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This study aims to investigate the integration of smart contracts into the legal framework of Saudi Arabia, spotlighting the pivotal role of blockchain technology in revolutionizing contractual processes. It evaluates the capacity of smart contracts to enhance the efficiency, security and transparency of legal transactions, while critically examining the legal challenges their adoption presents.

Through qualitative analysis, this research explores the operational dynamics of smart contracts, with a focus on their autonomous execution and the digital codification of contractual terms. It scrutinizes the alignment of smart contracts with the Saudi legal system, concentrating on pivotal issues such as the establishment of mutual consent, the verification of contracting parties’ capacity and adherence to conventional legal doctrines.

This study uncovers the transformative potential of smart contracts in redefining the execution of contracts, highlighting their advantages in streamlining transactions and enhancing contractual reliability. However, it also identifies significant obstacles in the path of their full integration into Saudi Arabia’s legal landscape, notably the challenge of reconciling smart contracts’ technology-driven operations with established legal norms and rectifying potential legal inconsistencies.

Offering fresh perspectives on the confluence of technology and law, this paper illuminates the complex task of implementing smart contracts within a legal framework that is in the process of adapting to digital innovation. It advocates for a sophisticated strategy of regulatory adjustment that promotes the legal system's evolution alongside technological progress, ensuring the effective and legally sound utilization of smart contracts.

Recognition of the complexity of job embeddedness in the work environment has grown, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to this phenomenon. This study analyzed how and when job crafting and leisure crafting are linked to job embeddedness by investigating employee resilience as a mediator and employee adaptivity as a moderator.

Data were gathered from 568 Taiwanese hotel employees. The PROCESS macro was used to verify all hypotheses.

Both job crafting and leisure crafting increased job embeddedness. Employee resilience mediated the impacts of job and leisure crafting on job embeddedness. The positive relationship between employee resilience and job embeddedness was stronger when employee adaptivity was high. Employee adaptivity moderated the indirect impacts of job and leisure crafting on job embeddedness through employee resilience.

Hotel managers should foster a workplace culture that encourages employees to engage in job crafting. Additionally, managers can offer employee assistance programs to proactively encourage workers to participate in leisure crafting. Providing training and wellness programs to strengthen employee resilience, along with allocating resources and designing learning programs to enhance employee adaptability, can further promote job embeddedness.

This research contributes to the literature through the construction of a moderated mediation model that explored how and when job and leisure crafting affect job embeddedness.

The aim was to investigate the effect of Cr₃C₂ mass fraction the high-temperature tribological performance of laser cladded WC-10Co₄Cr coating, in which the Cr₃C₂ played the role in enhancing wear resistance.

The WC-10Co₄Cr-xCr₃C₂ (x = 5%, 10% and 15%) were prepared on H13 steel using laser cladding, and their coefficients of friction and wear rates at 500°C were investigated using a ball-on-disc wear tester.

The WC-10Co4Cr-xCr₃C₂ powders are composed of WC, Co₃W₃C, CoCr and Cr₃C₂ phases, and the defects such as pores and cracks are reduced by the addition of Cr₃C₂. The coefficient of friction and wear rats of WC-10Co4Cr-xCr₃C₂ coatings are decreased with the Cr₃C₂ mass fraction, showing that the addition of Cr₃C₂ significantly enhances the tribological properties of WC-10Co₄Cr coating. The wear mechanism is adhesive wear and oxidation wear, and the Cr₃C₂ plays the roles of friction reduction and wear resistance, which provides valuable insights into optimizing the performance of WC-10Co₄Cr coating.

The Cr₃C₂ was first added into the laser cladded WC-10Co₄Cr coating, which improved its high-temperature tribological performance.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-12-2024-0471/

This study aims to propose and validate a research framework pertaining to the willingness to disclose information in the context of mobile banking apps. The interrelationships between privacy protection, perceived personalization, social presence, design aesthetics, consumer empowerment, parasocial interactions and privacy concerns are assessed as antecedents of willingness to disclose information.

Based on a self-administered survey, this study gathered data from 450 Chinese consumers. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling via SmartPLS 4 software.

The findings indicate that (1) privacy concerns are negatively related to willingness to disclose information, (2) parasocial interaction reduces privacy concerns, (3) consumer empowerment is positively influenced by privacy protection and perceived personalization and (4) social presence and design aesthetics positively contribute to the formation of parasocial interaction.

The current study serves to reinforce a theoretical understanding of the willingness to disclose information in mobile banking apps, which is underresearched. The findings offer alternative psychological mechanisms (i.e. consumer empowerment and parasocial interaction) and relevant mobile banking app attributes to explain the willingness to disclose information.

Based on social exchange theory and self-determination theory, this study explores the influence mechanism of empowering leadership on employees’ creative deviance and innovation performance.

The data were collected from 312 employees on Internet and other high-tech corporation in China. Hierarchical linear regression models and bootstrapping analysis outlined by Hayes were used to test the hypotheses.

Empowering leadership is positively correlated with employees’ innovation performance (EIP), and employees’ creative deviance plays an intermediary role in the above relationship. Power distance positively moderates the relationship between empowering leadership and employees’ creative deviance. Time pressure moderates the moderating effect of power distance on empowering leadership and employees’ creative deviance.

This study advances the empowering leadership and employees’ innovation performance by establishing creative deviance as the mediator. This study is also helpful to clarify the role of time press and power distance as boundary condition in the relationship between empowering leadership and employees’ creative deviance, which have certain reference significance for organization practices.

