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This study aims to propose the roles for business, broadly defined, in government-led programs designed to enhance human capital investment. Through conditional cash transfers (CCTs), businesses have opportunities to alleviate poverty, address the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda (SDGs), enhance CCT viability and explore new market opportunities.

This multifaceted research approach consists of five case studies of CCTs in Latin America, face-to-face field meetings with CCT administrators, 48 CCT beneficiaries in a pilot study and 31 interviews (verbal and remote) with business managers and companies in five countries.

Building on an on-site pilot study, an in-depth appraisal of five CCTs in Latin America over a five-year period, the authors examined six stages of CCT activities to assess possible areas of business engagement. The cases, augmented by field interviews with businesses, present fledgling business engagement in CCTs. In light of anticipated growth in CCTs, this study presents six major ways businesses can further participate in selected stages of CCT operations that contribute to their long-term sustainability, as well as future market opportunities.

Conducted over a five-year period with participants from government, businesses and CCT beneficiaries, this study deepens our understanding of how businesses can alleviate poverty through engaging in government-led antipoverty programs.

Este estudo propõe papéis amplamente definidos para empresas em programas liderados pelo governo projetados para melhorar o investimento em capital humano. Por meio de transferências condicionadas de renda (TCRs), as empresas têm oportunidades de aliviar a pobreza, abordar a Agenda 2030 (ODS) das Nações Unidas, melhorar a viabilidade do transferências condicionadas de renda e explorar novas oportunidades de mercado.

Com base em um estudo piloto no local, uma avaliação aprofundada de cinco transferências condicionadas de renda na América Latina durante um período de cinco anos, identificamos e analisamos seis etapas das atividades da transferências condicionadas de renda para avaliar possíveis áreas de participação empresarial. Nossos cases, enriquecidos por entrevistas de campo com empresas, apresentam oportunidades de participação empresarial em TCRs. À luz do crescimento antecipado dos TCRs, este estudo apresenta seis principais maneiras pelas quais as empresas podem se engajar ainda mais em etapas selecionadas de operações de TCR que contribuem para sua sustentabilidade de longo prazo, bem como oportunidades futuras de mercado.

Utilizamos uma abordagem de pesquisa multifacetada composta por 5 estudos de caso de TCR na América Latina, reuniões presenciais de campo com administradores da TCR, 48 beneficiários da TCR em um estudo piloto e 31 entrevistas (presencial e remota) com gerentes de negócios e empresas em 5 países.

Este estudo foi realizado ao longo de um período de 5 anos com participantes de beneficiários do governo, empresas e transferências condicionadas de renda, e aprofunda a compreensão de como as empresas podem contribuir para o alívio da pobreza por meio da participação em programas de combate à pobreza liderados pelo governo.

Este estudio propone roles para las empresas, ampliamente definidos, en programas dirigidos por el gobierno diseñados para mejorar la inversión en capital humano. A través de las transferencias monetarias condicionadas (TMC), las empresas tienen oportunidades para aliviar la pobreza, abordar la Agenda 2030 (ODS) de las Naciones Unidas, mejorar la viabilidad del TMC y explorar nuevas oportunidades de mercado.

Sobre la base de un estudio piloto in situ, una evaluación en profundidad de cinco TMC en América Latina durante un período de cinco años, identificamos y analizamos seis etapas de las actividades de TMC para evaluar posibles áreas de participación empresarial. Nuestros casos, enriquecidos por entrevistas de campo con empresas, presentan oportunidades para participación empresarial en los TMC. A la luz del crecimiento anticipado en los TMC, este estudio presenta seis formas principales en que las empresas pueden participar aún más en etapas seleccionadas de las operaciones de TMC que contribuyen a su sostenibilidad a largo plazo, así como a las oportunidades futuras del mercado.

