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Although various stakeholder groups frequently advocate and call for greater heterogeneity among directors and managers, it remains unknown whether team heterogeneity can be beneficial for audit committee to exercise the auditor selection functions. This study aims to address this question.

Drawing on a sample of domestically listed nonfinancial A-share firms in China from 2008 to 2022, the authors empirically examine whether and how firm’s audit committee heterogeneity associates with the selection of auditors.

Firms with higher levels of audit committee heterogeneity are more likely to be associated with lower-quality auditors. Further examination reveals the mediating role of risk-taking: higher levels of heterogeneity are associated with higher levels of risk-taking, influencing firms to employ lower-quality auditors. Moreover, the authors document that increased audit committee heterogeneity is associated with more audit committee meetings and lower audit efficiency, and that hiring lower-quality auditors can influence the market value of firms with high audit committee heterogeneity.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine whether and how audit committee erogeneity associates with the selection of auditors. Moreover, because China is a high-power distance, collectivism-oriented, more relations-based (i.e. guanxi-based) than rules-based society, it is critical to examine the influence of team heterogeneity based on the unique cultural context and transitional nature of China’s business environment.

On the basis of demand survey feedback from individuals with disabilities and caregivers, this study designed two sets of functional garments for long-term bedridden patients, with the primary objective of increasing convenience and reducing the physical workload of caregivers.

Wear trials were conducted by employing 24 subjects to perform 11 different tasks to compare the performance of the two newly developed garments with that of conventional hospital patient apparel. Task operation time, heart rate (HR), electromyography (EMG) signals, and subjective perceptions were evaluated.

The new functional garments reduced the time required to perform tasks by 29–79%, maintained the average HR of caregivers at approximately the resting threshold and resulted in a 37–74% reduction in the root mean square (RMS) of the EMG at the arm muscles in the private and thigh nursing tasks. All the subjective and objective evaluation results of the caregivers demonstrated varying degrees of correlation.

This study has practical implications for the design of functional clothing for long-term bedridden patients and provides guidance for evaluating the ergonomics of garments that can be utilized only with caregiver support.

In contrast to previous studies that focused primarily on individuals with disabilities while overlooking the indispensable role of caregivers in the nursing process, this study shifted its emphasis to long-term bedridden patients who relied exclusively on caregivers for daily activities. Additionally, this study attempted to analyze the correlations between the evaluation parameters to explore the relationships between the evaluation methods.

This study aims to explore the roles of Zhongyong and political efficacy on citizens’ intention to use digital government platforms for e-participation (i.e. e-participation intention). Zhongyong is a dialectical way of thinking that influences Chinese behavioral intentions and approaches. Political efficacy is a predictor of traditional political participation. Both of them have not been adequately investigated in this digital era, particularly regarding e-participation in digital government platforms. Therefore, this study investigates their relationships.

A quantitative model is constructed to examine the relationship between Zhongyong and citizens’ e-participation intention (internal and external) political efficacy serves as a mediator. An online questionnaire gathered 345 responses from three representative provinces of China (i.e. Guangdong, Jiangxi and Shanxi). Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted and executed with Smart PLS 4.0 to analyze the data.

Zhongyong and (internal and external) political efficacy can positively influence citizens’ e-participation intention. Moreover, (internal and external) political efficacy mediates the relationship between Zhongyong and citizens’ e-participation intention.

This research focuses on Chinese culture Zhongyong and surveyed Chinese citizens, thus is limited to the Chinese context. Second, this study used cross-sectional data. Third, this study only investigated two factors’ effects on e-participation, i.e. Zhongyong and political efficacy.

The findings provide multifaceted strategies for improving citizens’ adoption of digital government platforms for e-participation. Incentive policies to boost citizens’ (internal and external) political efficacy can be launched. To achieve broader citizen participation, a participative culture can be cultivated based on Zhongyong.

This study constructs a novel model that innovatively links Zhongyong thinking, political efficacy and e-participation intention. The results underscore the importance of Zhongyong culture and political efficacy in increasing citizens’ e-participation intention.

