bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Achieving operational excellence through the lens of lean and Six Sigma during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Muhammad Noor , Upadhyay Arvind , Kumar Anil , Gilani Hasan 
Published: February 2022

PurposeThis article shows operational excellence achieved during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic using the Lean, Six Sigma and Sustainability practices in small medium enterprise (SME) manufacturing firms and its impact on the performance dimensions of efficiency, growth and profit for firms located in the industrial zones of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative methodology was used and data were collected from a sample of top-level managers from 28 SME manufacturing firms located in the five industrial zones in Pakistan. A total of 62 questionnaires were included in the study.FindingsThe findings show that awareness levels of Lean, Six Sigma and Sustainability are emerging, and firms are trying to implement these concepts. However, the results show that while Lean and Six Sigma enhance firms’ performance in terms of efficiency, profit and growth, sustainability has no impact on these three performance dimensions.Research limitations/implicationsThe quantitative data of a sample of 28 manufacturing firms inevitably present limitations on the generalizability of this work. Future research could employ greater quantitative data to explore the topic further. Only one particular country is studied so that future research could be carried out in other countries or regions.Practical implicationsThis study may have value for policymakers and other stakeholders who need to know more about how Lean, Six Sigma and Sustainability affect a firm’s performance in industrial zones in the context of a developing country.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to knowledge in the field by integrating Lean, Six Sigma and Sustainability with firms’ performance during the COVID-19 pandemic by assessing efficiency, growth and profit dimensions where otherwise no empirical research has been undertaken in the Pakistani context.
Emotions for attention in online consumer reviews: the moderated mediating role of review helpfulness
Authors: Xu DaPeng , Ye Qiang , Hong Hong , Sun Fangfang 
Published: February 2022

PurposeWith the increasing importance of e-commerce to the economy and people's lives, user-generated content, such as electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) represented by online reviews, has exploded. On one hand, it is of great significance for review consumers (readers) to identify high-quality ones from a large number of existing reviews to assist their purchase decision. On the other hand, how to use appropriate strategies to make their published reviews more concerned by others is also important to review generators (reviewers). The purpose of this study is to understand the comprehensive relationship among review characteristics, review helpfulness and receiver attention.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the online movie reviews obtained from the most popular review platform in China to conduct multiple empirical analyses.FindingsThe results show that the review helpfulness plays a mediating role between the emotional characteristics of online reviews and the receiver attention, and such a mediating role is more significant among reviewers with rich review expertise. The reviewer's expertise also moderates the impact of review emotions on review helpfulness.Originality/valueThis work studies eWOM receiver involvement, which can ultimately impact product sales, but seldom be investigated in eWOM domain. Therefore, this research can enrich studies on eWOM and provide valuable practical implications as well.
Using multiple leadership frames to understand how two school principals are influencing teachers' practices and achievement of Hispanic English learners
Authors: Torres Clark Jane , Chrispeels Janet H. 
Published: February 2022

PurposeThis study explored principals’ leadership actions from three leadership frameworks, instructional, socio-cultural and cultural-psychological, to understand how each contributes to influencing teachers' work and learning opportunities for Hispanic English learners.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted as a case study, using multiple data sources, of two principals whose Hispanic students were successfully transitioning into English fluency.FindingsThe data indicated that each leadership approach contributed to teacher expertise and engagement with students. Principals acted in culturally responsive ways, focusing on both teacher and student strengths, and promoting a growth mindset culture.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the study identified principal practices that supported teachers to more effectively educate Hispanic English learners, larger scale studies are needed to demonstrate a cause/effect relationship between actions and student learning.Practical implicationsStrengths-based and growth mindset leadership beliefs and skills, if cultivated, can effectively interact with instructional and socio-cultural leadership skills to build a robust learning environment that influences positive student outcomes.Originality/valueThis case study lays the conceptual groundwork for future studies involving more extensive samplings of schools and principals.
Higher education challenges: accounting and finance academia in a research-led teaching universities
Authors: El-Tawy Nevine , Abdel-Kader Magdy 
Published: February 2022

Purpose
This paper aims to explore problems facing the recruitment of accounting and finance staff in research-led universities. “University accounting and finance (A&F) departments are experiencing difficulty in attracting and retaining suitably qualified staff” (Duff and Monk, 2006, p. 194). The literature identifies a number of reasons for the shortage of A&F phenomenon (Duff and Monk, 2006; Smith and Urquhart, 2018), including, the wide salary gap between academe and industry profession, difficulty in achieving publications in highly rated journal, high workload in teaching and marking due the limited number of A&F staff.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides new insights for the use of the grounded theory and how the theory has been generated from the semi-structured interviews.

