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This study highlights the significance of knowledge management in the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and organizational performance within the context of Indonesian SMEs.

The study adopts a quantitative research approach, employing a survey questionnaire to collect data from a sample of SMEs operating in Indonesia. Structural Equation Modeling using Partial Least Square is used to investigate the relationship between variables.

The findings of this study show that in the context of small and medium enterprises, the variables of environmental and technological uncertainty are not driving factors in organizational ambidexterity. In contrast, market uncertainty has a significant effect on organizational ambidexterity. Moreover, it is also found that knowledge management does not support the variables of environmental, market, and technological uncertainty on organizational ambidexterity in small and medium enterprises. The results show that knowledge management plays a significant role in organizational ambidexterity. It also shows that knowledge management could support a significant way between organizational ambidexterity and organizational performance.

The findings of this study give insights for SMEs to attain a sustainable competitive edge in a dynamic business landscape by implementing efficient knowledge management techniques that bolster their ambidextrous capacities.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinants of intention for energy and water conservation behavior in Prishtina, Kosovo by using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) conceptual framework and then examine the influence of intention and demographic factors on the conservation behavior itself. In addition, the present study examines the differences between urban and rural consumers in Prishtina in terms of their intention for energy and water conservation behaviors and their actual conservation behavior.

This study uses a qualitative approach by conducting ten in-depth interviews followed by one focus group with urban consumers and ten in-depth interviews followed by one focus group with rural consumers in Prishtina to analyze the influence of determinants on the conservation intention. In addition, the present study uses the quantitative research method to empirically examine the influence of intention and demographic variables on the actual conservation behavior.

The findings show that there is a difference between the urban and rural sample populations in Prishtina in terms of determinants that influence their intention to conserve energy and water. While attitude is the strongest determinant among the urban population, the social norms seem to be the strongest antecedent of the behavioral intention among the rural population. In addition, the study finds that the intention, income, family size and place of residence as a whole influence the actual behavior; however, the manifestation of the influence of separate variables on the actual conservation varies between urban and rural population. While intention is very strong among urban respondents and the actual conservation behavior is less dependent on the income level and family size, in the case of rural respondents, intention alone is not sufficient to predict the actual behavior and varies also on the income level.

The study brings unique and new knowledge about the application of the TPB in the context of small and developing economies bridging the research gaps arising from few scholarly research studying the differences between urban and rural populations.

The concept of smart cities, driven by advancements in innovative information and communication technologies (ICTs), has gained significant attention in recent years. Smart cities aim to improve the quality of life for citizens by leveraging ICT to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of urban services and infrastructure. One critical aspect of smart cities development is advanced innovations in water management, which play a vital role in achieving sustainability, prosperity of community and ensuring the availability of clean water resources. This chapter explores the relationship between advanced water management and smart cities development and highlights the synergies and benefits that arise from their integration. The chapter develops a framework for adopting innovative ICTs that support the gradual transformation toward next generation smart cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Such transformation aligns with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the maintenance of various social, economic, and environmental developments. The chapter begins by discussing the fundamental principles of smart cities and the role of advanced sensing technologies in enabling efficient and automated processes within urban environments. It then delves into the concept of water-sensitive cities, the importance of urban water mass balance analysis in designing sustainable water management strategies, and the emerging trends in water management. Furthermore, the chapter explores the integration of smart program management and the role of citizen engagement in the design and development of smart cities in the GCC countries and finally challenges and concerns facing these programs.

The study investigates the intention to adopt climate change and the pro-environmental behaviours among the residents of a developing country (Pakistan) through the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).

This is a quantitative designed study and uses a questionnaire to collect cross-sectional data. The authors distributed about 1,600 questionnaires, of which 980 were returned; this represented a 61% response rate.

From applying the PLS-SEM 3.0 technique, the findings highlight the positive and significant impact of attitudes towards climate change (ATCC) and subjective norms (SN) on the intention to adopt climate change (ITCC). On the other hand, perceived behavioural control (PBC) has an insignificant effect on ITCC. Moreover, the ITCC is a significant predictor of pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). Finally, ITCC has a positive effect in mediating the relationship between TPB constructs (ATCC, SN and PBC) and PEB.

