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This study addresses the prevailing complexities and limitations in estimating and managing construction overhead costs (COCs) in the existing literature, with the purpose of enhancing the accuracy of cost performance indicators in construction project management.

An innovative approach is proposed, employing the activity-based costing (ABC) accounting method combined with building information modelling (BIM) to assign real overhead costs to project activities. This study, distinguished by its incorporation of a real case study, focuses on an administrative building with a four-story concrete structure. It establishes an automated method for evaluating project cost performance through the detailed analysis of earned value management (EVM) cost indicators derived from ABC results and BIM data.

The results show that the ABC integration improves the accuracy of cost performance indicators by over 9%, revealing the project's true cost index for the first time and demonstrating the substantial value of the approach in construction engineering and management.

The current study highlights a notable gap in the existing literature, addressing the challenges in onsite overhead cost estimation and offering a solution that incorporates the state-of-the-art techniques.

The proposed method has significant implications for project managers and practitioners, enabling better-informed decisions based on precise cost data, ultimately leading to enhanced project outcomes.

This research uniquely combines ABC and BIM, presenting a pioneering solution for the accurate estimation and management of COCs in construction projects, adding significant value to the current body of knowledge in this field.

The scale and measure of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on economic development has been a popular topic in the literature. The global pandemic has posed challenges to the supply chains and logistics in many countries, causing delays and disrupting supply chains and decreasing the volume of logistics flows. To ensure economic growth in the future, it is essential to acknowledge the impact the COVID-19 in order to increase the accuracy of anticipating changes during widespread pandemic. In this study, the linkage between economic development and the COVID-19 estimated and real impact is illustrated in a case study comparison between the Finnish and German logistic companies' viewpoints. The study shows how the international COVID-19 pandemic has affected to logistics organization perceptions on the changes in operational environment and continuity of business.

The empirical part of the study relies on mixed methods approach using panel data from logistics companies and expert group discussion. The panel data participants were logistics sector actors and the data was collected through a questionnaire. Numerous sources found from the literature are used to gain a holistic understanding of the attributes and impact of change in the logistics field.

This study provides an important, yet sparsely addressed viewpoint to the supply chain management literature by illustrating the changes caused be a widespread pandemic can cause to the logistics sector companies. Furthermore, the findings illustrate how different roles in supply chain actors perceived the COVID-19 in their operations, before and during the pandemic. The findings of the paper illustrate how drastic uncertainty and changes in the operational environment is seen in the logistics organizations. The findings suggest that increased uncertainty and changes in the operational environment can cause significant drop in expectations of the business development in the logistics sector depending on the actor’s role in the supply chain and international perspective.

This paper contributes to the supply chain management and logistics literature with insights into how widespread pandemic is perceived in different roles of the supply chain as well as in different countries where the pandemic has spread in different pace. Analyzing the differences between the expected and realized impact from the business environment can give valuable information for academics and managers in the field, and thus give insights to improve the planning and decision-making in logistics field during a global pandemic.

The interest in sustainable human resource management has grown in the last decades. However, comprehensive, and systematic research concentrating on the evolution of this field, is still needed. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview and synthesis of the existing body of knowledge on human resource management (HRM) related to sustainability through a bibliometric study of articles published until 2022, identifying the most relevant research in this field. In the literature review, special attention is given to articles that link sustainable HRM to employees’ attitudes, identifying gaps and future research opportunities.

A bibliometric analysis and literature review was conducted over 105 documents obtained from the WoS database, using VOSviewer software program, from which 27 were selected for full-text reading. The applied database filters were: document type (article and early access); index (SSCI and SCI-expanded) and year (2019–2022).

The results show that: sustainable HRM literature is growing, especially after 2019; “Sustainability” is the journal with more publications; and England is the leading country. The network of co-occurrence of keywords analysis unveiled that performance, job satisfaction and behaviors are the most frequently studied topics in HRM.

For successful adoption of sustainable HRM practices, organizations should engage all staff comprehensively, focusing not only on consistent implementation but also on fostering a supportive organizational climate. This is vital for establishing a sustainable workplace where employees who strongly identify with the organization are less willing to leave it.

