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The purpose of this study is to establish whether dynamic capabilities mediates the association between social capital and sustainable growth of full-service restaurants in Kampala, Uganda.

This study is cross-sectional and correlational in nature. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data from 154 full-service restaurants in Kampala. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS.25) and Medgraph – Excel Version were used to conduct correlation, hierarchical regression and mediation analysis on the data in order to establish the mediating role of dynamic capabilities.

Study findings revealed that first, social capital and dynamic capabilities significantly predict sustainable growth of full-service restaurants, second, social capital is significantly associated with dynamic capabilities and third, dynamic capabilities significantly mediate social capital and sustainable growth of full-service restaurants.

The study confirmed that dynamic capabilities significantly mediate social capital and sustainable growth of full-service restaurants unlike the previous studies that focused on the direct association between the study variables in explicating sustainable growth.

Human capital flight from developing countries to developed nations has been rising and giving concerns to governments and scholars alike. This paper aims to explore the impact migration from Nigeria has on economic output growth by focusing on the migration rate, remittances, population growth and secondary school enrolment. This has not received adequate attention in the literature, as many papers have primarily focused on the impact of remittances on economic growth.

Leveraging on the macro-level approach to migration, remittances and the economy, this research considers the nexus among the human capital flight and output growth variables by using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method of analysis for time series data between 1986 and 2018.

The net migration rate from Nigeria was found from the empirical analysis to be more disadvantageous for the economy, given its negative relationship with economic growth despite the large volume of foreign incomes (remittances). It also shows that secondary school enrolment positively and significantly impacted the Nigerian growth rate in the long run.

This research has widened the use of variables by combining net migration rate, remittances from abroad, population growth rate and secondary school enrolment to obtain a more robust outcome with implications for research and practice.

The study aims to evaluate the influence of capital structure decisions and asset structure on firms' performance for East African listed nonfinancial firms.

The research is descriptive and employs secondary data from the East African capital markets' websites. The generalized method of moments approach is used to estimate the relationship due to its ability to account for endogeneity problems.

The result shows that capital structure decisions and asset structure strongly influence the firms' performance. When long-term debts, short-term debts and tangible fixed assets increase, the return on total assets increases. An increase in the total debt ratio raises the return on equity (ROE). However, the increase in long-term debt lowers the ROE.

The results will help investors and potential investors decide on a financing policy that maximizes performance. Likewise, governments and other policymakers review the capital markets' frameworks to attract institutional and individual investors to the markets for financial availability and to increase profitability.

The research provides evidence on the influence of capital structure decisions and asset structure on firms' performance. Furthermore, its results contribute to firms' financing policy formulation and the corporate finance literature.

Digital supply chains require nascent technologies like blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT). There is a need to develop a roadmap for the implementation of these technologies, as they require a huge amount of resources and infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the challenges of implementing blockchain-IoT integrated architecture in the green supply chain and develop strategies for the same.

After a thorough literature survey of Scopus-indexed journals and books, 37 barriers were identified, which were then brought down to 15 barriers after confirming with industry and academic experts using the Delphi method. Using the total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) method and cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis, the barriers were modeled, and finally, strategies were formulated using a concept map to handle the barriers in the blockchain-IoT integrated architecture for a green supply chain.

This paper presents the research on barriers that can be considered for incorporating blockchain and IoT in the green supply chain. It was found from the TISM model that environmental concerns are Level-1 barriers and need to be addressed by developing appropriate technology and allocating funds for the same. An integrated ecosystem with blockchain and IoT is developed.

The focus of this study was on the challenges of blockchain and IoT; hence, it is required to extend the research and find challenges for different industries and also analyze the criteria using other multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. Further research is required for the integration of blockchain-IoT with supply chain functions.

The transformation of a traditional supply chain into a green supply chain is possible with the integration of technologies. This research work and the strategies developed are useful to managers and practitioners working on technology implementation. Planning resources and addressing key barriers is possible with the concept maps and architecture developed.

Green supply chain management (SCM) is gaining importance in industry as well as the academic sector due to government Policies and norms worldwide for reducing emissions and encouraging environment-friendly production systems. Incorporating blockchain and IoT in a green supply chain will further digitize and increase transparency in supply chains.

