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The purpose of this paper is to show the benefits of bridging the gap between supply chain management (SCM) and political philosophy to challenge the underlying assumptions about SCM concepts and open doors to novel theory building.

A thought experiment is conducted to illustrate how the two philosophers Niccolò Machiavelli and Jürgen Habermas would tackle sustainability issues in coffee supply chains from a research perspective. The thought experiment is carried out using data from 30 semi-structured interviews with actors from the coffee industry. Supplementing the thought experiment with empirical insights allows for a deeper understanding of supply chain dynamics and how these are impacted by the application of the philosophical viewpoints.

The research stresses the importance of SCM scholars being aware of the underlying assumptions of their research, as these have a remarkable impact on theory building. A combination of empirical insights and philosophical understandings makes it possible to reflect on the underlying concepts of SCM, providing suggestions for reimagining SCM.

The contribution of the research is twofold. First, the paper presents an original view on SCM, as the thought experiment is introduced as an approach to better understand SCM concepts. By challenging the underlying assumptions with political philosophy, researchers will be better equipped to address grand challenges in the twenty-first century. Second, this is exemplified by the case study of the coffee supply chain, which provides the reader with insight into the dynamics of supply chains with prevalent power differences.

Regardless of the diverse research on big data analytics (BDA) across different supply chains, little attention has been paid to exploit this information across service supply chains. The healthcare supply chains, where supply chain operations consume the second highest expenditures, have not completely attained the potential gains from data analytics. So, this paper explores the challenges of BDA at various levels of healthcare supply chains.

Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), this research explores the various challenges of big data at organizational and operational level of different nodes in healthcare supply chains. To demonstrate the links among supply chain nodes, the authors have used a supplier-input-process-output-customer (SIPOC) chart to list healthcare suppliers, inputs (such as employees) supplied and used by the main healthcare processes, outputs (products and services) of these processes, and customers (patients and community).

Using thematic analysis, the authors were able to identify numerous challenges and commonalities among these challenges for the case of healthcare supply chains across United Arab Emirates (UAE). An applicable exploration on organizational (Socio-technical) and operational challenges to BDA can enable healthcare managers to acclimate efficient and effective strategies.

The identified common socio-technical and operational challenges could be verified, and their impacts on the sustainable performance of various supply chains should be explored using formal research methods.

This research advances the body of literature on BDA in healthcare supply chains in that (1) it presents a structured approach for exploring the challenges from various stakeholders of healthcare chain; (2) it presents the most common challenges of big data across the chain and finally (3) it uses the context of UAE where government is focusing on medical tourism in the coming years.

Originality of this work stems from the fact that most of the previous academic research in this area has focused on technology perspectives, a clear understanding of the managerial and strategic implications and challenges of big data is still missing in the literature.

Scholars and practitioners acknowledge that digital leadership can help organizations gain a competitive advantage. This article focuses on the characteristics, styles and skills needed for effective digital leadership. It looks at the role of digital leaders in innovating business models and introducing organizational change required for a successful digital transformation.

This paper is based on a comprehensive literature review of digital transformation, digital leadership, business model innovation, and organizational culture. It draws on institutional theory (INT) the neo-institutional theory (NIT). It draws from Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar publications. A proposition and a conceptual framework are developed based on evaluating and synthesizing the literature.

We find that specific leader characteristics (agility, participative, innovativeness and openness), styles (democratic and transformational) and skills (cognitive, social, technological and digital) enable successful business model innovation and organizational change, all of which allow successful digital transformation of firms.

The literature on digital transformation has not been well integrated with the leadership literature. This is particularly true in terms of the role digital leaders play in the successful digital transformation of firms. The conceptual framework and a way forward proposed in this paper introduce future research directions on the topic.

This paper investigates the effect of Islamic entrepreneurship on small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) business performance and the development of a framework to comprehensively investigate Islamic entrepreneurship to achieve competitive business advantages. Islamic entrepreneurship was measured through the Islamic entrepreneurial model, which is based on two unobserved constructs: business and spiritual perspectives. These two constructs were used as predictors of business performance. This paper aims to develop a new scale of Islamic entrepreneurship from business and spiritual perspectives to achieve SMEs’ successful business performance.

In total, 189 Muslim respondents were involved and analyzed their responses using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory composite analysis.

The empirical findings proved that the Islamic entrepreneurial scale with two perspectives is an absolute measure. Besides, the predictive validity findings revealed that business (i.e. trustworthiness, honesty and truthfulness) and spiritual perspectives of Islamic entrepreneurship (i.e. Taqwa, good intention and respecting religious obligations) positively affected SMEs’ business performance.

The novelty of this study lies in expanding the existing research, developing a measurement scale and empirically testing the Islamic entrepreneurship model. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that contributes to the Islamic entrepreneurship literature in the SME context and offers new avenues for potential researchers. The new scale will allow SMEs to understand the halal and haram concepts in more depth and apply the Islamic rules and principles with full spirit.

This study firstly aims to prepare a hierarchical structure of the barriers contributing to digital exclusion of women. Secondly, the study aims to understand the inter-relationship of the barriers by converting them into a cyclic flow.

Systematic review was conducted through Web of Science and EBSCO Host Discovery Services with keywords: “digital divide” OR “digital gap” OR “digital inequality” OR “online difference” AND gender AND wom?n AND factors OR “demographic factors” OR “socio-economic” OR determinants OR reasons OR causes OR influences. Review was conducted of articles published in English language after 2012. Systematic literature review was conducted in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Framework 2020. Authors reviewed 21 reports.

