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Based on the necessity for universities through the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to switch to online teaching from one day to the other, this study aims to show how a combination of different online teaching approaches makes it possible to activate reflection as an enabler of intercultural competency development even though real experience, interaction and exchange elements could not be implemented as usual.

This study is based on insights on experiential learning using intercultural competence development through the mechanism of reflection in combination with findings from on- and offline learning settings and informal learning processes. Adapting Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle, this study presents an online course design for an undergraduate course in intercultural competencies. This study delineates an assessment of the course based on student evaluation results and excerpts of student essays.

This study demonstrates how the acquisition of important future skills such as reflection skills can be successfully mastered by combining different online teaching approaches. This study also shows that Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle continues to yield critical benefits when adapted it to the “new reality.”

This study provides a case study on how business schools can deal with special challenges in courses where competencies are taught, which are usually developed through real experiences or informal learning. An application to other types of experiential learning activities is considered valuable. It is useful to further adopt elements in a post-COVID-19 teaching environment. Especially using apps as described can contribute to make learning more tailored to each student. As such, this paper contributes to the body of research on the importance of reflection skills in an educational and virtual context.

The first Wisconsin Ph.D.s who came to MSU with an institutional bent were agricultural economists and included Henry Larzalere (Ph.D. 1938) whose major professor was Asher Hobson. Larzalere recalls the influence of Commons who retired in 1933. Upon graduation, Larzalere worked a short time for Wisconsin Governor Phillip Fox LaFollette who won passage of the nation’s first unemployment compensation act. Commons had earlier helped LaFollette’s father, Robert, to a number of institutional innovations.⁴ Larzalere continued the Commons’ tradition of contributing to the development of new institutions rather than being content to provide an efficiency apologia for existing private governance structures. He helped Michigan farmers form cooperatives. He taught land economics prior to Barlowe’s arrival in 1948, but primarily taught agricultural marketing. One of his Master’s degree students was Glenn Johnson (see below). Larzalere retired in 1977.

Large-scale organizational change, such as seen through mergers and acquisitions, CEO succession, and corporate entrepreneurship, sometimes is necessary in order to allow firms to be competitive. However, such change can be unsettling to existing employees, producing considerable uncertainty, conflict, politics, and stress, and thus, must be managed very carefully. Unfortunately, to date, little research has examined the relationships among change efforts, perceptions of political environments, and employee stress reactions. We introduce a conceptual model that draws upon sensemaking theory and research to explain how employees perceive and interpret their uncertain environments, the politics in them, and the resulting work stress, after large-scale organizational change initiatives. Implications of our proposed conceptualization are discussed, as are directions for future research.

This chapter highlights how implementing circular economy principles can help companies working with sustainability to move from a reductionist and waste management approach to marketing competitive circular value propositions that intentionally design out waste (e.g. emissions and pollution) by rethinking, reinventing and redesigning the value chain. Schijvens, a Dutch family-owned corporate fashion textile company, acts as a case for exemplifying successful implementation of circular economy principles as a marketing strategy in a sector that struggles with finding solutions to the ethical challenges of producing and marketing textile fashion. The textile industry has, for many years, been accused of production that is based on environmentally harmful processes and conditions that are not socially fair. Circular economy principles provide a range of suggestions to address the ethical challenges occurring from covering the human needs of having clothes to wear. Yet, implementing circular economy principles is not a panacea. It is not only a question of delivering a technological quick fix but also a question of managing the new processes and human mindset guiding the actions in the value chain. This chapter, therefore, outlines reasons for a different perspective on the traditional linear value chain and related implications managers face when undertaking a journey from sustainability based on a reductionist approach to a closed-loop approach. It is argued that implementing circular economy principles by pro-actively managing the value chain processes based on eco-centric dynamic capabilities can provide even more radical changes than the incremental reductionist approach often associated with being a green sustainable company.

This study aims to propose a comprehensive framework for assessing circular economy (CE) performance in the agri-food sector. It identifies those indicators that should be used to measure circularity regarding CE strategies, applies them at a microeconomic level and examines the impact of key business determinants (financial, internalization, knowledge, awareness and digitalization).

A literature review was conducted with a focus on CE strategies and related indicators. The framework obtained is applied on a Spanish agri-food sector survey to provide an empirical CE analysis at firm level. A partial least squares based-structural equation modelling method is applied.

