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This study holds the objective of evaluating the impact of formal (e.g. ease of doing business score, start-up procedures to register a business, property rights) and informal (e.g. school life expectancy, collaboration between companies and human capital) institutions on the economic performance of countries in conjunction with the mediating effect of entrepreneurial activities and social performance.

The authors collected quantitative, secondary data from a range of different sources, specifically the World Bank (WB), Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), World Economic Forum (WEF), Freedom House (FH) and Doing Business (DB) for the years between 2016 and 2018. The authors deployed a quantitative approach based on estimating structural equation models according to the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method.

The authors find that institutions, whether formal or informal, impact positively on economic and social performance with entrepreneurial activities positively mediating the relationship between informal institutions and economic performance and social performance.

The study research holds key implications for strengthening institutional theory. The authors find that our empirical results draw attention to the impact that institutions and their functioning can have on economic performance. Through this alert, the authors aim for researchers, politicians and other diverse decision-makers involved in public policies to prioritise not only the good working of institutions but also fostering entrepreneurship, in order to boost the resulting economic performance.

The study research contributes to the literature by testing the model that links institutions, entrepreneurial activity and economic performance. The authors also help policymakers to become aware of the importance that the quality of institutions has on entrepreneurial activity, and, consequently on economic performance.

The main aim of this study is to characterise and identify specific chemo-sensory profiles of ciders from the Canary Islands (Spain).

Commercial samples of Canary ciders were compared to ciders from the Basque Country and Asturias. In total, 18 samples were studied, six for each region. The analysis comprised their sensory profiling and chemical characterisation of their polyphenolic profile, volatile composition, conventional chemical parameters and CIELAB colour coordinates. In parallel, the sensory profile of the samples from the Canary Islands was first compared with their Basque and Asturian counterparts by labelled sorting task. Then, their specific aroma profile was characterised by flash profile. Further quantification of sensory-active compounds was performed by GC–MS and GC-FID to identify the volatile compounds involved in their aroma profile.

Results show that Canary ciders present a specific chemical profile characterised by higher levels of ethanol, and hydroxycinnamic acids, mainly t-ferulic, t-coumaric and neochologenic acids, and lower levels of volatile and total acidity than their Asturian and Basque counterparts. They also present a specific aroma profile characterised by fruity aroma, mainly fruit in syrup and confectionary, and sweet flavours related to their highest levels of vinylphenols formed by transformation of hydroxycinnamic acids.

An integrated strategy to explore the typicity of the currently existing Canary ciders in the market was developed. The results are important in that they will help other regions to identify specific typical chemo-sensory profiles and to promote the creation of certifications supporting regional typicity.

The paper aims to explore the value generated by a specific configuration of a smart city's infrastructure by proposing a comparison between a silos configuration versus a crowd configuration at the data storage and processing level.

A system dynamics simulation is adopted to determine and compare the value created by the two configurations of smart city's infrastructure. The simulation outlines the flow of data and their positive and negative feedback that reinforce and hinder the smart city value generation.

The results demonstrate the huge impact of the availability of data for App developers when crowdsourcing configuration is adopted. Furthermore, results unveil the potential in value generation of a crowdsourcing smart city platform configuration compared to a silos architecture.

The authors have proposed a comparison between two alternative smart city digital platform configurations. The paper seeks to test the magnitude of the pros and cons of a crowdsourcing approach in setting up a smart city digital platform. The paper provides new guidelines for improving the data management of smart cities.

Stock market performance is paramount to every country, as it signifies economic growth, business performance, wealth maximization, savings deployment and consumer confidence. This study investigates the disparities in the market performance of listed firms in Romania. This study also examines whether the COVID-19 crisis affected market performance.

The data were collected from 69 firms listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) from 2018 to 2022, belonging to 11 sectors. This study used several methods to achieve its objectives. Difference tests were considered to analyze the performance of Romanian companies before and during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as across sectors. Regression analysis was also conducted to estimate the effect of the COVID-19 crisis and classification type on Romanian companies' performance. Additional analyses were performed to verify the findings of the present study.

