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Given the current challenges for improving the tribological behavior in automotive engines, which require lubricants that adapt to different operating conditions through replacement mechanisms to reduce friction and wear, this study aims to analyze the use of hexagonal boron nitride nanoparticles blended in the lubricating oil of a diesel engine. The target was to minimize frictional power losses and wear of cylinder liner surfaces to validate what was observed in laboratory and to confirm improvements in thermal efficiency.

Before the definition of the concentration to be used in a real engine environment, tests of sample dispersion were conducted using an ultrasound bath. The mixtures were added to storage bottles in concentrations of 0.1% and 0.5%, as observed in Figure 1. The samples were subsequently analyzed using the dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique. There was a reduction in the hydrodynamic size for the sample with 0.5% of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), possibly due to sedimentation of the powder during the analysis, which supported this work to continue with the use of 0.1% concentration.

The behavior of hBN as nano additive in a real diesel engine was problematic when compared with laboratory environment, leading to impact in oil temperature. In addition, it was noticed a high amount of deposit formation at the top dead center (TDC) and mid-stroke (MC) and nonsignificative wear at MC and bottom dead center (BDC) of the cylinder, with unusual formation of products from antiwear additives known as zinc dialkyl-dithiophosphate at MC position with the use of hBN. For this reason, this work provides insights into how hBN nanoparticles may not contribute toward the improvement of tribological performance.

The findings of this work aimed to provide a better understanding of the impact of hBN nanoparticles used as additives in real engine environment in terms of performance and tribological impacts. The results of this work indicated that hBN as additive gave poor results in terms of performance and wear prevention.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-02-2024-0047/

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, namely ChatGPT, Copilot (Bing) or Gemini (Bard) chatbots, have brought very rapid repercussions at education level in general, especially in higher education. Several challenges are being presented to institutions, teachers and students, highlighting the way teachers teach and students learn, and significant transformations are expected in the short term due to the availability of this type of tools. This chapter aims to analyse and discuss how the new generative AI tools, which are accessible to all, can influence teachers' instructional methods and transform the format and the ways students learn. What are the main challenges, limitations and changes that we can foresee, considering the dangers and constraints of these new tools, regarding the teaching and learning processes of young adults in higher education. A case study was selected, using an exploratory questionnaire survey of undergraduate students, which was analysed using descriptive statistics. This study demonstrated that teachers, in student perspectives, are still far integrating IA in their pedagogical strategies, mainly focussing in the dangers and limitations and little in the potential. The aim was to contribute to assess how these new working tools can be an instrument that enhances critical thinking and active and transformative learning of young adults, when used with the minimisation of risks and errors. Furthermore, it is intended to reflect on appropriate AI educational policies as well as on the development of competences and digital literacy in the training of higher education students as global citizens.

Significant interest in Integrated Management Systems (IMS), as a key area within ISO-related Management System Standards (MSS) literature, has been evident from both academia and industry over the past three decades. This study aims to map the evolution and current state of IMS research and propose possible directions for future studies.

A comprehensive content and bibliometric analysis of 846 documents from the Scopus database across the period 1995 to 2023 was conducted. This included performance analysis to track publication trends and identify key contributors, and content analysis to specify dominant research methodologies and the MSS most commonly integrated. Furthermore, science mapping techniques—such as co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and bibliographic coupling—were utilized to outline the collaborative networks and the conceptual and intellectual structure of the field.

The study identifies three principal IMS research themes: the practical implementation of IMS, their role in promoting sustainability and social responsibility, and their impact on continuous performance improvement. It also highlights the field’s evolution and key research constituents—including influential works, prolific authors, leading academic institutions and countries, and top publishing journals. It further reveals that IMS research exhibits strong collaboration across authors and countries, and a rich methodological plurality, notably with a marked increase in empirical surveys in recent years. Additionally, it identifies the most frequently referenced MSS for integration, prominently featuring ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001/OHSAS 18001.

