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College students who are interested in experiencing and learning about other cultures could be potential agents to ongoing social and policy initiatives in promoting societal changes. As universities intensify their efforts toward embracing cultural diversity, it is imperative to gauge how these diversity initiatives resonate with students' developmental stage and pursuits in diverse campus climates. However, what kinds of educational experiences/contexts students choose for enhancing cultural competence, and how seeking diversity experiences might benefit college students in emotional wellbeing and cognitive skills, are under-investigated.

This study explores the relationships among college students' diversity-seeking behaviors, cultural competence, perspective-taking, and flourishing. A total of 359 college students from a STEM-focused university participated in this study. Students were recruited from classes over four semesters, from 2021 to 2023.

Students exhibited moderate to high levels of interest in seeking diversity in their learning experiences. Results from the structural equation modeling showed that higher levels of diversity-seeking in learning were associated with higher levels of perceived cultural competence, as well as higher levels of perspective-taking and flourishing.

This research delves into experiential and extracurricular dimensions of learning diversity, bridging a significant gap in academic literature. This study also elucidates the links between aspects of diversity engagement, cultural competence, and positive outcomes for college students, which underscores the significance of diversity-focused educational opportunities in higher education. Such opportunities are instrumental in enhancing cultural proficiency and further implications on cognitive growth and emotional well-being.

Social commerce (s-commerce) has gained widespread popularity as a social platform where customers engage in resource-sharing activities such as information exchange, advice-seeking and expressing their opinions on mutual interests. However, existing studies have not fully comprehended the drivers of electronic customer-to-customer interaction (eCCI) and how such behavior contributes to the customer “stick” on s-commerce sites. This study develops the Motivation–Opportunity–Ability (MOA) theory and investigates the impact of MOA factors on eCCI, which in turn affects customer stickiness.

A survey was used to acquire data from 455 valid respondents, and the research employed a combination of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and structural equation modeling.

The results revealed associations between perceived self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, tie strength with other customers, eCCI and customer stickiness.

Considering the limited availability of complete eCCI frameworks in existing scholarly works, the authors present valuable perspectives on the role of consumer characteristics as both antecedents and consequences of eCCI. Additionally, this study proposes a research agenda for the field of eCCI on s-commerce sites.

Monocytes are a leukocytes’ subset that plays an important role in immunity. Protein kinase B (AKT) is involved in monocytes' survival, proliferation and differentiation. Using phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) as an inducer for cell line U937 differentiation into macrophage-like cells may be used as a model for cancer cell therapy or other biomedical research studies. The authors investigated the Akt1 signaling pathway's involvement with PMA as a differentiating agent and survival in the U937 cell line.

PMA was utilized to stimulate the differentiation of the U937 cell line into macrophage-like cells at a concentration of 10 nM. Akt1-phosphorylated Serine 473, Bad-phosphorylated Serine 136 and Caspase9-phosphorylated Serine 196 were tested by flow cytometry for the involvement of the Akt1 signaling pathway during differentiation in addition to the expression of CD14, CD206 and CD83. DNA cell cycle variation analysis was done using PI staining and cell viability and apoptosis detection using Annexin V and PI flow cytometry.

There was a decrease in phosphorylated Akt1 and Bad activation and an increase in Caspase9 activation, with an increase in surface markers CD14, CD206 and CD83 acquired by PMA-differentiated cells. DNA cell cycle analysis revealed cell accumulation in the G2/M phase and fewer cells in the S phase of PMA-induced U937. Apoptosis induction for Ly294002 or Wortmannin-inhibited cells and part of PMA-induced cells were detected.

These results may be used to create a model for biomedical research studies and advance the understanding of the mechanism involving differentiation of the U937 cell line.

This study aims to investigate the degree to which trust influences job satisfaction and job performance by building on research in the organizational sciences about the relationships between interpersonal trust relationships, cognitive empowerment, job performance and job satisfaction. This study's primary research question is: What factors contribute to job satisfaction and job performance?

Data are collected through a field survey. The data set has 738 responses from employees who work in the financial sector in Turkey. Structural equation modelling was used to validate the hypotheses.

This study's main findings are that when considering job satisfaction and job performance, cognition-based trust (CBT) has a strong influence on both constructs, whereas affect-based faith has a medium effect on job satisfaction and no significant effect on job performance.

