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Family business sustainability is a critical issue. This study considers if adopting a strategic entrepreneurship orientation can support the sustainability of a family business.

A qualitative approach is used, in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve family business owners. Data collected during the interviews provides insights into understanding, practices, motivations, behaviours and attitudes relating to sustainability.

Although awareness of sustainability processes and procedures is found to be low, sustainability is important to the family business. However, sustainability is not managed or implemented systematically.

The paper presents a new model to describe the sustainability practices of family businesses. Adoption of strategic entrepreneurship is advocated as mechanism for improving sustainability. Practical and policy implications are suggested to enhance the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives in family business settings.

Nuclear power is being promoted by a segment of the environmental community as an acceptable energy source to fight man-made climate change because it does not emit greenhouse gases. Missing in the literature is a discussion and analysis of the impact of electricity deregulation on the ability of nuclear power to obtain the requisite debt and equity financing within deregulated electricity markets, and in turn, on the potential number of new nuclear power plants that could help fight global warming. The purpose of this paper is to provide timely and salient policy guidance for the efficient allocation of resources to reduce greenhouse gases based on a new model linking debt and equity financing with a change in power plant revenue risk.

A theoretical model is put forth that links the availability of debt and equity financing to the change in revenue risk created by electricity deregulation and then tests this model by performing a qualitative phenomenological analysis.

The analysis supports a conclusion that electricity deregulation has a negative effect on the ability to attract nuclear plant debt and equity financing. As such, nuclear power may not be a viable option to reduce greenhouse gases within deregulated markets.

This paper fills certain gaps in the literature by creating a theory-based model that links debt and equity financing with a change in power plant revenue risk, performing a qualitative phenomenological analysis that finds support for the negative relationship between electricity deregulation and an increase in power plant revenue risk and establishing that this increase in revenue risk affects some types of power plants such as nuclear power more than others.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of perceived usefulness of online reviews and crowd cues on restaurant selection. In addition, the authors also examine the moderating role of perceived crowding and gender in this process.

The proposed hypotheses were tested with survey data (N = 200) collected from customers visiting full-service restaurants in Malaysia. The data were analyzed using SEM through Smart PLS.

The findings supported that the perceived usefulness of online reviews and perceived crowding have a positive effect on a consumer's purchase intentions, i.e. their decision of restaurant selection. Besides, a higher level of perceived crowding strengthens the relationship between the perceived usefulness of online reviews and their purchase intentions. This finding delineates that consumers prefer to dine in a crowded place with useful online reviews in an unfamiliar place. Finally, the results show that the effect of the usefulness of online reviews on purchase intentions does not vary with respect to gender (no significant contingent effect). However, the effect of perceived crowding varies with respect to gender – male customers have higher intentions to join crowded restaurants as compared to females.

Limitation of this study is its cross-sectional research design; data were collected in a single time frame. Longitudinal research design can be used to get in-depth knowledge of this phenomenon. Secondly, a non-probability sampling technique was used in this study, future research can used probability sampling technique to enhance generalizability of the study. Moreover, this study focused on the human crowding aspect, future studies can cover both aspects of crowding (human crowding and spatial crowding) in retailing or other service sectors (Blut and Iyer, 2020).

This study has multiple practical implications.

This study extends the current research on usefulness of online reviews and perceived crowding by investigating its direct and conditional effects. Specifically, the authors contribute in extant research by explaining its differential effects for male and female customers, when they select which restaurants to dine.

In developing countries, banks play a major role by acting as a conduit for the effective mobilization of funds from the surplus sectors of an economy for onward lending to the deficit sectors for productive investments that will in turn increase the level of employment and economic growth. There has being a rising trend in unemployment rate in Nigeria and South Africa and hence, the need for the study to assess the effectiveness of banking system credit in curbing unemployment rate by making a comparative analysis of Nigeria and South Africa covering the period of 1991–2018.

The study employed the unit root test, Johansen cointegration test, vector error correction model and VAR impulse response function in determining the relationship between the variables.

