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The “Internet of Things (IoT)” is a platform for involving smart devices via the Internet at a worldwide scale. It supports the “supply chain (SC)” and “information and communication technology (ICT)” infrastructure to be well integrated into an organization and externally with customers and suppliers. The “sustainable supply chain (SSC)” is currently unavoidable if a company seeks to satisfy the aggressive change in its customers' requirements. Numerous studies have confirmed that manufacturing firms have to accelerate the shift of their focus toward sustainability and the implementation of novel technologies, such as IoT, to accomplish their organizational goals most effectively. Although the literature consists of many theoretical approaches to IoT and numerous studies that have extremely concentrated upon the IoT technology and its potential applications, it lacks research with a focus on the challenges that arise when applying IoT to the “sustainable supply chain management (SSCM)”.

The present study proposes an integrated framework using the “Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC)” and “VlseKriterijumska optimizcija I kaompromisno resenje in Serbian (VIKOR)” models and employs to evaluate the IoT challenges to implement the SSCM. For estimating the criteria weights, the CRITIC tool is utilized. The organization's prioritization is obtained by the VIKOR procedure, which delivers simple mathematical procedures with precise and consistent outcomes.

To exhibit the practicality of the introduced model, a case study is taken to evaluate the IoT challenges to implement the SSCM within the “q-Rung Orthopair Fuzzy Sets (q-ROFSs)” environment. Moreover, the authors exhibit a sensitivity investigation over given parameter values, examining the stability of developed approach. Finally, the authors draw attention to a comparison between developed q-ROF-CRITIC-VIKOR decision-making approach with an existing q-ROF-TOPSIS method to show its superiority and potency.

The outcome of the study lies in observing the top benefits of individual businesses, and their entire SSCs can be found by implementing IoT. This paper investigates the most important challenges that individual firms and entire SSCs might while applying IoT. It provides a deep insight regarding the effects of IoT upon SSCM and the issues every firm need to contemplate when it is to apply IoT solutions.

Online review bias research has predominantly focused on self-selection biases on the user’s side. By collecting online reviews from multiple platforms and examining their biases in the unique digital environment of “Chinanet,” this paper aims to shed new light on the multiple sources of biases embedded in online reviews and potential interactions among users, technical platforms and the broader social–cultural norms.

In the first study, online restaurant reviews were collected from Dianping.com, one of China's largest review platforms. Their distribution and underlying biases were examined via comparisons with offline reviews collected from on-site surveys. In the second study, user and platform ratings were collected from three additional major online review platforms – Koubei, Meituan and Ele.me – and compared for possible indications of biases in platform's review aggregation.

The results revealed a distinct exponential-curved distribution of Chinese users’ online reviews, suggesting a deviation from previous findings based on Western user data. The lack of online “moaning” on Chinese review platforms points to the social–cultural complexity of Chinese consumer behavior and online environment that goes beyond self-selection at the individual user level. The results also documented a prevalent usage of customized aggregation methods by review service providers in China, implicating an additional layer of biases introduced by technical platforms.

Using an online–offline design and multi-platform data sets, this paper elucidates online review biases among Chinese users, the world's largest and understudied (in terms of review biases) online user group. The results provide insights into the unique social–cultural cyber norm in China's digital environment and bring to light the multilayered nature of online review biases at the intersection of users, platforms and culture.

Based on virtual maintenance, this paper aims to propose a time prediction method of assembly and disassembly (A&D) actions of product maintenance process to enhance existing methods’ prediction accuracy, applicability and efficiency.

First, a framework of A&D time prediction model is constructed, which describes the time prediction process in detail. Then, basic maintenance motions which can comprise a whole A&D process are classified into five categories: body movement, working posture change, upper limb movement, operation and grasp/placement. A standard posture library is developed based on the classification. Next, according to motion characteristics, different time prediction methods for each motion category are proposed based on virtual maintenance simulation, modular arrangement of predetermined time standard theory and the statistics acquired from motion experiment. Finally, time correction based on the quantitative evaluation method of motion time influence factors is studied so that A&D time could be predicted with more accuracy.

Case study of time prediction of products’ various A&D processes is conducted by implementing the proposed method. The prediction process of diesel cooling fan disassemble time is presented in detail. Through comparison, the advantages and effectiveness of the method are demonstrated.

This paper proposes a more accurate, efficient and applicable product A&D time prediction method. It can help designers predict A&D time of a product maintenance accurately in early design phases without a physical prototype. It can also provide basis for the verification of maintainability, the balance of the design of product structure and system layout.

This study aims to present the Chinese entrepreneurial environment and explore Chinese tertiary students’ online-startup motivation on live streaming platforms. Based on the COM-B behaviour changing theory, this paper discovers various influencing factors from environmental opportunity and personal capability aspects. It analyses their effects under the cooperative system established among official departments, industries and universities. Meanwhile, considering social and cultural control, it also refers to the uncertainty-avoidance dimension from the Hofstede cultural theory and re-evaluates its influence on Chinese tertiary students’ online-startup motivation.