Findings
This study has resulted in eight main challenges emerged, and a final theory has been generated. Implications of this research on business schools are valuable in research-led universities, the A&F staff recruitment strategies and the A&F research strategies in research-led universities.

Originality/value
The novelty of this research is based on the induction of the challenges that a business school faces, as a case study for a research-intensive teaching-led UK university, in recruiting new A and F appointees and retaining existing members of staff.
A Markov regime-switching (MS) approach to modeling the effects of fiscal policies and COVID-19 pandemic on tourism destination competitiveness in Kenya
Authors: Kimunio Isaac , Maingi Shem Wambugu 
Published: February 2022

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on the tourist activity in Kenya. Global lockdown has limited travel resulting to losses in the tourism sector. This paper discusses the specific role that fiscal policy plays to improve tourism competitiveness in Kenya. Specifically, the study examines how Kenyan government can revive the tourism economy to improve its competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachA tourism demand model to explore relationship between fiscal policies and inbound tourism in Kenya is developed. This study uses a Markov regime-switching (MS) regression model to establish the relationships that exist between COVID-19 pandemic, fiscal policies and tourism revenue in Kenya.FindingsThe estimation results of the Markov-switching dynamic regression showed that the coefficients of international tourists arrivals, domestic bed occupancy and international bed occupancy are positive and significant with p-values of 0.000 during the pandemic period. The findings show that the transitioning periods during the fiscal policy shifts had an effect on the international arrivals. Therefore, fiscal incentives were key in influencing tourism arrivals and bednights occupancies.Research limitations/implicationsThe theoretical implications show that to promote the state of high international and domestic tourist arrivals, the government should encourage more fiscal spending initiatives that encourage the increase in tourist arrivals and occupancies such as vaccinations against COVID-19 and promoting safe spaces for visitors within the destination is key towards reviving the sector. In order to curb the hysteresis effects of COVID-19 related depression and resultant impacts on GDP, there is a need to review the national fiscal policies and target fiscal policies on the cyclical effects of the COVID-19 impacts on international tourism market.Originality/valueThis research develops an economic model that builds accurate relationships between fiscal policies, pandemics and tourism destination competitiveness as a means of informing competitive tourism management strategies and governance.
Importance of the sustainability tourism marketing practices: an insight from rural community-based homestays in Malaysia
Authors: Janjua Zain ul Abedin , Krishnapillai Gengeswari , Rehman Mobashar 
Published: February 2022

PurposeThis study explored the antecedent and consequent relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) competency, sustainability tourism marketing and brand equity in rural community-based homestays in Malaysia. This study also examined how the political support by local authorities benefitted this sustainable rural tourism product development.Design/methodology/approachHomestays operators from three states in Malaysia–Kuala Lumpur/Selangor, Pahang and Pulau Pinang–participated in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect responses and to test research hypotheses.FindingsThe study's model empirically demonstrated ICT competency, sustainability tourism marketing practices and political support by local authorities' construct which are essential explanatory variables of homestay brand equity. The model shows high levels of consistency between the theoretical design and the empirical results of its constructs, contributing as a new step in the tourism sustainability literature.Research limitations/implicationsThis study enables us to explain the “triple bottom line” theory when applied in combination with ICT competency, brand equity and newly introduced construct “political support by local authorities”.Practical implicationsThe study results in evidence of crucial implications for policymakers. Policymakers should enhance cost-effectiveness, policy integration (integration of economic, environmental and social goals), and transparency and accountability to achieve United Nations' and Malaysia's sustainable tourism goals.Originality/valueThis study is an early attempt to highlight the importance of sustainable tourism marketing and brand equity in rural community-based homestays in Malaysia. This study also emphasizes that the local political authorities are the most crucial rural tourism stakeholders, and they play a key role in sustainable rural tourism transformation.
Causal relationships between the price-to-rent ratio and macroeconomic factors: a UK perspective
Authors: Lo Daniel , McCord Michael , Davis Peadar T. , McCord John , Haran Martin Edward 
Published: February 2022

