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This research proposes a framework by which universities can define and implement projects that transform them into entrepreneurial universities. The framework helps decision-makers identify suitable goals and strategies, gather a list of projects to fulfill the goals and strategies and prioritize the projects and form a portfolio.

In the proposed framework, importance–performance matrix, hierarchical strategic planning, Delphi technique, DEMATEL-based ANP and a multi-objective model are used. The mathematical model consists of four objective functions including efficiency, quality and balance maximization and also cost and risk minimization. The proposed framework is applied to Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, and the results are brought in this paper.

The output of the proposed framework is a portfolio of projects that aims to transform a traditional university into a third-generation one. Although the final portfolio must be customized for different universities, the proposed steps of the framework can be helpful for almost all cases.

The suggested framework is unique and uses both qualitative and quantitative techniques for project portfolio selection.

The paper has a twofold purpose: (1) to test the application of means-end theory to providers of hospitality goods and services, and (2) to explore this question in the context of winery tasting rooms when they had a unique opportunity to restructure their hospitality experience due to government restrictions in response to COVID.

A qualitative approach was adopted, and a convenience sample was used to conduct semi-structured laddering interviews. Forty interview transcripts were coded as means-end ladders, which were analyzed using a custom computer program to develop the implication matrix and the hierarchical value map.

This paper demonstrates that means-end is a useful approach to investigate the values and behaviors of the producer, specifically hospitality hosts. It finds that the principal goal of tasting rooms is to generate sales, and offering a compelling guest experience is the characteristic that contributes the most to achieving that goal. The staff and the atmosphere created for the guests are the two factors with the greatest influence on the guest experience.

This is the first paper to use means-end theory to study the hospitality host, or the producer of goods and services in general, and the first to study winery hospitality primarily through the lens of means-end theory. The study also helps fill a gap in research on tasting room sales focused on the winery’s goals.

Despite various governmental efforts, female entrepreneurship in the UAE is still not a popular option among women. The purpose of this study is to identify the enablers to female entrepreneurship and to establish relationships among them.

This research uses a two-phased approach. In the first-phase, an empirical study on female entrepreneurs was conducted to find out the most important enablers from among a set of variables identified through a comprehensive literature review. In the second-phase, using interpretive structural modeling, a hierarchy-based model is developed among the most important enablers. Further, these enablers are also classified depending on their driving power and dependence.

Survey results indicate that female entrepreneurs consider enablers as the driving force in creating an entrepreneurial culture. Further, the hierarchy-based model developed in this research helps to identify variables that are of strategic importance and require utmost attention.

The framework presented in this study can be used effectively by the policymakers to develop suitable strategies for improving entrepreneurial behavior among women in the United Arab Emirates.

The novelty of this approach is the integration of questionnaire and interpretive structural modeling methodology and classifying enablers in four clusters. The research provides useful insights about the perception of female entrepreneurs about the entrepreneurial culture in the United Arab Emirates, and a relationship model that may serve as a decision tool for improving female entrepreneurship.

Various studies dealing with brand orientation were analysed to discuss how the issues identified in this area have been relating over time. This paper aims to identify the key studies, the keywords used and the origin of the studies.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed within the Scopus database to select and summarize the studies that deal with brand orientation. Finally, 90 articles were subjected to bibliometric analysis.

Five major research areas were identified (brand orientation concept, hybrid strategies, internal branding management, brand performance and perceived brand orientation) and discussed.

As the main theoretical contribution, the results showed a focus on research in five areas: the development of the brand orientation concept and proposed extensions; hybrid strategies; the relations between brand orientation, internal branding and brand management; the relation between brand orientation and financial performance; and the perceived brand orientation, mostly applied to higher education sector.

The study offers a general overview of brand orientation, identifying relations on topics of interest, main keywords and sub-themes in this field. The results contribute to fulfilling the research gap about the relationship between all these aspects. Finally, an agenda for future research is proposed.

Se analizaron diversos estudios sobre la orientación de la marca con el fin de discutir cómo se han ido relacionando a lo largo del tiempo los problemas identificados en esta área. Esta investigación identifica los estudios clave, las palabras clave utilizadas y el origen de los estudios.

