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This study aims to examine the research trends in fashion industry during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Besides, it also provides an overview on the new marketing and operational strategies, and reveals the corresponding business challenges of a footwear enterprise in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A comprehensive literature review is first conducted to identify the research trends in fashion industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative exploratory case study is then used to illustrate how a footwear enterprise has coped with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The case study has showed that omni-channel retailing, collaboration with e-tailers, quick response system and mixed production strategy are adopted in the targeted case during the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, the targeted case has also faced the challenges in the areas of sales, customer relationship management, and demand forecasting and inventory planning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study provides managerial insights on the real practices used to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and proposes various academic future research directions in fashion industry based on the real-world observations.

Drawing upon a systematic literature review in new technology, innovation transfer and diffusion theories, and from interviews with technology leaders in digital transformation programs in the US Oil & Gas (O&G) industry, the authors explore the relationships among O&G industry dynamics, organization's absorptive capacity and resource commitment for new digital technology adoption-implementation process.

The authors employed the empirical survey method to gather the data (a sample size of 172) in the US O&G industry and used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the measurement model for validity and reliability and the conceptual model for hypothesized structural relationships.

The results provide support for the study’s causal model of adoption and implementation with positive and direct relationships between the initiation and trial stages, between the trial stages and the evaluation of effective outcomes and between the effective outcomes and the effective implementation stages of digital technologies. The results also reveal partial mediating relationships of industry dynamics, absorptive capacity and resource commitment between respective stages.

Based on the current study's findings, managers are recommended to pay attention to the evolving industry dynamics during the initiation stage of new digital technology adoption, to utilize the organization's knowledge-based absorptive capacity during digital technology trial and selection stages and to support the digital technology implementation project when the adoption decision of a particular digital technology has been made.

The empirical research contributes literature on digital technology adoption and implementation by identifying and demonstrating the importance of industry dynamics, absorptive capacity and resource commitment factors as mediating variables at various stages of the adoption-implementation process and empirically validating a process-based causal model of digital technology adoption and a successful implementation project that has been missing in the current body of literature on digital transformation.

Talent management research today is increasing as organizational requirements attempt to meet the challenges of effectively managing talent to achieve organizations’ strategic agendas. However, in learning organizations specifically, investigations of talent management practices are limited, with this study exploring the role of talent management practices in employee satisfaction and organizational performance in Pakistan.

The study was conducted in various universities (public and private) in Pakistan using a quantitative approach. Cross-sectional data are collected through a questionnaire, with analysis and conclusions based on completed questionnaires from 403 respondents.

The study’s findings from the analysis by structural equation modeling (SEM) emphasize the positive and significant effects of most talent management practices (i.e. talent identification, talent development, talent culture and talent retention) on employee satisfaction and organizational performance (talent attraction is the exception). Employee satisfaction positively and significantly affects organizational performance and is found to have a mediating effect, bridging the relationships of most talent management practices (talent identification, talent development, talent culture and talent retention) with organizational performance.

The study’s findings support human resource professionals, academics and policymakers in managing talent practices to enhance organizational performance. The findings assist in developing core skills and talent-related competencies to achieve organizational goals and success.

The study fills the research gaps by developing a framework of talent management practices for employee satisfaction and organizational performance in learning organizations, which warrants further consideration.

Thus, this study aims to determine the status-quo of research on the role of IT in M&A from 2010 to 2022 by providing a summative meta-analysis of this phenomenon.

This study presents a meta-analysis of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) research in information systems (IS), aimed at accounting for themes in M&A literature over the past 13 years, research methodology, research frameworks, level of analysis and geographical distribution. A total of 47 articles from 24 peer review articles and 23 conference publications were analyzed from 2010 to 2022.

Findings of the study suggest that M&A research in IS emphasizes IS integration at the expense of other under-explored dimensions such as M&A context, stakeholder involvement and within-firm conditions. Although studies on M&A have increased over the past 10 years, a significant number of studies have not been underpinned by models and theories. Also, a large number of studies adopted the qualitative approach as research methodology compared to quantitative, design science and mixed methods.

This study contributes to the literature on M&A in IS by proposing an M&A in IS research framework that bridges the gap between existing and future studies on M&A in IS research by shedding more light into well research areas and opportunities for further studies.

Despite the popularity of gig employment amid the changing business landscape, gig scholarship is somewhat limited and the untold reality about gig is yet to be fully revealed. This study aims to critically address the nature of gig employment, its ambiguities, evolution, theoretical premises and the appropriate future road ahead.

This paper adopts a dual analytical approach – bibliometric and thematic analyses. After incorporating the exclusion–inclusion criteria, the authors identified 2,135 articles for the bibliometric analyses by using VOSviewer. Additionally, for the deep-delving synthesis, the authors conducted thematic analyses following Braun and Clarke (2006), based on 351 papers.

