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This paper explores how risks are managed in project practice beyond formalized risk management processes by applying the lens of actuality research to project risk management.

The paper follows a qualitative multimethod research approach utilizing literature review, interviews, observations and document analysis. The paper is based on three case studies and one interview study in project organizations facing green transition challenges.

Little work exists to reveal how risk management is actually done by project practitioners, and why. Few studies report on contextual variation and consider confounding factors beyond a “one size fits all” formalized explicit risk management process, despite ample evidence that risks are managed outside the formal process. The study documents that informal and/or implicit risk management activities add significantly more value.

The paper contributes a literature review of research into the actuality of project risk management, a sense-making framework of how risks are managed in practice beyond the formal, explicit risk-management process by including informal and/or implicit risk management activities, an empirical study of risk-management practice highlighting that informal and/or implicit risk-management activities dominate in practice, a discussion of why risks are managed outside formalized, explicit process and a research agenda to enable the design of impactful project risk-management practices.

This essay examines how two Marxist anti-colonial intellectuals from Portuguese India and French India – Aquino de Bragança and V Subbiah – differentially theorized movements for independence from colonial rule. Through the analysis of primary source documents in French, Portuguese, Italian and English, I compare V Subbiah's Dalit, anti-fascist anti-colonial Marxism to Aquino de Bragança's internationalist anti-colonial Marxism. Both theorists' approaches have similarities in (1) theorizing the relationship between fascism and colonialism given that the Portuguese Empire was administered by Salazar's Estado Novo and the French Empire was under Vichy rule, (2) rethinking Marxism to better fit the Global South context and (3) intellectual and political connections to Algeria were critically important for theory and praxis. Despite the distinct geographic and social spaces in which they lived and worked, both produced remarkably similar theories of anti-imperialism.

This chapter presents an interpretation of gentrification and touristification as gender-related issues. The underlying question driving this discussion is: How can we envision feminist cities when certain forms of feminism today are strongly intertwined with consumerism? In the context of ghost cities or neighborhoods, Airbnb and digital nomads dominate, skyrocketing prices make life unaffordable, support structures vanish in favor of place branding, and oppressive security practices are normalized. The chapter examines the history of neoliberal deactivation in Rome’s Ostiense neighborhood. It explores the resistance by places of liberation, such as the occupied former barracks of Porto Fluviale, which serves as a residence for homeless families. It delves into the genuine transformation of the area into an open-air museum exploited for tourism and the occupation of a former nightclub turned into a meeting space for marginalized individuals to ensure their safety through acts of resistance. The territorial appropriation dynamics driven by neoliberal forces have altered geographies, resulting in an emotional detachment that renders the city unlivable. The chapter touches upon the transformation of soulful places into sites of emotional resistance, illustrated through Sara Ventroni’s poem dedicated to the Gasometer. This suburban colossus has indelibly shaped the area’s cityscape since the early 20th century, constantly caught between branding and resistance. Drawing from these experiences and insights, a new theory of the city is proposed, one rooted in the principle of care.

Equality is a basic human right. However, LGBTQ individuals often have their human rights violated because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. They also experience discrimination because of homophobic and transphobic attitudes. They frequently deal with derisive attitudes at school, are discriminated against in the workplace and struggle to access health services. This paper aims to determine the discriminatory attitudes of nurses in their social and professional lives toward LGBTQ individuals.

This study involved 503 nurses and used a questionnaire to examine their views regarding members of the LGBTQ community. The questionnaire consisted of 24 questions. Ten experts from the fields of social psychology, sociology, and nursing provided the necessary inputs, which were subsequently incorporated into the questionnaire.

The nurses were found to have a negative attitude toward LGBTQ individuals; they felt that they should not be allowed to live in comfort in Turkey and that they disrupted the social order and compromised public morality. It was observed that married (in general), male (in particular), and have fewer nursing education nurses are much more likely to have a discriminatory attitude toward LGBTQ people, and they were more discriminatory in their society rather than in their professional lives.

