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The study proposes to determine the impending challenges to lean integration with Industry 4.0 (I4.0) in manufacturing that aims at achieving desired operational performance. Integrating lean and Industry 4.0 as the two industrial approaches is synergetic in providing operational benefits such as increasing flexibility, improving productivity, reducing cost, reducing delivery time, improving quality and value stream mapping (VSM). There is an urgent need to understand the integrated potential of OPEX strategies like lean manufacturing and also to determine the challenges for manufacturing SMEs and further suggest a strategic roadmap for the future.

The current work has used a combined approach on interpretative structural modeling (ISM) and fuzzy Matrice d'impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment (MICMAC) approach to structure the multiple level analysis for the implementation challenges to integrate OPEX strategies with Industry 4.0.

The research has found that the indulgence of various implementation issues like lack of standardization, lack of vision and lack of trained support, all are the major challenges that inhibit the integration of OPEX strategies with I4.0 technologies in manufacturing.

The research has investigated the internal factors acting as a roadblock to lean and Industry 4.0 adoption. Further studies may consider external factors to lean and Industry 4.0 implementation. Also, further research may consider other operational excellence approaches and extend further to relevant sectors.

This study provides the analysis of barriers that is useful for the managers to take strategic actions for implementing OPEX strategies with I4.0 in smart manufacturing.

The research determines the adoption challenges towards the integrated framework. This is the first study to explore challenges in integrating OPEX strategies with I4.0 technologies in manufacturing SMEs.

The research aims to develop an assessment framework that evaluates critical success factors (CSFs) for the Quality 4.0 (Q 4.0) transition among Indian firms.

The authors use the fuzzy-Delphi method to validate the results of a systematic literature review (SLR) that explores critical aspects. Further, the fuzzy decision-making trial and laboratory (DEMATEL) method determines the cause-and-effect link. The findings indicate that developing a Q 4.0 framework is essential for the long-term success of manufacturing companies. Utilizing the power of digital technology, data analytics and automation, manufacturing companies can benefit from the Q 4.0 framework. Product quality, operational effectiveness and overall business performance may all be enhanced by implementing the Q 4.0 transition framework.

The study highlights significant awareness of Q 4.0 in the Indian manufacturing sector that is acquired through various means such as training, experience, learning and research. However, most manufacturing industries in India still follow older quality paradigms. On the other hand, Indian manufacturing industries seem well-equipped to adopt Q 4.0, given practitioners' firm grasp of its concepts and anticipated benefits, including improved customer satisfaction, product refinement, continuous process enhancement, waste reduction and informed decision-making. Adoption hurdles involve challenges including reliable electricity access, high-speed Internet, infrastructure, a skilled workforce and financial support. The study also introduces a transition framework facilitating the shift from conventional methods to Q 4.0, aligned with the principles of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR).

This research exclusively examines the manufacturing sector, neglecting other fields such as medical, service, mining and construction. Additionally, there needs to be more emphasis on the Q 4.0 implementation frameworks within the scope of the study.

This may be the inaugural framework for transitioning to Q 4.0 in India's manufacturing sectors and, conceivably, other developing nations.

Post-Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX), the audit committee has been empowered greatly to play a central role in the corporate governance of firms. Embedded in agency theory, this study aims to examine the effect of the audit committee on the likelihood by firms to pay dividends.

The study population is US firms in the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) database from 2007 to 2018. The authors apply the multivariate logit fixed-effect regression for the analyses after conducting the appropriate statistical tests.

From the results of the research model, the authors find that there is a positive relationship between the size and gender diversity of the audit committee and the propensity to pay dividends suggesting that a larger audit committee with substantial women representation improve the information environment in firms leading to higher dividend distribution. The extent of busyness of the audit committee impacts negatively on the propensity to pay dividends. The results are driven by high-performing firms and not driven by specific levels of firm size.

The findings of the study give impetus to the audit committee as an important component of the corporate governance mechanism that advances the interest of stakeholders. Thus, efforts that seeks to promote the audit committee’s resourcefulness must be embraced by all stakeholders.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to focus on audit committee and dividend payout policy of US firms post-SOX. The study demonstrates how the audit committee characteristics including its size, gender diversity and busyness affect dividend policy by mitigating information asymmetry problems.

The purpose of this study is to test the hypotheses proposed by Konadu et al. (2023) for the first time and provide empirical insight on the subject. Corruption concerns affect all economies, but those attempting to avoid foreign grants are especially vulnerable. Stakeholders in these economies have pushed for more honest public sector (PS) workers and better oversight of public funds in an effort to build a more trustworthy and efficient government to improve PS performance. Just as the mechanisms through which employee integrity (EI) influences work performance (WP) have not been proven empirically, neither has the effect of EI on WP in African economies. Also, how purposeful leadership (PL) interacts with EI to boost WP is yet to be empirically examined in the integrity literature.

