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The study aims to develop a validated scale to measure the workplace information literacy (WIL) skills of Quality Enhancement Cell’s staff based on the i-skills model.

To develop scale, a multi-stage scale development procedure was adopted. The comprehensive WIL scale was developed and validated in four phases. The first phase involved reviewing literature, content and face validity through experts. In the later stages, through survey method, the construct validity was tested with the application of the exploratory factor analysis and principal component analysis. The scale reliability further calculated through Cronbach’s alpha internal reliability coefficient. The SPSS was used to test and validate the designed scale.

A multi-dimensional, reliable 62-item scale classified into eight factors was developed. Results indicate that the designed scale achieved internal, face, content, construct validity and reliability. The refined scale has the potential to be used in similar context, however, can be modified for diverse contexts and situations.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first validated scale of WIL based on the i-skills model. Looking at the prior developed scales, this tool is unique in nature to focus on the skills of administrative staff.

The research frontier concerning the relationship between Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and supply chain performance (SCP) in manufacturing is currently lacking in a comprehensive examination. This study examines the relationship between I4.0 adoption and SCP. Additionally, the study examines the mediating effects of supply chain traceability (SCT), supply chain visibility (SCV) and supply chain resilience (SCR), both individually and sequentially.

The data were garnered from 510 managers of manufacturing firms, and PLS-SEM was applied to examine the sequential mediation effect of SCT, SCV and SCR between I4.0 and SCP.

Results indicate a statistically significant direct relationship between I4.0 adoption and SCP. Furthermore, SCT mediates the impact of I4.0 on SCP. Similarly, results showed that SCV mediates the impact of I4.0 on SCP and SCR mediates the impact of I4.0 on SCP. Moreover, the relation between I4.0 adoption and SCP is substantially influenced by the sequential effects of SCT, SCV and SCR. The study provides novel empirical evidence by investigating the sequential mediation roles of SCT, SCV and SCR between I4.0 adoption and SCP through the lens of the resource-based view (RBV) perspective.

Policymakers must prioritize the promotion of I4.0 integration to strengthen the performance of manufacturing supply chains (SC). This can be achieved by improving traceability, visibility and resilience within these SCs.

The originality of this study lies in its use of the sequential mediation effect of SCT, SCV and SCR between I4.0 and SCP under the theoretical lens of RBV.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of corporate governance and other related factors on the risk-taking of Islamic banks. Risk-taking is defined according to credit risk, liquidity risk and operational risk.

The study uses the two step system generalized method of moment (2SYS-GMM) estimation technique by using a panel data set of 129 Islamic banks (IBs) from 29 countries in the Middle East, South Asia and the Southeast Asia regions covering from 2008 to 2017. Governance variables incorporated include board size, board independence, chief executive officer (CEO) power, Shariah board and audit committee, as well as other control variables.

This study provides evidence that board size and Shariah board are positively and significantly related to credit and liquidity risk. Board independence and CEO power are negative and significantly associated with credit and liquidity risk, but the audit committee has a mixed relationship with bank risk. Male CEOs take more risk compared to the female and more board meeting has an inverse relationship with Islamic banks risk. Bank size, however, does not influence the level of risk in Islamic banks, but leverage has an inverse relationship with bank risk.

The present study sheds light on the risk-taking behaviour of the board of IBs, particularly the board independence and CEO power reducing the level of risk in IBs thereby contributing to the agency theory. Therefore, regulators and policymakers can use the findings of this study to strengthen the internal corporate governance mechanism to protect IBs at a time of financial distress. Moreover, it increases the trust of the shareholders and stakeholders in the effectiveness of governance reforms that have been pursued to reap long-term benefits.

To the best of the knowledge, this research is preliminary in examining the board behaviour on risk-taking of IBs from four different regions. The results are robust and suggest that the board of directors mitigate the level of risk in IBs.

This research proposes a multivariate control chart, whose parameters are optimized using genetic algorithms (GA) in order to accelerate the detection of a change in the vector of means.

This chart is based on a variation of the Hotelling T² chart using a sampling scheme called generalized multiple dependent state sampling. For the analysis of performances of this chart, the out-of-control average run length (ARL) values were used for different scenarios. In this comparison, it was considered the classic Hotelling T² chart and the T² chart using the scheme called multiple dependent state sampling.

It was observed that the new chart with its optimized parameters is more efficient to detect an out-of-control process. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis was performed, and it was concluded that the best yields are obtained when the change to be considered in the optimization is small. An application in the resolution of a real problem is given.

