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This study analyzes the performance implications of adopting blockchain to support supply chain business processes. The technology holds as many promises as implementation challenges, so interest in its impact on operational performance has grown steadily over the last few years.

Drawing on transaction cost economics and the contingency theory, we built a set of hypotheses. These were tested through a long-term event study and an ordinary least squares regression involving 130 adopters listed in North America.

Compared with the control sample, adopters displayed significant abnormal performance in terms of labor productivity, operating cycle and profitability, whereas sales appeared unaffected. Firms in regulated settings and closer to the end customer showed more positive effects. Neither industry-level competition nor the early involvement of a project partner emerged as relevant contextual factors.

This research presents the first extensive analysis of operational performance based on objective measures. In contrast to previous studies and theoretical predictions, the results indicate that blockchain adoption is not associated with sales improvement. This can be explained considering that secure data storage and sharing do not guarantee the factual credibility of recorded data, which needs to be proved to customers in alternative ways. Conversely, improvements in other operational performance dimensions confirm that blockchain can support inter-organizational transactions more efficiently. The results are relevant in times when, following hype, there are signs of disengagement with the technology.

This paper aims to present insights on the governance of sustainability transitions in higher education in Africa. The authors interrogate the research literatures on the governance of socio-technical transitions in water, electricity, transport and waste management, and identify barriers and enabling factors that enhance transformative practices in universities.

The analytical framework proposed in this paper combines the elements of governance network theory (GNT) and transition topology. The framework of this study is grounded in an actor-centric approach using GNT to understand networks conducive to sustainability transitions. Events and governance networks were mapped on a transition topology to visualise organisational and institutional changes over time. The study engaged students, management, academic and administrative staff in building a community of practice towards sustainability. This research is based on qualitative content analysis grounded in interview data, focus group discussions, workshops, webinars and secondary data analysis.

The findings show that the university has consolidated a sustainability vision and targets, but several factors prevent the community from achieving these targets, including hierarchical decision-making processes, a multitude of disjointed committees and fragmentation in the campus community.

This research adds to an emerging body of literature in the field of sustainability in higher education with two contributions. Firstly, the study presents a novel perspective(s) on the governance of sustainability transitions by combining the literatures on governance and sustainability transitions using a new methodological approach of transition topology to show organisational and institutional changes. Secondly, the study presents new empirical evidence for improving the governance of sustainability transitions in a diverse and highly unequal African university community in the process of (de)colonisation of knowledge and governance.

This study aims to examine academic staff’s engagement with sustainable development goals (SDGs) in higher education institutions.

The triangulation, convergence model of the mixed methods research design was adopted as the strategy for inquiry. A total of 56 questionnaires and 25 interviews were used to collect the data, and this was buttressed by document review and use of secondary data obtained from Scival.

The results show moderate levels of engagement of academic staff with the SDGs. However, SDGs familiarisation is not correlated with the rate of localisation. The lack of funding deflated political will by university management, demotivated academia and shrinking government support are the leading impediments to SDGs localisation.

The results could be improved by using a larger sample size equally distributed across disciplines. Triangulation of academics’ views with those of students and non-academic staff could have improved the understanding of other dynamics involved in the localisation of SDGs by university teaching staff.

The results point towards the need for a university-based framework that interweaves national, institutional, thematic, structural and personal aspects into the SDGs implementation matrix. The underlying determinants of successful localisation of SDGs by academia need to be addressed through a bottom-up approach.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first attempt in Zimbabwe to exclusively look at University teaching staff’s engagement with SDGs.

Child malnutrition is a grave concern for Pakistan, as the country has one of the highest incidences of child stunting in the developing world. The present study examines the relative significance of parents' education on a child's nutritional status in Pakistan.

For analysis, the study has used data from Phase 7 of the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) (2017–2018). Since the dependent variable ranges from 0 to 1 (1 indicates not a stunted child, while 0 represents a stunted child), binary logistic regressions are used for the analysis.

The results show that mothers' and fathers' education positively contributes to a child's nutrition. However, mothers' education is considered more significant, especially in the long run. The mother's education categories are positive and significant in the long run, while only their higher education is positive and significant for the father's. Moreover, the magnitude of the effect also shows that the probability of stunting is less if the mothers are educated. The long-run coefficient for mothers' higher education is 0.752, while that of fathers' higher education is only 0.232.