Usamos un enfoque de investigación multifacético consiste en 5 estudios de casos de TMC en América Latina, reuniones de campo cara a cara con administradores de TMC, 48 beneficiarios de TMC en un estudio piloto y 31 entrevistas (presenciales y remotas) con gerentes de negocios y empresas en 5 países.

Este estudio fue llevado a cabo en un período de 5 años con participantes del gobierno, las empresas y los beneficiarios de TMC, y profundiza el entendimiento de cómo las empresas pueden contribuir a aliviar la pobreza a través de la participación en programas contra la pobreza liderados por el gobierno.

An integrated care system identified quality improvement (QI) capacity as a gap in advancing their integrated quality care priorities and improvement efforts. Here we describe the design and implementation of a QI capacity building program that aimed to (1) build QI capacity amongst diverse integrated care system members and (2) apply QI principles to advance integrated quality care priorities.

The integrated care system leaders, including community members, partnered with the University of Toronto Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety to co-design and deliver the QI capacity building program focused on improving cancer screening rates. An existing acute care capacity building program was adapted. Content included QI tools, data to identify and monitor QI priorities, equity considerations, and empowering participants as change agents.

Participants were satisfied with the content and delivery of the program. Some described using QI tools and strategies in practice following the workshop. Challenges to using the tools included the current pressures facing primary care and the health system, resources, and data availability.

This QI capacity building program was challenging but feasible. Clarifying the target audience, being attentive to co-design, acknowledging post-pandemic system challenges and proactively addressing variable knowledge and barriers to QI work in practice will inform future iterations of this program.

While many examples of QI education programs exist, the majority target a single healthcare sector. We describe a novel QI capacity building model that bridges healthcare sectors and includes patient partners and community members as teachers and participants.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a review of the literature that gives insight into design elements for constructing a supply chain performance measurement (SCPM) system.

A systematic review of published research on SCPM systems and frameworks over the last two decades was conducted with the purpose of categorising key functions of SCPM systems by providing an insight into the design, functionality, implementation and practical implications of SCPM systems.

The review revealed a set of functions governing the SCPM system that have not been fully explored in previous research: the process focus, prioritisation, integration and causality functions of a SCPM system. A relationship between two or more functions can be created to include more functionality based on the needs of the company to create a comprehensive performance measurement system.

The paper concludes with a conceptual framework to guide future research in the area of designing a SCPM system and define the main aspects that should be considered when developing a SCPM system.

The paper brings a new dimension to the SCPM research by identifying the main functions of SCPM systems that could benefit practitioners to set up a SCPM system relevant to its intended function. The paper presents multiple potential stages of merging different functions in one SCPM system. Based on the company’s needs and context, the functionality of the SCPM system can be designed at four levels creating ten possible scenarios when designing a company’s SCPM system.

The paper integrated the literature and findings of 269 research papers of the last two decades, upon which a conceptual framework was developed as a guide for constructing an effective SCPM system.

Hikikomori is a multidimensional condition, characterized by voluntarily social withdrawal, impacting the relational dimension of life. The current study aims to examine secondary school teachers' beliefs, knowledge and needs on hikikomori and students' social withdrawal.

A qualitative method consisting of a semi-structured interview is adopted with 22 Italian secondary school teachers. The interview questions are focused on the beliefs, the profile, the conditions and the role of the school for adolescents socially retired.

Data are analysed using content analysis based on the grounded theory framework. Forty-nine codes emerged from the inductive analysis, which were sorted into the following categories: (1) Characteristics of hikikomori and social withdrawal; (2) Origin, causes and consequences; (3) Sources of information; (4) Socio-relational modalities; (5) Teachers' needs and role of the school. Teachers are aware of the educational issues and risks related to hikikomori and claim for more institutional support. Teachers reconsider the way of working in class for preventing the risk of self-isolation, supporting the development of social and emotional skills, and encouraging collaboration and positive exchanges among students. Participants mention a personalized student-centred method where families and external agencies support the school system.

