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Since its inception, the term ‘corporate governance’ (CG) has attracted mainstream attention, continuing to generate discussion among academics, practitioners and policy-makers. This heightened interest generally revolves around clarifying the principles of CG, both in theory and practice. This is particularly important in the context of emerging economies, where the sociocultural ethos and values often differ from those of most developed economies, where the CG concept was conceived and developed. In this vein, this chapter draws on empirical data to explore practical CG challenges faced by corporations in the Nigerian manufacturing and banking sectors. Nigeria is a country whose dominant national culture is one of high-power distance (HPD), which endorses servant-master relationships and encourages deference to authority. In this study, we found that HPD culture can undermine stakeholders’ ability to hold corporate executives to account on practices and behaviours that are antithetical to principles of corporate integrity and ethics, accountability, transparency, autonomy and stakeholder engagement, which in turn, leads to (and exacerbates) corporate misgovernance among businesses in the sectors. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are expatiated in the discussion section.

This is the second in a series of papers focused on alcohol and substance abuse rehabilitation centers. Centers face the ongoing challenge of validating outcomes to meet the burden of evidence for insurance companies. In the first paper, data mining was used to establish baseline patterns in treatment success rates, for the Futures: Palm Beach Rehabilitation Center, that have a direct impact on a client’s ability to receive insurance coverage for treatment programs. In this paper, we examine 2016 outcomes and report on facility efficacy, alumni progression and sobriety, and forecast treatment success rates (short and long term) in support of client insurability. Data collection has been standardized and includes admissions data, electronic medical records data, satisfaction survey data, post-discharge survey data, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data, and demographic data. Clustering, partitioning, ANOVA, stepwise regression and stepwise Logistic regression are applied to the data to determine statistically significant drivers of treatment success.

The changes in the industry have gone through many stages until today. These changes can be called a transition phase of industries that lasts for years. The process that started with the emergence of the Industry 1.0 concept first came to the concept of Industry 4.0. Recently, Industry 5.0 concepts are spoken around the world. Germany, where the concept of Industry 4.0 first emerged, is leading Industry 4.0 revolution. With the emergence of this concept, different topics such as smart factories, cybersecurity, simulation, 3D printers, and autonomous robots have come to the fore. These subheadings are undoubtedly very important topics for a factory. To fully implement the Industry 4.0 system, these subheadings must be applied and their sustainability must be ensured. In this study, the 3D printer selection process of a factory that wants to fully integrate its factory into a new revolution is discussed. This problem is called a multicriteria decision problem in terms of being very different criteria and alternatives. Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to solve the problem, and the results were interpreted.

The provision of air transport services in small and regional airports is a major concern worldwide as regional aviation is challenged with inadequate revenues. This chapter aims to identify the driving factors for sustaining regional airlines and airports. Nine factors are identified through literature review and expert opinion. Fuzzy-total interpretive structural modeling is used to develop a hierarchical relationship among the factors. Truncated population of the region, national subsidies, and airport infrastructure development have been found to be the strongest drivers for promoting regional airports. This hierarchical model provides a logical structure to the factors.

This paper reports the results of a three-year-long research on business relationships, relying on qualitative data gathered through multiple-case study research of four focal companies operating in Australia. The industry settings are as follows: steel construction, vegetable oils trading, aluminum and steel can manufacture, and imaging solutions. The research analyzes two main aspects of relationships: structure and process. This paper deals with structure describing it by the most desired features of intercompany relationships for each focal company. The primary research data have been coded drawing on extant research into business relationships. The main outcome of this part of the research is a five construct model composed by trust, commitment, bonds, distance, and information sharing that accounts for all informants’ utterances about relationship structure.

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of trade wars between countries on social factors. For this purpose, six different criteria are selected based on the comprehensive literature review. Additionally, fuzzy DEMATEL approach is considered to weight these criteria. The findings indicate that working life is the most significant criterion. However, free time and leisure and family are at the bottom of the list. Additionally, it is also defined that working life is the most influencing criterion. These results demonstrate that trade wars have the highest impact on the working life of the people. In other sayings, people’s fear of losing their jobs goes up in case of the trade wars. To solve this problem, companies should make official statements to their employees about the situation caused by the trade wars. By making clear explanations, uncertainties in this process can be minimized.

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to provide an overview of the extent of labor and skills shortages that exist in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Malta and gain insights into the dependency on foreign labor. Methodology: This study draws upon primary data generated from two research instruments, namely in-depth interviews and an online questionnaire. Various in-depth interviews were conducted with key institutional actors. In addition to the interviews, six locally based companies were requested to complete an online questionnaire. Secondary data from ICT surveys, official documents were consulted. Findings: Findings emerged from this study relate to each of the four seminal thematics, namely, demand and supply, rationale for employing foreign labor, wages, and challenges of foreign labor employment. Practical Implications: This study examined the current contribution of foreign labor in the ICT sector. Unsustainable growth in the ICT sector creates a demand for skilled labor which is currently not locally available. Significance: ICT is one of the most rapidly developing economic sectors in Malta. Labor shortages can slow down economic growth, if not addressed. The annual number of ICT graduates is insufficient. For this sector to continue to thrive and further consolidate itself within the Maltese economy, there will be a continued dependency on the importation of highly skilled foreign labor.

Purpose – This paper aims to detect or identify the presence of hydrocarbon infiltration on sampling point in the Rambe River area according to the obtained VOCs and the adsorbed SVOCs.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The Gore-sorber method has been used to capture volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) as indicators of subsurface hydrocarbon generation and entrapment. This method is usually used in environmental surveys for the oil investigations in certain areas for surface survey screening, designed to collect a broad range of VOCs and (SVOCs) at lower concentrations, quickly and inexpensively. The results also indicated a general correlation between the GORE-SORBER and reference method data. The research was conducted in Rambe River Village, Tebing Tinggi sub-district of Tanjung Jabung Barat district, Jambi Province Indonesia. The collection of the Gore-Sorber modules were analyzed using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer thermal desorption (GC/MS).

Findings – The results showed that from all sampling points in Tebing Tinggi areas, the dominant components detected are carbonyl sulphide, dimethyl sulfide, ethane, propane, butane, 2-methyl butane, pentane, and carbon sulfide with carbon chain in the range C2-C5. These hydrocarbon gases (C1-C4) which may be from thermogenic or microbial processes. The highest concentrations of carbonyl sulfide were 392.67 ng and dimethyl disulfide 261.90 ng.

Originality/Value – In addition to estimate and predict the petroleum formation, this article provides information about the presence of oil fields in the area of the Sungai Rambe Village