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This study investigates the optimum size for manufacturing firms and the impact of subcontracting on firms' likelihood of achieving their optimal scale in Vietnam.

Using data from the enterprise census in 2017 and 2021, the paper first estimates the production function to identify the optimum firm size for manufacturing firms and then, applies the logit model to investigate factors associated with the optimal firm size.

The study reveals that medium-sized firms exhibit the highest level of productivity. Nevertheless, a consistent trend emerges, indicating that nearly 90% of manufacturing firms in Vietnam operated below their optimal scale in both 2017 and 2021. An analysis of the impact of subcontracting on firms' likelihood to achieve their optimal scale emphasizes its crucial role, especially for foreign firms, exerting an influence nearly five times greater than that of the judiciary system.

The paper's findings offer crucial policy implications, suggesting that initiatives aimed at enhancing the overall productivity of the manufacturing sector should prioritise facilitating contract arrangements to encourage firms to reach their optimal size. These insights are also valuable for other countries with comparable firm size distributions.

This paper provides the first empirical evidence on the relationship between firm size and productivity as well as the role of subcontracting in firms' ability to reach their optimal scale in a country with a right-skewed distribution of firm sizes.

This study addresses the empirical results of the spillover effect with export as the primary economic activity that enhances local businesses' total factor productivity (TFP). A learning mechanism is expected to be generated and used as the basis for the policy implication.

This study adopted the Cobb–Douglas function and multiple estimation approaches, including the generalized method of moments, the Olley–Pakes and the Levinsohn–Petrin estimation techniques. The findings were estimated based on the panel data of a Vietnamese local businesses survey conducted by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) from 2010 to 2019.

The results showed that the highest TFP belongs to the businesses in the Southeast region, the Mekong Delta region, the mining industry and the foreign-invested enterprises. The lowest impacted TFP are businesses in the Northwest region and agricultural, forestry and fishery sectors. In addition, the estimated results also show that the positive spillover effect on TFP is shown through forward and backward linkage. The negative spillover effect is expressed through the backward and horizontal channels.

This study offers original empirical evidence on the learning mechanisms via which exports contribute to productivity improvement in a developing Asian economy, so making a valuable contribution to the existing academic literature in this domain. The findings of this research make a valuable contribution to the advancement of understanding on the many ways via which spillover effects manifest such as horizontal, forward, backward and supplied-backward linkage.

The study's findings indicate that it is advisable for governments to give priority to the development and improvement of forward and supply chain linkages between exporters and local suppliers. This approach is recommended in order to optimize the advantages derived from export spillovers. At the organizational level, it is imperative for enterprises to strengthen their technological and managerial skills in order to efficiently incorporate knowledge spillovers that originate from overseas partners and trade counterparts.

This study sheds new evidence on the export spillover effect on productivity in emerging economies, with Vietnam as the case study. The paper contributes to the research's originality by adopting novel methodological aspects to estimate local businesses' impact on total factor productivity.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0373

To ensure that students are well prepared to successfully analyze this case, they should be familiar with the following concepts, theories and principles:

â–ª Stakeholder theory

â–ª Concept of duty to consult and accommodate

â–ª Concept of social license to operate (SLO)

â–ª Concept of indigenous economic self-determination

â–ª Indigenous world view

â–ª Seventh generation principle

â–ª Cree principles

â–ª Dene principles

The information provided in this case was gathered by the authors through face-to-face interviews, phone interviews, e-mail exchanges and secondary research. Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) separates business operations from council operations through use of corporate entities (as shown in Exhibit 1 of the case). Meadow Lake Tribal Council II (MLTCII) is the corporate entity that oversees two companies referenced in the case: Mistik Management and NorSask Forest Products LP. Interviews were conducted with the General Manager at Mistik Management, Certification Coordinator at Mistik Management, Chief of Buffalo River Dene Nation, Chief of Waterhen Lake First Nation, MLTC Vice-Chief, Board Member and Advisor to MLTCII, President and CEO of MLTCII, MLTCII Business Development Consultant and a former consultant with MLTC, NorSask Forest Products and Mistik Management.

Mistik Management Ltd., a forestry management company co-owned by the nine First Nations of MLTC, was a leader in economic reconciliation in 2022. However, the company had dealt with significant challenges not long after it was established in 1989. Richard Gladue, former Chief of the one of MLTCs Member First Nations and a leader in economic development at MLTC, had been actively involved in establishing the organization. Gladue loved the life and vitality of the boreal forest in the Meadow Lake region and felt a sense of responsibility to take care of the forest and the land for generations to come. This responsibility was balanced with the acknowledgement that the forest also provided vast economic development, employment and wealth generation opportunities for MLTC and its Member First Nations.

In the early 1990s, MLTC and Mistik Management dealt with a year-long blockade by a group of protesters that included members of Canoe Lake Cree First Nation, one of the Member First Nations of MLTC. They had not been consulted on Mistik’s processes and policies, and the company’s clear-cut logging had affected their ability to continue their traditional way of life and practices on the land. After the incident, Mistik Management moved more quickly to invest in a co-management process that they were still refining and using in 2022 when consulting with Indigenous groups and communities.

