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This study aims to identify and prioritize barriers to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the construction sector.

A literature review was first conducted to identify barriers to CSR performance. After that, construction professionals were invited to validate the appropriateness of the obstacles. The discussion allowed the establishment of a list of barriers to CSR performance and their corresponding categories. Data collected from the survey were then analyzed to prioritize the importance of these barriers by the fuzzy DEMATEL-based ANP (DANP) technique.

The findings presented 16 barriers to CSR, which were categorized into four clusters. The fuzzy DANP analysis showed that strategic vision is the most crucial cluster, followed by the measurement system, stakeholder perspective and scarce resources. Among the sixteen barriers examined, lack of awareness, knowledge and information of CSR; low priority of CSR; lack of metrics to quantify CSR benefits; lack of guidelines and coherent strategies; and lack of CSR enforcement mechanism are the five most crucial barriers.

This study is one of the first that proposes a comprehensive model to prioritize barriers to CSR performance of contractors considering their interrelationships. It provides construction stakeholders with a framework for understanding the linkage between the barriers and CSR framework under the umbrella of stakeholder theory. Thus, the findings might assist construction practitioners and academics in fostering the success of CSR implementation.

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and knowledge management (KM) on firm performance (PERF), as well as the mediating role of KM in the EO–PERF (EO-PERF relationship). In particular, this study aims to explain the impact of KM on the relationship between the EO dimensions and PERF; dimensions are risk-taking (RT), innovativeness (IN) and proactiveness (PR).

This study uses structural equation modelling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methodologies to explore target relationships. The sample consists of 150 small furniture manufacturers operating in Poland (out of 1,480 in the population).

The study findings show that KM partially mediates the IN–PERF relationship. Furthermore, fsQCA reveals that KM accompanied by IN is a core condition that leads to PERF. Moreover, the absence of KM (accompanied by the absence of RT and IN) leads to the absence of PERF. In addition, the results show that all the variables examined (RT, IN, PR and KM) positively impact PERF.

This study explores the role of KM in the context of EO and its impact on PERF in the low-tech industry. The study uses simultaneously two methodologies that represent different approaches in the search for the expected relationships. The findings reveal that KM mediates the EO-PERF relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of near-wall treatment approaches, which are crucial parameters in predicting the flow characteristics of open channels, and the influence of different vegetation covers in different layers.

Ansys Fluent, a computational fluid dynamics software, was used to calculate the flow and turbulence characteristics using a three-dimensional, turbulent (k-e realizable), incompressible and steady-flow assumption, along with various near-wall treatment approaches (standard, scalable, non-equilibrium and enhanced) in the vegetated channel. The numerical study was validated concerning an experimental study conducted in the existing literature.

The numerical model successfully predicted experimental results with relative error rates below 10%. It was determined that nonequilibrium wall functions exhibited the highest predictive success in experiment Run 1, standard wall functions in experiment Run 2 and enhanced wall treatments in experiment Run 3. This study has found that plant growth significantly alters open channel flow. In the contact zones, the velocities and the eddy viscosity are low, while in the free zones they are high. On the other hand, the turbulence kinetic energy and turbulence eddy dissipation are maximum at the solid–liquid interface, while they are minimum at free zones.

This is the first study, to the best of the author’s knowledge, concerning the performance of different near-wall treatment approaches on the prediction of vegetation-covered open channel flow characteristics. And this study provides valuable insights to improve the hydraulic performance of open-channel systems.

Increasing the need for education for sustainable development in universities requires an understanding of the predictors of students’ environmental concern (EC). In this paper, the authors focus on the EC of business students because of their future responsibility for business operations regarding the exploitation of natural resources. The aim of the study is to examine the predictors of business students’ environmental concern.

