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Strategic flexibility (SF) has become increasingly important for firms because of the fast changes in the external environment. In line with the practical importance of SF, an emerging research field has developed around it that has attempted to understand the nature of SF and the key relationships. The aim of this study is to unveil the semantic structure of the recent literature on SF and to suggest new promising areas for future research.

The authors conduct a systematic literature review with a bibliographic analysis technique, which allows authors to identify the main recent streams in the literature, as well as offer reflections and suggestions for future research.

The authors uncover three main emerging areas in the research on SF, namely SF as a dynamic capability, the role of knowledge management for SF and the relationship between a firm SF and the external environment. The authors put forward three avenues for future research on SF: Avenue 1. SF, business model innovation (BMI) and other dynamic capabilities (DC), Avenue 2. Digital technologies and SF/organizational agility and Avenue 3. SF and sustainability. Articles included in the special issue entitled “A strategic perspective on flexibility, agility and adaptability in the digital era” contribute to Avenue 2, thus paving the way for filling some of the identified gaps regarding the relationship between SF and digitalization.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first literature review on SF that uses a bibliometric approach to draw conclusions on the findings in the literature. The review contributes to the theoretical understanding of SF by illustrating and explicating core topics that have persisted over time, as well as by presenting three main avenues for further developing authors’ knowledge around SF.

This paper aims to examine employees’ evaluative repertoires of tourism and hospitality jobs and segments them based on a set of job attribute preferences. Understanding the social–cultural underpinnings of employees’ job preferences is vital if employers are to overcome the challenging task of finding and retaining talented employees in the tourism and hospitality industry.

A discrete-choice experiment with waiters, barkeepers, cooks and front-desk employees working in the Tyrolean tourism industry was conducted. Employees were categorized into distinct segments using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis and a cluster analysis.

Results show that flexible working hours and the ability to balance professional and private aspirations are the most important job attributes for employees. Overall, the evaluative repertoires of the “green” and “domestic (family)” conventions are most prevalent.

This study contributes to literature on talent management by providing insights into employees’ evaluations of jobs and their evaluative repertoires embedded in the broader social–cultural context.

Industry representatives and employers can adapt their recruiting and retention strategies based on employees’ job preferences.

Adapting job attributes according to employees’ evaluative repertoires helps to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry workforce.

Applying the Economics of Convention (EC) perspective, combining organizational job attributes and socially embedded evaluative repertoires provides a new approach to analysing and understanding employees’ job preferences.

This paper aims to explore the dynamic relationship between ESG scores and REITS returns. The overarching goal is to provide a better understanding of how ESG considerations impact financial performance across different temporal contexts.

Using a sample of 175 European Equity REITs, this analysis combines numerical ESG scores with the Fama-French model, employing both random and fixed effects methods. It integrates individual REIT data and the HESGL (High ESG Scores Minus Low ESG Scores) factors to assess their impact on REIT returns.

The findings highlight divergent patterns between the numerical ESG score and the HESGL factor concerning REIT returns. While the numerical ESG score displays a negative impact in later periods, the HESGL factor demonstrates a positive effect during prosperous times but loses significance during crises.

This research contributes original insights by emphasizing the importance of temporal segmentation in understanding the nuanced and evolving nature of the relationship between ESG scores and REITs’ returns. The study provides a comprehensive analysis and highlights divergent outcomes that are essential for a better interpretation of ESG impacts on real estate investments.

This study aims to improve a construction company's overall project delivery by utilising lean six sigma (LSS) methods combined with building information modelling (BIM) to design, modularise and manufacture various building elements in a controlled factory environment off-site.

A case study in a construction company utilised lean six sigma (LSS) methodology and BIM to identify non-value add waste in the construction process and improve sustainability.

An Irish-based construction company manufacturing modular pipe racks for the pharmaceutical industry utilised LSS to optimise and standardise their off-site manufacturing (OSM) partners process and leverage BIM to design skids which could be manufactured offsite and transported easily with minimal on-site installation and rework required. Productivity was improved, waste was reduced, less energy was consumed, defects were reduced and the project schedule for completion was reduced.

