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Sustainable supply chain finance (SSCF) is a fascinated consideration for both academics and practitioners because the indicators are still underdeveloped in achieving SSCF. This study proposes a bibliometric data-driven analysis from the literature to illustrate a clear overall concept of SSCF that reveals hidden indicators for further improvement.

A hybrid quantitative and qualitative approach combining data-driven analysis, fuzzy Delphi method (FDM), entropy weight method (EWM) and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (FDEMATEL) is employed to address the uncertainty in the context.

The results show that blockchain, cash flow shortage, reverse factoring, risk assessment and triple bottom line (TBL) play significant roles in SSCF. A comparison of the challenges and gaps among different geographic regions is provided in both advanced local perspective and a global state-of-the-art assessment. There are 35 countries/territories being categorized into five geographic regions. Of the five regions, two, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa, show the needs for more improvement, exclusively in collaboration strategies and financial crisis. Exogenous impacts of wars, natural disasters and disease epidemics are implied as inevitable attributes for enhancing the sustainability.

This study contributes to (1) boundary SSCF foundations by data driven, (2) identifying the critical SSCF indicators and providing the knowledge gaps and directions as references for further examination and (3) addressing the gaps and challenges in different geographic regions to provide advanced assessment from local viewpoint and to diagnose the comprehensive global state of the art of SSCF.

This study aims to examine a hierarchical framework for sustainable consumption (SC) for cruise ships and identify the causal relationships and decisive attributes of cruise ship operation practices that allow cruise organizations to achieve a higher level of sustainable performance.

This study applies a hybrid of the Delphi method and a fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). DEMATEL methodology helps to construct complex causal relations through digraphs, which depict interrelationships among attributes. The fuzzy set theory assesses experts’ perceptions of attributes given in linguistic preferences. The Delphi method has been previously used to validate attributes and determine the validity and reliability of the construct from qualitative information.

A set of three aspects containing 21 criteria were defined based on previous literature and expert consultations. The analysis results show that waste minimization and recycling and recovery are causal aspects that influence efficient resource use. Emission controls on ships, cruise ship alternative energy sources, ballast water treatment systems, water purification systems and nanofiltration systems are also prominent criteria for the improvement of SC during cruise ship operation.

This study contributes to the literature by offering a hierarchical framework for SC literature and confirming the role of this issue in improving the cruise industry sustainability. In practice, as such results provide key attributes for successful performance, the implications are offered for companies developing new activities, either in ensuring compliance with business goals or in decreasing the environmental impact.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the efficiency of loading and discharging operations in container terminals. Accounting for an increase in the size of ships, the yard truck (YT) routing and scheduling problem has become an important issue to terminal operators.

A (binary) integer programming model is developed using the time-space network technique to optimally move YTs between quay cranes (QC) and yard cranes (YC) in the time and space dimensions. The objective of the model is to minimize the total operating cost, and the model employs the M/M/S model in the queuing theory to determine the waiting time of YTs. The developed model can obtain the optimal number of YTs and their scheduling and routing plans simultaneously, as shown by the computational results.

The results also show that the model can be applied to practical operations. In this research, an experimental design of the QC and YC operation networks was considered with the import and export containers carried by YTs. The model can be used to tackle a real world problem in an international port, and the analysis results could be useful references for port operators in actual practice.

The purpose of this research only focusses on YTs routing and scheduling problem, however, the container terminal operation problems are interrelated with berth allocation and yard stacking plan. The managerial application of this study is to analyze the trade-off between truck numbers and truck waiting time can be used for terminal operators to adjust the truck assignment. This research can assist an operator to determine the optimal fleet size and schedule in advance to avoid wasted costs and congestion in the quayside and yard block.

This research solves the YT scheduling and routing problem for container discharging and loading processes with a time-space network model, which has not been previously reported, through an empirical research.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a disastrous impact on a substantial number of Filipino seafarers. The government agencies played a crucial role in helping the seafarers. This paper aims to explore the challenges that the Filipino seafarers faced amid the pandemic and initially evaluate the Philippine government’s countermeasures.

This paper reviewed academic literature and secondary data to identify and analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafarers. To identify the full range of policies and measures that have been adopted by the Philippines’ government amid the pandemic to mitigate the impact on seafarers, an extensive survey of various sources was conducted. Furthermore, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) survey was conducted from seafarers' perspective to analyze the priority of these government initiatives.

This study identifies four key challenges for seafarers during the pandemic: crew change crisis, healthcare shortages, certification and the derived problems including financial and mental health issues. Notably, mental health problems are prevalent but receive limited government attention. Despite the government’s efforts to assist seafarers, the AHP survey identifies crew change assistance as the most crucial issue, possibly impacting all others.

This paper recognizes the significant information regarding aid in recovery management and provides much-needed assistance to seafarers during the pandemic and similar crisis situations. It bridges the research gaps and contributes knowledge to the government, stakeholders and various entities such as shipping companies, ship management firms and seafarers' manning agencies.

This study investigates the economic outcomes of organic farming controlling for the four major aspects of a cropping system, including climate, genotypes, management and soil. Considering possible variations in treatment responses, this study also presents empirical evidence of heterogeneous treatment effects associated with spatial agglomeration or farm covariates.

Rice farm households data taken from the 2015 Agriculture Census is merged with township-level seasonal weather data, crop suitability index and average income per capita in Taiwan. To address the selection bias problem, the authors apply the Probit-2SLS instrumental variable (IV) method in the binary treatment model under homogeneous and heterogeneous assumptions.

It is found that organic farming leads to a significantly positive effect on rice farms' economic performances in terms of cost reduction and profit growth. This positive treatment effect is more sizable with spatial agglomeration. Furthermore, the treatment effect of organic farming is found to vary with the farm characteristics such as farmland area and the number of hired workers.

Two important implications for the promotion of sustainable agri-food production are inferred: (1) establishing organic agriculture specialized zones may benefit rural development; (2) providing economic incentives to small farms to expand their scale may be a more effective policy means to promote sustainable agri-food production.

The findings in this study complement the body of knowledge by drawing insights from the agriculture census data and providing profound evidence of the heterogeneous outcomes of organic farming due to spatial clustering and farm covariates.