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This paper investigates the threats to brand integrity in the hospitality sector where the brand owner is separated from the service provider and runs the risk of falling foul of cheating behaviour. It takes the case of the Shamrock bed and breakfast brand in the Irish tourist market. The analysis uses both the perceived risk literature and the “lemons” model developed by Akerlof to highlight potential dangers to the brand emerging on both the demand and supply sides of the bed and breakfast market. The findings suggest that quality variations may encourage the suppliers of high quality services to exit the brand, thereby reducing the average level of quality within the brand. The analysis also demonstrates that as consumers’ perceptions of quality variations increase, their trust in the Shamrock diminishes.

The idea of implementing supply chain management (SCM) principles for the construction industry was embraced by construction stakeholders to enhance the sector's performance. The analysis from the literature revealed that the implementation of SCM in the construction industry enhances the industry's value in terms of cost-saving, time savings, material management, risk management and others. The construction supply chain (CSC) can be managed using the pull or push system. This chapter also discusses the origin and proliferation of SCM into the construction industry. The chapter revealed that the concept of SCM has passed through five different eras: the creation era, the use of ERP, globalisation stage, specialisation stage and electronic stage. The findings from the literature revealed that we are presently in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era. At this stage, the SCM witnesses the adoption of technologies and principles driven by the 4IR. This chapter also revealed that the practice of SCM in the construction industry is centred around integration, collaboration, communication and the structure of the supply chain (SC). The forms and challenges hindering the adoption of these practices were also discussed extensively in this chapter.

This study examines the effect of delegation of decision rights, moral justification (MJ), and ethical climate (EC) on managers’ misreporting in the financial services sector. We employed an online research panel called Qualtrics, to collect data based on a sample of 127 middle-level managers from various US financial services firms. We find that MJ mediates the relation between delegation and misreporting, suggesting delegation of decision rights increases employees’ misreporting indirectly by increasing MJ. We also find that EC significantly moderates the relationship between MJ and misreporting. Furthermore, our test of the moderated-mediation effect reveals that the indirect effect of the delegation of decision rights on misreporting through MJ is stronger when there is a higher level of instrumental climate (IC) and a lower level of principle climate (PC).

This article develops a theoretical framework to investigate the interaction and coordination of decision‐making processes in a supply chain with multiple and inter‐dependent suppliers and customers.

The paper presents three longitudinal case studies on the decision coordination processes between a European toy supplier and three retailers.

The case studies found different mental models, decision‐making behaviours, coordination behaviours and ordering behaviours even though the toy supplier and the three retailers observed quite the same material flow behaviours. The study found explanations for these diverse behaviours by analysing the mental models and decision‐making behaviours of each involved party.

The findings explain the conditions which lead to undesirable mental models and decision‐making behaviours which affect the coordination of decisions among supply chain members.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is becoming a crucial health problem worldwide. Continued and high-speed mutations of this virus result in the appearance of new manifestations, making the control of this disease difficult. It has been shown that well-nourished patients have strong immune systems who mostly have short-term hospitalization compared to others. The purpose of this study is to review the major nutrients involved in the immune system reinforcement and to explain nutritional aspects during the recovery of COVID-19.

In this review paper, the mechanistic role of nutrients in boosting the immune system and the nutritional aspects during the recovery of COVID-19 patients were discussed. Papers indexed in scientific databases were searched using antioxidants, COVID-19, inflammation, immune system, macronutrient, micronutrient and probiotic as keywords from 2000 to 2022.

Because of the adverse effects of drugs like thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and hypercholesterolemia, a balanced diet with enough concentrations of energy and macronutrients could increase the patient's durability. The inflammatory cytokines in a vicious cycle delay patients’ rehabilitation. The main mechanistic roles of micronutrients are attributed to the downregulation of virus replication and are involved in energy homeostasis. Dysbiosis is defined as another disturbance among COVID-19 patients, and supplementation with beneficial strains of probiotics helps to exert anti-inflammatory effects in this regard. Being on a well-planned diet with anti-inflammatory properties could reverse cytokine storms as the major feature of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the safe and effective dose of dietary factors to control the COVID-19 patients.

Being on a well-planned diet with anti-inflammatory properties could reverse cytokine storms as the major feature of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the safe and effective dose of dietary factors to control the COVID-19 patients.

Despite the plethora of scholarship outputs on masculinity showing it as a fertile research domain, there are noteworthy lacunae on the topic especially in relation to its dynamics among ethnic minority groups. Accordingly, this paper aims to address masculinity and symbolic consumption among Black African consumers in the UK.

The study is interpretive in nature with the use of in-depth interviews conducted with 20 participants in London and the data analysis follows the grounded theory orientation.

It shows masculinity-oriented categorisations of market offerings but with an incidence of cultural tension. It suggests the prevalence of symbolic consumption among participants as demonstrated in their quest for admiration and commendation about their consumption and how masculinity is communicated. A new masculinity typology emerged from the study which depicts men in this context as falling into four categories of gay, conservative, contemporary and men on acme.

The study unpacks issues around masculinity, and multiculturalism, and proposes a novel typology on the topic vis-à-vis the discourse on segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy.

This paper aims to analyze the determinants of the readability non-financial disclosure prepared under the Directive 2014/95/EU in the agrifood and beverage sector.

To reach this goal, an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model is proposed employing readability and governance variables. The sample is based on European agrifood and beverage listed firms that exceeding 500 employees and are considered public interest entities, including 744 firm-year-observations from 2017, first year after the Directive entered in force, to 2020, last year available.

The authors' results suggest the importance of corporate governance mechanisms as drivers in reaching more readability of non-financial information.

This study provides useful suggestions to policy makers and managers for a better understanding of the role played by some factors on non-financial information (NFI) readability. Moreover, findings may help regulators in confirming that the establishment of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee is a step in the right direction to strengthening firms' NFI readability. Lastly, this is beneficial for auditors and preparers who will pay more attention to the internal factors that can push for more (or less) understandability of NFI.

This research contributes to the academic and practical debate because it adds new insights into the literature on NFI readability and represents fertile area for future researches.

This study explores how collaborative cost sharing between the buyer and the supplier in cold chain equipment and marketing and advertising affects the performance of a fresh agricultural produce supply chain (FAP-SC).

We use a contingency approach to modeling different scenarios and analyzing how fairness perception, interplaying with corporative–retailer cost sharing., influences the performance of fresh agricultural produce cold chains.

The findings of the research highlight the crucial role of the retailer's fairness concern. When the retailer's fairness concern is absent, cost sharing (in cold chain equipment and marketing and advertising) is found to help boost demand and enhance the profits of members of the supply chain; bilateral cost sharing is found to have a more significant impact than unilateral cost sharing. When the retailer's fairness concern is taken into account, however, cost sharing is found to reduce demand at a lower level of fairness coefficient but increases demand at a higher level of fairness coefficient; bilateral cost sharing boosts both demand and profit of the supply chain when the retailer is in a “high concern, high anger” state.

The findings of the research highlight the important role of the buyer's farness perception when supply chain partners adopt collaborative cost sharing programs. This study contributes significantly to research and practice in supply chain collaboration and agricultural cold chain performance.