knowledge rejection more meaningfully, accurately and purposefully in their organizations. This study offers valuable insights for managers facing undesirable knowledge rejection, and provides recommendations on how to address this behavior, improves the constructive use of knowledge resources and the effectiveness of knowledge processes in their organizations. Managers should be aware of undesirable knowledge rejection, its potential cost or concealed cost to their organizations and develop strategies to reduce or prevent it.

Originality/value

The paper contributes toward understanding the relatively neglected topic of knowledge rejection in the knowledge management field and offers a new way of conceptualizing the phenomenon. It proposes that there are two types of knowledge rejection – undesirable and desirable – and advances a more precise and up-to-date definition of undesirable knowledge rejection. Responding to calls for more research on CKBs, the study examines a hitherto unresearched behavior of knowledge rejection and provides a foundation for further study in this area.
Empowering and directive leadership and taking charge: a moderating role of employee intrinsic motivation
Authors: Kim Seckyoung Loretta , Yun Seokhwa , Cheong Minyoung
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the associations among different leadership styles and employees' taking charge. Applying Person–Environment (P-E) fit theory, the current study further explores employees' intrinsic motivation as an important individual factor that possibly moderates the hypothesized relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

In this field study, 212 supervisor–employee matched multi-source data were collected from multiple organizations located in South Korea. Data were analyzed with multiple hierarchical regression.

Findings

Empowering leadership is positively related to employees' taking charge, whereas directive leadership is negatively associated with it. Results of the current study further support that intrinsically motivated employees exhibit more taking charge when their leader shows empowering leadership but reduce their taking charge when their leader demonstrates directive leadership.

Research limitations/implications

The current empirical results could not infer causality due to a cross-sectional research design.

Practical implications

Organizations should develop and embrace empowering leadership if the employees' self-started and change-oriented behavior, taking charge, is particularly critical to fostering organizational effectiveness.

Originality/value

This study extends the literature on leadership and employee proactivity by examining different leadership styles as predictors of employees' taking charge. Based on the current study results, empowering leadership could work as a facilitator and directive leadership as a barrier to employees' taking charge.
Factors affecting the resilience of subway operations under emergencies – using improved DEMATEL model
Authors: Bu Zehui , Liu Jicai , Zhang Xiaoxue
Published: July 2023

Purpose

Subway systems are highly susceptible to external disturbances from emergencies, triggering a series of consequences such as the paralysis of the internal network transportation functions, causing significant economic and safety losses to cities. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the factors affecting the resilience of the subway system to reduce the impact of disaster incidents.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the interval type-2 fuzzy linguistic term set and the K-medoids clustering algorithm, this paper improves the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method to construct a subway resilience factor analysis model for emergencies. Through comparative analysis, this study confirms the superior performance of the proposed approach in enhancing the precision of the DEMATEL method.

Findings

The results indicate that the operation and management level of emergency command organizations is the key resilience factors of subway operations in China. Furthermore, based on real case analyses, the corresponding suggestions and measures are put forward to improve the overall operation resilience level of the subway.

Originality/value

This paper identifies four emergency scenarios and 15 resilience factors affecting subway operations through literature review and expert consultation. The improved fuzzy DEMATEL method is applied to explore the levels of influence and causal mechanisms among the resilience factors of the subway system under the four emergency scenarios.
The nexus between servant leadership and employee's creative deviance for creativity inside learning and performance goal-oriented organizations
Authors: Kumar Nilesh , Jin Yanghua , Liu Zhiqiang
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study, based on motivated information processing theory and theories of leadership (contingency and functional), investigates how servant leadership (SL) could be an effective leadership style for employee creative deviance engagement (CDE) to foster radical (RC) and incremental creativity (IC) in two different goal-oriented organizations: learning (LGO) and performance (PGO) goal-oriented organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed descriptive and comparative approaches and surveyed two sources (leaders and team members). Using multi-source data involving 486 LGO-based and 498 PGO-based employee–supervisor dyads from 104 LGO-based and 104 PGO-based high-tech firms in China, the authors distinguish comparative support for assumed hypotheses by using the Monte Carlo simulation technique for the indirect effects and Mplus for multilevel path analysis.

Findings

The study outcomes found that SL transmits the effects of employee CDE directly and nurtures RC and IC indirectly. It identified that an organization's LGO strengthens the direct and indirect relationships between SL and creativity via employee's CDE when the organization's LGO is high. However, an organization's PGO strengthens the direct relationship when it's low and strengthens the indirect link between SL and IC when it's high. In addition, the organization's PGO demonstrated an insignificant effect on the indirect relationship between SL and RC.

