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For geometries exhibiting overhanging surfaces, support structures are needed to dissipate process heat and to minimize geometrical distortions attributed to internal stresses. The use of support structures is often time- and cost-consuming. For this reason, this study aims to propose an approach which minimizes the use of such structures.

For minimizing the use of support structures, process parameters in combination with a contour-like exposure strategy are developed to realize support-less overhanging structures of less than 35°. These parameters are implemented in a shell-core strategy, which follows the idea of applying different processing strategies to the critical (overhanging) shell and the uncritical core of the part. Thereby, the core is processed with standard parameters, aiming a dense material. On the critical shell, optimized processing parameters are applied, reaching good results in terms of surface quality, especially at extreme overhang situations.

The results show that the selective laser melting (SLM) technology is able to realize support-less overhanging surfaces by choosing suitable scan strategies and process parameters. Particularly good results are always obtained when the exposure direction of the shell is parallel to the contour of the sample.

The validity of the results is demonstrated through the successful reproduction of the build strategy on two commercial SLM machines, reaching support-free builds of surfaces with an angle to the horizontal of less than or equal to 30°.

This paper aims to analyse the competitiveness of the regions of the Visegrad countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) with respect to their sustainability and discuss the role of the EU cohesion policy in promoting regional competitiveness in this dimension.

The sustainable competitiveness of Visegrad Group countries was analysed with the use of a taxonomic method, to determine the regions with the highest, middle and low level of the sustainable development (competitiveness). The level of sustainable competitiveness of the Visegrad regions was indicated based on the author’s own set of diagnostic variables which define three dimensions of sustainability.

The analysis revealed that the regions of the Visegrad Group countries with high GDP per capita are not necessarily ranked high in terms of sustainable competitiveness. The obtained results confirm the assumption that traditional indicators such as GDP per capita do not capture all aspects of social and environmental sustainability. Thus, the cohesion policy in the Visegrad Group countries should be diversified and adjusted to the special needs of the regions with particular emphasis being laid on sustainability dimension and the level of their economic development. When identifying the directions of support under the cohesion policy, special attention should be paid to the development of modern technologies, including information and communication technology (ICT), that facilitate the transformation of regions towards the smart regions path.

Because of the data availability, it covers only one year, 2014, where it was possible. Further investigation should focus on the comparison of the changes over a certain period and changes that took place in the ranking. In addition, a detailed analysis of the regions with regard to their development of the “sustainable path” should be considered. It is essential to support less developed regions in the field of the sustainable and inclusive development through cohesion policy which is supported in 2014-2020. However, it is also important to promote the ICT investment in the lagging regions.

The analysed 35 regions of the Visegrad countries were ranked according to their level of sustainable competitiveness. The three groups of regions were distinguished. The first place in the ranking was occupied by the region which recorded the highest value of the TMC – a taxonomic measure of sustainable competitiveness and the last region – it is the region with the lowest value of the TMC.

The paper discusses the concept of sustainable competitiveness of regions. The level of sustainable competitiveness of the Visegrad regions was indicated based on the own set of diagnostic variables which define three dimensions of sustainability. The paper makes a contribution to the discussion on the regional smart and sustainable competitiveness and the role of EU cohesion policy in supporting the sustainable competitiveness.

The purpose of this study is to examine how sports marketing can attract audiences towards less popular sports.

A total of 22 interviews were conducted first to explore the opinions of sports professionals about how audiences can be attracted towards less popular sports. Then 479 responses to an online questionnaire were collected. The online questionnaire includes a pretest-posttest experiment in which each respondent has watched a video. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability test and hierarchical regression analysis have been performed.

The elements of sports marketing that can help to attract audiences towards less popular sports are sports media, sports advertising, star athlete and sports sponsorship. The performance of national teams moderates the relationship between sports advertising and attraction towards less popular sports.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a definition of sustainable sports marketing is introduced for the first time. Sustainable sports marketing can be defined as the continuous implementation of marketing activities in the sports context to ensure the continuous existence of the sports themselves (all types of sports) and the prosperity of future generations. Elements that can attract audiences towards less popular sports have been examined for the first time.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of accounting in the enactment of the Napoleonic imperial project in Tuscany and the Kingdom of Naples in the early nineteenth century.

The study adopts the Foucauldian theoretical framework of governmentality and a comparative approach to highlight similarities and differences between the two regions.

The presence of different cultural understandings and structures of power meant that in Tuscany accounting mirrored and reinforced the existing power structure, whereas in the Kingdom of Naples accounting practices were constitutive of power relations and acted as a compensatory mechanism. In the Kingdom of Naples, where local elites had been traditionally involved in ruling municipalities, control of accounting information and the use of resources “re-adjusted” the balance of power in favour of the French whilst letting local population believe that Napoleon was respectful of local customs.

The ability of accounting technologies to act as compensatory mechanisms within governmentality systems paves the way to further investigations about the relationships between accounting and other governmentality technologies as well as the adjustment mechanisms leading to accounting resilience in different contexts.

By identifying accounting as an adaptive instrument supporting less obvious practices of domination the study helps unmask a hidden mechanism underlying attempts to know, govern and control populations which still characterises modern forms of imperialism.

