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This research focuses on people’s activities in the Liuhua Clothing Wholesale District in Guangzhou, China. The increasing use of social media in business, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, has created inevitable changes to the way space is utilised. Lockdowns and transport restrictions pushed the clothing wholesale traders to engage in livestreaming to maintain their business. This research aims to understand how spaces have been mediatised with the use of social media.

To investigate changes in the use of spaces, this research draws on actor-network theory and regards spaces as actors, adopting qualitative research methods, including observation, semi-structured interviews and mapping.

The research finds that spaces are mediatised for presentation on social media. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person activities were suspended, the virtual space, constituted by elements that exist in physical and virtual spaces, became more valued. Physical space is no longer perceived as a whole but as elements, such as background, sound and light, all of which are involved in the construction of virtual space on social media. The perception of physical space has become less important than the images presented on social media.

Social media now exists in many people’s everyday lives, but its influence on architecture and space has received insufficient attention. This research interrogates this phenomenon in a clothing wholesale district in China to reflect on the influence. Its significance lies in documenting the spatial implications of dependence on social media and the changes to spatial use in the age of social media.

This study aims to explore the human resource management (HRM) practices related to training and feedback in the app work industry, specifically in online food delivery service, and investigate the emotional and behavioral responses of gig workers.

This study adopts a qualitative approach by interviewing 19 gig workers from six food delivery firms operating in different countries.

The results show limited training and feedback opportunities are provided to app workers, although the complexity of training and delivery methods differ across platforms. To address this shortage, app workers developed response strategies relying on social interaction.

This study adds to the research on HRM practices in the gig economy by portraying the way in which training and feedback unfold in the food delivery app ecosystem and by disclosing the gig workers’ emotional and behavioral responses to it.

This study shows that the way training activities are currently designed may provide little value to the ecosystem and are likely to produce negative emotional responses in gig workers. Thus, platform providers may make use of these findings by introducing more transparent feedback and social learning opportunities.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first empirical studies on online delivery gig workers addressing specific HRM practices. It reveals significant insights for training and feedback, suggesting app economy characteristics strongly affect training and feedback practices for app workers.

This study aims to analyse the research themes in Islamic finance, assess the extent to which Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be achieved through implementing Islamic financial principles and explore the potential for reshaping human behaviour under an Islamic framework. The research aims to establish a paradigm that evaluates the role of Islamic finance in fostering social justice, environmental sustainability and ethical governance as a sustainable alternative to the capitalist system.

This research employs a comprehensive literature review and thematic analysis to assess the alignment of Islamic finance with SDGs. Secondary data from peer-reviewed academic articles (2016–2024) were collected and analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Key themes include Islamic finance, maqasid ash-shariah and the role of Islamic finance in sustainable development. A conceptual framework is proposed to depict how Islamic financial practices can contribute to the SDGs.

The study identifies that Islamic finance, rooted in Shariah principles, offers a robust foundation for fostering social justice, ethical governance and environmental sustainability. By integrating zakat, donations, private investments and socially responsible investments, the Islamic financial model aligns with SDGs, addressing poverty (SDG 1), reducing inequality (SDG 10) and promoting sustainable economic growth (SDG 8). The findings underscore the potential of Islamic finance to address capitalism’s shortcomings, such as income inequality and unsustainable practices, while advocating for a paradigm shift in human behaviour through adherence to Islamic values.

Policymakers and financial institutions can leverage the insights from this research to design and implement Islamic financial models that promote equitable resource allocation, sustainable development and ethical practices. The framework offers a practical guide for integrating Islamic finance into conventional financial systems to achieve SDGs.

The study contributes to the existing literature by presenting a novel conceptual framework that integrates Islamic finance with sustainable development goals. It offers a unique perspective on transitioning from capitalism to an Islamic financial model, emphasizing behavioural and ideological changes to achieve equitable and sustainable economic outcomes.

Characterised by simultaneous food waste and shortages, our current food system is far from sustainable. Industry 4.0 has responded with technology-enabled innovations, including digital food-sharing platforms aimed at facilitating the efficient redistribution of surplus food. However, potential users often express reluctance to adopt such platforms, prompting this study to explore the underlying reasons for their hesitations.

