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This paper aims to examine the alternative financing available for sustainable infrastructure development in Nigeria’s sub-nations. Specifically, the study question is: what financial vehicles do sub-nations seek most, and what are the underlying reasons for their preferences?

The study used a two-round Delphi method, using a questionnaire to gather data from high-ranking government officials in states that have localised sustainable development projects in Nigeria.

Results show that fundamental to sub-national sustainable infrastructure projects are federal allocations, pension funds, private equity, bonds and concessionary grants. Sub-nationals prefer these options, especially the emphasis on private equity, and the concessional funding through catalytic or blended finance because of their relatively lower or below-market interest rates.

The practical significance of this study is that the state’s policymakers can now identify appropriate strategies that enhance the shift towards these sustainable financing options, which will serve as a key catalyst in their 2030 and beyond vision to accelerate their state's infrastructure climate complaint. Equally, investors possessing funds with such attributes will gain an understanding of a prospective market within Nigeria’s sub-nation.

This study aims to improve the development of sustainable infrastructure in Nigeria’s sub-nations, which would have a beneficial effect on society by mitigating the effects of climate change.

The recommendations of this study can contribute to the development of innovative financial models for sub-national infrastructure development, thereby reducing reliance on revenue generated from fossil fuels.

This study presents the impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU)-induced Trade Supply Chain Vulnerability (TSCV) on the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in India by leveraging the World Bank Enterprise Survey data for 2014 and 2022. Applying econometric techniques, it examines firm size’ influence on productivity and trade participation, providing insights for enhancing SME resilience and trade participation amid uncertainty.

The econometric techniques focus on export participation, along with variables such as total exports, firm size, productivity, and capital intensity. It addresses crucial factors such as the direct import of intermediate goods and foreign ownership. Utilizing the Cobb-Douglas production function, the study estimates Total Factor Productivity, mitigating endogeneity and multicollinearity through a two-stage process. Besides, the study uses a case study of North Indian SMEs engaged in manufacturing activities and their adoption of mitigation strategies to combat unprecedented EPU.

Results reveal that EPU-induced TSCV reduces exports, impacting employment and firm size. Increased productivity, driven by technological adoption, correlates with improved export performance. The study highlights the negative impact of TSCV on trade participation, particularly for smaller Indian firms. Moreover, SMEs implement cost-based, supplier-based, and inventory-based strategies more than technology-based and risk-based strategies.

Policy recommendations include promoting increased imports and inward foreign direct investment to enhance small firms’ trade integration during economic uncertainty. Tailored support for smaller firms, considering their limited capacity, is crucial. Encouraging small firms to engage in international trade and adopting diverse SC mitigation strategies associated with policy uncertainty are vital considerations.

This study explores the impact of EPU-induced TSCV on Indian SMEs’ trade dynamics, offering nuanced insights for policymakers to enhance SME resilience amid uncertainty. The econometric analysis unveils patterns in export behavior, productivity, and factors influencing trade participation during economic uncertainty.

The purpose of this research is to explore the influence of the pandemic on manoeuvring consumption decisions towards goods and encouraging the trial of local food goods in a developing country, Jordan; primarily by taking an internal look into country image from a local perspective. Given the lack of studies analysing the impact of crises on consumption decisions, this research highlights the hidden benefits of the pandemic in shifting the perceptions of local food goods among Jordanian consumers.

This study adopts an exploratory approach to obtain rich, descriptive data to aid in the understanding of the shift in country image perceptions after the COVID-19 crisis and associated influences on purchase intentions. Using a qualitative open-ended approach eliminates the boundaries of closed-end methods of experimental research. Due to the nature of the phenomena being explored in this research, this study adopts the approach of responsive interviews with 26 participants.

Findings indicate that participants’ perceptions of country image and local goods and their consumption changed responding to COVID-19 for different reasons, creating new norms and perceptions of country image and local food goods. The findings precisely indicate a shift from negative to positive perceptions of country image and local food goods due to the pandemic. Results reveal that there are inconspicuous benefits associated with the role of the pandemic in shifting perceptions of country image and local food goods in Jordan.

Consumers’ perceptions and consumption decisions continue reciprocally to respond to and reflect on the COVID-19 crisis. Adjusting to the new normal is now the focus of research to understand the variance in consumption decisions across the world, including in emerging markets such as Jordan. Results also extend research on cue theory, as crisis seems to have a moderating role in the extent of influence cue theory has on perceptions of goods.

Assisting local brands in improving their marketing strategies, by identifying the barriers that hinder the “desire to try” phase among Jordanian consumers.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is unique and first of its kind, as it investigates perceptions of Jordanian consumers of their country’s image and whether the perceptual change in their country image would also stimulate a shift of perceptions in local food goods concerning the COVID-19 crisis. The results provide new insights into understanding consumer behaviour and preferences in crises; and the inconspicuous benefits that a crisis may have on local goods.

To cope successfully with the pressures imposed by a devastating pandemic and other challenges, companies and policymakers need to look at how they conceptualize, define, measure and operationalize “value”. This paper aims to support this conversation.

This study presents a historical review of how the value construct has been conceptualized over time, demonstrating that its history is one of tension and debate with conceptualizations swinging between objective (i.e. the value of something exists independent of the observers) and subjective (i.e. the value of something depends on the personal response of the observer to what is being considered) views over time.

This paper outlines the implications to researchers of value’s low construct clarity, offering suggestions designed to exploit rather than ignore the duality of the value construct. Instead of thinking of the value construct as being subjective or objective, this study recommends that scholars consider value’s objectivity and subjectivity as being interrelated and complementary. The paper recommends that researchers use both quantitative and qualitative methodologies in studying this construct.

