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The purpose of this paper is to investigate how citizens’ perception of empowerment can influence the intention to use and intention to recommend e-participation.

A research model is evaluated using structural equation modelling. An online survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 210 users of e-participation.

The results show that psychological empowerment influences the intention to use and recommend e-participation. Performance expectancy and facilitating conditions were the strongest predictors of intention to use; effort expectancy and social influence had no significant effect on the prediction of intention to use e-participation.

The use of psychological empowerment as a higher-order multidimensional construct is still insufficiently researched. Future research may explore the effect of each dimension of psychological empowerment in different scenarios of e-participation adoption. Caution is needed when generalising our findings towards the adoption of e-participation in different locations or with different participants.

The findings can help the local governments to design strategies for the promotion and diffusion of e-participation amongst the citizenry. Those strategies should focus on citizens’ perception of empowerment, thereby creating a positive attitude towards intention to use and recommend e-participation.

An innovative research model integrates the unified theory of acceptance, use of technology and psychological empowerment; the last as a higher-order construct.

This research involves empirical evidence from the Tanzanian context to find out whether participation, trust and transparency have a significant impact on the acceptance of e-government systems.

The research employs a survey of 153 respondents followed by structural equation modelling-variance based (CB-SEM) analysis using PLS 4. The conceptual framework was developed by extending the technology acceptance model (TAM) with additional constructs before testing it in quantitative research.

Results of the model show that the perceived ease of use (PEU) had neither a significant relationship with behaviour intention nor with perceived transparency, while all the other relationships were found to be significant.

Among others, this research provides theoretical underpinnings to the area of acceptance of technologies as well as providing areas for future research and policy implications.

The study presents the relationships involving transparency, trust and participation in e-government systems by the citizens and how they can potentially influence intention to use e-government systems.

The regulatory authorities, mobile service operators and government can use this research to enhance decision-making and governance towards effective use of mobile phone technology in accessing government services.

This research delivers a refined, extended model of TAM that comprises extra constructs, namely, trust, transparency and participation. This model provides the basis for upcoming research in the area of technology acceptance, e-government and in behavioural science.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how public sector accounting has changed and is changing due to public governance development.

This paper conducts a traditional literature review based on selected studies in the fields of accounting, public administration and management. The aim of the review is to explain how diverse forms of public governance influence the fate of public sector accounting, including accountability, performance measurement, budgeting and reporting practices.

Public governance is developing into more inclusive but also complex forms, resulting in network, collaborative and digital governance. Consequently, the focus and practices of public sector accounting have changed, as reflected in new types of accountability, performance measurement, budgeting and reporting practices.

Drawing upon literature from different fields enables a deeper understanding of the changes in public sector accounting. Nevertheless, the intention is not to execute a systematic literature review but to provide an overview and resolve the scattered body of knowledge generated by previous contributions. The areas of risk management and auditing were not included and deserve further attention.

This paper discusses the need to continually redefine and reassess public sector accounting practices, by recognising the interdependencies between different actors, citizens and digital technologies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine and to categorize the tendencies of blockchain-based applications in the shipping industry and supply chain as well as the interrelations between them, including possible correlation of found categories with theoretical background and existing concepts. This study also explores whether blockchain can be adopted into existing maritime shipping and port document workflow management.

The current study builds a conceptual framework through a systematic project review carried along with scientific and grey literature, published in journals and conference proceedings during the past decade and giving information or proposals on an issue.

The results showed that reviewed projects can be compiled into three main conceptual areas: document workflow management, financial processes and device connectivity. However, having clear interlinkages, none of the reviewed projects consider all three areas at once. Concepts associated with maritime document workflow received broad support among the reviewed projects. In addition, reviewed projects unintentionally follow the similar goals that were laid down within port management scientific projects before the introduction of blockchain technology.

This study contributes to research by revealing a consistent framework for understanding the blockchain applications within maritime port environment, a less-studied part of blockchain implementation in the supply chain field. Moreover, this work is the first to find out conceptual intersections and correlations between existing projects, mapping current tendencies and potentially increasing knowledge about the field.

The Group of 20 (G20) is tasked with responding to economic shocks in the global financial system, with COVID-19 having proved to be the most significant shock since the G20's inception. COVID-19 also represents the first economic crisis accompanied by a concerted attempt to “build back better”, principally through a climate-compatible recovery. In 2021, there is little clarity as to the G20's response to this challenge, primarily due to considerable divergence in the green stimulus practices of its member states. The paper aims to investigate whether the G20, climate change and COVID-19 are critical juncture or critical wound.

Historical institutionalism (HI) suggests that one can explain an institution's future response by reference to its developmental pathway to date. This contribution adopts its concept of “critical junctures” to shed light on the G20's possible institutional response to COVID-19. The contribution undertakes a comparative analysis of the global financial crisis (GFC) and COVID-19 as possible critical junctures for the G20.

In doing so, the work demonstrates that the G20 “building back better” from COVID-19 requires a shift away from its institutional orthodoxy to a much larger degree than its response to the GFC. Accordingly, whilst both the GFC and COVID-19 may be considered critical junctures for the G20, only COVID-19 has the potential to be a “critical wound” that leads to institutional redundancy.

Through interrogating this further, this exposition prospectively outlines two possible futures the G20 faces as a consequence of COVID-19: reform or redundancy. In this way, it offers an ex ante perspective on policy-reform options for the G20's ongoing response to COVID-19.

Whichever choice the G20 makes in its response to COVID-19 has profound consequences for global governance in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Herein lies the importance of an exploratory assessment of COVID-19 as a critical juncture or a critical wound for the G20.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the hitherto unexplored strategic potentialities of blockchain as an intangible resource for open and distance learning (ODL) to attain and sustain competitive advantage by creating a more learner centric learning ecosystem.

