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This study aims to explore the moderation effect of environment uncertainties (supply, competition and demand) in the relationship between a firm’s drivers (internal and external) and practices (purchasing, design and manufacturing, logistics and internal management) when going green.

The questionnaire survey was utilized in this study. The survey was distributed to 981 electronic manufacturing companies, with 174 valid responses collected (a response rate of 17.74 per cent). Confirmatory factor analysis and regression models were then conducted to test the result.

The result indicates that both the internal and external drivers have significant influence on the adoption of green-related practices when firms go green. It is further confirmed that the practice of green purchasing is significantly influenced by the moderator of environmental uncertainty. Moreover, supply uncertainty has the most significant influence on numerous green practices, such as green purchasing, internal management and green logistics.

This paper measures the drivers, practices and environmental uncertainty of firms going green from multiple perspectives. It provides guidance to practitioners on how to choose appropriate practices in accordance with the uncertainties they are facing.

The aim of this study is to understand the effect of a firm's position in a supply chain in its industry on the attitude of the firm toward green strategies through empirical data analysis. This study aims to answer the following research questions: Do the environmental uncertainties a firm faces differ with the firm's position in the supply chain when going green?, Would the motivation of a firm for going green vary with uncertainties it faces in the supply chain? and Would green-related practices a firm accepts or executes vary with the firm's position in the supply chain?

The case study method was utilized in this study. The main objects are firms in the high-tech industry of Taiwan, and 12 firms were selected for in-depth investigation. The unit of analysis was a firm. Face-to-face in-depth interviews, approximately 90-105 minutes for each, were conducted with each of the 12 cases. The respondents were middle- to high-level managers. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Additionally, second-hand information was acquired regarding each case through channels such as firm web sites, documents, and media reports. These integrated data were later utilized in the single-case and cross-case analysis stages.

In this study, firms of Taiwan's high-tech industry are divided into the upstream (raw material supplier), midstream (original design manufacturers/original equipment manufacturer), and downstream (brand company) categories. It is first found the uncertainties a firm encounters when implementing green practices are related to its position in the supply chain. The closer a firm is to the upstream of the supply chain, the higher the competitive uncertainty. In contrast, the closer a firm is to the downstream, the higher the demand uncertainty. Furthermore, the internal and external driving forces of firms in promoting green practices are related to the types of uncertainties the firms encounter in the supply chain. A firm's internal driving force is positively associated with the demand uncertainty it faces, however, negatively with the competition and supply uncertainties. On the other hand, a firm's external driving force is positively associated with the competition and supply uncertainties it faces, however, negatively with the demand uncertainties. Additionally, the association between firm willingness to promote green practices and its position in the supply chain is explored. It is found that, for firms located in the downstream of supply chain, it emphasizes more on the practices of green design, purchase, and internal environmental management. If a firm is located in the midstream of supply chain, it will focus more on the practice of green manufacturing and logistics.

This study has expanded the discussion of green supply chain management. It establishes the relationship between the uncertainties and the major driving forces of firms for implementing green practices. This approach is rare in previous literature. Furthermore, past literature has suggested that a specific relationship exists between driving factors and firm practices. The author believes that such a relationship must be based on the position of firms in the supply chain; thus, the author has identified the relationship between supply chain position and green practices.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationship between product nature and supply chain strategy, by using Fisher's model as the framework.

The research collected quantitative data by conducting a questionnaire‐based survey, with a total of 119 respondent organisations (of which 107 were usable), at an adjusted response rate of 8 per cent. The survey results provide the basis for the testing of Fisher's model relating product characteristics to supply chain strategy.

The results indicate that the association between product nature and supply chain strategy as articulated in Fisher's model is not significant. A hybrid strategy (pursuing both efficiency and responsiveness) is found to be employed by most organisations irrespective of the nature of the primary product they supply.

The analysis is based on survey responses gathered within the Australian manufacturing industry. The findings of the study have implications for understanding the drivers of supply chain strategy, and how other factors, in addition to product type, influence supply chain positioning.

The study identifies additional factors which might be influential in the determination of supply chain strategy. It provides practitioners with guidance in choosing an appropriate strategy to deal with supply chain partners.

The contribution of the study lies in extending the body of knowledge of supply chain strategy. It tests an existing framework which has only very limited empirical validation, and provides a broader understanding of the influence of product nature on the choice of supply chain strategy.

