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This study aims to explore the link between prevalent risk factors for early childhood diarrhea, including hygiene, feeding, weaning practices and maternal education and the occurrence and severity of early childhood diarrhea in Saudi Arabia.

A case-control study was conducted, involving 98 mothers from the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia (51 cases and 47 controls). Data were collected from both hospital and community sources. The collected data were statistically analyzed and depicted using descriptive statistics and frequency tables.

Demographic data revealed that 60% of mothers were housewives, 75% had normal deliveries and all babies were full term. In the study cohort, 44% of children aged one to two years. Four domains were compared: diarrheal management, hygiene, weaning and feeding practices. Diarrheal management was suboptimal in some cases: 29% increased fluid intake, 10% maintained adequate food intake, 50% sought medical advice, 58% were familiar with oral rehydration solutions and only 37% used them. Hygiene practices were deficient, with 35% using wipes or sanitizers, 64% handwashing before feeding and 52% adhering to the recommended 10-s duration. Controls exhibited better hygiene practices. Weaning practices were generally similar, with no significant differences between the two groups.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to collectively report on the risk factors linked to early childhood diarrhea in Saudi Arabia. This study yields significant insights, highlighting the crucial role of managing diarrhea, educating mothers and implementing proper household practices in impacting the occurrence and severity of this perilous ailment.

The purpose of this study is to explore how the South African government has used accounting technologies to manage the pervasive issue of racial inequality.

Premised on Foucault’s notion of governmentality, we conducted a qualitative case study. Publicly available archival data are used to determine the extent to which accounting techniques have helped to shape policy responses to racial inequality.

We show that accounting techniques and calculations give visibility to the problems of government and help design a programme to solve racial inequality. The lived experiences and impacts of racism in the workplace have been problematised, turned into statistics, and used to rationalise the need for ongoing government intervention in solving the problem. These processes underpin the development of the scorecard system, which measures the contributions firms have made towards minimising racial inequalities.

This study augments the existing body of Foucauldian literature by illustrating how power dynamics can be counteracted. We show that in governmental processes, accounting can exhibit a dual role, and these roles are not always subordinate to the analysis of political realities. The case of B-BBEE reveals the unintended consequences of utilising accounting to control the conduct of individuals or groups.

Considering the critical role of higher education institutions in the advancement of the 2030 Agenda, this paper aims to analyse the incorporation of the gender perspective (Sustainable Development Goal 5) in the University Cooperation for International Development.

Following a qualitative methodological strategy, this paper identifies the potentialities and challenges of this perspective from the point of view of the technical staff of the cooperation units of seven Spanish universities.

Results show a strong intention to incorporate gender principles, in accordance with the SDGs framework. However, the findings also point to certain divergences in the forms of understanding and implementing gender equality in practice. Finally, this paper uncovers a variety of strategies to navigate the resistances, still existing in the university community.

Spain is orienting the legal framework of its cooperation and international relations towards the ambitious horizon of a feminist foreign policy. Universities are key actors in international development cooperation and the implementation of the SDGs. This is an issue that has received little research attention, particularly from a gender perspective.

Against the backdrop of the global reshaping of supply chains, supply chain ecosystems have emerged as a critical force in ensuring the high-quality development of enterprises and fostering stable economic growth. However, a systematic theoretical understanding of how to construct these supply chain ecosystems remains nascent. This study aims to explore the mechanism of the process of building supply chain ecosystems between digital innovation platform enterprises and digital trading platform enterprises from the perspective of dynamic capabilities.

An explanatory case study is conducted based on a theoretical framework grounded on dynamic capabilities view. Two preeminent digital platform enterprises in China (Haier and JD.com) are studied. The authors primarily conducted this research by collecting a large volume of these Chinese public materials.

First, the construction processes of supply chain ecosystems in both digital platform enterprises can be delineated into three stages: embryonic, development and maturity. Second, digital innovation platform enterprises’ construction process is primarily influenced by factors such as production and operational collaboration, consumer demand and research and development. This influence is exerted through interactions on digital platforms and within sub-ecosystems. Meanwhile, digital trading platform enterprises’ construction process is influenced by factors such as infrastructure development, consumer demand and financial support, driving dynamic capability formation through multi-party cooperation and ecological interactions based on conceptual identity.

