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This study aims to explore the influence of corporate sustainability on organizational value, specifically focusing on companies ranked in the Just Capital Market ranking. The aim is to establish whether higher sustainability rankings are associated with increased firm value and to investigate how corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities affect both financial and non-financial outcomes.

This study uses the Ohlson model to assess the value-generation potential of the top and bottom ten companies in the Just Capital Market ranking from 2013 to 2018. The analysis involves evaluating stock prices and other financial metrics and incorporating non-financial indicators related to CSR activities to gain a comprehensive understanding of their impact on firm valuation.

The results indicate a strong connection between high sustainability rankings and increased market value. Companies such as Microsoft, Intel and Alphabet, which have robust CSR initiatives, have shown significant improvements in market performance due to greater stakeholder engagement and detailed non-financial disclosures. On the other hand, companies with low sustainability ratings have demonstrated weaker market performance, which indicates the financial risks associated with neglecting CSR activities. This study underscores the critical importance of integrating CSR into fundamental business strategies to create sustainable value.

This study addresses the limitations of traditional financial indicators by incorporating non-financial factors into the valuation process. The study offers a more comprehensive assessment of firm value, reflecting modern business practices and the evolving global economy landscape. Integrating nonfinancial indicators enhances valuation accuracy and provides a holistic view of company performance, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions based on a broader range of factors. This innovative method may reshape firm valuations, leading to more accurate and reliable assessments in contemporary business contexts.

This paper aims to improve the refractive index sensor performance for analytes with large refractive index by adopting the technology of microstructured fiber (MF) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR).

The structure adopts an MF with a hexagonal lattice cladding structure composed of all-circular air holes, and three defect regions are introduced. The liquid analyte that needs to be tested is filled in the defect area. The surface plasmon polarition mode is generated and coupled with the core mode, thus forming a refractive index sensing channel. When the resonance conditions are satisfied, the resonance wavelength will be changed with the refractive index of the liquid analyte. All parameters that may affect the performance of the sensor are numerical simulated, and the structure is optimized through a large number of calculations.

The results demonstrate that the maximum dynamic sensitivity (S_R) can reach to 24,260 nm/RIU, and the average sensitivity (S_R-AV) can reach to 18,046 nm/RIU when the refractive index range is from 1.42 to 1.47. Besides, the sensitivity linearity (R²) is approximately 0.965, and its resolution is 4.1 × 10^–6 RIU. The comparison with some literature results shown that the proposed sensor has certain advantages over the sensors reported in these literatures.

This work proposed an SPR-based refractive index sensor with a simple MF structure. It has a certain reference significance for the design and optimization of SPR-based MF sensors. Moreover, owing to its simple structure, high refractive index sensitivity and linear sensing performance, this sensor will play an important role in the detection of high refractive index liquid analytes.

This paper aims to analyze the frictional performance of the phosphated CTRBs under dry sliding conditions. Through friction and wear experiments and characterization analysis, this paper investigated the wear mechanism and anti-wear mechanism of the composite phosphating coatings.

This paper used a method of incorporating graphite particles and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles into manganese-based phosphating solution to prepare composite phosphating coatings applied on cylindrical thrust roller bearings (CTRBs).

The results are as follows: the inclusion of functionalized graphite particles affects the characterization of the composite phosphating coatings, whereas PTFE particles serve a physical filling role and have no influence on the surface features of the composite phosphating coatings. The surface roughness of the composite phosphating coatings is the main factor affecting the frictional behavior of phosphated CRTBs. Roughness affects the amount of PTFE particles adsorbed on the surface of the phosphate crystals. PTFE particles can form a solid lubricating film at the friction interface, and under the same surface roughness conditions, phosphated CTRBs with added PTFE particles can improve its friction performance.