The present study compares the importance of mothers' and fathers' education in child nutrition and concludes that the role of the mother is more crucial for child upbringing. There are rarely any studies that focus on the role of fathers' education in child nutrition and compare whose role, mothers' or fathers,' is more important for child well-being.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2023-0483

This study examines whether common directors are guilty of contagion of corporate frauds from the customer side and, if so, how contagion occurs. Moreover, it explores a way to mitigate it, which is the increased digital orientation of firms.

Secondary data analysis is applied in this paper. We extract supply chain relations from the China Stock Market and Account Research (CSMAR) database as well as corporate fraud data from the same database and the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). Digital orientations are estimated through text analysis. Poisson regression is conducted to examine the moderating effect of common directors and the moderated moderating effect of the firms’ digital orientations.

By analysing the 2,096 downstream relations from 2000 to 2021 in China, the study reveals that corporate frauds are contagious through supply chains, while only customers’ misconduct can contagion to upstream firms. The presence of common directors strengthens such supply chain contagion. Additionally, the digital orientation can mitigate the positive moderating effect of common directors on supply chain contagion.

This study highlights the importance of understanding supply chain contagion through corporate fraud by (1) emphasising the existence of the contagion effects of corporate frauds; (2) understanding the potential channel in the process of contagion; (3) considering how digital orientation can mitigate this contagion and (4) recognising that the effect of contagion comes only from the downstream, not from the upstream.

The aim of this research is to elucidate the correlation between open innovation, digital strategies and networking in enhancing agricultural enterprises within the new perspective of Agrifood 5.0. As such, it contributes to making businesses more competitive, especially in the Italian agricultural sector, where small and medium-sized enterprises are highly fragmented. Numerous studies have asserted that the competitiveness of actors operating within a specific territory is closely linked to local identity and image enhancement. Agricultural organizations are undergoing a profound transformation, with technological assets emerging as catalysts for new synergies. Advanced technologies such as robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and automation (AI) are emerging as differentiating elements capable of further advancing the agricultural sector, transitioning it from Agrifood 4.0 to Agrifood 5.0. The empirical analysis of the research shows a positive correlation between a collaborative attitude and a propensity for innovation. Indeed, the data demonstrated that digital strategies and open innovation positively influence competitiveness in agricultural SMEs.

The methodology employed in this study is mixed, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative aspect involves analysis of the dataset from the Italian Statistical Institute (ISTAT) through logistic regression, while the qualitative component entails analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with a sample of 174 agricultural cooperatives in southern Italian regions (Campania). This approach allows for a comprehensive understanding of the research topic, capturing both numerical trends and nuanced insights from interviews.

After analyzing the data from the 7th General Census of Agriculture conducted by ISTAT, a clear understanding of the sector has emerged, revealing several potential research avenues. It is evident that innovation in the agricultural sector is often driven by the largest and best-capitalized production entities, primarily located in Italy. Conversely, smaller agricultural entities can benefit from networking as new technological assets act as catalysts for new synergies, innovation and competitiveness.

Enhancing the relational contribution within the network and humanizing a fragmented sector are crucial elements for promoting open innovation. Network structuring facilitates the transmission of managerial knowledge, contributing to an overall increase in the intellectual and relational capital of the agricultural sector. These factors, combined with open innovation, enhance the competitiveness of individual firms and elevate the brand of the entire sector, creating a conducive environment for transitioning toward Agrifood 5.0. This transition is characterized by increased interconnection, continuous innovation and overall prosperity. Specific studies on this topic are lacking in Italy, particularly in the southern regions. Therefore, this contribution focuses on investigating the Campania region.

The novelty of this study lies in its investigation of the relationship between agricultural enterprises and innovation in the context of enterprises networking strategies (i.e. associationism and/or cooperation), promoting competitiveness. The limitations of this study are related to the dimension of the sample selected and its relationship with other productive sectors.

