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Building on the institutional theory perspective on corporate governance change and based on interviews with investor relations (IR) managers in large Japanese companies, this study aims to examine Japanese IR managers’ perceptions of the influence of foreign shareholders on Japan’s corporate governance reform and stakeholder-based system. The paper examines tensions, conflicts and collaborations among different stakeholders involved in corporate governance changes in Japan, especially in the areas of firm ownership, employment relations and boards of directors. The paper explains why convergence does not happen in some large Japanese companies by investigating Japanese managers’ responses to and perceptions of foreign shareholders in multiple corporate contexts.

The author conducted in-depth interviews with ten IR managers at large, listed Japanese companies in Kyoto and Tokyo and two managers at foreign investment banks in Tokyo, between 2018 and 2021.

This paper explores five themes that emerged from my interviews: Chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) mixed perceptions of foreign investors, the effectiveness of CEO compensation and outside directors, managers’ reluctance to accept stock price-driven business strategies, foreign investors’ engagement vs investments in index funds and gender patterns, including the effectiveness of token female outside directors. The Japanese companies the author looked at incorporated foreign shareholders as consultants and adopted a few major shareholder-based customs, such as CEOs communicating with investors, having outside directors, increasing CEO compensation and slimming down unprofitable parts of the business via restructuring and downsizing. Simultaneously, they resisted a few major shareholder-based practices. Foreign shareholders’ pressure revealed tensions and contradictions between the Japanese stakeholder system and shareholder primacy-based customs.

This paper is one of the few qualitative studies that explores Japanese IR managers’ responses to and perceptions of foreign shareholders in corporate governance reform, with a particular focus on ownership, employment relations and board members. This paper provides examples of tension, conflict and cooperation between Japanese managers and foreign investors, as seen through the eyes of Japanese IR managers. Examining changes in Japan’s stakeholder-based system of corporate governance reform enables us to better understand the processes by which, with vigorous pressure from government and foreign shareholders, a non-western country like Japan may adopt shareholder-based customs and how such a change may also lead to institutional changes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected how consumers make payment choices. This study aims to develop a comprehensive model explaining customers’ continuance usage of mobile payment during the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating both the pull (positive) factors of mobile payment and the push (negative) factors of cash payment.

A survey was conducted on 508 mobile payment users. A quota sampling method was applied to collect the data. Then, the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. This study employed SPSS and LISREL software.

This study reveals that four antecedent factors: favorable attitude toward mobile payment, social influence, facilitating conditions and unfavorable attitude toward cash payment, positively affect the continuance intention to use mobile payment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The finding also corroborates the effect of continuance intention on the actual use of mobile payment.

This research provides valuable insights for formulating business strategies. The results indicate that mobile payment providers should not only consider the positive aspects of mobile payments but also the negative aspects of cash payment when encouraging the continuance usage of mobile payments to customers.

This study is among the first to empirically test the effect of unfavorable attitudes toward cash payment on the continuing use of mobile payment. Specifically, the research extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology by adding the push–pull-mooring model to enhance the explanatory power.

La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado significativamente a la forma en que los consumidores toman sus decisiones de pago. Este estudio pretende desarrollar un modelo completo que explique el uso continuado del pago por móvil por parte de los clientes durante la pandemia COVID-19, investigando tanto los factores de atracción (positivos) del pago por móvil como los factores de empuje (negativos) del pago en efectivo.

Se realizó una encuesta a 508 usuarios de pago por móvil. Se aplicó un método de muestreo por cuotas para recoger los datos. A continuación, los datos se analizaron mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales. En este estudio se empleó el software SPSS y LISREL.

El estudio revela que cuatro factores antecedentes: la actitud favorable hacia el pago por móvil, la influencia social, las condiciones facilitadoras y la actitud desfavorable hacia el pago en efectivo; afectan positivamente a la intención de permanencia en el uso del pago por móvil durante la pandemia COVID-19. El hallazgo también corrobora el efecto de la intención de permanencia en el uso real del pago por móvil.

Esta investigación aporta valiosas ideas para la formulación de estrategias comerciales. Los resultados indican que los proveedores de pagos por móvil no sólo deben tener en cuenta los aspectos positivos de los pagos por móvil, sino también los aspectos negativos del pago en efectivo a la hora de fomentar el uso continuado de los pagos por móvil entre los clientes.

Este estudio es uno de los primeros en comprobar empíricamente el efecto de las actitudes desfavorables hacia el pago en efectivo en el uso continuado del pago por móvil. En concreto, la investigación amplía la teoría unificada de la aceptación y el uso de la tecnología (UTAUT) añadiendo el modelo push-pull-mooring (PPM) para mejorar el poder explicativo.