The major findings revealed that banking system credit matters in curbing unemployment rate in South Africa than in Nigeria. Also, other macroeconomic factors such as lending rate, inflation rate, Government expenditure and population growth were significant enough in influencing unemployment rate in South Africa than in Nigeria. Foreign direct investment was a significant factor in reducing unemployment rate in Nigeria than in South Africa. The cointegration test showed a long-term relationship between the variables in both countries while the speed of adjustment coefficient of the vector error correction model is faster in South Africa than in Nigeria.

Previous empirical studies on the relationship between banking system credit and unemployment rate have focused much on other regions such as Asia and Europe. Thus, the study is unique as it focused on the African region and also made a comparative analysis by testing the Keynesian theory of employment, interest and money on two emerging African economies which are Nigeria and South Africa.

Delay in housing adaptation is a major problem, especially in assessing if homes are suitable for the occupants and in determining if the occupants are qualified for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). This paper describes the development of two self-administered intelligent integrated assessment tools from the DFG Adapt-ABLE system: (1) The Home Suitability Assessment Platform, which is a preventive mechanism that allows assessment of the suitability of homes based on occupants’ mobility status and (2) an indicative assessment platform that determines if the applicants are qualified for the DFG to prevent lengthy delays.

The adopted method aligned with a development study approach: a grounded literature review, a severity measurement approach, two stakeholder engagement workshops, four brainstorming sessions and four focus group exercises. The system development relied on Entity–Relationship Diagram (ERD) technique for data structures and database systems design. It uses DFG context sensitivity with alignment with DFG guidance, interlinkages and interoperability between the assessment tools and other platforms of the integrated Adapt-ABLE system.

The assessment tools are client-level outcomes related to accessibility, usability and activity based on the assessment process. The home suitability platform shows the percentage of the suitability of a home with assessment results that suggest appropriate action plans based on individual mobility status. The indicative assessment combines the function of referral, allocation, assessment and test of resources into an integrated platform. This enables timely assessment, decision-making and case-escalation by Occupational Therapists based on needs criteria and the eligibility threshold.

These assessment tools are useful for understanding occupants’ perception of their physical housing environment in terms of accessibility, suitability and usability based on basic activities of daily living and their mobility status. The indicative self-assessment tool will substantially cut down the application journey. The developed tools have been recommended for use in the CSJ Disability Commission report and the UK government Guidance on DFGs for local authorities in England.

In the era of rapid urbanization, fostering an inclusive housing market system for most low-income urban residents remains a challenge in Sub-Saharan African countries. This study aims to investigate the realities of housing markets in Hawassa City, Ethiopia, and interrogate whether these markets foster social inclusion for households at the lower end of the market in the post-1990s.

The study used a mixed research approach. Primary data was generated using household surveys and key-informant interviews administered to residents and officers. The study also reviewed the municipality’s policy documents and reports. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and theme-based qualitative interpretation.

Hawassa City exhibited formal and informal housing market patterns guided by national, regional and city-wide policy and regulatory frameworks. Nevertheless, trends in these markets do not seem to capture the realities of residents’ ability to pay for housing and demonstrate social exclusions. The yawning gaps between demand and supply of housing largely necessitated the black market and the subsequent commercialization of housing by visible and invisible actors.

The study suggests further research on ethnographic understanding of the visible and invisible actors operating in the housing markets and adverse impacts on peri-urban farmers. The present study did not address rental housing markets adequately, and this could be open for further research.

The study has implications for revisiting housing policy-making, especially for understanding the policy and practical gaps and thus promoting a socially inclusive housing market system targeting low-income people.

The study provides a comprehensive analysis of housing markets in Hawassa City through the lens of operational values of social inclusivity (Elsinga et al., 2020). The findings provide baseline data on policy and implementation gaps for promoting a socially inclusive housing market system, especially for low-income people. In this regard, the contribution is empirical. In addition, this manuscript renders a conceptual framework for analyzing housing markets in other similar contexts of sub-Saharan Africa.