Se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura (SLR) con la base de datos de Scopus para seleccionar y resumir los estudios que tratan de la orientación de la marca. Finalmente, 90 artículos fueron sometidos al análisis bibliométrico.

Se identificaron cinco grandes áreas de investigación (concepto de orientación de marca, Estrategias híbridas, Gestión interna de marca, Rendimiento de marca, Orientación de marca percibida) y se discutieron.

Los resultados mostraron un enfoque en la investigación en cinco áreas: el desarrollo del concepto de orientación de marca y las extensiones propuestas; las estrategias híbridas; las relaciones entre la orientación de marca, el branding interno y la gestión de marca; la relación entre la orientación de marca y el rendimiento financiero; y la orientación de marca percibida, aplicada principalmente al sector de la educación superior.

El estudio ofrece una visión general de la orientación de la marca, identificando las relaciones sobre temas de interés, las principales palabras clave y los subtemas en este campo. Los resultados contribuyen a llenar el vacío de investigación sobre la relación entre todos estos aspectos. Finalmente, se propone una agenda futura de investigación.

Orientación de marca, Marca, Análisis bibliométrico, Revisión sistemática de la literatura

Revisión general

The purposes of this research are to study the theory and method of multi-attribute index system design and establish a set of systematic, standardized, scientific index systems for the design optimization and inspection process. The research may form the basis for a rational, comprehensive evaluation and provide the most effective way of improving the quality of management decision-making. It is of practical significance to improve the rationality and reliability of the index system and provide standardized, scientific reference standards and theoretical guidance for the design and construction of the index system.

Using modern methods such as complex networks and machine learning, a system for the quality diagnosis of index data and the classification and stratification of index systems is designed. This guarantees the quality of the index data, realizes the scientific classification and stratification of the index system, reduces the subjectivity and randomness of the design of the index system, enhances its objectivity and rationality and lays a solid foundation for the optimal design of the index system.

Based on the ideas of statistics, system theory, machine learning and data mining, the focus in the present research is on “data quality diagnosis” and “index classification and stratification” and clarifying the classification standards and data quality characteristics of index data; a data-quality diagnosis system of “data review – data cleaning – data conversion – data inspection” is established. Using a decision tree, explanatory structural model, cluster analysis, K-means clustering and other methods, classification and hierarchical method system of indicators is designed to reduce the redundancy of indicator data and improve the quality of the data used. Finally, the scientific and standardized classification and hierarchical design of the index system can be realized.

The innovative contributions and research value of the paper are reflected in three aspects. First, a method system for index data quality diagnosis is designed, and multi-source data fusion technology is adopted to ensure the quality of multi-source, heterogeneous and mixed-frequency data of the index system. The second is to design a systematic quality-inspection process for missing data based on the systematic thinking of the whole and the individual. Aiming at the accuracy, reliability, and feasibility of the patched data, a quality-inspection method of patched data based on inversion thought and a unified representation method of data fusion based on a tensor model are proposed. The third is to use the modern method of unsupervised learning to classify and stratify the index system, which reduces the subjectivity and randomness of the design of the index system and enhances its objectivity and rationality.

Tourism is one of the upcoming service industry in India with high potentials for future growth, particularly in rural areas. Many potential barriers are affecting the growth of tourism in rural India. Therefore, it is essential to explore and prioritize the barriers to tourism growth in rural India.

Qualitative and quantitative responses from “16” experts related to tourism and hospitality management from central India are collected for this study. An integrated Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) based framework is adopted to identify and relate significant barriers to tourism growth in India.

The result of the study identified many significant barriers and their importance to tourism growth in rural India.

The findings of this study add to the knowledge base of tourism research in line with the previous literature. This study offers an in-depth understanding of barriers focusing on rural tourism growth and devising both the plan of action and the suggestive measures in dealing with rural tourism.

The study provides a robust framework by integrating Interpretive Structural Modelling(ISM) and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) to explore and prioritizing the critical barriers to rural tourism growth in India. The results of this study can help the decision-maker to fundamentally improve the economy of India through the growth of rural tourism.

This study aims to develop a decision support tool to improve planning for the rehabilitation of water distribution networks (WDN) using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method and the urgency level score.