The artificial intelligence-enabled service robot has the potential to serve in consumer market. However, there is limited knowledge of how users across the globe respond to this innovation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop an integrated research model led by three known theories, namely, diffusion of innovation, theory of planned behavior and DeLone and McLean model, and investigates consumer intention to adopt robot-enabled services.

The quantitative research design is selected in this research. Data were collected through structured questionnaires. Overall, 221 airline passengers participated in the service robot survey. These responses were further analyzed with a structural equation modeling approach.

Statistical findings have revealed that jointly perceived behavioral control, compatibility, innovativeness, information quality, system quality and service quality explained R² 50.3% variance in user attitude to adopt service robots. In addition to that robot appearance and user attitude have explained a large variance R² 48.9 % in user intention to adopt service robots. Nevertheless, results have revealed an insignificant moderating impact of robot appearance on user attitude and intention to adopt service robots.

Practically, this research has suggested that information quality, adequate system quality and service quality boost user confidence and encourage users to adopt services led by robots. Similarly, this research has suggested that compatibility brings ease to the use of robot technology and innovativeness attracts technology users. Therefore, policymakers should focus on compatible and innovative characteristics of robot services. Moreover factors such as subjective norms and perceived behavioral control have shown a positive impact in measuring user intention to adopt service robots and hence need managerial attention.

The current research is original, as it gives deep insight into understanding user behavior toward the adoption of service robots. Moreover, the integration of three known theories, namely, DeLone and McLean model, the diffusion of innovation model and the theory of planned behavior in service robot setting has made current research more unique. Similarly, this study is consistent with United Nations sustainable development goals and ignites SDG progress by promoting artificial-driven robotic technology in the services sector.

This paper aims to explore the possible forms and characteristics of an artificial intelligence (AI) leader and discuss the potential applications of AI in political leadership and governance.

A categorization system consisting of three categories – the level of responsibility, the voting system and the bindingness of the AI’s decisions – was developed to better understand the various types of AI leaders. Additionally, to identify the main characteristics of an AI leader, a comprehensive literature review was conducted. The themes from the literature were then categorized and supplemented with additional discussions.

This paper identifies several potential AI leaders, including the AI President, the AI Dictator, the AI Minister and the AI Consultant. The key characteristics of an AI leader were also discussed. The primary strengths of AI lie in their intelligence and rationality, which could potentially lead our societies toward a peaceful and prosperous future. However, a significant drawback of AI is that it will always be limited by the capabilities and intentions of its programmer, whether human or AI.

Understanding the forms and characteristics of AI leaders may help policymakers and decision-makers explore the possibilities of integrating AI into political leadership and governance.

This paper contributes to the emerging field of AI in governance by exploring the forms and characteristics of AI leaders and discussing their potential applications in political leadership.

The demand for green personal care products (GPPs) has been growing globally due to increasing health-care concerns. However, the purchase rate of these products among consumers remains low. This study aims to identify and model the key barriers to the purchase of GPPs.

For this purpose, the study used innovation resistance theory (IRT) as a framework to identify key barriers to the purchasing of GPPs. The barriers were identified through a systematic literature review and validated by industry and academia experts. Furthermore, using interpretive structural modelling and Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée a un Classement, the study identifies the interrelationships among the barriers and categorizes them based on their driving and dependence power.

The findings reveal that limited availability, improper labelling standard and certification, poor performance of products and lack of government regulations are key barriers to the purchase of GPPs.

The study contributes to the existing literature on green purchase behaviour. Furthermore, it informs marketing strategies to overcome the identified barriers and increase the purchase of GPPs.

This study is the foremost empirical study that identifies and analyses the industry specific barriers to GPPs based on experts’ input and under the purview of IRT.

The purpose of this study is to comprehensively examine the ethical implications surrounding generative artificial intelligence (AI).

