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The purpose of this study is to examine the quality of African business schools (ABSs) mission statements (MSs) based on the number and types of elements and the relevance of the elements to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). MSs are ubiquitous in higher education, but research on ABSs MSs quality and relevance to SDG is non-existent.

A qualitative approach with content analysis was used to systematically examine ABSs MSs retrieved from institutional websites. The MSs were analyzed based on an adopted ten-element framework of MSs for quality and relevance to sustainability.

This study revealed that only 39.4% of the MSs of the top 200 ABSs reviewed were publicly accessible via institutional websites. The examined MS shows a moderate quality (number of elements used) that varied partly by the institutional structural characteristics. On sustainability, six elements of the MS framework were found to be conceptually relevant to SDGs 4, 5, 8, 13 and 17. However, the analysis of ABSs MSs revealed a weak contribution to the SDGs.

Data on some ABSs MSs may have been missed because they are inaccessible, and this study did not measure actual but potential contributions to SDGs via MS elements. A qualitative follow-up study with interviews is necessary to assess how institutions implement the MS elements relevant to the SDGs.

Guidelines for developing and enhancing MSs of African higher education institutions are prescribed to ensure quality and relevance to the current societal needs and for sustainable quality education.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the quality of the ABSs MSs and their comparability across Africa. This study is also the first to operationalize a ten-element framework of MSs and conceptualize how MS elements are linked to the SDGs.

The continuous evolution of the UAE necessitates adapting to the dynamic nature of facilities management (FM) and construction sectors. Therefore, this study explores the current asset maintenance management (AMM) practices and FM teams' roles in the early stages of planning.

Twenty semi-structured interviews with 13 FM experts and 7 construction professionals (consultants, managers, directors, engineers) in the UAE were conducted. Data were analyzed thematically and validated by the triangulation method.

The study unveiled a disconnection between the FM and construction sectors in the UAE, unlike the global markets. Interviewees highlighted several areas that could benefit from improved collaboration between these sectors, including data transfer, space planning, design review, sustainability practices and energy savings, maintainability, defects liability period (DLP) and lifecycle cost (LCC) and budget estimation and feasibility. Additionally, the most frequently reported barriers to the collaborative approach were the immaturity of FM in comparison to the construction sector (60%) and the lack of awareness of technology (50%). Raising awareness on the importance of early FM involvement was voted the most as a solution to the barriers identified (70%). Interviewees further emphasized the crucial role of building information modeling (BIM) in fostering this collaboration.

The study’s originality lies in its focus on the UAE’s regional context and the use of qualitative insights from experts to understand the nuanced interactions between FM and construction, providing an in-depth analysis of local collaborative practices.

Architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) is an important industry worldwide and one of the largest economic sectors in several developing countries, particularly in Iran. The Iranian AEC sector suffers from low productivity and needs to adopt building information modeling (BIM) to reduce inefficiencies. Therefore, this paper was conducted to identify the BIM barriers and propose practical solutions to overcome them in Iran.

A comprehensive literature review, two rounds of the Delphi technique and semi-structured interviews with 12 Iranian experts in the AEC sector were conducted. The data were analyzed using the mean score, standard deviation and nonparametric tests.

The present study identified 26 BIM barriers in the Iranian AEC community and provided practical strategies for improving BIM adoption. The identified barriers were categorized into six main groups including source barriers, financial barriers, unawareness barriers, organizational barriers, regulatory barriers and market-demand barriers. The main three BIM barriers in Iran were the lack of government intervention, change-resistant and the gap between industry and academia. Kruskal–Wallis tests revealed that there are no statistically significant differences in perceptions of BIM barriers between respondents. The Mann–Whitney test indicated that there is no statistically significant difference in perceptions between engineers and architects except for one.

There are few studies on BIM adoption across developing countries, particularly in Iran. Moreover, the results can also be used in other developing nations with similar conditions.

This study aims to examine the factors of implementing istibdal waqf and generating cash waqf funds through istibdal in Penang. This study was based on the previous problem statements, stating that waqf property could not be developed due to lack of cash funds. This has allowed the study to explore the factors for implementing istibdal waqf property and the extent to which the istibdal method can generate cash waqf funds in Penang.

