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Introduction: The circular economy is observed as a good sustainability practice that has gained importance recently. The effects of this practice specific to the financial industry are examined in the context of green accounting, finance, and sustainability reporting standards and needs.

Purpose: This chapter aims to analyse the impact of the circular economy on the finance industry based on three research questions: (1) What benefits and challenges does the circular economy bring to the financial industry? (2) What should be the financial industry’s strategic roadmap and business model for transitioning from a linear economy to a circular economy? (3) What are the differentiating aspects of ecosystem accounting and environmental accounting in its structure and use in the financial industry?

Methodology: The method of our work is based on a ‘strategic road map for circular economy’ implementation and a ‘sustainability business model framework’ relevant to the finance industry. Thus, we systematically present the ‘value generation process’ considering the industry trends and dynamics and regulatory challenges regarding ‘green business model’ management with a strategic approach.

Findings: To coordinate the transition to a circular economy based on systematic knowledge about the state of ecosystems and their interactions with society, it is necessary to design monitoring, accounting and reporting systems that adapt to the new business operating environment. This chapter provides recommendations from the perspective of the financial sector.

The purpose of this study is to advance a novel evaluation index system and evaluation approach for ability of older adults in China.

This study constructed a comprehensive older adult ability evaluation index system with 4 primary indicators and 17 secondary indicators. Grey clustering analysis and entropy weight method are combined into a robust evaluation model for the ability of older adults.

The result demonstrates that the proposed grey clustering model is readily available to calculate the disability level of elderly individuals. The constructed index system more comprehensively considers all aspects of the disability of the elderly.

This study provides a quantitative method and a more reasonable index system for the determination of the disability level of the elderly.

The study sets out to demonstrate how a lifecycle perspective on complex, public-sector procurement projects can be used for making qualitative assessments of procurement policy and practice and reveal those procurement capabilities that are most impactful for operating effectively.

Agency theory, institutional theory and the lifecycle analysis technique are combined to abductively develop a framework to identify, analyse and compare complex procurement policies and practices in public sector organisations. Defence is the focal case and is compared with cases in the Nuclear, Local Government and Health sectors.

The study provides a framework for undertaking a lifecycle analysis to understand the challenges and capabilities of complex, public-sector buyers. Eighteen hierarchically-arranged themes are identified and used in conjunction with agency theory and institutional theory to explain complex procurement policy and practice variation in some of the UK’s highest-profile public buyers. The study findings provide a classification of complex buyers and offer valuable guidance for practitioners and researchers navigating complex procurement contexts.

The lifecycle approach proposed is a new research tool providing a bespoke application of theory by considering each lifecycle phase as an individual but related element that is governed by unique institutional pressures and principal-agent relationships.

This study aims to examine how different uses of performance measurement systems (PMS) enable or hinder organizational ambidexterity (OA), intended as the simultaneous pursuit of exploitation and exploration.

Following a qualitative research design, we gathered data through semi-structured interviews, observations and reviews of documents at four departments of an automotive firm.

We contribute to operations management research and practice by demonstrating how PMS, which are typically associated with exploitation, can also foster exploration and enable organizations to become ambidextrous. Specifically, we show how PMS can be structured and used in more agile ways and, in relation to innovation, we identify which PM practices should be introduced and with what effects and those that should be avoided. We also contribute to organization theory by highlighting how a single management tool can promote the achievement of both exploration and exploitation.

In investigating PMS uses and their effects, we identify several positive practices. For example, we show how managers can use PMS more effectively and how targets could be deployed to stimulate creativity and innovation. We also emphasize the need for managers to opt more often for team incentives rather than individual ones to encourage the collaboration needed for OA.

We provide in-depth insight into how PM tools affect an organization’s ability to pursue exploitation and exploration, thus contributing to research in operations, innovation and organization theory.

