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Despite city authorities in Bangladesh being concerned about urban sustainability, they often face difficulties in addressing predominant urban challenges threatening urban sustainability, due to limited relevant literature. To reduce this gap, this study aims to address the predominant urban challenges and assess their severity levels in four city corporations of Bangladesh, e.g. Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barishal, and Gazipur.

Using a mixed-method approach, this study rigorously analyzed field-level data obtained from 1,200 residents across selected cities using diverse statistical techniques. The quantitative analysis included descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and chi-square tests, whereas qualitative insights were derived through thematic analysis.

The study uncovered nine predominant urban challenges under two crucial factors “Feeble Urban Management” and “Illicit Activities” that collectively explain 62.20% variance. “Feeble Urban Management” explains 44.17% variance, whereas “Illicit Activities” accounts for 18.13%. Within these challenges, uncontrolled urban sprawl, inadequate disaster management, congested roads, and shabby drainage and waste management pose significant threats to urban sustainability. Illicit activities, manifested by encroachment on water sources, grabbing roadside, destruction of natural properties, and activities undermining social security, compound the urban sustainability issue. Severity analysis reveals Sylhet (54.5%), Rajshahi (46.4%), and Barishal (31.2%) as highly impacted, whereas Gazipur exhibits moderate severity (66.7%).

The findings of this study reveal intrinsic insights into urban challenges in Bangladesh that will provide valuable guidance to city authorities, equipping them to implement integrated and effective initiatives and programs that overcome these predominant urban challenges, with a specific focus on Rajshahi, Sylhet, and Barishal city corporations.

In recent years, the robotic process automation (RPA) technology has increasingly been used to automate business processes. While a lot of research has been published on the potential and benefits of the technology, only a few studies have conducted research on challenges related to RPA adoption. Hence, this study aims to identify and discuss challenges related to RPA implementation projects.

Following an inductive methodology, interviews have been conducted with consultants who were involved in multiple RPA implementation projects. Hence, their extensive experience and views contribute to a detailed and in-depth understanding of the phenomena under research.

The results suggest that there are various process-related, technical, resource-related, psychological and coordinative challenges that must be considered when conducting an RPA implementation project.

This paper contributes to knowledge by presenting a new typology of challenges, as well as providing an in-depth discussion of the individual challenges that organizations face.

The purpose of this study is to address the relationship between multinational corporations (MNCs) and grand challenges. Stressing the moderating impact of stakeholders and governments, it frames and introduces the six contributions of the special issue, equally divided into those illustrating how MNCs contribute to the existence of grand challenges and those exploring how MNCs contribute to addressing grand challenges.

Based on a review of the existing literature on the relationship between MNCs and grand challenges and recent developments in mainstream international business, the viewpoint emphasizes the need to move beyond a one-sided focus on the positive contributions of MNCs to grand challenges.

The special issue contributions reveal that even established MNCs are actively engaged in strategic efforts to perpetuate unsustainable practices and minimize the impact of societal rules and stakeholders. The contributions also highlight the complications when MNCs aim to tackle grand challenges.

Displaying positive practices of how MNCs contribute to the solution of grand challenges should not be considered a functional substitute for regulatory action, contrary to the frequent assertion of MNCs and their political representatives.

This special issue is the first one in IB to address the relationship between MNCs and grand challenges from an empirical vantage point.

Waste generated from electrical and electronic equipment, collectively known as E-waste, remains a persistent environmental, economic and social problem. Sustainable E-waste management (EWM) has numerous benefits, such as preventing electronic waste from entering landfills, reducing the need for virgin materials by recovering valuable materials from recycling and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Circular economy (CE) practices are considered the initial steps toward sustainable EWM, but some hurdles have been reported in the adoption of these practices. Therefore, the current study aims to identify the common CE practices, sustainability of the EWM process and the challenges in EWM, and to develop a conceptual framework for effective EWM.

Very few studies have proposed frameworks that acknowledge the challenges and CE practices of EWM. To fill this gap, a systematic literature review (SLR) was performed, and 169 research articles were explored.

A total of seven challenges in the adoption of effective EWM were identified: rules and policy, infrastructure, consumer behaviour, informal sectors, community culture, technology and economy. Eight common CE practices were also found for effective EWM: reuse, recycle, remanufacturing, refurbishment, repair, reduce, recover and repurpose.

