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This study aims to examine whether firms that appear to exhibit high sustainable outputs are more likely to pay higher audit fees than firms without such outputs.

The sustainability outputs are measured using a sustainable product portfolio consisting of four products: clean energy products, eco-design products (EDP), environmental products (EP) and sustainable building projects (SBP). The audit fee variable is measured by the natural logarithm of the total amount of audit fees. The study tests two models of the association between these outputs and audit fees; Model 1 tests this association in the absence of the moderating variable (sustainability committee), and Model 2 tests the association in the presence of the moderating variable.

An analysis of data on 261 European firms from the Refinitiv Eikon database from 2010 to 2019 shows that high sustainability outputs are significantly and positively associated with audit fees. More importantly, this association is moderated by the presence of a board-level sustainability committee, suggesting that this type of committee reflects a factor considered by auditors in their audit risk assessment practices. The findings indicate that in Model 1, one (EP) out of four variables has a significant and positive association with audit fees, while in Model 2 and in the presence of sustainability committee, two variables (EP and EDP) have a significant and negative association with audit fees. However, the robust analysis shows that three variables (EP, EDP and SBP) have significant and negative associations with audit fees.

The study findings have important implications for policymakers, auditors and firms’ managers. For policymakers, the findings provide support for the argument that sustainable attitudes incentivise firms to manage sustainable product profiles more effectively. As such, policymakers should incentivise firms to establish a sustainability committee and regulate its role and responsibilities. Auditors should coordinate with the sustainability committee to facilitate audit efforts and reduce audit fees.

Understanding the relationship between sustainable products and audit fees will allow firms to improve their portfolio of sustainable products. In addition, other social implications of this study relate to improving relationships with society by establishing a sustainability committee that is responsible to communicate with that society.

The results support the argument that firms should manage sustainable product portfolios more effectively. In addition, the results of the study highlight the importance of a new variable as a moderator, the sustainability committee, which has not been examined before.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of halal awareness on the relationship between halal supply chain knowledge and purchase intention for halal meat products in the millennial generation.

The quantitative approach with the respondents of 177 millennial generations in Indonesia is selected to understand the relationships between variables. Structural equation model-partial least square is used to analyze the relationship between variables.

The findings of this study found that the purchase intention of halal products in the millennial generation is influenced by several factors such as halal supply chain knowledge, halal certification and logo and religious beliefs. However, the results of this study also show that concern for halal products failed to moderate the relationship between these three main variables on the purchase intention of halal products.

This study provides insights into the concern that strengthens the relationship between the main variables on the intention to purchase halal meat products for the millennial generation.

As one of its major strategies, China has made a new plan to further expand High Standard Farmland (HSF) to all permanent basic farmland (80% of total farmland) for grain security over the next decade. Yet, what will be the impact of farmland infrastructure investment on agrifood systems? The paper aims to systematically evaluate the multiple effects (food security, economy, nutrition and environment) of expanding HSF construction under the context of the “Big Food vision” using an interdisciplinary model.

An interdisciplinary model – AgriFood Systems Model, which links the China CGE model to diet and carbon emission modules, is applied to assess the multiple effects of HSF construction on agrifood systems, such as food security and economic development, residents’ diet quality and carbon emissions. Several policy scenarios are designed to capture these effects of the past HSF investment based on counterfactual analysis and compare the effects of HSF future investment at the national level under the conditions of different land use policies – restricting to grain crops or allowing diversification (like vegetables, and fruit).

The investments in HSF offer a promising solution for addressing the challenges of food and nutrition security, economic development and environmental sustainability. Without HSF construction, grain production and self-sufficiency would decline significantly, while the agricultural and agrifood systems’ GDP would decrease. The future investment in the HSF construction will further increase both grain production and GDP, improve dietary quality and reduce carbon emissions. Compared with the policy of limiting HSF to planting grains, diversified planting can provide a more profitable economic return, improve dietary quality and reduce carbon emissions.

This study contributes to better informing the impact of land infrastructure expanding investment on the agrifood systems from multiple dimensions based on an interdisciplinary model. We suggest that the government consider applying diversified planting in the future HSF investment to meet nutritional and health demands, increase household income and reduce carbon emissions.

