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The purpose of this explanatory research was to understand how firms align strategic planning and budgeting both ex ante and ex post. After the literature review indicated that there was a shortcoming in explaining how the alignment was done, we interviewed management accountants at 20 large, profitable, stock-market listed firms with head offices in the Toronto area of Canada. To understand practice through interviews, we used qualitative, multi-case field research to address our research question, how do firms achieve alignment between their strategic plans and budgets, both ex ante and ex post? Our findings and contribution were that, rather than multiple processes (strategy, strategic planning, budgeting, and forecasting), strategic planning and budgeting are part of a single process. Alignment of strategic planning and budgeting is undertaken prior to the beginning of the fiscal year (ex ante) and during the fiscal year (ex post). Both provide opportunities to change ineffective strategies, strategic plans, and actions to minimize financial harm. Ex ante and ex post alignments enable the accomplishment of firms’ financial objectives through explicit and verifiable decisions. With forecasting heretofore being an unclear and ambiguous subprocess, this chapter has made it transparent and manageable in assisting with accomplishing the strategy, strategic plan, and budget.

The circular economy business models (CEBMs) provide ways for firms operating in the construction industry to move from a linear to a circular approach. Thus, this study aims to explore CEBM research within the construction sector to show the focus area of studies, highlighting new areas that require attention.

This study adopted a bibliometric approach, using the Scopus database as the data source. The keywords used for paper extraction from the database were “circular economy business” OR “circular business” AND “model” OR “models” AND “construction industry” OR “building industry”. The VOSviewer software was then used to prepare a co-occurrence and co-authorship map based on the bibliographic data gathered.

The study’s findings reveal five research clusters in the construction industry. These clusters include circular construction intelligence, modular business modelling, eco-construction, sustainable construction economics and smart energy-efficient buildings. The two most cited scholars had two publications each, while the top journals are the Journal of Cleaner Production and Sustainable Production and Consumption. This study concludes that there is a need for research within the construction sector to focus on CEBMs’ archetypes and frameworks. This will enable a smooth transition from linear to circular business models in the sector.

The information was gathered from a single database, Scopus; hence, using other databases, including Web of Science, Google Scholar and Dimensions, might produce more articles for examination and, consequently, different findings on the subject under investigation.

These findings would assist researchers in considering the areas mentioned, which are yet to receive attention, and, by extension, enhance economic development while maintaining environmental sustainability.

This paper made a significant contribution to the body of knowledge by identifying scholars and platforms that have been instrumental in advancing CEBM research and highlighting new areas that require attention in the construction sector.

There is a growing recognition of the urgency to enhance health outcomes for children and young people residing in out-of-home care (OOHC). Research underscores the need to establish effective pathways to quality health care for children and young people who have been exposed to trauma. Child protection (CP) practitioners should play a vital role in proactively improving health outcomes and navigating the intricacies of healthcare systems. Their involvement in initiating and collaborating on healthcare interventions is pivotal for the well-being of these vulnerable children and young people. However, challenges associated with poor health literacy and the complexities of healthcare systems hinder collaborative service delivery in the Australian context. This review explores how CP practitioners support the health care of children and young people in their care.

A scoping review followed Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, employing a narrative synthesis to assess the selected studies.

Health outcomes for children and young people in OOHC remain under-researched and potentially under-resourced within the realm of CP practice. There is room for enhanced practices and system integration in CP service delivery to better address health needs and prevent further health and well-being disparities.

Through this scoping review and involving industry experts in the discussion of findings, this study contributes valuable insights to the existing knowledge base regarding the active participation of CP practitioners in addressing the healthcare needs of vulnerable children.

The purpose of this study is to systematically review the state-of-art literature on the net-zero economy in the field of supply chain management.

A systematic literature review of 79 articles published from 2009 to 2021 has been conducted to minimise the researchers' bias and maximise the reliability and replicability of the study.

The thematic analysis reveals that studies in the field of net-zero economy have mostly been done on decarbonisation in the supply chain, emission control and life cycle analysis and environmental and energy management. The findings highlight the strong positive association between digitalisation, circular economy and resources optimization practices with net-zero economy goals. The study also addresses the challenges linked with the net-zero economy at the firm and country levels.

Practitioners in companies and academics might find this review valuable as this study reviews, classifies and analyses the studies, outlines the evolution of literature and offers directions for future studies using the theory, methodology and context (TMC) framework.

