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Stirred by scant regard for market phases in portfolio performance assessments, the current paper investigates the active versus passive investment strategies under the bull and bear market conditions in emerging markets focusing on South Africa as a case study.

Methodologically, the measures of Jensen's alpha and Treynor index are applied to the monthly returns of 20 funds from January 2010 to June 2022.

The results are enlightening; though they contradict developed market evidence, they are consistent with emerging market trends. The findings show that actively managed funds outperform the market benchmark and passive investing style under bear and normal market conditions. Passive investment strategy outperforms both market benchmark and actively investing style under bull market conditions.

In the face of improved market efficiency, increased liquidity and recent technological impact, the findings of this study have practical application. The study outcomes should inform and update global investors, especially asset managers interested in emerging markets; however, the limitations of the study should also be considered.

While limited studies consider market conditions when comparing and contrasting the performance of passive versus active investing, such consideration is lacking in emerging markets. The current study corrects this literature imbalance.

This study presents the development of a supply chain (SC) observatory, which is a benchmarking solution to support companies within the same industry in understanding their positioning in terms of SC performance.

A case study is used to demonstrate the set-up of the observatory. Twelve experts on automatic equipment for the wrapping and packaging industry were asked to select a set of performance criteria taken from the literature and evaluate their importance for the chosen industry using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. To handle the high number of criteria without requiring a high amount of time-consuming effort from decision-makers (DMs), five subjective, parsimonious methods for criteria weighting are applied and compared.

A benchmarking methodology is presented and discussed, aimed at DMs in the considered industry. Ten companies were ranked with regard to SC performance. The ranking solution of the companies was on average robust since the general structure of the ranking was very similar for all five weighting methodologies, though simplified-analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was the method with the greatest ability to discriminate between the criteria of importance and was considered faster to carry out and more quickly understood by the decision-makers.

Developing an SC observatory usually requires managing a large number of alternatives and criteria. The developed methodology uses parsimonious weighting methods, providing DMs with an easy-to-use and time-saving tool. A future research step will be to complete the methodology by defining the minimum variation required for one or more criteria to reach a specific position in the ranking through the implementation of a post-fact analysis.

The paper aims to investigate the comfort-related performances of an innovative solar shading solution based on a new composite patented material that consists of a cement-based matrix coupled with a stretchable three-dimensional textile. The paper’s aim is, through a performance-based generative design approach, to develop a high-performance static shading system able to guarantee adequate daylit spaces, a connection with the outdoors and a glare-free environment in the view of a holistic and occupant-centric daylight assessment.

The paper describes the design and simulation process of a complex static shading system for digital manufacturing purposes. Initially, the optical material properties were characterized to calibrate radiance-based simulations. The developed models were then implemented in a multi-objective genetic optimization algorithm to improve the shading geometries, and their performance was assessed and compared with traditional external louvres and overhangs.

The system developed demonstrates, for a reference office space located in Milan (Italy), the potential of increasing useful daylight illuminance by 35% with a reduced glare of up to 70%–80% while providing better uniformity and connection with the outdoors as a result of a topological optimization of the shape and position of the openings.

The paper presents the innovative nature of a new composite material that, coupled with the proposed performance-based optimization process, enables the fabrication of optimized shading/cladding surfaces with complex geometries whose formability does not require ad hoc formworks, making the process fast and economic.

Amidst the scarcity of resources, it is undisputable that an effective public procurement performance measurement system (PMS) is required particularly in county governments, especially for Kenya to realize its ambitions in devolved governance system. County governments cannot be effectively evaluated on their performance if the long-term, strategic impact of public procurement processes and projects is not captured. Arising from this backdrop, this study aims to determine the predictors of strategic procurement performance metrics (SPPM) adoption in public procurement PMS of county governments.

Anchored on institutional theory and public sector scorecard model, a survey research design was adopted where data were collected through census from 115 respondents working in procurement, finance and stores department of Kakamega county government. Data were collected using questionnaire (75.56% response rate) and key informant interviews, and analyzed by using multiple regression model and ordinal logistic regression models.

Multiple regression model and ordinal logistics regression revealed that national government support negatively and significantly, and regulatory framework positively and significantly affects the adoption of SPPM.

There is need for formal mechanism that will enable the national government in partnership with the council of governors to be proactively involved in developing procurement performance measurement capacity of county governments. This study’s findings also provide suggestions for a working regulatory framework required for the adoption of SPPM by county governments.

This work adds value to the prevailing body of knowledge on public procurement PMS in the public sector.

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for integrating strategic thinking factors, organisational performance and the decision-making process.

The methodology involves a synthesis of literature and proposes a framework that explores the relationship between strategic thinking enabling factors, organisational performance and the moderating effect of decision-making styles.

The framework includes strategic thinking enabling factors (systems perspective, focused intent, intelligent opportunism, thinking in time and hypothesis-driven analysis), organisational performance and the moderating effect of decision-making styles (intuitive and rational).