The purpose of this article is based on the unit patent license fee model in the closed-loop supply chain.

This paper analyzes the impact of the bundling strategy of the retailer selling new products and remanufactured products on the closed-loop supply chain under the condition that the original manufacturer produces new products and the remanufacturer produces remanufacturing products.

The results show that alternative products can be bundled, and in many cases, the bundling of remanufactured products and new products is better than selling alone.

If the retailer chooses bundling, for the remanufacturer, when certain conditions are met, the benefits of bundling are greater than the separate sales at that time; for the original manufacturer, when the recycling price sensitivity coefficient is high, the bundling is better than separate sales.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how different types of user experience in TikTok impact purchase intention via commitment to the influencer and commitment to the platform, with customer type included to determine moderating effects. Three types of user experience are considered: information experience, entertainment experience and parasocial-relationship-based experience.

This study collected 458 valid questionnaires from TikTok users, employing the structural equation modeling approach to examine the proposed research model.

Information experience, entertainment experience and parasocial-relationship-based experience are found to critically stimulate user commitment to the influencer and commitment to the platform, in turn driving TikTok-based purchase intention. Tests incorporating customer type reveal that commitment to the influencer more strongly influences the purchase intention of repeat customers, with commitment to the platform more likely to stimulate purchase intention among potential customers.

On a theoretical level, the paper is among the first to examine TikTok-based user purchase intention with customer type as a moderator. On a practical level, the results can guide marketers to effectively promote products using TikTok and inspire TikTok managers to develop customized strategies to stimulate initial and repeat sales.

TikTok is moving to the stage of commercialization and monetization by introducing e-commerce features. Although this move should cultivate particularly fertile ground for companies to sell products, TikTok user purchase behavior has yet to receive sufficient research attention, with little currently known about their purchase motivations. The current study uncovers the significant antecedents of users' purchase intention through TikTok, and further reveals the motivational differences among potential and repeat customers.

The purpose of this study is to develop a novel general mathematical model to find the optimal product mix of commercial graphite products, which has a complex production process with alternative sub-processes in the graphite mining production process.

The network optimization was adopted to model the complex graphite mining production process through the optimal allocation of raw graphite, byproducts, and saleable products with comparable sub-processes, which has different processing capacities and costs. The model was tested on a selected graphite manufacturing company, and the optimal graphite product mix was determined through the selection of the optimal production process. In addition, sensitivity and scenario analyses were carried out to accommodate uncertainties and to facilitate further managerial decisions.

The selected graphite mining company mines approximately 400 metric tons of raw graphite per month to produce ten types of graphite products. According to the optimum solution obtained, the company should produce only six graphite products to maximize its total profit. In addition, the study demonstrated how to reveal optimum managerial decisions based on optimum solutions.

This study has made a significant contribution to the graphite manufacturing industry by modeling the complex graphite mining production process with a network optimization technique that has yet to be addressed at this level of detail. The sensitivity and scenario analyses support for further managerial decisions.

Nowadays, the agri-food industry is called to face several sustainability challenges that require the development of new sustainable models. The adoption of new technological assets from Industry 4.0 supports the companies during the implementation of sustainability practices. Several models design the operation management of the food supply chains (FSCs). Because none extant models resulted complete in technological and sustainability elements, this paper aims to propose an innovative and sustainable agri-food value chain model, contributing to extend understating of how supply chains can become more sustainable through the Industry 4.0 technologies.

Thanks to a well-structured and replicable systematic literature review and sequent content analysis, this work recognized and compared the extant FSC models, focusing on the interaction of five key elements: activities, flows, stakeholders, technologies and sustainability. The output of the comparison leading in the definition of the proposed model is discussed in a focus group of 10 experts and tested in a case study.

Fifteen extant models were recognized in literature and analysed to discover their features and to putt in light peculiarities and differences among them. This analysis provided useful insights to design and propose a new innovative and sustainable agri-food value chain model; an example for the olive oil business case is provided.

The adding value of the work is the proposed model which regards innovative elements such as recirculation flows, external stakeholders and Industry 4.0 technologies usage which allows enhancing the agri-FSCs operational efficiency and sustainability.

