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Ergonomics usually reciprocate the study about people fitness toward working environment. In addition, financial distress refers a condition of organizations incompetency in generating sufficient revenues or incomes, which thereby refrain them to pay their financial obligations. This study aims to evaluate two independent organizational fields named as ergonomics in first phase and financial distress in manufacturing organization behavior in the second phase. The study presented a resiliency framework for operations and strategic management in the third phase based on various facts received from the distress organizations.

A questionnaire survey based on plant-visit is presented. The study embedded two segments to explicate its novelty. In the first segment, the plant-visit case study is presented and in the second segment, an exploratory data related to financial distress is presented. The study tried to communicate observations related to multiple decision-making fields in single umbrella, where multiple concepts like ergonomics and financial distress of organizations as well as employees are presented. DEMATEL-ANP integrated approach is used to represent the critical financial distress dimensions of employees and their ranking.

The study provided insights toward connecting two independent fields named as ergonomics and financial distress in single umbrella. The study can benefit practitioners in designing policies and procedures in their planning model to effectively achieve organizational goals. The study presented 14 financial distress drivers of employees and advocated the aggregation of ergonomics and financial distress toward developing a holistic framework for attaining organization goals for sustainability.

The study presented a comprehensive understanding about multiple organization decision-making fields toward developing a holistic approach from different aspects for attaining organizational sustainability. The study can be fruitful in stimulating cross-pollination of ideas between researchers and provides a good understandability of ergonomics and financial distress in single roof.

This study aims to assess the usability of augmented reality (AR) based mobile app for excavation and earthmoving processes using a novel tool entitled Excavator Augmented Reality (EAR).

A mixed-methods research approach was used through conducting experimentation to collect qualitative and quantitative data collected from the Sri Lankan construction sector. EAR app was used for experimentation in outdoor areas examining how a 360° tracked hydraulic excavator can be navigated in different physical environments similar to the real prospected job.

The findings reveal that EAR could make a considerable impact on enhancing productivity, safety and training processes. However, the developed EAR App subjected to assessment demonstrated the highest satisfaction gap for the auditory aspects. Among the remaining criterion, the satisfaction met user expectations for comfortability and no-risk practice. An analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) conducted revealed that visualising the excavator activities and the requirements of improved features were the highest agreed strengths and weaknesses of the EAR. Among the opportunities for improvement, the necessity of improving emergency and safety reached the highest agreement. Moreover, the study presented the challenges in introducing mobile augmented reality (MAR) to the construction sector under the political, economic, sociocultural, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) model along with solutions to be taken.

This study provides a novel approach to addressing the safety, productivity and training concerns in heavy mobile plants and machinery on construction sites which remains to be unexplored to this end.

Smart manufacturing is revolutionizing the manufacturing industry by shifting the focus from traditional manufacturing to a more intelligent, interconnected and responsive system. Despite being the backbone of the economy and despite the government’s efforts in supporting and encouraging the transformation to smart manufacturing, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been struggling to transform their operations. This study aims to identify the challenges for SMEs’ transformation and the benefits they can get from this transformation, following a systematic review of existing literature.

A systematic review of existing literature has been performed to identify the peer-reviewed journal articles that focus on smart manufacturing for SMEs. First, a comprehensive list of keywords relevant to the review questions are identified. Second, Scopus and Web of Science databases were then used to search for articles, applying filters for English language and peer-reviewed status. Third, after manually assessing abstracts for relevance, 175 articles are considered for further review and analysis.

The benefits and challenges of SMEs’ transformation to smart manufacturing are identified. The identified challenges are categorized using the Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) framework. Further, to address the identified challenges and initiate the SME’s transition toward smart manufacturing, a framework has been proposed that shows how SMEs can start their transition with minimum investment and existing resources.

Several studies have concentrated on understanding how smart manufacturing enhances sustainability, productivity and preventive maintenance. However, there is a lack of studies comprehensively analyzing the challenges for smart manufacturing adoption for SMEs. The originality of this study lies in identifying the challenges and benefits of smart manufacturing transformation and proposing a framework as a roadmap for SMEs' smart manufacturing adoption.

In the context of the Industry 4.0, this paper aims to investigate the state of the art of Italian manufacturing, focusing the attention on the implementation of intelligent predictive maintenance (IPdM) and 4.0 key enabling technologies (KETs), analyzing advantages and limitations encountered by companies.

A survey has been developed by the University of Parma in cooperation with the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL) and was submitted to a sample of Italian companies. Overall, 70 answers were collected and analyzed.

