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The purpose of this paper is to improve production effectiveness of equipment by facilitating the implementation of the key principles of total productive maintenance (TPM).

A sequential TPM-based scheme consisting of 13 procedural steps is proposed. The steps cover the basic aspects of a generic improvement system, i.e. planning, implementation, checking, corrective action and control.

The proposed scheme was effective in increasing the overall equipment effectiveness by 62.6 percent over a nine-month period only. This was a direct reflection of improvements in equipment availability, efficiency and product quality. A positive feedback regarding the smooth implementation of the scheme was also received from the responsible maintenance staff.

The proposed scheme is intended mainly to the manufacturing industrial sector, which utilizes failure-prone equipment in running operations.

This study presents an original scheme that tries to avoid the many barriers of success frequently encountered during the implementation of TPM schemes, as reported in the literature. This scheme is unique in integrating between 5S and safety, health and environment initiatives, by capitalizing on the close relation between the two initiatives, and simplifying procedures for measuring how well the two initiatives are implemented in an organization in one score card. Different from previous studies, the scheme treats both “education and training” and 6S as a foundation to the core TPM principles.

This paper aims to explore the extent of corporate social responsibility disclosure (hereafter CSRD) in Jordan and also examine whether ownership structure, board of directors and audit committee characteristics influence CSRD.

The extent of CSRD is measured by constructing a CSRD index for industrial firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2016 to 2021. Panel regression analysis is used to examine the potential effect of ownership structure, board of directors and audit committee on the level of CSRD.

This study provides empirical evidence that diverse groups of shareholders have different effects on CSR engagement, and board characteristics (board size, board independence and gender diversity) play a vital role in increasing voluntary disclosure, including CSR information. There is no evidence to support that CSRD is influenced by audit committee characteristics.

This study recommends that corporate regulators and policymakers can improve CSRD practices by expanding the scope of existing disclosure requirements related to CSR and developing a structured CSRD index to measure the degree of CSRD practices for comparative purposes. Encourage firms to actively participate in social responsibility programs by granting tax incentives and government facilities to firms with the best CSR reports. Policymakers should introduce initiatives that support female’s representation on board. Finally, firms should restructure their boards by increasing board size and the percentage of independent directors to enhance their effectiveness to support CSRD.

This paper contributes further insights into the literature on CSRD practices and disclosure by analyzing data from developing market contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of mitigation measures adopted in a scheme of EIA follow-up by examining their performance in reducing geo-environmental impacts in earthwork activities during the Rodoanel southern section construction in São Paulo, Brazil. This environment is fragile in terms of affected watersheds because the highway crosses two important reservoirs that supply most of the metropolitan water demand. Therefore, this research also aims at promoting water quality control.

This study combines complementary sources as evidences in the literature and field checks, tests and monitoring. The methodology was supported by criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of mitigation measures in the case study approach.

The EIA follow-up activities contributed to the maintenance of environmental conditions in the majority of the control points at the end of the construction phase. Water quality parameters were not statistically different before and during the construction of the highway. The choice and arrangement of mitigation measures were successful in ensuring water quality control by avoiding siltation.

A robust scheme for designing and evaluating mitigation measures contributes to the improvement of their effectiveness and is pivotal to the success of the EIA follow-up.

This case study serves as an example for extending EIA follow-up practice in special to the improvement of the design and evaluation of mitigation measures in similar contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how citizens’ perception of empowerment can influence the intention to use and intention to recommend e-participation.

A research model is evaluated using structural equation modelling. An online survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 210 users of e-participation.

The results show that psychological empowerment influences the intention to use and recommend e-participation. Performance expectancy and facilitating conditions were the strongest predictors of intention to use; effort expectancy and social influence had no significant effect on the prediction of intention to use e-participation.

The use of psychological empowerment as a higher-order multidimensional construct is still insufficiently researched. Future research may explore the effect of each dimension of psychological empowerment in different scenarios of e-participation adoption. Caution is needed when generalising our findings towards the adoption of e-participation in different locations or with different participants.

