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COVID-19 hits every country’s health-care system and economy. There is a trend toward using automation technology in response to the COVID-19 crisis not only in developed countries but also in those with lower levels of technology development. However, current studies mainly focus on the world level, and only a few ones report deployments at the country level. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of automation solutions in Vietnam with locally available materials mainly in the first wave from January to July 2020.

The authors collected COVID-related automation solutions during the first wave of COVID-19 in Vietnam from January to July 2020 through a search process. The analysis and insights of a panel consisting of various disciplines (i.e. academia, health care, government, entrepreneur and media) aim at providing a clear picture of how and to what extent these solutions have been deployed.

The authors found seven groups of solutions from low to high research and development (R&D) levels deployed across the country with various funding sources. Low R&D solutions were widely spread owing to simplicity and affordability. High R&D solutions were mainly deployed in big cities. Most of the solutions were deployed during the first phases when international supply chains were limited with a significant contribution of the media. Higher R&D solutions have opportunities to be deployed in the reopening phase. However, challenges can be listed as limited interdisciplinary research teams, market demand, the local supporting industry, end-user validation and social-ethical issues.

To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the use of automation technology in response to COVID-19 in Vietnam and also in a country in Southeast Asia. Lessons learned from these current deployments are useful for future emerging infectious diseases. The reality of Vietnam’s automation solutions in response to COVID-19 might be a reference for other developing countries with similar social-economic circumstances and contributes to the global picture of how different countries adopt technology to combat COVID-19.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the role of the placement (i.e. location) of humanoid service robots (HSRs) for entertainment applications in retailing by inspecting a multitude of performance metrics along the point-of-sale conversion funnel.

The study was conducted using unobtrusive observations at a Belgian chocolate store. In total, 42 h of video observation material was collected and analyzed, with an even spread over three conditions: (1) an HSR placed outside, (2) an HSR inside the store and (3) a control condition (no robot stimuli). All passersby and their interactions with the robot and the store were systematically coded and compared.

The study found that the better placement of HSRs (inside or outside the store) is contingent on the goals the retailer prioritizes. When the goal is to create awareness and interest toward the store, the HSR should be placed outside, as it has double the stopping power. To induce consumers to enter the store, placement of the HSR inside the store is the better option. Ultimately, however, in terms of the number of transactions and total amount spent, outside placement of the HSR outperforms inside placement.

This study was not able to verify the internal emotional/cognitive state of the passersby, as the method relied on unobtrusive camera observations. A longitudinal research design would be desirable to exclude potential bias due to the novelty effect.

While research on robots in retail services is emerging, this study is the first to provide insights on how retailers can decide on the placement of robots inside or outside the store, depending on the particular goals they are aiming to reach at the point of purchase.

By anchoring on the ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) framework, this research aims to examine the effect of tourists' green ability, motivation and opportunity to access green information on digital media platforms (green AMO) on their intention to stay at green hotels. The study also tests the moderating role of environmental concern and the mediating role of green attitude in this relationship.

An online survey was conducted on large Facebook groups and by an international tour operator in March 2022. Through convenience sampling, 600 responses were collected from local and international tourists. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to validate the research model.

The results reveal that tourists' intention to stay at green hotels is positively affected by their green AMO through indirect and direct channels. Specifically, green AMO indirectly effects tourists' intention to stay at green hotels by raising their green attitude. The results also indicate that the direct effect is moderated by environmental concern.

The findings demonstrate the importance of facilitating tourists' access to environmental information on social media platforms, which enhances green attitude and intention to stay at green hotels. This study also proposes practical solutions that managers of green hotels can employ to target green-oriented customers and conduct environmental campaigns on digital platforms.

The research is the first to investigate the effects of tourists' green AMO on their intention to stay at green hotels. It is also the first to explore the roles of environmental concern and green attitude in this relationship.

This paper examines how a firm's hierarchical complexity, which is determined by the way it organizes its subsidiaries across the hierarchical levels, can impact its stock price crash risk.

The authors employ a measure of hierarchical complexity that captures the depth and breadth of how subsidiaries are organized within a firm. This measure is calculated using information about firms' subsidiaries extracted from the Bureau van Dijk (BvD) database that allows the authors to construct each firm's hierarchical structure. The data sample includes 2,461 USA firms for the period from 2012 to 2017 (11,006 firm-year observations). Univariate tests and panel regression are used for the main analysis. Two-stage-least-squares (2SLS) instrumental variable regression and various other tests are employed for robustness check.

The results show a positive relationship between hierarchical complexity and stock price crash risk. This relationship is amplified in firms with a greater number of subsidiaries that are hierarchically distanced from the parent company as well as in firms with a greater number of foreign subsidiaries in countries with weaker rule of law.

This paper is the first to investigate the impact hierarchical complexity has on crash risk. The results highlight the role that a firm's organizational structure can have on asset pricing behavior.

Drawing on social exchange theory and the expectancy–value model, this study has two objectives. First, it sought to explore the mediating role of nurses’ self-concept and affective commitment between perceived organizational support (POS) and three different targets (organization, co-workers and patients) of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Second, it aimed to develop a better understanding of how nurses´ self-concept and affective commitment mediate the influence of POS on OCB directed toward different targets through sequential mediation.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 229 nurses. This sample was representative of the nursing population based on several demographic characteristics. Data analysis was performed using partial least squares analysis.

The study revealed that nurses´ self-concept plays a mediating role between POS and OCB directed toward the organization, co-workers and patients, while affective commitment has a mediating effect between POS and OCB directed toward the organization and co-workers. Finally, the indirect influence of POS on OCB through nurses´ self-concept and affective commitment was significant only at the organizational level.

This study contributes to the extant literature by identifying the mediating role of nurses´ self-concept among social exchange constructs such as POS, affective commitment and OCB directed toward different targets.

This study aims to explore the intention–action relationship of small and medium-sized (SMEs) firms with knowledge capital that declare their intention to internationalize from their inception.

The authors apply the theory of planned behavior and hand-collect a database of Chinese born globals, purely domestic firms and traditional exporting firms. The authors’ hypothesis is that Chinese born globals [or young aspiring globals (YAGs)] will strive to acquire domestic and international patents at an early stage to institutionally protect their knowledge-capital via intellectual property rights as they enter the competitive global marketplace.

The results confirm that knowledge-focused YAGs apply for patents at an earlier stage than purely domestic and traditional exporting firms. However, in the long run, these firms are neither demonstrating increased knowledge capital by being more innovative nor producing more valuable innovations than their counterparts.

This study tests the intention–action relationship in the context of SMEs internationalization. It contributes to the internationalization literature by identifying the internationalization pattern of born globals (YAGs) from emerging markets and providing an explanation for what happens to these firms as they mature.