Through the Systematic Literature Review carried out on the articles published from 2019 to 2022, it was possible to identify opportunities for future research. These topics include employees' perceptions of the implementation of sustainable HRM practices in companies, as well as the impact of these practices on their attitudes and behaviors, taking into account the various HRM practices.

In this paper, the authors examine the causes of 2021–2023 inflation and evaluate whether raising interest rates is the right solution.

The authors evaluate both the macroeconomic (too much demand) and microeconomic (monopoly pricing and supply chains) explanations for the causes of inflation.

The authors argue that the spike in inflation is due to disrupted supply chains and corporations taking advantage of the situation to raise their prices. The aggregate demand stimulus from fiscal policy had all but played out by the time inflation arose, making it an unlikely cause of said inflation.

The authors' paper demonstrates that raising interest rates is the wrong solution to tackling the problem of inflation, especially since it's coming from the supply side.

This paper aims to evaluate Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) on healthcare utilisation by exploring its heterogeneous effects based on residential status and wealth.

The study used the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey (GSPS) datasets. An instrumental variable strategy, specifically the two-stage residual inclusion (2SRI), was employed to control endogenous NHIS membership.

Generally, the results show that NHIS improves healthcare utilisation (i.e. visits to a health facility and formal care). Concerning the heterogeneous effects of health insurance on healthcare utilisation, the results revealed that NHIS members are more likely to seek care, irrespective of their residence status. The results further indicate that the probability of visiting a health facility and utilising formal care increases for the poorest NHIS participants. Based on these, the authors conclude that NHIS provides equitable healthcare access and utilisation for its vulnerable populations, who are beneficiaries.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first to explore the heterogeneous effects of NHIS on healthcare utilisation across residential and income subpopulations. Splitting the dataset by residential status to examine healthcare utilisation inequality is worthwhile. In addition, analysing utilisation in terms of health care type would show whether Ghana's NHIS may be viewed as welfare-enhancing through increased formal health care utilisation.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0330

This study aims to identify the ability of gold and cryptocurrency (Cryptocurrency Uncertainty Index (UCRY) Price) as safe haven assets (SHA) for stocks and bonds in both conventional (i.e. stock indices and government bonds) and Islamic markets (i.e. Islamic stock indices and Islamic bonds (IB)).

The authors employed the nonadditive panel quantile regression model by Powell (2016). It measured the safe haven characteristics of gold and UCRY Price for stock indices, government bonds, Islamic stocks, and IB under gold circumstances and level of cryptocurrency uncertainty, respectively. The period spanned from 11 March 2020 to 31 December 2021.

This study discovered three findings, including: (1) gold is a strong safe haven for stocks and bonds in conventional and Islamic markets under bearish conditions; (2) UCRY Price is a strong safe haven for conventional stocks and bonds but only a weak safe haven for Islamic stocks under high crypto uncertainty; and (3) gold offers a safe haven in both emerging and developed countries, while UCRY Price provides a better safe haven in developed than in emerging countries.

Gold always wins big for safe haven properties during unstable economy. It can also win over investors who consider shariah compliant products. Therefore, it should be included in an investor's portfolio. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies are more common for developed countries. Thus, the governments and regulators of emerging countries need to provide more guidance around cryptocurrency so that the societies have better literacy. On top of that, the investors can consider crypto to mitigate risks but with limited safe haven functions.

The originality aspects of this study include: (1) four chosen assets from conventional and Islamic markets altogether (i.e. stock indices, government bonds, Islamic stock indices and IB); (2) indicator countries selected based on the most used and owned cryptocurrencies for the SHA study; and (3) the utilization of UCRY Price as a crypto indicator and a further examination of the SHA study toward four financial assets.

The rising volume of open government data (OGD) contrasts with the limited acceptance and utilization of OGD among citizens. This study investigates the reasons for citizens’ not using available OGD by comparing citizens’ attitudes towards OGD with the development of OGD portals. The comparison includes four OGD utilization processes derived from the literature, namely OGD awareness, needs, access and consumption.

A case study in China has been carried out. A sociological questionnaire was designed to collect data from Chinese citizens (demand), and personal visits were carried out to collect data from OGD portals (supply).

