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Blockchain technology (BCT) is considered a promising tool to improve the productivity of construction project management. Existing research has studied its potential costs and benefits for the construction industry. However, the potential costs and benefits of BCT failed to be compared as actual costs and benefits of specific applications for stakeholders. To fill this gap, this study seeks to analyze the cost-effectiveness of BCT-based applications in construction project management.

This study is conducted with a customized systematic literature review based on transaction cost theory to enable qualitative comparison. With a deliberately designed structure confining extraneous variables, the costs and benefits of BCT-based applications are identified and compared. The inherent dependent relations of processes and the evolution relations of functions are identified. The cost-effectiveness of blockchain adoption is then analyzed.

Seven functions and six challenges are identified within five processes. The result suggests all identified functions are cost-effective except for manual instruction (coding smart contracts manually). The smart contracts require explicit definition and logic to be effective. However, the construction projects essentially require the institution to be flexible due to unpredictability. The adoption of smart contracts and corresponding additional requirements can increase the transaction cost of bounded rationality.

As manual instruction is fundamental to realize other functions, and its advanced substitute relies on its broad adoption, its cost-effectiveness must be improved for applications to be acceptable to stakeholders. The establishment of a universal smart contract model and a universal, legitimate and efficient database structure are recommended to minimize the cost and maximize the effect of applications.

This study contributes to the knowledge by providing a comprehensive analysis of BCT adoption’s cost-effectiveness in construction project management. The adopted review structure can be extended to analyze the qualitative benefits and challenges of management automation in the early stages.

Achieving sustainable construction is immensely challenging in developing economies due to their inadequate technical support system(s) (TSS). Hence, this article develops a TSS framework for sustainable construction indicators for Zimbabwe, a developing country.

A post-positivist philosophical stance and deductive reasoning were adopted to test pertinent theory. Construction professionals in consultancy, construction companies, government bodies and academic institutions participated in an online questionnaire survey. Primary data was analysed using a reliability test, Shapiro Wilks test, Kruskal–Wallis H test, mean score ranking, normalisation value, factor analysis and fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE).

FSE revealed a framework with six critical technical support subgroups, in order of importance viz: innovation for construction sustainability; adequate sustainability expenditure and skills training support; adequate project economic assessment and governance support; adequate circularity and environmental technical support; climate change literacy and supplier assessment support; and adequate decent work support. Existing sustainable construction initiatives can be buttressed by strengthening the six identified TSS through related policy initiatives.

The framework developed constitutes an innovative TSS for Zimbabwe to achieve sustainable construction.

The aim of this study is to examine the ownership impact on firm sustainable investments (FSIs). In particular, this research examines the link between institutional investor ownership (IIO), managerial ownership (MOWN) and FSIs in the tourism industry in Malaysia.

This study uses a data set of 346 firm-year observations from 2008 to 2020 and applies feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) regression analysis. The study sample is based on tourism firms listed on Bursa Malaysia (the Malaysian Stock Exchange).

There is a significant positive association between IIO and FSIs. When IIO is classified into foreign (FIIO) and local (LIIO), this significant association is mainly driven by FIIO. In addition, there is a significant, positive association between managerial ownership (MOWN) and firm sustainable investments (FSIs). These findings imply that firm ownership has an influence on FSIs in the tourism industry.

This is the first attempt to consider IIO and MOWN simultaneously in a single model estimation. The findings contribute to emerging capital markets where the involvement of ownership concentration in the governance of publicly listed firms is a common practice.

Nowadays, designing environmentally compatible buildings with acceptable performance in terms of cost, materials, and energy efficiency is considered crucial for developing sustainable cities. This research aims to identify and rank the most influential factors in the application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems in the smartification of green and sustainable buildings.

The present research is applied and descriptive. In this study, we identified the most influential factors in the application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems through library studies and expert opinions. Data were collected using a questionnaire, and a combination of the one-sample t-test method with a 95% confidence level and the fuzzy VIKOR method was employed for analysis.

The results show that the most influential factors in the application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems in the Smartification of green and sustainable buildings, in order, are: “Energy saving and consumption reduction,” “Increased productivity and efficiency,” “Life-cycle assessment (LCA),” “Eco-friendly design,” “Integration with IoT and other technologies.”