A natural resource economy brings together Indigenous peoples, industry and government. In this case, students will learn about the important role that relationships play and how decisions are made when balancing complex legal, environmental and economic interests. Students will learn about the history of duty to consult and accommodate in Canada; conduct a stakeholder analysis and reflect on how decisions affect stakeholder interests; and make recommendations for meaningful Indigenous engagement strategies using the concept of social license and indigenous principles.

This case is suitable for use in undergraduate courses on indigenous business, ethical decision-making, public policy and/or natural resource development. There may also be applications in other fields of study, including anthropology, economics and political science.

If the case is used in an indigenous business course, it would be best positioned in the last third of the class, after topics such as duty to consult and accommodate, social license and meaningful engagement with indigenous communities have been covered. If used in an ethical decision-making course, it would be best used when discussing stakeholder theory and engaging in stakeholder analysis. If used in a public policy course, the case could be used to start a discussion around the duty to consult and accommodate indigenous communities in Canada. If used in a natural resource development course, the case would be best used as an example of indigenous economic development.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between pollutant emissions, financial development and IFRS in developed and developing countries between 1998 and 2022.

Data were obtained from World Development Indicators and World Governance Indicators of the World Bank.

Using FGLS and GMM estimators, the results provide evidence that financial development has a significant positive impact on a variety of pollutant emissions. However, this positive impact is moderated by IFRS for the overall sample and country income groups.

Governments and regulatory organizations should support companies’ investments in clean energy and technologies to slow down environmental degradation. Tax credits and subsidies may be helpful to achieve this goal. Also, governments may encourage companies to cooperate with universities and research institutions to develop environment-friendly production and distribution methods to reduce pollution. Although stakeholders may obtain information about environmental issues in financial statements that are prepared in accordance with IFRS, there is a need for standardization of their contents.

Greenhouse gases are major contributors to climate change and global warming. In addition to private costs borne by producers, the production and consumption of products have social costs arising from pollution that affects air, water, and soil. Pollution adversely affects people's physiological and psychological health, which decreases labor productivity, thereby leading to a decrease in economic growth.

According to the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that examines the impact of IFRS on the relationship between financial development and pollutant emissions.

This study aims to examine the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on tax revenue in 34 developed and developing countries from 2006 to 2020.

Feasible generalised least squares (FGLS), a dynamic panel of a two-step system generalised method of moments (GMM) system and a pool mean group (PMG) panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach were used to compare the developed and developing countries. Basic estimators were used as pre-estimators and diagnostic tests were used to increase robustness.

The FGLS, a two-step system of GMM, PMG–ARDL estimator’s results showed that there was a significant negative long and positive short-term in most countries relationship between FDI inflows and tax revenue in developed countries. This study concluded that attracting investments can improve the quality of institutions despite high tax rates, leading to low tax revenue. Meanwhile, there was a significant positive long and negative short-term relationship between FDI inflows and tax revenue in the developing countries. The developing countries sought to attract FDI that could be used to create job opportunities and transfer technology to simultaneously develop infrastructure and impose a tax policy that would achieve high tax revenue.

The present study sheds light on the effect of FDI on tax revenue and compares developed and developing countries through the design and implementation of policies to create jobs, transfer technology and attain economic growth in order to assure foreign investors that they would gain continuous high profits from their investments.

This study aims to provide an excellent overview of current research trends in the construction sector in digital advancements. It provides a roadmap to policymakers for the effective utilisation of emergent digital technologies and a need for a managerial shift for its smooth adoption.

A total of 3,046 peer-reviewed journal review articles covering Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, building information modelling (BIM) and digital technologies within the construction sector were reviewed using scientometric mapping and weighted mind-map analysis techniques.

Prominent research clusters identified were: practice-factor-strategy, system, sustainability, BIM and construction worker safety. Leading countries, authors, institutions and their collaborative networks were identified with the UK, the USA, China and Australia leading this field of research. A conceptual framework for an IoT-based concrete lifecycle quality control system is provided.

The study traces the origins of the initial application of Industry 4.0 concepts in the construction field and reviews available literature from 1983 to 2021. It raises awareness of the latest developments and potential landscape realignment of the construction industry through digital technologies conceptual framework for an IoT-based concrete lifecycle quality control system is provided.

This study aims to investigate the impact of digital leadership (capabilities, experience, predictability and vision) and green organizational culture on firms' digital transformation and financial performance. Additionally, the research aims to evaluate the mediating role of digital transformation in the relationship between digital leadership and firms' financial performance.

A purposive sampling technique was employed to identify and select individuals with relevant expertise and experiences in the field of digital transformation. A total of 164 responses were collected, and the questionnaire was designed based on a five-point Likert-type scale. The data were analyzed using SmartPLS 4 (Statistical Software for Structural Equation Modeling).