Results show that the 54% of companies implemented smart technologies, increasing quality and safety, reducing the operating costs and sometimes improving the process' sustainability. However, IPdM was implemented only by the 37% of respondents: thanks to big data collection and analytics, Internet of Things, machine learning and collaborative robots, they reduced downtime and maintenance costs. These changes were implemented mainly by large companies, located in northern Italy. To spread the use of IPdM in Italian manufacturing, the high initial investment, lack of skilled labor and difficulties in the integration of new digital technologies with the existing infrastructure are the main obstacles to overcome.

The article gives an overview on the current state of the art of 4.0 technologies implementation in Italy: it is useful not only for companies that want to discover the implementations' advantages but also for institutions or research centres that could help them to solve the encountered obstacles.

This study aims to analyse the relative prominence of antecedents of digital accounting practices in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) industry. The Ministry of MSME defines the sector as comprising manufacturing enterprises and enterprises rendering services in terms of investment in plant and machinery and the annual turnover. The study is motivated by the rapid usage of digitalisation that has become the driving force guiding organisational development.

This study builds on technological–organisational–environmental framework to analyse the objective. It identifies five technological sub-antecedents, six organisational sub-antecedents and five environmental sub-antecedents. Data were gathered from 202 accounting professionals from MSMEs and academicians. Semi-structured interviews with experts were also conducted to corroborate the analysis of results. Then, the study applied fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to analyse the prominence.

This study finds that the technological antecedent captures the topmost position among all three antecedents, followed by organisational antecedent. They play a critical role in driving digitalisation in accounting practices. Among sub-antecedents, the highest priority is provided to technological accounting infrastructure, followed by cybersecurity precautions, training and allied services for accounting software, support from management and availability of accounting resources.

The study contributes to the scant literature by establishing hierarchy of relevance of different antecedents of digital accounting practices in MSMEs. It offers valuable insights to accounting practitioners and MSME owners/managers. They can pay attention to the prominent antecedents identified in this study to build a robust innovation structure for implementing digitalised accounting practices. The study also has significance to policymakers, specifically when they are more focused on the growth and development of MSMEs.

This study aims to investigate the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) investment on the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) profitability in the Indian context.

This study used a framework based on the ICT investment and firm size, measuring the impact on profit before depreciation, interest, tax and amortisation of MSME by taking a random sampling of 300 Indian MSME manufacturing firm’s secondary data from the Prowess database. This framework was analysed using the design of experiment (DoE) technique.

The study showed that ICT investment has a significant positive relationship with profitability. This study examines the different ICT investment levels to predict investment strategies and fine-tune profit targets. The critical finding is that ICT investment maximises profit at one million rupees. This discovery aids MSME leaders’ sustainable business decision-making.

This study has an explicit limit to the Indian context, where the firm requirements of countries are different, and these findings need to be validated with many operating variables and applied to more firms with more data. Even so, as a theoretical implication, this study took a novel approach to ICT adoption (through ICT investment) in the Indian MSME sector with guiding levels of ICT investment for each type of firm (i.e. micro, small and medium). This study opens new avenues for investigating researchers and stakeholders by exploring other factors responsible for ICT adoption.

This study uniquely provides practitioners with the functional level of ICT investment for MSMEs in the Indian context. These finding guides top management to make strategic ICT adoption decisions with information symmetry. At the same time, these findings suggest financial institutions astern their credit programme to provide credit for ICT investment in MSMEs.

This study highlights the value of ICT as a practical resource for business owners that significantly makes MSMEs more informed and profitable, thus creating more jobs and incrementing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

This study offers unique empirical findings on how decision makers in MSMEs maximise profits through optimal ICT investment levels depending upon the firm size in an emerging economy like India. There is evidence in the study to conclude that ICT is a need of MSME and has implications for firm performance.

This case study has been prepared after thoroughly studying the Indian wine industry. Secondary data for the value of wine imported in India has been taken from the website of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Data for GDP per capita for India has been taken from World Development Indicators, World Bank. Data for revenue generation of top five countries have been sourced from Statista Report on Indian wine market. Fictitious names are used for the Winery (Romaniszyn) and the individual (Harish G.) working there.

This case revolves around accounting complexities for starting a winery in India. A new vineyard comes with the challenge of the gestation period (five years), during which it would not generate revenue. Harish G. was adept at business development and had experience working with an Italian winery. He was unaware of how difficult accounting decisions would be, including determining the quantum of funds required, ascertaining different financial options to purchase assets and meeting cash requirements. He knew he would not be able to generate any sales for five years at the newly formed winery; the grapevines imported from New Zealand took that long to reach maturity. Furthermore, given that Harish was starting a new brand of wine, he also faced constraints with attracting new customers.

