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This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers' evaluation of blockchain-based traceability information. It also examined how the use of quick response (QR) codes for traceability affects consumers' evaluation of traceable food products.

An online choice experiment was conducted to determine consumers' evaluation of the blockchain-based traceability of Feta cheese with a quota sample of 715 Greek consumers. Pearson bivariate correlation and mean comparison were used to examine the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and QR use behaviour. Random parameter logit models were employed to examine consumers’ valuation of the examined attributes and interaction terms.

The results show that ethnocentric consumers are willing to pay more for blockchain-based traceability information. Ethnocentric consumers tend to scan QR codes with traceability information. Spending more time reading traceability information embedded in QR codes does not lead to a higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for traceable food products.

The findings suggest that patriotic marketing messages can draw consumers' attention to blockchain-based traceability information. The modest WTP for and low familiarity with blockchain-based traceability systems raise the need for educating consumers regarding the benefits of blockchain in traceability systems.

This is the first study to provide timely empirical evidence of a positive WTP for blockchain-based traceability information for a processed dairy product. This study is the first to attempt to distinguish the effects of the intention to scan QR codes and reading information embedded in QR codes on consumers’ valuation of food attributes.

This chapter takes an overview look at open digital infrastructures for financial services: what they are, why they are important for digital financial landscape, and thus why the central banks might need to take an active role to promote them. This chapter also reviews some concrete examples of open digital infrastructures in various jurisdictions to give some context.

This study aims to investigate the integration of blockchain technology into the food supply chain within the restaurant industry. It focuses on how blockchain can be applied to enhance transparency and trust in tracking food sources, ultimately impacting customer satisfaction.

A service design workshop (Study 1) and three between-subjects experiments (Studies 2–4) were conducted.

Results indicate that blockchain adoption significantly improves traceability and trust in the food supply chain. This improvement in turn enhances customer satisfaction through perceived improvements in food safety, quality and naturalness. This study also notes that the effects of blockchain technology vary depending on the type of restaurant (casual or fine dining) and its location (tourist destinations or residential areas).

The findings offer practical insights for restaurant owners, technology developers and policymakers. Emphasizing the benefits of blockchain adoption, this study guides decision-making regarding technology investments for enhancing customer service and satisfaction in the hospitality sector.

This research contributes novel insights to the field of technology innovation in the hospitality industry. It extends the understanding of signaling theory by exploring how blockchain technology can serve as a tool for signal transmission in restaurant food supply chains.

Despite the growing interest in blockchain technology (BCT) applications in the agri-food industry, evidence of their economic and strategic implications remains scarce. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap by jointly investigating how BCT adoption affects transactional relationships, and how it contributes to the firm’s strategic resources.

An explanatory case study is conducted based on a theoretical framework grounded on transaction cost economics and the resource-based-dynamic capabilities view. Six BCT implementations by agri-food firms are studied. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings reveal that BCT benefits depend on how companies integrate technology across their supply chains. In fact, the results suggest that overall transaction efficiency within the supply chain is enhanced only for those firms prioritising stakeholder engagement during technology implementation and leveraging existing trust relationships with economic agents. Moreover, the results suggest that BCT is not yet perceived as a strategic resource, but rather that it has the potential to enhance firms’ operational-adaptive, absorptive and innovative capabilities. When all supply chain actors clearly understand blockchain’s functionality and value, the development of these capabilities becomes more pronounced.

The study identifies two BCT adoption configurations. One primarily focuses on enhancing supply chain efficiency and transparency (dynamic BCT), while the other uses BCT mainly for marketing purposes (static BCT). These configurations lead to varied possibilities for leveraging BCT’s potential advantages. Furthermore, they show how a mismatch between a strategic approach and its chosen configuration could work against any positive impact and lead to disillusionment with the BCT. Thus, managers should assess carefully the impact of such different configuration choices on performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to attempt to analyse the economic implications of adopting BCT in the food sector from both a firm and supply chain perspective. Additionally, it shows how interpreting these impacts is contingent on the diverse modalities for embedding BCT into existing supply chains.

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.

This chapter reviews digital payment infrastructures at the retail, wholesale and cross-border levels, available operating and governance models and trade-offs. Various developments in the field of digital payments, key challenges and the role of the central banks in helping to address those challenges are introduced. This chapter starts by examining issues in retail payments, before moving on the wholesale and large-value payments, real-time gross settlement (RTGS) which is the core settlement of payment systems before examining cross-border payments. This chapter ends with an overview of the role of central banks in promoting digital payment infrastructures.

This chapter starts by reviewing four broad regulatory approaches that exemplified state-of-the-art in major jurisdictions: market-driven approach (the United States), state-driven approach (China), rights-driven approach (the European Union) and innovation-driven approach (the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR). This chapter then examines possible regulatory updates with regards to walled gardens and shadow banking, the first two of the challenges first identified in Chapter 3. The next two chapters will then examine possible regulatory updates to address the remaining challenges identified.

This study aims to address existing gaps in the literature and theories by investigating the influence of responsible leadership traits on employees’ sustainable performance (E-SuPer) in the Malaysian service sector. Specifically, the authors focus on three key responsible leadership traits: relationship building, relational governance and sharing orientation. Additionally, the authors explore how these traits interact with leader-member exchange (LMX) and whether gender plays a role in this relationship.

A total of 235 usable responses were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Multi-group analysis (MGA) was employed to examine the moderating impact of gender.

The results showed that both relationship building and relational governance significantly affect E-SuPer among organisations in the service industry. LMX was found to be a significant moderating condition influencing the association between responsible leaders’ sharing orientation and E-SuPer. Interestingly, the MGA results suggest that the effect on male employees was greater than on female employees across the relationships examined. The findings suggest that responsible leadership traits are essential for sustainable employee performance, but there is room for improvement in how these traits are perceived by female employees.

The present study contributes to gender equality agenda, supports the sustainable development goals, adds to the growing body of knowledge on the relationship between responsible leadership traits and E-SuPer within one of the most important economic sectors in Malaysia and sheds lights on the moderating effect of LMX.

This study investigates how responsible leadership traits affect E-SuPer in the service industry, particularly among male and female employees. Moreover, this study is one of the early investigations into the significance of responsible leadership within Malaysian service sector and offers valuable information for industry actors to improve their management approaches.

In this article, the research objective is to empirically investigate the effect of the adoption of the Brazilian instant payment system, Pix, on the local credit market structure and the diversification of the banking system in Brazilian municipalities.

By analyzing the data, in this study, we compile and align data from supervisory and public sources, covering the period from 2019 to 2022 in Brazil. As of 2014, Brazil was comprised of 5568 municipalities distributed across five regions: North (450 municipalities), Northeast (1792), Midwest (467), Southeast (1668) and South (1191), according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Our analysis relies on the volume and quantity of Pix to the outstanding credit operations in Brazil.

This article provides evidence that the widespread adoption of Pix has impacted the financial structure of municipalities. This analysis of banking concentration in the country and municipalities, based on banking relationships, helped us assess whether the adoption of Pix had any correlation with the increase in credit lines. Overall, the results from the statistical tables suggest that the adoption of Pix may be having a positive impact on the local credit market structure.

The originality contribution of the study is to initiate an investigation into the impact of this instant payment system, Pix, on the Brazilian reality. Pix was launched in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and had significant numbers, such as over 61% of the adult population having at least one Pix key registered in a little over a year; about 100 million people made at least one payment with Pix; and more than 1.4 billion transactions per month, with 72% between individuals, as presented by the REB 2021.