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This paper explores Lean Six Sigma principles and the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) methodology to propose a new Lean Six Sigma 4.0 (LSS 4.0) framework for employee occupational exams and address the real-world issue of high-variability exams that may arise.

This study uses mixed methods, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection. A detailed case study assesses the impact of LSS interventions on the exam management process and tests the applicability of the proposed LSS 4.0 framework for employee occupational exams.

The results reveal that changing the health service supplier in the explored organization caused a substantial raise in occupational exams, leading to increased costs. By using syntactic interoperability, lean, six sigma and DMAIC approaches, improvements were identified, addressing process deviations and information requirements. Implementing corrective actions improved the exam process, reducing the number of exams and associated expenses.

It is important to acknowledge certain limitations, such as the specific context of the case study and the exclusion of certain exam categories.

The practical implications of this research are substantial, providing organizations with valuable managerial insights into improving efficiency, reducing costs and ensuring regulatory compliance while managing occupational exams.

This study fills a research gap by applying LSS 4.0 to occupational exam management, offering a practical framework for organizations. It contributes to the existing knowledge base by addressing a relatively novel context and providing a detailed roadmap for process optimization.

The study responds to the calls for multilevel approaches in entrepreneurship research and seeks to answer whether the relationships between personal values and entrepreneurship remain stable across different economic conditions, using the unemployment rate as a moderator. It pays attention to the solo self-employed and women, as these groups are particularly vulnerable when crises occur.

We use Schwartz's theory of human values, which has been understudied in entrepreneurship and follow a correlational research design with micro and macro variables. Multilevel logistic regression is applied to the data from the large sample of 151,032 individuals participating in six waves of the European Social Survey. Solo self-employed are distinguished from those employing others, and analyses are run separately for men and women to understand gender differences.

The findings show that self-direction and achievement are positively, and benevolence and security negatively related to entrepreneurship. The high unemployment rate lowers the positive relationships with self-direction and achievement and mitigates the negative relationship with security, but only for the solo self-employed and not for employers. Results mostly hold for both genders.

The study suggests that security-related values should not be omitted from entrepreneurship research focused on entrepreneurs' values. It also emphasizes the need to distinguish between various subgroups of entrepreneurs and their motivation, which is important for efficient active labor market policies.

The study utilizes multilevel analyses that account for individual- and country-level influences on entrepreneurial activity. It contributes to understanding how economic context influences value salience and supports the applicability of Schwartz's theory of human values in entrepreneurship.

This paper aims to conduct a qualitative assessment of synergies between information flows of a multifamily product platform used for industrialized housing and materials passports that can promote a circular economy in the construction industry.

Using a single case study method, the research assesses the availability and accessibility of materials passport-relevant information generated by a leading Swedish industrialized housing construction firm. Data is collected using semistructured interviews, document analysis and an extended research visit.

The research findings identify the functional layers of the product platform, map the information flow using a process diagram, assess the availability and accessibility of material passport relevant information by lifecycle stage and actor, and summarize the key points using a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis.

The three main implications are: the technical and process platforms used in industrialized construction allow for generating standardized, digital and reusable information; the vertical integration of trades and long-term relationships with suppliers improve transparency and reduce fragmentation in information flows; and the design-build-operate business model strategy incentivizes actors to manage information flows in the use phase.

Industrialized construction firms can use this paper as an approach to understand and map their information flows to identify suitable approaches to generate and manage materials passports.

The specific characteristics of product platforms and industrialized construction provide a unique opportunity for circular information flow across the building lifecycle, which can support material passport adoption to a degree not often found in the traditional construction industry.

The paper follows Jason Cope's (2011) vision of a holistic perspective on the failure-based learning process. By analyzing the research since Cope's first attempt, which is often fragmentary in nature, and providing novel empirical insights, the paper aims to draw a new comprehensive picture of all five phases of entrepreneurial learning and their interplay.

The study features an interpretative phenomenological analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 failed entrepreneurs. Findings are presented and discussed in line with experiential learning theory and Cope's conceptual framework of five interrelated learning timeframes spanning from the descent into failure until re-emergence.