The comparative perspective leads to a new specification of the multifaceted roles that accounting plays in different cultural and political contexts in the achievement of the same set of imperial goals and enhances understanding of the translation of politics, rhetoric and power into a set of administrative tasks and calculative practices.

In a classroom, the teacher and other students play an important role in regulating individual and group learning. However, the sudden shift to remote and online learning, as a result of social isolation during COVID-19, has created a social disconnect, making these immediate regulatory supports less accessible. A need was identified for strategies to support collaborative learning regulation when learning remotely and online.

Drawing on models of self-, co, and socially shared learning regulation, a series of resources were developed for students, teachers and parents to support effective online collaborative learning. These strategies embedded evidence-based principles of learning drawn from the learning sciences, including elaboration, retrieval, dual coding and concrete examples.

A set of ten student resources have been developed, accompanied by supporting information and strategies for teachers and families. These resources have been shared with schools across Australia.

These evidence-based strategies are valuable, as they are addressing an identified urgent community need. Based on the science of learning, these strategies are original in synthesising effective learning techniques with the three forms of learning regulation to encourage student connection and collaboration in online and remote learning.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing e‐procurement adoption in the United Nations (UN) system of organizations are examined.

This paper reports on an extended multi‐method case study of e‐procurement in the UN. A three stage methodology is adopted – a questionnaire survey of UN organizations, case studies of e‐procurement issues in three UN organizations, and an interactive workshop with the heads of purchasing of UN organizations.

The paper finds that e‐procurement is being used in the UN for transactions of routine, non‐strategic purchases. UN development agencies are more likely to adopt e‐procurement than humanitarian aid agencies as their operations are more predictable. The intention of the majority of UN organizations to adopt e‐procurement within three years has been reversed following the workshop, which revealed that adoption of e‐procurement would run counter to UN policies of supporting less developed nations, regions and organizations. A more cautious, “wait and see” approach has been taken rather than to unilaterally promote e‐procurement across the UN system.

This research focuses on the UN, yet could have implications for other complex systems of organizations such as the public sector, or multinational companies considering implementing e‐procurement with suppliers in developing countries.

E‐procurement needs to be considered in the context of other procurement policy objectives. What may be good e‐procurement practice in a profit‐making firm may be viewed as competing with broader policy objectives of not‐for‐profit organizations. The digital divide is a salient contextual factor for the UN, and brings about unforeseen issues regarding e‐procurement adoption which may have resonance for other organisations.

Much research on e‐procurement has been conducted in the private sector and this paper contributes to the small but growing number of studies of e‐procurement in the context of the public and not‐for‐profit sectors by studying e‐procurement in the UN.

Building process innovation capability (PIC) is becoming increasingly important to keep pace with changing business environments and emerging technological opportunities. However, the literature on process innovation capability (PIC) is still very broad and does not consistently reflect today's reality that is becoming increasingly complicated and knowledge-intensive, leading to more organizational needs for supporting less-structured business processes (LSBP).

Based on a systematic literature review (SLR), the authors provide evidence for this under-investigated subject by consolidating organizational capabilities for managing PIC in LSBP. The authors screened 1,083 and identified only 26 peer-reviewed articles that simultaneously encompass process innovation and LSBP.

The authors explain which LSBP types are typically addressed, and in which sectors. The authors categorize research avenues, best practices and a framework that links PIC to performance outcomes by also considering business environments. Three theories (i.e. resource-based view, dynamic capabilities and sociotechnical theory) help to underpin the six empirically observed capabilities along three pillars (i.e. people, process and technology).

Besides a research agenda, the authors offer a conceptual framework for PIC in LSBP as a reference to guide scholars and practitioners.

The authors offer best practices, as derived from the literature.

This is the first SLR for PIC in LSBP, consolidating and categorizing the PIC-LSBP characteristics. Due to few studies on the subject, this work contributes to a deeper understanding of the PICs needed for LSBP to obtain the desired performance outcomes.

The ageing population is a rising issue worldwide, including in Malaysia, which leads to an increase in older people compared to children. Malaysia is a relatively “younger” country compared to its Asian counterparts such as Japan and China. The demographic projections by the Department of Statistics of Malaysia state that by 2035 approximately 15% of its population would be above 60 years old. The powerful demographic trend of the ageing of the Malaysian population has consequences for the entire society and its economy. One of the biggest challenges for the Malaysian Government is to provide adequate facilities to the elderly in terms of care and support. For this purpose, around 365 registered and various unregistered centres are working throughout Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak. The government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and various religious organisations run these centres. These centres provide residential and health-care services to elderlies, whereas the centre’s operators face multiple challenges in the overall operation of the centre. The purpose of this study to highlight the leadership and decision making challenges among elderly care centre operators.

The result highlights that both men and women operators face leadership and decision-making challenges for centre management. Regarding decision-making, women are experiencing more failures in proper decision-making than men. However, women operators are keen to learn from failures for appropriate decision-making.

The result highlights that both men and women operators face leadership and decision-making challenges for centre management. Regarding decision-making, women are experiencing more failures in proper decision-making than men. However, women operators are keen to learn from failures for appropriate decision-making. The present study will help the new operators to persevere in their business ventures, and policymakers look into the best supports to enhance elderly care centre operator’s success.

The present study will help the new operators to persevere in their business ventures, and policymakers look into the best supports to enhance elderly care centre operator’s success.