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This study comprehensively reviews the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which refers to Industry 4.0 (IR 4.0) applications in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Multinational companies and big corporations have the capacity and resources to implement IR 4.0, but SMEs are limited due to financial constraints, expertise and lack of resources. Even so, IR 4.0 is required as technologies evolve and market demand has changed how firms do business.

To uncover the potential of IR 4.0 and critical determinants of SMEs’ adoption of IR 4.0, this study presents a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the current research streams in IR 4.0 adoption among SMEs through bibliographic coupling. Furthermore, this review provides a glimpse of the future by analyzing prospective trends on IR 4.0 in SMEs.

Bibliographic coupling produces five clusters: (1) challenges and barriers in IR 4.0 implementation among SMEs, (2) technological adoption of IR 4.0, (3) opportunities and benefits of IR 4.0, (4) business model innovation and (5) implication of IR 4.0 on SMEs technologies. On the contrary, co-word analysis produces three clusters: (1) technologies in IR 4.0, (2) strategy and management of IR 4.0 among SMEs and (3) IR 4.0 model for SMEs.

Implications are directly related to business owners, policymakers and technology developers meeting the needs of the industry and SMEs, which are the focus of this review.

The findings contribute significantly to the body of knowledge by presenting a state-of-the-art science mapping approach to uncover the knowledge structure and intellectual linkage of IR 4.0 adoption within SMEs.

This study aims to evaluate and compare the occurrence of sweet craving and eating practices related to the consumption of sweets among undergraduate students of health courses in Brazil and Spain, as well as associated factors.

Sociodemographic data, presence of sweet craving and characterization of practices related to the consumption of sweets were assessed.

The prevalence of sweet craving was higher among Brazilian students (46.6% vs. 32.9%, p = 0.020). The percentage of students who reported they could not resist the sweet cravings (p < 0.001); consumed sweets to feel better (p < 0.001); ate increasingly higher quantities of sweets (p < 0.001); and consumed more sweets than intended (p < 0.001), was also higher among Brazilian ones. Gender, age and college major were not associated with sweet craving. However, the fact that students were Brazilian was independently associated with consuming sweets to feel better [odds ratio (OR): 4.02; 95% confidence interval (CI95%): 2.39–6.77], eating increasingly higher quantities of sweets (OR: 5.79; CI95%: 2.86–11.71) and always eating more than intended (OR: 3.33; CI95%: 2.03–5.46). Body mass index (BMI) was independently associated with sweet craving in both countries (OR: 1.09; CI95%: 1.03–1.16). The results of the present research show that cultural elements are interwoven with craving and eating practices related to sweets.

The manuscript investigated the occurrence of sweets cravings and eating habits related to the consumption of sweets among university students of health courses in Brazil and Spain, as well as the associated factors. The results highlight the influence of cultural elements on eating practices related to sweets. The research is relevant to the journal Nutrition and Food Science for its contribution to understanding cultural differences in food choices and their impact on health, which can inform strategies to promote healthy eating habits in different contexts.

Sustainable innovation began to be addressed in academic circles in the early 2000s. However, there is still a gap in the adoption of innovative sustainable practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) context. Therefore, this study aims to identify the specific challenges and benefits that SMEs face when adopting innovative sustainable practices.

To fulfil this objective, a qualitative methodology was used, specifically a single case study in a wine SME. For data collection, the interview, based on the informal conversation method, was carried out personally with the firm’s entrepreneur-manager.

From the content analysis, the empirical evidence shows that by integrating sustainable innovation into their operations, SMEs can contribute to reducing their environmental impact and promoting sustainability at a local and global level.

This empirical study shows that SMEs do not face unique challenges, such as responding to the limited resources they have and competitive pressures, with the use of innovative sustainable practices in their operations being one of the most promising responses.

This study is innovative because it shows the importance of SMEs recognising and integrating social responsibility associated with environmental awareness into their business strategies and that innovation is an essential requirement for implementing sustainable practices. A framework about sustainable innovation practices within SME is also proposed.

This paper aims to investigate the potential mediating effect of environmental disclosure on the relationship between corporate governance and the disclosure of social information by disaggregating Bloomberg ESG (Environmental-Social-Governance) scores. The polluting level of a company is examined for its potential moderating effect.

The focus is on the S&P 500. A structural equation model (SEM) is proposed that considers the effects of governance board constructs on the voluntary disclosure of social information (S-score) mediated by the voluntary disclosure of environmental information (E-score). The model is fit separately for two groups of companies (high-polluting and low-polluting), and the path coefficients are compared.

Consistent with prior research, board independence, gender diversity, and size positively impact voluntary environmental disclosure; board age is found to have a significant but negative effect. The estimated path coefficient from E-score to S-score is strong, positive, and significant; environmental disclosure fully mediates the relationship between corporate governance and social disclosure. This path coefficient is significantly greater for those companies in the high-polluting group.

The findings indicate that high-polluting companies may engage in increased voluntary disclosure of social information as reputation insurance. E-score fully mediates the relationship between corporate governance and S-score more strongly for high-polluting companies, suggesting this group is more likely to engage in and report on socially responsible behaviors to deflect attention away from environmental performance (i.e. greendeflecting).

Entrepreneurial intention is crucial in both entrepreneurship literature and practice. However, limited information exists regarding entrepreneurs’ intentions in the realm of social enterprise creation. This study aims to determine the social entrepreneurial intentions of Generation Z students within the Indian environment by utilising the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and its applicability using personality factors like risk-taking ability, proactivity, empathy and emotional intelligence.