This research found absence of education as the root of digital exclusion of women in the hierarchy of barriers. The cyclic flow of barriers displayed that how ill education of women lead to financial and psychological dependence of women on men, creating a hurdle in women empowerment. To break the cycle of digital exclusion, women education is must not only on primary basis but their tertiary education is important too.

This study makes an important contribution by ranking those barriers in a pyramid hierarchy and depicting their inter relation by framing a cyclic structure. This study provides suggestions to remove those barriers and ultimately break their chain to provide digital inclusive society for women.

This study probes the psychological interplay between investor sentiment and the returns of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum. Employing the Granger causality test, the authors aim to gauge how extensively the Fear and Greed Index (FGI) can predict cryptocurrency return movements, exploring the intricate bond between investor emotions and market behavior.

The authors used the Granger causality test to achieve research objectives. Going beyond conventional linear analysis, the authors applied Smooth Quantile Regression, scrutinizing weekly data from July 2022 to June 2023 for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The study focus was to determine if the FGI, an indicator of investor sentiment, predicts shifts in cryptocurrency returns.

The study findings underscore the profound psychological sway within cryptocurrency markets. The FGI notably predicts the returns of Bitcoin and Ethereum, underscoring the lasting connection between investor emotions and market behavior. An intriguing feedback loop between the FGI and cryptocurrency returns was identified, accentuating emotions' persistent role in shaping market dynamics. While associations between sentiment and returns were observed at specific lag periods, the nonlinear Granger causality test didn't statistically support nonlinear causality. This suggests linear interactions predominantly govern variable relationships. Cointegration tests highlighted a stable, enduring link between the returns of Bitcoin, Ethereum and the FGI over the long term.

Despite valuable insights, it's crucial to acknowledge our nonlinear analysis's sensitivity to methodological choices. Specifics of time series data and the chosen time frame may have influenced outcomes. Additionally, direct exploration of macroeconomic and geopolitical factors was absent, signaling opportunities for future research.

This study enriches theoretical understanding by illuminating causal dynamics between investor sentiment and cryptocurrency returns. Its significance lies in spotlighting the pivotal role of investor sentiment in shaping cryptocurrency market behavior. It emphasizes the importance of considering this factor when navigating investment decisions in a highly volatile, dynamic market environment.

Operational risks can cause considerable, atypical disturbances and impact food supply chain (SC) resilience. Indicatively, the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in the UK food services as nationwide stockouts led to unprecedented discrepancies between retail and home-delivery supply capacity and demand. To this effect, this study aims to examine the emergence of digital platforms as an innovative instrument for food SC resilience in severe market disruptions.

An interpretive multiple case-study approach was used to unravel how different generations of e-commerce food service providers, i.e. established and emergent, responded to the need for more resilient operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SC disruption management for high-impact low-frequency events requires analysing four research elements: platformisation, structural variety, process flexibility and system resource efficiency. Established e-commerce food operators use partner onboarding and local waste valorisation to enhance resilience. Instead, emergent e-commerce food providers leverage localised rapid upscaling and product personalisation.

Digital food platforms offer a highly customisable, multisided digital marketplace wherein platform members may aggregate product offerings and customers, thus sharing value throughout the network. Platform-induced disintermediation allows bidirectional flows of data and information among SC partners, ensuring compliance and safety in the food retail sector.

The study contributes to the SC configuration and resilience literature by investigating the interrelationship among platformisation, structural variety, process flexibility and system resource efficiency for safe and resilient food provision within exogenously disrupted environments.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the applications of metaverse-related technologies in US urban libraries, explore excellent cases of US urban libraries' practices in using metaverse-related technologies to serve patrons and try to find the factor that may affect the application of metaverse-related technologies in libraries at this stage.

To gather information about how and whether libraries use metaverse-related technologies such as three-dimensional (3D) technology, radio frequency identification (RFID), virtual reality augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) in their services. Firstly, the authors visit 150 US urban library websites that are members of the Urban Libraries Council. Secondly, the authors calculate the proportion of services provided by urban libraries that use metaverse-related technologies and introduce outstanding cases. Lastly, the authors discuss the factors that influence the application of metaverse-related technologies in urban libraries in the United States based on data published by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Metaverse-related technologies have been widely used in US urban libraries, but there are differences in the popularity of the applications of different technologies. In all, 84% of libraries use 3D technology, mainly in 3D printing services and 3D model building services; 76% of libraries use virtual and augmented reality technologies in their services, mainly concentrated in head-mounted VR device experiences, AR device experiences, virtual tours and virtual exhibitions; 62% of libraries use Internet of things (IoT) technology, mainly in self-checkout machines and book location services. However, AI technologies are less used in libraries, with 28% of libraries mentioning the applications of AI in their services, mainly focusing on intelligent search, virtual assistants and robot librarians. In addition, this study finds that library operating expenditures and population served do not affect the application of metaverse-related technologies in libraries.

This paper provides updated statistical data on the use of metaverse-related technologies in US urban libraries and aims to help library managers understand the overall applications and best practices. With this as an inspiration, they could formulate corresponding development plans to better serve their communities with metaverse-related technologies.