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There is currently no real estate investment trust (REIT) listed in China. As of date, only two REITs – GZI REIT of Hong Kong and CapitaRetail China Trust (CRCT) of Singapore – have securitised Chinese property assets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the driving forces and the obstacles surrounding China REITs, and evaluate REIT securitisation as an exit strategy for Chinese properties.

The paper analyses the performance of the two cross‐border REITs and investigates whether REITs holding Chinese assets outperform other listed REITs.

CRCT outperforms GZI REIT as well as some of the other Singapore REITs, while GZI REIT ranked second lowest in terms of price performance when compared to other Hong Kong REITs. The limited history of CRCT suggests that when a well‐structured REIT holding Chinese assets can perform very well. We also infer that performance is closely linked to portfolio composition and diversification, growth story and originator reputation.

The study shows that there is indeed a strong local demand for China REITs, and that REITs can provide an alternative source of real estate financing for Chinese developers and promote a better regulated Chinese real estate market.

Crisis planning and improvements to business resilience are increasingly significant aspects of hotel management. This study investigates the crisis preparation of hotel managers in Malaysia and how their perceptions affect crisis planning and preparation.

A qualitative research method of semi-structured interviews with 24 hospitality managers in Malaysia was conducted. Data were analysed thematically using ATLAS.ti software, version 8.

The findings showed that crisis preparation among Malaysian hospitality firms is relatively neglected. Hotel crisis preparation schemes are greatly influenced by senior managers' intentions and organizational culture. Organizational resilience also has a significant role in hotel crisis planning and preparedness. Interestingly, in terms of long-term adaptation, hotels were less inclined to be “learning organizations” and managers were reluctant to change their organizational established structures, core beliefs and practice sustained resiliency in crisis preparation.

Understanding the crisis preparation of hospitality managers is important to develop effective strategies for different crises considering their severity and urgency. This study identified influential organizational and personal factors which affect crisis preparation of hospitality managers in Malaysia. The study further recommends a proactive mindset in crisis preparation of hotels.

Crisis preparation of hospitality managers had received limited attention, and this study highlights how managers consider crisis planning and preparation.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate effectiveness of the graduate development programme that was aimed at the recruitment and professional development of black engineering graduates through the workplace learning method.

The paper adopted qualitative research strategy using in-depth interviews with semi-structured interview guide that was developed after an extensive review of related literature. Data were analysed using thematic analysis technique.

Result of the paper indicates that the strategy provides an effective mechanism for the inclusion and professional development of black engineering graduates. Coaching and mentoring relationships were found to be an effective way for knowledge and skills transfers.

Although this study presented valuable insights into the complexity of the graduate development programme in South Africa, the authors consider it appropriate to draw some limitations to study for in order to provide some guides on the conduct of a similar study by future researchers. It is important to state that qualitative studies inherently lack external validity that limits its generalisability to a wider context. Further, a non-probability sampling method was used in this study thus posing a threat to the scientific representativeness of the participants. At last, but very important is the emotion and tension that is usually associated with social research and discussion regarding the legacies of apartheid in South Africa. This research was not insulated from such sensitivity and social influence. To this extent, while practical efforts were made to mitigate this factor during the interviews, there is no guarantee that the respondents were completely honest, and not influenced by extraneous nuances and considerations in their responses to the questions. In view of the methodological and social limitations to this study, future researchers could consider, for example, the use of a mixed methods wherein a quantitative research component is conducted on trainees of the programme in order to validate or disprove the answers provided by the training managers which were purely from operator/organisational, rather than training participants’ perspective. The mixed method approach could also enhance the external validity or generalisability of the research outcome to a wider context. At last, the administration of structured questionnaire through the use of a web-based survey could potentially eliminate emotions, social tension and response bias since both the researcher and respondents do not engage in a face-to-face contact and personal interaction. This also effectively protects personal identity of both the researcher and respondent.

Not much research has been conducted in the direction of the graduate development programme as an effective strategy for the career advancement, inclusion and affirmation of black engineers within the engineering landscape of South Africa. Corporate and professional skills development managers could integrate the outcome of this paper into a policy framework that shapes corporate social investment, diversity and inclusion management at the workplaces.

The purpose of this paper is to design an interactive industrial robotic system which can be used to assist a “layperson” in re‐casting a generic pick‐and‐place application. A user can program a pick‐and‐place application simply by pointing to objects in the work area and speaking simple and intuitive natural language commands.