This research results in a conceptual model only; it remains to be tested in actual practice. The expanded conceptual framework can serve as a basis for future empirical research and provide insights to practitioners into how to strengthen policy development in a strategic planning process.

A paradigm shift in the literature proves that strategic management and decision-making styles are vital in determining organisational performance. This paper highlights the importance of decision-making styles and develops a framework for strategic management by analysing the existing strategic management literature.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between technology orientations and export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

A quantitative research design was adopted for this study. The paper formulates hypotheses from the literature review. These hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling with data collected from 231 SMEs in Uganda. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and AMOS.

The findings of this study showed technology orientation has a positive and significant relationship with the performance of Ugandan SMEs and that supply chain agility moderates technology orientation and export performance.

The study discusses the findings, advances limitations and managerial implications. It also suggests future research avenues. It proposes some recommendations to help Ugandan SMEs to form flexible supply chains, use the latest technology and create strong relationship ties with their partners in the supply chain.

The study suggests that managers of Ugandan SMEs should use the latest technology in production, marketing, logistics and supply chain management which will enable them to respond quickly to customer tastes and preferences leading to higher levels of export performance.

This study contributes to the literature on strategic management showing the reliability of scales used and the confirmatory of the factor structure. This study shows that in strategic management technology, orientation is critical in increasing export performance. This study has extended the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities theories.

This study investigates the performance distribution of passive funds in the Korean market and compares it with the performance distribution of active funds. The key findings are as follows, first, the performance distribution of passive funds has a thicker tail compared to that of active funds. There are passive funds that achieve outstanding performance, and both the false discovery rate (FDR) analysis and simulation analysis suggest that their outperformance is driven by managerial skill rather than luck. Second, passive fund performance is more persistent compared to active fund performance. Third, investors are less responsive to passive fund performance compared to active fund performance. The fund flow-performance relationship is significantly positive for active funds but not for passive funds. This implies that investors may not recognize the managerial skills of passive funds.

This study aims to analyze how the interplay between hard and soft elements of total quality management (TQM) produces the conditions for sustaining success in the quest for quality.

A qualitative analysis (Gioia method) was carried out on an original dataset collected through both direct and indirect methods (i.e. archival sources, interviews and observations) to generate a new interpretive framework.

The interpretative framework identifies four categories of elements: trigger elements create the starting conditions for a quality virtuous cycle; benchmarking tools set the standards of performance; improvement tools enable exploration of the space of possible alternative practices and finally, catalytic forces allow the institutionalization of effective techniques discovered in this search process into new standards.

The findings the authors present in this paper are derived by a single case study, limiting the generalizability of our results in other settings.

This study has three implications: first, the design of trigger elements is critical for the success of any TQM initiative; second, the interplay of improvement and benchmarking tools at several levels should be coherent and third, to exploit the potential of TQM, efforts should be devoted to the dissemination of new effective practices by means of catalyzing elements.

The model provides a more specific understanding of the nature and purpose of the hard and soft elements of TQM and the dynamic interaction between the two classes of elements over time.

This study aims to empirically analyze the asset allocation capabilities of Outsourced Chief Investment Officers (OCIOs) in Korea. The empirical analysis used data from 35 funds that were evaluated by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance from 2012 to 2020. The results of the analysis are summarized as follows. First, this study found that funds that adopted OCIO improved their asset allocation performance. Second, the sensitivity between risk-taking and performance decreased for funds that adopted OCIO. Third, it is found that OCIO adoption improves a fund's asset management execution (tactical capabilities). This study has methodological limitations in which the methodology used in this study is not based on theoretical prior research, but on practical applications. However, considering the need to clearly analyze the capabilities of OCIO and the timeliness of the topic, this study is valuable and can provide meaningful information to funders who are considering adopting OCIO in the future.

This paper explores quality science and quality management as a potential pathway to resolve the challenges of corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) by establishing the need for a common understanding of sustainability and sustainable development.

Secondary research on key documents released by regulatory institutions working at the intersection of sustainability, corporate reporting, measurement and academic papers on quality science and management.

Existing measurement frameworks of CSR are limited. They are neither aligned nor appropriate for accurately measuring a company's ecological footprint for mitigating climate change. Quality for sustainability (Q4S) could be a conceptual framework to bring about an appropriate level of measurability to better align sustainability reporting to stakeholder needs.

There is a lack of primary data. The research is based on secondary literature review. The implications of Q4S as a framework could inform research studies connected to sustainable tourism, energy transition and sustainable buildings.

The paper connects to CSR stakeholders, sustainability managers, company leaderships and boards.

The implications of sustainability on people, purpose and prosperity are a part of World Economic Forum's stakeholder capitalism.

This paper fills a research gap on diagnosing and understanding the key reporting challenges emerging from the lack sustainability definitions.