COVID-19疫情对消费者的支付方式产生了重大影响。本研究旨在通过研究移动支付的拉动（积极）因素和现金支付的推动（消极）因素, 建立一个综合模型来解释客户在COVID-19疫情期间持续使用移动支付的情况。

本研究采用配额抽样方法, 对508位移动支付用户进行了调查。然后通过SPSS和LISREL软件, 运用结构方程模型对数据进行了分析。

研究结果揭示了四个前因因素对COVID-19疫情期间持续使用移动支付的意愿有积极影响, 这四个因素分别是：对移动支付的有利态度、社会影响、便利条件和对现金支付的不利态度; 这一发现也证实了持续使用意愿对移动支付实际使用的影响。

这项研究为制定商业战略提供了宝贵的见解。结果表明, 移动支付供应商在鼓励客户持续使用移动支付时, 不仅要考虑移动支付的积极方面, 还要考虑现金支付的消极方面。

本研究首次通过实证检验了消费者对现金支付的不利态度对移动支付持续使用的影响。具体而言, 本研究通过加入推拉式模型（PPM）扩展了技术接受和使用的统一理论（UTAUT）, 从而增强了该理论的解释力。

This study aimed to assess the potential of the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale in the prognosis of dementia in elderly subjects.

Dementia staging severity is clinically an essential task, so the authors used machine learning (ML) on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features to locate and study the impact of various MR readings onto the classification of demented and nondemented patients. The authors used cross-sectional MRI data in this study. The designed ML approach established the role of CDR in the prognosis of inflicted and normal patients. Moreover, the pattern analysis indicated CDR as a strong cohort amongst the various attributes, with CDR to have a significant value of p < 0.01. The authors employed 20 ML classifiers.

The mean prediction accuracy varied with the various ML classifier used, with the bagging classifier (random forest as a base estimator) achieving the highest (93.67%). A series of ML analyses demonstrated that the model including the CDR score had better prediction accuracy and other related performance metrics.

The results suggest that the CDR score, a simple clinical measure, can be used in real community settings. It can be used to predict dementia progression with ML modeling.

Work readiness and the ability to change how work is conducted are key dimensions of employability. This study focuses on alumni from the social psychiatric care (SPC) programme at University West in Trollhättan, Sweden. As their work readiness and work-changing abilities have not been studied to this point, the purpose was to explore the eventual main employability profiles in these alumni.

Between 8th November 2022 and 2nd January 2023, 94 SPC alumni responded to the Employee Agility and Resilience Short Swedish Version Measurement Scale, consisting of five subscales that represent different employability features. Cluster analysis was used to explore eventual employability profiles in these alumni.

Three clusters of SPC alumni with different employability profiles were identified. Cluster 1: Highly employable profile, which is represented by SPC alumni who scored high on each of the five employability features. Cluster 2: Employability with alliance-creating profile; this cluster comprise SPC alumni whose strengths lie in creating collegial relationships. Cluster 3: Employability with a strong social support profile, which comprise SPC alumni with a strong social backing at work. We discuss that SPC alumni of these employability profiles are variously equipped to (1) follow and develop how work is conducted in their fields and (2) adapt to changes at work.

The study presents employability profiles of SPC alumni and offers valuable insights that could enhance the prospects of these alumni becoming a recognised occupation within the realms of psychiatry, social services, institutional work and community work.

Recently, interest in sustainability has grown globally in the heavy vehicle and equipment industry (HVEI). However, this industry's complexity poses a challenge to the implementation of generic sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. This study aims to identify SSCM's barriers, practices and performance (BPP) indicators in the HVEI context.

The results are derived from case studies of four multinational manufacturers. Within-case and cross-case analyses were conducted to categorise the SSCM BPP indicators that are unique to HVEI supply chains.

This study's analysis revealed that supply chain cost implications and a deficient information flow between focal firms and supply chain partners are the key barriers to SSCM in the HVEI. This analysis also revealed a set of policies, programmes and procedures that manufacturers have adopted to address SSCM barriers. The most common SSCM performance indicators included eco-portfolio sales to assess economic performance, health and safety indicators for social sustainability and carbon- and energy-related measures for environmental sustainability.

The insights can help HVEI firms understand and overcome the typical SSCM barriers in their industry and develop, deploy and optimise their SSCM strategies and practices. Managers can use this knowledge to identify appropriate mechanisms with which to accelerate their transition into a sustainable business and effectively measure performance outcomes.

The extant SSCM literature has focused on the light vehicle industry, and it has lacked a concrete examination of HVEI supply chains' sustainability BPP. This study develops a framework that simultaneously analyses SSCM BPP in the HVEI.

