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The purpose of this study is to analyze reported good institutional responsible research and innovation (RRI) practices from an organizational and learning perspective to discuss the usefulness of RRI as a broad umbrella concept.

This study connects neo-institutional and translation accounts of diffusion to different modes of learning and discusses reported best practices from 12 reports, including in total 23 organizations in the research system worldwide, in light of this theoretical framework. This study categorizes the good practices identified in the reports and discusses how the nature of the practices influences the potential learning from them. The authors then apply the results from the discussion of this study to current policy developments on RRI.

The two most often mentioned good practices overall are organizational policies and the establishment of organizational units, but the type of good practices recommended differs across the various aspects of the RRI umbrella concept. This diversity within the RRI construct is a practical argument against the effectiveness of RRI as an umbrella concept.

This study is novel in the fact that the authors, building on Wæraas (2020), systematically relate types of good practice to neo-institutional theory and translation perspectives explicitly combined with learning approaches and apply this approach in the field of research organizations. The policy implications from the empirical and theoretical analyses are novel and timely in these early phases of the EU funding framework programme Horizon Europe and can also be relevant for the increasingly important umbrella concept of Open Science.

It is true that the process of what has been termed the “globalisation” of the world economy is less noticeable in retail distribution than in other sectors more involved in industrial activities. Nonetheless, a slow but steady trend towards establishing a presence in other countries can be detected. In this paper an empirical analysis will be undertaken of the moves to internationalise into America (particularly the USA) by the leading 200 retail distributors in Europe. The most appropriate strategies for different formats of company will be studied. In the context of internationalisation as an alternative corporate strategy, an analysis will be carried out of the reasons leading businesses to establish themselves in countries which in principle must be more unfamiliar to them than other European states. The countries of origin and of destination of internationalisation, the trading format adopted by each enterprise and the kind of operation emerging will be identified, and, where relevant, the collaboration with local firms in these countries sought or legally required. Internationalisation will be compared with other growth options that might be available to the businesses.

This paper investigates brand‐level marketing communications decisions of town centre‐based planned shopping centres in the UK.

Following exploratory semi‐structured interviews with town centre‐based shopping centre managers, the main stage of the research comprised a postal questionnaire. This investigated two main areas: the nature of the process by which marketing/promotional activities were planned; and the actual “marketing” activities used by respondents (and their perceived importance), with particular reference to marketing communications activities. The questionnaire was administered to shopping centre managers in urban shopping destinations classified as major city, major regional, regional and sub‐regional in the Management Horizons Europe UK Shopping Index – 173 destinations in total across the whole of the UK.

The results are structured using Shimp's categories of general choices, specific choices and programme evaluation. Regarding general choices (i.e. targeting, objectives budgeting), centre positioning was regarded as very important and key target audiences were general public and media at the local/regional level. Objectives focused on raising centre profile and improving footfall. Centres spent an average of 13.6 per cent of operating budget on promotional activities. With regard to specific choices (i.e. mixing communication elements, creating messages), the most widely used promotional elements were found to be press and radio advertising, events and festivals, leaflets and other promotional literature and also public relations. Evidence of integration between communications elements existed although there is potential for greater synergy.

Research into the marketing of planned shopping centres has been somewhat lacking in comparison to other aspects of their operations. As centres face a more intensely competitive environment, the need for effective marketing and promotion is increasingly acknowledged, and this paper provides evidence of the current use of marketing activities in this context.

This article investigates the interaction between urban place marketing actors with specific reference to marketing urban areas as shopping destinations – town centre managers, shopping centre managers, local authority economic development managers and marketing managers and tourism promotion managers. It reports the results of a survey of these actors in the top 173 urban shopping destinations in the UK. It identifies those actors with prime responsibility for marketing urban retail provision (i.e. town centre managers and shopping centre managers), the nature of their collaboration (via formal, informal, and initiative‐specific interaction), and the factors impelling interaction (i.e. recognition of the linkages between the activities of different organisations, ensuring wider representation of organisational interests and the financial imperative). With the recent publication of Draft PPS6 and its increased focus on the strategic development of smaller centres, the implications for the marketing/promotion of such centres are addressed in detail.

This research assesses the implications of integrating standardization activities into European research projects to foster the engagement of project internal and external stakeholders and into different project stakeholder management theories.

This paper analyzes the integration of standardization and the engagement of project internal and external stakeholders in standardization activities in a multi-case study of four European Framework Program projects and with the projects Advancing Resilience of Historic Areas Against Climate-Related and Other Hazards (ARCH) and Smart Mature Resilience (SMR) in two separate case studies more deeply. The multi-case study mainly evaluates the stakeholder participation in 10 CEN Workshop Agreements. While in the two case studies, among other things, two project surveys are used to investigate how stakeholder engagement was supported by standardization activities.