Originality/value

This study is the first to verify SL as the specific leadership style for responding employee's CDE and identify its distinctive effects on RC and IC. Additionally, there has been no effort to associate SL with employee's CDE for nurturing distinctive types of creativity under the different organizational dispositions (LGO and PGO).
Learning experience of accounting students during the COVID-19 pandemic: West Papuan perspectives of online learning in Indonesia
Authors: Safkaur Otniel , Blesia Jhon Urasti , Matani Cornelia , Patma Kurniawan , Sesa Pascalina
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to examine the learning experiences of indigenous West Papuan students studying accounting in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was taken with 25 indigenous accounting students at five universities in the region who shared testimonies of their online learning experiences. The interview data collected were analysed using initial and selective coding and then interpreted under several themes.

Findings

The paper shows the personal, faculty and external challenges in indigenous students’ learning activities during university closures because of COVID-19. The interrelated challenges included students’ struggles to adapt their learning habits when using various online applications, difficulties in understanding how the faculty managed lectures, tutorials and evaluations without adequate access to learning materials, the lack of a learning infrastructure, issues with equipment, and obtaining internet data credits. Students’ economic struggles and health issues exacerbated these challenges. While enduring various struggles and being frustrated about their future, all students expected a change in offline learning policies by the government to lessen their strict physical distancing.

Research limitations/implications

The findings can inform the importance of integrating accounting students’ learning challenges and needs into curriculum development.

Originality/value

This study highlights the learning challenges of indigenous accounting students during the COVID-19 pandemic and how approaches to online learning need to consider the experience of these students.
Earnings management, market liquidity and capital access of seasoned equity firms in a transition economy
Authors: Le Ben , Reddy Nischala , Moore Paula Hearn
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This study aims to examine the effects of market liquidity on earnings management (EM) of seasoned equity offering (SEO) firms considering external capital access.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a panel data set of 158 Vietnamese SEO firms from 2007 to 2019. Both real and accrual EM measures are analysed. The study uses two proxies for market liquidity: stock turnover (the ratio of total shares traded over the year divided by total shares outstanding for the year) and high–low spread (estimated following Corwin and Schultz [2012]) and fixed-effects panel and two-stage least squares regression in the analysis.

Findings

Firms with high (low) market liquidity report low (high) EM, and the result is robust after controlling for endogeneity. The results hold for both real and accrual-based EM for both market liquidity proxies. However, the results are robust only for firms with low external capital access and non-state-owned companies. The authors find a negative market reaction to earnings manipulation.

Practical implications

This study’s findings help policymakers, investors and managers make better decisions regarding SEO firms and reduce the risk of inaccurate information due to EM.

Originality/value

Among the few studies that test the influence of market liquidity on EM, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effect of market liquidity on EM in the context of SEO firms considering the impact of capital access.
Sustainable supply chain management in a global context: the perspective of emerging economy suppliers
Authors: Pereira Michele Morais O. , Hendry Linda C. , Silva Minelle E. , Bossle Marilia Bonzanini , Antonialli Luiz Marcelo
Published: July 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how the extant literature on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) empirically explores the perspective of emerging economy suppliers operating in global supply chains (GSCs). It thereby explains the role of emerging economy suppliers in determining the success of SSCM.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review of 41 empirical papers (published between 2007 and 2021) was conducted, involving both descriptive and thematic analyses.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that emerging economy suppliers have a key role in SSCM, given their use of positive feedback loops to proactively create remedies to surpass barriers using their collaboration mechanisms, and exploit authentic sustainability outcomes as reinforcements to drive further sustainability initiatives. The authors also demonstrate that suppliers are particularly focused on the cultural and institutional dimensions of sustainability. Finally, the authors provide an explanatory analytical framework to reduce the institutional distance between buyers and their global suppliers.

Research limitations/implications

This review identifies avenues for future research on the role of emerging economy suppliers in SSCM.

Practical implications

Recognising remedies to surpass barriers and reinforcements to drive new actions can aid SSCM in GSCs and improve understanding between buyers and suppliers.

Social implications

The valorisation of cultural and institutional issues can lead to more responsible supplier interactions and improved sustainability outcomes in emerging economies.

