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Since the 1980s, New public management has fostered the introduction of managerial approaches similar to those of the private sector in public administrations. Recently, the advantages of performing risk management in the public sector have been recognized; however, to the best of our knowledge, research on risk management in public administrations is underdeveloped, and there is a need to understand how risk management is performed. This paper addresses these issues and investigates whether and how risk management is performed in Italian public administration.

This study focused on a sample of 503 Italian municipalities and used a mixed research method. Through a qualitative content analysis of documents published on municipalities’ websites, data and information were collected and elaborated using quantitative indicators.

The main results are that a high percentage of large Italian municipalities perform risk management and comply with theoretical provisions on risk management, sometimes displaying isomorphic behavior in risk management practices.

This study provides a new perspective on risk management in Italian municipalities, contributes to filling a gap in the literature and suggests a theoretical perspective on municipalities’ approaches when introducing new managerial practices.

As it is known, the accounting information system (AIS) plays a significant role in the business ecosystem by recording and processing financial and accounting data and reporting the produced information to all relevant parties for decision-making. However, its used methods and systems, including double-entry bookkeeping and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, have limitations, especially in terms of trust and reliability concerns for stakeholders and the possible scope for records manipulation and fraud. The application of blockchain technology is believed to enhance the reliability of the AIS and addresses many of its current limitations. Blockchain can offer numerous benefits if used to manage AIS functions through enhanced trust, reliability, and transparency, increased efficiency, reduced costs and fraud, improved accounting information quality and real-time accounting. Nevertheless, the adoption and implementation of blockchain in the AIS are associated with several technical and nontechnical challenges which are not easy to address and could limit the wide technology adoption in the immediate future. Considering that a full understanding of the benefits and challenges of adopting blockchain in the AIS still needs more clarification, this chapter examines blockchain technology and its implications for the AIS. It reviews blockchain characteristics and its benefits to the AIS, discusses its possible integration into the AIS, outlines adoption and implementation challenges, and suggests critical avenues for future research.

This study examines whether digital streaming and observation technologies can serve as an alternative approach for collecting inventory audit evidence, the challenges faced in their adoption and the factors contributing to their non-adoption.

This study adopts a two-stage, mixed-method approach, beginning with pilot study interviews that informed the comprehensive survey with qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests and Pearson’s correlation coefficient, while qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Our findings revealed a positive perspective concerning the effectiveness and reliability of these technologies for inventory audits and the efficiency of internal controls within them, despite challenges such as obtaining a holistic view of the warehouse, observing obsolescence, ensuring inventory completeness and general reliability concerns. Additionally, preferences for physical inventory audits and skepticism about these technologies’ potential to enhance audit quality were identified as factors contributing to their non-adoption.

These findings have important implications for cost-conscious firms because they reveal that carefully adopting intermediate technologies can enhance the audit process. Our findings are relevant to audit regulators and firms interested in determining whether such technologies enhance audit efficiency and quality. This study highlights the need for updated auditing standards and directives and technologies that meet auditing requirements.

This study contributes to the literature by uncovering whether less advanced technologies can be used as an alternative approach to collect audit evidence. Consequently, the finding adds to the growing body of literature underscoring the potential of technologies, even less sophisticated ones, to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of audits, despite their challenges. Additionally, it underscores the need for clear regulatory standards, suggests that auditors embrace emerging technologies and acquire relevant skills and offers insights for technology developers on audit firms’ concerns regarding digital technologies.

This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of thin-film temperature sensors (TTS), focusing on the interplay between material properties and fabrication techniques. It evaluates the current state of the art, addressing both low- and high-temperature sensors, and explores the potential applications across various fields. The study also identifies challenges and highlights emerging trends that may shape the future of this technology.

This study systematically examines existing literature on TTS, categorizing the materials and fabrication methods used. The study compares the performance metrics of different materials, addresses the challenges encountered in thin-film sensors and reviews the case studies to identify successful applications. Emerging trends and future directions are also analyzed.

This study finds that TTS are integral to various advanced technologies, particularly in high-performance and specialized applications. However, their development is constrained by challenges such as limited operational range, material degradation, fabrication complexities and long-term stability. The integration of nanostructured materials and the advancement of wireless, self-powered and multifunctional sensors are poised to drive significant advancements in this field.

This study offers a unique perspective by bridging the gap between material science and application engineering in TTS. By critically analyzing both established and emerging technologies, the study provides valuable insights into the current state of the field and proposes pathways for future innovation in terms of interdisciplinary approaches. The focus on emerging trends and multifunctional applications sets this review apart from existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how emerging market firms (EMFs), in the face of intense international competition within global value chains (GVCs), continuously accumulate the knowledge and capabilities needed to support leapfrog upgrading. Based on this, this paper aims to construct a process model of the dynamic evolution of EMFs’ control over GVC core activities.

This paper conducts a longitudinal case study of Ninestar Corporation, a leading company in the Chinese printer industry, to investigate its leapfrog upgrading practices. From the perspective of dynamic capabilities theory, the study explores the dynamic processes and intrinsic mechanisms through which EMFs achieve the evolution of their control over GVC core activities.

