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The purpose of this study is to investigate a new and innovative sandwich material evaluating its capability for use in space habitat structural components in deployable and foldable configurations. The main habitat requirements were considered in the preliminary design of a typical space outpost, proposing a preliminary architecture.

The stiffness properties of the innovative sandwich (MAdFlex ®) were evaluated using numerical and experimental investigations. Four-point bending tests were performed for complete sandwich characterization. Numerical FE simulations were performed using typical material properties and performance. The application to a space habitat main structure as a basic material has also been discussed and presented.

MAdFlex basic stiffness performances have been determined considering its double behavior: sufficiently stiff if loaded in a specific direction, flexible if loaded in the opposite direction and enhanced folding performance. Successful application to a typical space habitat confirms the validity and convenience of such a material in designing alternative structures.

The innovative material demonstrates wide potential for structural application and design in demanding space situations under operating conditions and in stored ones at launch.

Several simple deployable structural components can be designed and optimized both for the space environment and for the more traditional terrestrial applications.

Simplification in structural design can be derived from deployable low-weight items.

Innovative customized material in sandwich configuration has been proposed and investigated with the aim to demonstrate its potentiality and validity in alternative design architecture.

This study examines the relationship between the flexibility of working from anywhere and employees' psychological well-being (PWB) and safety. This study also investigates the moderating role of human resource (HR) leadership teams on HR policy (HRP), firm infrastructure (FRI) and remote work flexibility.

With the help of the literature review and flexible firm theory (FFT) and dynamic capability view (DCV) theory, a model has been developed conceptually. Later, the conceptual model is validated using partial least squares – structural equation modelling technique considering 471 useable respondents from different Asian and European firms to understand cross-country implications. This research study uses convenience and purposeful sampling techniques.

This study shows that there is a significant and positive moderating role of HR leadership support (HLS) towards developing flexible HRP and appropriate FRI to enable employees to work from anywhere. The results also indicate that there is a significant and positive impact of work from anywhere flexibility (WAF) and employee PWB and psychological safety (PSS), which in turn positively and significantly impact employee satisfaction (EMS) resulting in better firm performance (FP).

This study provides valuable input to HR management teams for developing effective HR policies to enable a work from anywhere option. The study also provides food for thought to practitioners, researchers and academicians regarding the need for more research on the relationship between work flexibility, PWB and FP. Finally, this study develops a unique model which could be used by any firm towards framing an effective HRP enabling WAF.

This research adds value to the overall body of knowledge of HR management. There is no study which investigated the impact of WAF on employee PWB and PSS. Thus, this study is considered a unique study. Moreover, the proposed model in this research study is also a unique model with explanative power of 71%.

Business schools play a significant role in providing individuals with the ability to adapt to constantly changing environments. Such agile organizations require deans who, as leaders, possess the knowledge and attributes of astute and responsible executives. In this regard, the measurement of the attributes of leadership paves the way for evaluating a leader’s options process. In this study, we measure the attributes of leadership to pave the way for evaluating a leader’s decision-making process.

The rich data included the opinions of 93 university professors from seven countries: Iran, India, China, France, the UK, Canada and the USA. In appraising the responses, the authors considered the nationality and the development level of each participant’s country and continent. In this study, the authors developed an online questionnaire based on the best-worst method (BWM). By performing a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the authors also determined the significant statistical differences of the scientific communities through the lenses of authentic leadership, leader-member exchange and social identity and leadership.

The results provide evidence of transparency, measured as the most important criterion for leading a business school, i.e. knowledgeable deanship. Furthermore, the findings reveal a meaningful difference between developed and developing countries in the context of an authentic leadership pillar.

