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Personal data is today recognized as an asset in the digital economy, generating billion-dollar annual revenues for many companies. But how much value do users derive from their seemingly free apps (zero-price services), and what user costs are associated with this value exchange? By adopting a human-centric lens, this article scrutinizes the complex trade-offs users face trying to capture the benefits and unperceived costs that such usage entails.

Using a mixed-method research design, this study is anchored in empirical survey data from 196 participants in Linköping, Sweden. The authors investigate users’ willingness to pay for these services in relation to different types of costs.

The results indicate that users can derive significant value from the use of free services, which can be interpreted as a win-win situation between users and companies. Regarding costs, this research shows that the most significant costs for users are associated with procrastination, sleep deprivation and reduced focus, which can be challenging to identify and evaluate from the users’ perspective.

This study shows that zero-price services provide significant benefits like enhancing social connectivity and offering a wide variety of content. Significant drawbacks, such as increased procrastination and sleep disturbances, highlight the psychological effects of these platforms. These impacts include behavioral changes, emphasizing the influence of online platforms on user engagement. Furthermore, a trend toward single-purchase preferences over free services suggests changing consumer attitudes toward digital payment models. This underscores the need for further research on non-monetary aspects in zero-price markets for better understanding and regulation of the digital economy.

This study shows that users appreciate the accessibility and potential of zero-price services but are wary of privacy concerns. It underscores the need for companies to balance profit objectives with user experiences and privacy requirements. Offering a range of ad-free premium services to meet diverse customer needs can be effective. Users’ high valuation of privacy and transparency suggests businesses should focus on human-centric, privacy-respecting strategies. Increased transparency in data usage and giving users greater data control could enhance the user experience and foster sustainable customer relationships.

The study calls for policymakers to focus on non-monetary risks of zero-price services, such as behavioral changes and digital well-being impacts. They should consider implementing regulations to protect users, especially children, from manipulative designs such as “dark patterns”. Policymakers must balance user protection with innovation, leading to a sustainable zero-price economy. For zero-price service users, awareness of non-monetary costs, like procrastination and sleep deprivation, is vital. Understanding that “free” services have hidden costs is important, especially for younger generations. Managing privacy settings and selective service choices can protect privacy and well-being.

This research shifts the focus from simply valuing personal data based on market prices to assessing the worth of free services themselves. By listing various hidden costs, it underscores the need for increased user awareness and greater corporate transparency. Uniquely, it finds that users prefer making one-time purchases over using zero-price services, extending prior assumptions in the field. Additionally, it also characterizes the zero-price economy ecosystem, highlighting differences between market types and provides a deeper understanding of the zero-price market and its related concepts.

The operation of water environment treatment Public-Private Partnership projects (WETP-PPP) is crucial to the project effectiveness. However, there are often problems in projects that attach importance to construction and neglect operation management, which seriously affect the project operation effect. To ensure the good operation effect of the WETP-PPP, an evolutionary game model of the regulation strategy during the operation period of WETP-PPP is constructed.

An evolutionary game model of regulation is established which considers the government, the project company and the public in water environment treatment Public-Private Partnership projects (WETP-PPP). Five scenarios of equilibriums and the game's evolutionary stable strategies are analyzed, and the corresponding stability conditions are then obtained. Finally, through the simulation, the influence of different factors on the choice of the three-party strategy is analyzed.

First, the key factors that affect the evolution game are the regulation costs and performance rewards of the government, the project company's operation costs and penalties for opportunism and the public supervision costs and rewards. Second, in order to ensure the operation effect, the government needs the performance incentive from the superior government. Third, the public's supervision enthusiasm needs to be mobilized by the government. Last, the penalty strength of speculative operation should be strong enough to play a deterrent role.

The theoretical research in this paper has some limitations. Initially, due to the large number of participants in WETP-PPP, in addition to the government department, the project company and the public studied in this paper, it also involves the consulting industry and financial institutions. In the future, more participants can be added to form four-party interest relationships and conduct four-party evolutionary game research. Second, the operation environment of WETP-PPP is complex and changeable, and various influencing factors are intertwined, the number of parameters involved in this paper is limited, and further detailed research is needed in the future.

