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This study explores the impact of the residents' voice and social media brand engagement on coopetition in tourism destinations with the mediating role of knowledge sharing. The study's statistical population includes tourists who visited Iran. The sample was 243 tourists who visited Iranian tourist different villages in the spring of 2023. This empirical study adopted a descriptive correlational method and used PLS3 for data analysis. The effects of residents' voices, knowledge sharing, and engagement with social media improve cooperation between tourism destinations, help create platforms for creativity and innovation in this industry, and ensure the promotion of sustainability and attractiveness of tourism. Therefore, the mutual analysis of the effects of different factors in rural tourism in Iran is valuable in providing a new method to improve the tourism experience in this field.

Understanding work and its improvement from the individual’s perspective has become a critical issue in the 21st century. We are witnessing an overwhelming amount of information that is contributing to high stress levels among workers worldwide, which in turn has a significant impact on their physical health. From Imai's (1986) concept of Kaizen-Individual and Ohno’s (1978) idea of Manual Kaizen, the individual has always been at the heart of Kaizen philosophy. Recent research continues to explore this concept, focusing on aspects such as a sense of urgency or self-improvement. In this way, the purpose of this research is to explore and understand in depth Individual Kaizen in the micro work of Japanese companies; for this, the following research question is available: How is Individual Kaizen implemented in the work processes of the Japanese manufacturing companies examined?

The methodology used was qualitative due to its exploratory nature. To this end, the strategy of multiple case studies was used during stays in manufacturing companies in Japan. Methods of direct observation, documentary analysis, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were used.

The study in Japanese companies shed light on the micro work environment and how workers execute their processes through operational standards focused on visual control (mieruka), individual and manual Kaizen as well as quality at the source. With all this context, the result was that Individual Kaizen is made up of four major elements: willingness to improve (Jishusei), life purpose (Ikigai), sense of urgency and commitment to work (Kodawari).

The authors acknowledge that this study may have certain limitations due to its exploratory nature. Although a case study methodology was employed, limitations are always possible, primarily due to the small sample size and the bias that may arise from leaving out certain companies or key actors. Furthermore, the interviews were conducted only in a few Japanese companies, most of which are large and have an international presence.

Few studies have analyzed Kaizen in Japan, perhaps those by Brunet and New (2003), Macpherson (2015) and Yokozawa et al. (2021). However, delving deeper into the term Individual Kaizen in the micro-work of Japanese companies is novel and unique, in the sense of generating more theoretical constructs of Kaizen. First article that attempts to explain this work dynamic in micro work through Individual Kaizen.

This study aims to explore the implementation of operational excellence (OpEx) within the Moroccan automotive industry, focusing on its perception, adoption and integration into organizational structures.

This research uses a qualitative, exploratory design, using semi-structured interviews with eight key experts from various ecosystems within the Moroccan automotive industry. A purposive expert sampling method was used to select participants with significant experience in OpEx, ensuring a deep, context-specific understanding of its implementation.

This study reveals that Moroccan automotive firms adopt OpEx practices in a phased, structured manner, beginning with foundational methodologies such as Lean manufacturing, 5S and Kaizen, before progressing to advanced tools like Six Sigma. The integration of these practices is typically supported by dedicated teams within engineering and production departments, with some firms establishing specialized OpEx departments reporting directly to plant directors. While notable progress has been made in the adoption of OpEx, significant challenges remain, particularly regarding the technical expertise required for advanced methodologies like Six Sigma. Nevertheless, strong support from international parent companies and Morocco’s highly integrated automotive ecosystem has been identified as key enablers in accelerating the adoption of OpEx best practices.

The generalizability of this study is constrained by its focus on a specific industry and region. While the qualitative findings provide valuable insights into the Moroccan automotive sector, further research is needed to broaden the scope across different industries and geographical contexts. Future studies could explore the application of OpEx practices in other developing economies or investigate the role of Industry 4.0 technologies in enhancing OpEx outcomes.