Several studies have been conducted to understand why the conviction rate for rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) remains so low. Increasing pressure and criticism have led to questioning why improvements in RASSO investigations are proving ineffective. The purpose of this study was to capture police officers’ perspective of police specialism while investigating RASSO.

A total of 82 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data collection spanned across two years, from October 2021 until May 2023, and included police officers from four police forces in England and Wales. Template analysis was used to identify recurrent patterns around police specialism for RASSO.

Most officers viewed specialism as a tool to improve how police forces prevent and tackle RASSO. In spite of this, the lack of prioritisation of specialist training, roles and units specifically for this crime type has hindered the development of evidence-based practice in policing. The impact on well-being, resources, organisational support and role identity has been explored.

This is the first qualitative study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to look at officers’ insights on police specialism for RASSO in England and Wales. Officers discussed day-to-day challenges associated with conducting RASSO investigations while reflecting on potential advantages related to dedicated specialist units and/or specialist roles.

This paper aims to examine the management controls that support (and fail to support) a craft brewery’s servitization journey from start-up, through growth, to maturity. It enriches our understanding of how management controls can facilitate the discovery of a service-identity that provides the foundation for servitization.

Drawing on in-depth interviews, fieldwork and secondary data analyses, this paper reports on a longitudinal case study of a craft brewery. The authors trace the case company’s servitization journey using a service-dominant logic theoretical perspective. This perspective focuses us on how the value of a product is cocreated with customers, rather than being created by the firm and then distributed.

The study found that many management controls emerged at the craft brewery from start-up to maturity. Some management controls supported a goods logic, while others supported a service logic. The findings highlight how people and cultural controls in particular enabled the company to move toward a service logic focused on servitization. These management controls informed the evolution of offerings, structure reconfiguration and resources at the craft brewery necessary to support servitization.

Studying a craft brewery contributes an alternative type of manufacturing context and shows how service-identity features such as craftiness, collectiveness, neolocalism and innovation affect a company’s servitization journey.

Community health centres (CHCs) play a vital role in healthcare service delivery in rural India and act as a crucial link between the primary and tertiary healthcare systems. The rural population in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir primarily depends on CHCs for healthcare services due to the scarcity of private healthcare infrastructure and the lack of access to tertiary hospitals. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of management capability, staff competence, waiting time and patient satisfaction on revisit intention among patients visiting CHCs for care needs. It further examines the mediational role of patient satisfaction between antecedents of patient satisfaction and revisit intention.

A survey by questionnaire was used to collect data from 318 inpatients and outpatients visiting CHCs. Partial least square-structural equation modelling was performed with the help of SmartPLS 3 software to evaluate the causal relationships between variables.

The findings of the study ascertain that staff competence and waiting time are strong predictors of patient satisfaction while management capability was reported as an insignificant factor. Patient satisfaction significantly affects revisit intention and successfully mediates the impact of management capability, staff competence and waiting time on revisit intention.

CHCs play a significant role in bridging the gap between primary healthcare and tertiary healthcare and in delivering healthcare services to the vast rural population in India. This study necessitates the active participation of management to ensure the smooth functioning of CHCs. There is a need to provide adequate staff and necessary infrastructural facilities to reduce the treatment waiting time.

Surakarta needs to evaluate its flat management as the most populous city in Central Java, Indonesia. This study examines the implementation of flat management in Surakarta City and evaluates and recommends the appropriate flat retribution rate.

This study used the analytical descriptive method to explain the problems in managing flats in Surakarta City. The data were obtained through a review of existing regulations and in-depth interviews with the flat residents and managers. The proposed retribution tariff for flats is calculated with a market approach through a comparison with neighboring cities and/or districts adjusted to the regional minimum wage to accommodate the residents’ ability to pay.

Based on the results of interviews and a review of regulations, problems were identified in the management of flats in Surakarta City. A comparison of levy rates with surrounding districts led to a proposal for new levy rates, which were divided into two tariff groups based on the characteristics of flats in Surakarta City.

The result of this study is a suggested retribution tariff derived from an economic framework that has yet to be validated by assessing the flat residents' willingness to pay.

This paper complements previous studies on the management and financing of flats by more in-depth evaluating the current tariffs and providing recommendations for appropriate tariffs.