The results show that standardization significantly supports stakeholder engagement and lead to a proposal on how standardization can support achieving stakeholder engagement goals in the different research project phases.

This research provides practical information for policy-makers who support standardization as a tool for research, as well as for researchers and project managers who want to use standardization activities efficiently in research projects.

This paper seeks to investigate the use of town centre guides as a device for the representation of urban shopping destinations.

Following a review of the relevant academic literature in the areas of cartography and place marketing, the paper considers the use of graphic interface elements of scale, projection and symbolisation in the specific context of maps in town centre guides. The guides are drawn from various UK locations reflecting different levels of the retail hierarchy and different locational “archetypes” as identified by URBED.

The level of detail and content of maps in town centre guides studied varied significantly. All the graphic interface elements of scale, projection and symbolisation were incorporated. Projection was usually oblique, and in some maps isometric. Regarding symbolisation, the most important variables were shape and hue.

This is an exploratory investigation using a limited number of town centre guides. An agenda for further research, focusing on issues in relation to the production and consumption of maps in this context, is presented.

The paper provides place marketing practitioners with guidance as to the development of town centre marketing/promotional material, which may incorporate maps.

Town centre guides are an important and commonly used promotional mechanism for urban retail provision. This paper considers issues relating to the use of a crucial component of these guides, namely cartographic representations of the town cente.

This study aims to map the digital risks for the Islamic finance industry. Since 2010, the financial space has largely shifted from being banking-centric to the entrepreneurship spectrum, benefiting from groundbreaking innovations in computer technology. The problem of Islamic Finance is that it is still within its banking-centric moment that is risk averse leading to financial exclusion. As with all innovations, there are associated risks that require careful consideration to ensure the reaping of the benefits of these technologies while controlling the risks at its lowest. In this context, the aim of this study is to highlight the risks associated with financial technologies (FinTech) to prepare the Islamic finance sector to serve the economic ideals of Maqāṣid al-Shariah in financial inclusion and profit and loss sharing. The main research question is as follows: What do Islamic Finance industry need to do to manage the digital risks for financial inclusion?

This study uses narrative review method in analysing the discourse of financial technology literature using qualitative data collected from the literature on the topic. It aimed to problematise associated digital risks from the Shariah compliance and Maqā¸ṣid al-Shariah critical viewpoints. Considering the nature of this conceptual study, it adopts a qualitative methodology by using discourse and thematic analysis of the literature that can lay the foundation for future empirical testing on the topic.

The study found that managing risks faced by the Islamic financial sector while adapting to the digital era can be divided into two main clusters: risk mitigation for Shariah-compliant FinTech and risk avoidance for Shariah non-compliant innovations. The high level of gharar associated with current practices in both cryptocurrencies and smart contracts needs additional regulation and simulation before they can be reconsidered for market-wide application. Cloud computing, crowdfunding and big data have promising applications that can address the limitations of the Islamic finance industry, particularly in terms of reducing transactional costs.

This conceptual article offers some insights into the subject; nevertheless, it does not attempt to establish causation or generalise the results. Additional statistical testing is required prior to generalising the results.

Due to the difficulties experienced since its inception, the Islamic financial industry is in urgent need of the cutting-edge solutions required to gain a competitive edge in the market and get over the limits that came with its late entry into the financial sector. Mapping digital risks is imperative for the development of comprehensive prudential risk management strategies for the Islamic finance industry that can fix its problems and enable it to deliver the more favourable Shariah-based solutions, rather than remaining in the lower bands of Shariah compliance.

Findings of the study lay the foundation for empirical testing the volatility of FinTech innovations for the Islamic finance industry to reduce uncertainties and generate reliable forecasts. Scholarship on managing digital risks for Islamic financial institutions is still developing due to the covid global lockdown and the looming recession, and this study will help enhance theorisation necessary that can aspire economic recovery after current challenges.

With more cities aiming to achieve climate neutrality, identifying the funding to support these plans is essential. The purpose of this paper is to exploit the present of a structured green bonds framework in Sweden to investigate the typology of abatement projects Swedish municipalities invested in and understand their effectiveness.

Marginal abatement cost curves of the green bond measures are constructed by using the financial and abatement data provided by municipalities on an annual basis.

The results highlight the economic competitiveness of clean energy production, measured in abatement potential per unit of currency, even when compared to other emerging technologies that have attracted the interest of policymakers. A comparison with previous studies on the cost efficiency of carbon capture storage reveals that clean energy projects, especially wind energy production, can contribute to the reduction of emissions in a more efficient way. The Swedish carbon tax is a good incentive tool for investments in clean energy projects.

The improvement concerning previous applications is twofold: the authors expand the financial considerations to include the whole life-cycle costs, and the authors consider all the greenhouse gases. This research constitutes a prime in using financial and environmental data produced by local governments to assess the effectiveness of their environmental measures.