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To achieve changing customer demands, organizations are striving hard to embrace cutting-edge technologies facilitating a high level of customization. Industry 4.0 (I4.0) implementation aids in handling big data that could help generate customized products. Lean six sigma (LSS) depends on data analysis to execute complex problems. Hence, the present study aims to empirically examine the key operational characteristics of LSS and I4.0 integration such as principles, workforce skills, critical success factors, challenges, LSS tools, I4.0 technologies and performance measures.

To stay competitive in the market and quickly respond to market demands, industries need to go ahead with digital transformation. I4.0 enables building intelligent factories by creating smart manufacturing systems comprising machines, operators and information and communication technologies through the complete value chain. This study utilizes an online survey on Operational Excellence professionals (Lean/Six Sigma), Managers/Consultants, Managing Directors/Executive Directors, Specialists/Analysts/Engineers, CEO/COO/CIO, SVP/VP/AVP, Industry 4.0 professionals and others working in the field of I4.0 and LSS. In total, 83 respondents participated in the study.

Based on the responses received, reliability, exploratory factor analysis and non-response bias analysis were carried out to understand the biasness of the responses. Further, the top five operational characteristics were reported for LSS and I4.0 integration.

One of the limitations of the study is the sample size. Since I4.0 is a new concept and its integration with LSS is not yet explored; it was difficult to achieve a large sample size.

Organizations can utilize the study findings to realize the top principles, workforce skills, critical success factors, challenges, LSS tools, I4.0 tools and performance measures with respect to LSS and I4.0 integration. Moreover, these operational characteristics will help to assess the organization's readiness before and after the implementation of this integration.

The authors' original contribution is the empirical investigation of operational characteristics responsible for I4.0 and LSS integration.

This research aims to update the literature about the importance of reliability in supply chain (SC) and to find out the SC determinants.

This research surveys while contributing to the academic grasp of supply chain reliability (SCR) concepts. The study found 45 peer-reviewed publications using a structured survey technique with a four-step filtering process. The filtering process includes data reduction processes such as an evaluation of abstract and conclusion. The filtered study focuses on SCR and its determinants.

One of the major findings is that most of the study has focused on mathematical and conceptual studies. Also, this study provides the answer to a question like how can reliability be better accepted and evolved within the SC after finding the determinants of SCR.

The observed methodological gap in understanding and development of SCR was identified and classified into three categories: mathematical, conceptual and empirical studies (case studies and survey’s mainly). This research will aid academics in developing and understanding the determinants of SCR.

This paper aims to systematically review and synthesize existing research on learning-driven strategic renewal and examines the findings to elucidate the dimensions, antecedents, mechanisms and consequences associated with learning-driven strategic renewal, thereby addressing gaps in the existing literature.

This research covers learning-driven strategic renewal from 1992 to 2022, using hybrid snowball sampling techniques and Boolean searches on the Scopus and Web of Science databases to extract 49 papers.

This review proposes an organizing framework for learning-driven strategic renewal, building upon existing literature. The framework identifies various dimensions of the process, including antecedents, mechanisms and consequences. The antecedents are categorized into individual, organizational and external factors. The mechanisms for learning-driven strategic renewal were explored within the context of Crossan’s established 4I framework, which serves as a lens for emphasizing the balance between exploratory and exploitative learning. Within this framework, intuiting, interpreting, integrating and institutionalizing are the four “Is” that guide the renewal process. These mechanisms require a robust system to enforce the prescribed processes effectively, thereby contributing to long-term firm performance and sustainability.

Despite using search terms similar to those in existing literature on strategic renewal, the scope and depth of this study may be limited. Further research may benefit from bibliometric screening or more refined inclusion criteria.

While there has been extensive research into both organizational learning and strategic renewal, no coherent framework links them. This study fills this gap by building a framework that identifies connections between these two concepts, providing valuable insights that may be used to foster successful strategic renewal efforts. The review offers valuable knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, serving as useful guidance for effectively driving renewal initiatives within organizations.