The system was implemented in C# using the EMGU wrapper classes for OpenCV as well as the MS Speech Recognition API. The target language to be recognized was modelled using traditional augmented transition networks which were implemented as XML Grammars. The authors developed an original finger‐pointing algorithm using a unique combination of standard morphological and image processing techniques. Recognized voice commands trigger the vision component to capture what a user is pointing at. If the specified action requires robot movement, the required information is sent to the robot control component of the system, which then transmits the commands to the robot controller for execution.

The voice portion of the system was tested on the factory floor in a “typical” manufacturing environment, which was right at the maximum allowable average decibel level specified by OSHA. The findings show that a modern/standard MS Speech API voice recognition system can achieve a 100 per cent accuracy of simple commands; although at the noisy levels of 89 decibels on average, every one out of six commands had to be repeated. The vision component was test of 72 test subjects who had no prior knowledge of this work. The system accurately recognized what the test subjects were pointing at 95 per cent of the time within five seconds of hand readjusting.

The vision component suffers from the “typical” problems: very shiny surfaces can cause problems; very poor contrast between the pointing hand and the background; and occlusions. Currently the system can only handle a limited amount of depth recovery using a spring mounted gripper. A second camera (future work) needs to be incorporated in order to handle large depth variations in the work area.

This system could have a huge impact on how factory floor workers interact with robotic equipment.

The testing of the voice system on a factory floor, although simple, is very important. It proves the viability of this component of the system and debunks arguments that factories are simply too noisy for current voice technology. The unique finger‐pointing algorithm developed by the authors is also an important contribution to the field. In particular, the manner in which the pointing vector was constructed. Furthermore, very few papers report results of non‐experts using their pointing algorithms. The paper reports concrete results that show the system is intuitive and user friendly to “laypersons”.

The authors use two historical case studies (UK and Costa Rica) to explore the antecedents and legitimisation of sustainable development in hospitality and tourism, demonstrating the value of historical analysis through careful consideration of motivations, context and development type under different circumstances.

Using government and private archival materials, oral history testimonies, industry reports and secondary literature, the authors deploy careful historical analysis of developing and developed country approaches to two cases of hospitality and tourism development and how this impacts on notions of sustainability.

Issues surrounding sustainability in hospitality and tourism are longstanding and impacted by their situated context. In considering “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches, this study finds that the private-sector is critical in legitimising tourism and hospitality development through addressing sustainability aims.

Issues faced in developing hospitality and tourism markets should not be taken in isolation, and, by drawing upon historical cases, scholars can better-understand how developed tourism markets shape the sustainability of developing contexts.

This study demonstrates how sustainability can be legitimised over time and in different contexts, in both government-led and business-led approaches, providing lessons for understanding the mechanisms by which to address these issues in future.

Historical analyses in hospitality and tourism remain relatively few. This study illustrates the theoretical and practical value of historical analysis of the pathway to legitimacy for sustainable tourism development.

The ancient principles of Chinese geomancy appear to share the same goal as total building performance (TBP) in delivering an optimal environment for occupants that promotes their well‐being. This research aims to evaluate the relevance and applicability of Chinese geomancy principles and scenarios with respect to the six TBP mandates.

The Chinese geomancy concepts vary from considerations relating to openings and colours to surrounding amenities and building height. The assimilated principles and scenarios in both domains are tested through a survey questionnaire of 32 building professionals in Singapore.

The t‐test statistics indicate that 25 of the 26 Chinese geomancy principles and 12 of the 20 Chinese geomancy scenarios are significantly applicable for the TBP mandates at the 95 per cent confidence interval. This supports the hypothesis that there are common denominators between Chinese geomancy and TBP.

The research examines Chinese geomancy's Form Theory, Yin and Yang Theory, the Classical Compass School and the Black Sect School with respect to the six building performance mandates in terms of the psychological, physiological, sociological and economic aspects. Chinese geomancy principles and scenarios are assimilated in the context of the TBP mandates with the support of evidence from existing literature.

This research provides a back to the basics, macro perspective of the relevance and applicability of Chinese geomancy principles and scenarios with respect to TBP and reveals possible limitations in actual application. However, it also observes that specific scenarios of Chinese geomancy concerning openings, key occupancy locations, building height, trees and roads are not applicable for all contexts. Further research should be carried out to identify the reasons for the inapplicability of certain scenarios, which are caused by different climatic and cultural context of applications, failure to account for technological advancement, and the evolution of Chinese geomancy since time immemorial.

