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The purpose of this study is to offer a conceptual model that bridges gaps in the current research by combining constructs from the health belief model (HBM) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Furthermore, the researchers applied the constructed model to analyse the determinants of workers’ intentions to use e-wallet payment options for business transactions rather than physical currency during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the paper examines whether there are any significant variations in the usage intentions of Ghanaian workers in the formal and informal sectors.

The non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to compile the primary respondents among Ghanaian users of e-wallets. Based on constructs derived from the HBM and TPB, an online survey involving the use of a questionnaire was administered to collect quantitative data from 285 formal and informal sector workers in Ghana. Data collected was analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling approach involving the measurement, structural model tests, hypothesis tests and multi-group analysis (MGA) tests.

This study reveals that workers’ attitudes, subjective norms and perceived susceptibility as the main determinants of intentions to use e-wallets, as the analysis of data lends support to hypotheses involving these constructs. Perceived behavioural control was however not supported by the data analysis as a determinant of workers’ intention. Finally, there were no significant differences between e-wallet usage intentions of formal and informal sector workers in Ghana.

Given the ongoing pandemic, the study recommends that governments of emerging economies should formulate policies that promote the use of e-wallets, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and at the same time contribute to the quest for a cashless economy. However, the results of the study are only based on data collected from workers in Ghana. Therefore, practitioners should apply the recommendations with discretion and make modifications where necessary. The results of the study also provide evidence from the context of a developing country that can support future academic pursuits.

This study provides evidence that influences practitioners’ decisions and practices regarding the design and implementation of e-wallet services and innovations among workers in the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

This study provides useful business insights to user acquisition managers, marketing managers and business development managers during the formulation of policies, strategies and approaches for their mobile wallet subscriber base. Moreover, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to apply the constructs of the HBM (mainly applied in health research) to the study of workers’ intentions to use e-wallets. It, therefore, makes a significant contribution to the existing literature by examining the combined effects of the constructs of the HBM and the TPB on workers’ intention to use e-wallets.

This study aims to highlight potential savings in advertising budgets.

This study uses modern computer-based tools including stochastic dominance to check if advertising expenses are increasing sales by using modern causality assessment tools which allow for nonlinearities and use sophisticated assessment of causal impact of ads on sales.

This study identifies specific media spots where ad budget savings are possible. The marketing managers can take the next step to make small-scale local experiments to reassess this study’s findings.

This study is a statistical observational assessment not based on controlled experiments.

The authors have tools to identify ineffective advertising which can produce huge savings for the organization. The over-the-counter cold remedies have become important due to the pandemic. The tools have wider applicability in marketing research.

Less wasteful expenses always benefit the society.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this may be the first such attempt to use sophisticated causal identification tools. Remedies for the common cold sold by seven major US retailers help identify specific retailers and specific media with negative returns on investment.

Prosperity and growth of emerging economies rely heavily on the innovativeness of higher education institutions (HEIs) and their ability to provide employable graduates with entrepreneurial competencies and flexibility in the assessment of their progress in gaining knowledge. The innovativeness of the higher education system is not always reflected through optimal educational content, innovative study programs, skills improvement, assessment methods, etc. The study aims to analyze and evaluate how selected internal factors, reflected in organizational support for innovativeness of HEIs, and external factors reflected in government support for innovativeness of HEIs determine the innovativeness of HEIs, as one of the key determinants of economic prosperity.

The authors analyzed three facets of higher education innovativeness, i.e. graduates' employability, entrepreneurial competencies and new ways of assessment. The sample included 664 students from the University of Kragujevac, Serbia, and the University of Maribor, Slovenia. The authors applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine relations.

The results clearly show that in order to become the driver of development in emerging economies, universities must act in different directions, focusing on different organizational drivers of innovativeness, such as academic autonomy of teachers, student participation in curricula design, enhancing new ideas and compensation system, provide resources etc. Organizational support and government for innovativeness of HEIs affect students' entrepreneurial and social skills, creative thinking, leadership, interactive competencies and knowledge-skill-attitude. Assessment tasks and associated learning should be redesigned to enable students to be involved in the evaluation of their work.

The study strives to reduce the research gap identified in the field of researching the drivers of innovativeness in higher education and offers implications for emerging markets regarding various factors that determine the innovativeness of HEIs and consequently contribute to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Originality derives from the fact that even though the authors have explored HEIs in Serbia and Slovenia, the results are fully transferrable to other former socialist states, considering their similar socio-economic and educational background. Results of this research complement the understanding and provide new knowledge for further development of innovativeness in HE.

This paper examines the relationship between supply chain network structures and firm financial performance and the moderating role of international relations. In this study, which is grounded in social capital theory and applies the perspective of systemic risk, the authors theorize the effects of supply chain network structures on firm performance.

