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This study aims to explore the emerging trend of business-wide Sustainability Third-Party Labels (STPLs), exemplified by entities like B-Corp. These labels are awarded to organizations committed to a distinctive approach to business, typically embracing the triple-bottom-line (TBL) framework, prioritizing not only financial performance but also social and environmental impact. The research investigates whether these labels enhance trust and influence perceptions of sustainability information quality among young consumers in Spain.

A factorial experiment has been conducted among a convenience sample of individuals belonging to the Z-generation (n = 126). The experiment involved randomly exposing the participants to different versions of an informational brochure from a fictional company in the agricultural sector (with and without label). Following the experiment, a focus group with 15 participants was conducted to assist in interpreting the results.

The results of this study suggest that the use of a nonsector specific label across various sectors with distinct sustainability challenges can lead to confusion among Z-generation consumers. Especially within sectors grappling with environmental concerns, such labels may be susceptible to being perceived as manifestations of greenwashing. Additionally, the study adds supporting evidence to the existing body of literature asserting gender differences in the interpretation of sustainability signals, including labels.

As far as this research is concerned, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that studies the perception of Z-generation members regarding business-wide STPLs. Focusing on studying, the attitudes toward sustainability of younger generations and how they respond to signals like business-wide STPLs are relevant, as they not only possess the longevity to drive substantial change but are also more susceptible to behavioral shifts, thereby holding significant potential in shaping a sustainable future. The study combines both qualitative and quantitative perspective and provides critical insights, relevant to stakeholders within business-wide STPL ecosystems, emphasizing the need for strategic coherence and transparency in label implementation.

Flexibility in the workplace is increasingly considered an important aspect of human resource strategy aimed at attracting and retaining a high-quality workforce. The purpose of this study is to explore the direct relationships between both employee- and employer-centered flexible work arrangements and turnover intentions, specifically focusing on Generation Z employees. In addition, this study also examines the mediating role of supervisor support and total rewards in these relationships.

This study used a quantitative research design using a cross-sectional survey method to gather data from employees born from 1995 across three industries – logistics, retail sales, and manufacturing. Partial least-squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The survey was conducted online, ensuring a diverse geographical spread and adherence to the representativeness of Generation Z within these sectors.

Contrary to existing literature, the findings reveal no direct correlation between flexible working arrangements (FWAs) and turnover intentions in this demographic. Instead, the results highlight the significant mediating roles of perceived supervisor support and total rewards. Specifically, these factors were found to influence turnover intentions in relation to the availability of employee-centered FWAs. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications, suggesting an adaptation of human resource strategies to better align with the preferences and expectations of Generation Z in the workplace.

In contrast to existing literature, this study examines the relationship between the availability of two different types of flexible work arrangements (employee- and employer-centered) and turnover intentions, specifically among Generation Z employees. In addition, this research introduces mediation analysis to investigate the roles of perceived supervisor support and total rewards – constructs that have been rarely considered in the context of these relationships.

This paper aims to examine whether the position of universities in the times higher education (THE) impact rankings (IR) is related to the different dimensions of academic quality of universities according to the THE world universities ranking.

The research, based on universities ranked in the top 100 of THE IRs, uses a regression model obtained by the panel data method, using the fixed effects approach, to identify the relationship of academic quality dimensions with that ranking.

The results show an increase in the dissemination of information on sustainable development goals (SDGs) by universities. In addition, it is shown that research, number of citations and international outlook are positively associated with a higher score obtained by universities in THE IRs, which implies a higher impact on the SDGs by these universities.

Based on multifaceted theories, the study highlighted the universities that are best positioned in the THE IRs in relation to their contribution to the SDGs.

This paper aims to assess the combined application of Lean Six Sigma and agile approach for optimizing operational processes of order management in the seed industry.

This study is based on an action research case conducted in a multinational Brazilian Seeds Business enterprise. This paper reports on the application of the Lean Six Sigma define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC), using the steps of DMAIC cycle as a sprint of agile approach. The methodology involves outlining an operational process through sequential activities, each associated with a cycle time, equivalent number of full-time employee and number of orders. Performance metrics for the order management process include continuous monitoring of these activities, using monitoring systems, management software and manual records to collect data.