The characterization parameters of the composite phosphating coatings were controlled by adding functionalized graphite particles to the phosphating solution. The effects of adding only graphite particles and adding both graphite particles and PTFE particles on the surface characteristics of the phosphating coatings were discussed separately. The tribological performance of phosphating CTRBs was analyzed through friction and wear testing, and the influence of surface characteristics on wear mechanisms and anti-wear mechanisms was discussed.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-10-2024-0405/

Amid rising concerns over unhealthy dietary habits and their impact on public health, this study aims to explore the role of avatars in promoting healthier eating and enhancing customer satisfaction in restaurants. By leveraging the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and nudge theory, this research sought to gain insights into consumer behavior and assess how digital innovations can encourage healthier food choices.

This study recruited 672 participants in the USA. Participants viewed a video featuring an avatar that informed them about available healthy food options, simulating a restaurant ordering scenario. Following the video, participants completed comprehensive online surveys. The collected data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling to assess the effectiveness and implications of the intervention.

The findings revealed that health consciousness, environmental awareness, social norms and perceived behavioral control significantly influence dietary habits. Restaurant health initiatives and avatar persuasiveness were found to encourage healthier food choices, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty and enhance electronic word-of-mouth. The study confirmed that avatars equipped with attributes such as competence, warmth, trustworthiness and credibility can be an effective digital nudge for consumers toward healthier dietary decisions.

This study’s originality lies in its integration of TPB and nudge theory, bridging the gap between individual psychological factors and external cues. This comprehensive framework provides valuable insights for restaurant managers, artificial intelligence developers and policymakers, offering practical strategies to promote healthier eating and enhance customer experiences through digital innovation.

鉴于公众对不健康饮食习惯及其对公共健康影响的日益关注, 本研究旨在探索虚拟形象在促进更健康饮食和提升餐厅顾客满意度中的作用。通过利用计划行为理论（TPB）和劝导理论（Nudge Theory）, 本研究试图深入了解消费者行为, 并评估数字创新如何鼓励更健康的食品选择。

本研究在美国招募了672名参与者。参与者观看了一个展示虚拟形象的视频, 该虚拟形象向他们介绍了可供选择的健康食品选项, 模拟了餐厅点餐场景。观看视频后, 参与者完成了全面的在线调查。收集的数据通过偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）分析, 以评估干预的有效性和影响。

研究发现, 健康意识、环境意识、社会规范和感知行为控制显著影响饮食习惯。餐厅健康倡议和虚拟形象的说服力被发现能够鼓励更健康的食品选择, 提高顾客满意度和忠诚度, 并增强电子口碑。研究证实, 具备能力、温暖、可信度和信誉等属性的虚拟形象可以成为有效的数字劝导工具, 引导消费者作出更健康的饮食决策。

本研究的原创性在于它将计划行为理论和劝导理论结合起来, 填补了个体心理因素和外部线索之间的差距。这一综合框架为餐厅经理、人工智能开发者和政策制定者提供了宝贵的洞见, 提供了推动更健康饮食和通过数字创新增强顾客体验的实用策略。

En medio de la creciente preocupación por los hábitos alimentarios poco saludables y su impacto en la salud pública, este estudio pretende explorar el papel de los avatares en la promoción de una alimentación más saludable y la mejora de la satisfacción del cliente en los restaurantes. Aprovechando la Teoría del Comportamiento Planificado (TPB) y la Teoría del Impulso, esta investigación trata de profundizar en el comportamiento del consumidor y evalúa cómo las innovaciones digitales pueden fomentar la elección de alimentos más saludables.

El estudio reclutó a 672 participantes en Estados Unidos. Los participantes visionaron un vídeo en el que un avatar les informaba sobre las opciones de comida saludable disponible, simulando una situación en la que solicitaban comida en un restaurante. Después del vídeo, los participantes rellenaron unas exhaustivas encuestas en línea. Los datos recogidos se analizaron mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales por mínimos cuadrados parciales para evaluar la eficacia y las implicaciones de la intervención.

