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This study aims to investigate causes of sustainability failures of ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems in Botswana.

The research employed qualitative and quantitative methods, including literature review and secondary data analysis to understand trends relating to Botswana, and a survey to identify gaps leading to certification sustainability failures, focusing on; motives for certification, causes of decertification and issues in the certification process.

ISO 9001 adoption in Botswana is slow, with low acceptance rate in the public sector at 13% compared to the private sector at 87%. Termination rates have been high at 55% over two decades. Manufacturing dominates certification with 45% of total certification. While micro and small companies struggle to sustain certification, often failing within 2 years, medium-sized companies demonstrate better sustainability, lasting beyond 6 years. Product/service quality and process improvement drive certification while decertification is influenced by management factors, financial constraints, and process management. The study recommends a model for effective integration of ISO 9001.

Integrated systems are crucial for consistent process performance and continual improvement in all sectors for sustainable organizational success. Although the ISO 9001 Quality Management System has shown positive impacts globally, the impact of its adoption in Botswana remains questionable with high failure rates post implementation. There appears to exist a significant gap in development, implementation, and maintenance of the QMS. The public domain has no evidence of any past investigation on causes of sustainability failures of ISO 9001 post certification. The current study sought to close that knowledge gap.

This paper aims to explore the role of social and cultural sustainability in shaping smart urban development in the Arab Region, focusing on three cities, i.e. Sharjah Sustainable City (UAE), Lusail Smart City (Qatar) and SEKEM (Egypt). The research looks into how cultural aspects are integrated into the United Nations 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their relationship in the achievement of SDGs and sustainable city pillars.

By following a mainly qualitative research approach and methodology of interviewing experts about the cities and carrying out an intensive literature review and case studies, this research analyzes the key cultural elements essential for the evolution of smart and/or sustainable cities. It highlights the importance of preserving cultural heritage, enhancing social cohesion and promoting inclusivity, all within the framework of the established sustainability standards.

By following a detailed approach to case studies and rigorous research methods, this study provides valuable insights for architects, urban planners, policymakers and researchers. The research highlighted the importance of engaging the communities and local population in the urban planning processes to ensure that the voices of potential residents are heard and that development projects meet the needs of the local population. The research also concluded that the formation of a social and sustainability index is crucial in the Arab Region.

The study’s utilization of secondary data and expert interviews may introduce biases, hence constraining the extent of analysis. Moreover, the concentration on a restricted set of towns may not adequately depict the variety of urban growth throughout the Arab region. Future studies would be enhanced by expanding their scope to include a wider range of case studies and utilizing mixed approaches to gain a more nuanced comprehension of sustainable strategies.

The findings offer a foundation for thoughtful and sustainable urban planning in Arab cities. The research emphasizes the vital connection between cultural preservation and sustainability goals and the importance of the inclusion of cultural dimensions in sustainability frameworks to create more inclusive and resilient smart cities.

The study illustrates that incorporating cultural values into urban planning promotes social cohesiveness and inclusivity, hence enhancing the sustainability and resilience of communities. This method guarantees that urban development is both ecologically sustainable and culturally considerate, promoting the conservation of local identities and customs.

This study deepens the understanding of how cultural preservation and sustainability intersect in urban development. It provides important insights that can guide the development of smart cities, particularly in the Arab region, by ensuring that cultural values are integral to sustainable urban growth.

Building on the resource-based view (RBV) and the theory of other orientation, this study aims to examine the association between Islamic work ethics (IWEs) and organizational performance highlighting the role of employee relations climate as an underlying mechanism.

Data were collected from 239 employees working in diverse sectors in the state of Qatar. Structural equation modeling of partial least squares was used to analyze the data of the study.

The results suggest that IWEs positively impact organizational performance and employee relations climate. Furthermore, employee relations climate demonstrated to play a mediating role in the IWEs-organizational performance link.

The study can be used by administrators pertaining to the importance of IWE and employee relations climate to cultivate higher organizational outcomes such as organizational performance.

This research is distinctive as it examines the connection between IWEs and organizational performance in Qatar, a country where the influence of Islamic values and beliefs on work ethics is profound. In addition, the research sheds light on a topic that has received little attention in the literature: the significance of the workplace climate in determining how IWEs affect organizational performance. Finally, the research integrates two important theoretical frameworks, the RBV and the theory of other orientation, to create a comprehensive model that explains the complex relationship between IWEs, employee relations climate and organizational performance.

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a scale for measuring the uptake of process innovations by SMEs in the food industry, from a resource-based view perspective.

Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory and the existing literature, a measurement scale was proposed. The scale was then empirically validated through a survey of 315 SMEs. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were utilized for scale validation.

The findings suggest that the uptake of food process innovation can be measured from a resource-based view perspective, but not with respect to all dimensions of RBV. Particularly, the items related to value and inimitability of new food processing equipment and methods were confirmed as valid measures. Nevertheless, the findings do not confirm the validity of measurement items related to the rareness and non-substitutability of new processing methods and equipment.

The main limitation of this study is the lack of consideration beyond the resource-based view perspective. In this respect, it is worth validating this measurement scale using samples beyond the SMEs and in other countries. Furthermore, the statistical analysis is limited to EFA and CFA, which may be prone to the exploratory nature and subjectivity in factor selection.

