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Blockchains used by e-commerce consortia are a novel form of governance that facilitates coordination and collaboration among the numerous organisations that comprise e-commerce supply chains. Despite the increasing prevalence of consortium blockchain networks for e-commerce, there is a limited understanding of the economic and social dynamics that influence the behaviour of blockchain consortium members. By utilising transaction cost theory and social exchange theory, this research investigates the interplay between blockchain transaction-specific investment (BTSI), trust, adaptive collaboration (ADC) and the overall performance of supply chains in consortium blockchains

A quantitative research approach was employed to collect data from a representative sample of blockchain organisations affiliated with e-commerce consortium blockchains worldwide. Following this, the data obtained from 361 participants were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The results of our study indicate that BTSI has a substantial impact on trust. Furthermore, trust plays a pivotal role in shaping ADC, and ADC, in turn, acts as a mediator in the relationship between trust and performance outcomes.

This study underlines these economic and social dynamics in the evolving context of consortium blockchain networks, offering insights into their significance within a technology-driven environment.

This work presents the results of a case study aimed at revitalizing an agricultural equipment manufacturing consortium facing prolonged losses. The purpose of this paper is to enhance productivity and profitability by identifying and eliminating waste within the manufacturing processes. The study uses lean principles and tools to achieve this objective.

The study begins with the creation of a questionnaire, administered to the consortium to gather insights. The questionnaire responses serve as a foundation for pinpointing critical areas in need of immediate attention. To tackle the challenge of demand forecasting without customer data, a demand forecasting model is introduced. Value stream mapping (VSM) is used to identify and highlight process inefficiencies and waste. The findings are further analyzed using a Pareto chart to prioritize waste reduction efforts. Based on these insights, the study proposes alternative manufacturing methods and waste elimination strategies. A multiphase lean framework is developed as a step-by-step roadmap for implementing lean manufacturing.

The study identifies a broken process flow within the consortium’s manufacturing processes and highlights areas of waste through VSM. The Pareto chart analysis reveals the most significant waste areas requiring immediate intervention. Recommendations for process improvements and waste reduction strategies are provided to the consortium.

This study contributes to the field by applying lean principles and tools to address the unique challenges faced by an agricultural equipment manufacturing consortium. The integration of a demand forecasting model and the development of a multiphase lean framework offer innovative approaches to enhancing productivity and profitability in this context.

Despite the important role that suppliers have in enhancing the environmental performance of a buyer firm, previous research has not investigated the individual-level motivations of supplier employees (representatives) in supplier-to-supplier environmental knowledge sharing. Thus, we use insights from the coopetition literature to examine how buyer firms can encourage supplier-to-supplier environmental knowledge sharing with the aim of improving the buyer’s environmental performance.

We empirically test our model using an online vignette-based experiment administered to supply chain managers. We contextualized our results using insights from interviews with senior managers representing firms operating in a broad array of industries.

We find that a supplier representative’s personal environmental values influence their commitment to an environmental consortium with a rival firm, and they are subsequently willing to share proprietary environmental knowledge. In turn, these relationships are moderated by situational factors including competitive intensity and buyer power.

The study of coopetition is an emerging stream of research in operations management. Our findings improve the understanding on how a focal actor within a buyer–supplier coopetitive network can promote environmental knowledge sharing behavior.

This paper discusses the effectiveness of a consortium-based student mobility programme by investigating the impact of the Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Programme. AIMS is a regional multilateral large-scale student mobility programme based on a consortium of 10 member countries and 87 member universities with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED) as a facilitator. Over 6,000 students have participated in a semester-long intra-regional student exchange under AIMS since 2010.

The study employed questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews to investigate the impact of AIMS and its advantages as a consortium-based student mobility programme.

It was found that AIMS significantly impacted member universities by accelerating their internationalisation processes through increasing the number of inbound and outbound students and courses offered in English and so on. AIMS has promoted harmonisation among the members by developing common procedures and guidelines, providing platforms for mutual sharing of experiences and good practices and capacity building of international relations offices. AIMS has also had a significant impact on students by enhancing their regional identity and knowledge about the region of Asia, contributing to their development as future regional and global citizens. As advantages of AIMS, member universities efficiently built a foundation for international collaboration with common procedures and guidelines and shared their experiences through such venues as Annual Review Meetings. Students also feel supported by having clear guidance and find programmes prepared by host universities and SEAMEO RIHED useful.

This study is unique in that it empirically studies the impact of one of Asia’s largest student mobility programmes for the first time by analysing large-scale qualitative and quantitative data.

This study aims to ascertain the personal characteristics of a group of successful academic entrepreneurs in a South African university enterprise and the prevalent barriers and enablers to their entrepreneurial endeavour.

The authors used a Delphi process to identify and rank the characteristics, enablers, barriers and behaviours of entrepreneurial academics, with a Nominal Group Technique applied to establish challenges they encounter managing their enterprise and to propose solutions.

Perseverance, resilience and innovation are critical personal characteristics, while collaborative networks, efficient research infrastructure and established research competence are essential for success. The university’s support for entrepreneurship is a significant enabler, with unnecessary bureaucracy and poor access to project and general enterprise funding an impediment. Successful academic entrepreneurs have strong leadership, and effective management and communication skills.

The main limitation is the small study participant group drawn from a single university enterprise, which complicates generalisability. The study supported the use of Krueger’s (2009) entrepreneurial intentions model for low- and middle-income country (LMIC) academic entrepreneur investigation but proposed the inclusion of mitigators to entrepreneurial activation to recognise contextual deficiencies and challenges.

