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The construction industry is known for its complexity, poor performance and impact on the environment. This study investigates the applicability of lean techniques and processes on improving sustainability in construction projects. A total of ten key lean construction (LC) tools are analyzed for impact on 15 sustainability categories and 78 subcategories. Results are summarized for usability across the three sustainability pillars.

A systematic literature review (SLR) of articles published over the last 10 years (2014–2023) on lean and sustainable construction is conducted involving planning, identifying, screening, analyzing and reporting phases. Selected 41 articles are reviewed in detail. For reporting, the applicability of LC tools is critically analyzed and ranked according to impact on sustainability over two project stages.

Literature suggests that the impact of LC on economic waste reduction or social impact is likely to have an impact on environmental sustainability as well. Overall, the top LC tools for improving sustainability in construction include value stream mapping (VSM), just-in-time (JIT) and 5S. The applicability of the LC tools is more prevalent in the “construction phase” of construction projects than the “planning and design” phase.

This study analyzed ten lean tools through SLR and evaluated their impact on construction sustainability. By assessing the challenges and benefits associated with LC tools, the outcomes of the study support the adoption of LC by stakeholders. The paper also proposed a practical implementation strategy for LC tools to enhance sustainable construction.

Social exchange and social learning theories are widely used in many disciplines, but there is little research on the relationships between supervisor support and job performance in a developing context. Therefore this study aims to examine the links between supervisor support and job performance with the mediating role of psychological factors; empowerment and self-confidence.

Data for this study were collected from 364 employees working at Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used for the analysis.

The results revealed that supervisor support stimulates job performance. Empowerment and self-confidence both partially mediate the relationships between supervisor support and job performance.

This study adds to the current body of literature by providing insight into the influence of perceived supervisor support on job performance through the mediating role of psychological factors.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the very few studies exploring the relationships between supervisor support and job performance in developing contexts, particularly focusing on the mediating mechanisms of empowerment and self-confidence.

The purpose of this study is to assess the role of renewable energy as a means of promoting women’s economic participation and improving their health by mitigating climate vulnerability.

To shed light on this relationship, the authors assess the capacity of renewable energy to reduce the negative impact of climate vulnerability on women’s economic empowerment and health, using the generalized method of moments estimator for 36 African countries over the period 1990–2021.

The empirical results show that climate vulnerability reduces economic empowerment and climate vulnerability increases child mortality. These results are mitigated by the use of renewable energy. The use of renewable energy mitigates the negative impact of climate vulnerability on women’s economic empowerment. Renewable energy use also reduces the pressure of climate vulnerability on child mortality. In addition, the authors take into account regional heterogeneities and find distinct effects. The results remain stable after further robustness testing.

Renewable energy thresholds are provided at which climate vulnerability no longer reduces women’s socio-economic well-being.

Public scepticism is becoming more prevalent surrounding organizations' corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation and communication. Management research has tended to over-fixate on the strategic paybacks of CSR, and less attention has been devoted to examining why CSR is under siege due to the pervasive issue of scepticism coming from a plethora of stakeholders. This study provides a scoping review to appraise the status quo of CSR vis-à-vis scepticism scholarship and examine how the two concepts have been contextualized in relation to one another in the extant literature in question. The findings illustrate that the process nature of CSR scepticism is complex, given that CSR can yield both a buffering and boomerang effect on CSR practitioners. The qualitative content analysis performed on 58 studies, published from 2007 to 2022, elaborates on CSR scepticism as a multidimensional construct with three distinctive typologies of research approaches identified, explicating how the CSR and scepticism topicalities have been cross-examined in relation to one another: “Typology 1: Dispositional Scepticism and the Buffering Effect of CSR on Scepticism”; “Typology 2: Situational Scepticism and the Boomerang Effect of CSR on Scepticism”; “Typology 3: Centrality of CSR Scepticism and CSR Scepticism Mitigation.” This study offers a conceptual insight into the prevalent issue of scepticism in the CSR context, while also informing marketing, communication, and public relations professionals about the necessity of mitigating CSR scepticism, which poses a barrier to effective CSR implementation and communication processes.

This study assesses the impact of source (influencer’s) credibility on brand trust that leads to loyalty towards a fast fashion brand.

The stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework is adopted in this study. A quantitative study was conducted by administering questionnaires to target respondents. A partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS is implemented to analyze 206 collected responses.

SEM outcomes statistically support the suggested paths. Findings show that the order of importance of source credibility components in affecting consumer trust in a brand is trustworthiness, expertise, similarity and attractiveness. Additionally, brand loyalty is directly affected by brand trust.

The current study offers understanding into influencers' credibility and brand trust, which can lead to customer loyalty toward a brand. This study also aids marketing practitioners in keeping track of other attributes in deciding if influencers are a good fit for brands. Future research should explore the potential impacts of source credibility components on recommendation intention to build an effective word-of-mouth strategy.

This study explains the literature on brand trust and brand loyalty by justifying the S-O-R framework.