The findings reveal significant improvements in critical-to-quality measures related to customer care, planning and logistics. The implementation of the DMAIC methodology and agile approach resulted in tangible enhancements in cycle time, defects per opportunities and overall process efficiency. The results allow the classification of defects, the identification of their causes and, consequently, the presentation of a control plan to mitigate these problems. Furthermore, the study identifies key causes of operational issues and proposes a prioritized action plan.

The limitation of this research is its restriction to a single case. The external validity of the results and generalizability to other organizational contexts may be compromised due to the lack of case diversity. The fact that the research focuses on a single company, even if it is a large multinational company, may limit the applicability of the findings to different sectors, sizes and organizational structures, which may be an opportunity for future research.

The findings suggest that the integrated approach of DMAIC and agile methodology contributes to a culture of continuous improvement and operational efficiency. The systematic collection and analysis of data enhance evidence-based decision-making, providing a robust foundation for strategic and operational choices. Moreover, the successful integration of methodologies presents a comprehensive framework applicable to diverse organizational challenges.

The paper applies action research to understand and address operational challenges, emphasizing practical solutions. The integration of DMAIC and agile enhances the depth of process analysis, enabling the identification, implementation and control of improvements. This study offers a significant contribution both to practitioners, providing practical implications, and to academics, enriching the Lean Six Sigma and agile body of knowledge.

This study aims to identify whether green advertising and eco-labels influence the purchasing behaviors of organic products or whether the influence of such behaviors is presented through the mediating effect of the attitude and environmental awareness of millennials.

This study used a quantitative, correlational and cross-sectional design. A total of 430 millennials participated in the study. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, distributed across five variables. It was applied to people outside shopping centers in the city of Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador. The results were subjected to statistical tests to determine the internal consistency of the instrument. The convergent and discriminant validity of the research model was verified through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. SPSS 20 and AMOS 24 were used for statistical analyses.

The study identified that attitude and environmental awareness mediate the relationship between green advertising and green purchasing behaviors, as well as the relationship between eco-labels and green purchasing behaviors. Furthermore, it has been proven that green advertising directly influences the green purchasing behaviors of organic products among millennials, whereas eco-labels do not.

This study is among the initial investigations to delineate the connection between elements of green marketing and the buying patterns of organic goods among millennials in an emerging economy. The study provides answers to earlier scholarly inquiries that proposed examining the correlation among the constituents of the theorized framework.

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar si la publicidad verde y las ecoetiquetas influyen en los comportamientos de compra de productos orgánicos, o si la influencia dentro de dichos comportamientos se presenta a través del efecto mediador de la actitud y la conciencia ambiental de los millennials.

La investigación fue cuantitativa, correlacional y con un diseño transversal. Participaron en el estudio un total de 430 millennials. El cuestionario constó de 20 preguntas distribuidas en cinco variables. Fue aplicado en persona fuera de los centros comerciales en las ciudades de Quito y Guayaquil - Ecuador. Los resultados obtenidos fueron sometidos a pruebas estadísticas para determinar la consistencia interna del instrumento. La validez convergente y discriminante del modelo de investigación fue verificada mediante un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio y Modelos de Ecuaciones Estructurales. Para el desarrollo de los análisis estadísticos, se utilizaron SPSS 20 y AMOS 24.

El estudio identificó que la actitud y la conciencia ambiental median la relación entre la publicidad verde y los comportamientos de compra, así como en la relación entre las ecoetiquetas y los comportamientos de compra. Además, se demostró que la publicidad verde influye directamente en los comportamientos de compra de productos orgánicos entre los millennials, mientras que las ecoetiquetas no.

Este artículo se encuentra entre las investigaciones iniciales para delinear la conexión entre los elementos del marketing verde y los patrones de compra de productos orgánicos entre los millennials en una economía emergente. El estudio proporcionó respuestas a consultas académicas previas que proponían examinar la correlación entre los componentes del marco teórico propuesto.