The authors analyse 474 responses from online questionnaires through partial least squares path modelling and variance-based structural equation modelling. The paper claims that environmental opportunity and personal capability factors positively affect students’ online-startup motivation, but uncertainty-avoidance thinking plays a negative role. The study also measures the importance-performance map analysis to explore additional findings and discuss managerial implications.

Both platform support and official department support positively impact Chinese tertiary students’ online-startup motivation and entrepreneurial skills learned from universities are beneficial for them to build online-startup confidence. Meanwhile, influenced by the cooperative system implemented among official departments, industries and universities, official department support positively affects platform support and entrepreneurial skills. Conversely, influenced by Chinese traditional Confucian culture, uncertainty-avoidance thinking negatively affects tertiary students’ online-startup motivation.

This paper demonstrates the analysis of Chinese tertiary students’ online-startup motivation drawing on the COM-B behaviour changing and Hofstede cultural theories. Specifically, this study divides influencing factors into three specific aspects as follows: environmental opportunity, personal capability and social and cultural control. Unlike existing research applying traditional research models, the combination of the COM-B behaviour changing theory and the Hofstede cultural theory could be conducive to making the research model reflect influencing factors and present their different relationships.

The increase in demand variability created by manufacturing enterprises presents new challenges for increasing resource usage and sharing flexibility. For this reason, it is of great importance to research manufacturing grids and their service modes. The purpose of this paper is to establish a systematic strategy and a system tool for manufacturing grid systems.

A manufacturing service oriented manufacturing grid (MSoMG) system is presented with open grid service architecture as the system architecture and GT3.9 as a development tool. A framework is proposed to support MSoMG by providing advisory tools and methods for uncertain information analysis and processing, multi-objective decision making of manufacturing grid service execution, manufacturing grid service performance prediction based on knowledge template, and flexible manufacturing grid service scheduling and solution. The methodology of the adopted rough set is discussed in detail. Finally, the design support strategies for MSoMG are investigated to guide the coordination of manufacturing activities.

Many conventional methods and models become very limited for manufacturing grid service with uncertain information. The processing of uncertain information and reasonable application flow can help to improve the completion rate and reliability of manufacturing grid services.

This research provides a solid foundation for manufacturing gird operations and can promote the use of a manufacturing grid mode.

A MSoMG system is presented. The manufacturing grid service with uncertain information is considered as well as design support strategies.

The paper aims to further understanding of connectivity from the perspective of blockchain technology (BT) in the supply chain (SC). It presents the weaknesses (inhibitors) of connectivity during technology implementation, focusing on supply chain interaction and resilience.

Restricting the focus to digital connectivity, interaction and supply chain resilience, this paper uses a systematic literature review (SLR) to examine how the literature has addressed, related or flagged connectivity weaknesses affecting supply chain interaction and resilience.

This study highlights the influence of connectivity for blockchain-technology projects. Technical and organisational influencers that affect the adoption of technology in the SC are presented. These influencers support the factors proposed in this study regarding the weaknesses that negatively affect the interaction between the agents involved and the SC's resilience. The research suggests that the weaknesses are related to technical needs and the relationships between companies arising from functionalities.

This paper is restricted to a review of the theory and the researched material. Although the author was careful to choose the best search terms related to the research objective, some potentially relevant articles may have been excluded.

The study summarises research on blockchain connectivity influencers in the SC, helping managers to anticipate and mitigate some of doubts and concerns in projects of this nature.

This is one of the first articles in the area of operations and SCs that addresses the topic of connectivity, focusing on its restrictive factors (connectivity inhibitors), in the context of blockchain implementation in the SC.

The General Assembly recognized the critical contribution of entrepreneurship to sustainable development in its resolution 73/225 on entrepreneurship for sustainable development by accelerating economic growth and innovation and addressing social and environmental challenges in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Hence, it is important to understand the variables influencing entrepreneurs’ aspirations for sustainable enterprises to promote sustainable entrepreneurial activity for sustainable development. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the enablers affecting the adoption of sustainable entrepreneurship practices by the entrepreneurs in India.

This study has been conducted in three steps. The first step includes the identification of enablers from the extensive review of the literature followed by the second step of finalization of enablers by experts’ opinion. Finally, in the third step, enablers are analysed using interpretive structural modelling (ISM).

After the extensive literature review and opinion of 100 millennial experts, 11 enablers are identified. In the third step, ISM is applied to develop a hierarchical model for the enablers affecting the adoption of sustainable entrepreneurial practice and to establish the contextual relationships among those enablers.

This study can be used by practitioners and policymakers to further validate the driving enablers for developing sustainability-driven entrepreneurial intention and to increase the adoption of sustainable practices by entrepreneurs.

This study is based on the ISM providing significant insights related to enablers affecting the adoption of sustainable entrepreneurial practices. It provides valuable knowledge to entrepreneurial researchers and practitioners.