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The purpose of this study is to investigate the physical, ultraviolet (UV), colour appearance and colour fastness properties of selected fabrics dyed with natural dyes from Daboya and Ntonso communities of Ghana. The study further highlights the rich cultural heritage of traditional dyeing from these two communities. Craftsmen in West Africa especially Ghana, have sustained the traditional dyeing methods to produce textile products for consumers.

In this study, two sample fabrics were purchased from craftsmen at Ntonso and Daboya communities in Ghana. These fabrics were analysed at the laboratory under standard test methods for their physical, UV, colour appearance and colour fastness properties.

Results showed that all the sample fabrics have good UV shielding performance (ratings above 50+). Daboya sample fabrics (dyed with indigo dyes) produced more colour stains than the sample fabrics from Ntonso (dyed with black “kuntunkuni” dyes). The K/S_sum value or colour yield reduced after washing but that alternatively increased the calculated ultraviolet protection factor.

Findings from this study exposed the unique UV performance of dyed traditional fabrics (using natural dyes) from Ntonso and Daboya communities in Ghana. This inspires and enforces the need for craftsmen to improve their production cycle to produce these fabrics in different sizes which provides the necessary UV shielding abilities for consumers in the wake of climate changes.

This study demonstrated that the natural dyeing process at the two communities produced relatively good UV and colour fastness properties of the sample fabrics. These eco-friendly dyeing practices have survived over time to maintain and promote the concept of sustainability within the textile and fashion industry in Ghana.

This study has assessed the thermal performance of locally fabricated bio-based building envelopes made of coconut and corn husk composite bricks to reduce building wall heat transmission load and energy consumption towards green building adaptation.

Samples of coconut fiber (coir) and corn husk fiber bricks were fabricated and tested for their thermophysical properties using the Transient Plane Source (TPS) 2500s instrument. A simulation was conducted using Dynamic Energy Response of Building - Lunds Tekniska Hogskola (DEROB-LTH) to determine indoor temperature variation over 24 h. The time lag and decrement factor, two important parameters in evaluating building envelopes, were also determined.

The time lag of the bio-based composite building envelope was found to be in the range of 4.2–4.6 h for 100 mm thickness block and 10.64–11.5 h for 200 mm thickness block. The decrement factor was also determined to be in the range of 0.87–0.88. The bio-based composite building envelopes were able to maintain the indoor temperature of the model from 25.4 to 27.4 °C, providing a closely stable indoor thermal comfort despite varying outdoor temperatures. The temperature variation in 24 h, was very stable for about 8 h before a degree increment, providing a comfortable indoor temperature for occupants and the need not to rely on air conditions and other mechanical forms of cooling. Potential energy savings also peaked at 529.14 kWh per year.

The findings of this study present opportunities to building developers and engineers in terms of selecting vernacular materials for building envelopes towards green building adaptation, energy savings, reduced construction costs and job creation.

This study presents for the first time, time lag and decrement factor for bio-based composite building envelopes for green building adaptation in hot climates, as found in Ghana.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the value of Ghanaian weaving art tradition to humanity from socio-cultural and economic points of view. This study sought to answer questions such as “What is the interest of researchers regarding Ghanaian textile weaving art tradition?”, “To what extent has weaving art tradition projected the Ghanaian culture?” and “What is the socio-economic value of Ghanaian weaving art tradition?”

The systematic literature review approach was used to analyse data obtained from the Scopus online database. The PRISMA framework was adopted to select 22 relevant studies for analysis and conclusions. Also, the VOSviewer software was used to analyse and understand the co-occurrence of keywords.

It was revealed that Ghanaian weaving art tradition stands as a major craft that projects Ghana globally. Researchers around the world keep adding knowledge on Ghanaian traditional weaving and its value to humanity, resulting in a significant rise recently in the publication trend. Also, the rich cloth from the art is celebrated annually to invite people around the globe to learn the Ghanaian culture for social development. This study again found that traditional weaving serves as a major source of income for weavers and marketers of indigenous Ghanaian woven fabrics.

The findings of this study serve as a wake-up call to the Government of Ghana, institutional actors and national leaders to practically engage in the projection of the local art by playing individual roles such as financially supporting the craftsmen, initiating and implementing appropriate policies and displaying the local cloth on international occasions. This will make the local art more attractive for effective marketing and cultural preservation.

