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This study aims to assess the effect of water variation on bioethanol production from cassava peels (CP) using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast as the ethanologenic agent.

The milled CP was divided into three treatment groups in a small-scale flask experiment where each 20 g CP was subjected to two-stage hydrolysis. Different amount of water was added to the fermentation process of CP. The fermented samples were collected every 24 h for various analyses.

The results of the fermentation revealed that the highest ethanol productivity and fermentation efficiency was obtained at 17.38 ± 0.30% and 0.139 ± 0.003 gL⁻¹ h⁻¹. The study affirmed that ethanol production was increased for the addition of water up to 35% for the CP hydrolysate process.

The finding of this study demonstrates that S. cerevisiae is the key player in industrial ethanol production among a variety of yeasts that produce ethanol through sugar fermentation. In order to design truly sustainable processes, it should be expanded to include a thorough analysis and the gradual scaling-up of this process to an industrial level.

This paper is an original research work dealing with bioethanol production from CP using S. cerevisiae microbe.

1. Hydrolysis of cassava peels using 13.1 M H₂SO₄ at 100 ^oC for 110 min gave high Glucose productivity

2. Highest ethanol production was obtained at 72 h of fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae

3. Optimal bioethanol concentration and yield were obtained at a hydration level of 35% agitation

4. Highest ethanol productivity and fermentation efficiency were 17.3%, 0.139 g.L⁻¹.h⁻¹

Hydrolysis of cassava peels using 13.1 M H₂SO₄ at 100 ^oC for 110 min gave high Glucose productivity

Highest ethanol production was obtained at 72 h of fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Optimal bioethanol concentration and yield were obtained at a hydration level of 35% agitation

Highest ethanol productivity and fermentation efficiency were 17.3%, 0.139 g.L⁻¹.h⁻¹

This paper aims to bridge the extended reality framework and the luxury hospitality literature by providing insights into how immersive technologies using artificial intelligence (AI) can shape luxury value and consumer differentiation.

The authors conducted three experimental studies comparing immersive AI versus traditional hospitality across luxury contexts (hotels, restaurants and spas). Study 1 investigates the effect of immersive AI (vs traditional hospitality) on customers’ behavioral intentions and the need for differentiation using virtual-assisted reality. Study 2 tests the underlying mechanism of the need for differentiation and luxury value in an augmented reality context. Study 3 provides additional support for the proposed underlying mechanism using virtual-assisted reality in luxury hospitality.

The findings reveal that immersive AI (vs traditional) luxury hospitality reduces customers’ behavioral intentions of using such services and perceived luxury value. Moreover, the findings indicate that the intention to use immersive AI (vs traditional) luxury hospitality services is contingent upon customers’ need for differentiation.

The findings have important theoretical and managerial implications for immersive technologies in luxury hospitality. They shed light on the dynamics between integrating immersive AI into luxury hospitality and its impact on customers’ differentiation motives and perceived luxury value. The findings reveal the detrimental effect of using immersive AI (vs traditional hospitality) within this context.

Adequate vegetable consumption is fundamental to a healthy balanced diet; however, global compliance with recommendations is poor which is particularly important for young adults as they form food consumption habits. There is a growing interest in the circular economy of hospitality and sustainability of current dietary patterns in light of climate change and an expanding global population. The food value chain needs to be considered both vertically and horizontally where the research and development (R&D) investment is optimised by being “joined up” and not fragmentary; in addition, consumer trade-offs of health vs for example sensory appeal are taken into consideration. The purpose of this study was to identify factors predicting acceptance of vegetable dishes by young adults and present a roadmap that can be used for dish development and healthful marketing.

This study used the health belief model (HBM) as framework to investigate key factors that encourage vegetable intake by young adults using an online questionnaire sample of 444 enrolled in undergraduate programs at universities in Brazil.

Structural modelling showed that vegetable consumption frequency was positively influenced by Health concerns, Naturalness and Self-efficacy (including cooking skills), whereas Sensory factors and Familiarity demonstrated a negative loading that might be related to unpleasantness.