PurposeHouse price-to-rent (P-t-R) ratios are among the most widely used measures of housing market conditions. Given the theoretical and apparent bidirectional, causal relationships and imbalances between the housing market, broader economy and financial market determinants, it is important to understand the relationship between macro- and micro-economic characteristics in relation to the P-t-R ratio to enhance the understanding of housing market dynamics. This paper studies the joint dynamics and persistence of house prices and rents and examines the temporal interactions of the P-t-R ratio and economic and financial determinants.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examine the lead–lag relationships between the P-t-R ratios and a spectrum of macroeconomic variables using cointegration and causality methods, initially at the aggregate position and also across housing types within the Northern Ireland housing market to establish whether there are subtle differences in how various housing segments react to changes in economic activity and market fundamentals.FindingsThe findings reveal price switching dynamics and some very distinct long- and short-run relationships between macroeconomic and financial indicators and the P-t-R ratios across the various housing segments. The results exhibit monetary supply, foreign exchange markets and the stock market to be important drivers of the P-t-R ratio, with P-t-R movements seemingly tied, or are in tandem, with the overall economy, particularly with the construction sector.Practical implicationsThe study shows that the P-t-R ratio can be used as an early measure for establishing the effects of macroprudential policy changes and how these may manifest across housing tiers and quality, which can further act as a signal for preventing or at least mitigating future irrational price cyclicity. These insights serve to inform housing and economic policy and macroprudential policy design, principally within lending policy and the effect of regulatory interventions and further enhance the understanding of the P-t-R ratio on housing market structure and dynamics.Originality/valueThis study is the first in the housing literature that examines the causal relationships between the P-t-R ratio and macroeconomic activity at the sub-market level. It investigates whether and how money supply, inflation, foreign exchange markets, general economic productivity and other important macroeconomic factors interact with the pricing of different property types over time.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the context of multinational business research
Authors: Linnenluecke Martina K. 
Published: February 2022

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the state of research on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the context of multinational business research. This paper discusses research progress as well as various issues and complexities associated with using ESG ratings in cross-country studies and for assessing the performance of multinational enterprises (MNE) and emerging market multinationals (EMNEs).Design/methodology/approachThe paper identifies emerging literature that focuses on tracking the development and uptake of ESG ratings in the international context. It discusses three emerging research streams: Research examining the ESG-financial performance relationship in emerging markets, research tracking the ESG performance of multinationals in the various countries and regions they are operating, and frameworks for assessing ESG-related risks on a country level.FindingsWhile the emerging body of work adds an important dimension to the identification and awareness of ESG issues globally, numerous unresolved issues become evident. ESG frameworks have been built to assess corporate sustainability as it relates to firms in their “home” countries (typically with a focus on developed countries), with limited applicability and transferability to emerging markets. International firm activities are often not captured in detail and not comprehensively mapped across firm subsidiaries and a firm’s corporate supply chain where ESG issues are prone to happen, and ESG scores do not comprehensively integrate views and voices from various local stakeholders that are impacted by firm activities, particularly indigenous communities.Research limitations/implicationsResearch on ESG ratings in the context of multinational business research is generally sparse and fragmented, thus creating opportunities for future research to expand on existing and emerging findings.Practical implicationsThe paper creates awareness of issues to consider when using ESG ratings in cross-country studies and for assessing the ESG performance of MNEs and EMNEs: ESG scores can be subject to bias and are not weighted by materiality, which can be misleading for portfolio construction and performance measurement purposes. Managers need to be aware that ESG scores are often not capturing ESG issues occurring in supply chains and ESG issues affecting local communities.Originality/valueThis study enriches the understanding of ESG in the context of multinational business research practice.
Electrothermal response optimization of nozzle structure for multi-material rapid prototyping based on fuzzy adaptive control
Authors: Xu Jinghua , Liu Kunqian , Liu Zhi , Zhang Fuqiang , Zhang Shuyou , Tan Jianrong 
Published: February 2022

Purpose
Most rapid prototyping (RP) relies on energy fields to handle materials, among which electricity has been much more utilized, resulting in distinctive responsiveness of non-linear, overshoot, variable inertia, etc. The purpose of this paper is to eliminate the drawbacks of array nozzle clogging, stringing, melt sagging, particularly in multi-material RP, by focusing on the electrothermal response so as to adaptively distribute thermal more accurate, rapid and balanced.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents an electrothermal response optimization method of nozzle structure for multi-material RP based on fuzzy adaptive control (FAC). The structural, physical and control model are successively logically built. The fractional order electrothermal model is identified by Riemann Liouville fractional differential equation, using the bisection method to approximate the physical model via least square method to minimize residual sum of squares. The FAC is thereafter implemented by defining fuzzy proportion integration differentiation control rules and fuzzy membership functions for fuzzy inference and defuzzification.

Findings
The transient thermodynamic and structural statics, as well as flow field analysis, are conducted. The response time, mean temperature difference and thermal deformation can be found using thermal-solid coupling finite element analysis. In physical experimental research, temperature change, together with material extrusion loading, were measured. Both numerical and physical studies have revealed findings that the electrothermal responsiveness varies with the three-dimensional structure, materials and energy sources, which can be optimized by FAC.