Los resultados revelaron que la conciencia saludable, la conciencia medioambiental, las normas sociales y el control conductual percibido influyen significativamente en los hábitos alimentarios. Se comprobó que las iniciativas relacionadas con la salud en los restaurantes y la capacidad de persuasión de los avatares fomentan la elección de alimentos más sanos, mejoran la satisfacción y la fidelidad de los clientes y potencian el boca a boca electrónico. El estudio confirmó que los avatares dotados de atributos como competencia, calidez, fiabilidad y credibilidad pueden ser un estímulo digital eficaz para que los consumidores tomen decisiones dietéticas más saludables.

La originalidad de este estudio radica en la integración de la TPB y la Teoría de los Estímulos, que tiende un puente entre los factores psicológicos individuales y las señales externas. Este marco integral aporta valiosas ideas a los gestores de restaurantes, desarrolladores de IA y responsables políticos, ofreciendo estrategias prácticas para promover una alimentación más sana y mejorar las experiencias de los clientes a través de la innovación digital.

Independent directors (IDs) in India are required to qualify for the online proficiency self-assessment test to acquire or retain their position on the corporate boards. The purpose of this paper was to examine the perceived positive and negative aspects of the new mandate for the overall quality of corporate boards in India.

This study used a qualitative methodology and applied the interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. Data was collected from board members using semi-structured interviews.

This study revealed the positive and negative perceived aspects of the mandatory policy prescription of proficiency test for IDs. It was found that the participants emphasized training and mentoring programs for the IDs.

Drawing upon the actual board experiences of the participants, this study has the potential to assist policymakers in making regulations that are more effective in enhancing the quality of corporate boards. The example of action taken as well as the criticism or positive aspects pointed out can generate interest in other legislators.

The concept of proficiency test for IDs is unique to India. A review of literature did not reveal the existence of any regulatory provisions for a mandatory uniform test for examining the proficiency of IDs, in any corporate law jurisdiction apart from India.

This study aims to investigate the metaverse’s capability to foster sustainable tourism through word-of-mouth (WoM), by integrating embodied social presence theory with social identity theory. It aims to unveil how the interplay between metaverse technology and user attributes enhances tourists’ experiences and satisfaction, thereby promoting WoM for sustainable tourism practices.

A scenario-based survey research design was used, comprising a survey of 528 respondents. This study used structural equation modelling to analyse the data, focusing on the relationships between technological features, user attributes, social presence and their combined effect on promoting sustainable tourism through WoM.

Results indicate that the metaverse significantly enhances social presence and tourist satisfaction, which in turn, fosters WoM for sustainable tourism. Key factors include technological attributes (individuality, empathy, naturalness and immersion) and user attributes (prior experience and interest in sustainable practices), which collectively influence the propensity for sustainable WoM, also impacted by prosocial identity and subcultural identification.

This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating the metaverse’s potential in enhancing sustainable tourism promotion through innovative technological engagement. It offers practical insights for destination marketers and service providers on leveraging metaverse technology to engage a wider audience in sustainable tourism practices, marking a significant step towards integrating digital innovations with ecological sustainability efforts.

本研究旨在探讨元宇宙促进可持续旅游的能力, 通过融合具身社会存在理论与社会认同理论, 分析元宇宙技术与用户属性之间的相互作用如何增强游客的体验和满意度, 从而推动可持续旅游实践的口碑（WoM）传播。

采用基于情境的调查研究设计, 对528名受访者进行了问卷调查。本研究运用结构方程模型对数据进行分析, 重点关注技术特性、用户属性、社交存在感及其对通过WoM促进可持续旅游的联合效应。

研究结果表明, 元宇宙显著增强了社交存在感、游客满意度和体验感, 进而促进了可持续旅游的WoM。关键因素包括技术属性（个性化、共情、自然性和沉浸感）和用户属性（先前经验和对可持续性的兴趣）, 这些因素共同影响了可持续性WoM的倾向, 同时也受到亲社会身份和亚文化认同的影响。

本研究通过展示元宇宙在通过创新技术参与中增强可持续旅游推广的潜力, 为文献做出了贡献。它为目的地营销人员和政策制定者提供了实际洞见, 关于如何利用元宇宙技术吸引更广泛的受众参与可持续旅游实践, 标志着将数字创新与生态可持续性努力相结合的重要一步。

Este estudio investiga la capacidad del metaverso para fomentar el turismo sostenible a través del boca a boca (WoM), integrando la teoría de la presencia social corporal con la teoría de la identidad social. Su objetivo es desvelar cómo la interacción entre la tecnología del metaverso y los atributos de los usuarios mejora las experiencias y la satisfacción de los turistas, promoviendo así el WoM para prácticas de turismo sostenible.