The authors extracted data from two Chinese databases and constructed a supply chain network of the firms concerned based on nearly 4,300 supply chain relations between 2009 and 2018. The authors adopted the fixed effects model to investigate the relationship between supply chain network structures and firm financial performance.

The econometrics results indicate that network structures, including the degree, centrality, clustering coefficients and structural holes, are significantly related to firm financial performance. A significant and negative relationship exists between international relations and firm financial performance. The authors also find that international relations strongly weaken the relationship between supply chain network structures and firm financial performance.

This study, which collects secondary data from developing countries (e.g. China) and explores the impacts of supply chain network structures on firm stock performance, contributes to the existing literature and provides practical implications.

It has long been recognized that overwhelmed employees of bureaucratic organizations use a variety of strategies to cope with demand for their services, often at the expense of their clients. One such strategy involves discouraging clients from taking action by making references to complex bureaucratic procedures and routines. While the public management literature has a well-developed research program focusing on the mobilization of such administrative burdens, organization theory seems to be lagging behind in the analysis of that type of misconduct. In this chapter, we explain how references to the representational dimension of routines can be used to discourage clients from taking action, what are the boundary conditions of such a strategy, and its possible consequences for clients.

This study explores the difference in occupants' satisfaction with biophilic features in high-rises, townhouses, and villas in Dubai to identify new strategies that promote more human-nature connections. The study also serves as a benchmark for applying Biophilic Design in the Gulf region and bridging between biophilic theory and practice.

A mixed-mode approach was used, combining surveys from occupants and interviews with experts (3 policymakers, a developer, and a biophilic design educator). The survey collected occupants' satisfaction and acceptance of proposed strategies, and the interviews validated the potentially accepted solutions.

The results indicated high overall satisfaction with biophilic features despite neutral/low satisfaction with specific features. In high-rise buildings, respondents showed high acceptance for different proposed strategies; 76.4% for adaptive control of balconies by season, 82.7% for utilizing outdoor roof gardens, 78.9% for indoor gardens, and 71.8% for vertical farming. Additionally, respondents accepted social strategies; 63.6% agreed to join clubs promoting environmental events, and 75.4% accepted participating in outdoor recreational activities accompanied by local environmental education. The interviews showed an inclination toward incentive programs instead of obligations.

Unlike former studies that assessed indoor environmental qualities without referring to biophilic theory or limited reference to biophilic design, this study provides a novel approach for bridging theory and practice by integrating biophilic design into residential buildings for Dubai's future developments. Additionally, the authors suggest validated proposals to enhance the occupants' biophilic living experience, serving as a benchmark for biophilic application in the Gulf region.

Using a case study approach, this chapter examines two primary changes to global health education prompted and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. First, is the acceleration of digital education into the typical global health classroom. Second, is the integration of transnational networks and partnerships between intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and higher education institutions (HEIs) to create, adapt, and disseminate digital materials in fast-changing information environments. The chapter examines the potential positive and negative impacts of the proliferation of digital content created by IGOs and international NGOs that is being rapidly integrated into use in HEIs for Global Health. The growth of tools and access through these new partnerships may lead to increased access to global health information for professionals. However, these changes may have long-term implications for global health regarding equitable access to culturally appropriate and accurate information. Furthermore, there may be additional implications for equity, as the proliferation of tools may still leave out the most vulnerable that do not have access to digital platforms.

The globalisation of supply chains has contributed to modern slavery by degrading labour standards and work practices. The inherent difficulties involved in monitoring extremely fragmented production processes also render workers in and from developing countries vulnerable to labour exploitation. This research adopts a benchmark methodology that will help examine the inherent modern slavery challenges.

This study examines how the benchmark model, including governance, risk assessment, purchasing practice, recruitment and remedy of victims, addresses supply chain modern slavery challenges. The proposed hypotheses are tested based on the reoccurring issues of modern slavery in global supply chains.

Estimations suggest that modern slavery is a growing and increasingly prominent international problem, indicating that it is the second largest and fastest growing criminal enterprise worldwide except for narcotics trafficking. These social issues in global supply chains have drawn attention to the importance of verifying, monitoring and mapping supply chains, especially in lengthy and complex supply chains. However, the advent of digital technologies and benchmarking methodologies has become one of the existing key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring the effectiveness of modern slavery initiatives in supply chains.

This review provides an understanding of the current situation of global supply chains concerning the growing social issue of modern slavery. However, this includes various individual specialities relating to global supply chains, modern slavery, socially sustainable supply chain management (SCM), logistic social responsibility, corporate social responsibility and digitalisation. Furthermore, the review provided important implications for researchers examining the activities on benchmarking the effectiveness of the existing initiatives to prevent modern slavery in the supply chains.