In this study, while addressing the intersection of BIM technology, green building principles, and smart building objectives to optimize the performance of buildings during their life cycle, the most influential factors in the use of this system were ranked based on the criteria of “impact level,” “importance level,” and “availability of necessary tools” for implementation in Kerman. Moreover, solutions for more effectively utilizing this system in the smartification of green and intelligent buildings were proposed.

Academic buoyancy refers to a student’s adaptive response to overcome common academic-related stress and challenges. Guided by social cognitive theory, we investigated the relation between students' academic buoyancy and their endorsement of compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding.

Students from a Minority-serving, Hispanic-serving public university (N = 112) completed an online survey assessing academic buoyancy (Martin and Marsh, 2008) and self-compassion (Neff, 2003). We conducted a hierarchical regression analysis with uncompassionate and compassionate self-responding as predictors and academic buoyancy as the outcome.

Compassionate self-responding (i.e. self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness) explained additional variance above and beyond what uncompassionate self-responding (i.e. self-judgment, isolation and overidentification) explained in the model. Uncompassionate self-responding components emerged as the strongest predictors of academic buoyancy.

Limited research exists regarding the relation between self-compassion and academic buoyancy, especially in the higher education setting. This research indicates that student compassionate self-responding is associated with students’ adaptive response to overcoming academic setbacks, stress and challenges. The findings of the current research could have meaningful implications for university officials’ efforts in helping students overcome academic-related setbacks and achieve academic success in higher education. University offices, programs and communities can focus on compassionate self-responding to support students in overcoming common school-related setbacks. Programs could be developed to move students away from uncompassionate self-responding as a means of promoting buoyancy.

The outset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions of all forms in the supply chain globally for almost two and a half years. This study identifies various challenges in the effective functioning of the existing supply chain during COVID-19. The focus is to see the disruptions impacting the energy storage supply chains.

The procedure entails a thorough analysis of scholarly literature pertaining to various supply chain interruptions, confirmed and verified by experts working in an energy storage company in India. These experts also confirmed the occurrence of more disruptive factors during their interviews and questionnaire survey. Moreover, this process attempts to filter out the relevant causal disruption factors in an energy storage company by using the integrated approach of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

The results provide practical insights for the company management in planning and devising new strategies to manage supply chain disruptions. Supply chains for companies in other industry sectors can also benefit from the proposed framework and results in making them more robust to counter future disastrous events.

The study provides an easily adaptable decision framework to different industries by closely examining supply chain disruptions and identifying associated causes for building a robust supply chain focused on the energy storage sector. It examines four disruption dimensions and investigates possible outcomes and impacts of disruptions.

Sustainable construction deficits are common in developing economies, and resolutions are constrained by the failure to prioritise the plethora of available indicators. This study aims to report on overlapping indicators for benchmarking sustainable construction for construction organisations.

Online survey data were collected from construction professionals, academics and senior managers in government bodies. Pearson chi-squared tests and overlapping analysis were used to determine significant indicators. Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to determine statistically significant differences among the dimensions.

Overlapping analysis determined indicators significant for economic, environmental and social performance. Environmental protection and reporting (pollution and emissions) were significant for all three performance dimensions. The most significant indicators are economic performance (adequate competence of key project staff), environmental performance (environmental protection and reporting – pollution and emissions) and social performance (adequate sustainability expenditure by construction organisations). Significant differences due to dimensions existed for adequate competence of key project staff, sustainable construction and eco-design, adequate governance and organisational excellence of construction projects and satisfactory workers’ morale.

Determining overlapping indicators enables prioritised implementation that ensures sustainable construction. Excluding construction workers was a significant limitation for a holistic interrogation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to determine overlapping indicators for sustainable construction performance in Zimbabwe.

The well-being of employees is very crucial, especially for the survival and sustainability of the mobile telecommunication industry and thus, the deployment of flexible working arrangements becomes paramount for managers and industry practitioners to implement. This research aimed to assess the impact of flexible working arrangements on employee well-being within the mobile telecommunication industry.

