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The purpose of this study is to nutritionally evaluate dams exposed to caloric restriction or cafeteria diets during the lactation period.

Twenty-four female Wistar rats (n = 8/group) and their respective litters received during lactation: Control (CTRL) – received standard chow; Caloric restriction (CR) – received 50% of the ratio of the CTRL group; Cafeteria diet (CAF) – received cafeteria diet. Weighing of the mother rats and their respective litters occurred weekly and the diets were daily. At weaning, levels of glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides were evaluated. Abdominal adipose tissue was removed and weighed. Liver tissue was removed to determine the lipid profile.

CR dams showed lower food (p < 0.01), caloric (p < 0.01) and all macronutrients (p < 0.01) intake. This group also observed intense weight loss (p < 0.01), in addition to low litter weight (p < 0.01). CAF dams had higher caloric intake (p < 0.05) and increased consumption of lipids (p < 0.01). The CAF group also reported greater accumulation of abdominal adipose tissue (p = 0.01), elevated levels of LDL (p < 0.01) and hepatic lipids (p < 0.01), as well as a litter with higher weaning weight (p < 0.01).

Few studies have evaluated the effects of different models of malnutrition focusing on dams. CR dams showed severe weight loss, which may have caused their pups to be underweight. On the other hand, the CAF diet during lactation led to a higher consumption of lipids and accumulation of adipose tissue, which generated a high weight of the litter.

The purpose of this paper is to review literature on home-country institutional factors influencing the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging markets. Based on the analysis, the authors propose a research agenda to guide future studies in this field.

This paper follows a systematic procedure to review 58 selected articles on how institutional contexts in emerging economies impact SME internationalization, covering studies from 1999 to 2023. This period was chosen to capture recent research following the post-1990 market liberalization in most emerging economies, which has shaped new opportunities and challenges for SMEs expanding abroad.

This literature review shows that SMEs’ internationalization knowledge in emerging markets is strongly shaped by home-country institutional conditions. Key mechanisms include imprinting by home institutions and learning from domestic institutional sources, both critical yet underexplored areas in SME development. These processes offer substantial opportunities for future research into how institutional contexts influence SMEs’ global growth.

This research builds on previous studies that have emphasized firm-level and external factors such as host market appeal, consumer needs and resource availability driving SMEs’ internationalization. Focusing on home institutional factors, the authors provide a comprehensive review of academic studies and propose a future research agenda on the external institutional influences shaping emerging market SMEs’ global expansion.

Little is known about the role causation plays in establishing the necessary conditions for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to face the first stages of a major crisis. Our study aims to investigate how causation affects their ability to be successful at the onset of widespread calamities.

We examined how 191 Brazilian MSEs utilized causation in managing different aspects of their operating cycle before the COVID-19 pandemic using a combinatory methodology.

Causation is more important than usually supposed for MSEs when facing widespread crises.

Our study did not explore the specific interactions between the intensified use of causation practices and other factors within MSEs that may lead to superior outcomes. The limitations of our data prevented a fully assessment of sales fluctuations of firms and how they responded to the latter stages of the COVID-19 crisis.

Our findings underscore the significance of causation in helping MSEs navigate future crises, emphasizing the enduring value of time-tested management practices. MSE owners and managers should ensure the presence of causation-oriented practices, as these forms the foundation for well-established management principles. This strong foundation equips MSEs to effectively employ effectuation strategies when it is needed.

Small enterprises are the backbone of every economy and play a vital role in economic recovery. Our findings offer valuable insights that can help these enterprises effectively navigate major crises and contribute to economic recovery.

This study is among the first to answer to the call for more research that isolates and investigates granular elements of causation. Additionally, our study is original in that we address the need to consider the temporal dimension of causality.

To identify and analyze the relevant themes in the literature on digital transformation and internationalization, revealing opportunities for future studies.

A systematic literature review was developed using the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Initially, 156 publications were identified. Based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, a final sample of 74 articles was reached. A bibliometric and qualitative analysis were developed.

Eight main themes related to internationalization, such as internationalization strategy, internationalized companies, marketing-related issues, export, global supply chain, entrepreneurship and new ventures, SMEs internationalization and internationalization of educational institutions, were identified. Eight main themes related to digital transformation were also identified, including internationalization drivers, digital technologies, business model innovation, digitalization, Industry 4.0, digital platforms and e-commerce, people and digital transformation and digital institutional environment.

In recent years, the term digital transformation has become part of the daily lives of many organizations and of life in society itself. For internationalized companies, this discussion has also become present. Although a relationship between digital transformation and internationalization is often presented, the dimensions of analysis of this relationship are still very fragmented, and this study presents a systemic view of the themes. These themes represent opportunities for future studies.

This study aims to empirically examine the unexplored effects of organizational spirituality on the relationship between knowledge sharing and organizational practical wisdom (phronesis). By integrating these constructs, this study seeks to uncover the mechanisms through which organizations can cultivate practical wisdom and foster a more humanistic approach to management. Contributing in this way aids in the advancement of sustainable and ethical business practices. Drawing upon the theoretical foundations of knowledge dynamics and spirituality in the workplace, this research offers novel insights into the enablers of organizational phronesis.

To explore the influence of spirituality on the relationship between knowledge sharing and practical wisdom, a comprehensive study was conducted. An online survey was conducted to collect answers from 365 workers, ensuring a diverse and representative sample. Partial least squares structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses.

This research reveals a significant correlation. Knowledge sharing, when supported by spirituality, enhances workplace efficiency and extends its positive impact beyond the workplace. This underscores the importance of embracing organizational spirituality and knowledge sharing to embody organizational phronesis and achieve a humanized strategy. By fostering this, organizations can promote effective decision-making and problem-solving, thereby enhancing their sustainable performance.

