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The purpose of this study is to examine the application of sustainable building design and operation within a university setting to determine its economic efficacy and potential for further university investment.

This study incorporated a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), simple payback period and discounted payback period calculations to determine the return on investment, including a sensitivity analysis when comparing the energy use and financial benefits of the sustainable design of a multi-use facility at Toronto Metropolitan University with buildings of similar size and use-type.

It was found that there is a positive business argument for Canadian Universities to consider the use of sustainable design to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A reasonable payback period and net present value within an institutional context were determined using a life-cycle cost assessment approach.

This study was limited to the measure of only a single location. Certain assumptions regarding energy pricing and interest rates and the related sensitivities were anchored on a single year of time, and the results of this study may be subject to change should those prices or rates become significantly different over time. Considerations for future research include a longitudinal approach combined with a more detailed analysis of the effect of use-type on the variables discussed.

For university administrators, the results of this study may encourage institutions such as universities to approach new building projects through the lens of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

GHG emissions are a well-proven contributor to global climate change, and buildings remain a significant source of GHG emissions in Canada due to their winter heating and summer cooling loads. As a result, sustainable building design on university campuses can mitigate this impact by optimizing and reducing energy consumption.

Research related to the economic evaluation of sustainable building design on university campuses is generally limited, and this study represents the first of its kind in regard to an LCCA of a sustainably designed building on a Canadian University campus.

Travel decreased dramatically during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to return rapidly to prepandemic levels once the degree of fear toward the virus began to diminish among potential travelers. This USA-based 16-month repeated-measure cross-sectional survey study aims to explore the degree to which fear of COVID affected people’s decisions to stay home rather than to travel during the pandemic.

The research used survey data. An extensive data set, composed of over 9,500 respondents, collected through Mechanical Turk over a 16-month time period, was used to compare respondent fear of the pandemic both with their attitudes toward future travel and with Smith Travel Research data reflecting actual pandemic travel patterns.

The results demonstrate how fear of COVID was closely and negatively linked to both travel intentions and travel behavior.

Data were collected from US respondents only.

The findings significantly extend earlier studies and provide guidance for those studying travel consumer behavior regarding trends that should be monitored in the case of a future pandemic or other fear-inducing crisis. For hospitality and tourism managers and marketers, understanding fear as a leading indicator of future travel behavior can result in more timely promotional efforts and staffing and training decisions.

Measuring and understanding consumer fear levels as this relates to travel decisions can help in the future to adjust the message that is sent to the public, perhaps reducing the amount of travel taken during periods when this is unwise and or unsafe.

This paper extends previous work that had been based upon cross-sectional reviews, providing a broader and more valuable study of an important and timely consumer behavior travel topic.

This study aims to review earned value management (EVM)-relative methods, including the original EVM, earned schedule method (ESM) and earned duration management (EDM(t)). This study then proposes a general implementation procedure and some basic principles for the selection of EVM-relative methods.

After completing an intensive literature review, this study conducts a case study to examine the forecasting performance of project duration using the EVM, ESM and EDM(t) methods.

When the project is expected to finish on time, ESM with a performance factor equal to 1 is the recommended method. EDM(t) would be the most reliable method during a project's entire lifetime if EDM(t) is expected to be delayed based on past experience.

As this research conducts a case study with only one building construction project, the results might not hold true for all types of construction projects.

EVM, ESM and EDM(t) are simple and data-accessible methods. With the help of a general implementation procedure, applying all three methods would be better. The power of the three methods is definitely larger than that of choosing only one for complex construction projects.

Previous studies have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of EVM, ESM and EDM(t). This study amends the available outcomes. Thus, for schedulers or researchers interested in implementing EVM, ESM and EDM(t), this study can provide more constructive instructions.

The digital transformation is dramatically changing the business-to-business (B2B) sales environment, challenging long-standing views regarding the critical competencies required of salespeople. This paper aims to explore the personal traits associated with sales performance in a digital selling environment.

Using template analysis, the researchers captured and coded over 21 h of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with senior sales leaders from various industry sectors, exploring their perceptions of the personal traits now required of B2B salespeople in the digital landscape.

The research identifies three high-level trait types critical to sales success within a digital selling environment: “analytical curiosity” – the natural motivation and ability to gather and synthesize sales-related knowledge, “empathetic citizenship” – the ability to establish initial rapport while building long-term trust and “disciplined drive” – the exertion of selling effort in a highly focused and methodical manner across all stages of the sales process.