Se utilizó un diseño de investigación con encuestas basadas en escenarios, con 528 participantes. El estudio empleó modelos de ecuaciones estructurales para analizar los datos, centrándose en las relaciones entre las características tecnológicas, los atributos de los usuarios, la presencia social y su efecto combinado en la promoción del turismo sostenible a través del WoM.

Los resultados indican que el metaverso mejora significativamente la presencia social y la satisfacción del turista, lo que a su vez fomenta el WoM del turismo sostenible. Los factores clave incluyen atributos tecnológicos (individualidad, empatía, naturalidad e inmersión) y atributos de los usuarios (experiencia previa e interés por las prácticas sostenibles), que influyen colectivamente en la propensión al WoM sostenible, también afectado por la identidad prosocial y la identificación subcultural.

Esta investigación contribuye a la literatura al demostrar el potencial del metaverso para mejorar la promoción del turismo sostenible a través de un compromiso tecnológico innovador. Ofrece perspectivas prácticas para los comercializadores de destinos y los proveedores de servicios para aprovechar la tecnología del metaverso para involucrar a un público más amplio en prácticas de turismo sostenible, marcando un paso significativo hacia la integración de las innovaciones digitales con los esfuerzos de sostenibilidad ecológica.

This research aims to examine the interplay between social media engagement, motivation and materialistic values on purchase intention towards luxury fashion brands among young Chinese consumers in Hong Kong. The study explores three key areas: the correlation between social media engagement and luxury purchase intention, the motivational factors that influence this relationship and the role of materialistic values within this context.

The study employs a moderated mediation analysis approach to explore these relationships. A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 226 young Chinese respondents (aged 18–35) in Hong Kong. The survey aimed to measure the participants’ engagement with luxury fashion brands’ social media (predictor), materialistic values (moderator), intention to purchase luxury items (outcome) and their motivation regulation (mediator).

The study reveals a moderated mediation model. It indicates that consumers’ autonomous motivation, specifically intrinsic and identified regulation, acts as a mediator between social media engagement and luxury purchase intention. Interestingly, social media engagement has a more profound influence on the intrinsic motivation to purchase luxury items among consumers with less materialistic values.

This study pioneers in explaining luxury purchase intention in relation to social media engagement, autonomous motivation and materialism among young Chinese consumers in Hong Kong. Further, it highlights that by engaging in social media, non-materialistic consumers’ intrinsic motivation toward purchasing luxury goods can mirror that of their materialistic counterparts.

This research aims to argue that manual geometric modeling is blocking the building information modeling (BIM) promotion to small-size companies. Therefore, it is necessary to study a manner of automated modeling to reduce the dependence of BIM implementation on manpower. This paper aims to make a study into such a system to propose both its theory and prototype.

This research took a prototyping as the methodology, which consists of three steps: (1) proposing a theoretical framework supporting automated geometric modeling process; (2) developing a prototype system based on the framework; (3) conducting a testing for the prototype system on its performance.

Previous researches into automated geometric modeling only respectively focused on a specific procedure for a particular engineering domain. No general model was abstracted to support generic geometric modeling. This paper, taking higher level of abstraction, proposed such a model that can describe general geometric modeling process to serve generic automated geometric modeling systems.

This paper focused on only geometric modeling, skipping non-geometric information of BIM. A complete BIM model consists of geometric and non-geometric data. Therefore, the method of combination of them is on the research agenda.