The evolution and trends of special education and educational leadership are evident, especially in recent years. The former has strived to provide equitable educational opportunities to students with disabilities. The latter has dealt with how people in positions of authority in K-12 schools create policy, use resources, and influence other people to achieve educational goals. Together, these notions constitute an idea that school leaders and administrators can provide insight, oversight, assistance, and guidance toward creating educational environments for students with and without disabilities. This chapter examines the current state of special education and educational leadership by exploring the evolution of special education, relevant legal cases, and the enactment of inclusive education. Furthermore, this chapter addresses contemporary issues for leaders, such as the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, while dealing with special education and the increasing pressure from families for equity for students with disabilities.

This study aims to introduce a multilevel micro-foundational perspective on supply chain (SC) ambidexterity, grounded in organizational learning and adaptation research. It investigates the interplay of contextual factors, strategic orientation and a bundle of supply chain management practices to foster ambidextrous performance.

Leveraging a blend of perceptual and objective data and measures, this study explores the intricacies of macro and micro factors at multiple levels, offering empirical support for the research framework. The interrelationships among these factors are scrutinized through three analytical approaches: selection, interaction and system forms of interdependence analysis.

First, the authors offer empirical support for their conceptual model, illustrating that ambidexterity behavior and outcomes in the SC emanate from intricate interactions between macro and micro factors across various levels. Second, the authors present robust empirical evidence endorsing a system/gestalt form of interdependence analysis in capturing SC ambidexterity and performance. This analytical approach effectively captures the complementarity and contradictory interdependence among the opposing poles of efficiency and responsiveness.

The organizational and SC activity configuration faces numerous paradoxical tensions, such as profitability versus sustainability. This study offers valuable insights into establishing an ambidextrous system capable of navigating and addressing these paradoxical situations.

Over the last 2 decades, supply chain sustainability research has become a highly dynamic and fruitful study area. This field has garnered significant attention due to its potential to reshape decision-making processes within supply chains. At the same time, the practical side of supply chain operations remains intensely competitive in today’s business landscape. Furthermore, the current academic research aims to outline effective strategies for achieving sustainability across supply chains, particularly in the manufacturing sector. In response to these challenges, this research has conducted an integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach to evaluate sustainable supply chain performance from the triple bottom line perspective, including financial, environmental, and social performance.

The initial stage involves selecting the crucial criteria (short-term and long-term) and alternatives for sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP) from experts and conducting an in-depth literature review. Initially, there were 17 criteria, but after a pilot test with co-authors and online discussions with experts, the number of criteria was subsequently reduced to 9. In the second phase, the Best-Worst Method (BWM) was applied to rank and prioritize the criteria. The third and final stage examined the causal relationship between the identified criteria, utilizing the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique.

Based on BWM analysis results, the top three criteria in terms of prominence are: (1) return on investment (ROI), (2) product quality, and (3) manufacturing lead time. Out of the three alternatives, financial performance (FP) is the most crucial dimension for SSCP, followed by environmental performance (ENP) and social performance (SP). On the other hand, the DEMATEL approach showed that work health and safety (short-term criterion), asset utilization (long-term criterion), energy consumption (long-term criterion), waste disposal (long-term criterion), manufacturing lead time (short-term criterion), and on-time delivery (short-term criterion) are categorized within the cause group, while criteria such as return on investment (ROI) (long-term criterion), customer-service level (short-term criterion), and product quality (long-term criterion) fall into the effect group.

The proposed study has certain drawbacks that pave the way for future research directions. First, it is worth noting the need for a larger sample size to ensure the reliability of results, the potential inclusion of additional criteria to enhance the assessment of sustainability performance, and the consideration of a qualitative approach to gain deeper insights into the outcomes. In addition, fuzziness in qualitative subjective perception could be imperative when collecting data to ensure its reliability, as translating experts’ perceptions into exact numerical values can be challenging because human perceptions often carry elements of uncertainty or vagueness. Therefore, fuzzy integrated MCDM frameworks are better suited for future research to handle the uncertainties involved in human perceptions, making it a more appropriate approach for decision-making in scenarios where traditional MCDM methods may prove insufficient.

The proposed framework will enable decision-makers to gain deeper insights into how various decision criteria impact SSCP, thus providing a comprehensive evaluation of SSCP that considers multiple dimensions, such as financial, environmental, and social performance within the manufacturing sector.

The proposed study is the first empirical study to integrate both BWM and DEMATEL approaches to evaluate sustainable supply chain performance in the manufacturing context.