Globally, there is a strong need to promote the consumption of vegetables as a public health policy priority but also to ameliorate barriers to action that could be facilitated by availability, dish development and healthful marketing in hospitality operations.

States have intervened with legislation to improve cashflow within construction project supply chains. The operation of the UK’s Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 leads to payment obligations stated either as a contract administrator’s certificate (or equivalent) or an adjudicator’s decision. The purpose of the intervention would be defeated unless there are speedy ways of transforming these pieces of paper into real money. The combination of the legislation, contractual provisions and insolvency law has produced a minefield of complexity concerning enforcement of payment obligations stated in these documents. Unfortunately, the knowledge and understanding required to navigate these complexities have been sorely lacking. The purpose of this paper is to plug this gap.

Legal research methods and case study approaches, using relevant court decisions as data, were adopted.

The enforcement method advised by the court is the summary judgment procedure provided under the Civil Procedure Rules. An overdue payment obligation, either under the terms of a construction contract or an adjudicator’s decision, amounts to a debt that can be the subject of insolvency proceedings. Although the insolvency enforcement method has been successfully used on some occasions, using it purely as a debt collection weapon would be inappropriate and likely to be punished by the court.

The paper contributes to knowledge in two ways: (i) it maps out the factual situations in which these payment challenges arise in language accessible to the construction industry’s professions; and (ii) comparative analysis of payment enforcement methods to aid decision-making by parties to construction industry contracts. It is relevant to the other common-law jurisdictions in which similar statutory interventions have been made.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), increasing the importance of understanding how these businesses can become more resilient and how service innovation can be an effective strategy to increase their adaptive capacity and survival. This study aims to examine the role of dynamic capabilities in service innovation as a factor explaining the resilience of SMEs in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic during the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on service innovation. Additionally, the authors assess whether service innovation has a significant impact on value cocreation in these businesses.

This study used a quantitative method by surveying 118 SME owners in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The data were analyzed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling.

The results reflect important theoretical contributions by analyzing resilience from an innovation perspective instead of a retrospective approach, which is an area that has not been analyzed in the literature. Additionally, theoretical contributions to marketing services in SMEs are discussed, which is an underresearched topic. The results advance by discussing the role of service innovation through the reconfiguration of resources and how this can be an effective strategy to increase value cocreation with customers during crises.

This study is original in that it analyzes resilience from the perspective of innovation, and not from a retrospective approach. It offers a vision in response to the need for studies that provide a clearer conceptualization of resilience in small businesses. This highlights the importance of considering regional differences and service innovation as effective strategies to enhance resilience and value cocreation with customers.

This study aims to explore the alignment between strategic plans of the Portuguese public higher education institutions (HEIs) and their perception of the integration of sustainability in education and curricula.

The strategic plans from 15 institutions were selected for content analysis; data about the integration of sustainability in education and curricula, from these HEI, were collected with an online questionnaire (self-report survey). Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed.

Strategic plans of the Portuguese public HEIs seem to not be sufficiently aligned with self-assessment integration of sustainability in education and curricula.

The classifications used in the content analysis were constructed and revised by the authors to reduce coder interpretation issues and subsequent bias in the results. However, some subjectivity could remain. The analysis of strategic plans and self-report surveys answered by top management, or a technician, does not assess the practices and sustainability implementation in education and curricula.

This study allows the self-report of already-implemented practices to be compared to the planned strategy of HEI governance in Portugal as stated in their strategic plans.

An analysis and respective insights on the lack of connection between strategic planning and self-report practices about sustainability implementation, using Portugal as a case study.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential variances in strategic entrepreneurial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across different countries while also exploring the cultural implications that may arise.

In this study, a qualitative research approach was used, involving semi-structured interviews conducted with seven technology start-ups from two countries – Portugal and France.

The results of this study demonstrate significant differences in opportunity-seeking, performance and long-term orientation behaviors between the technology start-ups in Portugal and France.

This knowledge can help entrepreneurs and investors make informed decisions when developing strategies, entering new markets or seeking partnerships with start-ups from different countries. Furthermore, policymakers can use these findings to support entrepreneurship initiatives and foster an environment that encourages strategic entrepreneurship practices.