This study is original in its application of a dual analytical approach—bibliometric and content analysis—to provide a holistic overview of IMS research. It offers new insights into the integration of diverse MSS and proposes several promising paths for future research. Among the most prominent are standardizing IMS fundamental specifications, conducting more empirical research with advanced methods to evaluate the effects of MSS integration, providing practical support for organizations in IMS implementation through tailored methodologies and tools, and exploring the potential of Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies to advance IMS practices.

 High-performance workplace systems (HPWS) have evolved from being mere buzzwords to essential pillars for organisational success. This calls for in – depth examination by both academic scholars and industry professionals. The study aims to offer a comprehensive academic assessment of the significance of HPWS in enhancing human resource management.

In this study, the authors conducted a literature review (bibliometric and content analysis) of 152 peer-reviewed scholarly articles published from 2003 to 2024. This study used Vosviewer software and the bibliometrics package in R software to investigate publishing patterns, influential contributors, themes and topics underpinning HPWS.

The work offers a thorough and insightful examination of the ideas, components and effects of HPWS on businesses and workers. It presents three research fronts that collectively contribute to the understanding of HPWS.

This work emphasises the significance of incorporating high-performance workplace processes to cultivate a culture of excellence and enhance employee engagement. Organisations can use evidence-based strategies identified in the literature to boost performance, promote job satisfaction and retain high-performing employees.

The study applies HPWSs to inform organisational policy development by acknowledging firms’ inherent capabilities and competencies to integrate HPWS effectively. The results serve as compelling evidence for recognising the capacity of HPWS to impact various facets of an organisation.

Based on the theory of identity, this paper aims to examine the centrality role of entrepreneurs’ identity in the prevalence of the entrepreneurial process in online platforms. Identity is a kind of internal energy that stimulates the neurons of entrepreneurs. Thus, leveraging identity effectively in the digital business cycle is a global challenge of paramount importance.

This study uses a quantitative approach, specifically the covariance-based structural equation modeling method, to examine data collected from a sample of 153 entrepreneurs operating on social media platforms.

The findings highlight the positive impact of social media on entrepreneurs’ identities, revealing three distinct identity types: digital identity, social identity and entrepreneurial identity. However, only entrepreneurial and social identities emerge as significant factors in sustaining the entrepreneurial process. Entrepreneurs operating on online platforms strive for recognition as entrepreneurs while also cultivating trust-based relationships with social media users. This recognition and trust contribute to the overall success of their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Identity centrality in the entrepreneurial process presents itself as a highly sophisticated tool to help young entrepreneurs on social media platforms to identify, construct and even harmonize the different identities they may adopt to adapt to the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. In fact, social media provide several opportunities that foster entrepreneurial aspirations and provide a fertile ground for shaping entrepreneurs’ identities, ensuring the success of their entrepreneurial ventures. The emerging generation of entrepreneurs should prioritize cultivating their entrepreneurial and social identities while maintaining an acute awareness of the importance of having a coherent and relevant online presence.

The results of this study significantly elucidate the mechanisms governing identity formation and its dynamics’ influence on the development of entrepreneurship on social media.

This paper aims to identify the interrelationships of institutional factors that compose an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) in small towns that can potentially increase the attraction of franchises.

The authors analyzed 728 small towns with franchise chains that do not belong to metropolitan regions and are limited to populations of up to 50,000 inhabitants. Secondary data are obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data analysis technique used is Poisson regression.

A higher number of employed persons (H1), a higher savings (H2) and a higher number of educational institutions (H4) correlates with more franchise chains in small towns. The availability of institutional support (H3) does not correlate with the number of franchise chains. Regarding the interrelationships between factors, the interactive effect between two constructs is determined to cause a decrease in franchise chains, whereas interrelating three factors raises the number of franchise chains (R² = 72.3%).

The analysis identifies some environmental factors to be considered in market prospecting by franchise chains’ expansion managers. These factors constitute a relevant analytical model focused on the regional development of franchise chains.