The research suggests a set of circularity indicators to assess CE strategies at micro level. The findings reveal the heterogeneity of CE sub-indicators related to narrowing, slowing, closing and regenerating strategies. It also highlights the strong effects that the drivers tested have on CE, especially awareness and knowledge.

This study provides a framework that can guide public policies and business decisions in sectors with significant environmental impacts. It provides a conceptual framework that explains which CE indicators should be considered by governments and regulators when developing policies that seek to promote circular strategies.

In the case of companies, the results show that acquiring more environmental awareness and knowledge is essential for promoting more sustainable work habits that enhance CE.

The paper offers a novel contribution to the CE literature by introducing a multidimensional indicator framework comprehensively applied to the agri-food sector, integrating miscellaneous pillars of circular strategies and business determinants.

Reverse logistics (RL) has become integral in modern supply chains, with many companies investing in circular economy (CE), a recuperative and effective industrial economy. The traditional linear model triggered many negative environmental consequences such as climate change, ocean pollution, loss of biodiversity and land degradation. The development of RL strategies that support the transition between RL to CE is crucial. The purpose of this paper is to connect RL with CE in the context of Industry 4.0 and develop a hierarchal structure to explore the relationship between RL and CE critical success factors in the context of Industry 4.0.

This study used both qualitative and quantitative approach. Literature review in collaboration with the Delphi method is used to identify and validate critical success factors. Then, the ISM-based model and MICMAC method were used to determine the relationship between CE and RL success factors and its driving and dependence power.

This study result shows that waste reduction, skilled employees and expert's involvement and top management commitment and support will provide guidelines and paths for implementing CE and RL, leading to the competitiveness of a firm.

The findings provide managerial insight, particularly useful to third-party logistics companies' managers who are looking to implement RL and CE, to help prioritize where to invest company resources to generate prime difference. Furthermore, this study also identified Industry 4.0 technologies, which would tackle top identified critical success factors within the hierarchical model such as block chain and digital platforms.

This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the connection between RL and CE in the context of Industry 4.0 that determines the critical success factors enabling sustainable inter-firm collaboration.

Current issues of Publishers' Weekly are reporting serious shortages of paper, binders board, cloth, and other essential book manufacturing materials. Let us assure you these shortages are very real and quite severe.

This chapter explores religion and spirituality as a form and source of demographic differences relevant to the study of occupational stress and well-being. The purpose of the chapter is to provide a resource and starting point to occupational health and stress researchers who may be interested in religion/spirituality. A review of critical religion/spirituality concepts is provided, along with a discussion of how religion/spirituality can be integrated into common occupational stress theories and reconciled with commonly studied variables within this domain. A series of future research directions involving religion/spirituality and occupational health and stress are ultimately presented.

This study aimed to identify barriers impeding circular economy (CE) uptake in the construction industry in literature, categorize them for the development of a framework and to seek the interrelationships among the categorized barriers. This allowed for identifying integrated solutions to holistically address the barriers. The study also sought to identify the “hot” themes, the knowledge gaps and future research directions on barriers impeding CE.

Forty-eight relevant articles were desk reviewed from different construction peer-reviewed journals and published conference papers. A scientometric analysis allowed for co-occurrence of keywords relating to CE. A content analysis enabled the identification of 79 barriers impeding the uptake of CE in the construction industry which were further categorized into six distinct categories for the development of a framework showing the interrelationships among the categorized barriers.

The identified barriers include construction sector inertia, lack of design standards, lack of knowledge, awareness and understanding, design cost, and perception of second-hand materials as substandard among others. The study categorized the identified barriers for better understanding into six different groups: cultural barriers, social barriers, environmental barriers, economic barriers, technical barriers and technological barriers. Strategies to address the barriers were also proposed. The interrelationships among the various barriers were also shown in a proposed framework to educate professionals on the interconnectivity of the barriers.

Categorization of the various barriers impeding CE uptake contributes to the body of knowledge. Also, the interrelationships among the various categorized barriers in the framework will enable construction professionals make informed decisions regarding the successful integration of CE in the industry, better appreciate the barriers that impede CE uptake and apply strategies to holistically address the barriers. This will expand current knowledge outside the narrow scope of isolated barriers.

To the global construction industry, the review presents a list of barriers and their interrelationships that could provide implementation strategies for the uptake of CE in the industry.

The geographical scope of this study is not limited, and therefore encourages wide applicability of the findings to the global construction industry.