A conceptual framework guiding sustainable EWM was proposed, which includes solutions for the identified challenges, and CE practices with sustainable benefits.

This research aims to examine the challenges of recruiting participatory action research (PAR) in managing innovation projects. An enhanced methodology based on PAR was developed to mitigate the challenges related to recruiting PAR in managing innovation projects. The proposed methodology was evaluated by comparing it to established methodologies/frameworks such as Scrum, Design Thinking (DT) and The Lean Startup (TLS). The evaluation aimed to determine the advantages and limitations of the proposed methodology in managing innovation projects.

The proposed enhanced methodology consists of eight steps, ranging from developing an understanding of the industry and business structure to learning and knowledge management. In addition, the enhanced methodology uses other techniques, such as Force field analysis and 12 boundary questions.

The research findings indicate that using the proposed methodology can improve the formalization of collaboration in PAR, enabling the organization to respond better to market changes. It helps define the project scope more clearly, encouraging innovation, addressing communication barriers and considering different worldviews and practical issues. Based on the findings, the proposed enhanced methodology could complement other methodologies/frameworks such as Scrum, DT and TLS.

The current research adds to the existing literature by identifying the challenges of recruiting PAR in managing innovation projects. A deductive reasoning process was utilized because there is no comprehensive research concerning the challenges of recruiting PAR in managing innovation projects. On the other hand, the PAR 4-phase cycle has been reviewed and enhanced to manage innovation projects.

The proposed methodology was used in a new product development project. The case study was done on one of the payment service provider companies that design, develop and deploy a digital product for marketing, installation, repair and maintenance of electronic funds transfer at point of sale devices.

No research has yet sought to identify the challenges of using PAR in innovation project management (IPM). Identifying the challenges associated with applying PAR in the IPM and providing an enhanced methodology to mitigate the challenges could fill a gap in IPM studies.

The general data protection regulation (GDPR) was designed to address privacy challenges posed by globalisation and rapid technological advancements; however, its implementation has also introduced new hurdles for companies. This study aims to analyse and synthesise the existing literature that focuses on challenges of GDPR implementation in business enterprises, while also outlining the directions for future research.

The methodology of this review follows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. It uses an extensive search strategy across Scopus and Web of Science databases, rigorously applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, yielding a detailed analysis of 16 selected studies that concentrate on GDPR implementation challenges in business organisations.

The findings indicate a predominant use of conceptual study methodologies in prior research, often limited to specific countries and technology-driven sectors. There is also an inclination towards exploring GDPR challenges within small and medium enterprises, while larger enterprises remain comparatively unexplored. Additionally, further investigation is needed to understand the implications of emerging technologies on GDPR compliance.

This study’s limitations include reliance of the search strategy on two databases, potential exclusion of relevant research, limited existing literature on GDPR implementation challenges in business context and possible influence of diverse methodologies and contexts of previous studies on generalisability of the findings.

The originality of this review lies in its exclusive focus on analysing GDPR implementation challenges within the business context, coupled with a fresh categorisation of these challenges into technical, legal, organisational, and regulatory dimensions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the benefits and challenges of using logistics service providers (LSPs) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations.

This study uses the focus group interview method with eight LSP companies of varying sizes in the UAE. The aim is to obtain detailed insights into the advantages and obstacles associated with using LSPs.

The interview results reveal differences in the services and payment options offered by large and small-medium-sized LSPs, leading to varying impacts on SMEs. Additionally, both large and small-medium-sized LSPs encounter challenges in delivering services to SMEs, including sustaining logistic excellence in a competitive market, meeting the high customer expectations from SMEs and large enterprises, difficulty in recruiting skilled and competent employees and high costs of business technology.

This study is limited to the UAE context and the perspectives of eight LSP companies. The findings may not be generalizable to other regions or industries.

The findings of this research provide valuable insights for SMEs and large corporations considering the use of LSPs. Understanding the benefits and challenges associated with outsourcing logistics services can assist in making informed decisions and developing effective collaborations with LSPs.