Based on the Norm Activation Model as the theoretical framework, this study hypothesizes the model of EC with two main predictors: ascription of responsibility for the environment (AOR), driven by locus of control and self-efficacy (LC/SE), and awareness of positive consequences of consumption reduction on the environment (AOC), driven by perceived environmental knowledge. Structural equation modelling was applied to confirm the conceptual model based on the responses of business students from six countries (Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Spain) collected through an online survey.

The environmental concern of business students is predicted both by the ascription of responsibility and by awareness of consequences; however, the ascription of responsibility is a stronger predictor of EC. A strong impact was found for internal locus of control and self-efficacy on AOR, as well as a weaker influence of perceived environmental knowledge on AOC.

Sustainability education dedicated to business students should provide environmental knowledge and strengthen their internal locus of control and self-efficacy in an environmental context.

Implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) unarguably demands huge financial investments. However, the United Nations has acknowledged the huge financial gap militating against the implementation of the SDGs worldwide, leading experts to question the possibility of complete implementation of the goals by their terminal dateline of 2030. While the bulk of the finance currently outlaid on the SDGs comes from traditional sources including foreign direct investments (FDIs), there is the need to focus more attention on developing and exploiting impact investments that are more suitable for financing development programmes and projects. In this chapter, the SDG implementation profiles of the 12 Arab West Asia countries concerning the five most targeted SDGs were evaluated and sustainable finance issues were discussed. Secondary data were retrieved from World Bank's DataBank. The data were descriptively analyzed. Based on the profiles generated, debt relief is put forward as a possible impact investment mechanism suitable for funding the SDGs. Specifically, this chapter recommends that outright cancellation of debts based on the debt-for-SGD swap could serve as some of the impact investments needed to boost the global drive for a developed, peaceful, and just world.

This paper aims to clarify the resistance degree of group road logistics to flood disaster resilience. The paper measures the resilience of group road logistics by establishing network structure model. The purpose of this study is to improve the resilience of road log.

This paper adopts Delphi method to collect data, interviews mainly flood management experts and supply chain risk management experts, and then analyzes the data through the network structure model combined with interpretative structure model (ISM) and analytical network process (ANP).

The results show that flood frequency and drainage systems are the main factors affecting the resilience of road transport logistics in urban areas. These research results provide useful guidance for the effective planning and design of urban road construction and infrastructure.

However, the main factors affecting the resilience of road transport logistics are likely to change with the development of factors such as climate, economy and environment. Therefore, in future work, the authors' research will focus on the further application of this evaluation method.

The results show that the impact of flooding on the four dimensions of road logistics resilience varies. This shows that in deciding what intervention measures are to be taken to improve the resilience of the road network to flooding, various measures need to be considered.

This paper provides a more scientific analysis of the risk management ability of the road network in the face of floods. In addition, it also provides a useful reference for urban road planners.

This paper addresses a clear need to study how to build models to improve the resilience of road logistics in flood risk.

Seekers who visit professional virtual communities (PVCs) are usually motivated by knowledge-seeking, which is a complex cognitive process. How do seekers search for knowledge, and how is their search linked to prior knowledge or PVC situation factors? From the cognitive process and interactional psychology perspectives, this study investigated the three-way interactions between seekers’ expertise, task complexity, and perceptions of PVC features (i.e. knowledge quality and system quality) on knowledge-seeking strategies and resultant outcomes.

A field experiment was conducted with 119 seekers in a PVC using a 2 × 2 factorial design of seekers’ expertise (i.e. expert versus novice) and task complexity (i.e. low versus high).

The study reveals three significant insights: (1) For a high-complexity task, experts adopt an ask-directed searching strategy compared to novices, whereas novices adopt a browsing strategy; (2) For a high-complexity task, experts who perceive a high system quality are more likely than novices to adopt an ask-directed searching strategy; and (3) Task completion time and task quality are associated with the adoption of ask-directed searching strategies, whereas knowledge seekers’ satisfaction is more associated with the adoption of browsing strategy.