In the establishment of supply chain ecosystems, digital platform enterprises should prioritize the cultivation of opportunity expansion, resource integration and symbiotic relationship capabilities. Furthermore, this study shows that digital platform enterprises need to actively adjust their interactive relationships with cooperating enterprises based on changes in the market, industry, policies and their own developmental stages.

This study addresses prior deficiencies in understanding the comprehensive construction of supply chain ecosystems and provides significant insights to enhance the theoretical foundation of supply chain ecosystem studies. Additionally, this paper uncovers the dynamic capability development behaviors and contextual features inherent in the construction process of supply chain ecosystems by digital platform enterprises.

This study evaluates how well Victorian local councils’ procurement policies align with the sustainable and circular economy (CE) approach that prioritises sustainable and regenerative practices. It proposes a set of criteria designed to effectively integrate environmental sustainability issues into purchasing policies.

Employing the Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) framework, a multi-dimensional content analysis guided by the goal-setting theory was applied to evaluate all 79 Victorian local councils’ procurement policies. This approach provided an assessment of policy specificity, measurability, assignability, realism and time sensitivity in promoting environmental sustainability through purchasing policies.

The findings underscored a significant deficiency in policy adherence to all SMART criteria concerning environmental sustainability, hindering the effective green purchasing decisions within government entities. This lack of integration of greening in purchasing policy poses challenges for manufacturers of waste-derived goods, obscuring the procurement objectives of these critical public sector customers.

The paper contributes to the sustainable procurement (SP) discourse by proposing guidelines aimed at improving the efficacy of governmental purchasing of sustainable products. These guidelines address the broader imperative to mitigate the environmental impacts of governmental spending on less sustainable goods, thereby fostering ecological sustainability and promoting responsible consumption.

While past studies have often relied on subjective content analysis methods, the SMART assessment used to develop the environmental sustainability criteria for purchasing policies, which distinguishes this study from previous governmental policy evaluation studies. This approach marks a departure from traditional governmental policy evaluation studies, offering a more structured analysis of policy effectiveness in promoting SP practices.

Social media played an irreplaceable role in young people’s online social life and information consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research focuses on the impact of excessive information on social media about COVID-19 vaccines on Generation Z's (Gen Z) associated psychological states and long-term vaccine advocacy.

The research conducted structural equation modeling analysis with online survey data from 409 Gen Z citizens in the UK.

The findings suggest that excessive information increased Gen Z social media users' ambivalence and conspiracy beliefs around COVID-19 vaccines, which, in turn, reduced their long-term vaccine advocacy in terms of vaccine acceptance, vaccination intention and vaccine promotion. Importantly, Gen Z’s confidence in government and in the healthcare systems during COVID-19 was effective in helping them overcome the detrimental effects of conspiracy beliefs and ambivalence about long-term vaccine advocacy, respectively.

This research reveals the “dark side” of social media use in the post-pandemic period and highlights the significant roles played by social institutions in mitigating the detrimental effects of Gen Z’s support in social decisions. Beyond the context of COVID-19, this research has important implications for facilitating the civic engagement of Gen Z and boosting their confidence in social institutions in terms of social cohesion.

Users frequently target rival brands through direct criticism or indirect customer insults, yet the impact of such attacks on brand advocacy remains unexplored. The purpose of this study is to classify online attacks into brand-targeted attacks and consumer-targeted attacks and further investigate their differential impacts on brand advocacy and the underlying mechanism and a boundary condition of those impacts.

Three experimental studies using different types of brands (electronics, universities and sports footwear) are conducted to examine the effects of brand-related attack targets on brand advocacy.

This research shows that consumer-targeted attacks trigger higher brand advocacy through increasing perceived identity threat than brand-targeted attacks. Moreover, the effect of consumer-targeted attacks (versus brand-targeted attacks) on brand advocacy is mediated by perceived identity threat and mitigated when consumers’ identification with the attacked brand is strong.

The study’s findings yield practical applications for marketers and brand managers, assisting them in understanding consumers’ reactions to brand attacks. This study serves as a reference for firms to consider leveraging the association between brand identification and brand-related attack targets and uniting with loyal brand fans to manage online brand conflicts.

The present study extends prior literature on customer-brand relationships in the context of online attacks. Through investigating the impacts of brand-targeted and consumer-targeted attacks on brand advocacy, this research offers theoretical insights into consumers’ responses to online attacks with different targets.