The study aims to explore how fashion visual symbols influence consumers' inclination for repurchasing. It attempts to investigate the intricate interplay among three essential variables (social presence, collective excitement and cultural identification) from the perspective of Interaction Ritual Chains theory. Meanwhile, an attempt is made to reveal the underlying patterns in these relationships, fully harnessing the positive impact of fashion brand visual symbols in brand marketing.

This study employs a quantitative research methodology, administering an online survey in China, from which 381 valid responses were collected by simple random sampling. The acquired data were subjected to structural equation model and hypotheses testing.

The analysis reveals that heightened visual symbol perception significantly strengthens consumers' social presence, consequently elevating the probability of collective excitement. This establishes a mediated chain model, reinforcing repurchase intention. Additionally, the moderation effect analysis indicates that cultural identification negatively moderates both direct paths in the mediated chain model, with particularly pronounced effects for low cultural identification.

This study establishes a closed-loop system in fashion brand product marketing, continuously enhancing the intimacy and interactive willingness between consumers, as well as between consumers and the brand. The objective is to increase brand repurchase rates. Additionally, the research provides valuable recommendations and strategies for fashion brands to adapt to Chinese consumer demands, strengthen emotional attachment between consumers and the brand, and achieve sustainable development in the realm of fashion consumption.

Internationalisation is considered as a key strategy for the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between dynamic capability, SMEs internationalisation and firm performance in the context of emerging economies and to evaluate the impact of financial, asset and market expansion on internationalisation of SMEs.

Using primary data from 212 SMEs from Bangladesh, structural equation modelling and mathematical (hierarchical reflective) model, the analysis enabled the measurement of the casual relationship on the impacts of internationalisation.

The results revealed that internationalisation of SMEs has significant impact on both financial and non-financial performance of SMEs in an emerging economy- Bangladesh. The paper found internationalisation impacts on two dimensions (financial and non-financial) with eight defined indicators – higher sales, higher profit, assets maximisation, market expansion, competitive advantage, better reputation, better customer service and added knowledge.

Despite several studies that examine the relationship between SME internationalisation and firm performance, limited research exists on emerging economies. This is contrary to the fact that SMEs are one of the main vehicles for growth in those economies such as Bangladesh. In this research, the authors use the theories of dynamic capabilities to conceptualise how internationalisation becomes a core SME capability for SMEs in an emerging economy.

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of intellectual capital in terms of human capital, structural capital and capital employed on the financial performance of Islamic and conventional banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Along with the measurement discussion, the empirical analysis examines the relationship between intellectual capital measured through value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) and the financial performance of banks in the GCC states by conducting a panel of six GCC countries, including 24 Islamic banks and 32 conventional banks covering 2012–2020 period.

This paper shows that while Islamic banks have similar VAIC, human capital efficiency and capital employed efficiency results to conventional banks, Islamic banks have lagged behind conventional banks regarding the impact of structural capital on financial performance. It is argued that this is in contradiction with Islamic ontology and epistemology, which essentialises intellectual capital formation.

Islamic banks should promote research and development for their intellectual capital at the product, operational and institutional levels, as Islamic banking is considered an alternative financing method, incorporating a new form of knowledge-based institutions inspired by capitalist institutions.

This study conducts a comparative examination of the intellectual capital performance and its impact on financial performance by using interaction variables to capture any differences between Islamic banks and conventional banks in the GCC countries. The paper also considers the knowledge economy impact as a novelty, which is prominent for the GCC countries. In addition, Islamic ontology’s essentialisation of knowledge and its articulation in the form of intellectual capital within modern understanding is widely discussed, as part of originality. Finally, the findings are located within Islamic ontology and epistemology.

This study has conducted exploratory research to understand who should comprise the members of a resilient supply chain for promoting an entrepreneurial ecosystem of a startup project and to determine the mechanisms for the balanced coexistence of all stakeholders. This is necessary to ensure mutual benefits for all stakeholders, each of whom has multidimensional interests. Additionally, this supply chain must be able to withstand any potential disruption risks.

This research has employed a mixed-design approach. In this context, the study conducted an extensive qualitative and quantitative investigation, including 30 interviews and a survey involving 180 potential stakeholders in this supply network, respectively in the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka. The analysis of the interviews utilized principles of matrix thinking, while structural equation modeling (SEM) through LISREL was employed to understand cause-and-effect relationships.