The purpose of this paper is to assess, clarify and consolidate the terminology around the co-creation of services, establish its forms and identify its outcomes, to resolve the conceptual pluralism in service co-creation literature.

A focused literature review screened the articles published in five major service research journals to determine relevant contributions on the concept of co-creation of services. Then, a thematic analysis identifies the forms, themes and outcomes of co-creating services in the set of 80 qualifying articles.

The study reduces conceptual pluralism by establishing different forms of co-creating services and developing an explicit definition of co-creation in services. The authors develop an integrative framework that recognizes involvement, engagement and participation as prerequisites for co-creation. Relating to the different phases of the service process, the specific co-creation forms of co-ideation, co-valuation, co-design, co-testing and co-launching are classified as regenerative co-creation, while the specific co-creation forms of co-production and co-consumption are recognized as operative co-creation. Both beneficial and counterproductive outcomes of co-creation are identified and arranged into a typology.

The integrative framework illustrates that service providers and customers are involved, engaged and participate in co-creating services, which manifests in specific forms of co-creation; they attain beneficial and counterproductive outcomes (personal, social, hedonic, cognitive, economic and pragmatic); and are influenced by a contextual multi-actor network.

Co-creation in services is actionable; the typology of outcomes suggests service managers ways to motivate customers and employees to participate in co-creating services.

This paper defines and establishes the conceptual forms of co-creating services and the identified outcomes, and develops an integrative framework of co-creation in services.

The negative cultural bias vis-à-vis international business and cross-cultural management has been duly acknowledged, necessitating recommendations towards investigating its positive effects. Methodologically, quantitative research clearly predominates, and there have been calls for alternative approaches. Thus, this conceptual paper addresses the research gap (methodological and thematic) by investigating if multicultural teams can be an essential part of the global workforce and whether positive effects exist regarding dynamic capabilities, learning and knowledge transfer.

The underlying ethnographic research design enabled exploring within the embedded single case study from an emic perspective, including qualitative observation and semi-structured expert interviews, and provided detailed insights into the company’s multicultural work environment.

The results reveal that applying a qualitative design allowed the needed exploration and show that multicultural, geographically dispersed teams are positively experienced and considered necessary in today’s globalised world. They are likely to increase in the future. Moreover, dynamic capabilities (multicultural competencies) are indispensable for multicultural teamwork. Regarding learning opportunities, different viewpoints for discussion and the ability to reflect on these offer valuable insights. In line with theory, multiculturality is considered a “two-edged sword”, providing simultaneous benefits and challenges. Contrary to the theory, even highly important information transfers can occur virtually, although occasional physical contact is essential for trust building.

The multinational family business offers a unique example of a positive relationship between multiculturalism and organisational excellence and demonstrates how the application of a qualitative methodology can support theory building by delivering a revised model of dynamic capabilities in multicultural environments with geographical dispersion.

The use of modern technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, commonly known as “Industry 4.0” (I4.0), is believed to have considerable potential for product customisation. In this context, this paper aims to explore whether or not using these technologies impacts customer participation (CP) in a firm's new product development (NPD) process.

To empirically test the proposed relationships, the authors collected the North Italian manufacturing firms' data and applied regression analysis.

Empirical results indicate that, on the one hand, the technologies have their specific and individual impacts, and on the other hand, the firms which use more I4.0 technologies allow more customer participation in their product design and production process. This positive impact is more robust in product design than in the production process.

Managers aiming to benefit from CP should broaden the scope of adopting I4.0 technologies and consider different roles concerning the design and production phases of the new product development process. Recognising the importance and allowing CP in NPD will enable firms to meet the customised demands.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, the proposed relationships of this study have been extensively debated theoretically in the I4.0 context but never empirically tested before. It is one of the few studies which discusses the strategic adoption and the combined use of I4.0 technologies to create more opportunities for product customisation.

The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss the participation of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes. Sovereign wealth funds in emerging economies are often involved in corporate social responsibility. However, the 1 Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal illustrates the possible use of SWF as a vehicle for corruption and abuse.

The primary objective is to develop good governance practices of CSR by SWFs that could limit corrupt practices. A case study approach is adopted to investigate the CSR involvement of two SWFs – Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).

The finding shows that SWFs should not be directly involved in CSR. It is proposed that independent Non-government Organisations (NGOs), through a competitive funding model, could serve the CSR purpose of SWFs more effectively and bring socio-economic changes in emerging economies.

The funding model identifies the expected outcomes, priorities and uses of the funds. The funding committee should also be independent of the Board and transparent in its allocations.