According to the principles of justice and equality, which are a prominent part of the nursing code of ethics – “With the awareness that all people have equal rights, the nurse serves regardless of race, language, religion, age, gender, belief, social and economic status and political opinion” – nurses should not have a discriminatory attitude. This study reveals the inequality and the ethical problems that riddle Turkey’s health sector.

When tourists visit new destinations, they often bring their own values and cultural system, their behaviours, and ways of relaxing, which sometimes do not coincide with the host’s expectations. Holidays are usually associated with relaxation and fun, so tourists are not inclined to think about the norms of behaviour or environmental issues or any other concerns that worry the society today. Tourist destinations face numerous problems related to their sustainability and try to achieve a balance between economic development, environmental protection, and satisfaction of residents’ guests. Sometimes even small changes in behaviour could contribute to sustainability. In this chapter, an attempt will be made to identify the problems related to the behaviour of tourists in destinations, the reasons for such behaviour, and the potential for using the nudging approach to elicit different behaviour. Qualitative research methodology was used to gather the opinion of destination managers about the use of a nudge. For research purposes, a workshop was held with stakeholders in the destination on the possibilities of using nudging to solve problems in the destination concerning tourist behaviour. The results have shown that destination managers were not familiar with nudging. Therefore, the theoretical framework with examples of Croatian destination managers and their views on the possibilities of using nudging will be presented. The managers were positive about the use of nudging as a tool in destination management. With regards to the specificities of their destinations and bad tourist behaviour with which they are faced, they mentioned different possibilities for applying nudging.

This study is exploratory in nature and designed to address poorly documented issues in the literature. The dimensions of regional distribution or spatial organisation of Industry 4.0 (I4.0), including the potential role of clusters, have only recently been addressed, with most available studies focusing on advanced, mainly Western European countries. Although developing fast, the literature on I4.0 in other countries, such as the Central and Eastern European or post-transition economies like Poland, needs to pay more attention to the spatial distribution or geographical and organisational aspects. In response to the identified knowledge gap, this paper aims to identify the role of clusters in the transformation towards I4.0. This explains why clusters may matter for advancing the fourth digital transformation, how advanced in implementing I4.0 solutions are the residents of Polish clusters and how they perceive the advantages of cluster membership for such implementation. Finally, it seeks to formulate policy recommendations based on the evidence gathered.

The methodology used in this study combines quantitative analysis of secondary data from a cluster benchmarking survey with a case study approach. The benchmarking survey, conducted by the polish agency for enterprise development in 2021, gathered responses from 435 cluster members and 41 cluster managers, representing an estimated 57% of the current clusters in Poland. In addition to quantitative analysis, a case study approach was used, incorporating primary sources such as interview with cluster managers and surveys of cluster members, as well as secondary sources like company documents and information from cluster organisation websites. Statistical analysis involved assessing the relationship between technology implementation and the adoption of management systems, as well as exploring potential correlations between technology use and company characteristics such as revenue, export revenue share and number of employees using Pearson correlation coefficient.

In Poland, implementing I4.0 technologies by cluster companies is still modest. The cluster has influenced the use of I4.0 technologies in 23% of surveyed companies. Every second surveyed company declared a positive impact of a cluster on technological advancement. The use of I4.0 technologies is not correlated with the revenue of clustered companies. A rather bleak picture emerges from the results, revealing a need for more interest among cluster members in advancing I4.0 technologies. This may be due to a comfortable situation in which firms still enjoy alternative competitive advantages that do not force them to seek new advanced advantages brought about by I4.0. It also reflects the sober approach and awareness of associated high costs and necessary investments, which are paramount and prevent successful I4.0 implementation.

The limitations inherent in this study reflect the scarcity of the available data. This paper draws on the elementary survey administered centrally and is confined by the type of questions asked. The empirical section focuses on an important, though only one selected sector of the economy – the automotive industry. Nevertheless, the diagnosis of the Polish cluster’s role in advancing I4.0 should complement the existing literature.

