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The study presents a conceptual model of a firm's supply chain agility (FSCA) as a formative construct formed by sensing and responding capabilities. Both construct validity and predictive validity of the model are tested by investigating nuanced effects of FSCA on business performance. The study aims to empirically validate the sensing-responding theoretical framework of Overby et al. (2006) and extend the emergent stream on sensing-responding frameworks for supply chain agility.

Survey research is employed. Data are analysed using partial least squares technique and mediation tests by Hayes PROCESS macro.

FSCA is established as a revised construct formed by the distinct capabilities of sensing and responding. The efficacy of utilizing FSCA as a formative 2nd order construct was established. In addition, FSCA is shown to affect business performance through mediations of cost efficiency and customer effectiveness, establishing its predictive validity.

This study contributes significantly to the literature on supply chain agility in terms of both theory and practice for cultivating supply chain agility. Drawing on resource-based view and resource-advantage theories, as reformulation of supply chain agility as a formative construct of sensing and responding capabilities, this research opens up new lines of inquiry on agility.

Social networking sites (SNS) have become popular mediums for individuals to interact with others. However, despite the positive impact of SNS on people’s lives, cyberbullying has become prevalent. Due to this prevalence, substantial research has examined cyberbullying from the perspectives of perpetrators, bystanders, and victims, but little is known about SNS users’ confrontations with cyberbullying. The objectives of this study are to examine confrontation as a victim’s coping response, the effect of blockability affordance on victims’ protection motivation, the impact of a victim’s experiences with cyberbullying perpetration, and social desirability (SD) bias in the context of cyberbullying victimization.

This study examines the effect of blockability affordance on SNS users’ protection motivation. It also investigates the relationships among perceived threat, perceived coping efficacy, and use of confrontation. Furthermore, this investigation analyzes the effect of SNS users’ experiences as perpetrators on their decision to confront cyberbullies. Finally, this study assesses and controls SD bias in SNS users’ confrontation behavior. To test the research model, we used an online vignette study to collect 314 data points.

Blockability affordance, perceived threat, perceived coping efficacy, and cyberbullying perpetration experiences are essential factors in explaining use of confrontation. This study also finds SD bias in the context of cyberbullying victimization.

This is one of the first studies in information systems research to empirically examine the effect of blockability affordance in the context of cyberbullying.

Gut microbial changes are associated with diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes and may be influenced by diet patterns. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the effects of alcohol, sodium chloride (NaCl) and dietary restriction on the composition of the gut microflora.

Five-week-old male C57BL/6N mice were orally administered by gavage with ethanol (ET; 4 g/kg), 200 µL of 6% NaCl (NC), or equivalent volumes of phosphate-buffered saline (ET-control and NC-control) every two days for 10 weeks. The mice were also orally administered by gavage with the recommended diet (RD-control; 3 g per mouse per day), or with 40% (RD-40) or 60% restricted level (RD-60). DNA samples obtained from mice ceca were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq Sequencing system; raw data were analyzed using BIOiPLUG software.

This study shows that high ethanol and NaCl consumption, and diet restriction can change the composition of the intestinal microflora, especially Akkermansia muciniphila in ET (p = 0.0050) and NT (p = 0.0366) groups. In addition, the ratio of Bacteriodetes/Firmicutes and the diversity of microflora were generally reduced (p = 0.0487-0.4929).

These results raise the possibility of a relationship between diet patterns, change of intestinal microbiome and disease, which must be further evaluated.

Although much empirical literature confirmed the foodservice industry’s significant impact on the environment, little scholarly attention has been paid to how restaurants can improve environmental performance. This study aimed to verify the impact of restaurant environmental cognition (EC) on environmental performance through green supplier selection (GSS) and joint actions (JAs).

Using an online survey company, the questionnaire was distributed to restaurant owners/or managers who were qualified to provide accurate information regarding their operational practices. A total of 285 responses were included in the analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify the validity and reliability of the measures. The SPSS PROCESS macro was used to test the hypothesized relationships.

The study showed that EC has positive and direct effects on restaurant environmental performance (REP). Each mediator of GSS and JAs played a positive mediating role between EC and REP. GSS and JAs also played multiple positive mediating roles between EC and REP. This study revealed that a path mediating between EC and REP through GSS can be used to derive the most optimal results.

This study focused on the importance of restaurant EC, which is a fundamental driver for restaurant environmental practices, but is overlooked in the relevant literature. The findings provide novel information that can be applied to operate green restaurants specifically through GSS and JAs. In particular, the present approach expands the existing knowledge on sustainable restaurant management by investigating EC from an organization perspective.