With reliable information extracted from the Scopus online database, this study presents original results and makes appropriate suggestions worth adopting for the improvement of the Ghanaian weaving art tradition.

Small and medium-sized contractors are critical to micro and macroeconomic performance. These contractors in South Africa have long been confronted with the problem of business failure because of a plethora of factors, including poor productivity. The purpose of this study is to investigate salient issues undermining the productivity of small and medium-sized contractors in South Africa. This study proposes alternative possibilities to engender productivity improvement.

Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 contractors in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The research data were analysed using content and causal layered analyses.

Challenges to contractors’ productivity were associated with inadequately skilled workers, management competence and political factors. Skills development, construction business and political factors were dominant stakeholders’ perceptions. Metaphors for construction labour productivity are presented and reconstructed as alternative directions for productivity improvement.

Contractors lose a substantial amount of South African Rand to poor productivity. Alternative directions provided in this study can be leveraged to increase profitability in construction organizations, enhance the social well-being of South Africans and ultimately improve the contribution of contractors to the South African economy.

The causal layered analysis (CLA) applied in this study is novel to construction labour productivity research. The four connected layers of CLA, which make a greater depth of inquiry possible, were explored to investigate labour productivity in construction organizations.

Infrastructure projects are pivotal for regional economic development, but also face low project effectiveness. Leadership is always regarded as a key enabler for project team effectiveness, including vertical leadership and team-level leadership. The purpose of this paper is to examine how vertical leadership facilitates shared leadership in infrastructure project teams.

This paper develops the conceptual model based on the literature review. Then the questionnaire survey was conducted. The empirical data obtained from 117 infrastructure project teams in China were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for validating the proposed model. Finally, the results were comparatively discussed to explain the dual-pathway between vertical leadership and shared leadership. And the practical implications were presented for the project managers in infrastructure project teams.

Drawing on social learning theory and social cognitive theory, the results show that both participative leadership and task-oriented leadership can facilitate shared leadership. Further, team atmosphere fully mediates the link between participative leadership and shared leadership. Team efficacy fully mediates the relation between task-oriented leadership and shared leadership. Also, role clarity has a negative moderating effect on the former path.

The study extends the knowledge of leadership theory in the construction field. Based on the proposed conceptual model and PLS-SEM results, this study unveils the black box between vertical leadership and shared leadership and contributes to the theory of leadership on how the impact of different vertical leadership on team process promotes shared leadership.

The study examines the intricate interplay between supplier relationship management (SRM), procurement performance, supply chain responsiveness (SCR) and competitive advantage. Additionally, the study examines the mediating role of procurement performance and SCR in the link between SRM and competitive advantage.

A research model grounded in the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory (DCT) was developed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Data were obtained from 122 firms in Ghana.

The study revealed that SRM has a positive and significant effect on procurement performance, SCR and competitive advantage. Additionally, SCR has a positive and significant effect on competitive advantage; however, procurement performance has a negative and insignificant effect on competitive advantage. It was also revealed that SCR partially mediates the relationship between SRM and competitive advantage but fully mediates the relationship between procurement performance and competitive advantage. Also, it was also revealed that procurement performance does not mediate the relationship between SRM and competitive advantage.

The study contributes to literature by highlighting the mediating role of SCR in influencing the effect of SRM and procurement performance on competitive advantage.

Practically, the study findings highlight the need for firms to seek, build and manage meaningful relationships with their suppliers in order to enhance their competency and capability to influence their competitive position in the marketplace.

To the best of the researchers' knowledge, no prior study has examined the effect of SRM on procurement performance and SCR. Additionally, no previous study has examined the mediating role of procurement performance and SCR on the link between SRM and competitive advantage.

The success of construction projects can be indicated by measuring their performance. For effective project performance (PP), the successful execution of a construction projects is very important. A systematic review of the literature on performance areas and performance assessment models was undertaken. The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical formulation for construction PP areas to suit the Indian context by modifying the current project quarterback rating (PQR) model.

