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Science fiction analogies have been shown to be an effective vehicle for disseminating scientific knowledge and building a better understanding of scientific principles. Toward this end, this study aims to use the Star Trek universe as a lens in an effort to remove barriers to understanding the science of service research.

This study synthesizes research on using science fiction narratives in sparking dialogue within and beyond scientific communities, draws parallels between the Star Trek universe and the service research domain and uses these insights to identify pertinent ways forward.

In the service research domain, science fiction analogies and dramaturgical metaphors can challenge researchers to reflect beyond the domain’s traditional boundaries. In fact, the Star Trek universe lends itself as visionary backdrop to assess leadership principles, understand the evolution of scientific paradigms and inspire future service research.

This article contributes to the service research literature by introducing the notion of drawing on science fiction analogies to facilitate key dialogues in a scientific context and demonstrates how such analogies can be used to provide guidance in moving the service research discipline forward.

This study aims to undertake an examination of the determinants of psychological ownership (PO) in case of fitness apps and also attempt to understand the relationship between PO and consumer wellbeing (CWB). This relationship is also explored to understand the role of personal innovativeness (PI) and health consciousness (HC) as moderators.

The present study uses the PO theory as the base model for the study. The data was collected through face to face survey method and a total of 315 valid responses were received in a period of five months. All the hypothesized relationships were tested by using partial least square structural equation modeling.

This study confirms the significant relationship between PO and CWB. Control, investment of self and intimate knowledge of fitness apps are the significant factors that lead to the PO of these apps. The findings put forth HC as a significant and PI as an insignificant moderator.

This study gives important inputs to app developers for increasing the PO toward these fitness apps. The PO has a proven record for delivering positive behavioral outcomes for marketers but can also act as igniter to boost CWB. The findings suggest that marketers should target users with high HC who can turn out to be role models and significantly influence people around them.

This study is one of the few studies to examine the fitness apps by using the PO perspective. Further, this study demonstrates the role of PO in generating CWB and thus contributes to the knowledge of fitness app research by filling the gap in post-adoption studies of these apps.

This study aims to evaluate in situ oxidative polymerization of aniline (Ani) as a post-processing method to promote extrusion-based 3D printed parts, made from insulating polymers, to components with functional properties, including electrical conductivity and chemical sensitivity.

Extrusion-based 3D printed parts of polyethylene terephthalate modified with glycol (PETG) and polypropylene (PP) were coated in an aqueous acid solution via in situ oxidative polymerization of Ani. First, the feedstocks were characterized. Densely printed samples were then used to assess the adhesion of polyaniline (PAni) and electrical conductivity on printed parts. The best feedstock candidate for PAni coating was selected for further analysis. Last, a Taguchi methodology was used to evaluate the influence of printing parameters on the coating of porous samples. Analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc test were used to identify the best levels for each parameter.

Colorimetry measurements showed significant color shifts in PP samples and no shifts in PETG samples upon pullout testing. The incorporation of PAni content and electrical conductivity were, respectively, 41% and 571% higher for PETG in comparison to PP. Upon coating, the surface energy of both materials decreased. Additionally, the dynamic mechanical analysis test showed minimal influence of PAni over the dynamic mechanical properties of PETG. The parametric study indicated that only layer thickness and infill pattern had a significant influence on PAni incorporation and electrical conductivity of coated porous samples.

Current literature reports difficulties in incorporating PAni without affecting dimensional precision and feedstock stability. In situ, oxidative polymerization of Ani could overcome these limitations. However, its use as a functional post-processing of extrusion-based printed parts is a novelty.

Preventive health-care behavior (PHB) adoption as a primordial prevention to stay healthy and avoid lifestyle disease risk is a global trend. This paper aims to use the PHB model and stimulus-organism-response theory to empirically examine the role of individual and technological factors in influencing primordial PHB.