The study’s findings indicate a clear difference in market performance between the pre-crisis and crisis periods. The COVID-19 pandemic had an adverse and significant impact on market performance. However, after the market contraction in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the stock market outperformed the pre-pandemic capitalization levels and the regional and global indices evolution. Furthermore, there was a difference in market performance across sectors. In particular, the communication services sector has specifically demonstrated accelerated growth.

This research examines the variation in the market performance of companies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and across different sectors. It also provides evidence of the potential impact of COVID-19 on firms' market performance. This research contributes to a better understanding of how sectors perform during times of crisis.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) and examine the reflection of SRHRM on sustainable development (SD) in Egyptian companies.

The study data was collected using a quantitative method to examine and test the relationship between the two variables. An empirical study was conducted between 2022 and 2023 on 150 samples of male and female employees from 18 companies located in Egypt working in castings and car batteries.

The study found that, in general, SRHRM has a significant impact on organizational sustainability. This contribution is also beneficial for general HRM and corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature as it stresses the importance of its relations to SD. By critically analyzing contemporary SRHRM literature, this study further demonstrates how studies with utilitarian approaches have dominated earlier research. By recognizing the necessity for process-oriented studies and the significance of critical scholarship within the field of SRHRM and its connections to the SD, the researcher thereby creates a research agenda for future studies.

The findings only apply to the sample that has participated in this study and to the Egyptian companies. A longitudinal quantitative evaluation of the SRHRM approaches and dimensions and their impact on the SD strategies of Egyptian companies would be recommended in terms of further research study, highlighting the role of SRHRM and its impact on achieving companies' CSR strategies.

The study's findings are helpful for firms looking to implement SR-HRM to enhance some employees' performance and promote organisational sustainability. In Egypt, there is a dire need for responsible leadership in the public and private sectors, which is crucial in the market and industry sectors. In addition to updating all policies, urge the younger generation to participate in them. For example, new hires to the company must demonstrate that they have engaged in volunteer work as part of their social obligation to the community, and this is required for recruitment.

Furthermore, refreshing all the policy encourage the young generation working or before working to take part in these policy, such as newcomers to the companies have to show that they have conducted some social responsibility towards their community as voluntary work. A study conducted by Cristina del-Castillo et al. (2022) confirmed that regarding the performance of different factors, the results show that the organizations under study are investing too much effort in improving CSR factors that are less relevant to achieving positive legitimacy assessments. On the one hand, resources destined to improve policies related to health, security and social benefits and those regarding the improvement of the relationship paths between managers and employees are excessive considering the relevance that they represent compared to the rest of the CSR policies. According to Hazzi and Maldaon (2023), stakeholders (including the general public and policymakers) might make an informed choice about how much organizations with CSR could safeguard their well-being if they had access to transparent CSR information. Talking about the sustainability behaviour of SRHRM as crucial for embedding sustainability in the business, a study by Abutaleb et al. (2021) evidence that subjective norms and attitudes, followed by perceived behavioural control and personal norms had the greatest influence on intentions towards behavioural HR. Attitudes towards sustainability practices were significantly influenced by economic advantages and sustainability. A good model fit was demonstrated by measurement and structural models (Abutaleb et al., 2021).

This paper is unique in that it participates in presenting the concept of the social responsibility of HRM as an intervention and approach for SD. It also participates in presenting unique findings related to Egyptian companies. There is a scarcity of literature related to research and studies on SRHRM in Egypt.

Climate change requires the reduction of direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a task that seems to clash with increasing supply chain complexity. This study aims to analyse the upstream supply chain complexity dimensions suggesting the importance of understanding the information processing that these may entail. Reducing equivocality can be an issue in some dimensions, requiring the introduction of written guidelines to moderate the effects of supply chain complexity dimensions on GHG emissions at the firm and supply chain level.

A three-year panel data was built with information obtained from Bloomberg, Trucost and Compustat. Hypotheses were tested using random effect regressions with robust standard errors on a sample of 394 SP500 companies, addressing endogeneity through the control function approach.