The case study was carried out on one construction company and one construction product type. Further case studies would ensure more generalisability. However, the implementation was tested on a modular construction company, and the methods used indicate that the generic framework could be applied and customized to any offsite company.

This is one of the few studies on implementing offsite manufacturing (OSM) utilising LSS and BIM in an Irish construction company. The detailed quantitative benefits and cost savings calculations presented as well as the use of the LSM methods and BIM in designing an OSM process can be leveraged by other construction organisations to understand the benefits of OSM. This study can help demonstrate how LSS and BIM can aid the construction industry to be more environmentally friendly.

This study aims to examine the most influential drivers, both product-specific and consumer-specific, affecting Asian consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for organic olive oil.

To individuate the most influential drivers of WTP for organic products and to assess their effect, in terms of configurational paths and consumer profiles, this study sequentially employs explorative factor analysis approach and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method. The survey is carried out in different areas of Asia (e.g. Pakistan, Vietnam and China).

The results suggest that Asian consumers' WTP for organic products is described by consumer-specific drivers (gender, occupation and household size) as well as product-specific drivers (product authenticity and sustainability, consumer ethnocentrism and food fraud risk perception).

The findings of the study permit the identification of different drivers that move consumers' WTP for organic olive oil. The study contributes to setting the ground for companies to propose and implement efficacious marketing strategies for organic olive oil in importing countries, such as Asia.

This study aims to propose a tailored Lean Six Sigma framework providing an accessible Lean Six Sigma methodology for compound feed manufacturers with the aim of mitigating rising costs and increasingly complex demands from customers.

A Lean Six Sigma framework was designed combining Lean value stream mapping and Six Sigma structured problem-solving with a case study in an Irish compound feed manufacturer.

The study found that the Lean Six Sigma implementation framework provided a simplified approach, which fitted the resource availability within compound feed manufacturing.

The study is limited by the constraints of a sole case study in providing empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the framework. Nevertheless, a conceptual Lean Six Sigma model is proposed, which will assist compound feed manufacturers implementing a continuous improvement approach.

This paper proposes a simplified approach to the implementation of Lean Six Sigma in agricultural compound feed manufacturers and in small and medium-sized organisations. This is the first such study in Ireland and will add to the body of work on Lean in agriculture and aid other agri-businesses and compound feed manufacturers in understanding how Lean Six Sigma can benefit.

For over 25 years, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has significantly influenced the US sustainable construction through its leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) certification program. This study aims to delve into how Baton Rouge, Louisiana, fares in green building adoption relative to other US capital cities and regions.

The study leverages statistical and geospatial analyses of data sourced from the USGBC, among other databases. It scrutinizes Baton Rouge’s LEED criteria performance using the mean percent weighted criteria to pinpoint the LEED criteria most readily achieved. Moreover, unique metrics, such as the certified green building per capita (CGBC), were formulated to facilitate a comparative analysis of green building adoption across various regions.

Baton Rouge’s CGBC stands at 0.31% (C+), markedly trailing behind the frontrunner, Santa Fe, New Mexico, leading at 3.89% (A+) and in LEED building per capita too. Despite the notable concentration of certified green buildings (CGBs) within Baton Rouge, the city’s green building development appears to be in its infancy. Innovation and design was identified as the most attainable LEED benchmark in Baton Rouge. Additionally, socioeconomic factors, including education and income per capita, were associated with a mild to moderate positive correlation (0.25 = r = 0.36) with the adoption of green building practices across the capitals, while sociocultural infrastructure exhibited a strong positive correlation (r = 0.99).

This study is beneficial to policymakers, urban planners and developers for sustainable urban development and a reference point for subsequent postoccupancy evaluations of CGBs in Baton Rouge and beyond.

This study pioneers the comprehensive analysis of green building adoption rates and probable influencing factors in capital cities in the contiguous US using distinct metrics.