This research contributes to the existing literature by specifically examining the benefits and challenges of using LSPs for SMEs and large corporations. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the factors that influence logistics outsourcing decisions and highlights the unique challenges faced by LSPs and SMEs in the context of the UAE.

Neurodiversity refers to a spectrum of neurological differences. Little is known about the benefits and challenges of employing neurodivergent individuals in the retail industry and how knowing neurodivergent individuals/neurodiversity practices are linked to benefits/challenges. This study provides these insights using the lenses of the value-in-diversity perspective, stigma theory and intergroup contact theory.

Data were collected from an online survey of retail supervisors and co-workers from Australia, resulting in 502 responses from various retail organizations.

The findings indicate that supervisors have higher awareness of neurodiversity and perceived benefits of neurodivergent employees. Knowing neurodivergents was positively associated with perceived benefits and disclosure challenges and negatively associated with equity and inclusion challenges. Neurodiversity practices were positively associated with benefits of neurodivergent employees, negatively associated with disclosure challenges and equity and inclusion challenges in small stores, and positively associated with equity and inclusion challenges in large stores.

Current empirical research on workplace neurodiversity is scarce. This study provides pioneering evidence for awareness of workplace neurodiversity in the retail industry and the impact of knowing neurodivergent employees/neurodiversity practices on benefits and challenges. It differentiates between supervisors' and co-workers’ perceptions, highlighting the importance of exposure to information in reducing stigma.

The purposes of this study were (1) to explore empirical challenges in dimensioning safety buffers and their implications and (2) to organise those challenges into a framework.

In a multiple-case study following an exploratory, qualitative and empirical approach, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted in six cases. Representatives of all cases subsequently participated in an interactive workshop, after which a questionnaire was used to assess the impact and presence of each challenge. A cross-case analysis was performed to situate empirical findings within the literature.

Ten challenges were identified in four areas of dimensioning safety buffers: decision management, responsibilities, methods for dimensioning safety buffers and input data. All challenges had both direct and indirect negative implications for dimensioning safety buffers and were synthesised into a framework.

This study complements the literature on dimensioning safety buffers with qualitative insights into challenges in dimensioning safety buffers and implications in practice.

Practitioners can use the framework to understand and overcome challenges in dimensioning safety buffers and their negative implications.

This study responds to the scarcity of qualitative and empirical studies on dimensioning safety buffers and the absence of any overview of the challenges therein.

This study seeks to illuminate the managerial tensions inherent in implementing scaled agile (on the organizational, top management, middle management and team levels) and to frame these challenges within the broader context of project management.

The study adopts a grounded theory approach and delves into a qualitative dataset sourced from 34 interviews with subject matter experts actively engaged in scaling agile initiatives within large organizations spanning various industries. Additionally, the data have been enriched through a comprehensive literature review of the existing body of knowledge on scaling agile.

As a result of our investigation, we propose a framework of managerial tensions in scaling agile in large corporate settings and a series of research propositions and questions that may contribute significantly to the body of knowledge surrounding the phenomenon of “deprojectification” and propose agenda for the future studies in the field of project management.

The study also carries significant managerial implications. Firstly, based on the insights from the practice of scaling agile in large corporate setting, management can build awareness of the challenges inherent of transitioning to agile practices. This may help to anticipate the possible problems and proactively develop strategies how to address them. Secondly, management can be instructed about contingencies inherent in scaling agile, along with the potential disfunctions and side effects (unintended outcomes) that may emerge during the transition process. Thirdly, project management practitioners can gain insights on how scaling agile may cause shifts in the approach to managing projects, project team management and competencies that need to be developed to cope with environments where various approaches to managing projects coexist.

These insights can aid in the agile transition process, beginning with directing managerial attention toward contextual factors and progressing through potential challenges at the organizational, top management, middle management and team levels. Furthermore, the study highlights possible dysfunctionalities and side effects of scaling agile, shedding light on the “dark side” of agile.

The study contributes to the expansion of the empirical database on the implementation of agile practices in large organizational settings. It plays a role in defining and delineating the phenomenon of scaling agile within the context of project management and outlines a research agenda for future project management studies. Additionally, our study adds to the ongoing discourse surrounding the “deprojectification” effect that can occur during the scaling of agile. Lastly, it establishes connections between project management and software development literature regarding the implementation of agile at scale.