Originality/value

This review only analyses the viewpoint of emerging economy suppliers, whereas prior SSCM reviews have focused on the buyer perspective. Thus, the authors reduce supplier invisibility and institutional distance between GSC participants.
Inversion for eigenvalues of focal region's elasticity tensor from a moment tensor
Authors: Diner Çağrı
Published: July 2023

In this paper, a new geometric inversion method is proposed for obtaining the elastic parameters of an anisotropic focal regions More precisely, the eigenvalues of a vertical transversely isotropic elasticity tensor of a focal region are inverted up to a constant for a given only one moment tensor with the accuracy depending on the strength of anisotropy. The reason for using only one moment tensor is that although there might occur several earthquakes in the same focal region, the orientation of the sources is similar to each other. Hence, one cannot obtain independent equations from each earthquake in order to use them in the inversion of elastic parameters of the focal region. Moreover, this method can be applied for real‐time inversion once the moment tensor of an earthquake is evaluated. The inversion method relies on the geometric fact that a moment tensor can be written as a linear combination of the eigenvectors of the anisotropic focal region's elasticity tensor. Then, in the inversion, we use the fact that each coefficient of this unique decomposition is proportional to the eigenvalues of the focal region's elasticity tensor. Two approximations are used in this inversion method, in particular for the potency and the source orientations. The strength of anisotropy of the focal region determines how accurate these approximations are, and, hence, it also determines the resolutions of the inverted eigenvalues. Because of the anisotropy of the focal region, the errors in the inversion do depend on orientations of the dip and rake angles but not on the strike angle since the focal region is vertically transversely isotropic. The accuracy of the inversion for the five parameters of vertical transversely isotropic is shown for every 10°‐gridded orientation of the dip and rake angles on the stereographic projection. The results are very promising along some orientations as shown in the figures. The last section of the paper deals with the inversion of eigenvalues, up to a constant, for a given set of moment tensors; not by using only one moment tensor. It turns out that the best fit corresponds to the average of inversions obtained for different orientations of the sources.
Conservation agriculture affects multitrophic interactions driving the efficacy of weed biological control
Authors: Carbonne B. , Muneret L. , Laurent E. , Felten E. , Ducourtieux C. , Henon N. , Matejicek A. , Chauvel B. , Petit S.
Published: July 2023

Biological control is a key ecosystem service in arable lands, but its effectiveness varies according to environmental and biotic contexts. Cascading interactions between several trophic levels can affect natural enemies and their efficacy.

Here, we analysed how multitrophic interactions drive weed seed control under contrasting farming systems and landscapes. In particular, we analyse how the presence of higher‐order predators and alternative prey affects the weed seed consumption by seed predators. We monitored 30 cereal fields organised into 15 pairs, each comprising one conventional and one conservation agriculture field, sampled along a gradient of proportion of conservation agriculture in the landscape.

We found that local and landscape management under conservation agriculture favours the presence of seed predators like carabids and rodents, higher‐order predators like shrews and alternative animal prey. Weed seed predation is promoted by conservation agriculture through an increase in the number of seed predators. However, alternative animal prey reduces the efficacy of carabids to consume seeds, probably due to a prey‐switching behaviour. Similarly, shrews negatively affect the activity‐density of carabids, resulting in an indirect negative effect on seed predation.

Synthesis and applications: Our study highlights that the implementation of conservation agriculture can improve the provision of biological control but the resulting effect may be partially limited by the increased complexity of trophic interactions. The different trophic levels respond to local management and/or the surrounding landscape with cascading effects on the delivery of weed control. Our study highlights the importance of considering not only the direct effects of seed predators, but also the indirect effects of higher‐order predators and alternative prey when predicting the level of weed biological control.
Broadband use and trade facilitation: Impacts on bilateral trade of sub‐Saharan countries
Authors: Billon Margarita , Rodríguez‐Andrés Antonio , Rodríguez‐Crespo Ernesto
Published: July 2023

This paper investigates the direct and combined impacts of trade facilitation and information and communication technology (ICT) on bilateral flows of 25 sub‐Saharan countries. For that purpose, we select time to export and import as specific trade facilitation indicators and broadband use to study ICT impacts. Our sample covers a total of 93 countries over the period 2004–2018. By preprocessing data analysis, we impute time costs missing values, an essential shortcoming of the available databases, to study trade facilitation over time. Lastly, we employ a gravity model and implement a Bonus Vetus Estimation. Our results show that broadband use exerts a positive and significant effect on trade, especially relevant for intra‐African trade flows. Furthermore, the combined effects indicate that broadband also modulates the negative impacts of time to export and time to import in the case of intra‐SSA countries' trade. The more significant result is found for time to export. Our results also confirm that time costs are not only particularly harmful to intra‐African trade but also negatively impact trade flows from SSA countries to the rest of the world. These outcomes show the importance of coordinating trade facilitation and digital transformation policies, particularly those devoted to digitally transforming African customs.
Mitigation strategies for excessive cadmium in rice
Authors: Song Jun , Song Qiuchi , Wang Dong , Liu Yonghong
Published: July 2023