We draw on the perspectives of cognitive process and interactional psychology to explore potential two- and three-way interactions of seekers’ expertise, task complexity, and PVC features on the adoption of knowledge-seeking strategies in a PVC context. Our findings provide deep insights into seekers’ behavior in a PVC, given the popularity of the search for knowledge in PVCs.

As the competition to retain current and attract new mobile payment app users intensifies, meeting users’ needs has become fundamental for mobile payment app service providers to stay competitive. This study aims to investigate the relationship between users’ needs, users’ attitude towards mobile payment apps and users’ continuance intention to use mobile payment apps.

Following an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design, this study first conducted three focus groups in the qualitative phase to investigate issues or concerns faced by current users of mobile payment apps. The study then conducted an online questionnaire survey in the quantitative phase to collect responses from users of mobile payment apps. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse 110 valid responses.

Findings show that usefulness (modelled as a second-order reflective construct consisting of three first-order reflective constructs, i.e. ease of use, acceptability and responsiveness), traceability and security had a statistically significant relationship with attitude towards mobile payment apps (which in turn had a statistically significant relationship with continuance intention to use mobile payment apps). It was also found that attitude towards mobile payment mediated the relationships between usefulness, traceability and security; and continuance intention to use mobile payment apps.

The findings of this study can help mobile payment app service providers and developers design apps that offer the functions and features that their users need.

Although some recent studies have investigated the adoption of mobile payments in the Malaysian context, few of these studies examined current users’ continuance intention to use mobile payment apps.

To examine how shareholding affects optimal profits, R&D innovation, NEV market scale and social welfare in two supply chain models with partial and cross ownership patterns.

The gradual retreat of government subsidies has directly weakened the financial support available to the stakeholders of new energy vehicles (NEVs). In this context, upstream and downstream enterprises of NEV are constantly seeking new business models of cooperation to achieve possible win-wins. NEV supply chain shareholding is an emerging new practice for such explorations. However, its performance in the NEV supply chain is seldom investigated. In this paper, we employ a Stackelberg game model to investigate how partial and cross-ownership affect the optimal decisions in a NEV supply chain.

Results showed that: (1) Compared with the unilateral shareholding model, the battery supplier will benefit from cross-ownership in the supply chain, while the NEV manufacturer will not necessarily benefit from it. At the same time, cross-ownership will bring the greatest incentive for battery R&D (2) Supply chain downstream competition will not necessarily lead to the improvement of the total consumption of NEVs or the level of battery design. Pareto improvement can be brought only when one of the manufacturers holds less than a certain equity threshold. In addition, downstream competition will also not necessarily bring more benefits to the battery supplier.

At present, NEV supply chain management has attracted widespread attention from scholars from all walks of life. Previous studies have been carried out that covers topics such as pricing strategies and optimal profits and the role of NEV in the sustainable development of the automotive industry supply chain, or disparate impacts of government subsidies and carbon emission regulation on supply chain members. However, as far as the authors know, compared with the new emerging NEV corporate practice, the shareholding phenomenon between upstream and downstream in the supply chain of NEV has not been studied in the existing studies.

Drawing on the social presence theory, this study aims to explore how supplier–customer social media interactions influence supplier observers’ trust in the customers and what mechanisms contribute to variation in trust experience.

A total of 36 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Chinese suppliers using WeChat for business-to-business interactions. Data were analyzed in three steps: open coding, axial coding and selective coding.

Findings reveal that varied trust is based not only on the categories of social presence of interaction – whether social presence is embedded in informative interactions – but also on the perceived selectivity in social presence. Observer suppliers who experience selectivity during social and affective interactions create a perception of hidden information and an unhealthy relationship atmosphere, and report a sense of emotional vulnerability, thus eroding cognitive and affective trust.

The findings contribute new understandings to social presence theory by exploring the social presence of interactions in a supplier–supplier–customer triad and offer valuable insights into business-to-business social media literature by adopting a suppliers’ viewpoint to unpack the mechanisms of how social presence of interaction positively and negatively influences suppliers’ trust and behavioral responses.