This study adopted a qualitative method by conducting semi-structured interviews to achieve its research goals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to comprehensively understand the current practice on istibdal cases in Penang State Islamic Religious Council (MAINPP) through official institutions concerned with waqf management practices in Penang. This research relied on purposive sampling to select the informants. It is a sampling strategy to select the informants in advance based on the research question. To achieve the purpose of this study, two officers from MAINPP were selected based on their working experience and specialisation criteria. As a result, several themes were successfully defined from the interview data before being analysed based on the content analysis method.

The results present three istibdal implementation processes outlined by MAINPP, namely, the istibdal implementation process for waqf land involved in the acquisition by state authorities (PBN), non-productive waqf land and istibdal applications from certain parties. The results also reveal two factors in implementing istibdal in Penang: the acquisition of waqf land by PBN and the application of istibdal for cemeteries by the Islamic Centre of Universiti Sains Malaysia. From the point of cash fund generation, no case of istibdal implementation records the generation of cash funds to MAINPP. Thus, this study ends with proposals for improving the process and implementing istibdal in Penang to generate cash funds to help MAINPP manage waqf properties.

The study only focused on implementing factors and generating cash waqf funds through istibdal in Penang. At the same time, it can be expanded to other states like Terengganu, Johor and Kelantan. This study only interviewed officers who manage matters related to the affairs of waqf properties. Therefore, it is believed that the study can be extended to other respondents, such as experts in cash fund generation investments and others.

This study proposed improvements to the policy and practice of istibdal waqf property to MAINPP after the shortcomings were identified throughout this study. If improved, these proposals will significantly impact the waqf properties involved in implementing istibdal, where it can generate cash and ensure the constant economic value of waqf properties.

This study has great implications for society through the development of a cash waqf fund that can provide great benefits to the needy, in addition to increasing funds for the welfare expenditure of Muslims through rental income, investment and development. Progress and significant impact on waqf property can provide a high indicator of the efficiency of an organisation in managing waqf property. This can attract the interest of the public, especially the wealthy, to always fulfil welfare through the waqf mechanism and share the wealth with the needy.

This study contributes to comprehensive field data on the implementation of istibdal in Penang. The data analysis results are significant to be used by the waqf property management.

Drawing on the transactional theory of stress and coping, this paper aims to identify the relationship between workplace ostracism and job productivity by analyzing the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and lack of motivation.

We collected data from a sample of 396 employees from 20 manufacturing companies in Jordan using a survey-based, two-tiered approach. The partial least squares structural equation modeling method was used to test the direct and indirect effects of ostracism on productivity.

The findings show that workplace ostracism increases emotional exhaustion and motivation, and indirectly decreases job productivity through the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and lack of motivation.

The study provides a theoretical foundation on which various companies can base their understanding of workplace ostracism and its relationship to job productivity. By focusing on increased exhaustion and lack of motivation, this study analyzes current literature to establish the impacts on areas of interest and identify expectations in the context of productivity, as well as enhance comprehension of the detrimental effects of workplace ostracism on productivity.

The purpose of this study is to explore the multifaceted challenge of managing construction and demolition waste within the context of the Jordan construction industry.

Using data sourced through desk research, interviews and questionnaires, this study examines the principal causes of increased volumes of construction and demolition waste, as well as the obstacles to both developing and implementing better waste management strategies.

This study identifies multiple causes of issues related to waste management and barriers to developing and implementing solutions and concludes by recommending a holistic approach to this multifaceted problem. A lack of adequate construction waste management infrastructure, regarding both physical facilities and regulations, was highlighted as the key challenge.

The accumulation of waste that results from construction and demolition activity, and activities characterized by unsustainable utilization of raw materials and inefficiency are a global issue. The challenge of effectively managing construction waste is importantly tied to factors including the availability of the necessary infrastructure; economic conditions; and the scarcity of skilled laborers, among others.

This study focuses on the Jordan construction industry, which is so far not very well researched. By building upon previous studies, this study supports further research to illuminate the causes of waste and the barriers to better management, an issue that is not only a pillar of progress at the country level but also key for a sustainable development in general.

This study aims to examine whether the age and tenure of the chair of the board of directors are related to research and development (R&D) investment in China.

This study uses A-share manufacturing firms that traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange between 2009 and 2018. This study uses OLS regressions, controls for self-selection bias, and uses an instrumental variable to alleviate the concern of endogeneity.