Japanese materialistic behavior and consumption trends are examined by comparing age‐cohort differences between the Japanese “new breed” and “second baby‐boomer age‐cohorts”. Price perception, brand loyalty, and shopping‐information sources of the two age‐cohorts are also assessed. Results suggest that the Japanese new breed is more materialistic, sensitive to prestige, brand loyal, and likely to use media as their shopping information source as compared to second baby‐boomer. On the other hand, second baby‐boomers are less materialistic, value conscious, less brand loyal, and more likely to rely on word‐of‐mouth communication as their information sources as compared to the Japanese new breeds.

The purpose of this paper was to study the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Work–family balance (WFB) scale, developed by Carlson et al. (2009), as well as demonstrating that the WFB is a different construct from the work–family conflict (WFC) and the family–work conflict (FWC). Additionally, this study intended to verify if the work–family balance construct is invariant in the different work regimes (face-to-face work, hybrid work, teleworking), and between men and women.

Snow-ball convenience sample of 224 workers; psychometric analysis of the different scales/constructs analyzed by confirmatory analysis using R/Lavaan.

The results obtained show that the WFB scale presents factor and convergent validity, and high reliability. The WFB construct is negatively correlated with the WFC and FWC constructs. The WFB is a different construct from the WFC and FWC. The WFB is invariant both in workers subjected to different work regimes, and sexes.

The conceptualization and measurement of the work–family relationship has been the subject of several studies. Among the different conceptual approaches to this relationship, WFB has been the least studied and, in terms of human resource management, it is the one that has the best relationship with sustainability and organizational performance. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to obtain a valid and reliable WFB measures, to be used by both academics and human resources professionals.

El propósito de este trabajo fue estudiar las propiedades psicométricas de la versión portuguesa de la escala de equilibrio trabajo-familia (WFB), desarrollada por Carlson et al. (2009), así como demostrar que el WFB es un constructo diferente del conflicto trabajo-familia (WFC) y del conflicto familia-trabajo (FWC). Además, pretendíamos verificar si el constructo equilibrio trabajo-familia es invariable en los diferentes regímenes de trabajo (trabajo presencial, trabajo híbrido, teletrabajo), y entre hombres y mujeres.

Muestra de conveniencia bola de nieve de 224 trabajadores; Análisis psicométrico de las diferentes escalas/constructos analizados mediante Análisis Confirmatorio utilizando R/Lavaan.

Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la escala WFB presenta validez factorial y convergente, así como una alta fiabilidad. El constructo WFB correlaciona negativamente con los constructos WFC y FWC. El WFB es un constructo diferente del WFC y del FWC. El WFB es invariante tanto en trabajadores sometidos a diferentes regímenes de trabajo, como en sexos.

La conceptualización y medición de la relación trabajo-familia ha sido objeto de diversos estudios. Entre los diferentes enfoques conceptuales de esta relación, el WFB ha sido el menos estudiado y, en términos de gestión de recursos humanos, es el que mejor relación tiene con la sostenibilidad y el desempeño organizacional. Por lo tanto, es de suma importancia obtener una medida válida y fiable del equilibrio trabajo-familia, que pueda ser utilizada tanto por académicos como por profesionales de los recursos humanos.

The objective of this study is to analyze the framework within which microfinance institutions (MFIs) deliver their services and provide an assessment of their operations and financial management. These institutions are examined because of their current importance to a special group of consumers, primarily the poor and disenfranchised in the developing world, and of their future promise as an economic development solution. Since the objective of these institutions is somewhat unique, the manner of their assessment must also differ from that used to assess the performance of traditional financial intermediaries. In particular, assessment of MFIs must recognize their dual (bank and development instrument) status. Their efficiency, then, must be analyzed in terms of its economic (or financial) dimension as well as its social dimension. The first dimension may be examined with traditional measures, while examination of the second requires measures that reflect the MFI’s social objectives. In order to accommodate the special nature of MFIs, this study proposes the use of a Balanced Scorecard approach. It contributes to the study of financial institution performance by examining a non‐traditional group of institutions using a variety of assessment measures. The findings should be of value to those interested in the financial sector as well as those involved in public policy decision making.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest two main objectives: to analyze if the size of the company is determined by the use of external legal and human resources (HR) advice; and to analyze if the size of the family business is determined by the use of these two same types of external advice.

The assessment is developed (2,013 firms, the Spanish industrial sector) by using descriptive statistics to compare the features of the different types of firms in the sample: family and non-family ones. This is completed with a test of equality of means and using econometric models.