The exploratory study concludes with policy recommendations and sets the stage for more detailed studies. Amidst the research’s limitations, this study pioneers a path for future comprehensive investigations, enabling a deeper understanding of Polish clusters’ maturity in I4.0 adoption. By comparing the authors’ analysis of the Polish Automotive Group (PGM) cluster with existing literature, the authors uncover a distinct disparity between the theoretical prominence of cluster catalysis and the current Polish reality. Future detailed dedicated enquiries will address these constraints and provide a more comprehensive map of Polish clusters’ I4.0 maturity.

This study identifies patterns of I4.0 implementation and diagnoses the role of clusters in the transformation towards I4.0. It investigates how advanced is the adoption of I4.0 solutions among the residents of Polish clusters and how they perceive the advantages of cluster membership for such transformation. Special attention was paid to the analysis of the automotive sector. Comparing the conclusions drawn from the analysis of the Polish PGM cluster in this case study to those from the literature on the subject, it becomes clear that the catalytic role of clusters in the implementation of I4.0 technologies by enterprises, as emphasised in the literature, is not yet fully reflected in the Polish reality.

This chapter provides a detailed analysis of Slovakia's economic transformation since the end of the socialist era and its transition toward a market-based economy. The country had a slower start than Poland, Czechia, and Hungary in embracing capitalism, which earned it the nickname of the “Tatra Tiger” only after Dzurinda's administration. The chapter examines the crucial economic reforms, political decisions, and contextual factors that have shaped Slovakia's economic trajectory, particularly emphasizing the interplay between politics and economic policy. Additionally, it highlights the challenges posed by the legacy of previous governments, including oligarchic influence and socioeconomic disparities. Despite some periods of economic growth, Slovakia is currently facing a crisis of political and socioeconomic discontent, primarily due to overdependence on the automotive sector and a lack of investment in innovation and infrastructure. The chapter concludes by stating the need for more visionary leadership and a national dialog on Slovakia's future direction, indicating a concerning inertia in the face of pressing economic challenges.

This paper explores the role that the control system – understood as a set of financial and non-financial mechanisms – introduced by the Ministerial Decree of 15th February 1860 played in promoting the ethical tolerance of prostitution in the Kingdom of Italy.

A qualitative research method was adopted. Specifically, this study draws on literature on accounting and deviant behaviors and on Suchman's theories of legitimation (1995) to interpret empirical evidence collected from archival primary sources as well as secondary sources.

The paper highlights how the accounting mechanisms introduced by the law were molded to limit the serious consequences of prostitution from a public health standpoint and to demonstrate that the State neither profited from prostitution nor used public money to fund it. This should have stimulated ethical tolerance of the law itself and, consequently, of the prostitution that was regulated.

This paper opens a new research avenue in the field of accounting history by exploring the connection between accounting and prostitution. Moreover, unlike the extant literature on accounting and deviant behaviors, this study delves into the role played by accounting mechanisms to promote ethical tolerance rather than to activate normalization processes.

This paper examines the role played by business cluster ecosystems and intellectual capital (IC) in achieving high-growth firm (HGF) status.

We draw our insights from the knowledge-based perspective and economic geography as a theoretical lens, which combined offer a more unifying understanding of how business cluster ecosystems and IC foster high growth entrepreneurship.

Drawing on a sample of 11,360 German incorporated firms across 80 clusters, we find that cluster ecosystems play a significant role in supporting firms to become HGFs. More specifically, being located in business clusters increases the likelihood of becoming HGFs by 2.2% to 4.49%. We also find that clusters with more productive firms in the ecosystems provide favorable conditions for member firms to achieve HGF status, while the impact of other cluster-specific conditions (high-tech cluster membership and multinational enterprise share in clusters) is less clear. Additional insights suggest that firm IC (investments in intangible assets) enables firms to achieve high growth status.

The findings of this paper hold theoretical and managerial relevance and shed more light on the impact of cluster-specific factors in the ecosystems and firm IC in achieving high growth entrepreneurship.

This paper is among the first of its kind to bring together three distinct literatures (HGFs, business clusters and IC) and utilize insights from each to derive a conceptual framework that links them in explaining high-growth entrepreneurship.