Skills-deficient LMIC universities should extensively and directly support their entrepreneurial academics to overcome their contextual deficiencies and challenging environment.

This study contributes to addressing the paucity of academic entrepreneur research in LMIC contexts by identifying LMIC-specific factors that inhibit the entrepreneur’s movement from entrepreneurial intention to entrepreneurial action.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a pivotal role in global sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to assess the QualEnv Consortium's contributions (QualEnv, a cooperative network of 16 universities across several countries, aimed to promote sustainability within HEIs). This paper focuses on three key objectives: illustrating QualEnv's successful, replicable sustainability strategies, highlighting their application and outcomes and contributing to the discourse on sustainable practices in HEIs.

This research uses qualitative and exploratory methods to provide an in-depth view of sustainability practices and strategies within universities. This study relies on documentation, specifically the “Sustainability Handbooks” of the QualEnv project, as a source of evidence.

This study reveals that the QualEnv Consortium's strategies have significantly improved the environmental and social performance of participating HEIs. Notably, this research identifies substantial enhancements in key sustainability metrics, including reduced carbon emissions, increased adoption of eco-friendly practices and stronger community engagement.

This study has some limitations. First, the choice of a qualitative methodological approach may constrain the generalizability of the findings. Another relevant limitation is related to the uniformity in adopting sustainable practices. The effectiveness of actions linked to the Sustainable Development Goals may depend on consistency in implementation among participating universities, and variations in this aspect can affect the direct comparison of adopted strategies.

This research contributes to the sustainability in higher education field by comprehensively examining the QualEnv Consortium's innovative approach. By focusing on QualEnv's experiences and outcomes, this research offers valuable insights and serves as a model for HEIs worldwide seeking to align their academic, research and community engagement efforts with sustainable development goals.

This study examines the intricate interplay of blockchain, public governance and the circular economy (CE), aiming to assess the potential of blockchain technology (BT) in addressing challenges associated with the adoption of CE principles, particularly in the public sector.

Focused on public governance, the research employs in-depth interviews with Finnish policymakers actively engaged in CE initiatives. Qualitative analysis is applied to derive insights and patterns from the gathered data, providing a nuanced understanding of blockchain’s transformative role.

The study uncovers key dimensions for leveraging blockchain in the CE within the public sector. Notable findings include the significance of contextual transparency, the use of incentivization as a regulatory tool, the role of standardization through strategic autonomy and the importance of public engagement and participation.

This research contributes a unique framework that illuminates the transformative potential of blockchain within the CE, emphasizing its relevance to public governance. The identified dimensions offer practical insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to navigate the complexities of circular transitions in the public sector.

This paper aims to explore the intricate and controversial sale of six hydroelectric dams in the Douro hydrographic basin by Energias de Portugal (EDP), a prominent Portuguese energy company, to a French Consortium – ENGIE. The transaction, completed at the end of 2020, has sparked significant debate and scrutiny within the Portuguese legal and fiscal spheres due to its corporate and budgetary manoeuvres. The crux of the controversy lies in the complex corporate restructuring strategies used by EDP and the acquiring consortium to execute this transaction. These strategies, aimed at achieving tax neutrality, effectively circumvented the traditional tax liabilities typically associated with large-scale asset transfers. The paper delves into the legal intricacies of this operation, scrutinising the application of taxes such as stamp duty, corporate income tax, value added tax and property transfer tax, which were, in theory, applicable to the transaction. Furthermore, this study examines the broader implications of the deal, particularly concerning the principle of tax neutrality in corporate restructurings, the enforcement of anti-abuse clauses and the economic substance over legal form doctrine.

This study is based on secondary data supported by publicly reported evidence.

This case study highlights the challenges in taxing corporate transactions in the modern financial landscape and reflects these corporate manoeuvres' societal and ethical considerations.

Through an analysis of legal frameworks, corporate strategies and tax policies, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the transaction and its implications, offering insights valuable to legal professionals, policymakers and scholars in corporate law, taxation and business ethics.

The purpose of this paper is to examine lived experiences of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) during and immediately following release from detention in prisons in England and Scotland.

Surveys were completed by serving prisoners in both countries and by those recently released from prison (England only). The survey findings were discussed in focus groups of people with lived experience. The combined findings from the surveys and focus groups were shared with an expert group of prison OAT providers and people with lived experience with the purpose of making recommendations for more accessible and effective OAT in custodial environments and continuity of OAT on release

The quality and accessibility of OAT varied considerably between establishments. It was reported to be harder to access OAT in Scottish prisons. It was often hard for people in prison to get the dosage of OAT they felt they needed and it was generally harder to access buprenorphine than methadone in English prisons. Only Scottish people in prison were aware of long-lasting forms of buprenorphine. People in English prisons had mixed experiences of the help available in prison, with no improvement recorded since a 2016 study. People in Scottish prisons were more likely to rate the help available as poor.

The number of people accessed while actually in prison (73) was reduced by the impact of the pandemic, making it more difficult to access people in prison and because some were resistant to participating on the basis that they had already been consulted for a wide variety of research projects focused on the impact of COVID. The Scottish cohort (a total of 19 individuals comprising 14 survey respondents and five focus group members) is clearly too small a number on which to base robust claims about differences in OAT provision between the English and Scottish prison systems..

The study identifies key barriers to accessing OAT in prisons and suggests key components of more user-friendly approaches.

This study provides an overview of the recent lived experiences of people accessing OAT in prison and on release and offers valuable recommendations on how to make service provision more effective and consistent.

This study provides an overview of the recent lived experiences of people accessing OAT in prison and on release in England and Scotland and offers valuable recommendations on how to make service provision more effective and consistent.