Based on the evolutionary game theory, this article discusses the evolution law of the tripartite game behavior of the government department, the project company and the public, which is helpful to clarify the strategy evolution path of the tripartite in the WETP-PPP, and the generation condition and evolution mechanism of the equilibrium strategy of the tripartite game. The key parameters affecting the tripartite strategy selection are analyzed through simulation, which can provide reference for the government department to formulate relevant measures. At the same time, it broadens the application field of evolutionary games and supplements the research on the management mechanism of WETP-PPP during the operation period.

Based on the evolutionary game theory, this paper introduces the supervision behavior of the public, which can provide a new perspective for researchers to conduct relevant research. Secondly, for the regulation during the operation of WETP-PPP, this paper can provide reference for the government department to establish a scientific public supervision system, improve the government supervision mechanism and other relevant measures, which can help promote the public supervision willingness, improve the regulation efficiency of the government and guide the project company to reduce speculation, so as to ensure the effect of water environment management.

This paper focuses on the regulation of WETP-PPP during the operation period to research interactions among the government, the project company and the public. Based on the analysis of the evolutionary game, some suggestions are put forward, such as perfecting the government regulation mechanism, optimizing the reward and punishment system for the project company and broadening the channels of public supervision. The research results of this paper can provide support for the government's regulation of WETP-PPP and ensure the project operation effect.

This paper explores the role of social media data in enhancing business-to-business (B2B) omni-channel marketing (OCM) efforts in small businesses. B2B marketing strategy is explored through the lens of each business’s marketing manager’s insights. A novel social media data visualisation tool for B2B marketing campaign development is presented, adding contextualisation to OCM activities.

This exploratory study uses the qualitative interview method to consider the research question: what role does social media data play in enhancing B2B marketing efforts across the omni-channel in small businesses? The paper presents the findings of 25 in-depth interviews with small business marketing managers from a range of B2B industries, guided by a literature-informed interview template. Insights are developed using an open coding approach via traditional pen and paper methods, underpinned by thematic analysis.

Small business marketing managers recognise the importance of social media data in enhancing B2B OCM efforts in their organisations. They acknowledge online marketing channels as paths to enhanced brand awareness and relationship building and recognise social media’s growing influence on B2B customers’ decision-making processes. There is a dichotomy between the professed importance of social media data and its use among some small business marketing managers in their B2B OCM efforts. Others are capturing these data and integrating it with other data resources, thereby embedding social media data as a strategic resource within their business. Findings indicate that it is only in these small businesses that OCM strategy is evolving to meet B2B customer expectations of an integrated OCM experience, informed by social media data, across all channels and touchpoints.

This work is of particular interest to marketing managers within small businesses seeking to improve their B2B marketing efforts across the omni-channel. It is of value to all B2B enterprises, given the rate of advancement of the B2B social media marketing landscape.

Recognised as an emerging area, research relating to B2B OCM is limited. This paper provides empirical data on OCM efforts in small businesses from a B2B perspective and considers the role of social media data in enhancing marketing efforts across the omni-channel. Underpinned by social network theory and based on insights gleaned from fieldwork, a social media data visualisation tool is presented, the first of its kind in this sphere.

This paper aims to evaluate Morocco’s Whole-of-Government (WoG) framework during the 2023 Al Haouz earthquake, applying complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory to assess its effectiveness with minimal international aid. Through extensive stakeholder engagement and real-time analysis, it examines interagency coordination among civilian and military actors and their interactions with external nongovernmental responders. This study identifies strengths and weaknesses within the WoG framework and presents a strategic roadmap with practical recommendations to enhance disaster resilience, offering valuable insights for Morocco and other middle-income countries facing similar challenges.

Framed by CAS theory, this research uses a rigorous mixed-methods approach through a collaborative case study methodology. Qualitative insights were derived from on-site observations and interviews with 126 stakeholders, including survivors. At the same time, quantitative data were collected through content analysis from multiple sources and rigorously triangulated to capture the full spectrum of WoG mobilization. The data were processed using TAMS Analyzer, and systemic evaluation was conducted through the M-MACBETH methodology, supported by a 21-member expert group. Informed by the assessment results and international best practices, this paper presents an actionable roadmap aimed at building a stronger and more flexible disaster management (DM) system.

