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This case study covers different concepts related to leadership. It should help students analyze business situations from a leader’s perspective. By the end of this case study, students would be able to understand the role and the characteristics of leadership during a crisis using the 11 dimensions of character framework, map leadership personalities using the HEXACO model to understand the effectiveness of certain traits in crisis management and apply theories of change management using the Satir and Switch models, in addition to Kotter’s theory of change.

Elsewedy Electrometer Group (EMG) was owned and operated by Emad Zaki Elsewedy as the sole founder and chief executive officer (CEO). EMG was a leading company in the meters industry in Egypt. The time span of this case study covered the period from November 2011, when Elsewedy’s health was deteriorating, to his early retirement in September 2012, and his comeback, two years later, in September 2014. In November 2011, against the backdrop of Elsewedy’s deteriorating health and subsequent early retirement in September 2012, EMG faced several challenges in achieving its vision that hindered its business growth. These arose after Youssef Salah, the former export director of EMG, was appointed as the company CEO. In Elsewedy’s absence, EMG faced liquidity problems, as the banks demanded that it repay all its debts. At the same time, the business suffered severe losses owing to its inefficient operations. Elsewedy decided to return to EMG in September 2014 to find a solution and help the business recover to ensure its continuity and sustainability. After taking a holistic view of the crisis at hand, he was faced with a dilemma and several questions: Was the company leadership effective? Would a change in leadership be required? How could he lead effective change in light of the current crisis? How could he ensure that EMG did not end up in a similar predicament in the future? This case was designed to teach leadership in crisis and change management in the metering industry.

This case study is intended for graduate and undergraduate students studying a leadership or management course. It can help students comprehend the challenges that arise when a large business undergoes a management transition during a crisis. The case study also considers how leaders are shaped by crises. This case study can be considered as level 1 on a 1–3 scale, as the full description of the situation is given in the case study and the task of the students is to analyze the leader and his decisions using various academic concepts and theories (Erskin et al., 2003).

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CSS 7: Management science

This paper aims to (1) investigate the effect of other comprehensive income (OCI) on audit fees (AF) and audit report lag (ARL) and (2) test the moderating effect of board gender diversity (BGD) on such relationships.

This paper uses data extracted from the financial reports for a sample of Egyptian firms from 2013 to 2019, where the data are processed using the Panel Corrected Standards Errors (PCSE) and the Structure Equation Model (SEM).

The results reveal that (1) the OCI existence and OCI volume have a significant positive effect on AF and ARL, and (2) the presence of female directors on the board and the percentage of female representation affect the relationship between OCI and AF positively, but this effect on the relationship between OCI and ARL is insignificant.

This paper has some limitations, where the analysis uses a small sample of Egyptian listed firms, as well as, the measures that were used as proxies of the study variables, which do not necessarily express the most suitable ones.

The results of this paper would (1) provide signals to the audit market, the professional bodies in Egypt and stakeholders about the determinants of AF and ARL, (2) provide guidelines that support the capital market authority to consider gender diversity in boards of companies taking into considerations its impact on AF and ARL, and (3) help the accounting setters in emerging economies as Egypt in drafting more suitable standards and guidelines regarding OCI.

This paper adds to the literature on OCI, where it investigates the effect of OCI on ARL, which was not yet studied in prior studies. Also, this paper complements and extends the literature by providing empirical evidence from one of the emerging markets as Egypt about the effect of BGD on the relationships between OCI, AF and ARL, as these relationships have not been examined before.

The purpose of this study is to (1) investigate how IFRS 16 affects firms’ risk in Egypt and (2) examine the moderating role of managerial overconfidence on this relation.

This study uses data from the annual reports of 38 Egyptian firms from 2014 to 2022. This study employs the generalized method of moments (GMM) and the three-stage least squares (3SLS) as estimation techniques.

The results show that IFRS 16 positively affects Egyptian firm risk, while managerial overconfidence reduces this positive effect.

This study has some limitations. First, the sample size was relatively small. Second, our analysis did not incorporate other metrics of managerial overconfidence owing to the unavailability of relevant data in Egypt.

This study assists stakeholders and regulators in realising the implications of IFRS 16 on a firm’s risk, especially in emerging markets. Also, it enables managers to identify and assess lease-related risks more accurately to assist in developing appropriate risk mitigation strategies and optimizing lease-related decision-making processes. Furthermore, it aids in enhancing comprehension and knowledge of the interplay between managerial behaviour and firm outcomes.

