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This manuscript discusses the main findings gathered through a systematic literature review aimed at crystallizing the state of art about evidence-based management (EBMgt) in healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to narrow the main gaps in current understanding about the linkage between sources of evidence, categories of analysis and kinds of managerial decisions/management practices that different groups of decision-makers put in place. In fact, although EBMgt in healthcare has emerging as a fashionable research topic, little is still known about its actual implementation.

Using the Scopus database as main source of evidence, the authors carried out a systematic literature review on EBMgt in healthcare. Inclusion and exclusion criteria have been crystallized and applied. Only empirical journal articles and past reviews have been included to consider only well-mature and robust studies. A theoretical framework based on a “process” perspective has been designed on these building blocks: inputs (sources of evidence), processes/tools (analyses on the sources of evidence), outcomes (the kind of the decision) and target users (decision-makers).

Applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, 30 past studies were selected. Of them, ten studies were past literature reviews conducted between 2009 and 2014. Their main focus was discussing the previous definitions for EBMgt in healthcare, the main sources of evidence and their acceptance in hospitals. The remaining studies (n=20, 67 percent) were empirical; among them, the largest part (n=14, 70 percent) was informed by quantitative methodologies. The sources of evidence for EBMgt are: published studies, real world evidence and experts’ opinions. Evidence is analyzed through: literature reviews, data analysis of empirical studies, workshops with experts. Main kinds of decisions are: performance assessment of organization units, staff performance assessment, change management, organizational knowledge transfer and strategic planning.

This study offers original insights on EBMgt in healthcare by adding to what we know from previous studies a “process” perspective that connects sources of evidence, types of analysis, kinds of decisions and groups of decision-makers. The main findings are useful for academia as they consolidate what we know about EBMgt in healthcare and pave avenues for further research to consolidate this emerging discipline. They are also useful for practitioners, as hospital managers, who might be interested to design and implement EBMgt initiatives to improve hospital performance.

The study investigates the profitability of manufacturing firms backshoring (BS) to Europe. In particular, the article analyses the relation between BS drivers and post-relocation profitability and tests whether this relation is moderated by innovation policies that firms adopt in conjunction with BS.

The empirical model links the post-relocation profitability to BS drivers, firms’ involvement in product innovation and/or adoption of new manufacturing technologies. Data concerning BS initiatives to Europe between 2012 and 2018 extracted from secondary sources have been matched to firms’ balance sheet data.

Results show that responsiveness-driven BS is associated with higher profitability when the relocation is coupled with product innovation. A second key finding is that the adoption of new manufacturing technologies has a positive impact on post-BS profitability.

The restriction of the dataset to firms for which information on post- and pre-BS financial performance was available has led to a small sample size. Availability of longer time series of profitability data will allow estimating long-term impact, especially for innovation.

The study provides first evidence on the impact of BS on financial performance and throws light on the relevance of innovation as a lever supporting manufacturing relocation to high-cost countries.

The study advances empirical research on BS by offering evidence of its impact on profitability and by linking it to previous research on BS drivers. Further, the study throws light on the role of different drivers as “success factors” of BS and on how they interact with innovation efforts. The study also offers insights to business leaders who are evaluating the potential benefits on company profitability of a return to a high cost-environment and provides useful indications on the conditions under which BS pays off.

The main objective of this paper is to analyze works of literature on SRI sukuk to highlight the potential for these kinds of instruments in financing more sustainable financial systems (SFSs). The analysis mainly accentuates a dearth of knowledge on the various challenges and opportunities in the realm of SRI.

This paper pioneers the bibliometric and systematic literature review of the development of the SRI sukuk from 2016 (the first available year in the field) to and 2021.

The study findings highlighted several pertinent SRI issues: the lack of standardization due to the different interpretations of Shariah and green, the lack of retail investors, which inevitably produce a lack of liquidity in the secondary market, thus limiting their growth, its funding allocation’ close resemblance to green financing, and the role of Malaysia and Indonesia as global sustainable financial hubs to stimulate the development of Shariah-compliant sustainable instruments and contribute to the international debate about the building of a global standardized framework related to sustainable investments.

The integration of the environmental principles of a green bond with the Shariah-compliant financial structure of a sukuk, the SRI sukuk, represents a vital crossroad in both sustainable and Islamic finance. Social-impact sukuk and green sukuk is an undervalued instrument that could play an important role in financing a more sustainable economic and financial system, including Islamic investing. This kind of instruments, which is based on a “pay for success” principle in the conventional layout, perfectly fit with the profit-and-lost sharing’s (PLS's) ethicality, the sustainability principles of Islamic finance and the religious principles of Islamic law.

This paper introduces the second part of a AAAJ special issue on accounting, accountability and management during the COVID-19 emergency. The authors analyse the themes that emerge from the second part of the special issue, which allows us to identify the diverse accounting and accountability practices across different geographical and organisational contexts. The authors also provide an overall picture of the contributions of the special issue, with insights into avenues of future research.

Building on the first part of the AAAJ special issue, the paper draws together and identifies additional emerging themes related to research into the COVID-19 pandemic and how it impacts accounting, accountability and management practices. The authors reflect on the contributions of the special issue to the interdisciplinary accounting research project.

The authors identify two macro-themes and outline their contributions to the accounting literature. The first deals with the changes and dangers of accounting and accountability practices during the pandemic. The second considers accountability practices in a broader sense, including reporting, disclosure and rhetorical practices in the management of COVID-19.

The paper shows the pervasive role of accounting and accountability in the unprecedented and indiscriminate health crisis of COVID-19. It highlights the important role of special issues in producing timely research that responds to unfolding events.

This paper contributes to current debates on the roles of accounting and accountability during COVID-19 by drawing together the themes of the special issue and identifying future interdisciplinary accounting research on the pandemic's aftermath.