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This paper aims to investigate the distinctive economic and social dynamics of ethnic quasi-enclave industrial sub-clusters and to econometrically analyse the main factors affecting the economic performance of Chinese-migrant microentrepreneurs with a specific focus on social capital.

An interpretative framework that encompasses sustainable local human development and mixed embeddedness is applied to a case study of Wenzhounese migrant socioeconomic quasi-enclave leather industrial sub-clusters located adjacent to the industrial district area of Florence, Italy. Given the complexity of the phenomenon, the research study adopted a mixed-method approach encompassing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The econometric analysis was based on data collected via a survey administered to a random sample of enterprises.

Ethnic social capital plays a central role in ethnic entrepreneurship. The results confirm the relevance of social networks in the context analysed and reveal the importance of ethnic and non-ethnic business social capital as one of the main factors affecting enterprise’s economic performance.

The findings propose potential policies to upgrade the ethnic enterprises especially in terms of increasing their formality and inclusion in the Italian social and economic systems of production.

This analysis contributes to existing literature on migrant entrepreneurship and communities, adding new evidence related to ethnic enterprises and the importance of social capital in terms of performance and working conditions of the community of entrepreneurs.

This paper aims to analyse the evolution of Chinese industrial ethnic clusters in Italy, by focusing on the role of social networks and the processes behind the phenomenon of Chinese worker exploitation and entrepreneur “self-exploitation”.

The case study is a sub-cluster of micro and small enterprises owned by Chinese entrepreneurs within the leather industrial district of Florence, Italy. This research adopts the following mixed methods: a small-scale survey to capture the characteristics of the sub-cluster and a social network analysis to describe cluster evolution, complemented by life-course interviews conducted with key informants and entrepreneurs.

Migrant social capital and social networks play a central role in the evolution of the case study sub-cluster. Social networks play a supportive role in migration, job creation, entrepreneurship formation and the creation of business opportunities. Simultaneously, they enhance the phenomenon of worker exploitation and entrepreneur self-exploitation. Furthermore, the more the business community grows, the more the economic performance of ethnic enterprises depends on agglomeration forces produced by the cluster.

The findings suggest a series of potential policies to upgrade the ethnic enterprises' capacities, to increase their formality and inclusion in the Italian social and economic systems and sub-cluster.

To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first attempt to examine the evolution of social networks in relation to the phenomenon of Chinese worker exploitation and entrepreneur self-exploitation in an ethnic industrial sub-cluster.

Human resources can differentiate firms from their competitors or directly affect the success or failure of firms. As in many sectors, there is a need for qualified employees in the logistics sector, which is of great importance for the national economies. Qualified employees in this sector contribute to the success of the companies and the development of the industry. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the qualifications and characteristics of the labour force needed by logistics companies. It was also aimed to show the impact of COVID-19 on logistics job ads. For this purpose, a total of 1,410 job vacancy postings (before COVID-19) and a total of 1,700 job vacancy postings (during COVID-19) were searched on the kariyer.net website with the word “logistics” and analysed by content analysis method. As a result, it was found that the most advertised province was Istanbul in both periods, the most looked up experience requirement in the candidates was 1-5 years in both periods, the opportunities provided to the candidates (transportation, food and beverage, career, social activity) were not mentioned much in both periods. This study reveals the status of logistics job postings in the period before COVID-19 and during COVID-19. It was also aimed to show the impact of COVID-19 on logistics job ads. We investigated whether the logistics employee demand has changed and whether the pandemic is affecting workforce characteristics. This is the first empirical analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on logistics vacancy postings.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the differences in importance assigned by manufacturing or service organizations to topics related to operations management and its attendant body of knowledge.

The authors did this by cataloguing and analyzing vacancy announcements related to operations management, presented by manufacturing and services companies in major Brazilian human resources websites.

The results show that manufacturing companies primarily hire personnel with skills in routine process management, quality management, lean manufacturing, ergonomics and work organization. Service companies generally seek professionals with knowledge and experience in logistics, supply chain management and project management.

This study presents some limitations that reduce the power of its conclusions. There is some degree of subjectivity in the interpretation of the contents of the analyzed ads. In order to reduce this problem, the authors who did the tabulation of data marked the situations for which there were some doubts about the classification, discussing them with the other author, until they reached a consensus on the best way to classify each one.

The discussion about the importance assigned by manufacturing and service companies to the topics of operations management is crucial for not only the results obtained, but also to stimulate the debate on topics that comprise or should comprise the body of knowledge of operations management, and the way they are incorporated into business practice. This provides an additional opportunity to reflect on the potential of operations management in supporting business managers now and in the future.