This study contributes to the limited body of research on OpEx implementation in developing economies, offering empirical insights from the Moroccan automotive industry. The findings provide practical insights for industry practitioners and theoretical contributions toward understanding how OpEx practices can be adapted and scaled within the unique context of emerging economies.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the studies regarding the influential elements that contribute to the sustainability of continuous improvement (CI) programs. It aims to define the notion of sustainability and to identify and explore the influential elements that could encompass such a definition.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to categorise various interpretations of sustainability into distinct dimensions. This approach also identified 16 influential elements that have the potential to sustain CI programs. A self-assessment survey involving 80 French companies was used to evaluate these elements through the Plan, Do, Check, Act framework. In addition, a maturity-benchmark model is introduced to help evaluate the degree of maturity of the most influential elements of CI programs.

The results highlight the inherent paradox in sustaining CI programs, where robustness and adaptability must coexist. The study identifies a relationship between influential elements and organisational maturity levels, offering actionable insights to help companies advance through these stages. Human-centered elements, such as leadership and employee engagement, have the greatest impact on CI sustainability, emphasizing the importance of fostering a people-centric culture. Conversely, operational elements are less influential, suggesting a need for balanced strategies.

This paper discusses a topic that is rarely addressed, namely, how to sustain CI programs within a CI framework. This paper provides a novel synthesis of influential elements and their relationships to organisational maturity within a CI framework, challenging traditional static views of sustainability. By emphasizing the dynamic and evolving nature of CI programs, it bridges theory and practice, offering organisations a practical model for continuous reassessment and adaptation.

Entrepreneurial universities, through their intellectual capital (IC), can promote the development of a third mission, which involves collaborating with business and societal organizations to create value. Joint research projects are undertaken within entrepreneurial universities leveraging their IC. These generate value for both the academic community and the territory as they generate impact, in terms of regional IC. At the micro level, scientists in the principal investigator (PI) role are influential actors in generating impact and IC that is beneficial for all joint project stakeholders. The purpose of the paper is to address the existing gap in entrepreneurial university literature concerning the impact generation process.

The paper represents a theoretical contribution adopting a deductive approach.

This paper proposes a novel approach to support PIs in entrepreneurial universities in the process of managing innovative initiatives toward IC impact generation. First, we present the IC-based Research Impact Tool (ICRIT) to guide PIs acting as explorative entrepreneurs; then we propose an IC-based Research Impact Report (ICRIR) including some key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate impact and IC.

The theoretical approach proposed could be developed further. This could be furthered through more empirical studies using initially, for example, comparative cross-country case study research.

The paper sheds new light on the importance of the final impact generated by research initiatives, focusing on the crucial role played by PIs and promoting the adoption of an IC-based strategic approach, to maximize the final impact of projects, in terms of regional IC.

The purpose of this study is to propose and develop a zakat model for digital assets from the Sharīʿah perspective.

This research adopts a qualitative research method while studying the literature thoroughly, and it analyzes the data through an exploratory research approach to propose a zakat model for the digital assets.

This research aims to develop a zakat model for digital assets within the framework of Sharīʿah. Using a qualitative research method, the study thoroughly examines existing literature and uses an exploratory research approach to propose this zakat model. The findings suggest that digital assets hold the potential to be considered for zakat in the contemporary digital age. Previous studies indicate that both commodity-based and currency-based digital assets meet the criteria for zakat imposition. Given zakat’s significant impact on socioeconomic development, it is imperative to carefully manage these assets to maximize their potential benefits. However, variations in interpretations by different jurisdictions and Sharīʿah scholars regarding the understanding and classification of digital assets lead to ongoing scrutiny from legal and religious perspectives. This research aims to contribute to the discourse by proposing a zakat model for digital assets and identifying potential assets eligible for zakat.

This research seems to be the pioneer in providing a zakat model for digital assets, combining different segments of digital assets.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the conceptual confusion in the extant literature about organizational agility and explore its role in different relationships in the context of digital transformation.