In this research, a multivariate control chart is proposed based on the Hotelling T² statistic but adding a sampling scheme. This makes this control chart more efficient than the classic T² chart because the new chart not only uses the current information of the T² statistic but also conditions the decision to consider a process as “in- control” on the statistic's previous information. The practitioner can obtain the optimal parameters of this new chart through a friendly program developed by the authors.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main reasons for low uptake of robots in special education (SE), obtained from an analysis of previous studies that used robots in the area, and from interviewing SE teachers about the topic.

An analysis of 18 studies that used robots in SE was performed, and the conclusions were complemented and compared with the feedback from interviewing 13 SE teachers from Spain and the UK about the reasons they believed caused the low uptake of robots in SE classrooms.

Five main reasons why SE schools do not normally use robots in their classrooms were identified: the inability to acquire the system due to its price or availability; its difficulty of use; the low range of activities offered; the limited ways of interaction offered; and the inability to use different robots with the same software.

Previous studies focussed on exploring the advantages of using robots to help children with autism spectrum conditions and learning disabilities. This study takes a step further and looks into the reasons why, despite the benefits shown, robots are rarely used in real-life settings after the relevant study ends. The authors also present a potential solution to the issues found: involving end users in the design and development of new systems using a user-centred design approach for all the components, including methods of interaction, learning activities and the most suitable type of robots.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of board characteristics on CEO turnover performance relationship (TPR) in Indian listed firms.

A subset of the Standard and Poor’s Bombay Stock Exchange 500 (S&P BSE 500) Index companies was analyzed over the period 2015–2019 using the logistic (fixed-effects) regression model.

It was found that a weak relationship exists between CEO turnover and firm performance. With respect to board characteristics, board size was found to have a significant role in strengthening the TPR. However, other characteristics, such as board independence, multiple directors, board meetings and board gender diversity, played no role in influencing the TPR.

First, the study period is limited to five years, during which several sample firms did not face any CEO turnover event leading to small sample size. Second, this study considers only the board’s gender diversity, whereas other types of diversity are omitted. Third, this study does not differentiate between insider and professional CEOs.

The findings suggest that regulators should focus on the effective enforcement of laws to strengthen the TPR and improve the monitoring role of boards, particularly in emerging economies like India, which face type II agency problems in addition to traditional principal–agent conflict. The results also offer implications for corporations, investors and academic researchers, highlighting areas that need considerable attention pertaining to corporate governance.

This study discerns the impact of several board-related characteristics on the TPR, particularly after the introduction of the new Companies Act 2013 in the emerging economy of India, where it has not been explored extensively.

To analyze the effect of an ambidextrous supply chain strategy (ASCS) – i.e. the combination of exploration and exploitation practices – on each of the four dimensions of supply chain flexibility (SCF): information system, operating system, sourcing and distribution flexibility. Further, to evaluate the influence of implementing the ISO 9001 standard on the relationship between ASCS and SCF, and whether this certification directly affects the level of SCF. We ground our model in Resource Orchestration theory.

To perform this study, the authors used data collected from a sample of 145 non-ISO-certified firms and 157 ISO-certified firms.

ASCS does not affect all four dimensions of SCF in the same way. Rather, its effect is contingent on the presence of the ISO 9001 certification. An ASCS is shown to have a positive effect on information system flexibility irrespective of the presence of ISO 9001 certification whereas for the other three dimensions of SCF, the effect of ASCS is dependent on ISO 9001 implementation. Meanwhile, ISO 9001 implementation itself does not affect the level of SCF.

Managers can use the findings to configure their supply chain strategy based on the specific dimension(s) of SCF they seek to develop by implementing ASCS. Further, the results inform managers about the incentives for implementing ISO 9001.

Although prior studies have shown that an ambidextrous strategy enables firms and organizational units to adapt to the environment, there have been few prior studies on ambidexterity in a supply chain context. Further, although the extant literature has suggested that the ISO 9001 may facilitate ambidexterity, this link has remained largely theoretical. In fact, there is very little prior evidence on how the practice of ISO 9001 affects the supply chain.

The last three decades have witnessed strong development of global value chains (GVCs). Also, the Polish economy developed international production links along with the systemic transformation from the beginning of the 1990s. This led to changes in Poland's participation in GVCs.

The Purpose of the Chapter: The study's primary purpose is to characterise the evolution of Poland's participation in GVCs since the mid-1990s, including its key determinants.