The chapter highlighted the key themes explored on procurement in construction, emphasising its significance in driving sustainability, efficiency, and innovation within the industry. It began with an introduction to the topic, followed by an exploration of the importance of procurement planning and the conceptual framework of procurement. The study then delved into sustainable procurement practices in construction, highlighting the role of technology, innovation, and stakeholder engagement in advancing procurement strategies. It also examined the concept of procurement in stealth construction, focusing on critical aspects such as the cross-section of the building, energy transmission, and countermeasures. The chapter summarised the principles guiding procurement towards stealth construction, emphasising the importance of environmental protection, safety, project efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and aesthetics in driving sustainable construction practices.

This chapter explored health and safety considerations in stealth construction, emphasising the integration of advanced technologies and innovative practices. It commences with a general introduction, followed by a historical overview of safety practices in the construction industry, highlighting the evolution of a safety culture. The chapter examined various health and safety management techniques, including policy formulation, safety training programs, and job safety analysis. Additionally, it discussed current trends such as wearable technology, IoT, VR/AR, and predictive analytics. The unique requirements of stealth construction are addressed, focusing on building cross-section design, visibility, application of radio frequency emission and countermeasures. Finally, it presents a comprehensive approach to achieving stealth construction, emphasising environmental protection, safety, speed, economy, and aesthetics, and provides practical examples to illustrate these concepts.

Consumers are increasingly shopping online, and they want reliable and trustworthy information about the quality of goods and all members of the distribution chain. Blockchain and gamification are two technologies that can drive digital transformation across various industries. The current study investigates the application of blockchain and gamification in emerging modern markets. Gamification is a viable method for familiarising individuals with blockchain technology. It is an example of an idea that might be utilised to build a setting as a bargaining strategy. The goal of this research is to investigate how gamification components might be used to engage individuals in blockchain technology and foster a positive attitude towards future use. In this review article, we did a thorough study of the research articles published between 2018 and 2023 on various web search engines for scholarly literature and academic resources. This comprehensive review investigates the incorporation of blockchain technology and gamification in emerging markets. Blockchain, known for its decentralised and secure nature, has the potential to transform a wide range of industries, including marketing. Similarly, gamification has grown in favour as a method of engaging and motivating customers. Marketers may use the benefits of both approaches to build unique and effective marketing campaigns by integrating blockchain and gamification. This review focuses on the digital transformation with focus on major concepts, benefits, problems and real-world applications of using blockchain and gamification into modern marketing techniques in emerging markets.

Learning capability improves knowledge resources fosters innovative capabilities and firm competitiveness. The study aims to examine the human resource management (HRM) practice and employee creativity relationship using organizational learning capability (OLC) as a mediating variable.

Data were collected from 67 small-sized and 96 medium-sized firms. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to establish construct validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the proposed model and hypotheses.

The results show that performance appraisal and employee creativity were positively related. Employee participation and employee creativity were positively related. Compensation and employee creativity were nonsignificantly related. OLC mediates the performance appraisal and employee creativity relationship. Similarly, OLC mediates the employee participation and employee creativity relationship. However, OLC did not mediate the compensation and employee creativity relationship.

Due to the research’s SME focus and cross-sectional data, the finding’s generalizability will be constrained.

The findings of the study would be useful to policymakers, stakeholders and management of SMEs in developing a supportive learning climate that promotes experiential and continuous learning cultures to ensure strategic capabilities, sustainable competitive advantage and innovativeness.

The study contributes to the extant literature on OLC, HRM practices and employee creativity by empirically evidencing that OLC mediates the performance appraisal, employee participation and employee creativity relationship.

Based on the principles of the social capital theory (SCT), this study aimed to generate hypotheses and evaluate a mediated moderated model that examined the impact of social capital on online brand community happiness (OBCH).

Using 215 online questionnaires from users of private online brand communities (OBCs) , researchers examined the hypothesized connections between variables. The SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 26.0 were applied to fulfill the purpose.

For the goodness of model fit, the authors have applied cut off criteria for fit indexes given by Hu and Bentler (1999) and model-fit measures indicators, i.e. CMIN/DF 1.397, CFI 0.958, SRMR 0.045, RMSEA 0.043 and PCLOSE 0.866, which meet the minimum acceptable criteria. Based on the results, social capital significantly affects psychological well-being (PWB), which, consequently, leads toward increased happiness among OBCs. Furthermore, membership duration moderates the relationship between PWB and OBCs.

The authors have utilized a cross-sectional research design, and it limits the researcher’s ability to generalize the findings. These findings imply how social capital leverages PWB and OBCH. Moreover, the presence of membership duration helps to understand that members who spend more time in the community are happier in the OBCs.

In this age of social media, it provides valuable guidance to the administrators of private Facebook groups dedicated to specific brands, enhancing the definition and development of OBC operations and community interactions.

This research takes a broader look at social capital’s impact on happiness among private OBCs. The current research contributes to the existing body of work by emphasizing the role of PWB in generating happiness. The study is novel in examining the mediating moderating model of PWB and membership duration to explore deep insights for social media platforms.