This study aims to examine the impact of environmental scanning on organizational resilience through organizational learning based on organizational information processing theory (OIPT) in Egyptian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this study aims to examine the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in this relationship.

The data for the mediation analysis was obtained using a cross-sectional design. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the authors collected data from a sample of 249 Egyptian SMEs. The authors tested the hypotheses using the smart partial least square structural equation modeling approach.

Organizational learning affects organizational resilience. Environmental scanning does not have a direct effect on organizational resilience. However, organizational learning fully mediates the relationship between environmental scanning and organizational resilience. Furthermore, environmental uncertainty does not moderate the indirect relationship between environmental scanning and resilience.

The sample included only Egyptian manufacturing SMEs. The results in the service sector and in other countries may differ. This study was cross-sectional, which was limited in its ability to trace the long-term effects of environmental scanning and organizational learning on organizational resilience.

Egyptian SMEs’ managers should experience organizational learning as a pathway for environmental scanning to build organizational resilience.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the role of environmental scanning in building organizational resilience through organizational learning and the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in this relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the implications of organizational knowledge, source of information and functional orientation, resource-based view of the manufacturing and global orientation, on manufacturing practices which include advanced manufacturing strategies.

An empirical study approach has been used to assess the implications of advanced manufacturing strategies on firm performance.

This paper provides a framework for managers to: assess competitive priorities of the industry; identify order winners for the industry; identify key decision areas or practices for improvements; and to assess the role of implications of organizational knowledge on the manufacturing practices.

The limitations are as follows: the issue of organizational knowledge and learning is assessed from manufacturing view point only; plants located all over India are considered for study; and considers plants employing different manufacturing systems and products.

Saturated with the conventional manufacturing technologies, a growing number of small- and medium-scale industries began to explore advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs). Investment in AMTs remains a promising but potentially risky venture. This paper helps the small- and medium-scale industries to adopt viable AMTs and business performance strategies and then provides guidelines for enhancing their competitiveness.

This paper may help all the stakeholders of small- and medium-scale industry.

This paper is based on one of the few studies conducted to assess the implications of advanced manufacturing strategies on firm performance in Indian scenario.

This paper aims to explore how adaptive re-use (AR) could be used more frequently and extensively in the hospitality industry as a viable strategy to help achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals (UN SDGs) agenda for 2030. In particular, the paper discusses the benefits and drawbacks of AR and further investigates the appeal of AR over rebuilding, in both a general sense and specific to hospitality settings.

The study provides a literature review and thematic analysis based on semi-structured interviews about AR projects and its application in hospitality settings. In so doing, the article draws on knowledge and insights from experts and practitioners involved in AR projects globally. The professional interviewees’ expertize ranges from urban planning, sustainable development, architecture to sustainable hospitality solutions.

The results illustrate how AR is a mindset not only applicable to specific buildings or environments but also how it is a vital solution to sustainable development in hospitality. The social, environmental and economic benefits of AR outweigh the challenges and extend to being of regional and even national importance.

AR projects have the ability to stimulate improvement in the use of space and to transform entire communities – especially if there is more and improved support from local government and the relevant authorities. With sufficient incentives to make the projects economically viable, the outcome would be increased presence of cultural and historic preservation, more conservation of construction materials, energy and other resources relevant to the demolition and construction process. The application of AR contributes to attaining UN SDGs’ targets and the future will see more culturally rich, inclusive, sustainable cities and architecture.

There seems to be a lack of research in the field of AR in the hospitality context, particularly in relation to achieving the UN SDGs 2030. This paper aims to bridge this gap in knowledge, as well as to provide a starting point for a greater vision and coordination between governments, architects, hospitality professionals and all other involved stakeholders to boost sustainable development through AR.

As organizations globalize to reach new markets and achieve higher production and sourcing efficiencies, logistics will play an increasingly important role in moving materials and products throughout the organizations’ supply chains. For many companies, third party logistics providers (or logistics providers) represent a viable and effective alternative to fulfilling their own logistics requirements. Amidst growing competition, the logistics providers must strategize to determine how they want to position their logistics services in terms of cost, quality, features, and value‐added to their customers. This research represents the first study that examines the different strategic postures of logistics providers using Porter’s competitive framework and analyzes the business performance, technologies, operations objectives, and future plans of each strategic type. The differences among the strategic types generate new managerial insights and implications for logistics managers and executives.