This paper aims to examine the effect of conditional conservatism on audit fees and whether the firm’s engagement in sustainable practices moderates the relationship between conditional conservatism and audit fees.

Using a sample of 3,767 firm-year observations from 14 European Union countries over the period of 2006–2019, the authors adopt the ordinary least square estimator to perform a panel data analysis of the effect of conditional conservatism on audit fees, and the moderating role of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores on the relationship between conditional conservatism and audit fees.

The authors find that conditional conservatism has a significant negative effect on audit fees, suggesting that auditors charge lower audit fees on more conservative clients. The authors also find that firms engaging in ESG actions, whether combined or individual, pay higher audit fees. More interestingly, the authors provide evidence that the negative effect of conditional conservatism on audit fees is mitigated only when ESG performance is considered in combination. This implies that firms exhibiting less commitment to ESG sustainability practices are prone to paying reduced audit fees when engaged in more conservative reporting. The findings remain robust after conducting a battery of tests.

The findings of this study have practical implications for several parties, including companies, auditors and regulators. This study emphasizes the potential benefit associated with using conservative accounting practices in terms of shaping downward the amount of audit fees. However, it also highlights the importance of considering the additional audit costs associated with higher ESG scores when making decisions about implementing sustainable practices.

Unlike prior studies that investigate the direct impact of sustainable practices on audit fees, the present work contributes to the literature on the benefits and costs of ESG by examining the moderating role of ESG performance in the association between audit fees and conditional conservatism. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine this relationship. Theoretically, the research integrates the theories of audit risk and agency to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the drivers of audit fees.

Previous studies have rarely integrated the financing modes of a capital-constrained manufacturer with the choices of online sales strategies. To address this gap, the authors study how a manufacturer selects optimal financing modes under different sales strategies in three dual-channel supply chains.

This paper considers three sales strategies, namely, combining a traditional retailer channel with one of the direct selling, reselling and agency selling channels, and two common financing modes, namely, bank financing and retailer financing. The authors obtain equilibrium outcomes of the manufacturer and traditional retailer and then provide the conditions for them to select optimal financing modes under three sales strategies.

The results indicate that the manufacturer’s financing decisions rely on the initial capital and interest rates, and the manufacturer selects retailer financing only if the initial capital is relatively larger. In terms of financing mode options, the retailer financing mode is more beneficial for the manufacturer under the three sales strategies. From the perspective of sales strategies, the direct selling model is more beneficial. In addition, the higher the consumer acceptance of the online channel, the more profits the manufacturer obtains.

This paper provides suggestions on how the capital-constrained manufacturer chooses financing modes and sales strategies.

This paper integrates the financing mode and different sales strategies to investigate the manufacturer’s optimal operational decisions. These sales strategies allow us to investigate the manufacturer’s optimal financing modes in the presence of both different financing modes and sales strategies.

Circular economy advocates innovations that upcycle wastes in the food supply chain to generate high added-value materials. These innovations are not only disruptive and green but also they are often initiated by startups, leading to the emergence of novel open-loop supply chains connecting actors in food and non-food sectors. While earlier research has highlighted the need to seek legitimacy for disruptive innovations to survive and grow, little is known about how these innovations occur and evolve across sectors. This paper aims to elaborate on this mechanism by exploring the function of the circular economy as a boundary object to facilitate legitimacy-seeking strategies.

An exploratory multiple-case research design is adopted and features food waste innovation projects with multi-tier supply chains consisting of a food producer, a startup and a buying firm. The study is investigated from the legitimacy and boundary object lenses.

The findings proposed a framework for the role of a boundary object in enabling legitimacy-seeking strategies for novel food waste innovations. First, the interpretative flexibility of the circular economy affords actors symbolic resources to conduct manipulation strategy to achieve cognitive legitimacy. Second, small-scale work arrangements enable creation strategy for the new supply chain to harness moral legitimacy. Finally, pragmatic legitimacy is granted via diffusion strategy enabled by scalable work arrangements.

This paper provides novel insights into the emergence of food waste innovation from a multi-tier supply chain perspective. It also highlights the key role of the boundary object in the legitimacy-seeking process.