A survey method was used, and data was collected by Generation Z individuals at three public universities in India using a self-administered questionnaire. The study used a purposive sampling technique, and further, the model was tested using the partial least square-structural equation modelling technique.

The study findings supported the proposed model of extended TPB, demonstrating that factors such as emotional intelligence, risk-taking ability and proactiveness are found prominent in Indian students. Furthermore, the role of gender as a control variable reflected no effect on social entrepreneurial intentions.

This research enhances the literature on social entrepreneurship by offering novel insights into social entrepreneurial intention. It is among the pioneers of its type to examine social entrepreneurial intent concerning personality factors among students of higher education institutions. This study provides interesting insights for universities and policymakers since they play a crucial role in promoting these antecedents through education and stimulation by enhancing entrepreneurial culture in developing countries.

Hotel management and academia are increasingly interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and charismatic leadership. In this context, the present study examines how charismatic leaders affect employee quality of life through CSR practices in hotels.

The survey encompassed employees working at either three-star or five-star hotels in Oman. The model was tested using data gathered from 396 hotel employees.

Results showed that charismatic leadership positively affects CSR-induced intrinsic and extrinsic attributions. CSR positively affected task significance and intrinsic quality and negatively affected turnover intention. Quality of life predictors had a considerable impact, with intrinsic quality and turnover intention standing out. There was no significant effect of task significance on quality of life. The relationship between charismatic leadership and CSR was stronger for employees in five-star hotels and weaker for employees in three-star hotels. The CSR role mediates the relationship between charismatic leadership and quality of life.

The results indicate that charismatic leaders exert a substantial impact on employees’ attributions of CSR. Upper-level management must emphasize fostering the cultivation of charismatic leadership attributes among non-charismatic leaders as a means to enhance employees’ perceptions of CSR.

Few studies have focused on analyzing employees’ perceptions of CSR activities on a micro level. Investigating CSR phenomena in the context of internal stakeholders, especially employees, is very rare.

This study aims to investigate factors that drive or deter audit firms (AFs) from disclosing audit quality (AQ) information to stakeholders in Iran. Furthermore, information items that should be contained in their disclosures are examined.

The study followed an interpretive approach. In this regard, 21 semi-structured and face-to-face interviews were conducted to explore the viewpoints of audit partners and investment managers. Interviewees were selected by snowball sampling method. The transcripts of audio records were prepared, and a thematic perspective was applied to evaluate transcriptions.

Participants’ interpretations indicate that certain factors, such as signaling to stakeholders, active audit committees and investor demand, promote transparency among Iranian AFs. Nonetheless, this inclination is deterred by some concerns, including poor AQ, lack of financial resources, lack of legal enforcement, fear of raising stakeholders’ expectations, inactive professional associations and contextual factors which should be addressed. Interviewees believe five items should be contained in AFs’ disclosures to enhance transparency.

This study contributes to recognizing factors explaining AFs’ behavior in the context of an Islamic country. Furthermore, the type of disclosure that should be contained can provide good insight for standard setters or oversight bodies.

The semi-structured interviews shed light on the contextual factors that influence transparency within the accountancy profession, either enabling or hindering it. Additionally, it is crucial to consider each country’s unique characteristics when determining the disclosure items in transparency reports.

This study examines how financial distress affects the capital structure of Egyptian firms following the 2016 currency flotation, examining the moderating roles of board characteristics and ownership structure.

Utilizing data from non-financial companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange from 2017 to 2022, we apply two-stage least squares (2SLS) and propensity score matching (PSM) to address endogeneity and selection bias.

Our findings indicate that financially distressed firms tend to increase their debt burden, but robust governance mechanisms, such as higher board independence, larger boards and strong blockholder and institutional ownership, significantly mitigate this effect. Managerial ownership shows a stabilizing influence during distress, while chief executive officer duality does not significantly impact leverage decisions. These findings underscore how robust corporate governance promotes more conservative capital structure decisions during economic volatility.

Our study focus, country and period could limit the generalizability of our findings to other regions or sectors.

Investors and policymakers are advised to focus on firms with effective governance structures to mitigate distress-induced leverage increases. Governance reforms that enhance board effectiveness and ownership structure, e.g. increasing board independence requirements and promoting greater institutional investor participation, can further stabilize capital structure during downturns. Managers, in turn, should diversify financing and adopt prudent debt strategies to reduce overreliance on leverage.

In contrast to most studies, this research reverses the lens by exploring how financial distress shapes capital structure decisions in an emerging market context, specifically post-Egypt’s 2016 currency flotation. Employing both 2SLS and PSM to address endogeneity and selection bias, the study highlights the mitigating role of governance mechanisms, which can buffer firms against heightened debt reliance under economic volatility.

This paper aims to analyze the publication structure of academic research on organizational creativity between 1975 and 2022.

Bibliographic data on organizational creativity are extracted from the Scopus database and then analyzed through VOSviewer and R Statistical Software.

This paper analyzes 416 publications on organizational creativity from 1975 to 2022. Accordingly, the study identifies the most productive countries, universities, authors, journals and prolific organizational creativity publications. Also, the study uses VOSviewer and R Statistical Software Bibliometrix Package to visualize the mapping based on co-citation, bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence of keywords.

The study’s main contribution is that it provides an overview of the trends and trajectories of organizational creativity, which may help researchers and practitioners comprehend the trends and future research directions.