Leveraging a novel methodological approach, the study curates a corpus of 364 documents from Scopus spanning 2022 to 2024. Using the term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) and structural topic modeling (STM), it quantitatively dissects the thematic essence of the ethical discourse in generative AI across diverse domains, including education, healthcare, businesses and scientific research.

The results reveal a diverse range of ethical concerns across various sectors impacted by generative AI. In academia, the primary focus is on issues of authenticity and intellectual property, highlighting the challenges of AI-generated content in maintaining academic integrity. In the healthcare sector, the emphasis shifts to the ethical implications of AI in medical decision-making and patient privacy, reflecting concerns about the reliability and security of AI-generated medical advice. The study also uncovers significant ethical discussions in educational and financial settings, demonstrating the broad impact of generative AI on societal and professional practices.

This study provides a foundation for crafting targeted ethical guidelines and regulations for generative AI, informed by a systematic analysis using STM. It highlights the need for dynamic governance and continual monitoring of AI’s evolving ethical landscape, offering a model for future research and policymaking in diverse fields.

The study introduces a unique methodological combination of TF-IDF and STM to analyze a large academic corpus, offering new insights into the ethical implications of generative AI across multiple domains.

This study investigates how the use of online food delivery (OFD) services can motivate consumers to switch between food providers through its impact on switching costs, variety-seeking tendencies and exposure to competitors' marketing activities.

We develop a structural equation model in which the usage frequency of OFD services is postulated to weaken procedural and relational switching costs and increase variety-seeking tendency and marketing exposure. The model is calibrated using online survey data collected in China and Japan (n = 602).

The results suggest that the frequent use of OFD services weakens procedural and relational switching costs and increases customer exposure to competing firms' marketing activities. Surprisingly, OFD reduces some customers' variety-seeking tendencies.

While many studies have delineated the benefits that food retailers obtain by adopting OFD services, little attention has been paid to how these services can be detrimental to adopting firms. This study provides evidence of how OFD services reduce switching costs and make customers more vulnerable to competitors’ marketing.

The present study aims to examine the households’ attitudes and intentions to adopt an indoor air purifier against the smog crisis in India by using a comprehensive theoretical framework based on the combination of the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 also emphasized ensuring a healthy and safe life, especially by achieving SDG-3, SDG-11 and SDG-13.

Using purposive sampling, the data were collected through a survey questionnaire distributed to 382 households, and study hypotheses were assessed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling employing SmartPLS.

The results revealed that mental health risk perception (MHRP) was the most influential determinant of households’ attitudes toward adopting air purifiers, followed by smog knowledge, physical health risk perception (PHRP), information seeking and product knowledge. Notably, results revealed that households’ attitude is a leading determinant of their adoption intention toward the air purifier compared to subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first to provide new insights into an individual’s protective behavior response toward ecological hazards by examining the households’ adoption intention toward the air purifier against the smog crisis using PADM and TPB model inclusively. In addition, the present study analyzes the impact of both PHRP and MHRP on individuals’ protective behavior separately. Also, this study provides theoretical contributions and important practical implications for the government, manufacturers and air purifier sellers.

This study aims to examine the impact of the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) certification on the leader development of US diverse practitioners.

The study involved six online focus groups with 64 APRs who identified as diverse practitioners and APR chairs who supported and mentored diverse candidates.

Diverse practitioners identified specific knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) that they developed through the APR study process, which are consistent with those desired in leaders such as technical, relationship management and conceptual skills. Not only did diverse practitioners become more strategic thinkers and skilled in the public relations planning process, but they also were promoted or hired into management positions. Effective mentors were key to their success. These findings confirm that the APR can be a form of leader development for diverse public relations practitioners that opens doors to management positions. However, employers need to provide instrumental support for diverse practitioners to be successful, such as covering costs associated with the exam, providing study time and supporting their membership in professional associations.

Based on the theoretical framework of self-efficacy and a lifelong learning mindset, the study reveals the value of the APR in preparing diverse practitioners for leadership roles, which can be a resource to address the gap in diverse leaders in the public relations industry.