The findings revealed that gig work, in its different forms, is emerging as an alternative work arrangement with respect to the future of work. This study also identified multilevel perspectives of gig employment along with its holistic nomological network. Finally, this study offers some critical research directions that should help enhance the theoretical and practical strengths of this nascent scholarship in future.

The review findings are limited in nature owing to the paucity of quality research papers published in the said domain.

The paper brings more clarity to what gig is and isn’t, along with its critical perspectives from multilevel lenses.

This paper identifies critical perspectives related to gig work and suggests appropriate directions for future gig work related scholarship.

The study explores and builds theories in Customer Perceived Values (CPVs) that drive counterfeit buying intention, using a Grounded Theory Approach (GTA) in an emerging market, India.

Counterfeit studies have either resorted to a survey approach or modelling approach in investigating various aspects and dimensions. This study, among a few, attempted a GTA in building theory on CPVs. Based on the observations and recorded responses that emerged through several Focus Group Discussions (FGDs); conducted in two metropolitan cities (India), newer insights into this illicit phenomenon of “Counterfeiting” were derived.

Adding to the counterfeit literature, the study presents a comprehensive view of the CPVs. Findings reveal economic, socio-normative, pleasure-based, euphemistic, acquisition-centrality, self-regulating, situational and sustainable consumption values that influence counterfeit attitudes and in turn impact counterfeit buying intentions. Although Economic Values (ECV) have been the primary motivation for counterfeit purchase, complex and newer values that emerged through this research study bears significance.

As a single point of reference, this study will provide impetus to scholars and academicians in expanding the counterfeit research domain. While aiding policymakers and marketers in further understanding this illicit practice, it will also guide brand managers in strategizing their offerings and reaching out to the masses with strong brand aesthetic values.

Based on a systematic literature review using the 4 Ws framework, this study is one of the few attempts that has adopted a GTA to explore and develop theories on CPVs in counterfeit research.

Commercial buildings, which include office buildings, are one of the three major energy-consuming sectors, alongside industrial and transportation sectors. The vast increase in the number of buildings is a positive sign of the rapid development of Malaysia. However, most Malaysian government office buildings tend to consume energy inefficiently due to lack of energy optimization. Most of the previous studies focused on the performance of green buildings in fulfilling the green development guidelines. As such, it is essential to study the energy performance of existing government office buildings that were constructed before most energy-efficient standards were implemented to mitigate energy wastage due to the lack of energy optimization. This study aims to analyse the energy performance of existing non-green Malaysian government office buildings and the factors that influence building energy consumption, as well as to evaluate the efficacy of the existing energy conservation measures.

This study was conducted by a literature review and case study. The chosen buildings are six government office building blocks located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. In this study, a literature review has been conducted on the common factors affecting energy consumption in office buildings. The energy consumption data of the buildings were collected to calculate the building energy intensity (BEI). The BEI was compared to the MS1525:2019 and GBI benchmarks to evaluate energy performance. SketchUp software was utilized to illustrate the solar radiation and sun path diagram of the case study buildings. Finally, recommendations were derived for retrofit strategies based on non-design factors and passive design factors.

In typical government office buildings, the air-conditioning system consumed the most energy at 65.5%, followed by lighting system at 22.6%, and the remaining 11.9% was contributed by office appliances. The energy performance of the case study buildings is considered as satisfactory as the BEI did not exceed the MS1525:2019 benchmark of 200 kWh/m2/year. The E Block recorded the highest BEI of 183.12 kWh/m2/year in 2020 due to its north-east orientation which is exposed to the most solar radiation. Besides, E Block consists of rooms that can accommodate large number of occupants. As such, non-design factors which include higher occupancy rate and higher cooling demand due to high outdoor temperature leads to higher energy consumption. By considering passive design features such as building orientation and building envelope thermal properties, energy consumption can be reduced significantly.

This study provided a comprehensive insight into the energy performance of Malaysian government office buildings, which were constructed before the energy-efficient standards being introduced. By calculating the BEI of six government office buildings, it is found that the energy performance of the case study buildings fulfils the MS1525 benchmark, and that all their BEIs are below 200 kWh/m2/year. Malaysia's hot and humid climate significantly affects a building's cooling load, and it is found the air-conditioning system is the major energy consumer of Malaysian government office buildings. This study discusses the efficacy of the energy-saving measures implemented in the case study buildings to optimize energy consumption. Recommendations were derived based on the non-design factors and passive design factors that affected the energy consumption of the case study building. It is envisioned that this study can provide practical strategies for retrofit interventions to reduce energy consumption in Malaysian office buildings as well as for office buildings that are in a similar climate.