The present data came from interviews with sales leaders in Canada. A more global sample may lead to additional insights. Moreover, the sample was drawn from long-cycle B2B sales environments; conclusions may differ for short-cycle or business-to-consumer markets.

This paper presents a framework for hiring and developing salespeople in the digital sales environment, identifying personal trait types that sales leaders should look for when hiring: analytical curiosity, empathetic citizenship and disciplined drive. The paper identifies how these trait types influence sales success, suggesting that sales leaders could coach and educate their teams to make the best use of them.

This paper presents a conceptual framework for hiring in the digital sales environment and introduces the trait of analytical curiosity not previously discussed in the literature.

The purpose of this study is to identify the most prevalent initiatives undertaken by leading universities in sustainability and offer a roadmap for other institutions seeking to undertake similar actions and contribute to more effective implementation of sustainability practices.

By using a quantitative assessment approach, the study sheds light on successful initiatives implemented by universities worldwide, spanning six categories: transportation, waste management, curriculum, food and dining, water and energy. Each category is clearly related to one or more of the 17 sustainable development goals. A cluster analysis was also applied to identify regional trends in preferred initiatives.

The study underlines the importance of integrating sustainability principles into the curricula of higher education institutions (HEIs) as well as educating staff members on energy and water management. The most common and impactful initiatives in the studied six categories have been identified. Many of the initiatives mentioned in the study do not just result in reducing ecological footprint but also provide economic savings as well. Differences among regions and countries were observed in the implementation of initiatives. Cultural and habitual factors should not be disregarded during the selection process of initiatives.

The findings of this study may help universities to take their first steps toward implementing initiatives that can effectively promote sustainable development. Results will aid other HEIs in planning for next steps while outlining the more common initiatives.

Large, influential and profitable young adults are being targeted for fast fashion that negatively impacts the environment. The transition from a fast to an environmentally friendly slow fashion is a challenging process and culturally dependent. The process starts with slow fashion idea adoption. Thus, the authors modified an information acceptance model (IACM) to examine information characteristics (idea/information quality, credibility, usefulness, source credibility) and consumer factors (need for idea and attitudes) impacting intentions to adopt the slow fashion idea in Canada, South Africa (individualists) and China (collectivists).

Cross-sectional data were collected from South African (n = 197), Chinese (n = 304) and Canadian (n = 227) young adults (18–35 years old) at universities in metropolitan cities. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

The results show that while most information characteristics and consumer factors are vital for slow fashion attitudes and intention formation, information quality and trust in the sources were a problem in individualistic cultures as opposed to the collectivist culture. This finding confirms the greater tendency of collectivists to trust disseminated information on environmental issues. In all cultures, attitudes impacted idea adoption intentions. On testing IACM, the multigroup analyses showed no significant differences between young adults in the individualistic cultures. Attitudes mediated most relationships and were highly explained by IACM (South Africa, 49.6%; China, 74.5%; and Canada, 64.5%).

In emerging and developed markets, this study informs environmentalists and green fashion brands of information characteristics that can create positive attitudes and slow fashion idea adoption intentions among influential young adults.

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing methodological discussions surrounding the adoption of ethnographic approaches in accounting by undertaking a comparative analysis of ethnography in anthropology and ethnography in qualitative accounting research. By doing so, it abductively speculates on the factors influencing the distinct characteristics of ethnography in accounting and explores their implications.

This paper uses a comparative approach, organizing the comparison using Van Maanen’s (2011a, 2011b) framework of field-, head- and text-work phases in ethnography. Furthermore, it draws on the author’s experience as a qualitative researcher who has conducted ethnographic research for more than a decade across the disciplines of anthropology and accounting, as well as for non-academic organizations, to provide illustrative examples for the comparison.

This paper finds that ethnography in accounting, when compared to its counterpart in anthropology, demonstrates a stronger inclination towards scientific aspirations. This is evidenced by its prevalence of realist tales, a high emphasis on “methodological rigour”, a focus on high-level theorization and other similar characteristics. Furthermore, the scientific aspiration and hegemony of the positivist paradigm in accounting research, when leading to a change of the evaluation criteria of non-positivist research, generate an impoverishment of interpretive and ethnographic research in accounting.