Results show that Chinese citizens have low awareness of OGD and OGD portals. Significant differences were recognized between citizens’ expectations and OGD portals development in OGD categories and features, data access services and support functions. Correlations were found between citizens’ OGD awareness, needs, access and consumption.

By linking the supply of OGD from the governments with each process of citizens’ OGD utilization, this paper proposes a framework for citizens’ OGD utilization lifecycle and provides a new tool to investigate reasons for citizens’ not making use of OGD.

The purpose of this paper is to calculate the financial inclusion index and analyze its dynamics in developing countries.

The authors use the two-stage principal component analysis (PCA) method and consider financial technology innovations to improve the accuracy of the financial inclusion index.

The authors found a downward trend in the financial inclusion index in most developing countries over the study period. The authors also found that a high financial inclusion index is linked to high scores in the Doing Business and high business climate regulation ranking. In addition, the authors observed that the rates of low financial inclusion in developing countries are due to low utilization of and unequal access to financial services.

The analysis suggests that policymakers in developing countries could invest in digital infrastructure to extend access to financial services in remote areas. They could also encourage financial innovation, particularly in financial technologies, by adopting flexible regulatory frameworks. Promoting the financial inclusion of marginalized groups through targeted initiatives tailored to their needs is another solution. They could also encourage the use of financial services by raising awareness and educating populations through training programs. Finally, to improve the business climate, governments could simplify administrative procedures and promote transparency and legal stability.

Unlike previous studies, the use of the two-stage PCA method and the consideration of financial technology (Fintech) innovations such as mobile money in the determinants of the financial inclusion index improve the accuracy of the index.

This study aims to measure the status of rural household food security across regions using multidimensional indicators. It also aims to identify the determinants of rural household food security in Ethiopia.

The study adopted descriptive and explanatory designs. It used data from the fourth wave of the Ethiopian socioeconomic survey that has 3,115 respondents. The authors constructed household food security index using variables that capture availability, access, utilization and stability dimensions of food security. The authors categorized households into relative food security groups, namely, alarming and moderately food insecure, as well as moderately and highly food secure. Beta regression model, which is widely used to analyze response variables that assume values between 0 and 1, is used to estimate the determinants of food security.

The study finds that 77.7% of rural households are food insecure. Of this, 90% are moderately food insecure. Regional variations in magnitude of food security showed that Harari, Gambella and Benshanguel Gumuz regional states are relatively better-off than other regions in Ethiopia. The study identified sex, education level, marital status, location and wealth status of households as significant determinants of food security.

This study sheds light on regional variations in multidimensional food security in Ethiopia. It thus challenged previous estimates of food security using uni-dimensional indicator. It highlighted the need for region-specific analysis of determinants and a follow up of tailored regional interventions.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2023-0139

Introduction: This chapter examines the impact of Financial Technology (Fintech) on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals to promote a sustainable financial system. Digital payment platforms, blockchain applications, and AI-powered analytics have revolutionised the financial landscape in recent years. These advancements have made integrating ESG principles into investment decisions and business practices easier.

Purpose: The main aim of this chapter is to analyse the connections and possibilities that Fintech offers to achieve ESG goals. Understanding how Fintech can facilitate sustainable finance practices is crucial for promoting investment in Fintech.

Methodology: A series of indexes have been examined, including the Global FinTech Index (GFI) in Global and Regional Rank, the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index, and performing the Green Growth Index, the Green Economic Opportunity Index, the Global Green Finance Index (GGFI), and the Financial Inclusion Index.

Findings: Through comparative analysis, it can be concluded that the countries with the highest rankings are Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany. Sweden ranks highly in the GFI. These results show that these countries rank highly in achieving ESG objectives. Balkan countries, specifically Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, have the weakest results compared to other countries. Policymakers can benefit from the study’s findings to design better regulations and frameworks that promote responsible fintech practices and foster sustainable finance.

Practical Implications: Regulators and agencies responsible for measuring fintech and ESG should strive to align the indexes associated with these two domains as closely as possible. In addition, businesses can utilise the findings of this study to increase awareness about the diverse solutions that fintech offers to achieve the objectives of ESG.