The case study reveals that Morocco’s experience offers both a warning and a blueprint for future disaster response efforts. Although the WoG framework successfully coordinated military, civilian and political leadership, weaknesses in local preparedness, civil society integration and misinformation management reduced the overall effectiveness of the response. Aligned with CAS principles and informed by global best practices, the research advocates creating a National Emergency Management Agency with a comprehensive nationwide organigram to balance community-led initiatives with centralized authority, fostering a more resilient, adaptive and coordinated DM system.

This paper addresses a key research gap by applying CAS theory to a real-world disaster in the underexplored North African context. It offers a detailed, first-hand evaluation of Morocco’s WoG framework, assessing its ability to manage a large-scale disaster with minimal yet selective international aid. This study paves the way for comparative research across regions, disaster types and governance models while providing a practical roadmap for Morocco and similar nations to transition toward a Whole-of-Society strategy for DM, enhancing long-term resilience.

This paper aims to investigate the current practices and deficiencies in the legal and regulatory structure of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in Sri Lanka and explore recommended practices by international model laws and guidelines addressing such deficiencies.

Firstly, a desk study review was conducted to explore the current practices of PPP in Sri Lanka. Secondly, nine expert interviews were conducted to comprehend further current PPP practices and identify the deficiencies of legal and regulatory structure of PPP in Sri Lanka, and content analysis was used to analyse the interviews findings. Finally, international model laws and guidelines were reviewed to explore recommended best practices.

The research explored non-existence of a national PPP policy, lack of clarity of executing a project’s preliminary affordability, and lack of guidance on risk assessment and feasibility studies as current major deficiencies of PPP legal and regulatory structure in Sri Lanka. Further, findings showed that setting-up two project governance structures, a steering committee and a project team, and develop clear guidelines and standard forms can be adapted to strengthen the PPP legal and regulatory structure.

The findings of this study may be useful to policy makers in tracing essential reforms to PPP legal and regulatory structure. This study is limited to legal and regulatory structure of first three phases of the PPP project life cycle: project identification, project preparation and project procurement.

This paper establishes a novel framework to visualise the current practices and deficiencies in the PPP legal and regulatory framework in Sri Lanka, and the way of incorporating recommended practices by international model laws and guidelines for its future reformations.

Megaprojects contribute greatly to China’s socio-economic development. However, the diverse stakeholders of megaprojects tend to be prone to conflict and plunge the project into lower performance than expected. This study aims to investigate (1) the optimal supervision mechanism under direct supervision of the owner and (2) the optimal indirect supervision mechanism of the owner, with involvement of integrated construction consultancy (ICC) in supervision and considerations into the impact of collusion between the ICC and the general contractor on supervision efficiency.

This study applies the principal–agent theory and game theory to design effective incentive and punishment mechanisms for direct and indirect supervision by the owner. Through the theoretical framework of game theory, it analyses the strategic interactions between the owner, the ICC and the general contractor, and evaluates the effectiveness of various supervision mechanisms based on Nash equilibrium theory.

The results showed adopting the direct supervision mechanism when the probability of the general contractor’s opportunistic behavior being detected was higher or the occurrence had a greater impact on the owner. However, the increase in supervision cost would reduce the motivation of owner’s direct supervision and prompt the owner to choose the indirect supervision mechanism. Additionally, the indirect supervision mechanism was more likely to inhibit the collusion between the ICC and the general contractor. Thus, increasing penalties for ICC would result in improved supervision of ICC, thereby improving the benefits to the owner.

This study examines the dynamic interaction between the owner, the general contractor and the ICC. The study establishes a game tree and game matrix based on principal–agent theory, and analyses direct and indirect supervision models to determine the Nash equilibrium and optimal supervision strategy that is in the best interest of the owner. The study advocates for improved management and supervision mechanisms and argues that tailored supervision mechanisms can significantly improve the performance of megaprojects, which is well validated in megaprojects in China.

This study investigated the regulatory landscape surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of e-government development. The purpose of this article is to identify record-keeping challenges, opportunities and weaknesses that emerge from AI loose regulation. The research focuses on Sweden, Finland and South Africa, examining the interplay between existing guidelines, recommendations and legal structures at various levels.

The research adopted comprehensive systematic and scoping literature reviews, encompassing academic papers, reports and legal documents, along with an analysis of non-academic sources relevant to the study. This methodological approach helped to obtain a deep understanding of the evolving AI regulatory frameworks.