This study was conducted in China, the world’s largest platform economy, where food-sharing platforms are notably absent. Using a vignette-based qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 potential users. The data were analysed through thematic analysis to uncover insights into adoption intentions.

The findings highlight the relevance of factors identified in existing technology acceptance theories, such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, hedonic motivation, facilitating conditions and price value, in shaping adoption intentions. Additionally, content-specific and context-specific factors – such as trust in other users and the platform, concerns about “losing face” (mianzi) and safety concerns during the pandemic – emerged as critical influences on users' decisions to engage with these platforms.

This study contributes to scholarly discussions on enhancing the effectiveness of new technological innovations for food supply chain sustainability. The theoretical contributions expand the technology acceptance literature by incorporating factors related to platform service content and operating context.

The development of project managers and leadership has been highlighted as crucial for improving project success and performance, resulting in a rise of interest in project leadership research over the last two decades. While several qualitative reviews have been conducted, there have been limited quantitative and systematic reviews on project leadership. This study fills this gap by portraying the knowledge landscape and tracking the evolution of project leadership research from 1998 to 2022 through bibliometric approaches.

Based on 816 records, including 793 articles extracted and selected from the Web of Science database and specific journals, and 23 articles selected from three non-SCI/SSCI indexed journals, the authors used CiteSpace and bibliometrix R-package to depict visualizations of the trajectory of co-cited references, the landscape of co-occurred keywords and emerging trends in project leadership via reference co-citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis and thematic mapping.

The bibliometric analyses enabled the authors to understand the conceptual aspects of project leadership and its theoretical background. Three stages of the intellectual bases were identified and tracked: the infancy phase (1998–2007), the growth phase (2008–2014) and the new development phase (2015–2022). The results of keyword co-occurrence analysis indicated that the research focus evolved from investigating traits and competences to examining the effects of traditional leadership behaviors, and then considering context-specific leadership. The findings of thematic mapping and theoretical interpretation illustrate the potential directions of the competence comparison, new and appropriate leadership, and the interaction between leadership and context.

This study advanced the field by providing a systematic review of project leadership, developing potential future directions for project leadership research and providing practical implications for career development and training.

The theoretical landscape surrounding the contribution of digital transformation to sustainability in higher education institutions is lacking in literature. Blended learning has gained popularity and poises for further growth as a sustainable and inclusive mode of learning that will shape the future of education. This study aims to investigate the organizational critical success factors that ensure high-quality blended learning opportunities.

Data was collected through an online student survey and semistructured interviews with academic leaders and faculty members.

Exploratory factor analysis and multiple linear regression revealed five main contributing factors to a successful overall hybrid experience, namely, faculty support, cognitive flexibility, learner self-actualization, student engagement and sense of belonging. In the results, students were satisfied with their gained skills, knowledge and engagement, and have succeeded in developing cognitive flexibility, self-actualization and sense of belonging. Faculty support was the strongest determinant. The presence of certain organizational dynamics, comprising management support of those with sustainability mindset, effective communication, blended leadership qualities and adequate faculty personality traits, presents as a major predictor to quality learning opportunities.

The theoretical landscape surrounding the contribution of digital transformation to sustainability in higher education institutions is lacking in literature, which emphasizes the novel aspects of this study. In particular, it contributes by determining the overall level of research on the subject, theoretical stances in this area and potential avenues for further investigation.

This study aims to fill critical research gaps by providing empirical evidence on the practical application of generative AI in the banking sector. It explores managerial preparedness, regulatory compliance and data privacy challenges in implementing this technology, offering insights into its operational effectiveness and potential in financial services.

The research employs a qualitative approach, conducting in-depth interviews with bank managers and industry experts. These interviews are analysed to identify key factors influencing the integration of generative AI in financial institutions.

The study identifies five critical factors – recognition, requirement, reliability, regulatory and responsiveness – that collectively impact the adoption and operational effectiveness of generative AI in banking. These factors highlight the challenges and opportunities of integrating this technology within the highly regulated financial industry.

