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Manufacturing firms consume energy and natural resources in highly unsustainable manner and release huge amounts of green house gases leading to many economic, environmental and social problems; from local waste disposal to climate change. Consciousness about these issues has lead to a new manufacturing paradigm of environmentally conscious manufacturing (ECM). There exist many social, legislative, policy, economic, internal, and environmental factors which can motivate and/or force industry to adopt ECM. The purpose of this paper is to identify the drivers for ECM, developing a model of these drivers using statistical analysis and testing the model using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique.

The basic steps of methodology are ECM driver development, survey instrument development, data collection, model proposition, and model validation. The main data analysis approaches are exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and SEM to develop a model of drivers and validating the same based on the data collected from the manufacturing industry.

The reliable, valid, and tested model has three types of drivers – internal, policy, and economic. It has been found through hypothesis testing that internal drivers for the implementation of ECM are positively related to policy and economic drivers; and policy drivers are positively related to economy drivers. This research is expected to help government and industry in developing policies and strategies for the successful implementation of ECM.

The novelty of this study is that it provides the relationship among the drivers which can be leveraged by the managers to focus on the root drivers for smooth and effective implementation of ECM.

This paper provides new theoretical insight into the factors motivating the industry to implement ECM systems in the industry with special focus on manufacturing sector of emerging economies.

Transport industry is one of the leading accident causing industries all around the world. Personal attributes like educational qualification, work experience, marital status, consumption of alcohol, hours of work of bus drivers are known to influence such accidents. In the present study, the mediating effects of Workplace spirituality (WS) among bus drivers between the personal attributes and job performance variables like self-reported accidents, punishments and appraisals are carried out.

A mediation analysis of WS between personal attributes and job performances of bus drivers is conducted in the present study. Since there is scarcity of studies measuring the effects of WS of bus drivers, new scale to measure WS was developed. The study was carried out in the government-owned road transport corporation in the state of Kerala, India. Responses were obtained from 617 male drivers.

Using exploratory factor analysis, four factors were identified, namely Meaningful work, Sense of Community, Mindfulness and Compassion. Confirmatory factory analysis provided good fit. The intercorrelations of personal attributes of drivers (independent variables) between WS factors (mediating variables) and job performance variables (dependent variables) were found out. Mediation analysis showed complete mediation of WS factors between marital status, alcohol consumption, hours of work and job performances like number of self-reported accidents, punishments and appraisals. The WS levels of drivers decrease significantly as working hours per goes beyond the legally allowed working hours.

Psychological attributes like Mindfulness, Sense of community, compassion etc. which are collectively known as WS influence the job performances of employees in other industries. Yet it is not studied in the transport industry. Hence, in the present study, the levels of WS are studied among bus drivers of government-owned road transport corporation in the State of Kerala, India.

Healthcare property has become an important alternate property sector in recent years for many international institutional investors. The purpose of this paper is to assess the risk-adjusted performance, portfolio diversification benefits and performance dynamics of French healthcare property in a French property portfolio and mixed-asset portfolio over 1999–2020. French healthcare property is seen to have different performance dynamics to the traditional French property sectors of office, retail and industrial property. Drivers and risk factors for the ongoing development of the direct healthcare property sector in France are also identified, as well as the strategic property investment implications for institutional investors.

Using annual total returns, the risk-adjusted performance, portfolio diversification benefits and performance dynamics of French direct healthcare property over 1999–2020 are assessed. Asset allocation diagrams are used to assess the role of direct healthcare property in a French property portfolio and in a French mixed-asset portfolio. The role of specific drivers for French healthcare property performance is also assessed. Robustness checks are also done to assess the potential impact of COVID-19 on the performance of French healthcare property.

French healthcare property is shown to have different performance dynamics to the traditional French property sectors of office, retail and industrial property. French direct healthcare property delivered strong risk-adjusted returns compared to French stocks, listed healthcare and listed property over 1999–2020, only exceeded by direct property. Portfolio diversification benefits in the fuller mixed-asset portfolio context were also evident, but to a much lesser extent in a narrower property portfolio context. Importantly, this sees French direct healthcare property as strongly contributing to the French property and mixed-asset portfolios across the entire portfolio risk spectrum and validating the property industry perspective of healthcare property being low risk and providing diversification benefits in a mixed-asset portfolio. However, this was to some degree to the loss or substitution of traditional direct property exposure via this replacement effect. French direct healthcare property and listed healthcare are clearly shown to be different channels in delivering different aspects of French healthcare performance to investors. Drivers of French healthcare property performance are also shown to be both economic and healthcare-specific factors. The performance of French healthcare property is also shown to be different to that seen for healthcare property in the UK and Australia. During COVID-19, French healthcare property was able to show more resilience than French office and retail property.

Healthcare property is an alternate property sector that has become increasingly important in recent years. The results highlight the important role of direct healthcare property in a French property portfolio and in a French mixed-asset portfolio, with French healthcare property having different investment dynamics to the other traditional French property sectors. The strong risk-adjusted performance of French direct healthcare property compared to French stocks, listed healthcare and listed property sees French direct healthcare property contributing to the mixed-asset portfolio across the entire portfolio risk spectrum. French healthcare property’s resilience during COVID-19 was also an attractive investment feature. This is particularly important, as many institutional investors now see healthcare property as an important property sector in their overall portfolio; particularly with the ageing population dynamics in most countries and the need for effective social infrastructure. The importance of French direct healthcare property sees direct healthcare property exposure accessible to investors as an important alternate real estate sector for their portfolios going forward via both non-listed healthcare property funds and the further future establishment of more healthcare REITs to accommodate both large and small institutional investors respectively. The resilience of French healthcare property during COVID-19 is also an attractive feature for future-proofing an investor’s portfolio.

