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Magnetic polarizability tensors (MPTs) provide an economical characterisation of conducting magnetic metallic objects and their spectral signature can aid in the solution of metal detection inverse problems, such as scrap metal sorting, searching for unexploded ordnance in areas of former conflict and security screening at event venues and transport hubs. In this work, the authors aim to discuss methods for efficiently building large dictionaries for classification approaches.

Previous work has established explicit formulae for MPT coefficients, underpinned by a rigorous mathematical theory. To assist with the efficient computation of MPTs at differing parameters and objects of interest, this work applies new observations about the way the MPT coefficients can be computed. Furthermore, the authors discuss discretisation strategies for hp-finite elements on meshes of unstructured tetrahedra combined with prismatic boundary layer elements for resolving thin skin depths and using an adaptive proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) reduced-order modelling methodology to accelerate computations for varying parameters.

The success of the proposed methodologies is demonstrated using a series of examples. A significant reduction in computational effort is observed across all examples. The authors identify and recommend a simple discretisation strategy and improved accuracy is obtained using adaptive POD.

The authors present novel computations, timings and error certificates of MPT characterisations of realistic objects made of magnetic materials. A novel postprocessing implementation is introduced and an adaptive POD algorithm is demonstrated.

The purpose of this study is to develop a model of a starting situation for relationship initiation in turbulent business networks.

The study is designed as an extreme single case study that takes its point of departure in a company’s bankruptcy in the Swedish automotive industry.

This study illustrates how a new business relationship can start from a resource combination previously controlled by one actor (i.e. a single company) in a turbulent business network, thereby bringing nuances to the common understanding that new relationships start in stable business networks where resource combinations are developed between actors in established business relationships.

Previous studies have stated that the development of a mutual orientation between actors leads to the formation of a business relationship. The business relationship then leads to resource adaptations between the two companies. The developed model, however, illustrates that this pattern can be reversed in situations of turbulence. Hence, previously adapted resources might lead to the formations of a business relationship. Based on this observation, the authors argue that there are reasons to question if previous models of business relationship initiation and development in business networks are adequately equipped for analysis in turbulent business networks.

The present study assesses the commercial bank profit efficiency and its relationship to banking sector competition in a rapidly growing emerging economy, India from 2009 to 2019 using stochastic frontier analysis (SFA).

Lerner indices, conventional and efficiency-adjusted, quantify competition. Two SFA models are employed to calculate alternative profit efficiency (inefficiency) scores: the two-step time-decay approach proposed by Battese and Coelli (1992) and the recently developed single-step pairwise difference estimator (PDE) by Belotti and Ilardi (2018). In the first step of the BC92 framework, profit inefficiency is calculated, and in the second step, Tobit and Fractional Regression Model (FRM) are utilized to evaluate profit inefficiency correlates. PDE concurrently solves the frontier and inefficiency equations using the maximum likelihood process.

The results suggest that foreign banks are less profit efficient than domestic equivalents, supporting the “home-field advantage” hypothesis in India. Further, increasing competition drives bank managers to make riskier lending and investment choices, decreasing bank profit efficiency. However, this effect varies depending on bank ownership and size.

Literature on the competition bank efficiency link is conspicuously scant, with a focus on technical and cost efficiency. Less is known regarding the influence of competition on bank profit efficiency. The article is one of the first to examine commercial bank profit efficiency and its relationship to banking sector competition. Additionally, the study work represents one of the first applications of the FRM presented by Papke and Wooldridge (1996) and the PDE provided by Belotti and Ilardi (2018).

This research paper's goal is to determine whether social media communication has an impact on the loyalty of visitors. The study will explore the correlation between social media activity and visitors' loyalty by examining social media engagement. The research will take the form of surveys and a total of 385 questionnaires given to visitors at various locations of the Ladakh region, asking them about their social media actions and how they relate to loyalty. The data were analysed and tested using various statistical tools such as factor analysis, regression and structural equation modelling. The study's findings will shed important light on the interconnectivity between social media activity, visitor loyalty and the tourism industry. The study's findings show how environmental issues associated with tourism sites may be made aware to visitors through social media marketing and communication campaigns, which may eventually entice them to return.

Purpose: The study aimed to investigate the impact of corporate governance (CG), non-performing loans (NPLs), and bank size (BS) on the financial performance (FP) of banking institutions in Kosovo.

Need for the study: Despite the growth and development of the banking sector in Kosovo, there’s a dearth of comprehensive research examining the key factors influencing their FP. This study aimed to bridge this gap, with a focus on CG, NPLs, and BS.

Methodology: The research employed a multiple regression model to analyse a sample of banking institutions in Kosovo over the period 2006–2021. The key variables included various CG factors, the level of NPLs, and BS, with FP measured through return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE).

Findings: The study found a significant positive relationship between CG factors and bank performance (BP), particularly board size and board independence. Conversely, a significant negative relationship was observed between the level of NPLs and BP. Furthermore, the study revealed a non-linear relationship between BS and FP, with economies of scale contributing to improved performance up to a certain threshold, after which further increases in size led to inefficiencies and lower performance.

Practical implications: The findings of this study carry important implications for policymakers, banking practitioners, and academics. It underlines the importance of sound CG, effective risk management, and maintaining an optimal BS to enhance the FP of banks in Kosovo. It is suggested that these factors should be considered in the formulation of future banking regulations and strategies.

Following the lead of neighboring fields such as strategy and organization studies, entrepreneurship is gradually joining in the adoption of a practice perspective. Entrepreneurship as practice (EaP) is thus a nascent domain of investigation where the methodological debate is still unsettled and very fluid. In this paper, the authors contribute to this debate with a focus on family entrepreneurship.

The authors develop a conceptual paper to discuss what it entails to look at family entrepreneurship through a practice lens and why it is fruitful. Moreover, the authors propose a research strategy novel to the field through which such investigation can be pursued, namely process tracing, and examine its inferential logic.

Process tracing is a strategy of data analysis underpinned by an ontology of causal mechanisms. The authors argue that it complements other practice methods by inferring social mechanisms from empirical evidence and thereby establishing a connection between praxis, practices and practitioners.

Process tracing helps the articulation of an “integrated model” of practice that relates praxis, practices and practitioners to the outcome they jointly produce. By enabling the assessment of impact, process tracing helps providing prima facie evidentiary grounds for policy action and intervention.

Process tracing affinity with the practice perspective has been so far acknowledged only to a limited extent in the social sciences, and it is, in fact, a novel research strategy for the family entrepreneurship field.

Scholarly interest in the business effects of organised crime (OC) has recently increased. This study aims to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) on the conditions under which OC could pose a threat to or take control of firms within a particular context.

We use narrative synthesis and thematic analysis, with a sample of 46 theoretical and empirical studies published over the past 30 years on the relationship between OC and firms within the disciplines of Business, Management and Accounting (BMA).

SLR and thematic analysis show that scholarly interest has focused on four key domains: OC as a firm, the impact of OC on firms, firms’ efforts to counter OC’s influence and governmental interventions. Using medical metaphors, we also develop a diagram depicting the interplay between OC and firms within the BMA literature.

This study contributes to the literature shaping an agenda to steer future research towards these four key themes. The effectiveness of anti-OC tools and measures depends on a thorough understanding of local norms, behaviours and business practices. In addition to measurement and methodological challenges, several grey areas remain, including the distinction between criminal enterprises and legitimate businesses. Ambiguities also surround the circumstances under which the OC preys upon firms or employs them to establish dominance over a territory.