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The current research aims to investigate the impact of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) evolution, government stringency measures and economic resilience on stock market volatility in the Middle East and North African (MENA) emerging markets. Other macroeconomic factors were also taken into account.

Based on financial data from 10 selected MENA countries, we tested an integrated framework that has not yet been explored in prior research. The exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (E-GARCH) was adopted to analyze data from March 2020 to February 2022.

Our research illustrates the direct and indirect effects of the virus outbreak on stock market stability and reports that economic resilience could alleviate the volatility shock. This finding is robust across the various proxies of economic resilience used in this study. We also argue that the negative impact of the pandemic on equity market variation gets more pronounced in countries with higher level of stringency scores.

Policymakers ought to strengthen their economic structures and reinforce the economic governance at the national level to gain existing and potential investors’ trust and ensure lower stock market volatilities in times of crisis. Our study also recommends some key economic factors to consider while establishing efficient policies to tackle unexpected shocks and prevent financial meltdowns.

Our findings add to the evolving literature on the reaction of economic and financial markets to the sanitary crisis, particularly in developing countries where research is still scarce. This study is the first of its kind to investigate the stock market reaction to stringency measures in the understudied MENA region.

We aim to explore how the COVID-19 crisis has initiated entrepreneurship amongst micro-scale businesses in the notably vulnerable street food industry. We highlight Malaysian street food vendors’ remarkable resilience as they evolved from informal enterprises into innovative entrepreneurs during the pandemic. This involves comprehending the pandemic’s impact and the coping strategies these businesses adopt to endure, evolve and thrive.

We carried out a semi-structured interview with 20 street food vendors in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. By using a qualitative approach and integrating theories on appraisal, resource management and self-regulated activities, this paper explores vendors’ experiences on their journey towards becoming entrepreneurs regardless of limited resources.

Despite the disruption, COVID-19 offers a crucial wake-up call even for micro-scale businesses. We discover the capability of street food vendors to outlast crisis through transformation into individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset. They adapted by diversifying their offerings and implementing new strategies like digital marketing and e-commerce. We also emphasise the contribution of family members in providing psychosocial support and navigating business challenges as an advantage of employing a highly self-efficacious individual within the group. This transformation not only ensures the survival of micro-scale enterprises but also underscores their potential to thrive and innovate, even in the face of adversity.

This paper extends the existing literature on street vending by integrating the appraisal theory of emotion, resource-based view theory and self-efficacy theory to explore how street food vendors with limited resources have managed to transform the informal business nature into an entrepreneurial environment under the pressure of a crisis.

Crises, such as COVID-19 pandemic, are critical events that provoke important changes in organizational practices, regulations and actors' roles. The pharmaceutical sector has been strongly affected because of the urgency to produce drugs that are effective and safe. However, the validation process and regulations are historically restrictive in this sector. This study aims to study how biotechnology firms, small companies lacking resources, have undertaken strategic actions during crisis time to induce important changes to their advantage within such a highly regulated environment.

Interviews were conducted with 21 managers in four mRNA-based biotechnology firms.

Results showed that rhetorical strategies and institutional actions are used in order to manage change opportunities. Media attention, greater openness of state agencies and public willingness to accept new ways of treatment illustrated this opportunity of change in favor of biotechnology firms.

Highly regulated environments tend to be unfavorable to smaller firms with limited resources to overcome these constraints. The authors show that times of crisis can reverse this assumption through the provision of new opportunities as long as the smaller firms skillfully use strategic actions to exploit the institutional changes at play.

This study combines perceived knowledge, perceived psychologic risk with Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine the influence on tourists' intention to choose a safe destination and willingness to pay (WTP) more for safety measures. An online survey was conducted in 2021 to approach tourists globally. After 10 weeks, we received 365 valid responses. SmartPLS software version 3.3 was applied to run structural equation modelling to test the proposed hypotheses. Research results reveal that intention to choose a safe destination mediates the relationship between perceived knowledge of COVID-19, perceived psychological risk and the WTP more for safety measures while moderating role of educational level is also addressed. In turn, perceived psychological risk mediates the relationship between perceived knowledge of COVID-19 and intention to choose a safe destination. As a result, this study implies that destination managers should take actions to promote their WTP more for safety measures.

This study examined the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding food safety and hygiene among street food vendors (SFVs) in Jordan, along with associated factors.

This study utilized a cross-sectional design and targeted a sample of 405 SFVs in Jordan's two most densely populated cities. Data were collected through in-person interviews using a validated and reliable structured questionnaire. Descriptive analysis and linear regression were conducted using SPSS v.25 software to examine associations and predict outcomes.

The findings reveal that SFVs possess a moderate level of knowledge but exhibit negative attitudes and inadequate practices regarding food safety. Significant associations were identified between age, education level, work experience, marital status, gender and the vendors' KAP. Older SFVs tend to exhibit lower knowledge and attitudes, whereas those with more experience and higher education levels demonstrate better KAP. Marital status and gender also influence knowledge and attitudes.