Horizontal complexity reduces GHG emissions at the firm level, whereas vertical and spatial complexity dimensions increase GHG emissions at the firm and supply chain level. Although the introduction of written guidelines neutralises the negative effects of vertical complexity on firm and supply chain GHG emissions, it is not sufficient in the presence of spatial complexity.

This paper offers novel insights by suggesting that managers need to reconcile the potential trade-off effects on GHG emissions that horizontally complex supply chain structures can present. Their priority in vertically and spatially complex supply chain structures should be to reduce equivocality.

Manufacturing companies continue to encounter a diverse set of obstacles while embracing sustainable development goals. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to explore critical sustainable development-related barriers to flexible packaging manufacturing companies in the New Zealand context.

Drawing on a qualitative multiple case studies approach, the authors collected data from the New Zealand flexible packaging industry. Semistructured interviews were conducted with the senior corporate managers in two large flexible packaging companies. Following the thematic analysis approach, the authors analyzed the information collected from the participants and synthesized our findings under the key dimensions of internal and external barriers to sustainable development.

The findings revealed that internal barriers to sustainable flexible packaging are linked to economic, operational and technical issues. Conversely, external barriers include global crises and disruption, customer behavior and preferences and institutional and infrastructural-related aspects. Based on the analysis of empirical findings, the authors further identified the underlying reasons for sustainable flexible packaging barriers and recommended guidelines that could assist corporate managers and policymakers in addressing obstacles inhibiting the flexible packaging industry from adopting sustainable business practices.

The authors argue that this study is one of the early studies to consider inhibiting factors to incorporate sustainable development into the New Zealand flexible packaging industry context. Building on a range of theoretical perspectives, the authors extend the current body of knowledge seeking to advance the sustainable development agenda in the New Zealand flexible packaging industry and offer recommended pathways fostering sustainable development in a distinctive manufacturing context.

This study aims to develop a modular and prescriptive digital transformation maturity model whose constituent elements have conceptual integrity as well as reveal the priority weights of maturity model components.

A literature review with a concept-centric analysis enlightens the characteristics of constituent parts and reveals the gaps for each component. Therefore, the interdependency network among model dimensions and priority weights are identified using decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-based analytic network process (ANP) method, including 19 industrial experts, and the results are robustly validated with three different analyses. Finally, the applicability of the developed maturity model and the constituent elements are validated in the context of the manufacturing industry with two case applications through a strict protocol.

Results obtained from DEMATEL-based ANP suggest that smart processes with a priority weight of 17.91% are the most important subdimension for reaching higher digital maturity. Customer integration and value, with a priority weight of 17.30%, is the second most important subdimension and talented employee, with 16.24%, is the third most important subdimension.

The developed maturity model enables companies to make factual assessments with specially designed measurement instrument including incrementally evolved questions, prioritize action fields and investment strategies according to maturity index calculations and adapt to the dynamic change in the environment with spiral maturity level identification.

A novel spiral maturity level identification is proposed with conceptual consistency for evolutionary progress to adapt to dynamic change. A measurement instrument that is incrementally structured with 234 statements and a measurement method that is based on the priority weights and leads to calculating the maturity index are designed to assess digital maturity, create an improvement roadmap to reach higher maturity levels and prioritize actions and investments without any external support and assistance.

This paper aims to analyse the current state of research to identify the link between Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies to map out different research themes, to uncover research gaps and propose key recommendations for future research, including lessons to be learnt from the integration of lean and I4.0.

A systematic literature review (SLR) is conducted to thematically analyse and synthesise existing literature on Lean Manufacturing–I4.0 integration. The review analysed 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

In total, five main research themes were identified, and a thematic map was created to explore the following: the relationship between Lean Manufacturing and I4.0; Lean Manufacturing and I4.0 implication on performance; Lean Manufacturing and I4.0 framework; Lean Manufacturing and I4.0 integration with other methodologies; and application of I4.0 technologies in Lean Manufacturing. Furthermore, various gaps in the literature were identified, and key recommendations for future directions were proposed.