This case can be used in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students in the introductory session of a financial accounting course. It is designed to approach basic accounting concepts, permitting the class to discuss and focus on the principal thought process of starting a real business and accounting for the transactions as and when they occur rather than only on mathematical computations. The objective of this case study is attained by involving the students in recording various accounting transactions and decisions the winery’s management must take over the time from early plantation to bottling of the wine. Every decision assesses the students’ comprehension of accounting concepts by making them analyze and resolve the accounting issues raised.

Occupational safety issues among employees remains a contemporary and omnipresent concern. In developing countries, safety-related problems are amplified, resulting in higher incidences of serious accidents and occupational diseases. This study aims to evaluate employees’ knowledge and attitudes toward occupational health and safety, and how these influence overall occupational health and safety compliance. Ghana’s oil and gas industry provides the contextual backdrop for this research, given it is characterized by high rates of injury.

A positivist and deductive research strategy was used to quantitatively analyze both primary and secondary data sources. A structured survey was administered to industry employees, and multiple linear regression was used to establish the effects of employee’s knowledge and attitude toward occupational health hazards on overall health and safety compliance.

The findings indicate that most employees had both a high level of knowledge and positive attitude toward mitigating occupational health hazards. Moreover, the study reveals that most employees complied with occupational health safety practices. However, the study also reveals that the effect of employees’ knowledge and attitude toward occupational health hazards does not translate into deployment of comprehensive safety practices. Interestingly, female employees were found to be more knowledgeable and compliant with occupational health and safety practices than their male counterparts.

Premised upon the findings, the study recommends: implementation of relevant education and training programs encompassing the proper usage of machinery and equipment, tailored hazard safety training appropriate to specific employee job requirements, effective dissemination of risk information and governance initiatives that enforce strict adherence to correct safety procedures.

The study uniquely examines the influence of employee’s knowledge of health and safety to overall compliance within the oil and gas industry. Cumulatively, the study’s findings and recommendations contribute to improving the occupational health and safety outcomes within the industry.

Ocean transportation is not only the cheapest and the best mode of bulk transport but also the most polluting form of transportation. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set strict targets to cut down carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, following which several initiatives have been taken by the shipping industry to embrace new technologies that can make the industry greener. Significant investments have been made into research and development (R&D) to develop alternative marine fuels. This chapter explores the feasibility of setting up a Biomass Recycling Facility (BRF) in the Tirupur–Tuticorin region in Tamil Nadu. The region was chosen because Tirupur being a textile valley generates tonnes of textile wastes every year. It can become good feedstock for biofuel generation, and it is also near Tuticorin Port, which is one of the major ports in Tamil Nadu. On an average, every year 1,000 vessels of medium and large size call at this port. There is a high probability that a BRF established in the vicinity can generate and supply bioethanol for the ships calling at Tuticorin Port. It is apparent from the findings of the study that the feedstock generated by textile industry alone may not be sufficient to meet the huge volumes of biofuel requirements of vessels, more over considerable investments into infrastructure and technology are required. But the study points out that still it could become a viable option because of the government support and favourable Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies. The growing demand for biofuel and the increasing price in the world market can become an added advantage.

This study aims to examine the impact of renewable energy consumption on agricultural productivity while accounting for the effect of financial inclusion and foreign direct investment in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries during 2000–2020.

The study has used the latest data from World Bank and International Monetary Fund databases. The dependent variable in the study is agricultural productivity. Renewable energy consumption, carbon emissions, financial inclusion and foreign direct investment are independent variables. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach was used to examine the short-run and long-run impact of renewable energy consumption, carbon emissions, foreign direct investment and financial inclusion on agricultural productivity.

The findings imply that consumption of renewable energy, carbon emissions and foreign direct investment have a positive impact on agricultural productivity while financial inclusion in terms of access does not seem to have any significant impact on agricultural productivity. Providing farmers, access to financial services can be beneficial, but its usage holds more importance in impacting rural outcomes. The problem lies in the fact that there is still a gap between access and usage of financial services.

Policymakers should encourage the increase in the usage of renewable energy and become less reliant on non-renewable energy sources which will eventually help in tackling the problems associated with climate change as well as enhance agricultural productivity.

Most of the earlier studies were based on tabular analysis without any empirical base to establish the causal relationship between determinants of agricultural productivity and renewable energy consumption. These studies were also limited to a few regions. The study is one of its kind in exploring the severity of various factors that determine agricultural productivity in the context of emerging economies like BRICS while accounting for the effect of financial inclusion and foreign direct investment.