It is revealed that the dual-dimensional expansion of controlling the core activities of GVC from vertical functional architecture to horizontal product architecture is the pathway for manufacturing enterprises in emerging economies to achieve leapfrogging upgrades. It is also found that the dynamic capabilities of EMFs undergo iterative evolution during the upgrading process. The self-reinforcing logic and the path-creation logic of dynamic capabilities are the internal mechanisms for controlling GVC core activities to achieve the breakthrough in both the vertical functional division chain and the horizontal product division chain.

This paper provides an insightful case for how EMFs can achieve leapfrog upgrading in the new normal of global trade patterns. It explores how these firms can gain control over GVC core activities through the evolution of dynamic capabilities. The research findings extend the boundaries of the theory of firm upgrading.

Artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbot technology is increasingly used to handle customer complaints in the service recovery process. Built on the justice theory, this paper aims to explore the optimal way to utilize chatbots in handling customer complaints for service failure recovery and the moderating role of humor.

Two scenario-based between-subjects experimental design studies were conducted to examine the two aspects of justice in service failure recovery: Study 1 focuses on procedural justice manifested as perceived control and Study 2 on interactional justice assessed as social presence. Furthermore, the moderating role of humor is investigated.

The results indicate that both perceived control and social presence can improve chatbots’ effectiveness in handling service failures to regain customer satisfaction and the consequent revisit intention. However, humor shows opposite effects in the two studies: chatbots using humorous language in complaint handling may attenuate the positive effect of perceived control but enhance the positive effect of social presence.

The findings provide practical guidelines to the service industry regarding the optimal service design and technology deployment in customer service, particularly for an effective service failure recovery process.

This research contributes to the service failure recovery literature by investigating how the new service technology of AI-powered chatbots can effectively handle customer complaints for service failure recovery. Furthermore, the research reveals the nuanced effects of humor in different complaint-handling situations.

The purpose of this article is to better understand the relevance of value creation in the interconnection amongst entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation by reviewing the literature.

The authors employed a systematic review methodology using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol to analyse the literature in depth. The articles were selected from the Scopus database and dated from 1987 to 2021. An initial total of 1,158 articles was successively narrowed down to a final list of 123 papers matching the selection criteria. Moreover, content analysis on the sample was performed to explore and analyse whether value creation directly or indirectly appears as a goal or antecedent amongst entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation.

The findings suggest that the literature does not clearly define the topic linkage, and with the authors' results, the authors provide a comprehensive mapping of the contributions to a theoretical framework that synthesises knowledge. Moreover, the authors highlight that the interconnection between marketing and entrepreneurship, i.e. entrepreneurial marketing, requires an innovative approach for satisfying customer needs and creating value. Co-occurrence analysis of the keywords also allowed to identify four clusters that were open to new research streams.

Entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation are recognised research topics in the business and management literature. However, prior research has not provided clear and comprehensive evidence about how these three research topics are linked to each other. This work analyses the hidden relationship amongst them.

This study aims to analyse the role of factors responsible for continued telemedicine usage in emerging economies.

A sequential mixed-methods approach was used to analyse the data. This included in-depth interviews with telemedicine users to identify the factors influencing their continued telemedicine usage, followed by quantitative analysis to empirically validate the relationship postulated within the research model.

The primary findings show that attitude, social influence and satisfaction directly impact users’ continued intention to use telemedicine services. These factors underscore the importance of both individual perceptions and external influences in shaping intention to continue to use telemedicine services.

The results show that factors such as satisfaction, attitude and social influence impact the continued usage of telemedicine services in emerging economies. Specific policy initiatives and awareness programs can be implemented to promote long-term telemedicine usage. In addition, improving apps with user-friendly interfaces, local language options and voice commands, alongside enhanced security measures, would serve to build trust in, and improve accessibility to, telemedicine.

The study’s findings can be used to improve health-care services in areas where facilities are inaccessible.

This research explains the intention to continue telemedicine usage through a multi-theoretic perspective that combines technology continuance theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology.

As a contribution to the social ties and dynamic capabilities literature, the purpose of this study is to examine the boundary role of the industrial factors (competitive intensity, dependence on suppliers and demand uncertainty) on the relationship between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) social ties (business ties and political ties) and firm performance.

Data were collected from 1,077 SME top-level managers in Turkiye. The proposed model is analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) path modeling in SmartPLS 4.0 software.

The results elucidate how demand uncertainty serve to moderate the influence exerted by both business and political ties upon the performance of SMEs. However, the moderating effects of competitive intensity and dependence on suppliers, although initially hypothesized, were not found to have a significant impact on the relationships.

The relevance of social ties of SMEs may depend on the industrial factor. Although both political and business ties are effective on the customer side, these ties may become irrelevant when it comes to competition and supplier relations. In competitive SME settings, where businesses are vying for similar markets, the effectiveness of ties might be questionable. In such cases, SMEs might invest in building in-house capabilities and competencies, rather than relying on their relational networks.

This study contributes to the understanding of how relational networks, which are considered as dynamic managerial capabilities, impact SMEs performance. It also fills an important gap by testing the boundary role of industrial factors on this relationship. The empirical data is collected from the Turkish context, which is also an original aspect of the study, considering most of the social ties literature has a limited focus on a few contexts. The results also indicate new areas for discussion and exploration, indicating potential avenues for further research.