This study offers a unique perspective by focusing on the firm level of entrepreneurial SMEs and the strategic practices adopted by technology start-ups in Portugal and France. In contrast, prior studies have predominantly centred on analysing individual motivations for entrepreneurship, such as personal traits or attitudes, rather than exploring the actual strategic behaviors and practices of start-ups in various countries. By shifting the emphasis to the firm level, this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of how strategic entrepreneurship practices differ across different cultural contexts. As such, it represents a significant contribution to the existing literature on strategic entrepreneurship.

This research proposes how Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) provides a complementary approach for business process management (BPM) lifecycle implementation in order to address gaps identified in the current literature.

The mandatory elements of a method (MEM) framework is used to illustrate DFSS's maturity as a process redesign method. The use of DFSS in a BPM context is described through several action research case examples.

This research specifies the procedure model (order of development activities), techniques, results, roles and information/meta model (conceptual data model of results) associated with using DFSS to address BPM-related challenges. The action research case examples provided discuss the details of implementing BPM using DFSS to design, implement and test redesigned processes to ensure they fulfill the needs of process participants.

While the case examples discussed were performed in only a few settings, which limits the generalizability of their results, they provide evidence regarding the wide range of domains in which the proposed DFSS-BPM approach can be applied and how the tools are used in different contexts.

This research offers a road map for addressing the challenges practitioners often face with BPM lifecycle implementation.

This research provides the first attempt to integrate DFSS as a complementary method for BPM lifecycle implementation.

Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to assess the moderating effect of the psychological contract (PC) type (relational, transactional and balanced) on the relationship between psychological contract breach (PCB) and organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs).

The authors administered a survey to a sample of 159 nurses working in a large public hospital. To analyse the survey data, the authors used partial least squares with SmartPLS v.3.3, a variance-based structural equation modelling technique that combines principal component analysis, path analysis and regression analysis.

This study shows that nurses counteract the loss of resources following a PCB by investing more in stronger interpersonal relationships with co-workers and patients as a way to recuperate from resource loss and gain social resources. In addition, the moderating effect of the PC type reinforces the relationship between a PCB and OCB in a way that relational and balanced PC types support OCB-I positively but negatively OCB-O. Furthermore, the transactional PC does not reinforce negatively the link between PCB and OCB-I, and the negative interacting effect on the PCB and OCB-O link is only partially supported.

The study findings are grounded on a cross-sectional research design and a convenience sampling strategy.

The results highlight the relevance of human resources management practices centred on employee involvement and participatory supervision styles for ensuring OCB display at the workplace.

The results add new evidence to COR theory by highlighting the importance of social resources as a mitigator in the relationship between nurses’ PCB and OCB towards co-workers and patients (OCB-I). Hence, the OCB-I display will vary in function of the target and the moderating effect of PC type (relational, balanced or transactional).

This study aimed to investigate the role of the country's institutional quality on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of its companies.

Over a four-year period (2016–2019), the study examined the ESG performance of 412 organizations situated in 19 countries. ESG performance was the dependent variable, and the independent variables were rule of law, economic freedom, education index and international trade freedom. These factors described the institutional quality of countries in the authors’ study.

The findings reveal that institutional quality has a major impact on ESG performance. Companies engage in more ESG practices when they operate in countries with greater economic freedom and international trade freedom. The authors corroborated the core assumption of institutional theory (IT), which argues that organizational behavior is determined by the country's institutional setting.

The findings, like all research, should be interpreted with caution. The authors’ research focused solely on large energy corporations. As a result, the conclusions cannot be applied to small companies or other industries. ESG performance can also be measured using different datasets.

If managers want their companies to perform better in terms of ESG, the authors recommend that they form a CSR committee and sign the Global Compact. This study may be valuable to international policymakers because they can underline that greater economic freedom, better education and greater international trade freedom all promote higher ESG performance.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, nearly all of research explores the relationship between ESG and financial performance. As a result, this study built on past research by investigating how national aspects affect corporate ESG performance.