This is the first study that uses a structured approach to analyse studies done in the net-zero field by assessing publications from 2009 to 2021.

The purpose of this paper is to consolidate and evaluate the available research on animal abuse recidivism.

A narrative review of the animal abuse literature was conducted. Articles were included if they provided data/estimates of the rates of recidivism, findings regarding the static, dynamic and/or protective factors associated with animal abuse recidivism and available risk assessment tools, specifically for use with individuals who have a history of animal abuse.

The literature review highlighted high rates of reoffending amongst those who have harmed animals. Many risk and protective factors associated with animal abuse were common to the wider offending behaviour literature (e.g. antisocial attitudes, relationship issues), but more robust research is needed to highlight any distinct characteristics. Lastly, the review reports two risk assessment tools designed specifically for this offending group.

Clinicians and criminal justice personnel base their sentencing, detention and treatment decisions, at least in part, on the recidivism literature. This review provides a consolidation of the evidence base as an aide memoire for practitioners.

History of animal abuse is a risk factor for future animal harm specifically, and interpersonal violence more broadly. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first literature review that presents the key research evidence on risk/protective factors and relevant risk assessment tools that can inform intervention planning to reduce risk of reoffending towards animals and humans alike when practitioners encounter clients who have a history of harming animals.

This paper aims to critically examine the accounting and information systems literature to understand the changes that are occurring in the management accounting profession. The changes the authors are interested in are linked to technology-driven innovations in managerial decision-making and in organizational structures. In addition, the paper highlights research gaps and opportunities for future research.

The authors adopted a grounded theory literature review method (Wolfswinkel et al., 2013) to achieve the study’s aims.

The authors identified four research themes that describe the changes in the management accounting profession due to technology-driven innovations: structured vs unstructured data, human vs algorithm-driven decision-making, delineated vs blurred functional boundaries and hierarchical vs platform-based organizations. The authors also identified tensions mentioned in the literature for each research theme.

Previous studies display a rather narrow focus on the role of digital technologies in accounting work and new competences that management accountants require in the digital era. By contrast, the authors focus on the broader technology-driven shifts in organizational processes and structures, which vastly change how accounting information is collected, processed and analyzed internally to support managerial decision-making. Hence, the paper focuses on how management accountants can adapt and evolve as their organizations transition toward a digital environment.

Despite the importance of emotional variables in shaping individuals' consumption behavior, nature-love still needs to be addressed concerning various aspects of sustainable consumption behavior (SCB). Considering the dimensions of nature-love, this study aims to investigate the effect of passion-for-nature, intimacy-with-nature and commitment-to-nature on SCB. Furthermore, this study aims to incorporate the construal levels of psychological distance (PD) as a moderating variable between the tested variables to add a more in-depth understanding.

Data was collected from a sample of 311 individuals from Egypt using the snowball sampling method and the ten-time rule technique. The data was analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings indicate that passion-for-nature and intimacy-with-nature have a significant positive effect on green purchasing, reusability and recycling. On the other hand, commitment-to-nature has a significant positive effect on both green purchasing and reusability. Additionally, a high PD acts as a moderator between the relationships tested. The findings have been discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to integrate PD as a moderator between the relationships tested. Additionally, this paper is the first empirical research investigating these relationships in developing economies.

This paper's purpose is to explore the current interest and knowledge that UK consumers hold around agroforestry. Despite the many reported benefits of agroforestry systems, uptake in the UK, as well as other temperate nations, has been low. As the consumer has a role to play in the transition of agriculture to methods that are more environmentally friendly it is vital to have an understanding of their perceptions. Yet to date no work has looked at agroforestry from the perspective of the UK consumer.

An online survey was conducted using a convenience sample accessed by floating a link through social media and messaging apps. The survey was also shared to the members of a private Facebook group associated with an organic vegetable box service. A mix of multiple choice and open text boxes were used. The survey received 139 responses.

Non-parametric tests indicate that this sample of UK consumers would be mostly likely to buy, and willing to pay more for, agroforestry produce; and the sample showed a split group regarding familiarity. Inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data highlighted some important barriers to the purchase as well as capturing a snapshot of this sample's perceptions.

This paper presents, to the authors knowledge, the first set of data regarding a sample of UK consumers' perspective of agroforestry produce. The findings could bolster producers' confidence in adopting agroforestry practices, but also highlight the need for policymakers to bolster consumer support through parallel means.