The existing literature reflects that the connection between enablers of Industry 4.0 (I4.0), Supply Chain (SC) sustainability and reliability is understudied. To cover this gap, the purpose of this study is to identify and benchmark the enablers of I4.0 for SC sustainability to build a Reliable Supply Chain (RSC).

This study benchmarks the I4.0 enablers for SC sustainability for building a RSC and analyses them with a multi-method approach. The identified potential enablers are validated empirically. A multi-method approach of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Preference Ranking for Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE-II) was used to investigate the influence of the identified benchmarking enablers and develop an interrelationship diagram among the identified enablers.

This study benchmarks the potential enablers of I4.0 to achieve high ecological-economic-social gains in SCs considering the Indian scenario. Digitalization of the supply chain, decentralization, smart factory technologies and data security and handling are the most prominent enablers of I4.0 for SC sustainability to build a RSC.

The findings from the study may benefit managers, practitioners, specialists, researchers and policymakers interested in I4.0 sustainability applications.

Movies critics believe that the diversity of Iranian cinematic genres has decreased over time. The paper aims to answer the following questions: What is the impact of the continuous cooperation between the key nodes on the audience's taste, uniformity of the cinematic genres and the box office? Is there any relationship between the importance of actors in the actors' network and their popularity?

In the artistic world, artists' relationships lead to a network that affects individuals' commercial or artistic success and defines the artwork's value. To study the issue that the diversity of Iranian cinematic genres has decreased over time, the authors utilized social network analysis (SNA), in which every actor is considered a node, and its collaboration with others in the same movies is depicted via edges. After preparing the desired dataset, networks were generated, and metrics were calculated. First, the authors compared the structure of the network with the box office. The results illustrated that the network density growth negatively affects box office. Second, network key nodes were identified, their relationships with other actors were inspected using the Apriori algorithm to examine the density cause and the cinematic genre of key nodes, and their followers were investigated. Finally, the relationship between the actors' Instagram follower count and their importance in the network structure was analyzed to answer whether the generated network is acceptable in society.

The social problem genre has stabilized due to continuous cooperation between the core nodes because network density negatively impacts the box office. As well as, the generated network in the cinema is acceptable by the audience because there is a positive correlation between the importance of actors in the network and their popularity.

The novelty of this paper is investigating the issue raised in the cinema industry and trying to inspect its aspects by utilizing the SNA to deepen the cinematic research and fill the gaps. This study demonstrates a positive correlation between the actors' Instagram follower count and their importance in the network structure, indicating that people follow those central in the actors' network. As well as investigating the network key nodes with a heuristic algorithm using coreness centrality and analyzing their relationships with others through the Apriori algorithm. The authors situated the analysis using a novel and original dataset from the Iranian actors who participated in the Fajr Film Festival from 1998 to 2020.

Blockchain technology (BCT) can play a vital role in manufacturing industries by providing visibility and real-time transparency. With BCT adoption, manufacturers can achieve higher productivity, better quality, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The current study aims to prioritize the performance metrics and ranking of enablers that may influence the adoption of BCT in manufacturing industries through a hybrid framework.

Through an extensive literature review, 4 major criteria with 26 enablers were identified. Pythagorean fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to compute the weights of the enablers and the Pythagorean fuzzy combined compromise solution (Co-Co-So) method was used to prioritize the 17-performance metrics. Sensitivity analysis was then carried out to check the robustness of the developed framework.

According to the results, data security enablers were the most significant among the major criteria, followed by technology-oriented enablers, sustainability and human resources and quality-related enablers. Further, the ranking of performance metrics shows that data hacking complaints per year, data storage capacity and number of advanced technologies available for BCT are the top three important performance metrics. Framework robustness was confirmed by sensitivity analysis.

The developed framework will contribute to understanding and simplifying the BCT implementation process in manufacturing industries to a significant level. Practitioners and managers may use the developed framework to facilitate BCT adoption and evaluate the performance of the manufacturing system.

This study can be considered as the first attempt to the best of the author’s knowledge as no such hybrid framework combining enablers and performance indicators was developed earlier.