The main contribution of this study is the development and validation of a scale for measuring the uptake of food process innovations. Hence, firms can utilize this scale to evaluate the efficiency of food process innovations in the quest for maximizing output. Furthermore, researchers can utilize this scale for further explorations and investigations on aspects related to the uptake of food process innovations.

The utilization of Resource Based View (RBV) opens a rather different approach for measuring process innovation from a resource-based view perspective. While the existing literature in the food industry has measured innovation from a general approach, this study offers a different approach by paying specific attention to process innovation from a resource-based view perspective.

Architectural theorists have a long tradition of acknowledging the centrality of building users to architectural production. This article contributes to the discourse on architecture, actor–network theory (ANT), and users by proposing a typology of user translations ranging from supporting to tinkering to adjusting to resisting.

The research utilises an ANT-inspired ethnography of sustainable lighting scripts at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST). It comprises semi-structured interviews with MIST designers and students, and site visits and participant observation to understand how the users interpret the scripts and how they interact and change them on a daily basis.

There is a shared understanding that users do not simply receive architectural designs but interpret and change them to suit their preferences. The findings reveal the multiple ways that users interpret and respond to the assumptions of designers and in the process, recast the relations between themselves and their material surroundings.

The research contributes to acknowledging the centrality of users to architectural design processes and the interpretation of design scripts, addressing the limitation in current literature in demonstrating the diversity of ways that users react to such scripts. The research suggests that user actions have significant implications on long-term building performance. It accordingly points to the need for devising multiple means of user involvement in the design process and allowing greater flexibility in design scripts to improve the alignment with user preferences.

This study aims to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) tools influence the academic success and adaptation of international students in higher education. It examines the benefits, challenges and ethical considerations including academic integrity of integrating AI in learning environments.

An exploratory qualitative research approach was employed, utilising semi-structured interviews with postgraduate international students from diverse backgrounds.

The findings suggest that AI tools enhance academic performance by offering personalised learning, immediate feedback and efficient assessment. However, concerns about ethical use, over-reliance and the potential impact on critical thinking and academic integrity were prominent in the contexts of assessments and learning experiences.

The research offers unique insights by focusing on postgraduate international students, an often-underrepresented group in AI education studies. Their distinctive challenges, including adapting to new academic environments and overcoming language barriers, make them a particularly valuable sample for understanding the role of AI in higher education. This focus allows the study to contribute new perspectives on how generative AI (GenAI) tools like Grammarly and ChatGPT facilitate academic performance improvement, especially in enhancing writing proficiency and managing academic expectations. These findings extend the discussion by specifically addressing the experiences of international students in postgraduate studies, a demographic where AI’s impact has been less explored.

Digitalization accelerates the need of tourism and hospitality ecosystems to reframe business models in line with a data-driven orientation that can foster value creation and innovation. Since the question of data-driven business models (DDBMs) in hospitality remains underexplored, this paper aims at (1) revealing the key dimensions of the data-driven redefinition of business models in smart hospitality ecosystems and (2) conceptualizing the key drivers underlying the emergence of innovation in these ecosystems.

The empirical research is based on semi-structured interviews collected from a sample of hospitality managers, employed in three different accommodation services, i.e. hotels, bed and breakfast (B&Bs) and guesthouses, to explore data-driven strategies and practices employed on site.

The findings allow to devise a conceptual framework that classifies the enabling dimensions of DDBMs in smart hospitality ecosystems. Here, the centrality of strategy conducive to the development of data-driven innovation is stressed.

The study thus developed a conceptual framework that will serve as a tool to examine the impact of digitalization in other service industries. This study will also be useful for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) managers, who seek to understand the possibilities data-driven management strategies offer in view of stimulating innovation in the managers' companies.

The paper reinterprets value creation practices in business models through the lens of data-driven approaches. In this way, this paper offers a new (conceptual and empirical) perspective to investigate how the hospitality sector at large can use the massive amounts of data available to foster innovation in the sector.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the pivotal role of environmental innovations in driving sustainability practices within medium and large manufacturing firms operating in Uganda.

Using a cross-sectional and quantitative methodology, data were collected through a questionnaire survey involving 208 manufacturing companies. The smart partial least squares path modelling technique was used for the analysis.

The analysis unveils significant and positive associations. Specifically, product innovation exhibits a robust and affirmative relationship with sustainability practices. Similarly, the correlation between process innovation and sustainability practices emerges as statistically significant. Moreover, the findings underscore the noteworthy and constructive predictive influence of environmental innovation on sustainability practices.

These empirical results present substantial implications for theoretical frameworks and practical applications. From a policy perspective, the findings emphasise the importance of incentivising eco product and eco process innovations as potential drivers of eco-friendly practices. On the managerial front, strategic resource allocation and the adoption of integrated environmental innovation strategies are advocated, with the ultimate goal of enhancing sustainable business approaches within Uganda’s manufacturing subsector.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study represents the inaugural attempt to investigate the role of environmental innovations in elucidating sustainability practices within a least developed country. Notably, while all dimensions demonstrate significance, it is noteworthy that product innovation emerges as the more substantial contributor to the promotion of sustainability practices.