This paper aims to present the internalization process by which Venezuelan migrants and refugees are resettled. Using system dynamics, the authors model a Brazilian humanitarian operation (“Acolhida” – Welcome), simulate the internalization process, propose policies and provide lessons learned for future migratory operations.

Using system dynamics simulation, the authors use Acolhida Operation’s historical data to recreate the reception and resettlement process of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. The authors identify the main bottlenecks in the system and propose policies to respond to scenarios according to the number of internalization vacancies, that is, available places in Brazil where migrants and refugees can be resettled. Finally, based on interviews with former decision-makers, the model represents a first attempt to convert the pressure of public opinion on authorities into temporary shelters as a way of reducing the number of unassisted people.

The results confirm that internalization vacancies are the main constraint when resettling Venezuelan migrants and refugees. Had the internalization program been promoted since the operation’s beginning, there would have been fewer unassisted people in Roraima and fewer shelters. The pressure-converting mechanism presented in this study, although incipient, constitutes a first attempt to support decision-makers in determining when to build temporary shelters.

This study can be useful to public authorities and humanitarian organizations when developing policies to enhance resettlement in migratory crises. In Acolhida’s case, the internalization program should continue to be the operation’s priority and can be enhanced by investing more resources to create internalization vacancies while maintaining logistical capacities.

The authors suggest policies to improve the Acolhida internalization program: give more people the choice to relocate in other cities, increase turnover in shelters and provide a more efficient and effective response to Venezuelan migration in Roraima.

Although a number of studies have applied system dynamics to humanitarian operations, few models have focused on migratory emergencies, such as those occurring in northern Brazil. The model is applied to the largest humanitarian operation carried out in the Brazilian territory and provides decision-makers with valuable insights and alternatives for better implementation in the future. Furthermore, this study narrows the gap between the social sciences and modeling and simulation techniques by proposing ways of predicting migratory implications in the construction of shelters and resettlement policies.

This chapter highlights how implementing circular economy principles can help companies working with sustainability to move from a reductionist and waste management approach to marketing competitive circular value propositions that intentionally design out waste (e.g. emissions and pollution) by rethinking, reinventing and redesigning the value chain. Schijvens, a Dutch family-owned corporate fashion textile company, acts as a case for exemplifying successful implementation of circular economy principles as a marketing strategy in a sector that struggles with finding solutions to the ethical challenges of producing and marketing textile fashion. The textile industry has, for many years, been accused of production that is based on environmentally harmful processes and conditions that are not socially fair. Circular economy principles provide a range of suggestions to address the ethical challenges occurring from covering the human needs of having clothes to wear. Yet, implementing circular economy principles is not a panacea. It is not only a question of delivering a technological quick fix but also a question of managing the new processes and human mindset guiding the actions in the value chain. This chapter, therefore, outlines reasons for a different perspective on the traditional linear value chain and related implications managers face when undertaking a journey from sustainability based on a reductionist approach to a closed-loop approach. It is argued that implementing circular economy principles by pro-actively managing the value chain processes based on eco-centric dynamic capabilities can provide even more radical changes than the incremental reductionist approach often associated with being a green sustainable company.

Over the last decade, investments in green energy companies have witnessed noticeable growth rates. However, the glacial pace of the world economic restoration due to COVID-19 pandemic placed a high degree of uncertainty over this market. Therefore, this study investigates the short- and long-term relationships between COVID-19 new cases and WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index (NEX) using daily data over the period from January 23, 2020 to February 1, 2023.

The authors utilize an autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing estimation technique.

The results show a significant positive impact of COVID-19 new cases on the returns of NEX index in the short run, whereas it has a significant negative impact in the long run. It is also found that the S&P Global Clean Energy Index has a significant positive impact on the returns of NEX index. Although oil has an influential effect on stock returns, the results show insignificant impact.

Governments have the chance to flip this trend by including investment in green energy in their economic growth stimulation policies. Governments should highlight the fundamental advantages of investing in this type of energy such as creating job vacancies while reducing emissions and promoting innovation.

First, as far as the authors are aware, the authors are the first to examine the effect of oil prices on clean energy stocks during COVID-19. Second, the authors contribute to studies on the relationship between oil prices and renewable energy. Third, the authors add to the emerging strand of literature on the impact of COVID-19 on various sectors of the economy. Fourth, the findings of the paper can add to the growing literature on sustainable development goals, in specific the papers related to energy sustainability.