This study aims to enhance our understanding of employee emotional competence (EEC) in the context of service failure and recovery. Accordingly, the present study investigates the relationship between perceived EEC and customer emotional attachment (CEA) through the mediating role of service recovery satisfaction (RES). Furthermore, the study examines the moderating impact of service failure severity (SFS) on the relationship between perceived EEC and RES.

A self-administered online survey was carried out to collect data. Using a convenience sampling technique, 195 US consumers were recruited from Prolific Academic. To test the hypotheses, this study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

According to the analysis, perceived EEC impacts CEA directly and indirectly via RES. Additionally, the study finds that consumers reported feeling more emotionally connected to the restaurant when they were satisfied with service recovery. Finally, the study identified that the connection between perceived EEC and RES increases with service failure severity.

This study emphasizes enhancing EEC through organization-wide training to increase customer satisfaction and emotional attachment to the service organization. Furthermore, it underscores the need for comprehensive employee training to categorize service failure severity and formulate appropriate recovery strategies.

The authors believe this is the first RES study to examine perceived EEC’s effect on CEA. By combining the affect infusion and cognitive appraisal theories to examine recovery satisfaction, this study contributes to the existing body of research on service recovery by shedding light on the relationship between perceived EEC and CEA. Furthermore, the study offers preliminary findings indicating an increase in the impact of perceived EEC on RES during high failure severity (SFS).

Cuteness has grown to be a global phenomenon fueled by the explosive usage of social media. Cute stimuli are ubiquitous, but few have explored their effects on consumer decision-making; direct evidence is particularly lacking in the area of risky choices. In this research, the authors theorize and demonstrate the unintended effects of cuteness exposure on people’s risk preference.

Across five experimental studies situated in various risk contexts, including health, financial and safety, the authors demonstrate that exposure to cuteness makes consumers more risk-seeking due to the reduction of situational conscientiousness. Study 1 used an experimental lab study with a real circumstance to test the effect on the risk associated with food consumption. Study 2 used a classical gambling experiment to test the effect on financial risk. Studies 3a and 3b used a mass shooting news article to test the effect on safety risk. Lastly, study 4 tested the mediating role of low conscientiousness with the classical gambling experiment.

The findings show that exposure to cuteness makes people more likely to take risks in various domains (e.g. food consumption, safety and financial decisions).

This study tested the effect of cuteness on risk-seeking with a limited number of domains of risk. In addition, the authors tested the effect with visual cuteness stimuli, while individuals may perceive cuteness through other senses, such as sound.

The findings have implications for business owners and marketers when deciding whether and how to use cuteness to promote their products and brands, as well as to avoid potential repercussions. For example, a marketer for a new extreme sports company could use videos or images of cute animals participating in sports on the company’s social media channels to expand its market share. In addition, findings from this research would make consumers more attentive when facing cute appeals as they gain a better understanding of how exposure to cuteness could impact their own decision-making.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to demonstrate that exposure to subtle, cute environmental cues has a robust effect on consumers’ risk preferences across various domains, regardless of age and gender.

This study aims to explore the relationship between digital transformation and resilience development in the Australian food supply chain (FSC), and identify the contribution of digital technologies to it using the dynamic capabilities theory as theoretical lens.

For that, a mixed-method approach was used. It combines both quantitative and qualitative data to identify trends and details of the phenomenon, yielding more robust findings. We firstly collected and analyzing quantitative data obtained from food industry practitioners and, then, qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with experts.

The study findings suggest that the relationship between digital transformation and resilience varies among tiers of the FSC and that digital technologies adoption affects resilience development differently across tiers. This highlights the potential cost savings of developing strategies that jointly address digital transformation and resilience development, improving performance outcomes and determining the extent to which digital technologies enhance or inhibit certain aspects of resilience in the FSC.

The study frames the relationship between digital technologies and resilience within the dynamic capabilities theory and suggests that digitalization can enhance resilience by enabling organizations to sense, seize, and transform strategies. We also provide insights for managers to develop strategies that simultaneously enhance digitalization and resilience, resulting in improved performance during disruptive events.