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This study investigates the impact of augmented reality (AR) on consumers’ shopping process, focusing on value creation, brand engagement and purchasing intents.

This quantitative deductive study analyzed 393 questionnaires through non-probability sampling. A cross-sectional timeframe was applied; data collection took place in May 2023 to provide a snapshot of Egyptian consumers’ responses to AR. Once the needed data were collected, statistical analyses were conducted through the statistical package for social science (SPSS).

This study shows that in the shopping process, AR vividness, interactivity and informativeness lead consumers to develop utilitarian values toward the technology, and AR interactivity generates hedonic values towards the technology. When consumers sense the hedonic and utilitarian values, it impacts consumers purchase intention. Hedonic value in AR leads to consumers’ brand content consumption and creation; utilitarian value in AR leads to consumers’ brand content consumption, contribution and creation.

AR developers, brand managers and marketers may use this study to understand the current AR landscape and consumer responses toward AR (value development, purchase intention and brand engagement). With these insights, they can make better strategic decisions that include AR usage in brand marketing tactics.

This study develops conclusions to grasp more clearly and in-depth why and how AR impacts consumers’ shopping process. This study addresses various literature gaps, enhancing the understanding of AR: the salient AR attributes that offer consumers hedonic and utilitarian values and how AR influences consumer behavior, specifically when it comes to the development of brand engagement and purchase intents.

Competency-based human resource management (CBHRM) is a key component of all organisations but needs to be regularly reviewed and evaluated to ensure the quality of healthcare professionals. One common taxonomy of competency domains for health professions is from Englander et al., where this paper aims to conduct a large-scale analysis based on topic modelling to investigate the extent to which the competency framework for the healthcare sector is applied in the German job market of health professions.

The quantitative NLP analysis of a dataset consisting of 3,362 online job advertisements of nurses and doctors was scraped from a German job portal. The data was pre-processed according to Miner et al. For the analysis, the authors applied unsupervised (e.g. HDP, LDA) and supervised (BERTopic) methods and content analysis. Based on the extracted topics a word list was created and these words were coded to existing dimensions of the competency framework of Englander et al. or new dimensions were created.

Comparing methodologies, HDP (unsupervised) and BERTopic (supervised) were the best performing while the BERTopic algorithm outperforms HDP. For the doctor dataset 46% of one main dimension was identified but with an overall coverage of 69%, for the care dataset is weaker with 30.8% but an overall coverage of 100%. Additionally, the taxonomy was enhanced with supplementary competencies of “personality/characteristics” and “leadership” as well as two facets of job description which are “place of work” and “job conditions”.

On the one hand selected dimensions of the taxonomy could be clearly identified but on the other hand, there is a documented gap between the taxonomy and the competencies advertised. One cause may lie in the NLP algorithms but applicants may also have the same difficulties when reading the OJAs. Thus, practitioners should carefully review OJAs regarding better separating explicit competencies they are searching for. For the scientific development of new competency frameworks, our data-driven approach exemplified an extension of a given taxonomy.

The core notion of this study is to examine the change in tariffs impacts of Pakistan Sri Lanka Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) on the micro-level financial factors like profits, debt ratios and dividend payments.

The investigation has been conducted by using regression analysis. The data of 157 listed non-financial local and international firms are collected from Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE).

The results depicted that because of modification in tariffs, various firms are facing trade contest experience, a decline in profitability, surge in debt ratios as well as reduction in dividend payments. However, several firms improve their productivity by importing contemporary technology and other firms, which surge their exports leading to enhanced profitability, reduced debt ratios and surge in dividend disbursement.

To the best of my knowledge, this study is unique in a sense that it identifies the potential exports sectors of Pakistan and helps the decision-makers to develop the trade agreements with other South Asian economies. Moreover, the financial managers are able to create a financial policy for the multinational company to compete in South Asia.

Drawing on the health belief model and affective events theory, the main objectives of this study are to: (1) analyze which health beliefs about COVID-19 (probability, seriousness and worry) trigger feelings of social isolation; (2) investigate whether psychological capital buffers the escalation of social isolation and (3) analyze the role of the feelings of social isolation as a mechanism that yields drawbacks on mental health, life satisfaction and performance.

Data came from two waves of online surveys administered to 678 employees of a private university in Mexico.