There is currently limited research that focuses on the impact AI deployment has on the management of critical records in government administrations. Also, the findings reveal that AI regulatory environment varies from country to country. The European Union stands as a noteworthy example of a comprehensive framework for AI governance. In contrast, South Africa, while at its infancy stage, demonstrates potential initiatives and policies at different levels. There is emphasis on the need to focus on co-operation, skills development and uniform regulatory frameworks.

This research holds significant practical implications for policymakers, government bodies and stakeholders involved in AI governance. It emphasizes how crucial it is to incorporate AI alongside a solid records management system. The study advocates for strategic investments in education and skills development to enable individuals to navigate the complexities of AI governance.

This research adds to the existing body of knowledge by providing an examination of AI legislation in e-government in the context of public records management. The analysis helps to review literature and other research materials across different geographical areas. The study explores the distinctive strategies used by Sweden, Finland and South Africa. The recommendations offer policymakers and stakeholders suggestions on how to foster effective AI governance and innovation in the public sector but at the same time manage public records effectively.

This study aims to explore the prevalence and patterns of workplace sexual violence against women workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

This study used a mixed-methods approach to investigate workplace sexual violence against women workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data collection spanned four months, using structured interviews, self-administered questionnaires and qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. A stratified random sampling technique ensured a diverse representation across sectors like garment manufacturing, domestic work and construction. Quantitative data from 384 respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis, while qualitative data provided practical insights into participants' experiences. Limitations included sample specificity to Dhaka, underreporting bias and potential biases in self-reported data, impacting generalizability and data validity.

The findings reveal significant demographic trends, with younger age groups (16–35 years) experiencing higher rates of harassment, particularly within the garment industry. Occupation-wise, garment workers report more incidents of harassment, while housemaids and child domestic workers face comparatively lower risks. The length of time in current employment shows mixed correlations with harassment prevalence. Fears of job loss, social stigma and reliance on internal resolution mechanisms within workplaces influence reporting behaviors.

This research highlights the urgent need for tailored interventions to protect young women in the garment sector and vulnerable occupations from sexual harassment. Policy reforms should enhance reporting mechanisms and address cultural barriers to reporting, ensuring safer workplaces and fair treatment for all female workers in Bangladesh.

This research contributes original insights by examining demographic correlates of sexual harassment across diverse occupations in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It uniquely identifies age-related vulnerabilities, occupational disparities and reporting behaviors, offering a comprehensive framework for understanding and addressing sexual violence in a critical socio-economic context.

The present study aims to provide a roadmap for meeting the carbon-free, green energy production target within the stipulated period while also considering climate targets through a sustainable auctioning scheme.

The research outlines the opportunity to design auctions based on qualitative research, the impact of auctions on energy costs and thus the feasibility of suggested auctioning schemes based on country-specific empirical evidence and benefits.

The conclusions show that this may result in various advantages for emerging economies relating to technology-neutral site-specific auctions if designed according to state-specific socio-economic conditions.

The planned addition to the state-of-the-art in the renewable energy (RE) field of this paper is that it intends to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The analysis has concepts for research, practice and/or community. Thus, it can serve as a primary source of literature reference for those willing to learn more about the aspects of cost related to RE.

The study aims to examine the impact of key variables on the success of solicited and unsolicited private participation in infrastructure (PPI) projects using machine learning techniques.

The data has information on 8,674 PPI projects primarily derived from the World Bank database. In the study, a machine learning framework has been used to highlight the variables important for solicited and unsolicited projects. The framework addresses the data-related challenges using imputation, oversampling and standardization techniques. Further, it uses Random forest, Artificial neural network and Logistics regression for classification and a group of diverse metrics for assessing the performances of these classifiers.

The results show that around half of the variables similarly impact both solicited and unsolicited projects. However, some other important variables, particularly, institutional factors, have different levels of impact on both projects, which have been previously ignored. This may explain the reason for higher failure rates of unsolicited projects.

This study provides specific inputs to investors, policymakers and practitioners related to the impacts of several variables on solicited and unsolicited projects separately, which will help them in project planning and implementation.

The study highlights the differential impact of variables for solicited and unsolicited projects, challenging the previously assumed uniformity of impact of the given set of variables including institutional factors.