This paper surveyed and analysed the responses of 875 workers across the three most corrupt large PS organisations in Ghana using Smart PLS 4. Perceived organisational support and contract fulfilment functioned as control factors influencing job satisfaction (JS, a mediator). Psychological need satisfaction and perceived procedural justice serve as control factors for organisational identification (OI, an additional mediator). Education, tenure, job position, sex and age were used as control variables in WP. Product indicator and variance accounted for (VAF) methods were used to estimate the impacts of moderation and mediation, respectively. A 5% level of significance was determined.

As hypothesised, this study found that EI and WP had a significantly positive connection (ß = 0.119, p = 0.026), and both JS (VAF = 25.16%) and OI (VAF = 39.59%) partially mediated this connection. Moreover, PL positively moderated the EI–JS (ß = 0.155, p = 0.000) and EI–OI (ß = 0.095, p = 0.000) connections.

This paper affords empirical insight on the EI–WP relationship, how this relationship is mediated and how the EI–JS and EI–OI relationships are amplified. In this context, it sheds light on new ways in which EI and WP in the PS are improved. In addition, this paper provides a roadmap for forthcoming academics to test the hypotheses in diverse PS contexts globally to triangulate the results.

Leadership in PS organisations must maintain a “values-grounded approach” to all parts of human resource (HR) practices, including hiring, performance reviews, leadership enhancement programmes, training and promotions, if they are to attract, develop and retain employees who stand for the sector’s ethics and beliefs.

This research gives African nations proof that enhancing EI in the PS is important, and it lays out the many ways in which EI transforms into WP. It also draws attention to the challenges that purposeful leaders may help alleviate and the opportunities that they may present.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the hypotheses put forward in the conceptual research by Konadu et al. (2023) are tested empirically for the first time in this study. It also adds to the empirical literature that already exists on EI, JS, OI, WP and PL in the PS. This contributes to the disciplines of integrity, performance and leadership by enhancing theoretical frameworks and expanding upon existing knowledge.

Even though emotional intelligence (EI) is reported to have many benefits, yet it remains mainly unexplored in the construction industry. This paper aims to present a critical review of EI research in the construction industry.

Search of literature was conducted by using Scopus engine. Relevant keywords were used to discover 146 publications. The titles, abstracts, keywords and full texts of the publications were examined to finally select 48 publications that were relevant. Scientometric analysis was undertaken with the aid of VOSViewer. Content analysis systematically reviewed the key themes.

The five topmost countries conducting research into EI in the construction industry are UK, Australia and the USA. The most influential authors in construction EI research are Goleman, D., Salovey, P. and Mayer, J.D. The significant impact of EI on leadership in the construction industry were that EI boosted transformational leadership style and EI influenced use of management-by-exception active style by construction leaders. Furthermore, EI leads to resilience against stress and EI enhances stress tolerance were the significant roles of EI on stress management.

A limitation is in the number of publications reviewed. In spite of the critical review, the number of publications reviewed may not be exhaustive.

This research enhances knowledge and stimulates a deeper comprehension of EI research and also provides recommendations for further studies based on identified research gaps.

As a pioneering study that combines scientometrics and systematic review for EI research, this study enhances knowledge on EI in the construction industry.

Storytelling is increasingly becoming a popular tool for promoting local fairs, festivals, culture and heritage. It is also being used to boost regional economies and revitalise them. Storytelling involves recounting past events and emphasising their relevance to the current situation. It is a powerful way to communicate shared experiences and values from one generation to the next. By engaging in storytelling, local or regional fairs or festivals are able to subsidise the regeneration of their economy. Furthermore, storytelling can help to bridge the gap between the past, present and future, providing a sense of permanency and belonging. Transmedia storytelling, often called transmedia narrative, is a technique for integrating current digital technology to present a tale or story experience across several platforms and formats.

Rajasthan is a vibrant, colourful and lively region of India. It comes out on top regarding holidays, traditions and culture. It sparkles brighter when its festivals are taking place. Due to its festive atmosphere, they have played a significant role in Rajasthani culture. The state of Rajasthan is known for its warm hospitality.

The current study's objective is to investigate various regional festivals in Rajasthan that have helped to develop regional identity through transmedia and to understand the connection between regional festivals' storytelling and tourism. Our findings indicated a positive relationship between regional or local festival narrative and travellers' inclination to visit or return. Additionally, the local community develops a positive sense of itself due to these festivals.

This chapter review studies on green banking practices and identifies information gaps to justify future research approaches.

A systematic literature review has been conducted by analyzing 44 Scopus-indexed articles on adopting green banking practices through the PRISMA flowchart and analyzed through Vosviewer software.

The findings indicate that survey studies comprised 82% of the selected papers. The Journal of Cleaner Production was the most-cited publication, with 471 citations. France was most frequently involved in collaborative research, with connections to six other countries. Notably, two-thirds of the listed countries had collaborated internationally in publications, but with less than 10 countries involved, based on the 44 studies included in the analysis.