This paper provides critical insights from a comparative perspective, highlighting the marginalized position of ethnography in accounting research. By understanding the mechanisms of marginalization, the paper commits to reflexivity and advocates for meaningful changes within the field.

This study investigates how the degree of internationalization (DOI) affects the financial performance of emerging market companies by making the distinction between export intensity and multinationality (i.e. foreign direct investment). The authors argue that the different DOI-performance patterns in the literature relate to different internationalization approaches, which are moderated in distinct ways by formal institutions in the home country.

Based on data of Brazilian firms in several industries and with different internationalization patterns including 100 exporting firms and 30 multinational companies with varying degrees of multinationality over a period of five consecutive years, the authors test their hypotheses using an unbalanced panel data with 346 firm-year observations. In order to test how the quality of formal institutions moderate the DOI-performance relationships, the authors estimate the changes in the slope of the regression line by adding and subtracting one standard deviation to the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) variables.

A positive and linear association between export intensity-performance (EI-P) highlights the location specific comparative advantages of exporting Brazilian firms, while the multinationality-performance (M-P) relationship points to a horizontal S-shape pattern which conforms to the theoretical assumptions of the three-stage internationalization process. Formal institutions moderate positively the EI-P relationship, but moderate negatively each of the three stages of the M-P relationship.

The findings from this study provide critical insights that contribute to the ongoing debate on how formal institutions in the home country affect the DOI-performance relationship of emerging market companies (EMCs). However, the authors consider that it has limitations as they focused exclusively on formal institutions captured by governance institutions in the Brazilian context.

This study provides relevant insights to managers and policy makers. Findings reveal that strong formal institutions in the home country make it easier (cheaper) for EMCs to invest abroad, and, at the same time, increase the efficiency of exporting firms and positively influence financial performance. Moreover, results show that during downturns in their domestic markets, multinational EMCs outperform domestic firms. In that sense, while policy makers can promote the internationalization and competitiveness of EMCs by implementing more supportive formal institutions, managers should consider a proactive approach and invest abroad when conditions in the home country are favorable.

By making the distinction between export intensity and multinationality this study contributes to the literature on the DOI-performance of EMCs providing a more nuanced view on how formal institutions in the home country moderate the EI-P and M-P relationships in different ways.

This study aims to examine the moderating effect of media exposure and media legitimacy on the environmental audit committee (EAC) regarding environmental disclosure quality as measured by voluntary and timely disclosure.

This paper was based on a sample of 81 French nonfinancial companies listed on the SBF 120 index and covered a six-year period; from 2014 to 2019. To test the hypotheses, a feasible generalized least squares regression was applied. Moreover, the authors checked the results using an additional analysis and the generalized method of moment model for endogeneity problems.

The results obtained show that for 482 French firm-year observations during the period 2014–2019, the media exposure does not play a moderating role between the EAC and the voluntary environmental disclosure; However, it plays a moderating role between the EAC and the timely environmental disclosure. The results also show that media legitimacy plays a moderating role between the EAC and the quality of environmental information. After testing for endogeneity problems, the findings remain unchanged.

The findings of this study may be of interest to academic researchers, practitioners and regulators who are interested in determining the quality of environmental disclosure by considering the role of the EAC while giving a role to media exposure and media legitimacy in the French context. Considering the EAC as a powerful source of effective corporate governance to improve the quality of environmental disclosure for decision-making, the research provides valuable insights for policymakers and managers on the importance of this mechanism and the importance of the environmental media and its tone in making environmental reporting useful and relevant.

The originality of the work lies in the fact that it is one of the first works that deal with the moderating effect of media exposure on the relationship between the EAC and the quality of environmental information disclosure measured by voluntary and timely disclosure. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous empirical studies have been conducted on this relationship in the French context or in other contexts.

Our goals were to explore the pedagogies applied by instructors that supported Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) student learning in a leadership course and the leadership behaviors BIPOC students identified as being applicable after the course.

Through survey research and qualitative data analysis, three prominent themes emerged.

High-quality, purposeful pedagogy created opportunities for students to learn. Second, a supportive, interactive community engaged students with the instructor, each other and the course material to support participation in learning. As a result, students reported experiencing big shifts, new growth and increased confidence during their leadership courses.

We discuss our findings and offer specific recommendations for leadership educators to better support BIPOC students in their leadership courses and classrooms and for further research with BIPOC students.