This study finds that chair tenure has a negative relationship with R&D investment. This study does not find a significant relationship between chair age and R&D investment.

This study contributes to corporate governance and strategic management literature by highlighting chair tenure as a new factor affecting R&D investments. It also adds a significant contribution to the limited literature on the chair’s role in strategic decisions. Moreover, companies that are eager to strengthen corporate governance and maintain sustained innovation may reconsider the chair tenure. Given that many proposals for board governance reform explicitly stress the importance of limiting board tenure, this study contributes to policymakers by providing evidence in support of these proposals.

The purpose of this study is to investigate possible drivers of loyalty amongst Islamic banking customers in Gauteng, South Africa. We ponder the relationships of service fairness (a secondorder reflective construct) with perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty.

Data were obtained from Islamic banking customers in South Africa using interview-administered questionnaires. A total of 350 responses were perceived as being suitable for data analysis. The measurement and structural models were measured through structural equation modelling.

Service fairness and perceived value were found to be important drivers of loyalty within this context.

This study demonstrates that service fairness and perceived value are precursors to the future loyalty intentions of Islamic banking customers. As such, they should be nurtured as key elements of the relationship building process.

The study guides South African Islamic banks and South African banks with Islamic windows to better understand how service fairness (interactional, procedural and distributive) fosters satisfaction, perceived value and loyalty (attitudinal and behavioural).

Enhancing comprehension of the relationship between service fairness and customer loyalty, with satisfaction and perceived value playing intermediary roles, represents an unexplored avenue in academic research within the context of Islamic banking in an emerging African market.

Damage of engineering structures is a nonlinear evolutionary process that spans across both material and structural levels, from mesoscale to macroscale. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of damage analysis methods at both the material and structural levels.

This study provides an overview of multiscale damage analysis of engineering structures, including its definition and significance. Current status of damage analysis at both material and structural levels is investigated, by reviewing damage models and prediction methods from single-scale to multiscale perspectives. The discussion of prediction methods includes both model-based simulation approaches and data-driven techniques, emphasizing their roles and applications. Finally, summarize the main findings and discuss potential future research directions in this field.

In the material level, damage research primarily focuses on the degradation of material properties at the macroscale using continuum damage mechanics (CDM). In contrast, at the mesoscale, damage research involves analyzing material behavior in the meso-structural domain, focusing on defects like microcracks and void growth. In structural-level damage analysis, the macroscale is typically divided into component and structural scales. The component scale examines damage progression in individual structural elements, such as beams and columns, often using detailed finite element or mesoscale models. The structural scale evaluates the global behavior of the entire structure, typically using simplified models like beam or shell elements.

To achieve realistic simulations, it is essential to include as many mesoscale details as possible. However, this results in significant computational demands. To balance accuracy and efficiency, multiscale methods are employed. These methods are categorized into hierarchical approaches, where different scales are processed sequentially, and concurrent approaches, where multiple scales are solved simultaneously to capture complex interactions across scales.

The adoption of metaverse in manufacturing holds significant benefits, but there are several barriers to its seamless integration. This paper aims to identify such barriers and prioritize them in a manner that allows industrial leaders to strategize for smooth adoption.

In this study, we applied two-stage methods, first the identification and validation of barriers through an empirical study applied to Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). A purposive sampling technique and snowball sampling facilitated data collection from these expert sources. Through snowball sampling, additional contacts working in the metaverse field were reached, resulting in 235 possible respondents; the survey yielded 104 completed responses. Thereafter, the best-worst method (BWM) was used to measure and rank the barriers.

The study results show that the two most critical barriers are “Lack of data security and privacy” and “Lack of integration compatibility with existing systems.” Such findings inform industry leaders of specific recommendations for structural changes, training programs, necessary technological investments and collaborative efforts to overcome these barriers.

This work adds significantly to academic discussion by prioritizing barriers towards integrating metaverse technology in manufacturing. In addition, this strategic methodology aids in critical appraisal and ranking of barriers for successful adoption. This study also identifies key barriers but acknowledges that other unexamined factors might be lurking in the background, such as virtual economy, financial risks and cross-border legal issues.

The study’s conclusions cannot be generalized to the other sectors, thus indicating the necessity of carrying out a comparative multi-sector study in the future.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study on systematic prioritization of barriers to adopting metaverse technology in manufacturing is the original contribution of the authors.