Search results

The prevalent practice of construction supply chain (CSC) in developing countries with a focus on Africa was presented in this chapter. Two African countries (South Africa and Ghana) were selected due to the extensive literature on the CSC emanating from the countries. The impediment to the effective management of the CSC in the two African countries was also examined in this chapter. It was discovered that the vital inhibition to the performance of CSC in developing countries is the adoption of culture from developed countries without a proper model for ensuring its implementation in developing countries. Also, no model has incorporated the principles and technologies of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) to manage the CSC. The failure to adopt the 4IR technologies like block chain, big data and the internet of things has prevented the proper application of CSC practices in developing countries. CSC practices like collaboration, integration, lean supply chain, information sharing, financial management and communication are the primary practice in developing countries. Finally, this chapter called for the development of a model for managing the CSC in developing countries in alignment with the principles of the 4IR.

The challenges confronting the Nigerian construction industry which led to the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) practice were evaluated in this chapter. It was discovered that the Nigerian construction industry is confronted with fragmentation and poor information management. The stakeholders within the Nigerian construction industry proposed the adoption of SCM to overcome the fragmentation and other shenanigans facing the industry. This chapter revealed that construction supply chain (CSC) practices within the Nigerian construction industry focus on waste elimination by adopting the lean concept. The focus on the lean concept could be attributed to the numerous research related to lean or the enormous waste emanating from the Nigerian construction industry. Regardless of the emphasis on lean, the Nigerian CSC is still confronted with fragmentation and heavy waste generation. Thus, this chapter proposed the adoption of principles and technologies driven by the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is a paradigm shift for the management of CSC in the country. It was discovered in this chapter that Nigerian construction supply stakeholders had not embraced the technologies and principles of the 4IR. The failure to adopt the technologies driven by the 4IR is attributed to the absence of a CSC model that depicts the management of CSC in alignment with the 4IR. This chapter called for developing a SCM model for the Nigerian construction industry in tandem with the principles and technologies of the 4IR.

The idea of implementing supply chain management (SCM) principles for the construction industry was embraced by construction stakeholders to enhance the sector's performance. The analysis from the literature revealed that the implementation of SCM in the construction industry enhances the industry's value in terms of cost-saving, time savings, material management, risk management and others. The construction supply chain (CSC) can be managed using the pull or push system. This chapter also discusses the origin and proliferation of SCM into the construction industry. The chapter revealed that the concept of SCM has passed through five different eras: the creation era, the use of ERP, globalisation stage, specialisation stage and electronic stage. The findings from the literature revealed that we are presently in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era. At this stage, the SCM witnesses the adoption of technologies and principles driven by the 4IR. This chapter also revealed that the practice of SCM in the construction industry is centred around integration, collaboration, communication and the structure of the supply chain (SC). The forms and challenges hindering the adoption of these practices were also discussed extensively in this chapter.

The fastest growing industry in the world is in the hospitality field that focuses on customer satisfaction. Part of this is the food service industry that has been improving its existence for the past years. In the hospitality industry, there are various kinds of businesses and one of them is street cuisine, which is not properly sanitised yet affordable and delicious. The researchers used various approaches to understand the tourists' perception on street cuisine, which are descriptive and quantitative. This research was conducted with millennial visitors in George Town Street, Penang, by using a survey questionnaire. Based on the results, the researchers found out that there are some differences in the perception on street cuisine stalls based on their demographic profile. This study confirmed that street cuisine in George Town Street, Penang, is recognised with its level of hygiene in preparation and with high consideration for its cleanness. In addition, this study also shows that street cuisine in the post-COVID-19 period in George Town Street, Penang, is recognised to have a high commercial value; therefore, more efforts must be engaged to boost its competitiveness in the market. Therefore, there is a need of full support from the Malaysian government, local authorities and local people in maintaining its quality and the preferences of George Town street in Penang as a tourism destination that provides heavenly street cuisine to all tourists in the world.

