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The purpose of this study is to explore how to select a suitable supply chain collaboration paradigm (SCCP) based on the intelligent manufacturing model (IMM) of enterprises.

Given the fit between internal collaboration and external collaboration, we propose a model to select a suitable SCCP based on two-sided matching between SCCPs and IMMs. In this decision problem, we invited five university scholars and seven related consultants to evaluate SCCPs and IMMs based on the regret theory, which is used to obtain the perceived utility and matching results. The evaluation values are comfortably expressed through probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs). Also, we set the lowest acceptance threshold to improve the accuracy of matching results.

The findings indicate that the characteristics of IMMs can significantly influence the selection of SCCPs, and an SCCP is not suitable for all IMMs. Interestingly, the study findings suggest that the selection of SCCP is diverse and multi-optional under the constraints of IMMs.

Existing studies have explored supply chain collaboration (SCC) in Industry 4.0 to improve supply chain performance, but less attention has been paid to the impact of the match between SCCPs and IMMs on supply chain performance. And even fewer studies have addressed how to select a suitable SCCP in different IMMs. This study provides a unique contribution to the practice of SCC and expands the understanding of supply chain management in Industry 4.0.

This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of the interdisciplinary literature on drones in last-mile delivery (LMD) to extrapolate pertinent insights from and into the logistics management field.

Rooting their analytical categories in the LMD literature, the authors performed a deductive, theory refinement SLR on 307 interdisciplinary journal articles published during 2015–2022 to integrate this emergent phenomenon into the field.

The authors derived the potentials, challenges and solutions of drone deliveries in relation to 12 LMD criteria dispersed across four stakeholder groups: senders, receivers, regulators and societies. Relationships between these criteria were also identified.

This review contributes to logistics management by offering a current, nuanced and multifaceted discussion of drones' potential to improve the LMD process together with the challenges and solutions involved.

The authors provide logistics managers with a holistic roadmap to help them make informed decisions about adopting drones in their delivery systems. Regulators and society members also gain insights into the prospects, requirements and repercussions of drone deliveries.

This is one of the first SLRs on drone applications in LMD from a logistics management perspective.

This paper aims to explore the influence of a particular label surface texture, i.e. embossing, on consumer purchase intentions and willingness to pay. This paper further highlights the underlying mechanisms explaining this relationship by unveiling the mediating role of willingness to touch and perceived package uniqueness.

Based on the visual salience theory and the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model, this paper tests mediations and serial mediations across two online experiments and evidence from a laboratory experiment.

Study 1 reveals perceived package uniqueness as the mediator, such that embossed elements on the label increase perceived uniqueness, hence leading to greater purchase intentions and willingness to pay. In addition, Study 2 replicates these results and goes further by demonstrating the positive effect of embossing on purchase intentions and willingness to pay through willingness to touch then perceived package uniqueness.

The findings provide insightful managerial implications by drawing attention to the importance of using embossed elements on packaging, particularly when companies seek to differentiate themselves from competitors by stimulating consumers to touch their product packaging and having them perceive their products as unique.

Using visual salience theory and the SOR model, this research is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first to shed light on the effect of embossing as a visual element of the packaging design on willingness to touch the product (haptics) and perceived uniqueness, ultimately enhancing purchase intentions and willingness to pay.

This study aim to review and compile the latest research in women’s leadership internationally and across multiple sectors and industries to understand how to fast-track gender equality. As an outcome of this review, this paper presents an actionable universal framework for organisations to use to bolster their gender equity efforts.

A systematic literature review methodology resulted in 36 articles dedicated to research on women in senior leadership interventions across countries and organisational types. Thematic analysis identified a series of enablers and barriers that influence women’s progression into senior roles.

Research since 2020 has shown a significant shift from an individualised approach to improving women’s advancement to senior leadership roles, to a systematic one, acknowledging that there are entrenched behaviours resulting in a lack of equity.

Systematic literature reviews, although reducing bias, must still be acknowledged to have inherent bias due to the inclusion and exclusion criteria used. There is a need for future research to provide more theoretical underpinnings to advance knowledge and for implementation and review of the proposed EQUAL framework developed from this study.

The authors highlight the continuing issues at play in organisations that act as barriers to women’s progress into senior leadership. This paper suggest that organisations may need to consider ways to move past a “business case” approach towards gender equity becoming embedded at all levels. Their proposed EQUAL framework provides a practical set of evidence-based activities to enhance this approach.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the environmental footprint of a university of applied sciences in 2019 and 2020, including the effects of the lockdown periods. The study identified the main sources of emissions and assessed the pandemic-related effects.