The model proposed by this paper provide a mechanism to translate engineering geometric objects into textual representations, being able to act as the kernel of generic automated geometric modeling systems, which are expected to boost BIM promotion in industry.

While the tourism–growth nexus is one of the better researched themes in both tourism and economics literature, there is limited evidence on how institutional quality affects this link, especially in the context of the developing world. To address this gap, this study aims to investigate the tourism-led growth hypothesis (TLGH) through the lens of institutional quality, drawing on evidence from African economies.

This study adopts a longitudinal design, involving panel data on 43 countries over an 18-year period, and the data were analyzed using the difference generalized method of moments model.

Results indicated that international tourism earnings contributed to economic growth in the selected economies. However, institutional quality negatively moderated the tourism–growth relationship on the continent, particularly in low-income economies, while reinforcing this link in middle-income countries.

This study provides new insights into how the TLGH varies across different levels of institutional quality and development.

虽然旅游业与经济增长之间的关系研究是旅游和经济领域中较为深入的主题之一, 但目前关于制度质量如何影响这种关系的研究仍然较少, 而以发展中国家作为研究对象的研究更为有限. 为了填补这一研究空白, 本研究从制度质量的角度出发, 以非洲国家为例, 深入探讨旅游业主导增长假说。

本研究采用纵向设计, 采集18年期间43个国家的面板数据, 并使用差异广义矩法 模型对数据进行分析。

研究结果表明, 国际旅游收入促进了所选经济体的经济增长. 然而, 非洲大陆的旅游业与增长关系受到制度质量的负向调节作用; 这种负面调节在低收入国家中更为明显, 但在中等收入国家制度质量却对旅游业与增长的关系起到了正向调节作用。

本研究创新性地研究了旅游主导增长假说 (TLGH) 在不同制度质量和发展水平下的不同表现。

Aunque el nexo entre turismo y crecimiento es uno de los temas mejor investigados tanto en la literatura turística como en la económica, existen pocas pruebas sobre cómo afecta la calidad institucional a este vínculo, especialmente en el contexto del mundo en desarrollo. Para abordar esta laguna, el presente estudio investiga la hipótesis del crecimiento impulsado por el turismo a través de la perspectiva de la calidad institucional, basándose en evidencias de las economías Africanas.

El estudio adopta un diseño longitudinal, con datos de panel sobre 43 países a lo largo de un periodo de 18 años, y los datos se analizaron utilizando el modelo de diferencias del Método generalizado de momentos.

Los resultados indicaron que los ingresos del turismo internacional contribuyeron al crecimiento económico de las economías seleccionadas. Sin embargo, la calidad institucional moderó negativamente la relación turismo-crecimiento en el continente, particularmente en las economías de renta baja, mientras que reforzó este vínculo en los países de renta media.

El estudio brinda nuevos conocimientos sobre cómo la hipótesis de crecimiento impulsado por el turismo (TLGH) varía en diferentes niveles de calidad institucional y desarrollo.

The unitized curtain wall system (UCWS), a symbol of modern architecture, is gaining popularity among prefabricated components. Previous studies have focused on both construction technology advances and material selection strategies to facilitate the UCWS. However, the topic of client satisfaction, which drives industry development by targeting clients' demands, has gone unnoticed. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate client satisfaction with UCWS products in Hong Kong by finding its influential factors.

A systematic review was employed to first identify the influential factors. A semi-structured interview was employed to validate the reliability of the extracted factors. The machine learning algorithm Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and the Pearson correlation were then employed to rank the importance and correlation of factors based on the 1–5 Likert scale scores obtained through a questionnaire survey.

The findings revealed that “reduction in construction time” and “reduction in construction waste” are the most important factors and have a strong positive influence on client satisfaction.

Unlike previous studies, the present study focused on a novel research topic and introduces an objective analysis process using machine learning algorithms. The findings contribute to narrowing the knowledge gap regarding client preference for UCWS products from both individual and collaborative perspectives, providing decision-makers with an objective, quantitative and thorough reference before making investments in the curtain wall management development.