This study fills a critical gap in the research landscape by comprehensively examining the knowledge, attitudes and practices of street food vendors regarding food safety, with a focus on Jordan. Its findings shed light on the challenges facing the street food vending industry and offer actionable recommendations for enhancing food safety practices. As such, the study's originality and significance lie in its potential to drive positive change within this vital culinary tradition, safeguarding public health and economic livelihoods.

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  The study's novelty lies in its exploration of street food vendors' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to food safety, a facet critical to understanding and addressing the challenges facing this industry. It offers an in-depth examination of factors such as education, experience, age, and marital status that influence vendors' adherence to food safety measures. By focusing on the two most populous cities in Jordan, the study not only provides a comprehensive picture of the situation but also sets the groundwork for policy recommendations and interventions.

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  The research highlights a series of concerning findings. Street food vendors exhibit a moderate level of knowledge regarding food safety, with substantial gaps in understanding specific pathogens and transmission routes. Negative attitudes towards food safety are prevalent, translating into suboptimal hygiene practices. The study's results underscore the urgent need for tailored interventions to address these challenges and improve overall food safety practices within the street food vending sector.

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  The findings offer actionable insights for policymakers, public health authorities, and local governments. They suggest targeted educational initiatives to enhance vendors' understanding of food safety principles and their significance in preventing foodborne illnesses. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need for improved infrastructure, access to clean water, and proper sanitation facilities to support vendors in implementing safer practices. By highlighting the associations between socio-demographic factors and food safety KAP, the study offers a blueprint for crafting interventions that address the unique needs of different subgroups of street food vendors.

The study's novelty lies in its exploration of street food vendors' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to food safety, a facet critical to understanding and addressing the challenges facing this industry. It offers an in-depth examination of factors such as education, experience, age, and marital status that influence vendors' adherence to food safety measures. By focusing on the two most populous cities in Jordan, the study not only provides a comprehensive picture of the situation but also sets the groundwork for policy recommendations and interventions.

The research highlights a series of concerning findings. Street food vendors exhibit a moderate level of knowledge regarding food safety, with substantial gaps in understanding specific pathogens and transmission routes. Negative attitudes towards food safety are prevalent, translating into suboptimal hygiene practices. The study's results underscore the urgent need for tailored interventions to address these challenges and improve overall food safety practices within the street food vending sector.

The findings offer actionable insights for policymakers, public health authorities, and local governments. They suggest targeted educational initiatives to enhance vendors' understanding of food safety principles and their significance in preventing foodborne illnesses. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need for improved infrastructure, access to clean water, and proper sanitation facilities to support vendors in implementing safer practices. By highlighting the associations between socio-demographic factors and food safety KAP, the study offers a blueprint for crafting interventions that address the unique needs of different subgroups of street food vendors.

In 2018, a group of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Switzerland started discussing the future of education. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of their initial ideas and solutions were tested in the unpredictable, emergency online setting. This study aims to use student and faculty member perceptions to outline the future of higher education.

This research is based on eight surveys from students and faculty members at one Swiss HEI in business studies. While many previous studies focus on one group or one moment in time, this study examines the future of business education from both perspectives and traces the responses throughout the pandemic.

Teaching and learning strategies and perceptions evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, despite the potential, many HEIs simply reverted to normal instead of adapting to the “new normal”. Conversely, some HEIs have continued using the same exercises and tools that were used in the emergency remote pandemic-mode, without adapting or reflecting on the current learning environment. Based on the findings, both students and faculty members have increased their interest and proficiency in using digital tools although the students remained more open toward the opportunities of digital teaching and learning.

Based on the results, this study offers a model for the future of education that HEIs could implement when moving forward, whether on campus or online.

This paper aims to explore the role of heuristics in the reassessment of relationship events and how it influences perceptions of commitment, fairness and relationship value. It answers the question of how heuristics interrelate with decision-makers’ evolving interpretations of commitment, fairness and relationship value in a specific buyer-supplier relationship.

This paper presents data from a longitudinal study of an evolving buyer–supplier relationship involving a multinational supplier of fast-moving consumer goods and a medium-sized and highly specialized supplier. It analyzes qualitative data about the use of heuristics in buyer–supplier relationships, and it is based on evidence collected from interviews, presentations, meetings and secondary data.

This paper shows that a buyer’s unexpected behavior can lead to a reassessment of commitment, fairness and relationship value. Heuristics can delay relationship reassessments, however. The case shows that heuristics have a preserving quality and that the effect of transformative events only slowly changes the perception of the value of the relationship. In this change process, the link between commitment, perceived fairness and heuristics is crucial.

This paper contributes to research on the relationship between buyer–supplier relationships and heuristics. In particular, the paper contributes to the understanding of how relational events in a buyer-supplier relationship change the commitment and perception of fairness, and how heuristics change accordingly. On a more overarching level, the study contributes to our understanding of business relationship dynamics.