We have done a categorization of all barriers based on the expert survey by academicians and industry experts from industries in India. The concept map helps in identifying possible solutions for the challenges and initiatives to be taken for the smooth integration of technologies in the green supply chain.

This study argues that in order to address the problems associated with the modern market economy at their core, such as persistent poverty, growing inequality and environmental degradation, it is imperative to re-assess the well-being and moral philosophy underpinning economic thinking. The author attempts to offer a preliminary way forward with reference to the Islamic intellectual tradition.

This study employs content analysis of classical and contemporary Islamic texts on human well-being and economic ethics to derive a conceptual well-being model. The paper is structured in four sections: section one provides an overview of relevant secondary literature on moral economic approaches; section two outlines the main well-being frameworks; section three discusses the concept of human well-being in Islam informed by the Islamic worldview of tawḥīd, the Islamic philosophy of saʿādah, and the higher objectives of Islamic Law (maqās_.id al-Sharīʿah); and finally, section four discusses policy implications and next steps forward.

A conceptual model of human well-being from an Islamic perspective is developed by integrating philosophical insights of happiness (saʿādah) with an objective list of five essential goods: religion (Dīn), self (Nafs), intellect ('Aql), progeny (Nasl) and wealth (Māl) that correspond to spiritual, physical and psychological, intellectual, familial and social, and material well-being, respectively.

Further research is needed to translate this conceptual model into a composite well-being index to inform policy and practice.

This model can be used to review the performance of the Islamic finance sector, not solely in terms of growth and profitability, but in terms of realising human necessities, needs and refinements. It can also provide the basis for the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries to jointly develop a well-being index to guide national and regional co-operation. More generally, this study highlights the need for research in Islamic economics to be more firmly rooted within Islamic ontology and epistemology, while simultaneously engaging in productive dialogue with other moral schools of economic thought to offer practical solutions to contemporary challenges.

This study offers three aspects of originality. First, by outlining well-being frameworks, it highlights key differences between the utilitarian understanding of well-being underpinning modern economic theory and virtue-based understandings, such as the Aristotelian, Christian and Islamic approaches. Second, it provides a well-being model from an Islamic perspective by integrating the Islamic worldview of tawḥīd, the Islamic philosophy of saʿādah, and the higher objectives of Islamic Law (maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah). Third, it proposes an ethical framework for informing economic policy and practice.

Social media has made people better informed but also easier to manipulate. By using literature review and observing social media, the authors found a problem about echo chamber effect. The purpose of this paper is to know how the echo chamber affects the people who consume political news and the role of media diversity in it.

To conduct this study, the authors used a structured questionnaire on the Qualtrics platform to collect data from 183 participants. The authors collected data using a simple random technique. This study is based on the cross-sectional survey; the data collection period is from October to November 2023. The authors used the SPSS software to analyze the relationships between the variables and test the hypothesis.

This study found that, echo chamber is not affected by media diversity. Because of increased political interest, people will be less influenced by echo chambers. In addition, demographic factors affect political interest. People use search engines and social media sites instead of political websites when it comes to the consumption of political news online. People like to communicate with individuals who hold conflicting political views.

Researchers have not yet been able to gain a clear understanding of whether users are in an echo chamber or not and how they are interacting in that environment. Research on this topic is still going on from different perspectives. This study helped to clarify whether or not more media consumption will affect echo chambers. The possibility of being trapped in an echo chamber exists whether we use a single medium or a variety of media. The novelty of this study lies in the use of the echo chamber scale to investigate a thorough understanding of this word through the use of many factors.

Crises are major events or periods faced by individuals, groups and society. This paper aims to explore the value of facilitating (un)learning in and from crises. Educators have a key role in building futures literacy (FL) for dealing with uncertainties, understanding emergence and responding to rapid, complex change. Integrating crisis learning as part of FL is important for enhanced anticipatory and crisis responses.

Adapting from causal layered analysis (CLA) methodology, experimental virtual futures workshops were designed and hosted during the coronavirus pandemic. Participants discussed COVID-19 crisis responses and imagined the “new normal”. Sessions explored mindsets applied to make sense and derive meaning from the crisis, myriad ways of adapting to uncertainty, as well as lenses used to imagine post-crisis futures.