Originality/value
The proposed FAC provides an optimization method for extrusion-based multi-material RP between the balance of thermal response and energy efficiency through fulfilling potential of the hardware configuration. The originality may be widely adopted alongside increasing requirements on high quality and high efficiency RP.
Sacrocolpopexy using autologous rectus fascia: Cohort study of long‐term outcomes and complications
Authors: Wang Rui , Reagan Krista , Boyd Sarah , Tulikangas Paul 
Published: February 2022

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate objective and subjective outcomes of patients who underwent sacrocolpopexy using autologous rectus fascia to provide more data regarding non‐mesh alternatives in pelvic organ prolapse surgery.DesignAmbispective cohort study with retrospective and prospective data.SettingA single academic medical centre.PopulationWomen who underwent abdominal sacrocolpopexy using autologous rectus fascia between January 2010 and December 2019.MethodsPatients were recruited for a follow‐up visit, including completing the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI‐20) and Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP‐Q) examination. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected.Main outcome measuresComposite failure, anatomic failure, symptomatic failure and retreatment.ResultsDuring the study period, 132 women underwent sacrocolpopexy using autologous rectus fascia. The median follow‐up time was 2.2 years. Survival analysis showed that composite failure was 0.8% (95% CI 0.1%–5.9%) at 12 months, 3.5% (95% CI 1.1%–10.7%) at 2 years, 13.2% (95% CI 7.0%–24.3%) at 3 years and 28.3% (95% CI 17.0%–44.8%) at 5 years. The anatomic failure rate was 0% at 12 months, 1.4% (95% CI 0.2%–9.2%) at 2 years, 3.1% (95% CI 0.8%–12.0%) at 3 years and 6.8% (95% CI 2.0%–22.0%) at 5 years. The symptomatic failure rate was 0% at 12 months, 1.3% (95% CI 0.2%–9.0%) at 2 years, 2.9% (95% CI 0.7%–11.3%) at 3 years and 13.1% (95% CI 5.3%–30.3%) at 5 years. The retreatment rate was 0.8% (95% CI 0.1%–5.9%) at 12 months and 2 years, 9.4% (95% CI 4.2%–20.3%) at 3 years and 13.0% (95% CI 6.0%–27.2%) at 5 years.ConclusionAutologous rectus fascia sacrocolpopexy may be considered a safe and effective alternative for patients who wish to avoid synthetic mesh.Tweetable abstractSacrocolpopexy using autologous rectus fascia is a safe and effective alternative to synthetic mesh.
Reducing health inequality in Black, Asian and other minority ethnic pregnant women: impact of first trimester combined screening for placental dysfunction on perinatal mortality
Authors: Liu Becky , Nadeem Usaama , Frick Alexander , Alakaloko Morakinyo , Bhide Amar , Thilaganathan Basky 
Published: February 2022

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the impact of the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) first trimester screening algorithm for pre‐eclampsia on health disparities in perinatal death among minority ethnic groups.DesignA retrospective cohort study from July 2016 to December 2020.SettingA large London teaching hospital.Patients and methodsAll women who underwent first trimester pre‐eclampsia risk assessment using either the NICE screening checklist or the FMF multimodal approach. Women considered at high‐risk in the FMF cohort were offered 150 mg aspirin before 16 weeks' gestation, serial growth scans and elective birth at 40 weeks.Main outcome measuresStillbirth, neonatal death and perinatal death rates stratified by screening method and maternal ethnicity.ResultsIn the NICE cohort, the perinatal death rate was significantly higher in non‐white than white women (7.95 versus 2.63/1000 births, OR 3.035, 95% CI 1.551–5.941). Following the introduction of FMF screening, the perinatal death rate in non‐white women fell from 7.95 to 3.22/1000 births (OR 0.403, 95% CI 0.206–0.789), such that it was no longer significantly different from the perinatal mortality rate in white women (3.22 versus 2.55/1000 births, OR 1.261, 95% CI 0.641–2.483).ConclusionsFirst trimester combined screening for placental dysfunction is associated with a significant reduction in perinatal death in minority ethnic women. Health disparities in perinatal death among ethnic minority women demand urgent attention from both clinicians and health policy makers. The data of this study suggest that this ethnic health inequality may be avoidable.Tweetable abstractMultimodal early pregnancy placental dysfunction screening can lead to a significant reduction in perinatal deaths in non‐white women.