Utilizing multiple linear regression analysis, the research tested hypotheses to examine the significance of the relationships. Grounded in the Border Theory of Balanced Work, the study sought to explore the relationship between flexible working arrangements, including flextime schedules, compressed workweeks and telecommuting and various dimensions of employee well-being.

The results of the study demonstrated a statistically significant positive effect of flexible working arrangements on employee well-being within the mobile telecommunication industry. It concluded that flexible working arrangements that are measured with a flextime schedule, a compressed workweek and telecommuting improve employee well-being through psychological well-being, social well-being and workplace well-being.

This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by establishing a positive connection between flexible working arrangements and employee well-being in the context of the mobile telecommunication industry. Managers of telecommunication firms should continue with the implementation of flexible working arrangements to enhance the well-being of their employees. The study provides valuable insights for both scholars and industry practitioners, emphasizing the significance of continued implementation of flexible working arrangements to promote and sustain the well-being of employees.

Net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) play a crucial role in mitigating the environmental impact of the construction industry. However, this concept in Ghana is still in the infancy stage, and the level of embracement in the construction industry is uncertain which further poses challenges to its adoption. This can be attributed to the lack of awareness of NZEB among construction professionals. Hence, understanding the awareness among construction professionals is essential for promoting sustainable building practices and reducing the carbon footprint of buildings. Therefore, this study investigates the level of awareness of NZEBs among construction professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI).

The study adopted a quantitative research method where questionnaire survey was used to obtain data from sixty-six (66) construction professionals in the GCI through snowball sampling technique. The collected data were analysed using frequencies, mean scores, one-sample t-test and cross-tabulation.

The study revealed that thirty (30) construction professionals out of the sixty-six (66) had a moderate level of awareness of NZEBs, and 14 professionals had a low level of awareness. Thirteen had a high level of awareness. Three of the profesionals were extremely unaware, while six had a very high level of awareness. The study’s findings highlight the need to create awareness of NZEBs and their practices among construction professionals and employees in Ghana.

NZEB is an under-explored area in the Ghanaian context and therefore, this study uniquely highlights the nascent awareness of NZEBs among Ghanaian construction professionals, unlike previous studies in more developed contexts. It underscores the critical need for targeted awareness programs essential for reducing the carbon footprint and advancing the adoption of NZEBs in the GCI.

This study aims to report the quality of Bangladesh's science and technology universities (STUs) in ensuring sustainable employment of graduates during the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) by assessing their vigilance in skill development activities and exploring students’ perspectives on the university.

This research used mixed methods: a close-ended five-point Likert scale questionnaire to understand students’ perspectives and a thematic analysis of the interviews of students, faculties, policymakers and relevant stakeholders. The data was collected through a random sampling method where 1,000 university students took part in the quantitative analysis along with other respondents for the qualitative portion. The analysis was done with a 99% confidence level and a 4.5% margin of error.

Bangladesh's STUs still have a long way to go to ensure quality education and generate sustainable employment for their graduates. The universities' preparation to comprehend the 4IR is not at the expected level. In addition, despite students' favourable perception of universities as providers of qualified labour, there is a significant mismatch between supply and demand.

This research has some limitations regarding time and resources. Due to the limited number of responses from a few universities, this study's findings might only apply to some of the STUs of other countries. This study provided several recommendations for providing quality education to the STUs of Bangladesh.

The findings of this study indicate that there is still a crucial gap between the initiatives of STUs and the employment market, which prevents graduates from offering the necessary skills to achieve sustainable employment. The findings also support the idea of significant changes in the approach of these universities to address the mentioned issues.

This study suggests collaboration among social actors, relevant stakeholders, STU authorities, education experts and government officials to ensure a demand-based curriculum for the students. The relevant stakeholders should come forward to ensure advanced technologies and internet connectivity in the STUs.

The data set used in this study is significantly large and varies in the number of institutions, departments and socioeconomic backgrounds of the students, faculties, policymakers and various stakeholders. Furthermore, the capacity of scientific and technology institutions to guarantee sustainable employment through quality assurance in education has also not been recently evaluated in Bangladesh.