This study's findings assist policymakers in designing policies and better plans to enrich the individuals' vision and attitudes towards creating a conducive and healthy environment. Further, this study's findings encourage the promotion of widespread intentions to overcome the environmental challenges of climate change.

In the context of Pakistan, this study's findings offer empirical confirmation of TPB, climate change and PEB.

Contactless shopping concepts meet the needs of those consumers who want to minimise social interactions, especially due to COVID-19; they also offer added value by combining the advantages of traditional shopping with digital features that stem from online shopping. The development of digitalised retail concepts has been made possible through digitisation and the use of new technologies. To date, the concepts have been created with various formats through the application of the most advanced Industry 4.0 technologies. This paper aims to provide a deepened understanding of the latest trends and draws attention to the various classes, including shopping functionalities and features.

This paper performs a review of current disruptive and new business retail concepts within the grocery retail industry in Germany. Therefore, a secondary research methodology and observations were performed to create an overview and a categorization. This categorization has been used to identify the related cases.

The results add to the literature as follows. First, a matching of contactless shopping to innovative business models is made. Second, a status-quo analysis of contactless shopping solutions in Germany is carried out with defined set of criteria. This study created a list of all major available contactless shopping solutions. Third, this study examines two new business models, namely, automated vending machines and walk-in stores, which meet the changes in consumer behaviour and needs in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper provides a deeper understanding of the latest trends within the retail industry and draws attention to disruptive business models as well as the functionalities and features of shopping solutions. New store concepts launched during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in unique selling propositions of 24-h everyday shopping and contactless shopping.

In this research, arbitrage opportunity is tested between the yield rates computed by the NSS model, and the computed forward rates between conventional and Islamic finance to see any arbitrage opportunity. The research questions are the conventional and Islamic finance yields at the same level and equal to each other to avoid arbitrage? Whether conventional and Islamic forward rates differ significantly and thus create any arbitrage opportunity. This study aims to find the presence or absence of arbitrage between conventional and Islamic finance yield rates.

The NSS model is the latest model in calculating yield and forward rates. In the method the error level is minimized so expected yield rate and given yield rate both converged (Vahidin and Anastasios, 2020). When they converged it gives the researchers all six months’ yield rates. For the Nelson Siegal method, all the six months’ yield rates are available and these yield rates can be used to compute the forward rates.

The authors concluded there is a significant difference between the conventional yield rate and the Islamic yield rate. It suggests that because there are significant differences, its suggest arbitrage is possible. So anyone interested in making a guaranteed profit. The conventional yield rates are lower; hence, anyone can borrow from the conventional finance system and invest the money in the Islamic financial system because investments are getting higher rates of income in the form of yield rate in Islamic Finance. So, one can make money because of this difference. Statistically, it is possible to make money, but practically, the authors observed the difference, however it is very meager. The arbitrage opportunity between Islamic finance and conventional finance will not affect the economy because the significant difference is too small. The disturbance in the arbitrage opportunity due to the values is very meager and insignificant.

This research does not address the derivative contracts’ role in risk management; future researchers could take up this as another research.

This research will be beneficial for financial institutions, especially institutional investors. Besides, this research will help the regulators and investment bankers in assisting where and future losses especially bond portfolios in conventional finance and Islamic finance. This study will also contribute and help the asset manager of mutual funds in the mutual fund industries.

In effect, this research will strengthen the financial system, capital market and bond market, derivative contracts such as options contracts, futures contracts, swap contracts and forward contracts will use computed forward rates for assessing future losses (value at risk [VaR]) and to hedge them (Balakrishnan, 2020).

As this topic is rarely studied it will increase the literature present in this domain.

The aim of this paper is to identify the impact of logistics performance on consumer satisfaction and store image in the retail context.

The authors conducted a quantitative study with a sample of 201 consumers. The questionnaire is the instrument that was chosen to collect the data. Data processing was carried out using the statistical package for the social science (SPSS). The data analysis was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of testing the reliability and validity of the measurement scales. While the second phase of data processing consisted of testing the research hypotheses on the basis of data collected in the field.

The results of this research are as follows: consumer satisfaction positively affects their loyalty to the store. The results also indicate that store image affects the satisfaction of consumers. Indeed, “service quality” is often evaluated as a source of differentiation affecting consumer satisfaction. Concerning the effect of logistics performance on consumer satisfaction, the factor “product availability” was found to be the major factor affecting consumer satisfaction. A lack of logistics performance, in the context of retailing, negatively affects consumer satisfaction. On the other hand, when the consumer gets the right quantities at the right time, this can positively affect his satisfaction.

