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The purpose of this study is to determine if blockchain-supported carbon offset information provision and shipping options with different cost and environmental footprint implications impact consumer perceptions toward retailers and logistics service providers. Blockchain and carbon neutrality, each can be expensive to adopt and complex to manage, thus getting the “truth” on decarbonization may require additional costs for consumers.

Experimental modeling is used to address these critical and emergent issues that influence practices across a set of supply chain actors. Three hypotheses relating to the relationship between blockchain-supported carbon offset information and consumer perceptions and intentions associated with the product and supply chain actors are investigated.

The results show that consumer confidence increases when supply chain carbon offset information has greater reliability, transparency and traceability as supported by blockchain technology. The authors also find that consumers who are provided visibility into various shipping options and the product's journey carbon emissions and offset – from a blockchain-supported system – they are more willing to pay a premium for both the product and shipping options. Blockchain-supported decarbonization information disclosure in the supply chain can lead to organizational legitimacy and financial gains in return.

Understanding consumer action and sustainable consumption is critical for organizations seeking carbon neutrality. Currently, the literature on this understanding from a consumer information provision is not well understood, especially with respect to blockchain-supported information transparency, visibility and reliability. Much of the blockchain literature focuses on the upstream. This study focuses more on consumer-level and downstream supply chain blockchain implications for organizations. The study provides a practical roadmap for considering levels of blockchain information activity and consumer interaction.

This study aims to investigate the impact of organizational external environmental factors on strategic management accounting (SMA) usage in an emerging economy.

The study collected data from 79 public limited companies listed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (Bangladesh) through a questionnaire survey. Multiple regression analysis is employed to test the impact of external environmental variables such as perceived environmental uncertainty and intensity of competition on SMA usage.

The study finds a significant positive impact of environmental uncertainty (fluctuation in the external environmental factors) and intensity of competition (domination by few companies) on SMA usage. However, the direction and magnitude of this impact vary considerably for specific groups of SMA practices such as costing, competitor accounting, customer accounting and planning and performance measurement techniques.

This study shows the impact of several facets of environmental uncertainty (i.e. unpredictability, fluctuation, ambiguity, lack of information and uncertainty of the outcome of decision) and intensity of competition (i.e. stressfulness and domination) in the empirical-based SMA research.

The purpose of this article is to synthesize the topics, conceptualizations and measurements of value-based management (VBM) and to suggest a research agenda covering its next evolution as sustainable governance.

The authors conducted a systematic literature review of 80 seminal studies published between 1979 and 2022. The authors synthesized the studies by their conceptualizations of VBM in an inductively developed framework.

The authors find that scholars explore diverse topics related to VBM with a prevailing focus on shareholder primacy. There is a paucity of studies that focus on the integration of shareholder maximization and stakeholder management practices. The authors explain which studies will form a promising foundation for advanced research on sustainable governance that will reach beyond current VBM research.

The authors' research agenda addresses new future topics on conflicting goals within and between shareholder groups, offers specific suggestions for using new research methods and untapped data sources for VBM and paves the way to substantially extend the boundaries of the firm in VBM research to include stakeholders, strategic alignment and new sustainability measures.

In recent years, instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp have gained substantial popularity in both academic and practical domains. However, despite this growth, there is a lack of a comprehensive overview of the literature in this field. The primary purpose of this study is to bridge this gap by analyzing a substantial dataset of 12,947 articles retrieved from the Dimensions.ai, database spanning from 2011 to March 2023.

To achieve the authors' objective, the authors employ bibliometric analysis techniques. The authors delve into various bibliometric networks, including citation networks, co-citation networks, collaboration networks, keywords and bibliographic couplings. These methods allow for the uncovering of the social and conceptual structures within the academic discourse surrounding WhatsApp.

The authors' analysis reveals several significant findings. Firstly, the authors observe a remarkable and continuous growth in the number of academic studies dedicated to WhatsApp over time. Notably, two prevalent themes emerge: the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the role of WhatsApp in the realm of social media. Furthermore, the authors' study highlights diverse applications of WhatsApp, including its utilization in education and learning, as a communication tool, in medical education, cyberpsychology, security, psychology and behavioral learning.