The findings have significant theoretical and managerial implications. Theoretically, the research contributes to understanding AI integration in regulated industries, particularly financial services. Managerially, it provides a roadmap for financial institutions to adopt generative AI responsibly, balancing innovation with regulatory compliance and ethical considerations.

This study is among the first to provide empirical data on generative AI’s practical application in the banking sector, addressing the lack of real-world evidence and offering a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing its successful implementation in a highly regulated environment.

The present study explores the possible ramifications of insomnia and sleep quality on attitudes and expectations from a hotel accommodating guests suffering from insonia and poor sleep quality.

The current study adopts a quantitative dominant (QUAN + qual) concurrent mixed methods design. 20 participants (11 women and nine men) aged 22 to 80 participated in the qualitative research. Purposeful sampling (n = 369) was employed to solicit participants for the quantitative phase of the study.

Findings suggest that subjective norm influence is significantly associated with service quality expectations and intentions to visit a hotel accommodating sleep-deprived individuals. Hotels accommodating such guests possess a substantial competitive advantage.

While our study provides valuable insights, it is essential to note that the data was collected from a single country. Therefore, caution should be exercised when generalizing the findings to hotel guests from other countries. This highlights the need for future research to explore cross-cultural aspects of sleep disorders and their impact on the interaction between hotel service providers and guests.

The study results underscore the importance of understanding and addressing the unique needs of travelers’ with sleep disorders. They also emphasize the added benefit of better accommodating other guests who do not necessarily suffer from the disorder to enjoy substantially more sleep.

The extant tourism literature focuses on neurological disorders. However, the possible ramifications of insomnia and poor hotel sleep quality on travel, guest preferences, expectations and choices were mostly overlooked.

The study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the existing literature on women’s leadership in academia by identifying the existing challenges for their underrepresentation, and proposing a new-age leadership interventions to address the inherent systemic biases and develop foster an equitable academic climate.

The study employed bibliometric analysis to map the literature by investigating publication and geographical trends. Techniques like citation, co-citation, bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis identified seminal research and emerging themes, providing insights into research developments and facilitating identification of avenues for future research.

Our study highlights how social, organizational and individual barriers disadvantage women academic leaders. Existing enablers for women in leadership, like mentorship, leadership development and family friendly policies, focus on bringing change within the prevailing academic culture, reinforcing the notion “women need support”, overlooking the influence of systemic barriers. Such interventions are often ineffective in bringing sustainable change. We propose integrating AI/machine learning (ML) technologies in leadership selection to reduce bias arising from subjectivity.

This study contributes to the discourse on gender inequality in academic leadership by offering a robust understanding of the research topic and informing avenues for future research.

Policymakers and higher education institutions can use the findings of the study to aid the formulation of policies, initiatives and institutional procedures to mitigate the prevalent gender bias in academia and cultivate an inclusive culture for growth of women.

The paper analyses women’s under-representation as academic leaders and proposes a novel data-driven intervention using gamification, AI and ML, aiming to reshape gender dynamics in academic leadership.

The study aims to explore the entrepreneurial agency, focusing on migrant entrepreneurs’ ability to reshape societal structures and initiate endeavours despite limitations in entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) with constraints.

Through 23 qualitative interviews in an EE with constraints and using a grounded theory-inspired abductive approach, the study uncovers coping mechanisms and responses to barriers and imitations and explores entrepreneurial agency within these EEs.

The findings show that migrant entrepreneurs overcome constraints through a bricolage approach involving seizing opportunities, leveraging family and friend networks, collaborating strategically, adapting and innovating. Moreover, they exhibit a strong “entrepreneurial gene”, displaying resilience and determination to succeed despite challenges.

Interviewees’ subjective perceptions and language barriers may bias the results due to the narrow spatial focus. Advancing the understanding of entrepreneurial agency in EEs with constraints helps practitioners design training programmes fostering adaptive capabilities and forward-thinking mindsets. At the same time, ecosystem actors can implement inclusive practices and strategies to mitigate regulatory hurdles, promote cultural competence and facilitate collaborative initiatives among entrepreneurs.

Delving into the entrepreneurial agency of migrant entrepreneurs reveals the importance of inclusive EEs in fully exploiting migrant entrepreneurs’ economic and societal value.