This paper is the first published empirical research analysis of the risk-adjusted performance, diversification benefits and performance dynamics of French direct healthcare property, and the role of direct healthcare property in a French property portfolio and in a French mixed-asset portfolio. This research enables empirically validated, more informed and practical property investment decision-making regarding the strategic role of French direct healthcare property in a portfolio; particularly where the strategic role of direct healthcare property in France is seen to be different to that in the UK and Australia via portfolio replacement effects. Clear evidence is also seen of the drivers of French healthcare property performance being strongly influenced by healthcare-specific factors, as well as economic factors.

International construction joint ventures (ICJVs) are an effective strategy for construction companies worldwide for delivering large and complex projects. Despite numerous ICJVs studies, there is a lack of comprehensive empirical examination of what drives ICJVs implementation. This study aims to investigate the key drivers for implementing ICJVs through an international survey.

Grounded on a comprehensive literature review and structured questionnaire survey, 123 ICJV experts' responses from 24 different countries/jurisdictions were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics. Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine any divergence of ranking of the drivers by the experts. Factor analysis (FA) was used to identify the clusters underlying the key drivers. Rank agreement analysis was later used to investigate the consensus between experts from developing and developed countries/jurisdictions on their ranking of the clusters.

Out of 34 factors, 26 factors greatly drive the implementation of ICJVs. Mann–Whitney U test results prove the absence of significant disparity among the experts in the ranking of the drivers. Six clusters were obtained through factor analysis (FA), namely, market-penetration and innovation-driven drivers, legal and market-driven drivers, fiscal incentives and market expansion drivers, personal branding drivers, sustainable advantage/power drivers and industrial and organizational promotion drivers. Rank agreement analysis exhibited varied levels of concurrence between professionals from developed and developing countries/jurisdictions.

The appreciation of the factors motivating ICJVs is beneficial to the successful implementation of ICJV strategies. A clear understanding of the drivers can help practitioners and policymakers to customize their ICJVs to reap the expected benefits.

The study has generated valuable insights into the factors that are greatly driving the implementation of ICJVs worldwide. While the findings of this study provide a profound contribution to theory and practice, it contributes to sustainable growth in different perspectives.

This study aims to provide probable future developments in the form of holistic scenarios for business negotiations. In recent years, negotiation research did not put a lot of emphasis on external changes. Consequently, current challenges and trends are scarcely integrated, making it difficult to support negotiation practice perspectively.

This paper applies the structured, multi-method approach of scenario analysis. To examine the future space of negotiations, this combines qualitative and quantitative measures to base our analysis on negotiation experts’ assessments, estimations and visions of the negotiation future.

The results comprise an overview of five negotiation scenarios in the year 2030 and of their individual drivers. The five revealed scenarios are: digital intelligence, business as usual, powerful network – the route to collaboration, powerful network – the route to predominance and system crash.

The scenario analysis is a suitable approach that enables to relate various factors of the negotiation environment to negotiations themselves and allows an examination of future changes in buyer–seller negotiations and the creation of possible future scenarios. The identified scenarios provide an orientation for business decisions in the field of negotiation.

The growing demand for housing and infrastructure, as well as the requirement for affordable housing, has been a significant factor, necessitating investigation for sustainable approaches and implementation of alternative construction innovations. Hence, this study aims to identify and assess the drivers for implementing modular construction systems (MCS) in developing countries.

The study adopts a quantitative research approach to seek respondents’ opinions on the factors that can drive the implementation of MCS in developing countries. Accordingly, a structured questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection based on five Likert scales. The data was analysed using the mean score, one sample t-test, Kruskal–Wallis, factor analysis (FA) and Pearson correlation analysis.

Results show that 15 of the 16 major identified drivers were statistically significant towards implementing MCS, which indicates that the drivers are crucial for implementing MCS in developing countries. However, the Kruskal–Wallis test reveals that the respondents have varying opinions on the identified drivers. FA categorised the drivers into four categories, namely, “management and sustainability”, “key performance”, “know-how and logistics” and “regulations and policies”. A strong relationship among the four categories of drivers was established using Pearson correlation, which indicated that all the drivers’ categories are essential for implementing MCS in developing countries.

This study identified and assessed the drivers towards implementing MCS in developing countries. The study concludes that the identified drivers are essential for implementing MCS in developing countries. Also, the study considers the government the most placed player in driving the implementation of MCS in developing countries.

This paper aims to investigate the brand identity drivers used online by wineries and to assess cluster identity from the analysis of firms’ specific branding strategies.

Chianti, Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino wine clusters (located in Tuscany, Italy) were selected as the set for this study. A total of 452 wineries websites were analyzed using a text frequency query, and the results were further examined through a discriminant analysis.

The theoretical framework was modeled after a careful analysis of the literature and is composed of three macro-areas of identity drivers: locational, product/process and social attributes. The analysis of winery websites shows the presence of all the drivers examined, which explain not only the wineries’ specific strategies but also the drivers of a particular cluster’s brand identity. A discriminant analysis highlighted that some drivers are able to explain the unique characteristics of the three clusters.

This research seeks to build a holistic investigation of all the identity drivers used by firms online. The specific brand identity focus and the holistic approach can enrich both academics and practitioners with a framework of current branding strategies.