A sequential mixed-method was adopted to identify the primordial PHB adoption and propose a conceptual framework. The identified determinants and the hypothesized relationships were empirically tested using a convenience sample of 406 urban Indians. Partial least square structural equation modeling is used for data analysis.

The derived conceptual framework was empirically tested to assess the role of health literacy (HL), health value (HV) and digital health information seeking (DHIS) on primordial PHB. Findings confirmed the significant influence of DHIS on HL, HL on HV and PHB and HV on PHB. The direct effects of DHIS on PHB and HV were insignificant. HL solely mediated the indirect effect of DHIS on PHB, while the mediation of HV was insignificant. HL and HV fully mediated the relationship between DHIS and PHB.

The impact of DHIS on PHB adoption and the serial multiple mediating roles of HL and HV are significant in understanding primordial PHB adoption for both academic theory and practice. However, the cross-sectional study on urban Indians needs further validation across geographies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this pioneering study is among the first to propose and validate a comprehensive model of primordial PHB adoption.

Social robotics is a rapidly growing application of artificial intelligence (AI) in society, encompassing an expanding range of applications. This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing integration of psychology into social robotics ethics by reviewing current theories and empirical findings related to human–robot interaction (HRI) and addressing critical points of contention within the ethics discourse.

The authors will explore the factors influencing the acceptance of social robots, explore the development of relationships between humans and robots and delve into three prominent controversies: deception, dehumanisation and violence.

The authors first propose design factors allowing for a positive interaction with the robot, and further discuss precise dimensions to evaluate when designing a social robot to ensure ethical design technology, building on the four ethical principles for trustworthy AI. The final section of this paper will outline and offer explicit recommendations for future research endeavours.

This paper provides originality and value to the field of social robotics ethics by integrating psychology into the ethical discourse and offering a comprehensive understanding of HRI. It introduces three ethical dimensions and provides recommendations for implementing them, contributing to the development of ethical design in social robots and trustworthy AI.

This study aims to deepen our understanding of how conventional technologies and robust accounting education standards can impact the effectiveness of green accounting practices in enhancing firm performance. To achieve this, the paper explores the moderating effects of artificial intelligence (AI) and accounting education quality on the relationship between green accounting and firm performance.

Using generalized method of moments estimation, this research uses a comprehensive dataset comprising 32,680 firm-year observations of listed companies from ten prominent countries – Canada, the UK, the USA, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea and Italy – over the period from 2012 to 2022. These countries, selected based on their high gross domestic product rankings as reported by the International Monetary Fund, ensure a diverse representation of economic strengths and capture a wide range of green accounting practices.

The study shows that green accounting practices positively impact current firm performance. Country-level AI positively moderates this relationship, suggesting that advanced AI infrastructure enhances the benefits of green accounting through improved data accuracy and decision-making. However, country-level accountancy education quality negatively moderates the relationship, indicating that stringent implementation of green accounting standards in these regions may introduce complexities and costs that reduce firm performance.

Integrating AI enhances data processing, predictive analytics and decision-making, improving green accounting effectiveness. High-quality accounting education ensures accurate reporting and greater transparency. These insights, when applied, can empower businesses to optimize sustainability strategies, assist policymakers in developing targeted regulations and guide educators in preparing accountants for the evolving demands of green accounting.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the combined moderating effects of AI and accounting education quality on the relationship between green accounting and firm performance. By highlighting the synergistic role of digital innovation and robust educational standards, this research offers novel insights into how these factors can enhance the effectiveness of green accounting practices and improve financial outcomes.

Healthcare providers are under pressure due to increasing and more complex demands for services. Increased pressure on budgets and human resources adds to an ever-growing problem set. Competent leaders are in demand to ensure effective and well-performing healthcare organisations that deliver balanced results and high-quality services. Researchers have made significant efforts to identify and define determining competencies for healthcare leadership. Broad terms such as competence are, however, inherently at risk of becoming too generic to add analytical value. The purpose of this study is to suggest a holistic framework for understanding healthcare leadership competence, that can be crucial for operationalising important healthcare leadership competencies for researchers, decision-makers as well as practitioners.

