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This study has assessed the thermal performance of locally fabricated bio-based building envelopes made of coconut and corn husk composite bricks to reduce building wall heat transmission load and energy consumption towards green building adaptation.

Samples of coconut fiber (coir) and corn husk fiber bricks were fabricated and tested for their thermophysical properties using the Transient Plane Source (TPS) 2500s instrument. A simulation was conducted using Dynamic Energy Response of Building - Lunds Tekniska Hogskola (DEROB-LTH) to determine indoor temperature variation over 24 h. The time lag and decrement factor, two important parameters in evaluating building envelopes, were also determined.

The time lag of the bio-based composite building envelope was found to be in the range of 4.2–4.6 h for 100 mm thickness block and 10.64–11.5 h for 200 mm thickness block. The decrement factor was also determined to be in the range of 0.87–0.88. The bio-based composite building envelopes were able to maintain the indoor temperature of the model from 25.4 to 27.4 °C, providing a closely stable indoor thermal comfort despite varying outdoor temperatures. The temperature variation in 24 h, was very stable for about 8 h before a degree increment, providing a comfortable indoor temperature for occupants and the need not to rely on air conditions and other mechanical forms of cooling. Potential energy savings also peaked at 529.14 kWh per year.

The findings of this study present opportunities to building developers and engineers in terms of selecting vernacular materials for building envelopes towards green building adaptation, energy savings, reduced construction costs and job creation.

This study presents for the first time, time lag and decrement factor for bio-based composite building envelopes for green building adaptation in hot climates, as found in Ghana.

Transnational corporation (TNC)-led oil investments have been widely encouraged as a mechanism for the development of the Global South. Even though the sector is characterized by major accidents, oil-based developmentalist narratives claim that such accidents are merely isolated incidents that can be administratively addressed, redressed behaviorally through education of certain individuals, or corrected through individually targeted post-event legislation. Adapting Harvey Molotch’s (1970) political economy methodology of “accident research”, this paper argues that such “accidents” are, in fact, routine in the entire value chain of the oil system dominated by, among others, military-backed TNCs which increasingly collaborate with national and local oil companies similarly wedded to the ideology of growth. Based on this analysis, existing policy focus on improving technology, instituting and enforcing more environmental regulations, and the pursuit of economic nationalism in the form of withdrawing from globalization are ineffective. In such a red-hot system, built on rapidly spinning wheels of accumulation, the pursuit of slow growth characterized by breaking the chains of monopoly and oligopoly, putting commonly generated rent to common uses, and freeing labor from regulations that rob it of its produce has more potency to address the enigma of petroleum accidents in the global south.

Research on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has concluded a positive link between EO and firm performance and that relationship depends on several contingencies. The purpose of this paper is to derive insights from the absorptive capacity and contingency perspectives to introduce extra-organizational advice as a moderator of the relationship between EO and firm performance in a dynamic environment.

Using survey data from 340 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, the study examines the moderating influence of extra-organizational advice on the EO-firm performance relationship in dynamic environments.

The study’s empirical findings suggest that extra-organizational advice amplifies the EO-performance relationship in dynamic environments.

The cross-sectional design of the study does not permit causal inferences to be made regarding the variables examined. Future studies may use longitudinal design to examine the causal links of the variables. Limitations aside, the study helps to answer how extra-organizational advice translates EO into improved performance in an environment characterized by constant flux.

The results of this paper can assist entrepreneurs and policy makers in understanding the dynamics and processes involved in implementing a strategic orientation to achieve higher performance. For SME managers, firm performance is determined by high levels of EO and extra-organizational advice in dynamic environments. The understanding of this issue can promote the development and maintenance of entrepreneurial ventures.

The paper examines an important, but under-researched issue – the moderating effect of extra-organizational advice on the EO-performance relationship in dynamic environments. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study pioneers research in this area.

There is a paucity of research on the causal relationships between talent management (TM), decent work and national well-being. Hence, this study examines the nexus between macro talent management (MTM) practices, decent work and national well-being.

The authors employed longitudinal data from 77 developing countries across the globe and also utilised panel data estimators and the bootstrapping mediation method for the analyses.