In an organization where trust is established, knowledge exchange will be facilitated and knowledge management will be done correctly. Therefore, trust is a critical factor for knowledge management. On the other hand, knowledge is an important key factor for job performance. Trust has two parts: affect-based trust and CBT. Psychological empowerment has four variables: impact, competence, meaningfulness and self-determination. This study aims to investigate the relationships between psychological empowerment, trust, job satisfaction and job performance.

This paper explores how the blockchain food traceability system (BFTS) affects consumers' affective brand commitment and subsequent willingness to pay premium prices.

From February 11 to May 23, 2023, this study collected data from 236 Chinese customers, who had purchased blockchain-traced food in Jingdong Mall within the past three months. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.

The main findings were as follows: (1) BFTS information transparency, information immutability and product diagnosticity are significant predictors of consumer-perceived trustworthiness; BFTS information transparency, product diagnosticity and product safety are significant predictors of consumer-perceived informativeness, (2) Perceived trustworthiness and perceived informativeness build consumers' affective brand commitment, (3) Affective brand commitment affects willingness to pay premiums and (4) Health consciousness positively moderates the relationship between consumers' affective brand commitment and willingness to pay premiums.

This paper complements the research on consumer behaviour in the BFTS, and the research results provide important enlightenment for guiding food enterprises to formulate reasonable and perfect marketing strategies of blockchain-traced food.

This study aims to conceptualise a customer-centric model based on an online customer experience (OCE) construct, mediated by e-loyalty (EL) and e-trust (ET), to improve the continuous usage intention (CUI) of Indian digital banks from Generation Y and Z perspectives.

This study used an online survey method to gather data from a sample of 466 digital banking users, from which usable questionnaires were obtained. The obtained data were subjected to thorough analysis using PLS-SEM to further study the research hypotheses.

The main factors that determine digital banks’ OCE are perceived enjoyment, e-service quality, information quality and e-convenience. Additionally, relevant constructs were evaluated using an importance-performance map analysis.

This study used convenience sampling for the urban population using digital banking; therefore, the outcome may be generalised to a limited extent. It would be valuable to imitate studies in other countries to strengthen digital banking further.

There is a lack of research on digital banking and OCE in India; thus, this study helps rectify this issue while providing valuable insights. This study differs from others in that it examines the connections between OCE, EL, ET and the bottom line of financial institutions, using these factors as dependent variables instead of traditional measures.

The purpose of this paper is to enrich the knowledge about blockchain (BC) technology implementation in the agri-food industry by providing an interpretive framework of the key marketing opportunities and challenges, related to the adoption of BC for Geographical Indication (GI) products.

The study adopts an explorative qualitative research design through the cognitive mapping technique applied to the cognition of different market players involved in agri-food BC projects: farmers, distributors, companies and consultancies.

This study presents a comprehensive examination of the marketing impacts of BC across various marketing objectives, including product enhancement, brand positioning, consumer relationships, market access and supply chain relationships. It highlights the capability of BC to facilitate data-enabled ecosystems within the agri-food sector, involving supply chain actors and control agencies. Additionally, the study sheds light on the challenges (technological, collaborative, political, financial and organizational) associated with the implementation of BC in the marketing of agri-food products.

This work provides a comprehensive examination of the relevance of BC in the marketing activities of firms, particularly in the context of quality food products. It highlights the main areas of impact and effects and emphasizes the complexity of the phenomenon, which extends beyond its technical issues. Furthermore, it offers a systematic exploration of the challenges associated with the adoption of BC in marketing activities, thus contributing to a broader understanding of the implications of BC adoption in companies' marketing strategies.

The practical implications for this work addresses both GI companies and policy makers. Implications for companies relate to the market benefits associated with the implementation of BC, which allow further strengthening of market positioning, relationships of trust within the supply chain and integration between physical and digital market channels. The study also systematizes the challenges underlying the implementation of BC projects. The implications for policy makers regard the role they have to play in BC projects at regulatory, financial and policy levels.

Studies focusing on BC applications in marketing are still limited and characterized by a very narrow perspective (especially in the food industry). This study contributes to the conceptual design of the marketing applications of BC in the agri-food sector. The value of the study also lies in having framed the marketing impacts of BC in a holistic perspective, along with the technological and non-technological challenges that are related to the integration of BC in marketing strategy and operations.