This paper aims to examine dissimilar joints for various applications in chemical, petrochemical, oil, gas, shipbuilding, defense, rail and nuclear industry.

This study examined the effects of cold metal transfer welding on stainless steel welds for 316L austenitic and 430 ferritic dissimilar welds with ER316L, ER309L and without (autogenous) fillers. The microstructural observation was done with an optical microscope. The mechanical test was done to reveal the strength, hardness and toughness of the joint. The electrochemical polarization tests were done to reveal intergranular and pitting corrosion in the dissimilar joints.

This microstructural study shows the presence of austenitic and ferritic phases with vermicular ferrite for ER309L filler weld, and for ER316L filler weld specimen shows predominately martensitic phase in the weld region, whereas the autogenous weld shows lathy ferrite mixed with martensitic phase. Mechanical test results indicated that filler welded specimen (ER316L and ER309L) has relatively higher strength and hardness than the autogenous weld, whereas ER316L filler weld exhibited the highest impact toughness than ER309L filler weld and lowest in autogenous weld. The electrochemical corrosion results displayed the highest degree of sensitization (DOS) in without filler welded specimen (45.62%) and lower in case of filler welded specimen ER309L (4.95%) and least in case of ER316L filler welded specimen (3.51%). The high DOS in non-filler welded specimen is correlated with the chromium carbide formation. The non-filler welded specimen shows the highest pitting corrosion attack as compared to the ER316L filler weld specimen and relatively better in ER309L filler welded specimen. The highest pitting corrosion resistance is related with the high chromium content in ER309L composition.

This experimental study is original and conducted with 316L and 430 stainless steel with ER316L, ER309 and without fillers, which will help the oil, shipbuilding and chemical industries.

The high-load operation of the engine crankshaft causes severe wear and fatigue. This study aims to prepare in situ textures with effective density and study their wear mechanism on the surface of ductile cast iron, which optimizes the tribological properties of engine crankshafts and reduces wear.

A new method was proposed based on the hardness difference in graphite removal to form an in situ texture. The friction performance was evaluated using a combination of computational fluid dynamics and tribological testings. The influence of the texture characteristic parameters on the bearing capacity of the oil film was analyzed. The surface wear morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy.

The texture density significantly affected the oil film bearing capacity. The surface texture can reduce the average friction coefficient (COF) by more than 35% owing to the oil film bearing and storage capacity. Specifically, the 13% texture density exhibited the lowest wear rate and COF under all three experimental conditions. The reduction in abrasive particles in the wear area of the textured surface indicates that the surface texture can improve the lubrication mechanism.

This study systematically explored the influence of the weight of each model parameter on tribological properties. Subsequently, focusing on the critical parameter (texture density), detailed tribological testings were carried out to reveal the specific effect of texture density on the wear mechanism under different working conditions, and the optimal texture density to achieve the optimal tribological performance was determined accordingly.

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.

Technology innovation in enterprises is a powerful driver of national competitiveness and sustainable corporate development. At the same time, the regional innovation policy mix serves as a core factor at the macro level, guiding and influencing enterprise technology innovation. Therefore, this paper addresses a critical question in innovation studies: the impact of the regional innovation policy mix complexity on enterprise technology innovation. Additionally, we also investigated the internal mechanisms and boundary conditions within this framework.

A dual-mode network model of local government-regional innovation policy is developed to capture the complexity of the regional innovation policy mix. The complexity index is calculated iteratively using the R language. The paper employs quantitative and empirical analysis, drawing on a sample of 622 regional innovation-related policy documents from 31 Chinese provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions).

The results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between policy mix complexity and enterprise technological innovation. The analysis further shows that university-industry cooperation intensity mediates this relationship, while regional knowledge absorptive capability moderates the impact of regional innovation policy mix complexity on enterprise technological innovation.

This paper highlights the influence of regional innovation policy mix complexity on enterprise technological innovation and underscores the role of university-industry cooperation intensity and regional knowledge absorptive capability. The findings offer valuable insights into the dynamics of enterprise innovation and inform effective government policy governance for fostering innovation.

This study aims to review recent advancements in solar energy generation and identify future research trends, with a focus on integrating energy storage systems to enhance the reliability and efficiency of solar power.

This study involved conducting a review of 313 articles published between 2014 and 2024 in the Scopus database. The research applied bibliometric analysis techniques, which are bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence analysis, to examine recent advancements and future trends in solar energy generation.

This research highlights recent field contributions through bibliographic coupling, indicating that solar PV is the most environmentally sustainable renewable energy source, with energy storage systems, particularly hydrogen, critical for stability. In addition, co-occurrence analysis on the future research avenue highlights optimizing green hydrogen production and hybrid storage systems while exploring innovative financing models to enhance grid stability and facilitate a sustainable energy transition.

This review recognizes some limitations in bibliometric analysis, such as relying solely on the Scopus database, subjective interpretations of themes and the challenge of distinguishing self-citations from external ones, which can give a misleading impression of a publication’s influence.

This study focuses on exploring how energy storage systems can be integrated with solar energy generation. Although there has been extensive research on renewable energy, this specific intersection has been largely overlooked. By using bibliometric analysis, this study aims to highlight recent developments and future directions in this critical area, ultimately providing valuable insights that can help shape both academic research and practical policy decisions.