An integrative review of the relevant literature on agility was conducted. The literature on organizational agility and other variables in recent quantitative research was also examined to explore its role in different relationships.

Organizational agility is the ability to quickly respond and proactively embrace unanticipated changes in dynamic environments through effective resource reconfiguration and rapid decision-making. The role of organizational agility in achieving digital transformation has not been addressed from a holistic conceptual perspective. This paper addresses that gap and proposes that organizational agility is the underlying mechanism for an organization to fully use and engage its workforce, operation and network in the process of digital transformation.

This research is an integrative review of the existing literature on the concept of agility and its relationships. The next phase of research needed for theory building will be the operationalization of constructs.

Organizations should strive to strategically develop both the reactivity and proactivity sides of organizational agility in achieving digital transformation that involves fundamental changes at different levels of the organization.

This paper explores the role of organizational agility in digital transformation through an integrative review of the relevant literature.

The study investigates the serial mediation of psychological ownership and workplace innovation in the nexus between organizational leadership and employee performance among healthcare workers in Ghana.

Six hundred and thirty-seven samples were selected using convenience sampling technique. The data gathered using self-reported questionnaire were analyzed using SEM-PLS.

The findings reveal that organizational leadership directly improves healthcare employee’s psychological ownership, workplace innovation and employee performance. Psychological ownership and workplace innovation separately and serially mediate the relationship between organizational leadership and healthcare employees’ performance.

The study highlights the significant influence of organizational leadership, psychological ownership and workplace innovation on the performance of healthcare employees. Healthcare organizations ought to allocate resources toward leadership development strategies to foster a favorable work atmosphere that promotes innovation and enables employees to assume ownership of their tasks and contribute to continuing enhancement, ultimately leading to enhanced performance.

This research is a pioneering study on serial mediation of psychological ownership and workplace behavior in the association between organizational leadership and performance in healthcare settings in Ghana.

This study explores the strategies of value creation and value capture adopted by two companies producing and processing almonds to measure their effectiveness.

The study takes a quantitative approach based on the analysis of two cases study. The value created and captured is esteemed by using the “transformation value” of agricultural products, developed by the Italian economic-estimative school.

The research shows how vertical integration, product differentiation and direct sales can increase the value created and captured by companies. The results demonstrate that effective supply chain management allows firms to retain a greater share of the value created, thereby improving their competitiveness.

This quantitative approach, scarcely present in the literature, makes a significant contribution to the literature on value creation and capture and proposes a replicable methodology for analyzing the impact of business strategies in the agribusiness sector.

This study aims to advance and analyze the influence that firms’ diversification approach brings to the businesses’ performance via competitive advantage (CA) and access to capital in a developing economy.

Using primary mode, the present study uses the sample of 104 diversified manufacturing firms to analyze the conditional indirect effect of firms’ diversification approach on efficient resource allocation using SAS process macros.

This study corroborates that in the era of uncertainty (when businesses are struggling to survive), a diversification approach can help the firms to build resilience against uncertainties to achieve resource allocation efficiency. Furthermore, findings also reveal that for successful strategic implementation firm’s access to capital (tangible and intellectual capital) play a critical role.

Theoretically, this study has made a sizeable contribution to the resource-based theory of a firm’s literature with a new compositional-based theoretical perspective and also by providing an insight into the relationship between strategic approaches, access to capital and resource allocation efficiency. However, the current study’s ability to provide a deep understanding of the phenomenon was restricted by the lack of data availability and a self-reporting questionnaire approach.

Potential applications of the current research exist for manufacturing industry managers and policymakers to achieve efficiency and CA. This study provides evidence of the obstacles to diversification discounts while allocating resources. At the same time, it provides a crucial connotation for maintaining distinctive tangible and intangible capital for value addition.

The current study fills out by investigating the conditional indirect effect of access to capital in industrial era 4.0. Moreover, according to researchers’ knowledge, this study is the first to establish and empirically investigate a comprehensive model that involves a strategic approach, access to tangible and intellectual capital and performance outcome obtained through the integration of all these crucial factors.