Research design included review of the literature, desk research and case analyses to conduct this study so that the hitherto unexplored strategic potentialities of blockchain, a technological innovation, for ODL could be explored adequately.

The findings of the paper reveal that ODL must not miss out on the opportunity of harnessing the hitherto unexplored strategic potentialities of blockchain in its quest of attaining and sustain competitiveness vis-a-vis conventional system of learning. Results of this study sufficiently hint at the possible viability of considering blockchain as a strategic resource for ODL.

Results of this study sufficiently indicate the possible viability of considering blockchain as a strategic resource for ODL which in turn make them significant for decision-makers and policymakers engaged in developing ODL. Findings hint that ODL needs to make efforts to harness the strategic potentialities of blockchain for attaining and sustaining competitiveness which would also be helpful for ODL to contribute towards achievement of sustainable development goals. This paper attempts to provide a strategic viewpoint to the use of this technological innovation as a significant intangible resource discussing primarily the strategic perspectives of blockchain helpful in the further development of ODL.

Although uses of blockchain-enabled applications in ODL are relatively new, the growth is very fast. The present paper offers originality and value by filling the gap created by the inadequacies of studies focusing on the idiosyncratic characteristics including but not limited to decentralization and security of blockchain. Findings suggest that blockchain offers huge potentialities in terms of benefits for entire ODL ecosystem comprising different stakeholders such as institutions, learners, educators, etc.

The study aim is to evaluate the contribution of Blockchain technology (Cryptobanking) using expected operating model (EOM) to address the pain points in reconciliation at middle and back-office operational levels in assessing the significance of this technology on return on investment.

A structured questionnaire was designed to collect primary data using a stratified sampling method from 120 respondents working in leading Investment banks operating in the geographical locality of urban Bangalore. Demographic variables, accounting variables, data reporting variables, approach variables, variables of EOM were considered to validate the hypothesis with the help of statistical tools, namely ANOVA, and Multiple Stepwise Regression Analysis.

The results obtained confirm that there is significant difference in reconciliation with implementation of an innovative business process. Financial analysis is the highest predictor of ROI when integrated with technology as the adapted Blockchain innovation in reconciliation is the most influencing factor in enhancing, improving ROI playing a pivotal role in the Investment banks.

Blockchain technology (Cryptobanking) facilitates in transforming the reconciliation process of these banks with improved operational efficiency. Blockchain and settlement platforms offer inter-organization solutions facilitating in the reconciliation of various transactions in real-time through a trust-based network in the form of digital settlements with better consortiums.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate students’ perception of blended learning instructional design in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the Sultanate of Oman. A course in a bachelor degree was offered using blended learning instructional mode, and students’ feedback was obtained on the impact of blended learning. The study was conducted in Ibra College of Technology, one of the seven colleges under the Ministry of Manpower in the Sultanate of Oman. A course in Business Strategy and HR Management was offered during Summer 2016 using a combination of traditional and online instructional design. A structured questionnaire was administered at the end of the semester to solicit feedback from students. The results of the study highlighted a positive attitude among students towards blended learning courses. The research stressed the requirements for proper infrastructure, training and development initiatives for staff and students, shift to a more focused practical assessment methods to measure the graduate attributes. Student engagement, learner autonomy, connection of learning to real life environments and flexibility all appeared to benefit from the blended learning course.

This paper aims to explore the structure and underlying contracts of Islamic venture capital (IVC) and to evaluate its prospects. VC can be perceived as an investment vehicle possessing most of the desirable attributes of a Sharīʿah-compliant investment vehicle. There are certain issues involved in the formation, operations and exit strategies of these investments that are discussed in detail in this paper.

A detailed review of relevant literature is performed to identify how IVC investments can be made and how related issues may be resolved.

IVC investment has potential of incorporating Sharīʿah-compliant investment modes. Additionally, it may offer higher than average returns. These attributes can be desirable for Islamic finance industry that is currently in need of equity-based financing products. The major causes of lesser growth of IVC investments are lack of awareness among the investors and the absence of viable investment opportunities for small- and medium-scale investors. IVC may attract general public if established after extensive research aimed at introducing innovative products.

This paper provides an overview of a truly Sharīʿah-compliant investment vehicle, furnishes a synthesis of various suggestions made by industry and academia and suggests viable solutions for valuation, risk management and exit strategies.

For change initiatives to succeed, change managers are required to address recipients’ needs. Although strategies to deal with change recipients and their resistance are widely explored, there is a dearth of studies that consider the different salience of change recipients. This paper aims to propose a framework on the effects of participation and coercion as strategies to deal with change recipients and their impact on change derailment.

Conceptual based upon that change recipients are classified into three levels according to their salience in relation to change. Based upon the recipients’ power and legitimacy in relation to change, stakeholder salience theory constitutes a theoretical provision used in this research to categorize the salience of change recipients.

The framework integrates change recipients’ salience levels (i.e. definitive, expectant and latent) and the effects of participation and coercion strategies on change derailment in times of organizational re-creation. The paper develops six hypotheses, which yield insights that advance the understanding of dealing with change recipients in the context of organizational re-creation.

The paper is conceptual and not yet tested empirically. To empirically test the framework, research adopting survey methodology to gather data from organizations that experience a re-creation change as defined in this paper. The unit of analysis for future research is described in this paper and it is how organizational re-creation is defined in this paper.

Stakeholder salience theory is used to develop a framework that combines three classes of change recipients’ salience, as well as the effects of two strategies to deal with them and their resistance (i.e. lack of involvement and coercion) to examine their influence on change derailment. The potential contribution will expand the current literature discussed in this paper about dealing with change recipients’ resistance to change.