Grounded in agency theory, this study reveals novel empirical insights into the impact of IFRS 16 on firm risk, especially in the context of emerging markets. Utilizing behavioural decision theory and upper echelons theory, it examines the previously unexplored influence of managerial overconfidence on this relationship.

This study aims to examine the impact of intangible investment on non-financial performance. This study also examines the moderating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on this relationship.

This study extracted data from annual reports for a sample of Egyptian firms from 2012 to 2020. This study used the generalized method of moment for testing research.

This study finds that intangible investment positively affects non-financial performance and the COVID-19 pandemic has weakened this positive effect.

A small sample size is one of the limitations of this study. Furthermore, because of the lack of data in Egypt, the analysis does not include other measures of intangible investment. Finally, the sectoral analysis does not include all sectors because of the lack of observations in some sectors.

This study offers practical and social implications. It would help policymakers, regulators and shareholders to realize the importance of the intangible investment and also shed light on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also offers managerial implications. It motivates managers to invest more in intangible investment as an important resource to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, enhance the internal operating performance and improve learning and growth, which result in creating sustainable competitive advantage.

This study provides new empirical evidence on the impact of intangible investment on different dimensions of non-financial performance. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper offers the first empirical evidence on the moderating role of the COVID-19 pandemic in the relationship between intangible investment and non-financial performance.

This study aims to investigate the impact of cash holding (CH) on bankruptcy (BR) risk. This study also examines the moderating effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on this relationship.

The data were extracted from firms' annual reports. The panel data were used for 68 firms listed at the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) with a total of 340 observations from 2015 to 2019. The research hypotheses were tested using the panel corrected standards errors (PCSE) method and the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method.

The results reveal that (1) CH has a positive effect on the Z-score (decreasing bankruptcy risk) of the Egyptian listed firms. (2) Egyptian firms that practice CSR have a low level of bankruptcy risk. (3) CSR practices in Egyptian listed firms support the positive relationship between CH and Z-score (declining bankruptcy risk).

The limitations of this study include a relatively small sample size. In addition, the analysis doesn't include other measures of bankruptcy risk due to a lack of data.

The findings of this study will help investors and creditors to evaluate and predict the firms' bankruptcy risk. This study highlights the importance of cash holding for firms in emerging economies. Firms may hold cash to support liquidity, overcome financial distress risk, lower the cost of capital, increase future investment opportunities and reduce uncertainty. Additionally, the results would also help the policymakers, regulators at the EGX and Financial Regulatory Authority and stakeholders to realize the importance of cash holding, evaluate the cash liquidity in Egyptian listed firms, predict the firms' financial distress and consider the consequences of the CSR practices in accordance with Egypt's vision 2030.

Consistent with liquidity preference theory and trade-off theory, this study adds evidence to the literature on bankruptcy risk by investigating the effect of cash holding on bankruptcy risk in emerging economies. According to Egypt's vision 2030, the empirical findings in this study extend previous findings by providing strong additional evidence in emerging economies regarding the moderating effect of CSR practices on the association between cash holding and bankruptcy risk. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the relationship between CSR, CH and BR risk in Egypt.

Jamun is an underutilised fruit crop of India whose utilization needs to be considerably increased. Despite its impressive nutritional profile and several health benefits, its cultivation is still very limited. Hence, this study aims to highlight the essential nutrients, health benefits and value-added products of jamun fruit and seed.

Major sources of bibliometric information such as Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar were extensively searched with keywords such as nutritional composition of jamun, bioactive compounds, health benefits and jamun-based food products to obtain a database of 317 papers. Thirty four publications met the criteria for review.

Jamun fruit (Syzygium cumini L.) is known for its attractive colour, astringent taste, enormous nutrients and nutraceutical properties; nevertheless, this fruit is seasonal, perishable and underutilised. Furthermore, the fruit is used for the treatment of diabetes and also possess anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity and cardio-protection properties. Investigations were done on the production of value-added food products such as read-to-serve beverages, jam, cookies and cake from jamun due to their several health benefits. The present review was an attempt to provide spotlights on the health benefits and food product applications of jamun fruit and its by-products.

