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As the Philippines enters into the era of the “next normal,” that is, from the pandemic era called the “new normal,” we look into how the Philippines' state of tourism and built environment sectors. We also revisit its situation having the “longest lockdown in the world” and look into iterations of socioeconomic models, business platforms, and other elements that lead to the dream of a postpandemic sustainable tourism industry. In this inquiry, we highlight the importance of elements of the built environment, both at the macroeconomic level and at the micro units of business, civil society, and the tourism sector at large. While there has been a substantive discussion on the nexus of the tourism and built environment sectors, little has been devoted to the challenges these intertwined sectors faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We suggest complementation of practices from the macroscale to the microlevel tourism and built environment sectors, and vice-versa, which will ensure the full complementation of the sectors. These proposals are in full contextualization of the objective toward the postpandemic continued recovery, growth, and sustainability, from the local, national, and the regional economy of Southeast Asia, and also to various parts of the world.

This chapter reviews new technologies, new types of players and new types of financial products that together are fundamentally affecting supply and demand dynamics in the financial sector and contributing to the emerging digital financial landscape. The aim of this chapter is to set a common understanding on the underlying forces of digital disruption in the financial sector before exploring the challenges to monetary and financial stability that are arising. In later chapters, the book will examine how central banks might deal with the challenges and help shape the emerging digital financial landscape.

The integration of tourism, artificial intelligence (AI) and travel has ushered in a new era of exploration. This book chapter delves into their interconnectedness and their transformative influence on the future of tourism. Firstly, it examines the concept of the metaverse – a virtual realm that enables immersive interactions between users and their surroundings. This virtual world presents novel opportunities for the travel sector, allowing tourists to experience destinations in captivating ways, without the constraints of physical travel. AI plays a pivotal role in the advancement of tourism, processing vast amounts of data to offer personalized recommendations, streamlining travel planning and providing round-the-clock customer service through AI-powered chatbots. Additionally, AI contributes to the development of virtual tour guides, offering tailored experiences based on travellers' interests, preferences and abilities. However, the chapter also addresses the broader implications of these technologies on the tourism industry, considering potential job displacement and economic impacts on local communities. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of utilizing these innovations in a manner that benefits both travelers and localities. In summary, this chapter provides an extensive exploration of the convergence of tourism, AI and travel, shedding light on the potential for growth and innovation in the industry while acknowledging the challenges and considerations associated with the metaverse in tourism and travel.

This study explores the configurations of management control systems (MCSs) while taking into account entrepreneurial cognition styles (ECSs) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The objective is to understand the impact of ECS on deployment and identify the various modes of MCS configurations employed by SMEs. The authors draw on and synthesise two theoretical perspectives relating to cognition and management control packages to understand the associations between ECS and MCS employed by SMEs in managing their business. This study was conducted using a quantitative approach that utilises a questionnaire survey to collect cross-sectional data from 150 SMEs. The authors uncovered three cognitive styles: knowing (e.g. preciseness), planning (e.g. organising), and creativity (e.g. innovativeness). Furthermore, five configurations of MCS utilised by SMEs were identified: customer focus, performance monitoring, administrative focus, strategic focus, and development focus. By combining both analyses, the authors discovered three constellations of significant association between ECS and MCS characterised by Cluster 1’s cohesive integration approach, Cluster 2’s revealing strategic approach, and Cluster 3’s multifaceted exploration. The study is significant because it uncovers the complex relationship between ECS and MCS configurations, highlighting their interdependence within the institutional context. Using a cognitive view, the authors explore how the cognitive styles of entrepreneurs facilitated imprinting institutional context into MCS configurations. These insights enable us to envisage that ECS is not mutually exclusive but forms a continuum that provides more plausible explanations that relax the direct universal relationship between MCS configurations and contextual factors.

Chapter one of this valuable book focuses primarily on the construction industry and emphasises on thematic areas such as industry entities, including its social and economic impact supported by the workforce within the industry. The workforce, which consists of a wide variety of training, semi-skilled and unskilled labourers, is crucial to the building sector. These people are vital to the conception, management and accomplishment of construction projects in various industries. The chapter also highlights the lack of female gender involvement and how the gender gap would be filled.

In recent years, investing with robo-advisors has gained momentum and is seen as a simplifying approach for individual investors to participate in financial markets. This chapter contributes to a better understanding of the concept of a robo-advisory and its implications for private investors by discussing its past, present, and future. It explores key issues, like cost-efficiency, historical performance, and automation levels, based on research and industry insights. Moreover, this chapter examines a robo-advisor's benefits, limitations, and challenges, like behavioral biases, regulation, and risk profiling. Finally, the importance of the ongoing megatrends of AI and green investing is examined concerning a robo-advisory.