Results of structural equation modeling showed that beliefs of worry of getting COVID-19 trigger social isolation feelings, which, in turn, yields drawbacks on mental health, life satisfaction and performance (i.e. task, creative and organizational citizenship behavior). Moreover, psychological capital buffers the increases in feelings of social isolation generated by beliefs of the COVID-19 severity.

This study provides insightful recommendations for handling future events that might imply social restrictions as a measure of contagion containment.

We contribute to Affective Events literature by linking it to the health belief model. A main criticism of affective events theory is its exogenous blindness and lack of attention to how affect reactions are triggered at work. We address this limitation by bridging health belief model and affective events theory to show what specific health beliefs of COVID-19 produce affects and behavioral reactions in employees.

Based on theories such as knowledge management and resource base, this paper explores the effect of knowledge domain coupling on R&D team innovation performance under the perspective of technological innovation networks as well as the mediating role of digital transformation, and further validates the moderating role played by organizational innovation climate and environmental turbulence.

Taking the data of 239 Chinese enterprises with high R&D intensity and strong innovation ability as samples, SPSS and AMOS are used for empirical testing.

The findings suggest that knowledge domain coupling and its decomposition variables (complementary knowledge coupling and iterative knowledge coupling) have a significant positive effect on R&D team innovation performance, digital transformation partially mediates the relationship between knowledge domain coupling and R&D team innovation performance, and that there is a positive moderating effect of organizational innovation climate and environmental turbulence in the influence path.

The study has enlightening value for innovative enterprises and their R&D teams on how to effectively couple the knowledge, make reasonable use of iterative technologies and promote digital transformation practices to enhance innovation performance.

The consumption of no-and low-alcohol (NoLo) wines has emerged as a growing trend among Italian millennials, reflecting a shift towards healthier and more mindful drinking habits. This paper delves into the social factors driving this trend, employing the rational of habit theory to provide a comprehensive understanding of NoLo wines consumption as a social behaviour among Italian millennials.

The research design comprises symmetrical and asymmetrical approach. The study employs Cluster and fsQCA to understand the granularities of NoLo wine consumption.

The present study reveals that young adults are willingness to pay (WTP) more for NoLo wine in exchange of improved health benefits as a reward. The contrarian observation of relatively consumers with low average income exhibiting the high willingness to pay more for NoLo wine.

The sample is limited to Italy and skewed in terms of NoLo wine consumption. The participants were aware of NoLo wine but did not consume it in the past year. The study identified the paradoxical stance of low average family income group exhibiting more willingness-to-pay for de-alcoholised wine.

Firstly, young adults are increasingly health-conscious, seeking alternatives to alcohol that promote well-being and reduce health risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption. Secondly, mindfulness practices have gained popularity among young adults for altering self-perception, leading to a preference for beverages that align with mindful consumption and stress reduction. NoLo wine offers a suitable alternative, providing a similar sensory experience without the intoxicating effects of alcohol.

Habit theory, pioneered by James (1890), posits that habits are formed through a three-stage process: cue, routine and reward. In the context of NoLo wine consumption, cues can include social gatherings, dining occasions or stress relief triggers. The routine involves the act of consuming NoLo wine, while the reward stems from the perceived benefits of this wine, such as reduced alcohol intake, improved health and social acceptance. The prevalence of NoLo wine consumption among Italian young adults can be attributed to a confluence of social factors.

The paper attempts to evaluate the contrarian case using fsQCA and the conceptual configuration of necessary conditions, viz. self-perception, social norms and health-consciousness.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive systematic literature review using bibliometric approach to investigate the academic structure of World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement research.

The study examines the bibliographic information for 1,858 articles from Scopus and the Australian Business Deans Council-indexed journals published between 1995 and 2024 using Dimensions.ai and Google Scholar search engines. Exploratory-cum-descriptive research design with bibliometric approach is used to answer the stated literature review research questions.

The data shows a gradual decline in WTO-Dispute Settlement System (WTO-DSS) research relative to the total international business area in the three decades. Developed countries appear as key contributors to the research, with the USA and the UK standing out as the most productive and influential research countries. The study shows a significant change in the focus of this research corpus from legalized to non-legalized approaches, with a greater emphasis on transparency and environmental sustainability. The research identifies global politics and international trade law as influential subjects in the discipline.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is a first of its kind where bibliometric approach has been used to study the evolution of WTO-DSS literature. The study adds to the understanding of WTO Dispute Settlement research patterns and recommends future research options.