The fundamental mission of every green city is to harmonize urban living with environmental preservation. However, a critical challenge arises when the residents of such cities do not share the same level of environmental consciousness, potentially eroding the integrity of the green city’s brand identity. Hence, this study aims to explore the factors influencing residents’ identification with green city branding and assesses how this identification subsequently affects their green citizenship behaviors.

A survey of 1,217 residents from 15 green cities across six countries was conducted and analyzed using SPSS 28.0 for descriptive statistics and PLS-SEM for measurement and structural model analysis.

The results indicate that green city-self connection, green city distinctiveness and environmental benefits significantly impact GCRI, which, in turn, significantly influences green city protection, loyalty and advocacy behaviors. However, green city social and economic benefits did not affect resident identification.

The results of this study provide valuable managerial insights for city brand managers, green city developers and governmental representatives. The study underscores the importance of considering residents as crucial internal stakeholders in the creation of a green city identity that effectively promotes sustainable urban living and an eco-friendly culture.

This study provides theoretical insights into the relationship between green identification and residents’ willingness and commitment to act as ambassadors and promote their city’s green values.

This study aims to explore the experiences of newly resettled refugee-background high school students participating in the Teen Response program, a community-based initiative to assist refugee-background adolescents (RBAs) in navigating educational and career opportunities in the midwestern USA.

Using a mixed-methods approach, this study examined twenty-two RBAs through survey and focus groups.

The findings reveal significant growth and transformation in the students' self-efficacy and advocacy skills. This growth underscores the critical role of social support and community engagement in helping RBAs, empowering them to advocate for themselves and others in pursuing educational and career goals.

This study contributes new insights into the community-based support programs for RBAs, focusing on enhancing self-efficacy and advocacy. It offers valuable implications for developing effective support frameworks and recommends future research on these approaches.

This study aims to analyze the implications of the recent European Union Regulation 2023/1542 on the circular economy and stakeholder strategies within the electric vehicle lithium-ion battery (EV-LIB) sector. It aims to explain the policy intentions, recommend practical strategies for stakeholders and examine how the new regulation exerts pressure on stakeholders to transition from older directives to more sustainable practices and operational standards, while also highlighting policy gaps.

The research employs a dual-method approach, combining text analysis of EU legislation with semi-structured interviews of industry stakeholders. This methodology allows for a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory impacts by integrating legislative intent with practical, on-the-ground insights from key players in the EV-LIB sector.

Our findings show that the three aggregated dimensions of operational sustainability, R&D and new technologies and collaborative dynamics are the key dynamics underlying the intended outcomes. The findings also highlight the policy’s historical development, the stakeholder categories, the implications for each and practical recommendations in responding to the policy requirements. Additionally, the findings identify policy gaps, such as weak incentives and broad economic operator classifications, with examples from international markets. The regulation creates proactive stakeholders driving innovation and collaboration and reactive ones adapting to changes, where static implicit implications may affect their viability by imposing unequal burdens.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to analyze the new EU Regulation 2023/1542, offering novel insights into the strategic responses required by stakeholders to adapt to the regulatory pressures. By focusing on the latest regulatory framework and its practical implications, the study bridges the gap between policy and practice, providing valuable guidance for industry players navigating the evolving regulatory environment.

• (1)

  EU’s policy shift from Directive to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 has extended implications on the Electric Vehicles battery sector.

• (2)

  Duel qualitative methods of text analysis and semi-structured interviews validated three aggregate dimensions and policy gaps.

• (3)

  R&D with advancing technology, Operational sustainability and safety and Collaboration dynamics are dominating the scene.

• (4)

  Emergence of Proactive vs Reactive stakeholder dynamics.

• (5)

  The broad classification of “economic operators” and insufficiently detailed incentives, hinting at potential competitive imbalances and underexplored roles of end-users in achieving circular economy goals are appearing policy’ gaps.

EU’s policy shift from Directive to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 has extended implications on the Electric Vehicles battery sector.

Duel qualitative methods of text analysis and semi-structured interviews validated three aggregate dimensions and policy gaps.

R&D with advancing technology, Operational sustainability and safety and Collaboration dynamics are dominating the scene.

Emergence of Proactive vs Reactive stakeholder dynamics.

The broad classification of “economic operators” and insufficiently detailed incentives, hinting at potential competitive imbalances and underexplored roles of end-users in achieving circular economy goals are appearing policy’ gaps.