Based on the literature, the PQR model has not been validated for suitability in the Indian context. To validate the PQR model and modify the same for the Indian context, a survey instrument was used to collect data on performance areas and a multivariate data analysis technique was carried out to develop a modified model. Delphi technique was used to assign the weights for each performance metric in performance areas.

This study concluded the importance of three additional performance areas, namely, productivity, stakeholder satisfaction and environment for assessing PP for Indian construction projects. It also identified the interrelationship between the performance areas and the PP.

The developed modified PQR model (MPQR) will guide the concerned stakeholders to take corrective actions for improving the performance of construction projects.

The MPQR proposed in this paper covers ten areas and is a comprehensive single score that can be used to benchmark and compare performance over different projects to achieve continuous improvement.

This paper aims to examine the effect of dividend policy on firm value for financial sector in an emerging country. Furthermore, it examines the moderating effect of IFRS adoption and the abolishment of mandatory dividend payment policy with considering the Lintner model of dividend smoothing.

Data were collected from 111 firms listed on Borsa Istanbul in the financial sector in Turkey over 1995–2017. Using an explanatory research design, this study performs various multivariate regression techniques to investigate the proposed relationships.

The outcomes demonstrate a positive and significant association between dividend policy and firm value. In addition, the relationship has strengthened after IFRS adoption, indicating that accounting information such as dividend-based ratios prepared under IFRS is more value relevant. The empirical outcomes supported the Lintner model, which is persistent with the signalling hypothesis. Moreover, the findings state that the abolishment of mandatory dividend payment in 2009 strengthened the association between dividend policy and firm value for financial institutions in Turkey.

These results provide an insight to the investors and managers that the effect of IFRS adoption and other policy changes could be greater on the association between dividend policy and firm value. The study empirically tests Lintner model of dividend smoothing for financial firms in an emerging economy.

This study contributes to the literature through providing vital insights on the relationship between dividend policy and firm value and empirically revisiting the Lintner model for financial sector in a developing economy, specifically Turkey. Furthermore, it addresses the influence of IFRS implementation on the association between dividend policy and firm value. These findings are robust to alternative sampling methods and to controlling for other factors which influence firm value.

This paper aims to review corporate fraud, as a concept, and the emerging research trends in corporate fraud research from 1957 to 2022 using bibliometric analysis techniques.

A total of 7,750 publications from the Scopus database were first assessed using performance analysis to explore the descriptive nature of the bibliographic data, and subsequently, citation, co-citation, co-occurrence and bibliographic coupling analyses were conducted using the VOSviewer software.

The results indicate there has been increasing growth in fraud research over the years, especially since the global corporate scandals of 2008. Although fraud is a global issue, the results suggest that most extant studies originate from developed economies, with a high level of collaboration amongst scholars in these countries. In addition, the co-occurrence analysis indicates that research into corporate fraud has largely focused on its determinants and corruption. The determinants identified are further clustered in the paper as individual, organizational and national-level factors.

The findings should inform practitioners and policymakers of the state of knowledge on corporate fraud which could be useful in developing strategies and policies to mitigate its occurrence.

The study points to the need for research collaborations among scholars in developing economies to increase investigations into the occurrences of fraud.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to holistically assess the intellectual structure of corporate fraud studies from its inception and the trends over time.

Works procurement performance is critical to successful project delivery. However, early supplier involvement (ESI) has been touted in other industries to impact procurement performance positively. Works procurement has been attracting significant attention from major players due to poor performance characterized by poor performance, budget overruns and incompetence. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of ESI on public works procurement performance.

Based on a thorough review of the literature for a pilot survey, the main questionnaires were administered to 103 public procurement officers. To assess the impact of ESI on public works procurement performance, three constructs that served as factors for implementing ESI and five that measure works procurement performance were validated using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The outcome of this study shows a significant positive impact of ESI on works procurement performance. This included communication, trust and supplier capabilities. The study further showed that even though cost, schedule, quality, health and safety are essential, sustainability measures are also crucial for work procurement.

The results of this study could help firms make better decisions regarding public works procurement by encouraging ESI. This will likely significantly impact the successful project delivery and preservation of sustainability and efficiency objectives.

The application of PLS-SEM analysis in this study provides insights into how ESI can impact the procurement of public works in Ghana.