The use of generative artificial intelligence (genAi) language models such as ChatGPT to write assignment text is well established. This paper aims to assess to what extent genAi can be used to obtain guidance on how to avoid detection when commissioning and submitting contract-written assignments and how workable the offered solutions are.

Although ChatGPT is programmed not to provide answers that are unethical or that may cause harm to people, ChatGPT’s can be prompted to answer with inverted moral valence, thereby supplying unethical answers. The authors tasked ChatGPT to generate 30 essays that discussed the benefits of submitting contract-written undergraduate assignments and outline the best ways of avoiding detection. The authors scored the likelihood that ChatGPT’s suggestions would be successful in avoiding detection by markers when submitting contract-written work.

While the majority of suggested strategies had a low chance of escaping detection, recommendations related to obscuring plagiarism and content blending as well as techniques related to distraction have a higher probability of remaining undetected. The authors conclude that ChatGPT can be used with success as a brainstorming tool to provide cheating advice, but that its success depends on the vigilance of the assignment markers and the cheating student’s ability to distinguish between genuinely viable options and those that appear to be workable but are not.

This paper is a novel application of making ChatGPT answer with inverted moral valence, simulating queries by students who may be intent on escaping detection when committing academic misconduct.

Although previous studies have examined the influence of celebrity involvement in behavioural intentions, the role of celebrity dimensions such as attraction, self-expression and centrality in influencing tourists’ intention in the context of developing countries such as Tanzania remains largely unaddressed. This study, therefore, examined the relationship between celebrity involvement and domestic tourists' intentions to visit tourist attractions, attitude being the mediating variable.

A questionnaire was self-administered on a convenient sample of 279 domestic tourists in the Tanzania’s four largest regions, namely, Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Arusha and Mwanza. Employing a quantitative research approach, structural equation modelling was performed to test the cause-and-effect relationships between celebrity involvement and tourists’ intentions before testing the mediating role of attitude in such a relationship. Confirmatory factor analysis was also performed to test the measurement models.

Attraction emerged to be the main determinant of the celebrity dimension that significantly influenced domestic tourists’ travel intentions, whereas attitude partially mediates such a relationship. Moreover, Bongo Fleva musicians, particularly Diamond Platnumz, one of the leading celebrities in this genre, were found to influence most of the respondents’ travel intentions – he posted a picture on his Instagram account of him touring the Serengeti National Park.

The study focused on domestic tourists residing in four of the Mainland Tanzania’s largest regions, hence excluding those residing on the islands of Unguja and Pemba. Due to cultural differences, including the islands not only could unleash new perspectives on celebrity involvement dimensions but also could have introduced new determinants of travel intentions.

This study offers guidance to tourism businesses on designing their marketing campaigns that they should harness celebrity’s attractive qualities effectively. The focus should be directed not only towards linking destinations with celebrities but also on stimulating positive perception of those destinations, aligning with the attitudes of their followers.

The study has set out a new perspective for researchers, practitioners and tourism businesses to refine their promotional strategies and for academicians to gain a deeper understanding of visitor behavioural intention dynamics.

This study has proposed and verified that attraction is a dominant determinant compared to self-expression and centrality in explaining tourists’ travel intentions and attitudes, which play a significant role in explaining such a relationship. Although the study employed a modified theory of planned behaviour in a celebrity involvement study, the findings have broadened the understanding and its applicability in the context of a developing country.

Construction managers must focus on effective job design to develop and harness employee talent and achieve organizational goals. Because psychological needs and key motivators vary by career stage, a differentiated employee value proposition is crucial for a firm’s retention strategy. This study aims to examine how job crafting (JC) affects job embeddedness (JE) at different career stages.

In this investigation, a quantitative methodology was used. In total, 272 construction industry professionals from 25 construction firms in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, provided the data. Through the use of structural equation modeling, hypotheses were evaluated.

The results show that JC enhances construction professionals’ JE (β = 0.60, p < 0.000). Moreover, the relationship between JC and JE is moderated by career stages. The impact of JC on JE is greater among longer tenured (late-career stages, β = 0.61, p < 0.000) than shorter tenured construction professionals (early-career stages, β = 0.60, p < 0.000 and mid-career stages, β = 0.58, p < 0.000).

Limited research shows how JC can improve JE. At the time of this research, there was no published work on JC and JE relationship in the construction industry. This research found that JC has a positive impact on JE and JC behavior applies at both individual and team levels. This could imply that construction professionals with longer organizational tenure are more likely to challenge the status quo and identify problems or opportunities for improvement, hence contributes to JE theory.