This paper contributes to the field by offering a comprehensive overview of the scholarly research landscape related to WhatsApp. The findings not only illuminate the burgeoning interest in WhatsApp among researchers but also provide insights into the diverse domains where WhatsApp is making an impact. The analysis of bibliometric networks offers a unique perspective on the social and conceptual structures within this field, shedding light on emerging trends and influential research. This study thus serves as a valuable resource for scholars, practitioners and policymakers seeking to navigate the evolving landscape of WhatsApp research. The study will also be useful for researchers interested in conducting bibliometric analysis using Dimensions.ai, a free database.

This study aims to estimate the impact of refugee inflows on host countries’ entrepreneurial rates. The refugee crisis led to an increased scientific and public policy interest in the impact of refugee inflows on host countries. One important perspective of such an impact, which is still underexplored, is the impact of refugee inflows on host countries entrepreneurial rates. Given the high number of refugees that flow to some countries, it would be valuable to assess the extent to which such countries are likely to reap the benefits from increasing refugee inflows in terms of (native and non-native) entrepreneurial talent enhancement.

Resorting to dynamic (two-step system generalized method of moments) panel data estimations, based on 186 countries over the period between 2000 and 2019, this study estimates the impact of refugee inflows on host countries’ entrepreneurial rates, measured by the total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) rate and the self-employment rate.

In general, higher refugee inflows are associated with lower host countries’ TEA rates. However, refugee inflows significantly foster self-employment rates of “medium-high” and “high” income host countries and host countries located in Africa. These results suggest that refugee inflows tend to enhance “necessity” related new ventures and/ or new ventures (from native and non-native population) operating in low value-added, low profit sectors.

This study constitutes a novel empirical contribution by providing a macroeconomic, quantitative assessment of the impact of refugee from distinct nationalities on a diverse set of host countries' entrepreneurship rates in the past two decades resorting to dynamic panel data models, which enable to address the heterogeneity of the countries and deal with the endogeneity of the variables of the model.

Amid rapid technological progress, the construction industry is embracing Construction 4.0, redefining work practices through emerging technologies. However, the implications of Construction 4.0 technologies to enhancing well-being are still poorly understood. Particularly, the challenge lies in selecting technologies that critically contribute to well-being enhancement. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the implications of Construction 4.0 technologies to enhancing well-being.

A list of Construction 4.0 technologies was identified from a national strategic plan on Construction 4.0, using Malaysia as a case study. Fourteen construction industry experts were selected to evaluate the implications of Construction 4.0 technologies on well-being using fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The expert judgment was measured using linguistic variables that were transformed into fuzzy values. Then, the collected data was analyzed using the following analyses: fuzzy TOPSIS, Pareto, normalization, sensitivity, ranking performance and correlation.

Six Construction 4.0 technologies are critical to enhancing well-being: cloud & real-time collaboration, big data & predictive analytics, Internet of Things, building information modeling, autonomous construction and augmented reality & virtualization. In addition, artificial intelligence and advanced building materials are recommended to be implemented simultaneously as a very strong correlation exists between them.

The novelty of this study lies in a comprehensive understanding of the implications of Construction 4.0 technologies to enhancing well-being. The findings can assist researchers, industry practitioners and policymakers in making well-informed decisions to select Construction 4.0 technologies when targeting the enhancement of the overall well-being of the local construction industry.

This study aims to examine the role of different forms of corporate social advocacy (CSA) in shaping individuals’ attitudinal and behavioral intentions towards companies taking their public stand on controversial socio-political issues. With an online experiment as the research method, this study tests whether depicting nonpolitical or political behaviors in CSA messages increases individuals’ positive behavioral intentions.

This study uses a single factor between subject online experiment. A total of 135 US young adults were recruited through a Qualtrics online panel. Three social media mockups were created to manipulate three levels of actions in CSA messages (no action, nonpolitical action and political action). Participants viewed one of those social media posts depicting presented actions to counter anti-LGBTQ + legislation in the USA and answered questions about values-driven motives behind CSA, brand preference and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) intention.

