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The purpose of this study is to develop a novel general mathematical model to find the optimal product mix of commercial graphite products, which has a complex production process with alternative sub-processes in the graphite mining production process.

The network optimization was adopted to model the complex graphite mining production process through the optimal allocation of raw graphite, byproducts, and saleable products with comparable sub-processes, which has different processing capacities and costs. The model was tested on a selected graphite manufacturing company, and the optimal graphite product mix was determined through the selection of the optimal production process. In addition, sensitivity and scenario analyses were carried out to accommodate uncertainties and to facilitate further managerial decisions.

The selected graphite mining company mines approximately 400 metric tons of raw graphite per month to produce ten types of graphite products. According to the optimum solution obtained, the company should produce only six graphite products to maximize its total profit. In addition, the study demonstrated how to reveal optimum managerial decisions based on optimum solutions.

This study has made a significant contribution to the graphite manufacturing industry by modeling the complex graphite mining production process with a network optimization technique that has yet to be addressed at this level of detail. The sensitivity and scenario analyses support for further managerial decisions.

This study aimed to identify barriers impeding circular economy (CE) uptake in the construction industry in literature, categorize them for the development of a framework and to seek the interrelationships among the categorized barriers. This allowed for identifying integrated solutions to holistically address the barriers. The study also sought to identify the “hot” themes, the knowledge gaps and future research directions on barriers impeding CE.

Forty-eight relevant articles were desk reviewed from different construction peer-reviewed journals and published conference papers. A scientometric analysis allowed for co-occurrence of keywords relating to CE. A content analysis enabled the identification of 79 barriers impeding the uptake of CE in the construction industry which were further categorized into six distinct categories for the development of a framework showing the interrelationships among the categorized barriers.

The identified barriers include construction sector inertia, lack of design standards, lack of knowledge, awareness and understanding, design cost, and perception of second-hand materials as substandard among others. The study categorized the identified barriers for better understanding into six different groups: cultural barriers, social barriers, environmental barriers, economic barriers, technical barriers and technological barriers. Strategies to address the barriers were also proposed. The interrelationships among the various barriers were also shown in a proposed framework to educate professionals on the interconnectivity of the barriers.

Categorization of the various barriers impeding CE uptake contributes to the body of knowledge. Also, the interrelationships among the various categorized barriers in the framework will enable construction professionals make informed decisions regarding the successful integration of CE in the industry, better appreciate the barriers that impede CE uptake and apply strategies to holistically address the barriers. This will expand current knowledge outside the narrow scope of isolated barriers.

To the global construction industry, the review presents a list of barriers and their interrelationships that could provide implementation strategies for the uptake of CE in the industry.

The geographical scope of this study is not limited, and therefore encourages wide applicability of the findings to the global construction industry.

The sound leadership style can be indicative of organizational success and explanatory of quality performance. Besides this, there are various factors that can impact organizational performance. To this end, this study aims to investigate the effect of ethical leadership on organizational performance, with the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and organizational culture.

The service sector in Jordan was targeted by this research, and data were collected from 371 middle-level and top-level managers working in service companies. These responses were analyzed by using analysis of a moment structure.

The result conveyed that ethical leadership does not only influence organizational performance, but it also, and positively so, affects the organizational culture and CSR. In addition, CSR and organizational culture significantly mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational performance.

The findings of this study are a guide for managers and owners of service companies who are aiming to enhance organizational performance. If they follow the ethical leadership approach and emphasize CSR initiatives and organizational culture, they can attain, and naturally so, the maximum level of organizational performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research paper is the first to analyze ethical leadership in the context of the service sector in Jordan and highlight its influence on organizational culture, CSR and ultimately organizational performance. Moreover, it examined the mediating effects of organizational culture and CSR between ethical leadership and organizational performance.

The study investigates the factors that impact the adoption of learning management systems (LMSs) among educators for effective implementation of open and distance learning (ODL) environment in advanced technological institutes (ATIs).