A major limitation of this paper is the word count limitation restricting the extent to which this paper could explore a more comprehensive list of the conceptualizations of value throughout history.

This paper presents practitioners with a nuanced understanding of value that should assist those interested in examining the worth of investments with observable expenses but less quantifiable outputs.

The authors have not found a similar analysis of the various conceptualizations of value.

This paper aims to illustrate how service ecosystem governance may provide a suitable ground to pursue holistic resilience to “wicked” socio-economic and ecological problems, for enhancing “place-based” sustainable performance outcomes through an organizational, interorganizational and context setting.

This work suggests the use of “place-based” collaborative ecosystem platforms driven by a dynamic performance governance approach as a setting where facilitated performance dialogue is carried out among networked stakeholders. This fosters a holistic view of performance sustainability where intangibles, inertial, cultural and behavioral factors play a key role in policy analysis.

The paper illustrates how different research streams framing stakeholder relationships under a business, hybrid organization and public sector perspective converge toward the “service ecosystem” construct, as a common field for sustainable “place-based” value creation. This performance governance perspective frames accountability for achieving sustainable outcomes through interconnected viewpoints, i.e. (1) time (short vs long-term), (2) subject (single organization, “theme-focused” service ecosystem and “place-based” service ecosystem) and (3) field (socio-economic, cultural and ecological).

This work has an interdisciplinary track. It recommends feedback and “stock-and-flow” modeling to enhance framing counterintuitive patterns of behavior of dynamic complex socio-economic, cultural and ecological subsystems within “place-based” collaborative ecosystem platforms. Combining an inside-out with an outside-in view triggers sustainable outcome-based dynamic performance governance through an organizational, interorganizational and context setting.

This paper aims to investigate how emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) are integrating and expanding into other emerging market host countries, focusing on Chinese mining companies in Peru.

Adopting a qualitative approach, an in-depth analysis of two Chinese state-owned enterprises’ strategies was conducted, building on stakeholder theory and the business ecosystem perspective.

This study reveals a reliance on high-level political lobbying rather than localized engagement strategies. However, findings point to increasing grassroots resistance among local stakeholders, undermining EMNEs’ bargaining power.

This paper argues for a paradigm shift toward inclusive, cooperative “translocal governance” approaches as empowered communities gain voice. Key contributions include advancing theoretical understanding of changing stakeholder relationships and power configurations in emerging countries, underscoring the rising significance of microlevel sociocultural embeddedness for MNE success and highlighting practical imperatives for EMNEs to embark on rapid localization strategies in Latin America. By elucidating multilayered integration realities in Peru, this interdisciplinary study yields contextualized insights and enriches perspective on the conditions and pathways for EMNEs to build sustainability in Global South emerging market environments.

The ambition of human rights-based research is to generate an evidence base aligned to specific rights and rights holders. This chapter addresses the question ‘How does the ethical communication of research evidence support the achievement of this ambition?’ It outlines a Communication of Evidence For Impact (CEFI) approach that is focused on the realisation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). CEFI proposes that human rights-based communication is: a public good; a legal imperative in States that have ratified CRPD, and a moral imperative in States yet to sign or ratify; a core research competency and ethical requirement; participatory; and grounded in a culture of inclusion, intersectionality, and allyship. This chapter explores how five actors – States, research ethics committees, researchers, funders, and publishers – can each contribute to ethical communication. Recommendations are made for including and futureproofing CEFI in a disability research ethics framework.

This paper examines the Australian and New Zealand government’s wellbeing budget reforms.

The paper describes the development of wellbeing budgeting in Australia and New Zealand based on an analysis of official websites, documents and media sources.

Both governments have experienced challenges identifying measures representing different areas of wellbeing and recognising the connections between the measures applied. They have found it difficult to access reliable data. The development of wellbeing budgeting also raises questions about participation, data reporting, and presentation, which can impact its efficacy.

The paper outlines practical challenges governments face in creating and using wellbeing budgets. It proposes a future research agenda to deepen our understanding of these issues and their social and economic implications. The scope of the study is limited to publicly available documents.

This is one of the few studies investigating wellbeing budgeting, which has evolved as an important tool for public governance. Therefore, the study’s findings may draw substantial interest and attention from practitioners, researchers and government policymakers wanting to integrate these reforms into their governance machinery.

The impact of COVID-19 on the lives of people and businesses across the globe was devastating. While governments across the world had undertaken a slew of measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus within their geography, many of these measures had long and unintended consequences. The restrictions imposed by the governments on the movement of people and goods across the world brought supply chains to a grinding halt. This study identifies the cascading effects of supply chain disruptions (SCDs) on the energy sector and thereby on the security of supply of energy from a European Union perspective. Since these systems are closely integrated and the impact of COVID-19 needs to be analysed at a much broader level, this study uses a systems-thinking approach to study the effect of SCDs on energy services. The study develops a causal loop model to gain further insight into how SCDs caused by COVID-19 affected the coping capabilities of society and how critical services were affected. Furthermore, the study puts forth certain policy recommendations for both businesses and governments to prepare for and protect against a similar situation in the future.

Local governments use taxes on future increases in property values to pay for current economic development through tax incremental financing (TIF). TIF is a powerful tax tool used to spur improvements to a designated area. Proponents of TIF argue that it allows local governments to make investments without affecting previously established government and school district programs. Detractors argue that because the TIF designation denies existing overlapping districts (e.g., schools) the benefits of increases in property values, TIF can have a negative impact on a community. Empirical evidence on the economic and fiscal effects of TIF is mixed. This paper describes the potential costs and benefits associated with the use of TIF and then summarizes prior research on outcomes associated with this widely used property tax program.