The findings indicate that digital leadership capabilities, experience, predictability and vision do not directly impact firms' performance. However, there is an indirect influence on firms' performance through digital transformation. While both digital transformation and green organizational culture (GOC) positively influence firms' financial performance, GOC, leader predictability and leader vision positively influence digital transformation. The results confirm that digital transformation mediates the relationship between capabilities, experience, predictability and vision and firms' financial performance.

The study highlights that strategic capabilities can enhance value-added processes during digital transformation, contributing to sustainability in the digital era. Overall, this research significantly advances both theoretical understanding and practical applications in the context of digital leadership and its impact on firms. Limited digital transformation stages among Malaysian firms impact the research, with some entities cautious about data disclosure and having limited cooperation with researchers. Gathering data from diverse sources would have strengthened the findings and methodological rigor of this multilevel study. Despite these limitations, the research offers fresh insights into the role of GOC, different facets of digital leadership and their influence on digital transformation and financial performance. This enhances existing knowledge and challenges assumptions of the transformational leadership theory (TLT) framework.

The study opens the door to further research into distinct leadership components and their effects in a similar context. By highlighting the positive influence of capabilities, experience, predictability and vision on digital transformation, it expands the theoretical and empirical scope in the realm of digital leadership. These findings encourage critical examination, refinement and evolution of TLT, providing insights for leaders and managers as they navigate digitalization, financial performance and digital leadership within organizations. In an era of digital transformation, leaders play a central role in building a psychologically safe environment and nurturing digitally skilled teams capable of managing technological changes. Leaders should possess the digital capabilities, experience, vision and predictability necessary to drive digital transformation, mitigate potential threats and adapt to the dynamic digital landscape.

These findings support government initiatives to accelerate digitalization and Industry 4.0 implementation. Collaboration between the government and private organizations is essential to create policies and practices that facilitate broad participation in digital transformation programs. Policymakers must adopt a proactive approach to address issues related to Internet accessibility, trade barriers, financing access and resource reallocation. These policies aim to ensure a high-quality and affordable digital infrastructure, cultivate trust in digital technologies and equip organizational leaders with the necessary digital skills.

This research provides valuable insights for practitioners to enhance firms' digital transformation. As a practical contribution, this study’s findings can inform how firms can better manage their key digital leadership resources and GOC to foster digital transformation and improve their financial performance.

Output from the Irish Dairy Industry has grown rapidly since the abolition of quotas in 2015, with processors investing heavily in capacity expansion to deal with the extra milk volumes. Further capacity gains may be achieved by extending the processing season into the winter, a key enabler for which being the reduction of duration of the winter maintenance overhaul period. This paper aims to investigate if Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques can be used to enhance operational maintenance performance, thereby releasing additional processing capacity.

Combining the Six-Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology and the structured approach of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) widely used in process industries creates a novel hybrid model that promises substantial improvement in maintenance overhaul execution. This paper presents a case study applying the DMAIC/TAM model to Ireland’s largest dairy processing site to optimise the annual maintenance shutdown. The objective was to deliver a 30% reduction in the duration of the overhaul, enabling an extension of the processing season.

Application of the DMAIC/TAM hybrid resulted in process enhancements, employee engagement and a clear roadmap for the operations team. Project goals were delivered, and original objectives exceeded, resulting in €8.9m additional value to the business and a reduction of 36% in the duration of the overhaul.

The results demonstrate that the model provides a structure that promotes systematic working and a continuous improvement focus that can have substantial benefits for wider industry. Opportunities for further model refinement were identified and will enhance performance in subsequent overhauls.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and tools of DMAIC and TAM have been combined into a hybrid methodology and applied in an Irish industrial setting.

This study aims to investigate whether the presence of women in the boardroom influences companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. Furthermore, it examines whether the COVID-19 pandemic and family control affect the relationship.

This study uses nonfinancial firms listed on the Indonesia and Malaysia Stock Exchange during 2018-2021. Thomson Reuters’ database is used to collect the ESG scores. Using 312 firm-year observations, the authors apply multiple regressions and sensitivity testing to ensure the robustness of the results.

This study provides empirical evidence that the presence of women in the boardroom improves companies’ ESG and family control weakens the relationship. Meanwhile, there is no support on the moderating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also conducted additional tests using ESG pillars (i.e. environment, social and governance pillars) as the dependent variable. The findings are robust to alternative samplings.

This research is limited to Indonesia and Malaysia, thus affecting the generalizability of the results to all developing countries. The sample size is relatively small due to data limitations related to the availability of ESG scores.

The findings of this study provide a basis for the government to establish mandatory regulations regarding sustainability performance. The positive relationship between women on boards and better ESG performance suggests that encouraging gender diversity in corporate leadership can improve sustainability practices. The government may consider implementing gender quota regulations to increase women's representation on corporate boards.

Shareholders can pursue investment portfolios in socially responsible companies, prioritizing ESG performance. In addition, investors should consider the presence of women in the company’s boardroom and whether family control exists when making investment decisions.

Overall, the originality and significance of this research lie in its comprehensive examination of the moderating factors, the inclusion of different governance systems in the sample, and the exploration of psychological aspects, contributing to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the relationship between women on boards and ESG performance in the context of developing countries.