This study uses the extended technology acceptance model (TAM) and analyses data using the partial least square–based structural equation modelling approach to validate the construct and test proposed hypotheses. Data were collected through an online questionnaire from the respondents.

This study reveals that perceived self-efficacy and job relevance significantly impact perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU). PU, PEU and service quality significantly impact attitudes of educators, which impact their behavioural intention and actual use of LMS as a chain reaction.

The management should organise hands-on training sessions to improve educators' computer self-efficacy and explain the importance of the LMS and its features to offer an effective ODL environment for delivering high-quality education.

The previous studies focused on LMS use from the students' point of view rather than educators. This study investigates educators' LMS adoption in ATIs using the extended TAM. The findings may be helpful for management to implement an effective ODL environment that offers fully integrated distance learning and e-learning during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.

Are financially illiterate individuals all the same? This study aims to answer this question. Specifically, the authors investigate whether people answering incorrectly and “do not know” to the big five questions about financial knowledge (FK), all identified by previous literature as financially illiterate, are two sides of the same coin, or rather individuals with different socio-economic and demographic characteristics, and whether this leads to different levels of risk of falling victim to financial fraud.

Using a large and representative sample of Italian adults, the authors run both ordered probit and probit regressions to test the determinants of financially illiterate individuals, distinguishing between those answering FK questions incorrectly and those answering “do not know”. The authors also measure the probability of falling victim to financial fraud for the two groups. To check the robustness of our results, the authors run a multinomial regression, a structural equation model and an instrumental variable regression model.

The authors demonstrate that the socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individuals selecting incorrect responses to FK questions are different from those of individuals selecting the “do not know” option. Moreover, the results show that the former are more likely to be victims of financial frauds.

The “one-size-fits-all” approach is not suitable for financial education. It is important to consider socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individuals in order to identify specific targets of education programmes aiming to reduce insecurity and excessive self-confidence as well as to increase objective FK. The study’s findings also identify vulnerable groups to which financial fraud prevention schemes should be targeted.

To date, financial illiteracy has been measured as the sum of incorrect and “do not know” responses given to FK questions. This approach does not allow to observe the socio-demographic and socio-economic differences between people choosing the “do not know” option and those answering incorrectly. The paper aims to overcome this limit by investigating the socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individuals selecting “do not know” and incorrect responses, respectively. The authors also investigate whether the two groups have different probabilities of being victims of financial fraud.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the various enablers of and constraints on employees' information sharing on an enterprise social media platform. It draws on two theoretical perspectives, communication privacy management theory and the technology affordance framework, as well as on empirical data in an attempt to paint a comprehensive picture of the factors shaping employees' decisions to share or not share information on enterprise social media.

This qualitative field study is based on semi-structured interviews and enterprise social media review data from a large Nordic media organization.

On an enterprise social media platform, privacy management principles shape employees' information-sharing decisions in relation to personal privacy boundaries, professional boundaries and assumed risks, online safety concerns and perceived audience. Additionally, the technological affordances of visibility, awareness, persistence and searchability shape employees' information sharing in varying and sometimes even contradictory ways. Finally, organizational factors, such as norms, tasks and media repertoires, are associated with employees' information-sharing decisions. Together, these three dimensions, personal, technological and organizational, form a model of the enablers of and constraints on employees' decisions to share information on enterprise social media.

This study extends the understanding of different factors shaping employees' decisions to share or not share information on enterprise social media. It extends the two applied theories by uniquely combining interpersonal privacy management principles with a technological affordance framework that focuses on the relationship between the user and the technology. This research also furthers the authors' knowledge of what privacy management principles mean in the organizational context. This study shows connections between the two theories and extends the understanding of technology affordances as not only action possibilities but also constraining factors. Additionally, by revealing what kinds of factors encourage and inhibit information sharing on enterprise social media, the results of this study support organizations in their efforts to manage information sharing on enterprise social media systems.