本研究旨在确定绿色广告和生态标签是否影响有机产品的购买行为, 或这种行为的影响是否通过千禧一代的态度和环境意识的中介效应表现出来。

本研究采用定量、相关性和横截面设计。共有430名千禧一代参与了研究。问卷由20个问题组成, 分布在五个变量上。问卷在厄瓜多尔基多和瓜亚基尔市的购物中心外分发。结果经过统计测试, 以确定问卷的内部一致性。通过验证性因素分析 和结构方程模型 验证了研究模型的收敛效度和区分效度。统计分析使用SPSS 20和AMOS 24软件完成。

研究表明, 态度和环境意识在绿色广告与绿色购买行为之间以及生态标签与绿色购买行为之间起到中介作用。此外, 已证明绿色广告直接影响千禧一代对有机产品的绿色购买行为, 而生态标签则没有直接影响。

本研究是最初探讨绿色营销元素与千禧一代在新兴经济体中有机产品购买模式之间关系的研究之一。该研究回答了早期学术研究提出的关于理论框架各组成部分相关性的探讨。

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way in which education was delivered in early 2020, and the impacts of these changes continue to be questionable. The aims of this study were to evaluate: (1) the results obtained by students of the Dentistry course in the progress test carried out both before and after the pandemic, (2) the results obtained by a specific group of students who took the test in 2019–2022, and compare their results and (3) subjects that showed a reduction in the percentage of correct answers when the two tests were compared.

The progress test consisting of 100 multiple choice questions was applied before and after the pandemic to all students in the Dentistry course. The analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS for Statistics v.26 software program. The level of significance of 5% was adopted (<0.05).

The test was applied to 320 students in 2019 and to 272 in 2022, of whom the sample of this study was composed. The mean score values in 2019 (M = 49.10; SD = 12.03) were significantly (p = 0.026) higher than those in the year 2022 (M = 46.97; SD = 12.15), with the disciplines in the area of specific knowledge showing a greater drop in the percentage of correct answers by students. This study showed that the emergency remote education had a negative effect on the academic performance of students, based on the progress testing as an evaluation method.

Many studies that assessed the impacts of the pandemic on teaching were focused on the opinions of students. However, the great advantage of our study was the use of a theoretical assessment tool to verify student performance. The post-pandemic landscape beckons for comprehensive inquiries into these domains. This type of research would be valuable for gathering evidence relative to the performance of students after the emergency remote education.

This study aims to identify necessary conditions for innovative entrepreneurship in cities and determine similarities in entrepreneurial configurations among them.

The authors assessed the necessary conditions for various levels of entrepreneurial output and categorized cities based on similar patterns by applying necessary condition analysis (NCA) and cluster analysis in a sample comprised of 101 cities from the entrepreneurial cities index, representing a diverse range of urban environments in Brazil. A comprehensive data set, including both traditional indicators from official Bureau of statistics and nontraditional indicators from new platforms of science, technology and innovation intelligence, was compiled for analysis.

Bureaucratic complexity, urban conditions, transport infrastructure, economic development, access to financial capital, secondary education, entrepreneurial intention, support organizations and innovation inputs were identified as necessary for innovative entrepreneurship. Varying levels of these conditions were found to be required for different entrepreneurial outputs.

The static nature of the data limits understanding of dynamic interactions among dimensions and their impact on entrepreneurial city performance.

Policymakers can use the findings to craft tailored support policies, leveraging the relationship between city-level taxonomy and direct outputs of innovative entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs).

The taxonomy and nontraditional indicators sheds light on the broader societal benefits of vibrant EEs, emphasizing their role in driving socioeconomic development.

The cluster analysis combined with NCA’s bottleneck analysis is an original endeavor which made it possible to identify performance benchmarks for Brazilian cities, according to common characteristics, as well as the required levels of each condition by each city group to achieve innovative entrepreneurial outputs.

This paper aims to investigate the impacts of Industry 4.0/5.0 (I4.0/5.0) on the glass manufacturing workplace. Specifically, it studied the workplace, which represents complex manufacturing lines of high variety and volume of products.

A case study based on semi-structured interviews was conducted with managers responsible for I4.0 implementation, and the responses were treated by content analysis.