This review systematically collates evidence from various published sources regarding the nutritional profile, development of food products from jamun and their health benefits. The compiled information will help researchers and professional become aware of the significance of jamun fruit and thereby enhances its processing and applications in food systems.

Given the growing interest in modern construction techniques and the emergence of innovative technologies, construction site layout planning research has progressively been investigating approaches to adopt innovative concepts and incorporate renewed approaches to improve widespread efficiency. This research develops a decision-making tool that optimizes construction site layout plans. The developed model targets two main objectives: minimizing material transportation costs and maximizing safety by optimally placing facilities on construction sites.

A novel approach is devised based on the integration of Building Information Modeling and Generative Design (BIM-GD). This engine is used to optimize the multi-objective site layout problems to identify layout alternatives in the early project stages. Parametric modeling uses Dynamo to construct the model and explore constraints initially. Finally, the GD environment is utilized to create different design alternatives, and then the decision-making procedure selects the most appropriate design alternative. Additionally, a case study is applied to validate the effectiveness of the developed model.

The results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed GD tool and its potential for more complex applications. The GD engine examined optimal layout plans, balancing different objectives and adhering to appointed geometric constraints. A case study was conducted to assess the model's effectiveness and showcase its suitability. Construction Site Layout Planning (CSLP) is an essential step in design that can influence considerable aspects, such as material transportation expenses and different safety standards on the site. Employing visual programming for parametric modeling within Dynamo-Revit creates an expedient and user-friendly platform for planning engineers who may require more programming expertise to create and program algorithmic models visually. Utilizing GD in CSLP has proven to be a powerful tool with consequential prospects for improving applications and executing more models.

The findings from this framework are intended to help construction practitioners select the most appropriate site layout during early project stages while incorporating different safety criteria inside construction sites to alleviate actual safety risks.

A new approach is proposed that utilizes an integrated BIM-GD engine to optimize multi-objective site layout problems. This approach targets two main objectives: minimizing material transportation costs and maximizing safety by optimally placing facilities in construction sites.

This paper aims to examine the impact of board gender diversity (BOGD) following the adoption of gender quota legislation on earnings management (EM) in an emerging market, Egypt, whose cultural and economic conditions and institutional context are unlike most previously studied countries’ context.

The authors use ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to estimate the impact of gender quota legislation on EM using data from listed companies in Egypt from 2015 to 2022. Difference-in-difference (DID) approach estimation was used to validate the robustness of the main results.

This paper documents that gender diversity on boards has a significantly negative impact on EM. In addition, this paper provides robust evidence using the DID approach to show that BOGD is significantly negatively linked with EM for the period following gender quota legislation. Furthermore, the results support the critical mass and agency theories.

The findings of this study have important implications for Egyptian companies, regulatory bodies and investors in emerging markets. Specifically, these results suggest that when choosing board members, enterprises should pay particular attention to BOGD, and female involvement in all listed firms should be monitored by regulators.

This paper provides evidence supporting the positive contribution of women in society by enhancing the economic performance of Egyptian firms and promoting the country’s sustainable development strategy in light of Egypt vision 2030.

As per the authors' knowledge, this empirical study is unique in investigating the impact of BOGD quota regulation on EM in Egypt. This paper contributes to BOGD as a major factor in improving financial reporting quality in Egyptian companies.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of operating room staff towards the use of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist in a tertiary hospital in Jordan.

This was a qualitative descriptive study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 21 healthcare staff employed in the operating room (nurses, residents, surgeons and anaesthesiologists). The interviews were conducted in the period from October to December 2021. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

Three main themes emerged from data analysis namely compliance with the surgical safety checklist, the impact of surgical safety checklist, and barriers and facilitators to the use of the surgical safety checklist. The use of the checklist was seen as enabling staff to communicate effectively and thus to accomplish patient safety and positive outcomes. The perceived barriers to compliance included excessive workload, congestion and lack of training and awareness. Enhanced training and education were thought to improve the utilization of the surgical safety checklist, and help enhance awareness about its importance.

While steps to utilize the surgical safety checklist by the operation room personnel may seem simple, the quality of its administration is not necessarily robust. There are several challenges for consistent, complete and effective administration of the surgical safety checklist by the surgical team members. Healthcare managers must employ interventions to eliminate barriers to and offer facilitators of adherence to the application of the surgical safety checklist, therefore promoting quality healthcare and patient safety.