According to the authors' best knowledge, no systematic literature review on green banking practices from the Scopus database utilizing the PRISMA approach has been published in academic literature.

The pitfalls observed in previous research, such as the paucity of an empirical and conceptual methodology and a systematic investigation of theory development, give numerous opportunities for future research. Following this, many new trends in green banking are outlined to assist researchers in identifying gaps in the literature and future study directions.

The study aids researchers, professionals, and managers in understanding green banking adoption's significance. Banks can increase their economic scenarios by using this concept in new markets with excessive potential for employment and business avenues. In addition, the study highlights the value of sustainable practices, environmental concerns, and the importance of green banking.

The direct nexus between board characteristics, earnings management (EM) practices and dividend payout is examined in this study, followed by an examination of the indirect mediation impact of EM practices in the nexus between board characteristics and dividend payout. It aims to provide new empirical evidence from the Jordanian market, which is an emerging market.

The study population consists of all service firms that were listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) between 2012 and 2019. Due to the lack of availability of their complete data during the period, four service firms were omitted from the population; hence, a sample of 43 service firms was acquired over the time frame (2012–2019), yielding a total of 344 firm-year observations. Moreover, panel data analysis was employed in this study, and data for the study were acquired from yearly reports as well as the ASE's database.

Based on the GMM estimator findings, board size and independence have a negative and significant influence on the EM, but CEO/chairman duality has a positive and significant impact. Simultaneously, the impacts of female representation on the board of directors and the number of board meetings were both positive but insignificant. The findings also found that four board characteristics, including board size, female representation on the board of directors, CEO/chairman duality and the number of board meetings, had a significant negative or positive effect on dividend payout, while board independence did not. Additional findings show that EM practices have a direct negative insignificant effect on dividend payout, whereas EM practices partially mediate the relationship between board characteristics and dividend payout.

The current study's limitation is that it only searched in Jordanian service firms listed on ASE from 2012 to 2019 to fulfill the study's objectives; thus, we urge that future work explores the study models for other sectors, whether in Jordan or other growing markets such as the Middle East and North Africa.

The findings of this study may be utilized by analysts, investors and other strategic decision-makers to enhance Jordan's financial market's efficiency and efficacy. These findings will improve policymakers' willingness to impose appropriate constraints, perhaps boosting Jordan's financial market performance and efficacy. These findings may also help investors make more enlightened judgments by utilizing board characteristics and EM factors that predict firm dividend policy.

Contradictions in the results of earlier investigations inspired the current study, with the findings filling a gap in the existing literature. This study differs from previous studies by constructing a novel research model and analyzing the mediating influence of EM in the nexus between board characteristics and dividend payout.

This chapter analyzes how the internal environment determines corporate dividend decisions. First, dividend policy is influenced by strategic and financial issues. Corporate strategies are developed by top managers to achieve firms' missions, visions, and long-term goals while business strategies are designed by middle managers to maintain firms' competitive advantages. These strategies affect corporate dividend decisions through corporate performance and business operations. In addition, many financial characteristics are important determinants of dividend policy. Financial characteristics are classified into three groups, namely performance-related issues (e.g., firm profitability, free cash flow, and stock liquidity), leverage-related issues (e.g., debt ratio, asset tangibility, business risk, and firm size), and investment-related issues (e.g., investment opportunities and firm maturity). Firms with high profitability, free cash flow tends to pay more dividends. Stock liquidity may have a positive effect on dividend payments through lowering costs of equity; however, it may also have a negative effect through weakening the signaling motive. Moreover, firms with high debt ratio, low asset tangibility, high business risk, and small size face higher costs of external financing. Therefore, they have low incentives to pay dividends. When firms have more investment opportunities, they are more likely to restrict dividends and save cash for their investment projects and vice versa. Second, internal stakeholders may influence corporate dividend policy since their benefits are closely related to dividend decisions. Shareholders, directors, the chief executive officer, and employees have different characteristics, positions, and hold various proportions of shares. Therefore, they create pressures on dividend decisions to protect their wealth.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the influence of two characteristics of supply chain management (SCM) (resilience and integration) on new product performance (NPP) via the mediation of marketing innovation orientation.

This study was designed by the quantitative method, and the research model was developed based on the resource-based view (RBV) theory of 211 managers from Israeli firms using SmartPls3 software.

The main finding that emerges from this study is that marketing innovation orientation serves as a full mediator in the relationship between supply chain resilience (SCR) and NPP as well as in the relationship between supply chain integration (SCI) and NPP. Thus, companies that wish to achieve a competitive advantage over their rivals should improve and strengthen their marketing innovation orientation. By doing so, they enhance the relationship between SCM and NPP.

The findings provide an applicable guideline for marketing managers. Managers should be ready to adapt to customers’ demands, environmental changes and, most importantly, disruptive events in a dynamic environment.

The current study sheds light on the mechanism for NPP via integrating suppliers, customers and the organization. So, managers should adopt SCR and integration to strengthen their marketing innovation orientation in order to achieve NPP.