Using the life cycle assessment methodology, this study analysed the university’s direct and indirect emissions during a regular year of operation (2019) and compared them with those generated during the lockdown periods in 2020. For the activity areas mobility, energy, waste, IT and paper, gastronomy and water, specific, primary bottom-up inventory data were gathered before and during the pandemic. The data were assessed with 15 environmental impact assessment methods of the environmental footprint framework.

The results of a regular year of operation (2019) depicted that student and employee commuting and business travel contributed with 86% largely to the total global warming potential of 2,572 t CO₂-eq. The pandemic-induced changes in commuting and business travel resulted in a 60% reduction, leading to a drop to 1,075 t CO₂-eq (2020). In contrast, the environmental footprint due to energy consumption remained almost on the same level, irrespective of the absences on-site in 2020.

This study has the potential to shape post-pandemic environmental efforts and policies in higher education institutions and contribute to a much-needed baseline against which mitigation efforts can be compared with. Unlike other studies, this study goes beyond the carbon footprint, expanding the discussion to additional environmental and human health impact categories by applying the environmental footprint framework.

This study aims to empirically investigate the effect of a firm’s blueness on stock returns by developing the blueness index. Ocean firms listed on NASDAQ Baltic, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Iceland and Stockholm were selected to test the hypothesis.

This study uses the system generalized method of moments technique and finds an inverse relationship between blueness and stock performance. As an alternative, their impact on stock performance is investigated using the environmental, social and governance (ESG) and environment (E) ratings. Additionally, by considering the blueness component, this study suggests a theoretical model to evaluate the utility function of the portfolio.

The results reveal that high-blue firms obtain lower returns than low-blue firms. This finding illustrates that high-blue firms obtain lower returns, as they comply with “blue” factors, and the possibility of risk would be lower. This study finds that lower ESG and E scores indicate ocean firms create lower emissions. Therefore, investors of high-blue firms obtain lower returns. To test the robustness of the blueness index, this study examines the effect of ESG and E ratings on a firm’s blueness. The results identify an inverse relationship between the ESG/E score and the blueness, illustrating that high-blue firms emit lower ocean emissions. The results of a theoretical model report that the proportion of investment in high-blue firms is higher for optimizing portfolio allocation.

This study determines firms’ blueness and impact on stock return. This study also considers ESG and E scores to identify their effect on ocean firm’s performance. The results contribute a theoretical understanding of factors determining the proportion of investment in high- and low-blue firms to optimize their portfolio.

The role of inventors' creativity is crucial for technological innovation within enterprises. The mobility of inventors among different enterprises is a primary source for companies to acquire external knowledge. The mechanism of “learning-by-hiring” is widely recognized by companies. Therefore, it is important to determine how to allocate network resources to enhance the creativity of inventors when companies hire mobile inventors.

The study suggests an analytical framework that analyzes alterations in tie strength and structural holes resulting from the network embeddedness of mobile inventors as well as the effect of the interaction between these two variables on changes in inventor’s creativity after the mobility. In addition, this paper examines the moderating impact of cognitive richness of mobile inventors and cognitive distance between mobile inventors and new employers on the correlation between network embeddedness and creativity.

This study found that: (1) The increase of tie strength has a significant boost in creativity. (2) Increasing structural holes can significantly improve the creativity of mobile inventors. (3) When both the tie strength and the structural holes increase, the creativity of the mobile inventors significantly increases. (4) It is important to note that when there is a greater cognitive distance, stronger tie strength promotes the creativity of mobile inventors. Additionally, cognitive richness plays a significant role in moderating the relationship between changes in structural holes and the creativity of mobile inventors.

These findings provide theoretical guidance for firms to effectively manage mobile inventors and optimize collaborative networks within organizations.

Purpose: The study aims to explore the profound impact of virtual currencies and decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols on financial dynamics, user engagement, and operational aspects within the Metaverse.

Methodology: This research employs mathematical modelling and quantitative analysis to comprehensively investigate the pivotal roles of these elements within the dynamic virtual environment.

Findings: The mathematical equations applied in our study have illuminated the intricate mechanics of financial expansion, operational efficiencies, and user dynamics in the Metaverse’s virtual currency and DeFi systems. These insights underline the transformative influence of these digital ecosystems on future economies, emphasising the critical role of quantitative analysis in navigating and maximising their potential.

Significance: This research aims to shed light on the pivotal roles of virtual currencies and DeFi protocols through mathematical modelling and quantitative analysis. It contributes to a deeper understanding of their significance in shaping the future of virtual economies and financial interactions within the ever-evolving Metaverse.

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.