The results indicated that macro-level TM strategies can have a positive impact on decent work. Decent work also significantly improves national well-being (both subjective and economic well-being) over time as it shows a significant positive impact on change in national well-being measures. Furthermore, decent work serves as a mechanism that links MTM to improved national well-being at the macro level.

TM investments by governments can empower citizens to escape the tragedy of vulnerable and low-quality employment and well-being deficit as it has the potential to improve decent work and national well-being as enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Beyond the myopic organisational and managerialist view, the authors show that TM can have a positive spillover impact on people and the general society across time by enhancing decent work opportunities to improve both subjective and economic well-being of citizens in a country. Additionally, because decent work has psychosocial and economic dimensions, this study has revealed a complex and compelling conduit for translating the gains of macro-level TM strategies to improve national well-being. Moreover, it provides original empirical evidence to expand the limited longitudinal TM literature. Lastly, it adds to knowledge in the developing countries' context.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze three characteristics of strategic alliances in Italy to estimate their influence on financial performance. The authors test how alliance complexity, strategic planning and accounting control influence revenue growth, asset growth and EBITDA margin.

This paper uses contractual and financial data to test hypothesized relationships in structural equation modelling (SEM) using partial least squares (PLSs).

This paper highlights that the extent of strategic planning positively influences the growth in assets but not in revenue or EBITDA margin. In addition, the findings of this paper support the idea that the complexity in the alliance is significantly related to the quantity of accounting controls within alliance.

This paper improves existing research on the subject, as it contributes to open the black box of alliances’ internal operations by examining the details of 50 Italian contracts to create a multidimensional profile of each alliance.

This article explores the use of informal socio-cultural practices to mitigate formal institutional voids in a qualitative study of informal self-employment in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. Informal socio-cultural values and practices such as ubuntu and indaba were observed to be making meaningful contribution to business and lives. Development of formal institutions as a consequence was not observed though. The article proposes that economic development efforts might best serve communities in sub-Saharan Africa by facilitating institutional development that converges with local socio-culturally informed practices rather than focus on attempts to absorb informal work into a homogenously understood formal institutional system.

The aim of this study is to investigate and clarify how the triple helix actors can effectively implement the concepts of Kaizen to navigate and overcome the complex obstacles brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Through broad literature reviews, nine common parameters under triple helix actor have been recognized. A regression analysis has been done to study how the triple helix actors’ common parameters impact Kaizen implementation in business operations.

The results of this study revealed insightful patterns in the relationships between the common parameters of triple helix actor and the dependent variables. Notably, the results also showed that leadership commitment (LC) emerges as a very significant component, having a big impact on employee engagement as well as organizational performance.

In addition to offering valuable insights, this study has limitations including the potential for response bias in survey data and the focus on a specific set of common parameters, which may not encompass the entirety of factors influencing Kaizen implementation within the triple helix framework during the pandemic.

The originality of this study lies in its comprehensive exploration of the interplay between triple helix actors and Kaizen principles in addressing COVID-19 challenges. By identifying and analyzing nine specific common parameters, the study provides a novel framework for understanding how triple helix actors collaboratively enhance organizational performance and employee engagement during challenging times.

Whilst organisations' responses to implementing sustainability principles have been influenced significantly by external pressures (e.g. competitor action, regulator influences), researchers are turning attention to the influence of internal stakeholders (staff members) and external stakeholders (e.g. prospective applicants) on an organisation's sustainability motivations. This study aimed to assess the relationship between green recruitment practices and job pursuit intention and the role of organisational attractiveness and prestige among prospective employees.

The study uses the cross-sectional survey; a sample of 215 students are used to validate the five (5) hypotheses developed from the literature review. To achieve a more plausible regression parameter estimates, the structural equation modelling is the main analytical technique used to analyse the hypotheses.

The results show that there is a positive effect of green recruitment on organisational attractiveness, organisational prestige, and job pursuit intention. Similarly, organisational attractiveness and organisational prestige serially mediated the relationship between green recruitment and job pursuit intentions.

This study is an addition to the literature on the soft green human resource management practices, specifically green recruitment from the perspective of potential job applicants. In addition, the study uses data from a new and under-researched geographical context, Ghana to contribute and shed light on the topic. Critically, research on sustainable human resource management has been shown to be very limited from the Africa's context. Consequently, the present evidence from the Ghana's perspective responds to the call.