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This document presents BasES, which is a tool kit disseminated as an open educational resource. BasES is focused on the topic of buildings-as-energy services, promoting the knowledge integration to envisage buildings as components of future distributed renewable and interactive energy systems (DRIs). BasES will allow users of exploring and analysing DRIs' emergent properties at the local level, developing, and implementing the tool kit proposed. The specific objective concerns the use of the tool kit in the organisation of a technology support net (TSN) for buildings-as-a-service. TSN is composed of a multitude of actors, who often have different perspectives and scopes, but they are called to work collaboratively in order to establish work rules, requisite skills, work contents, standards and measures, culture and organisational patterns with regard to the emergent systems. Buildings-as-a-service is a completely new topic, and thus, an appropriate TSN is needed urgently. Our tool kit (i.e. Buildings-as-Energy-Services; BasES) will be a ground-breaking cognitive apparatus for involving stakeholders in knowledge transfer and integration processes. Thus, a new generation of product-service systems will be promoted. BasES is expected to configure a multi-stakeholder co-designed UK roadmap on socio-technical innovation in DRIs transition.

This study aimed to test some dynamics related to YouTube advertising clutter and viewers' attitudes towards YouTube channels operated by traditional television (TV) companies (These YouTube channels tend to have a greater ad clutter since their videos have embedded ads of programme sponsors in addition to regular YouTube advertisements).

Employing a positivistic, quantitative methodology, the study collected data through an online survey from a sample of 295 YouTube viewers in Sri Lanka. Data were analysed using the regression-based PROCESS macro, utilising the SPSS software.

Ad clutter has a negative impact on viewers' attitudes towards the YouTube channel, but only indirectly, through irritation. Skippability of advertisements does not moderate the relationship between ad clutter and ad irritation, but non-skippability increases ad irritation (direct relationship).

YouTube channel owners should pay careful attention to having an optimum level of advertising because clutter resulting in high ad irritation leading to a negative attitude towards the channel could reduce subscriptions. Offering an ad skippability option is unlikely to reduce irritation if there is high clutter.

Although ad clutter is well-researched, its impact on viewer responses to online media channels is uncommon. With YouTube poised to become a top ad revenue-generating medium, this study contributes by examining some dynamics related to ad clutter in a possibly high-clutter context.

To study the key determinants of chronically high inflation in Iran.

Relying on annual data from 1978 to 2019, the authors employ an Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and Error Correction Model (ECM) to study the inflationary effects of monetary and fiscal policies as well as exchange rate swings and sanctions intensification.

The authors find that increase in money supply, depreciation of nominal exchange rate, increase in fiscal deficit and intensification of sanctions are among the key drivers of inflation in Iran. Their impact is profound in the long run, but in the short run only money supply and currency depreciation are significant. Also, when exploring the inflation in different components of Consumer Price Index (CPI), we find robust long- and short-run effects from money supply and exchange rate, while the effects of fiscal deficit and sanctions vary across different components.

The authors contribute to the literature by setting apart the long-vs short-run effects of key variables on inflation in Iran. The authors also employ improved measures of fiscal deficit and sanctions that are shown to be of significance in the long run. Lastly, the authors go beyond the aggregate index and examine the variations in different CPI components.

This study aims to elaborate on the interface between water scarcity and consumption and, specifically to focus on, how consumers’ perceptions and views towards (un)sustainable water consumption can inform the development of sustainable water practices and environmental policies.

A qualitative methodology was adopted, consisting of 34 in-depth interviews with consumers, in four cities in the United Kingdom (UK). The semi-structured interviews sought to examine sustainable water consumption practices in more depth within an unexplored context, and secondary data were also used to explore the phenomenon in more depth.

The findings provide novel theoretical and empirical insights around the invisibility and imperceptibility of (un)sustainable water consumption. The findings suggest how interdisciplinary and collaborative practices can enhance more responsible and sustainable consumption of water resources in the UK.

The study can inform marketing strategies on community engagement with localised water sustainable actions and encourage policymakers to develop concrete marketing communications and increased public awareness regarding water scarcity.

Considering the slow growth of water scarcity, the findings can prompt marketing scholars to explore similar phenomena, within seemingly unaffected countries, urban centres, industries and marketplaces.

Previous studies focused on the measurement of household water consumption in the water-scarce context of the Southern Hemisphere. Challenging geographical perceptions of water shortage, this study focuses on the UK and highlights how the multidimensional, finite and invisible nature of water consumption requires collaborative efforts in tackling water scarcity.

When encountering novel technology, customers often use the term “cool” to express their thoughts; therefore, coolness has become crucial for launching service robots. However, research on the impact mechanism of “coolness” is lacking. This study explored the relationship between delight and behavioral intention regarding the coolness of service robots in the food and beverage industry while discussing the mediating roles of utilitarian and hedonic values.

Questionnaires were distributed online with links to the survey posted on restaurant discussion boards on Facebook and online community platforms such as Dcard. In total, 540 responses were deemed valid. The hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares structural equation modeling method.

The results indicate that coolness positively impacted both utilitarian and hedonic values and that both perceived values positively impacted delight. Moreover, coolness does not directly impact delight but must be mediated by perceived value to be effective.

Increasing customer perceptions of the coolness of service robots is recommended. Moreover, regarding customer revisits, utilitarian value services can delight customers more effectively than hedonic value services.

The stimulus-organism-response model was used to identify the relationships among coolness, perceived value, delight and behavioral intention. Moreover, the authors investigated the impact of coolness on utilitarian and hedonic values. These findings are significant for the development of smart restaurants and provide a critical reference for exploring service robots.

This study examines the performance effect of working capital for a large sample of Indian manufacturing firms in light of supply chain disruption, i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study is based on secondary data collected from the Prowess database on Indian manufacturing firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 500. Panel data regression analyses are used to estimate all models. Moreover, this study has employed robust standard errors to consider for heteroscedasticity concerns.

The results challenge the current notion of working capital investment and reveal that higher working capital has a positive and significant impact on firm performance. Further, it highlights that Indian manufacturing firms suffered financially post-COVID-19 as they significantly lack the working capital to run day-to-day operations.

This research contributes to the scant literature by examining the association between working capital financing and firm performance in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, representing typical developing economies like India.