This chapter focused on presenting the result of the Delphi study from the questionnaire distributed to the experts. The Delphi technique was used for modelling the construction supply chain management (CSCM) practice in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era. The technique was also used to predict the supply chain management's (SCM) possible trends in the construction industry. A total of 15 experts were selected for this study based on their working experience. The Delphi study also validated the gaps (organisational culture and 4IR component) identified from the existing CSCM model. The findings from the Delphi study revealed that organisational culture has a significant impact on the practice of CSCM in the 4IR era. Regarding adopting the 4IR component for the CSCM in Nigeria, the Delphi study revealed that smart management and virtualisation are the most adopted. Unfortunately, the cyber-physical system, the heartbeat of the 4IR, is yet to be fully implemented for CSCM practice in the Nigerian construction industry.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the newest technology that is quickly advancing and can be utilised to improve human resource competence in the age of rapid digital transformation. The present competitive scenario demands accurate data that need to be collected and analysed for organisational growth.

Purpose: The research examines the applications and usage of AI in performance management and further analyses the future of PM from the perspectives of AI.

Methodology: The study is conceptual and relies on secondary data from research papers, publications, HR blogs, survey reports and other sources. Employee performance and attitudes were monitored using digital technologies, big data analytics and AI. The quality of employee performance continues to increase with the integration of AI, enabling predictive analytics to increase employee performance.

Research Implication: In employee performance appraisal, a digital performance management system leads to openness and honesty with time, effort and sincerity. It is based on the performance management system’s practical usefulness.

Theoretical Implication: The study’s findings provide HR managers, academics, IT professionals and practitioners with an understanding of how AI may be used for performance management and its consequences on their operations. In addition, the connection between the HR devolution theory on performance management and AI is discussed.

In the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis, destinations are facing the challenging task of reopening their borders while keeping resident population safe. Destination communities help to flatten the infection curve while tourists contribute to spread the virus. This chapter explores the impacts of a health crisis on stakeholders' emotional solidarity and support for tourism. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with different stakeholders. Findings show that informants who perceive socioeconomic tourism benefits are likely to support it in exchange for appropriate health measures. Others affected sociopsychologically by the pandemic feel negative emotional solidarity toward foreign tourists. Thus, delineating the role of a health crisis becomes a crucial research question that can contribute to academic understanding of support for tourism. As uncertainty over border reopening currently affects 24% countries worldwide, these findings can be relevant to policymakers.

The Covid-19 pandemic has thwarted global mobility over an unimaginable scale, forcing the competitive market processes of the tourism sector to be seriously disrupted. The ongoing pandemic has closed borders, suspended flights, quarantined more than half of the world population, induced mass fear and shook globalisation. The phenomenon of overtourism is related to the high number of tourists, the nature and time span of their visits and the carrying capability of the destination. To understand the nature of overtourism and the implications, it is essential to recognise why people of particular cities have begun to see tourism as a factor that has an adverse impact on their quality of life. This chapter aims to provide a link between Covid-19 and overtourism and also to examine whether both of these can offer opportunities or challenges to tourist destinations in the future. Based on the analysis of numerous existing crisis recovery mechanisms, the tourism industry is expected to rebound from this abrupt market shock, mostly due to various forms of government interventions. The present startling moment of the Covid-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to find hope in the ruins through the deconstruction of framings of crisis as ‘error’ and through reflecting on the present and future role of tourism in contributing to a more socially and environmentally sustainable community.

Efforts to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals are increasingly part of tourism business planning, forming part of their business policies, linking with society and generating a sustainable hotel offer. The great impact it causes and, which in the short term it will achieve, digital tools in hotel activities can be evidenced. It will also help to collect the information that serves for the certifications of hotel companies. In spite of all the efforts, there is still a great knowledge gap that needs to be filled to achieve the expected business results and that it can be evidenced that the hospitality industry is now more than ever focussed on the care of its workers and on contributing to the sustainability of the world.

Knowledge transfer is an important global leader (GL) competency, given their role as knowledge brokers and capacity builders. However, knowledge transfer skills and the transfer process itself have received scant attention from both global mobility and leadership scholars. Similarly, multinationals have seldom systematically collected and utilized repatriate knowledge, despite the competitive advantage it represents in a global knowledge economy. To fill this gap, an exploratory qualitative study employing critical incidents and interviews with a multi-country sample of 47 German, Japanese, and US repatriates identified variables that facilitate knowledge transfer attempts to the work unit. Our findings corroborate the proposed variables in a conceptual model of the transfer process and articulate the transfer skills that help explain their ability to transfer. Most importantly, our findings introduce an interactive transfer model that explicates the microprocess of transfer in the repatriate–work unit relationship. We conclude with implications for global leadership research and HRM practice.