Regarding legal advice, results show that as far as legal matters are concerned, when family businesses make greater use of this type of advice, they are smaller. This is a remarkable and interesting result because it differs from non-family firms, in which the use of this type of advice is positively related with size. Regarding the use of HR advice, while it remains significant in general cases with a positive result, this is not the same for family firms.

The use of advising in family firms is seldom dealt with in the literature, despite its helpfulness for family firm managers. There is gap in this field and a great deal of interesting research remains to be developed, because the authors consider that factors determining the use of advice in family and non-family firms are different.

El presente documento propone dos objetivos principales: (1) analizar si el tamaño de la empresa está relacionado con el uso de asesoramiento externo tanto jurídico como de recursos humanos. (2) examinar si para el caso de la empresa familiar su tamaño está relacionado por el uso de estos dos mismos tipos de asesoramiento externo.

El análisis se desarrolló (2.013 empresas, el sector industrial español) utilizando técnicas de la estadística descriptiva para comparar las características de los diferentes tipos de empresas de la muestra: familiares y no familiares queridos. Esto se completa con una prueba de la igualdad de medios y el uso de modelos econométricos.

En cuanto a asesoramiento jurídico, los resultados muestran que, en lo que se refiere a asuntos legales, las empresas familiares hacen un mayor uso de este tipo de consejos a medida que son más pequeñas. Este es un resultado notable e interesante, ya que se diferencia de las no familiares, en las que el uso de este tipo de asesoramiento se relaciona positivamente con el tamaño. Respecto al uso de asesoramiento de recursos humanos, mientras que sigue siendo significativa en los casos generales con un resultado positivo, este no es el mismo para las empresas familiares.

El uso de asesoramiento en las empresas familiares rara vez se aborda en la literatura, a pesar de su utilidad para los directivos de este tipo de empresas. Hay un vacío en este campo y una gran cantidad de investigación interesante que queda por desarrollar, teniendo en cuenta sobre todo, que los factores que determinan el uso de asesoramiento en las empresas familiares y no familiares no son los mismos.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that significantly affect the prediction of fake news from the virality theory perspective. The paper looks at a mix of emotion-driven content, sentimental resonance, topic modeling and linguistic features of news articles to predict the probability of fake news.

A data set of over 12,000 articles was chosen to develop a model for fake news detection. Machine learning algorithms and natural language processing techniques were used to handle big data with efficiency. Lexicon-based emotion analysis provided eight kinds of emotions used in the article text. The cluster of topics was extracted using topic modeling (five topics), while sentiment analysis provided the resonance between the title and the text. Linguistic features were added to the coding outcomes to develop a logistic regression predictive model for testing the significant variables. Other machine learning algorithms were also executed and compared.

The results revealed that positive emotions in a text lower the probability of news being fake. It was also found that sensational content like illegal activities and crime-related content were associated with fake news. The news title and the text exhibiting similar sentiments were found to be having lower chances of being fake. News titles with more words and content with fewer words were found to impact fake news detection significantly.

Several systems and social media platforms today are trying to implement fake news detection methods to filter the content. This research provides exciting parameters from a viral theory perspective that could help develop automated fake news detectors.

While several studies have explored fake news detection, this study uses a new perspective on viral theory. It also introduces new parameters like sentimental resonance that could help predict fake news. This study deals with an extensive data set and uses advanced natural language processing to automate the coding techniques in developing the prediction model.

The purpose of this paper is to address the potential impact of need for touch (NFT) on perceived product quality and the possible roles of purchasers’ social (subjective norms), personal (buying impulsiveness) and epistemic (e-commerce orientation) factors, as well as the likely interaction effect of the shopping channel.

The empirical study is based on 540 observations, analysed in a partial least squares structural equation model.

The link between the NFT and perceived quality tends to be negative, especially for online purchases. E-commerce orientation reduces the need to touch products, but subjective norms and buying impulsiveness have no significant effects.

The NFT scale might be improved by adding more items. Some of the structural model coefficients indicate a low effect size. Finally, the results are limited to Spanish purchasers of the focal product.

Firms should appeal to purchasers’ e-commerce orientation to reduce the negative implications of a need to touch products among consumers shopping online.

The need to touch a product may be an obstacle to online purchases, yet few studies deal with its impact in online, relative to offline, contexts to evaluate product quality. This study also integrates personal, social and epistemic factors.