The study reveals different patterns of how entrepreneurs experience failure, ranging from abrupt to gradual descent paths, different management and coping behaviors, and varying learning effects depending on the new professional setting (entrepreneurial vs non-entrepreneurial). Analyzing the entrepreneurs' experiences throughout the process shows different paths and connections between individual phases. Findings indicate that the learning timeframes may overlap, appear in different orders, loop, or (partly) stay absent, indicating that the individual learning process is even more dynamic and heterogeneous than hitherto known.

The paper contributes to the field of entrepreneurial learning from failure, advancing Cope's seminal work on the learning process and -contents by providing novel empirical insights and discussing them in the light of recent scientific findings. Since entrepreneurial learning from failure is a complex and dynamic process, using a holistic lens in the analysis contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon as an integrated whole.

Because brand addiction is one of the most intense forms of consumer–brand relationships, this type of behavior has recently attracted the attention of researchers in the field of consumer behavior management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents and consequences of brand addiction among Iranian consumers.

This research used a cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 401 people in Iran. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

This study found that brand love and brand involvement significantly influence brand addiction. Brand addiction was also positively associated with contingent self-esteem (CSE), compulsive shopping and resilience to negative information. Additionally, the results revealed a positive and significant effect of brand involvement on brand love and a similar positive and significant effect of CSE on compulsive shopping.

By examining the antecedents and consequences of brand addiction in an Islamic country, this research offers valuable insights that can enrich the literature on brand addiction in consumer behavior and brand management.

The construction industry has considerably evolved in the recent two decades due to the emergence of sustainability, lean construction (LC) and building information modelling (BIM). Despite previous research efforts, there is still a gap concerning the multidimensional nature of their integration. Hence, this study aims to fill the mentioned knowledge gap through exploring and comparing the challenges, enablers, techniques as well as benefits of integrating LC with BIM and sustainability in building construction projects.

A systematic literature review was conducted to fulfill the purpose of this study.

The findings reveal and compare the challenges, enablers, techniques and benefits of integrating LC with BIM and sustainability in building construction projects. The results suggest that there are eight common challenges for integrating LC with BIM and sustainability, including high initial cost, lack of collaboration, lack of professionals and lack of compatible contractual framework. The discovered challenges, enablers, techniques and benefits seem to be mostly routed in people. The findings also suggest that the synergistic benefits of integrating LC with BIM and sustainability can overcome the common challenges (safety, reliability, productivity, collaboration and quality) in construction projects.

The findings contribute to the literature and practice concerning the integration of LC with BIM and sustainability by exploring, comparing and discussing the relevant challenges, enablers, techniques as well as benefits. Moreover, the findings reveal the significance of the development of people in construction industry, besides processes and technology, as people are always subject of activities in construction while processes and technology are always objects.

This article discusses the underlying teaching framework of relational cultural theory (RCT), as well as additional teaching practices used within a doctoral-level, interdisciplinary social studies course on critical social justice. Areas for future development are identified.

A research-engaged, conceptual report on practice was used to identify and integrate relevant scholarship for the purpose of formulating and analyzing teaching practices for this type of course, and to iteratively identify possible directions for future development.

RCT is a generative, underlying teaching framework for the interdisciplinary social study of critical social justice. Additional teaching practices including a community agreement to guide challenging discussions; participant-led presencing activities at the outset of classes; and, co-creation by participants of the content topics can be fruitfully embedded within RCT. Potential future development could include team-based, community-engaged, experiential term projects aimed at further deepening interdisciplinarity and civic engagement skills.

Practical guidance is provided on the use of RCT, community agreements, co-creation, presencing activities and Indigenous land acknowledgments or contemplations on Indigenous works.

RCT can be used across different educational levels or contexts. Practices of co-creation, presencing and contemplation of Indigenous works are receiving increased consideration in diverse contexts. However, conventional grading procedures can be inconsistent with critical social justice, suggesting the need for research-engaged policy review.

This article responds to recent scholarly calls for discussion of teaching practices in the interdisciplinary, social study of critical social justice in post-secondary education.