In this paper the AHP method was used to outclass the indicators having a strong influence on the deterioration of the pipes and the score of the level of urgency is calculated to establish the rehabilitation program (short, medium and long term). The proposed model was tested for the case of the city of Souk-Ahras in Algeria.

Based on the judgments of twenty-four experts, the relative weights of the three physical, operational and environmental criteria of the pipeline were calculated and found to be equal to 35.40%, 55.60% and 9.00%, respectively. The two indicators, number of failures and pressure, were found to have the highest overall weights. The results of this article can be used to improve decision-making in WDN rehabilitation planning in Algeria.

The main objective of water companies is to provide citizens with good quality drinking water in sufficient quantity. However, over time, WDN age, degrade and deteriorate. This degradation leads to a drop in the performance through the degradation of water quality and an increase in loss rates. WDN rehabilitation is one of the most widely adopted solutions to address these drawbacks.

Application of a hybrid method (AHP- Level of Emergency) for the planning of the rehabilitation of WDN in Algeria.

Our paper studies a central issue with a long history in economics: the relationship between population and economic growth. We analyze the joint dynamics of economic and demographic growth in 111 countries during the period 1960–2019.

Using the concept of economic regime, the paper introduces the notion of distance between the dynamical paths of different countries. Then, a minimal spanning tree (MST) and a hierarchical tree (HT) are constructed to detect groups of countries sharing similar dynamic performance.

The methodology confirms the existence of three country clubs, each of which exhibits a different dynamic behavior pattern. The analysis also shows that the clusters clearly differ with respect to the evolution of other fundamental variables not previously considered [gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, human capital and life expectancy, among others].

Our results indirectly suggest the existence of dynamic interdependence in the trajectories of economic growth and population change between countries. It also provides evidence against single-model approaches to explain the interdependence between demographic change and economic growth.

We introduce a methodology that allows for a model-free topological and hierarchical description of the interplay between economic growth and population.

Many important constructs of business and social sciences are conceptualized as composites of common factors, i.e. as second-order constructs composed of reflectively measured first-order constructs. Current approaches to model this type of second-order construct provide inconsistent estimates and lack a model test that helps assess the existence and/or usefulness of a second-order construct. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel three-stage approach to model, estimate, and test second-order constructs composed of reflectively measured first-order constructs.

The authors compare the efficacy of the proposed three-stage approach with that of the dominant extant approaches, i.e. the repeated indicator approach, the two-stage approach, and the hybrid approach by means of simulated data whose underlying population model is known. Moreover, the authors apply the three-stage approach to a real research setting in business research.

The study based on simulated data illustrates that the three-stage approach is Fisher-consistent, whereas the dominant extant approaches are not. The study based on real data shows that the three-stage approach is meaningfully applicable in typical research settings of business research. Its results can differ substantially from those of the extant approaches.

Analysts aiming at modeling composites of common factors should apply the proposed procedure in order to test the existence and/or usefulness of a second-order construct and to obtain consistent estimates.

The three-stage approach is the only consistent approach for modeling, estimating, and testing composite second-order constructs made up of reflectively measured first-order constructs.

Spiritual tourism is becoming a significant growth area of the Indian travel market, with more Indians opting to go on pilgrimage to popular religious cities. There are many spiritual destinations where some of this life's essences can be sought to enjoy harmony and peace. The study aims to prioritize motivators driving the intentions of the tourists to visit the spiritual destination.

The current study applied the analytical hierarchical process, a multi-criteria decision-making technique, on the sample of visitors from all the six spiritual destinations to rank the motivational factors that drive the intentions of the tourist to visit a spiritual destination.

The study's results postulated that spiritual fulfillment motives and destination atmosphere are the top prioritized motivations, while destination attributes and secular motives emerged as the least prioritized.

The research study provides valuable insights to the spiritual tourism industry stakeholders to target the tourists' highly prioritized motivations to augment the visits to a particular spiritual destination.

Previous research has explored the motivations and modeled their relationships with tourists' satisfaction and intentions. But, the present study has applied a multi-criteria decision-making technique to add value to the existing knowledge base.