In the exploratory and participatory CLA exercises, participants shared on the COVID-19 pandemic and imagined post-crisis futures. Related hopes and fears concerned self, collectives and nature. Overall, despite the dramatic nature of crises, opportunities exist for learning and transformation. Educators play a central role in heightening awareness about the dynamics and nature of crises, and integrating crisis learning into FL, as important and transformative capabilities.

In exploratory dialogues, the “new normal” was applied as a frame for uncertainty. The workshops were hosted during the COVID-19 pandemic as a specific type of crisis. The workshop design is intended to be replicable in various crisis contexts and for iterative rounds with diverse groups. Therefore, futures images exemplify context-specific crisis-time sentiments. The findings presented here do not aim to be generalizable. They are liable to change across different crises, as a crisis evolves and across diverse stakeholders.

Dramatic change and crisis events offer potential moments for development, advancement and transformation. Educators have an important role in facilitating (un)learning in and from crises, elevating FL and expanding futures consciousness. The CLA methodology can assist educators to engage with multiple facets, layers and dimensions of crises. By considering crises intently, educators can help in anticipating emergence, imagining and preparing for diverse alternatives.

The contemporary world is volatile, complex and ambiguous volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA), as revealed by multiple crises. Crises can spotlight new possibilities and horizons and may be possible turning points. The COVID-19 is an example of a crisis disruption, which provoked thinking and contributed to action about novel prospects. To realise transformative change however, it is important to integrate crisis learning as part of FL, and here educators are an important influence.

Integrating crisis learning into FL is proposed to improve responses to the rapid pace of change and uncertainty as well as to boost crisis preparedness. As part of this, there is value in applying and developing techniques such as CLA that help explore and question assumptions, to understand diverse, possible and transformed futures. This way, we can explore, imagine and expand new horizons.

The paper aims to present an integrated foresight framework and method to support decision-makers who are confronted with today’s complex and rapidly changing world. The method aims at reducing the degree of uncertainty by addressing the inertia or duration of unfolding trends and by placing individual trends in a broader context.

The paper presents a three-layered framework and method for assessing megatrends based on their inertia or duration. It suggests that if long-term trends and key future uncertainties are studied in conjunction at a meta-level and placed in a broader multi-layered framework of trends, it can result in new insights.

The application of the proposed foresight method helps to systematically place a wide range of unrelated trends and key uncertainties in the context of a broader framework of trends, thereby improving the ability to understand the inertia, direction and mutual interaction of these trends.

The elaboration of identified trends and key uncertainties is partly case-specific and subject to interpretation. It is aimed at illustrating the potential use of the framework.

The paper presents a new approach that may, by itself or in combination with existing foresight methods, offer new means for anticipating future developments.

The use of the proposed framework has potential to provide better insight in the complexity of today’s rapid-changing world and the major transitions taking place. It aims to result in sharper foresight by reducing epistemic uncertainty for decision-makers.

The paper demonstrates how megatrends, Kondratieff waves and century-long trends can be placed in an integrated framework and analysed in conjunction.

This paper aims to provide and empirically test a conceptual model in which artificial intelligence (AI), knowledge management processes (KMPs) and supply chain resilience (SCR) are simultaneously considered in terms of their reciprocal relationships and impact on manufacturing firm performance (MFP).

In the study, six hypotheses have been developed and tested through an empirical survey administered to 120 senior executives of Italian manufacturing firms. The data analysis has been carried out via the partial least squares structural equation modelling approach, using the Advanced Analysis for Composites 2.0 variance-based software program.

Using a conceptual model validated using an empirical survey, the study sheds light on the relationships between AI, KMPs and SCR, as well as their impacts on MFP. In particular, the authors show the positive effects of the adoption of AI on KMPs, as well as the influence of KMPs on SCR and MFP. Finally, the authors demonstrate that KMPs act as a mediator through which AI affects SCR and MFP.

This study highlights the critical role of KMPs for manufacturing firms that can deploy AI to stimulate KMPs and through attaining a high level of the latter might succeed in enhancing both their SCR and MFP.

This study demonstrates that manufacturing firms interested in properly applying AI to ameliorate their performance and resilience must carefully consider KMPs as a mediator mechanism.