Although several clinical and psychological interventions have been developed for treating the hikikomori’s self-isolation and concomitant mental disorders, few plans have been implemented for reducing the risk of adolescents' social withdrawal. Preventing hikikomori is crucial as well as to investigate the role and the needs of school teachers, and the current study has tried to explore these.

The purpose of this study is to explore how vulnerable healthcare consumers foster social support through visual storytelling in social media in navigating healthcare consumption experiences.

This study employs a dual qualitative approach of visual and textual analysis of 180 Instagram posts from female breast cancer patients and survivors who use the platform to narrate their healthcare consumption experiences.

This study demonstrates how visual storytelling on social media normalises hidden aspects of healthcare consumption experiences through healthcare disclosures (procedural, corporeal, recovery), normalising practices (providing learning resources, cohering the illness experience, problematising mainstream recovery narratives) and enabling digital affordances, which in turn facilitates social support among vulnerable healthcare consumers.

This study highlights the potential for visual storytelling on social media to address shortcomings in the healthcare service system and contribute to societal well-being through co-creative efforts that offer real-time and customised support for vulnerable healthcare consumers.

This research highlights that visual storytelling on image-based social media offers transformative possibilities for vulnerable healthcare consumers seeking social support in negotiating the challenges of their healthcare consumption experiences.

This study presents a framework of visual storytelling for vulnerable healthcare consumers on image-based social media. Our paper offers three key contributions: that visual storytelling fosters informational and companionship social support for vulnerable healthcare consumers; recognising this occurs through normalising hidden healthcare consumption experiences; and identifying healthcare disclosures, normalising practices and enabling digital affordances as fundamental to this process.

The purpose of this paper is to study the linkage of innovation and entrepreneurship to economic growth in countries with different levels of development.

Following quantitative analysis, the authors carry out three empirical approaches to examine the effects of innovation and entrepreneurship on competitiveness. In accordance with their initial study framework, they test the conceptual model of competitiveness through applying descriptive statistics, structural equation modelling (SEM) and hierarchical cluster analysis. Descriptive statistics and SEM data sources from the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum were analysed for 148 countries. The hierarchical cluster analysis furthermore analysed Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data on 67 different countries.

The study confirmed that innovation and sophistication factors are crucial to the competitiveness of economies. The study also revealed the definition of five clusters relative to the competitive performance of advanced economies following the introduction of new entrepreneurship variables.

This research aims to open up avenues for the development of regional competitiveness studies.

The purpose is two-fold: (1) to explore the interactions of robotic systems and lean construction in the context of offsite construction (OC) that were addressed in the literature published between 2008 and 2019 and (2) to identify the gaps in such interactions while discussing how addressing those gaps can benefit not only OC but the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry as a whole.

First, a systematic literature review (SLR) identified journal papers addressing the interactions of automation and lean in OC. Then, the researchers focused the analysis on the under-researched subtopic of robotic systems. The focused analysis includes discussing the interactions identified in the SLR through a matrix of interactions and utilizing literature beyond the previously identified articles for future research directions on robotic systems and lean construction in OC.

The study found 35 journal papers that addressed automation and lean in the context of OC. Most of the identified literature focused on interactions of BIM and lean construction, while only nine focused on the interactions of robotic systems and lean construction. Identified literature related to robotic systems mainly addressed robots and automated equipment. Additional interactions were identified in the realm of wearable devices, unmanned aerial vehicles/automated guided vehicles and digital fabrication/computer numerical control (CNC) machines.

This is one of the first studies dedicated to exploring the interactions of robotic systems and lean construction in OC. Also, it proposes a categorization for construction automation and a matrix of interactions between construction automation and lean construction.

This research explores the purchasing behavioural drivers of young Chinese consumers purchasing foreign clothing brands. The aim is to include a range of drivers identified by different investigations into a single approach, to determine direct and indirect channels by which these drivers influence purchasing behaviour, and their relative importance in quantitative terms.