This paper contributed to the literature in five major ways as follows: The authors investigated the attitudes of scientific communities from different countries, business schools, BWM, dean selection and leadership evaluation.By means of the BWM, the authors measured the criteria culminating in the selection of a knowledgeable leader for a business school.The authors compared and contrasted the attitudes of scientific communities in developing countries vis-à-vis those in developed ones.The authors addressed the differences and similarities among countries in relation to the selection of a knowledgeable business school leader.The authors provided beneficial insights by addressing the different perspectives of researchers on the weights of the criteria involved in the selection procedure for a business school dean.

The study focusses on the complex interaction between ideological beliefs, culture and accounting by identifying during Benito Mussolini's time in power the contributions of accounting to the Italian Fascist repertoire of power in the cultural domain. It emphasises the importance of accounting in making the Alla Scala Opera House in Milan a vital institution in the creation of a Fascist national culture and identity which was meant to define the Fascist “Ethical State”.

The study adopts the Foucauldian concept of discourse in analysing the accounting practices of the Alla Scala Opera House.

Financial statements and related commentaries prepared by the Alla Scala Opera House were not primarily for ensuring good management and the minimisation of public funding in contrast to the practices and expectations of accounting in liberal States. Instead, the dominant Fascist discourse shaped the content and use of accounting and ensured that accounting practices could be a means to construct the Opera House as a “moral individual” that was to serve wider national interests consistent with the priorities of the Fascist Ethical State.

The study identifies how accounting can be mobilised for ideological purposes in different ways which are not limited to supporting discourses inspired by logics of efficiency and profit. The paper also draws attention to the contributions of accounting discourses in shaping the identity of an organisation consistent with the priorities of those who hold the supreme authority in a society.

The analysis of how the Fascist State sought to reinforce its power by making cultural institutions a critical part of this process provides the means to understand and unmask the taken-for-granted way in which discourses are created to promote power relations and related interests such as in the rise of far-right movements, most especially in weaker and more vulnerable countries at present.

Unlike most of the work on the relationship between culture and accounting which has emphasised liberal States, this study considers a non-liberal State and documents a use of accounting in the cultural domain which was not limited to promoting efficiency consistent with the priorities now recognised more recently of the New Public Management. It presents a micro-perspective on accounting as an ideological discourse by investigating the role of accounting in the exploitation of a cultural institution for political purposes.

This paper examines the relationship between marketing automation emergence and the marketers' use of heuristics in their decision-making processes. Heuristics play a role for the integration of human decision-making models and automation in augmentation processes, particularly in marketing where automation is widespread.

This study analyzes qualitative data about the impact of marketing automation on the scope of heuristics in decision-making models, and it is based on evidence collected from interviews with twenty-two experienced marketers.

Marketers make extensive use of heuristics to manage their tasks. While the adoption of new automatic marketing tools modify the task environment and field of use of traditional decision-making models, the adoption of heuristics rules with a different scope is essential to defining inputs, interpreting/evaluating outputs and control the marketing automation system.

The paper makes a contribution to research on the relationship between marketing automation and decision-making models. In particular, it proposes the results of in-depth interviews with senior decision makers to assess the impact of marketing automation on the scope of heuristics as decision-making models adopted by marketers.

This work aims to shed light on the cognitive biases that may have an influence on the strategic decision-making process, with a particular focus on those impacting both human resources (HR) standard activities within organizations and new innovative change management initiatives critical for them to survive.

This is a conceptual paper based on a literature review on cognitive biases and managerial decision-making. The conceptual approach is employed to outline how subjective cognitive barriers can undermine managerial decisions and, in particular, the objectivity of HR practices and change management initiatives.

The discussion emphasizes that cognitive biases are ever-present elements in the decision-making process of professionals, and they influence several areas of management including HR and change management.

Limitations of the study concern the method adopted, as it is conceptual. The implications of the paper are relevant for supervisors and employees working in the HR and innovation/R&D departments in order to create awareness within the organizational contexts and limit the negative influence of these cognitive barriers during their daily activities.

The research contributes to the knowledge on HR management and decision-making process by combining literature findings with practical examples and tips suggesting how to avoid biases in the decision-making process regarding HR and change management.