Considering the emergence of e-commerce platforms and their integration into marketing channels, this paper aims to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) resources – both technological and human – possessed by e-commerce platforms can enhance their channel power by acquiring market-based assets (relational and intellectual).

Based on resource-based theory and resource orchestration theory, the authors developed a framework tested using survey data gathered from the sellers, which incorporated six key variables: the e-commerce platform’s AI technology resources and human resources, rational and intellectual market-based assets, intraplatform competition and channel power. The analyses are performed using the regression analysis technique.

The empirical findings indicate that both technological and human AI resources are crucial in building channel power. In addition, market-based assets serve as a mediator in this relationship, while intraplatform competition moderates the effect of intellectual market-based assets on channel power negatively.

This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring how e-commerce platforms’ AI resources affect their channel power. The results offer valuable guidance to managers and researchers on optimizing AI resources to improve channel power.

This study aims to examine the blockchain landscape in supply chain management by drawing insights from academic and industry literature. It identifies the key drivers, categorizes the products involved and highlights the business values achieved by early adopters of blockchain technology within the supply chain domain. Additionally, it explores fingerprinting techniques to establish a robust connection between physical products and the blockchain ledger.

The authors combined the interpretive sensemaking systematic literature review to offer insights into how organizations interpreted their business challenges and adopted blockchain technology in their specific supply chain context; content analysis (using Leximancer automated text mining software) for concept mapping visualization, facilitating the identification of key themes, trends and relationships, and qualitative thematic analysis (NVivo) for data organization, coding and enhancing the depth and efficiency of analysis.

The findings highlight the transformative potential of blockchain technology and offer valuable insights into its implementation in optimizing supply chain operations. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of product provenance information to consumers, with blockchain technology offering certainty and increasing customer loyalty toward brands that prioritize transparency.

This research has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, there is a possibility that some relevant investigations may have been missed or omitted, which could impact the findings. In addition, the limited availability of literature on blockchain adoption in supply chains may restrict the scope of the conclusions. The evolving nature of blockchain adoption in supply chains also poses a limitation. As the technology is in its infancy, the authors expect that a rapidly emerging body of literature will provide more extensive evidence-based general conclusions in the future. Another limitation is the lack of information contrasting academic and industry research, which could have provided more balanced insights into the technology’s advancement. The authors attributed this limitation to the narrow collaborations between academia and industry in the field of blockchain for supply chain management.

Practitioners recognize the potential of blockchain in addressing industry-specific challenges, such as ensuring transparency and data provenance. Understanding the benefits achieved by early adopters can serve as a starting point for companies considering blockchain adoption. Blockchain technology can verify product origin, enable truthful certifications and comply with established standards, reinforcing trust among stakeholders and customers. Thus, implementing blockchain solutions can enhance brand reputation and consumer confidence by ensuring product authenticity and quality. Based on the results, companies can align their strategies and initiatives with their needs and expectations.

In essence, the integration of blockchain technology within supply chain provenance initiatives not only influences economic aspects but also brings substantial social impacts by reinforcing consumer trust, encouraging sustainable and ethical practices, combating product counterfeiting, empowering stakeholders and contributing to a more responsible, transparent and progressive socioeconomic environment.

This study consolidates current knowledge on blockchain’s capacity and identifies the specific drivers and business values associated with early blockchain adoption in supply chain provenance. Furthermore, it underscores the critical role of product fingerprinting techniques in supporting blockchain for supply chain provenance, facilitating more robust and efficient supply chain operations.

This paper takes Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2021 as research samples to investigate the influence of supplier concentration on debt maturity structure and its mechanism. It further analyzes whether the relationship between the two is different in the case of different monetary policies, collateral assets, and total debt. The research conclusion is of practical significance for enterprises to construct a balanced debt maturity structure and prevent financial risks.

This paper adopts the empirical research method. The data came from the CSMAR database, which eliminated ST and *ST and companies with missing data, resulting in a sample of 20,328. Stata16 was used for statistical analysis.

There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between supplier concentration and debt maturity structure, and market position and trade credit play an intermediary role. In the case of tight monetary policy, fewer collateral assets, and higher total debt, the inverse U-shaped relationship is more significant.

This paper examines the relationship between supplier concentration and debt maturity structure from a non-linear perspective for the first time, providing theoretical support for enterprises to form a reasonable debt structure, and deepening the theoretical cognition of the relationship between supplier concentration and corporate debt maturity structure.