Cadmium (Cd)‐contaminated rice is a human food safety problem that lacks a clear solution. A large amount of rice having an excessive Cd content is processed yearly, but it cannot be discarded and placed in landfills because it will cause secondary pollution. How do we best cope with this toxic rice? From the perspectives of food safety, food waste prevention, and human hunger eradication, the use of contemporary physical, chemical, and biological techniques to lower the Cd content in postharvest Cd‐contaminated rice so that it can be used safely is the best course of action. In this review, the contamination, chemical speciation, and distribution of Cd in rice are analyzed and discussed, as are the methods of Cd removal from rice, including a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of various techniques. Owing to the limitations of current technology, research and technological development recommendations for removing Cd from rice grain are presented. The chemical and biological methods produce higher Cd‐removal rates than physical methods. However, they are limited to small‐scale laboratory applications and cannot be applied on a large industrial scale. For the efficient safe removal of Cd from food, mixed fermentation with lactic acid bacteria and yeast has good application prospects. However, limited strains having high Cd‐removal rates have been screened. In addition, modern biotechnology has rarely been applied to reduce rice Cd levels. Therefore, applying genetic engineering techniques to rapidly obtain microorganisms with high Cd‐removal rates in rice should be the focus of future research.
Zebrafish as model organisms for toxicological evaluations in the field of food science
Authors: Hou Yingyu , Liu Xixia , Qin Yanlin , Hou Yaoyao , Hou Jianjun , Wu Qin , Xu Wentao
Published: July 2023

Food safety has long been an area of concern. The selection of stable and efficient model organisms is particularly important for food toxicology studies. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are small model vertebrates, and 70% of human genes have at least one zebrafish ortholog. Zebrafish have advantages as model organisms due to their short life cycle, strong reproductive ability, easy rearing, and low cost. Zebrafish embryos have the advantage of being sensitive to the breeding environment and thus have been used as biosensors. Zebrafish and their embryos have been widely used for food toxicology assessments. This review provides a systematic and comprehensive summary of food toxicology studies using zebrafish as model organisms. First, we briefly introduce the multidimensional mechanisms and structure–activity relationship studies of food toxicological assessment. Second, we categorize these studies according to eight types of hazards in foods, including mycotoxins, pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, food additives, nanoparticles, and other food‐related ingredients. Finally, we list the applications of zebrafish in food toxicology studies in line with future research prospects, aiming to provide a valuable reference for researchers in the field of food science.
Food Technology Neophobia Scales in cross‐national context: Consumers’ acceptance of food technologies between Chinese and New Zealand
Authors: Wang Ke , Cong Lei , Mirosa Miranda , Hou Yakun , Bremer Phil
Published: July 2023

An increasing number of novel food technologies have been developed to meet consumers’ growing desire for safe and high‐quality foods. However, consumers can be cautious of novel food technologies, and their acceptance cannot be guaranteed. Food Technology Neophobia Scales (FTNS) have been proven to be an effective tool to predict consumers’ behavior toward novel food technologies in a range of individual countries, but not for cross‐national contexts. To fill the gap, this study designed a survey involving 604 Chinese and 614 New Zealand respondents, investigating the influence of consumers’ food technology neophobia (FTN) on their acceptance of food technologies. Chinese respondents’ FTNS score (50.62) was lower than that of New Zealand respondents (55.02), which was in line with the finding that Chinese respondents’ acceptance of all tested food technologies was higher than New Zealand respondents (0.34–0.86 in a Likert‐7 scale). Chinese respondents’ acceptance was determined by their perception of benefits, whereas New Zealand respondents were influenced by their perception of both benefits and risks. The findings conclude that FTNS is a valid tool to reflect consumers’ acceptance of novel food technologies in cross‐national contexts, although the influence of FTN varies among consumers from different countries.

Practical Application

China has the largest food market, and New Zealand is a leading food exporter. Understanding their consumers’ acceptance of and attitudes toward food technologies will help food companies implement appropriate strategies in developing and using novel technologies. Because FTNS first was constructed in 2008, it has been applied in Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, Korea, China, Chile, Brazil, and Uganda; the findings of this study will allow these individual studies on FTNS to better connect, help food companies predict consumer acceptance of food technologies in the global market, and help them identify early adopters of novel food technologies in new food markets.