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Maritime supply chains rely on electronic and paper-based processes, leading to efficiency bottlenecks. The purpose of this paper is to propose a theory for how implementing digitalization in the form of blockchain technology (BCT) can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of maritime supply chains.

This conceptual paper is grounded in dynamic capabilities, supply-chain management and digital supply-chain theories. Relevant literature is scrutinized to explain how BCT can improve supply-chain performance.

BCT mainly benefits supply-chain performance through the development of intangible capabilities, by leveraging the capabilities (resources) that maritime supply chains provide.

This framework sets an analytical basis for future empirical research on BCT and maritime supply chains. As such, it can give only indications and aid in the theory-building process. Discussion on the value and effects of BCT on maritime supply chains is ongoing. Finally, the framework focuses on the application of one information technology in managing logistics activities, rather than taking a bundling approach.

Investments in digitalization improve the overall information sharing, coordination and visibility capabilities and performances of supply chains.

Although literature on BCT is extensive, this framework paper is the first to link BCT with dynamics capabilities and maritime supply-chain theory and will serve as a road map for future research and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to profile the WHATT theme issue: “The fourth industrial revolution: What are the realities for maritime- and tourism-dependent countries?”, with reference to the experiences of the theme editors and writing team.

Structured questions were used to enable the theme editors to reflect on the rationale for the theme issue question, the starting point, the selection of the writing team and material and the editorial process.

This paper identifies the ways in which both industry and education need to change and embrace emerging technologies with particular reference to tourism and maritime provision and infrastructure in the Caribbean region.

The theme issue outcomes provide indicators and action points for tourism and maritime industry stakeholders and for academics involved in planning and delivering learning support to these industries.

This paper draws on discussion and applied research with industry to identify and assess the likely impact of the fourth industrial revolution in tourism- and maritime-dependent countries. Taken together, the theme issue collection of articles provides a rich picture of the changes occurring and prospects for the future.

This case study maps the perceived collaboration between public, private and volunteer organizations during maritime crisis work, with a substantive focus on communication, information flow and distribution of activities. The exercise studied was held in the far north in Norway. It was estimated to be Europe’s most extensive exercise in 2016. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The data were collected through observations, semi-structured interviews and reviews of associated frameworks and evaluation reports. Data were collected simultaneously at five different sites.

The key findings showed an intra-organizational focus, a predominance of drills and different informal exercises instead of a cohesive exercise. This made evaluation difficult. Reasons for the fragmentation of the exercise appear to be the size of the exercise and the script.

Generalization of findings is problematic as this study involved only one exercise. However, this study has national significance, as it involved 22 public, private and volunteer stakeholder organizations, including civil emergency response units, the military, the Norwegian Civil Defence, and major maritime volunteer organizations such as the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue. Collaboration between actors suffered from the size of the exercise. A smaller exercise, less dependency on predetermined scripts, and more receptivity toward improvisation could improve collaboration.

The study shows how collaboration fails as an effect of strict agendas and scripts to accomplish an impressive but complex and oversized exercise.

Indicators-based framework has been developed for the sustainability assessment of infrastructure projects but this framework has limitations in quantifying the qualitative parameters. The top-down approach that utilizes principles to assess the sustainability of infrastructure projects has the ability to consider qualitative parameters. The research on the development of principles-based approach is however limited and, in fact, the study on the development of principles to assess the sustainability of public–private partnerships (PPPs) infrastructure projects is in a nascent stage. The purpose of this study is the development of an empirical framework of guiding principles that will facilitate the assessment of PPPs from sustainability perspective. The study has used a grounded theory qualitative approach by using interviews and literature as primary and secondary data sources, respectively, to develop the framework of guiding principles to achieve goals of sustainable infrastructure development through PPPs. The framework comprises 18 guiding principles, which will act as guidelines to facilitate promotion of sustainable practices throughout the life cycle of PPP project so that sustainability goals can be accomplished. The guiding principles could be used as the qualitative parameters for public and private sector to assess the sustainability of PPP infrastructure projects. This chapter presents critical insights on principle-based approach for sustainability assessment of PPP projects, which has not been the focus in the majority of earlier studies.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the strategic leveraging goals associated with a portfolio of small-scale events and to analyze their implementation process (actors/tactics: who did what?) in order to propose new leverage typologies through new empirical research evidence.

Three techniques of data collection conducted the fieldwork: qualitative interviewing, direct observation and documental research. Based on the principles of grounded theory and using qualitative data analysis software (Nvivo) data were inductively analyzed.

Results showed the coexistence of a plurality of strategic leveraging goals, namely: “strengthen political advantage”; “integrate and retain partners/sponsors”; and “develop sports dynamics”. There was a set of tactics and actions identified and successfully implemented due to the coordination of the network of organizations part of the events, which included local and external actors.

Researchers realized that it was impossible to take a neutral research stand. In fact, in qualitative research, the investigator is the first instrument of data collection. In this sense, it was important for researchers to constantly reflect on their role, as Pelias (2011) says “reflexive writing strategies include indicating how the researcher emerged as a contaminant, how the researcher´s insider status was revelatory or blinding, and how the researcher is implicated in the problem being addressed” (p. 662). It is also considered that, when organizing events, the network of interactions is extremely complex, making it difficult to capture all the actors’ perspectives.

In relation to the practical implications, it is important that sports event managers have in-depth knowledge and skills on event leveraging; it is also important that managers understand the sports culture in order to recognize the multidimensionality of strategic leveraging in sporting events. The strategic dynamic should be developed and coevolved with community/local and external actors. The coordination between the actors is a key point to achieve successful leveraging.