Social contributions are directed to public policy professionals responsible for regional economic development, as emerging markets demand actions to encourage job creation when confronted with high unemployment rates and dependence on the informal economy.

The contribution of this paper is bringing EE to the debate of the institutional environment’s impact on new businesses. EE adds to the debate examining the interrelationships between different institutional factors. An EE not only identifies the factors, but also examines the interdependence of these factors, which can potentially explain the attraction of franchise chains in small towns.

This research aims to identify the optimal configuration of investment which leads firms to their best competitive positions, considering the degree of concentration in the market.

The methodology was quantitative and based on secondary data with samples of 124, 106 and 90 firms from competitive environment classified as perfect competition, monopolistic competition and oligopoly, respectively. Proposed models' parameters were estimated by means of genetic algorithms.

Adjustments on firm's investment are contingent on the degree of competition they face. Results are in line with existing academic research affirmation that the purpose of investments is to create and exploit opportunities for positive economic rents and that investments allow firms to protect from rivals' competitive actions and reinforce the need for investment decision makers to consider the environment in which the firm is competing, when defining the amount of investment that must be done to achieve and maintain a favorable competitive advantage position.

This research brings two main original contributions. The first one is the identification of the optimal amount of capital and R&D investments which leads firms to their best competitive positions, contingent to the degree of concentration of the competitive environment in which they operate, and the size of the firm. The second one is related to the use of genetic algorithms to estimate optimization models that considers the three competitive environments studied (perfect competition, monopolistic competition and oligopoly) and the investment variables in the linear and quadratic forms.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of light intensity and sources of carbon and nitrogen on the cultivation of Spirulina maxima.

Cultures were carried out in a modified Zarrouk medium using urea, sodium acetate and glycerol. A Taguchi experimental design was used to evaluate the effect on the production of biocompounds: productivities in biomass, carbohydrates, phycocyanin and biochar were analyzed.

Statistical data analysis revealed that light intensity and sodium acetate concentration were the most important factors, being significant in three of the four response variables studied. The highest productivities in biomass (46.94 mg.L⁻¹.d⁻¹), carbohydrates (6.11 mg.L⁻¹.d⁻¹), phycocyanin (3.62 mg.L⁻¹.d⁻¹) and biochar (22, 48 mg.L⁻¹.d⁻¹) were achieved in experiment 4 of the Taguchi matrix, highlighting as the ideal condition for the production of biomass, carbohydrates and phycocyanin.

Sodium acetate and urea can be considered, respectively, as potential sources of carbon and nitrogen to increase Spirulina maxima productivity. From the results, an optimized cultivation condition for the sustainable production of bioproducts was obtained.

This work focuses on the study of the influence of light intensity and the use of alternative sources of nitrogen and carbon on the growth of Spirulina maxima, as well as on the influence on the productivity of biomass and biocompounds. There are few studies in the literature focused on the phycocyanin production from microalgae, justifying the need to deepen the subject.

The aim of this paper is to explore the possibility of using the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) cycle, process mining (PM) and multi-criteria decision methods in an integrated way so that these three elements combined result in a methodology called the Agile DMAIC cycle, which brings more agility and reliability in the execution of the Six Sigma process.

The approach taken by the authors in this study was to analyze the studies arising from this union of concepts and to focus on using PM tools where appropriate to accelerate the DMAIC cycle by improving the first two steps, and to test using the AHP as a decision-making process, to bring more excellent reliability in the definition of indicators.

It was indicated that there was a gain with acquiring indicators and process maps generated by PM. And through the AHP, there was a greater accuracy in determining the importance of the indicators.

Through the results and findings of this study, more organizations can understand the potential of integrating Six Sigma and PM. It was just developed for the first two steps of the DMAIC cycle, and it is also a replicable method for any Six Sigma project where data acquisition through mining is possible.

The authors develop a fully applicable and understandable methodology which can be replicated in other settings and expanded in future research.