All studies carried out on this subject have presented an evaluation of the performance measures used in supply chain models. However, the results of these works were different in terms of performance measurement. It is difficult to specify the impact of logistics performance with only two variants (checkout level, and shelf level) in the retail context. Moreover, research related to this field in Morocco remains unexplored. In this context, it is necessary to explore the links between logistics performance, store image and consumer behavioral intentions in the Moroccan retailing context while taking into account three variants of logistics performance, which are: checkout level, shelf level and product disponibility.

The quality of service provided by a courier service plays an essential role in the success of online shopping. Meanwhile, buyers and sellers tend to choose a vendor that meets their expectations. This study aims to show how buyers and sellers value the decision to select a courier service based on online shopping experiences.

A focus group discussion involving eight participants was used to gather consumer preferences and seller perspectives. Kansei Engineering principles were applied to organize these variables into a priority-scaled survey question. Furthermore, 200 respondents were simple-randomly selected and categorized based on age, gender, transaction frequency, average monthly transaction value and their role in online transactions.

This study found that buyers and sellers do not consider the delivery costs when the courier service guarantees the service quality. In contrast, the service quality offered is determined by problem-solving responsiveness, delivery accuracy and tracking systems. They also consider the short delivery time, wide delivery coverage area, couriers' attitude and scattered pick-up/drop point services. However, the order of priority is different for specific demographics.

In the rapid development of the online shopping trend, courier services are urgent to reconstruct their business model and maintain the quality of service. The proper understanding of online consumer preferences and seller perspectives will form the basis of appropriate strategies.

The role of a courier service is significant in the supply chain of online shopping transactions that connect buyers and sellers. The differences in consumer preferences and seller perspectives are attributed to the diverse objectives, even though they are still related to the service quality of the courier service.

The purpose of this paper is to study the correlational and effect relationship between Halal standards and the performance of Halal-certified Palestinian Food Companies.

Quantitative method was used, using a questionnaire survey of 40 Halal-certified Palestinian organizations out of a total of 47 certified organizations, the analysis was done using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and the literature review was conducted using a well-known systematic literature review methodology.

Halal implementation and certification had a positive impact on performance (operational, financial and marketing). The depth/intensity of implementation fully mediates operational performance and partially mediates marketing and financial performance.

As the sample size is small, it is recommended to conduct the study using a larger sample size, once the number of Palestinian Halal-certified organizations increases. A longitudinal or panel study is recommended to capture data that are more accurate and avoid objectivity and bias issues using a cross-sectional research design method. Finally, the study recommends to conduct additional research in the field of Halal awareness for customers to gage their intention and welling to buy Halal products within the Middle East region.

The importance of this study exists in the lack of previous Halal-related studies in the Palestinian context and the previously described gap in the literature. Nevertheless, the quality management drivers and impact are limited in the Palestinian context compared with other contexts; the results of the previously published studies revealed mixed results such as the drivers of quality management are based on the type of business. Finally, this research gives small insights and directions toward conducting additional studies concerning customer awareness about Halal products.

Intelligent customer service has started replacing human employees in providing services to customers in numerous industries. Based on the expectancy disconfirmation theory, this study explores how different types of anthropomorphic avatar images of the intelligent customer service would affect consumer responses such as the willingness to interact, in the context of a service failure. The underlying mechanism and boundary conditions are also examined.

Two experimental studies were conducted to investigate the effect of the anthropomorphic image of intelligent customer service on consumers' willingness to interact and the potential role of consumer expectation and disappointment, following a service failure (Study 1). The moderating effect of anthropomorphic type was also explored (Study 2).

In the context of a customer service failure, an anthropomorphized intelligent customer service avatar that appeared competent (vs. warm) induced higher customer disappointment. However, if the anthropomorphic avatar had a cartoon-like appearance, the effect of avatar image perception (competent vs. warm) on consumers' willingness to interact diminishes.

This research enriches and expands the literature on interactive marketing and artificial intelligence and provides practical guidance for companies to design or choose avatar images for intelligent customer service.