A theoretical implication related to the event leverage is the creation of a new strategic objective – “developing the sport dynamics”. The sport participation tactic among other tactics were found, namely “enhancing of the sports shows” and “tuning of skills in sports management”.

The dynamics and plurality of strategic goals associated with the leverage of an event portfolio, namely the actions that were developed and also the actors’ interaction in small-scale events. Another factor is the identification of the prominent role of the external event organization committee in the dynamics of event leveraging, as well as the deep analysis of the leveraging process supported by the observation of all the events.

Banks and corporate customers have realized that bank-corporate relationship is important but little is known about why and how banks establish and exploit relationships. No comprehensive theory has explained relationship banking and in order to get a better understanding the purpose of this paper is to investigate why and how banks and companies communicate in order to create value.

This study adopts a qualitative methodology and a grounded theory approach was adopted. In total, 34 in-depth interviews were conducted with banks and 15 with corporate managers. Grounded theory models are developed based on interview data.

It was found that the nature of bank-corporate relationship is long term. The relationship is based on trust-based personal communications between banks and corporate customers. Macro conditions including the advances in technology, financial regulation and business globalization were considered when the case banks adopted relationship banking. Some intervening conditions including customer information and knowledge, customer needs and customer confidence also influence the development of relationship banking. The interviewees perceived that the case banks gained benefits including better customer retention economy, risk management efficiency and greater effectiveness in maintaining sustainable profitability. The corporate customers gained benefits including fund availability, product availability, service quality, help in-time and business platform.

This study derives concepts and categories from primary data and identifies relationships among these theoretical elements. This investigation provides a comprehensive picture of relationship banking and supplies some theoretical and practical implications. Moreover, a value creation and allocation theory of the bank is developed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of the artist's authentic identity in fashion design and art collaborations and evaluate the efficiency of collaborative brand projects.

Through the case study approach, this paper explores the attempts of Adidas to create authenticity by teaming up with artists. It also investigates consumer attitudes toward the brand's collaborative projects via a questionnaire survey.

Authenticity can be understood in two general aspects: conceptual forms and incarnate forms. Within the value system of authenticity, Adidas' collaborative projects and diverse promotional strategies are to a large degree consistent with consumer aspirations. Nonetheless, the factors that contribute to authenticity via conceptual (e.g. originality, exclusivity) and incarnate forms (e.g. creative process, final designs) occupy different positions in the consumer's mind. This study also reveals that when a brand intends to launch such artistic collaborations, the selection of art style should be treated as an important issue, because specific consumer groups tend to have inclinations toward specific art forms.

More cases should be examined to enable the theory to be generalized to other artistic collaboration practices.

As a pioneering effort in this field, this paper explores the application of artistic authenticity to the fashion world via a collaboration with fashion brands. More importantly, it examines the efficiency of such collaborations and the roles that diverse forms of authenticity play in consumers' minds.

This study aims to explore inefficiencies that arise from public and private policy initiatives undertaken in suburbs and outlying localities, where various intersecting economic, educational, ethnic and geographical disadvantages mutually reinforce each other. The authors propose to transpose the cross-disciplinary concept of intersectionality from an individual and community-based level (i.e. encompassing a variety of racial, ethnic and socio-economic minority communities) to a locality-based context.

The empirical data underlying this study were based on a long-term field study drawing on both interviews and observations. A self-administered ethnographic research approach was combined with classic analyses of conversations transcribed verbatim, using qualitative coding.

The main actors’ inability to understand the concrete situations experienced by subjects residing in outlying localities, as well as the managers’ failure to cooperate and engage collectively to promote employment among these populations, can be explained by the ineffectiveness of the categories that were designed and used in carrying out managerial action, as part of corporate policy, and then implemented within factories. These findings are particularly well-illustrated by the relatively lower inefficiency of SMEs, which had more limited resources, as compared with the actions undertaken at production facilities run by large companies, even though the latter devoted considerable resources to vocational inclusion (recruitment, integration and job preservation) and efforts to combat discrimination.

In identifying a new way to categorize a certain type of social dynamic driven by businesses and various social actors, the authors sought to overcome the epistemological obstacles that arise from relying on neo-institutional theory, which, when applied to the case at hand, would have merely resulted in mimetic similarities, without offering any means for unblocking the socio-economic factors that come into play. The limitations of the study are related to its strict temporal and geographic isolation (i.e. a two-year study examining three production facilities located within the same suburb north of Paris).

The authors hope the study will urge actors operating in the same disadvantaged locality to collectively address the multiple intersectional challenges that tend to render policies for social inclusion and economic development so difficult to implement within areas suffering from a myriad of socio-economic ills. The first step in that direction, the authors feel, consists in naming these intersectionalities adequately.

Using a rich empirical database, this paper aims to show the relevance of the concept of intersectionality beyond its traditional scope of application (disadvantaged minority communities and individuals) while directing interest toward a less anthropocentric level of analysis: the locality.

This paper seeks to understand administrative action, to know its deeper and excellent roots. Such roots, for the West, are based in the concept of reason and its derivatives.

Initially the paper presents the basic relationship between administrative action, organizational theories and its roots. It then develops an archaeological process of historical recovery of the concepts and ideas associated with the reason, and concludes by clearly pointing out the remaining challenge: the development of an administrative boarding that respects the human being per se and not as a recourse thing, at the same time making if possible for organizations reach their objectives.

Taking into consideration comparative traces of the diverse characteristics of organizational theories, this research has empirical findings which provide new comprehension and insights about the main product of any organization – people.

This paper presents a new view and a deep comprehension about the roles that people develop in an organization, particularly from an administrative focus.