In the present study, a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) was conducted to analyse competency descriptions for healthcare leaders. The descriptions were retrieved from peer reviewed empirical studies published between 2010 and 2022 that aimed to identify healthcare services leadership competencies. Grounded theory was utilised to code the data and inductively develop new categories of healthcare leadership competencies. The categorisation was then analysed to suggest a holistic framework for healthcare leadership competence.

Forty-one papers were included in the review. Coding and analysing the competence descriptions resulted in 12 healthcare leadership competence categories: (1) character, (2) interpersonal relations, (3) leadership, (4) professionalism, (5) soft HRM, (6) management, (7) organisational knowledge, (8) technology, (9) knowledge of the healthcare environment, (10) change and innovation, (11) knowledge transformation and (12) boundary spanning. Based on this result, a holistic framework for understanding and analysing healthcare services leadership competencies was suggested. This framework suggests that the 12 categories of healthcare leadership competencies include a range of knowledge, skills and abilities that can be understood across the dimension personal – and technical, and organisational internal and – external competencies.

This literature review was conducted with the results of searching only two electronic databases. Because of this, there is a chance that there exist empirical studies that could have added to the development of the competence categories or could have contradicted some of the descriptions used in this analysis that were assessed as quite harmonised. A CIS also opens for a broader search, including the grey literature, books, policy documents and so on, but this study was limited to peer-reviewed empirical studies. This limitation could also have affected the result, as complex phenomenon such as competence might have been disclosed in greater details in, for example, books.

The holistic framework for healthcare leadership competences offers a common understanding of a “fuzzy” concept such as competence and can be used to identify specific competency needs in healthcare organisations, to develop strategic competency plans and educational programmes for healthcare leaders.

This study reveals a lack of consensus regarding the use and understanding of the concept of competence, and that key competencies addressed in the included papers are described vastly different in terms of what knowledge, skills and abilities they entail. This challenges the operationalisation of healthcare services leadership competencies. The proposed framework for healthcare services leadership competencies offers a common understanding of work-related competencies and a possibility to analyse key leadership competencies based on a holistic framework.

The textile sector is one of the sectors where competition is intense and requires the production of high-value-added products. This study aims to conduct patent analysis to find the technology status, recent trends, applications and technological evaluations of protective textile technologies in practice.

More than 36,840 patent documents related to protective textile technologies are available for researchers, patent examiners and patent researchers. Patent analysis is conducted to report the technology status, recent trends and applications of protective textile technologies. This analysis provides insights into the possible future directions of protective textile technologies in practice. Additionally, association rule mining (ARM) is performed to find the hidden patterns among protective textile technologies.

The development of protective textile technologies is revealed by the technology evaluation in this study. In addition, the sub-technology classes affecting protective textile technologies are examined using the cooperative patent classification (CPC) codes of the patent documents. Technology status and recent trends of protective textile technologies are provided in detail. The results of this study show that (1) protective textile technologies are constantly being developed, (2) the working areas of medical protective textiles are increasing, (3) there are frequent studies on fabric structures for saving lives within the framework of human needs and (4) there are four technology classes, namely A41D, Y10T, B32B and A62B impacting the other technology classes related to textile technologies such as D10B, Y10T, F41H, A62D, D04H, Y10S and D10B.

To have a competitive advantage in the marketplace, evaluation of textile technologies is critical in developing “functionalized” and “technologized” textile products. In particular, evaluating technologies in developing protective textile products is extremely important to meet customer demands and present competitive products in the market. Examining these patents for technology developers, decision-makers and policymakers is an urgent and necessary job. However, studies examining the development of protective textile technologies with patent analysis are very limited in the literature. To fill this gap, technology status, recent trends and applications of protective textile technologies are reported based on patent analysis and ARM in this study.