Participants displayed higher levels of brand preference when they viewed CSA messages depicting the company’s political action intended to repel anti-LGBTQ + legislation. Participants showed more positive WOM intentions towards the company when they perceived its political actions as more values-driven.

The findings of this study offer practical insights to companies when designing CSA messages and strategies. The results of this study indicate that the presence of political actions in CSA communication increases individuals’ positive behaviors towards companies. The results also suggest that depicting altruistic motives behind CSA leads individuals to talk about companies more in positive ways.

This study is one of the early studies investigating the impact of various forms of CSA on individuals’ attitudinal and behavioral intentions to companies practicing CSA. This study provides practical implications on how to effectively appeal individuals’ favorable attitudes and behaviors towards CSA. In particular, this research presents the importance of action aspects in individuals’ attitudes toward corporations’ CSA messages.

Lean construction (LC) is an innovative approach in the construction industry that has shown significant success in developed countries. Although LC has potential in the construction sector of Pakistan, it has not been extensively explored. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by identifying and predicting current lean practices and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of LC implementation in Pakistan.

Using robust statistical methods to analyze 92 valid responses, the study reveals that approximately 54% of lean practices are currently in use in the construction industry of Pakistan, with a population mean ranging from 52.7% to 55.6%.

Surprisingly, the research identifies instances where some construction firms in Pakistan are implementing LC practices, even though they have only a limited understanding of its underlying principles. Notably, certain subprinciples, such as visual management, top management commitment to change, employee training, process cycle time reduction and production optimization, are less integrated within the construction industry. Exploring the possibility of implementing LC, recommendations for strategies to implement LC in Pakistan are suggested, aligning with the conceptual model proposed by the researchers.

The novelty of this work offers insights that can serve as a comprehensive guide for developing nations. It provides a structured approach to assess and benchmark LC practices, which, in turn, can contribute to a more efficient and effective construction industry. Moreover, the strategies proposed in this research can aid developing countries in the efficient implementation of LC. This will have a positive implication for both economic and developmental outcomes.

Despite the immense popularity of WhatsApp, there needs to be more reliable and valid scales for identifying and measuring users' motivation behind frequent WhatsApp status updates. This study explores the underlying motivations of users in updating their WhatsApp statuses and develops a scale to measure them.

Following a mixed-method research design, data were obtained from WhatsApp users in India. The current research furnishes results from five studies, involving both qualitative and quantitative approaches.

The results uncover seven unique motivations of users for keeping WhatsApp status, namely: social good, attention seeking, social relations, expressing views, life updates, inspiration and entertainment. Additionally, the empirical findings demonstrate the effects of the above dimensions on the positive and negative emotions of users.

This research is a pioneering effort in developing and validating a scale on WhatsApp status motivation construct. Key managerial and scholarly implications of the findings arising from this research are also discussed.

The increasing complexity of civil engineering projects necessitates focusing on new competencies of project participants. Based on the research on team performance and design processes that are more closely linked to the relevance of the project context, it is hypothesised that empathic abilities could play an important role in the performance of civil engineering projects. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether performance can be improved by focusing on empathic abilities during the integrated design phase.

Semi-structured in-depth interviews with experts were conducted to explore the relevance of empathic abilities and their interaction with performance in a real-life infrastructure project. The project team’s empathy level was measured by means of a survey using Davis’ Interpersonal Reactivity Index method. Finally, differences between expected and measured levels of empathy were analysed.

The results provide insights into how empathic abilities interact with performance. The measurement indicates that, on average, professionals in the civil engineering industry score relatively low on empathy. In addition, differences were identified between the expected distribution and the measured empathy levels of the team, implying a potential for improvement, in particular by increasing the empathic abilities of the project management and increasing gender diversity.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate a relationship between empathy and the performance of civil engineering projects. The results provide initial insights into the empathic ability of civil engineering project teams and the potential of empathy to improve performance. Furthermore, from an empathy perspective, this study advocates increasing the gender diversity of project teams to improve performance.