This research breaks new ground by empirically investigating and establishing the previously unexplored effects of knowledge sharing and organizational spirituality on organizational phronesis, thereby contributing to the evolving field of organizational behavior, sustainability and business ethics.

The spread of conspiracy theories and associated vaccine rejection within the wellness industry and spiritual communities during the COVID-19 pandemic attracted significant media and scholarly attention. Informed by the ‘(Con)spirituality, Science and COVID-19 in Australia’ project (2020–2021) (Halafoff, Marriott, et al., 2022; Halafoff, Weng, et al., 2022; Roginski & Rocha, 2022), funded by the Templeton Religion Trust and awarded via the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society (INSBS), this chapter reports on findings pertaining to holistic spirituality, purity doctrines and wellness, arising from a parallel pilot study on ‘Spirituality and Wellness (SWell) in Australia’ (2021). Both studies have revealed a ‘spiritual complexity’ in Australia and internationally, and the authors report on this here, focussed particularly on spirituality’s quest for pristine bodies, and on spiritual ‘moral communities’ (Ganga Kieffer, 2023) exceptionalism and relationality.

This paper explores Lean Six Sigma principles and the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) methodology to propose a new Lean Six Sigma 4.0 (LSS 4.0) framework for employee occupational exams and address the real-world issue of high-variability exams that may arise.

This study uses mixed methods, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection. A detailed case study assesses the impact of LSS interventions on the exam management process and tests the applicability of the proposed LSS 4.0 framework for employee occupational exams.

The results reveal that changing the health service supplier in the explored organization caused a substantial raise in occupational exams, leading to increased costs. By using syntactic interoperability, lean, six sigma and DMAIC approaches, improvements were identified, addressing process deviations and information requirements. Implementing corrective actions improved the exam process, reducing the number of exams and associated expenses.

It is important to acknowledge certain limitations, such as the specific context of the case study and the exclusion of certain exam categories.

The practical implications of this research are substantial, providing organizations with valuable managerial insights into improving efficiency, reducing costs and ensuring regulatory compliance while managing occupational exams.

This study fills a research gap by applying LSS 4.0 to occupational exam management, offering a practical framework for organizations. It contributes to the existing knowledge base by addressing a relatively novel context and providing a detailed roadmap for process optimization.

This paper aims to improve the manufacturability of additive manufacturing (AM) for topology-optimized (TO) structures. Enhancement of manufacturability focuses on modifying geometric constraints and classifying the building orientation (BO) of AM parts to reduce stresses and support structures (SSs). To this end, artificial intelligence (AI) networks are being developed to automate design for additive manufacturing (DfAM).

This study considers three geometric constraints for their correction by convolutional autoencoders (CAEs) and transfer learning (TL). Furthermore, BOs of AM parts are classified using generative adversarial (GAN) and classification networks to reduce the SS. To verify the results, finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to compare the stresses of modified components with the original ones. Moreover, one sample is produced by the laser-based powder bed fusion (LB-PBF) in the BO predicted by the AI to observe its SSs.

CAE and TL resulted in promoting the manufacturability of TO components. FEA demonstrated that enhancing manufacturability leads to a 50% reduction in stresses. Additionally, training GAN and pre-training the ResNet-18 resulted in 80%, 95% and 96% accuracy for training, validation and testing. The production of a sample with LB-PBF demonstrated that the predicted BO by ResNet-18 does not require SSs.

This paper provides an automatic platform for DfAM of TO parts. Consequently, complex TO parts can be designed most feasibly and manufactured by AM technologies with minimal material usage, residual stresses and distortions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the post-event perceptions of Rio de Janeiro residents regarding the legacies left to them from hosting the 2016 Olympic Games. Additionally, this study examines how perceptions of Olympic legacies differed amongst demographic groups.

Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, participants were asked to complete a survey questionnaire and answer three open-ended questions. An adapted version of Fredline et al. (2003)'s General Scale to Measure Social Impacts (GSMSI) was selected for this study. In total, 156 useable responses were collected. An exploratory factor analysis was utilized for the survey items while the three open-ended questions were coded abductively as positive, negative or mixed feelings.

The quantitative results shows that Rio residents believe that hosting the 2016 Olympic Games had a mostly negative impact on their perception of legacies. Through reading open-ended responses, participants expressed disappointment over the legacies left to them. These findings suggest that hosting the Olympic Games may not have been beneficial to the life of Rio de Janeiro residents, and it may have been particularly worse for members of the middle class.

Due to the recency of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, a few studies have explored the long-term legacies left to the local population. However, the uniqueness of this study lays on the perceptions of legacies from hosting the Rio 2016 after a full Olympic cycle has passed.

This study investigates how the extant literature approached the issue of small firms’ international market entry enabled by digital platforms.

The paper presents a systematic literature review of the internationalization of small firms using digital platforms. It includes only empirical papers from Scopus and Web of Science databases, covering 2016 to mid-2023.

The study provides both (1) a descriptive analysis of the selected papers, encompassing their temporal and spatial distribution, methods, theoretical perspectives and the type of platform examined and (2) a qualitative analysis of the articles’ content in a narrative review structure, culminating in an integrated framework of key findings and suggested research questions on the role of digital platforms in small firm internationalization.

There is still a very limited number of studies addressing the phenomenon, with several scholars recently calling for further research. This paper compiles, synthesizes, analyzes and integrates the empirical literature on SME internationalization enabled by digital platforms, offering possible future avenues to advance research.