Network, platform and governance—these three independent constructs have the potential to contribute to the dependent construct, a resilient supply chain, aimed at promoting an entrepreneurial ecosystem for startup projects. It has been revealed that the management of such projects depends on the rules and regulations within the ecosystem. An excellent governance mechanism is essential for this purpose. To facilitate coexistence, the establishment of a platform is crucial, where cooperation among all members is mandatory.

For practitioners, three distinctive but closely interdependent issues are explored and resolved in this philanthropic study. It has unfolded the elements of any startup project with essential settings.

The identification of the structural dynamics of potential stakeholders within the entrepreneurial ecosystem of startups is largely absent in existing literature. Therefore, there is a need to comprehensively investigate the entire network, including their roles, responsibilities and associations. This study makes a significant and novel contribution to the existing literature. Academics and practitioners alike have ample opportunities to learn from this new aspect of relationships across three distinct areas: the entrepreneurial ecosystem, startup projects and the development of a resilient supply chain.

This study aims to investigate the effects of mineral rents, conflict and population growth on countries' growth, with a specific interest in 13 selected economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This paper uses a combination of research methods: the pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), the fixed effect and the system generalized method of moment (GMM). The consistent estimator (system GMM), which provides the paper's empirical findings, remedies the inherent endogeneity bias in the model formulation. The utilized panel dataset for the study spans from 1980 to 2022.

The study suggests that mineral rents positively affect countries' growth by about 0.407 percentage points in the short run. The study further demonstrates the long-run negative impacts of population growth rates and prevalence of civil war on economic growth. The empirical work of the study reveals that an increase in the number of international borders within the group promotes mineral conflicts, which impedes economic growth. Evidence from the specification tests performed in the study confirmed the validity of the empirical results.

Mineral rents, if well managed and conditioned on good institutions, are a blessing to an economy, contrary to the assumptions that mineral resources are a curse. The utilization of mineral rents in Sub-Saharan Africa for economic growth depends on several factors, notably the level of mineral conflicts, population growth rates, institutional factors and the ability to contain civil war, among others.

This study is the first attempt in the post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era to revisit the investigation of the impacts of mineral rents, conflict and population growth rates on the countries' growth while controlling for the potential implications of the qualities of institutions. One of the significant contributions of the study is the identification of high population growth rates as one of the primary drivers of mineral conflicts that impede economic growth in the states with enormous mineral deposits in Sub-Saharan Africa. The crucial inference drawn from the study is that mineral rents positively impact countries' growth, even with inherent institutional challenges, although the results could be better with good institutions.

Customers' participation in the online health community to create value with the brand is growing research interest. In addition, customers are using social media platforms to create value in the food sector. This rises points to the need to study consumers' interactions with online communities and the role of social media content and customer satisfaction in such an environment.

This research collects data using a survey approach. The data were analysed using a partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The findings indicated the impact of social media content and satisfaction on value co-creation in healthy food online communities. The study’s results provide significant new insights into the food sector during the pandemic.

This research enhances the knowledge of satisfaction and value co-creation in the social media context. The findings build on the previous literature on value co-creation, add to the food sector and explain the mediating role of satisfaction between social media content and value co-creation.

Our paper studies a central issue with a long history in economics: the relationship between population and economic growth. We analyze the joint dynamics of economic and demographic growth in 111 countries during the period 1960–2019.

Using the concept of economic regime, the paper introduces the notion of distance between the dynamical paths of different countries. Then, a minimal spanning tree (MST) and a hierarchical tree (HT) are constructed to detect groups of countries sharing similar dynamic performance.

The methodology confirms the existence of three country clubs, each of which exhibits a different dynamic behavior pattern. The analysis also shows that the clusters clearly differ with respect to the evolution of other fundamental variables not previously considered [gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, human capital and life expectancy, among others].

Our results indirectly suggest the existence of dynamic interdependence in the trajectories of economic growth and population change between countries. It also provides evidence against single-model approaches to explain the interdependence between demographic change and economic growth.

We introduce a methodology that allows for a model-free topological and hierarchical description of the interplay between economic growth and population.