The integration of Lean Manufacturing and I4.0 will eventually bring many benefits and offers superior and long-term competitive advantages. This research reveals the need for more analysis to thoroughly examine how this can be achieved in real life and promote operational changes that ensure enterprises run more sustainably.

The development of Lean Manufacturing and I4.0 integration is still in its infancy, with most articles in this field published in the past two years. The five main research themes identified through thematic synthesis are provided in the original contribution. This provides scholars better insight into the existing literature related to Lean Manufacturing and I4.0, further contributing to defining clear topics for future research opportunities. It also has important implications for industrialists, who can develop more profound and richer knowledge than Lean and I4.0, which would, in turn, help them develop more effective deployment strategies and have a positive commercial impact.

World Health Organizations (WHO) (2023) states that governments and employers have a responsibility to uphold that right by providing work that simultaneously prevents workers from experiencing excessive stress and mental health risks. The business environment continues to produce a lot of stress on workers, which includes internal pressures to achieve results and employees suffer the consequences. Some companies have turned to mindfulness as a technique that helps mitigate these consequences and have joined Kaizen as a process improvement technique in the work environment. Therefore, this study has a research purpose: “to comprehend the possible linkage between Kaizen philosophy from an individual perspective, with Mindfulness ZEN Buddhism technique to understand the individual benefit (well-being) of each employee in organizations.” The answer to this represents the research gap in this article. The research questions governing this study are as follows: RQ1: Does Mindfulness is used as Kaizen technique of personal-individual improvement in 21st-century organizations? RQ2: What elements and characteristics of Kaizen and mindfulness can be found working together? And RQ3: Which qualitative impact of mindfulness and Kaizen in the workplace outcome (well-being, performance of the job (process)) and relationships with other employees)?

This research used a qualitative approach due to the recent phenomenon studied. In a certain way, it was used a mixed-method (combination of qualitative data – web search secondary data analysis and qualitative research-Convergence Model). First, it was done an intensive web search with the aim to identify companies' corporate mindfulness programs, along with companies which have applied mindfulness and Kaizen programs. It was identified a group of big companies with global and international presence (“famous” for their products and services) in diverse industrial and service sectors, country of origin and business locations; with the purpose of getting a holistic vision of all organizations which have practice Kaizen and mindfulness. Therefore, this study explored secondary data related to both practices, analyzing reports or briefings published in management magazines and official WEB pages and/or business magazines.

As a result of the triangulation of the data with its secondary data convergence model and qualitative research, a theoretical framework was reached that shows the benefits of the two combined twin techniques of Kaizen and mindfulness. The worker experiences a path that goes from concentrating on the execution of their processes, following their operating standards (Standardize, Do, Check, Act [SDCA] cycle), going through the evolution to continuous improvement or Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, experiencing work with concentration-awareness and reducing your daily stress, maintaining high sensitivity to the work process and your environment and finally, discovering an essential life purpose. Finally, worker experiences benefit when there is wide application of both with the SDCA and PDCA cycles such as high motivation, constant learning from your mistakes, day-to-day learning and the Munen Musso (not using the mind).

The main limitation is the qualitative methodological bias and secondary data research. In addition, to have a theoretical sample. However, the richness of the data helps to overcome this limitation. On the other hand, the qualitative research interviews are for a certain geographical area, therefore, the results cannot be generalized.

The results of this research can shed light on operations managers in the use of techniques for continuous improvement and improvement of people's quality of life, such as mindfulness. In Mexico, they are beginning to be used jointly (twin techniques) to comply with Regulation 035 of psychosocial risk, the researchers are sure that in other countries it will be used in the same way to comply with regulations. However, the research findings show the benefits that can be provided to workers in organizations by applying Kaizen and Mindfulness together.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, according to the literature review, this is the first article that explores the relationship between Kaizen and Mindfulness as twin techniques that help improve the individual quality of life of employees in organizations.