The findings can help the local governments to design strategies for the promotion and diffusion of e-participation amongst the citizenry. Those strategies should focus on citizens’ perception of empowerment, thereby creating a positive attitude towards intention to use and recommend e-participation.

An innovative research model integrates the unified theory of acceptance, use of technology and psychological empowerment; the last as a higher-order construct.

The purpose of this paper is to determine supply chain practices that contribute most to the success of agile manufacturing (AM), and to examine their effects on its implementation levels in the Jordanian manufacturing sector. It also investigates the effect of AM on operational performance (OP).

The study is based on survey data collected from 294 manufacturing companies from different industry types in Jordan. Validity and reliability analyses were performed using SPSS and AMOS, and the study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

The results revealed that supplier involvement, internal integration, and modularization of products positively and significantly affect AM. Customer involvement and postponement were insignificantly related to AM. Further, the results demonstrated that AM positively and significantly affect OP.

A limited number of previous studies investigated supply chain antecedents of AM. Further, there is no consensus among researchers on these practices. In addition, this area is underinvestigated in the developing countries in general and in Jordan in particular. The current study contributes to the literature by determining the most commonly linked supply chain practices to AM and examining their effects on its implementation levels in the context of a developing country, Jordan.

Advances in technology have given rise to an increased demand by small businesses for personalised e-government services. Given the importance of small businesses to the Australian economy, it is vital to deliver small business-centric services that offer potential to generate value. To do that effectively, government departments need to understand factors that affect small business. The purpose of this study is to explore how preferences for personalised services and the use of intermediaries affect small business participation behaviour and, in turn, stimulate positive outcomes that are of interest to the government.

This study draws on secondary data from a survey of 800 Australian small businesses about the digital services offered by a large government department. Structural equation modelling was used to empirically test the model.

The findings demonstrate that whilst preference for personalisation has a positive relationship with participation behaviour, reliance on an intermediary does not. While such behaviour fosters emotional connection and perceptions of partner quality, the results of this study show no significant impact on satisfaction.

This study advances knowledge about how small businesses can gain value from personalised support services. Importantly, it focuses on participation behaviour and small business – both of which are largely absent from existing studies. The findings can assist government departments to design personalised services that are valued by small businesses.

This study investigates the psychological adoption of technology in relation to employees' mental beliefs about using technology in their workplace, because it is necessary to investigate the direct and indirect effects of information systems (IS) on employees' work-related results that underpin creativity and engagement.

Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 153 human resource (HR) employees who used human resource information systems (HRIS) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.

The results show that effective acceptance and adoption of an HRIS enables HR employees and management in SMEs to be creative, balanced and engaged. Facilitating conditions and task-technology fit positively affect the behavioral intention to accept and adopt an HRIS. Additionally, organizational citizenship behavior moderates the relationship between the behavioral intention to accept and adopt an HRIS and employee creativity.

This study significantly advances the fields of human resource management and IS by elucidating the factors influencing employees' adoption of technology. In an effort to address a research gap in existing research, it introduces a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, which precedes the psychological adoption process by individuals. Furthermore, it offers both empirical and theoretical insights into the interplay between technology adoption factors and their subsequent impact on work-related outcomes.

This paper aims to offer a wider examination of the research concerning entrepreneurship characteristics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region via a review of recent studies relevant to this topic. Research publications concerning entrepreneurship within the MENA region evidence growing interest in this field of study, with the potential to boost and drive future economic development and growth. This focus within entrepreneurship research is because of the economic development in the region, which is becoming increasingly important for policymakers and businesses.

The author performed a systematic literature review to produce robust information about entrepreneurship in the MENA region, followed by a thematic analysis to identify key research themes within each category.

Despite the growth in entrepreneurship research in the MENA region, research on certain factors is lacking. An analysis of 271 studies published between 2009 and 2019 identifies 9 main research categories, within which 30 themes have attracted significant academic attention. Female entrepreneurship and gender, youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship behaviour and orientation are the three key categories influencing perspectives on entrepreneurship in the MENA region. This study highlights research gaps and provides recommendations to guide future research on the sustainable development of entrepreneurship in the MENA region.

This paper highlights trends in entrepreneurship research amongst scholars within the MENA region and suggests paths for future research efforts.