Findings reinforce I5.0 aspects to be considered in terms of work organization. The interviewees highlight work and human factors as important for technology implementation, which includes workers tasks, skills, nature of work, human resources development, hiring process and organizations strategies. It was also found that knowledge sharing poses a huge challenge.

In lieu of gaps in the literature, this research further discusses management challenges to support digital transformation and impacts on workers and organizations.

This study aims to examine the impact of gamification on the five dimensions of meaningful learning (i.e. cooperative, active, authentic, constructive and intentional learning) and undergraduate student performance taking online lessons.

Therefore, the authors conducted an experiment among undergraduate students taking online classes at the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School at a public university during the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiment included one control and two observation groups using gamification (Golden Points). Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed.

Results showed that gamification significantly affects meaningful learning and impacts student performance in online courses.

This study was limited to a single topic in a six-month course at a public university. Additional research is required to continue examining the impact of gamification in higher education institutions with different format courses and in other organisational sectors.

This article examines the impact of banks’ corporate social responsibility communication through social media (CSR-S), electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and brand reputation on consumer behavior during the COVID-19 crisis, with a focus on purchase intention.

The study employed a quantitative approach to analyze data from a survey of 621 Egyptian bank customers who followed the banks’ social media pages and interacted with CSR-S initiatives. A genetic algorithm selected the most relevant variables affecting purchase intention. A Bayesian regression model was used to analyze the impact of CSR-S communication, eWOM, and brand reputation on purchase intention.

CSR-S initiatives, eWOM, and brand reputation were found to influence customer purchase intention. CSR-S initiatives can boost purchase intention by encouraging brand reputation and initiative sharing with friends and other customers. However, CSR-S negatively moderates the positive impact of eWOM and brand reputation on the predisposition to contract products and services with the bank.

This study addresses critical research gaps in CSR literature. Firstly, it examines the impact of CSR-S actions on customer behavior, a perspective less explored in previous research. Secondly, it investigates the intricate relationships between CSR-S, eWOM, brand reputation, and purchase intention, shedding light on their interplay, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this research extends CSR-S investigations to the competitive banking industry and focuses on a developing country context, enhancing the applicability of findings for Egyptian banks. Lastly, the study employs advanced methodologies to improve the accuracy of results.

本文擬探討於2019冠狀病毒病危機期間、銀行透過社交媒體而進行關於企業社會責任的溝通 (以下簡稱社媒企社責溝通) 、電子口碑和品牌聲譽,如何影響消費行為; 研究會聚焦於客戶的購買意向上。

研究以定量方法、去分析來自涵蓋621名埃及銀行客戶的調查的數據; 這些客戶均有追隨銀行的社交媒體頁面,並曾與銀行就企業社會責任提出的倡議進行互動交流。研究人員以基因演算法挑選了與購買意向相關性最密切的變量,並以貝葉斯回歸模型,去分析探討社媒企社責溝通、電子口碑和品牌聲譽、如何影響客戶的購買意向。

研究結果顯示,透過社交媒體傳達的企業社會責任倡議、電子口碑和品牌聲譽,均會影響客戶的購買意向。這類倡議會透過促進品牌聲譽和朋友或客戶間的互相共享而令購買意向提昇。唯社媒企社責溝通會減弱電子口碑和品牌聲譽給客戶購買意向帶來的正面影響,使他們與銀行訂立商品或服務契約的意欲降低。

本研究致力回應企業社會責任文獻內重要的研究空白。首先,研究人員探討社媒企社責溝通對客戶行為帶來的影響,這研究角度從來沒有被充分利用。其次,本研究探討社媒企社責溝通、電子口碑、品牌聲譽和購買意向之間錯綜複雜的關係,這幫助闡明各元素的相互作用,尤以2019冠狀病毒病肆虐期間為甚。再者,本研究把關於社媒企社責溝通的研究擴展至競爭性銀行業,並聚焦於涉及一個發展中國家的背景,這都使研究結果更能應用於分析埃及銀行上。最後,研究人員為了提高研究結果的準確性,採用了先進的方法進行研究。