Several research methods were used to achieve the study's goal, including critical literature analysis, statistical data analysis and descriptive methods. To determine Poland's share in the GVCs, the method of estimating domestic and foreign added value was used, which allowed for measuring the scale of production fragmentation and related trade in value-added.

The analysis allowed us to conclude that Poland has increased its share in GVCs, mainly inside the EU. Also, the industrial structure underwent positive changes. The increasing Poland's participation in the GVCs was primarily due to the inflow of FDI-related technology, the transformation of the economic structure, institutional and geographical factors. The improvement in the conditions for the functioning of the Polish economy has been reflected in international competitiveness rankings, where such attributes as geographical location, macroeconomic performance, human capital, market size, technical infrastructure and innovativeness are indicated. On the other hand, however, the tightness of the law, the efficiency of the government and public administration remains a challenge.

Given the importance of chatbots in customer service in tourism, this paper aims to understand the drivers that predispose regular consumers of restaurant recommendation chatbots to continue using them.

A total of 386 regular consumers of a chatbot via WhatsApp restaurant recommender responded to an online questionnaire (inspired by scales found in the literature on technology adoption). Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

Significant predictors of intention to continue using these chatbots included “effort expectancy (EE),” “hedonic motivation (HM),” “price value (PV)” and “habit (HT).” Specifically, HT still has a long way to go in terms of its performance, and it will be possible to work on it. Furthermore, two variables, EE and HM, act as a bottleneck when it comes to explaining this recurrent usage intention. Factors such as “performance expectancy (PE),” “facilitating conditions (FC)” and “social influence (SI)” did not influence “behavioral intention (BI).” Likewise, the moderating variables, age and gender, are not significant. Finally, the predictive capability of the model is demonstrated. The study findings will enable the development of effective strategies to foster consumer loyalty to this new technology in the restaurant industry.

This study contributes, building on the suitability of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 model, to explain users’ intention to continue using chatbot tourism services in the context of an information search for an unplanned and varied purchase decision, namely, restaurant recommendation services. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first analysis of tourist’s intention to reuse a real and fully functional chatbot via mobile instant messaging.

鉴于聊天机器人在旅游客户服务中的重要性, 本研究旨在了解驱动消费者持续使用WhatsApp餐厅推荐聊天机器人的因素。

共收集386名WhatsApp餐厅推荐聊天机器人的常规用户在线问卷数据（问卷设计参考技术采纳相关文献中的量表）。研究采用结构方程模型（SEM）验证假设。

影响用户持续使用意图的显著预测因素包括“努力期望（EE）”、“享乐动机（HM）”、“价格价值（PV）”和“习惯（HT）”。其中, “习惯（HT）”表现仍有提升空间, 而“努力期望（EE）”和“享乐动机（HM）”是解释持续使用意图的瓶颈因素。此外, “绩效期望（PE）”、“促进条件（FC）”和“社会影响（SI）”对“行为意图（BI）”无显著影响。性别和年龄等调节变量同样不显著。研究结果验证了模型的预测能力, 能够为餐厅行业制定有效策略以增强消费者对这一新技术的忠诚度提供指导。

本研究基于UTAUT2模型, 首次分析了消费者在餐厅推荐服务中持续使用移动即时通讯（MIM）聊天机器人的意图, 为探索非计划性和多样化购买决策背景下的信息搜索服务提供了新见解。

The paper refers to the framework of ambidexterity to explain the strategic paths of manufacturing SMEs in turbulent times, by investigating SMEs' strategic reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authors adopted an inductive approach methodology. Using a qualitative research method, Italian manufacturing SMEs in different industries were interviewed to outline how they have faced the negative effects of the COVID-19 by considering the strategies implemented during the pandemic.

The study identifies three ambidextrous strategies for manufacturing SMEs to positively overcome the COVID-19 crisis: (1) playing different roles within the same market (business-to-business and business-to-consumer) simultaneously, (2) simultaneous entrance and management of multiple markets and (3) exploiting manufacturing knowledge for exploring product and business model innovation (simultaneous learning processes).

Results enrich the theoretical discussion on ambidexterity and SMEs, by stressing the strategic dimension of ambidexterity and including a more fine-grained analysis of the different firm’ strategic paths in times of crisis.

The paper provides practical suggestions for manufacturing SMEs on how they can react during turbulent times and crises by implementing ambidextrous strategies also thanks to the use of digital technologies.

This paper contributes to outlining the conditions for SMEs' resilience in the international competitive context by highlighting the perspective of ambidexterity based on the analysis of multiple case studies from manufacturing industries.