The methodology is based on an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour that considers hypotheses based on a number of studies revised in the literature review. This theoretical framework was used as the basis for a questionnaire applied to a sample of 362 young Chinese consumers. A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling approach was used to analyse the collected data.

The results revealed three main channels influencing purchasing behaviour which were shown to share the same root, corresponding to the influences of the social network young consumers belong to. This result suggests that social norms have a key role in explaining young consumers' purchasing behaviour through its impact on their needs for status and social recognition, their attitudes towards foreign cultures and foreign brands, and their beliefs regarding the attributes of foreign clothing.

The work therefore provides companies operating in the foreign clothing market the confidence to devise business strategies that focus on the channel demonstrating the highest influencing power. A strategy likely to have the highest influencing power is one that uses celebrities to promote the reputation of products and reinforce the messages associated with status and social recognition. Reinforcement of these strategies could include secondary strategies linked to the other channels such as the one related to the adoption of foreign cultural symbolism.

In contrast to the majority of related studies, this investigation also explores indirect channels or paths by which a behavioural driver affects the behaviour of young Chinese consumers. In fact, this investigation not only simultaneously identified the different paths influencing young Chinese consumers purchasing behaviour but also quantitatively identified their relative importance.

Transnational entrepreneurship can be considered a new stream of research where migrant entrepreneurship and international business research fields intersect. The purpose of this paper is to offer a theoretical framework to address the following research question: How do transnational entrepreneurs (TEs) develop their competitive advantage to succeed in a global market?

Based on the strategic entrepreneurship approach and dynamic capability perspective, this paper suggests a theoretical framework to extend the understanding on how TEs may develop their competitive advantage to succeed in a global market.

The suggested theoretical framework exhibits how the social ties of TEs affects their firm performance through the mediating effect of a bundle of two organizational processes (opportunity sensing and opportunity seizing) and the moderating effect of institutional distance between countries of origin and residence.

TEs should not solely focus on their ethnic social ties. That is why this paper suggests that ethnic ties in the country of origin and the country of residence (COR) may lead to higher firm performance only if systematically used alongside nonethnic ties in the COR. Furthermore, it is crucial for TEs to understand the importance of dynamic capabilities in developing and sustaining their competitive advantage.

Based on the strategic entrepreneurship approach, this paper suggests a social tie-based model of the dynamic capability to address the theoretical void in the transnational entrepreneurship literature. The linkage between social tie and performance which has been in a black box is examined in terms of how strong and weak social ties may affect different underlying processes of TEs’ dynamic capabilities differently. In contrast to the common conceptualization of institutional distance as a negative moderator in international business literature, institutional distance is theorized as a positive moderator in the suggested theoretical model of transnational entrepreneurship.

This paper seeks to draw out the main themes of the debate on the current financial crisis as published in the special issue of critical perspectives on international business Vol. 5 Nos 1/2 (2009) and place them in the context of subsequent events. It also considers what conclusions can be drawn both for future policy and for the conduct of future academic research.

The paper overviews existing literature and summarises the main findings, focusing particularly on some topics deemed important and interesting for directing future research.

The paper finds that while the neoclassical approach to finance has evidently failed there is currently little consensus on how to replace it. This opens up the possibility of debate, new avenues for research and ultimately radical change.

The paper argues that more interactions between academic and finance practitioners are needed. Research in finance should be interdisciplinary or embed the insights from other disciplines and it should put behavioural finance under mainstream attention. The teaching of management and finance should also be more informed by issues of ethics, politics, social corporate responsibility, distribution of wealth and power and it should stimulate more critical and creative thinking.

The authors argue that capitalism works well only when it is adequately regulated and when there is a solid mechanism of balancing and counterbalancing of powers among the major players. The paper therefore calls for a “democratisation” of capitalism, to stop the trend of growing global inequality and reverse the existent plutocratic capitalism.

The paper outlines several viewpoints and interpretations of the financial crisis taken from the extant literature and hence offers a reflection on several dimensions that shaped the crisis.