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The purpose of this study is to identify driving factors and a quantitative model for implementing public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Ethiopia as a case study in emerging economies.

A review of the literature and semi-structured interviews were carried out to identify driving factors affecting the implementation of PPP projects in the Ethiopian context. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey within three months, with 59 validated responses; mean score technique and factor analysis were conducted. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) method was applied to develop a driving index (DI) for implementing infrastructure PPP projects. Finally, a comparative analysis of top-five drivers was conducted between four emerging economies.

Mean values show that all driving variables are important. Through factor analysis, 22 identified driving variables were grouped into six factors, namely, benefit for public and private sectors, attention of private sector, social development, cost reduction, management ability of public sector and ability of private sector. The FSE method constructs a DI and shows that benefit for public and private sectors is the most crucial factor for PPP implementation in the context of Ethiopia. Apart from this, most driving forces for adopting PPP projects in these countries related to financial problems.

This study is one of the first integrate driving factors for PPP implementation. The index provides the decision-makers with a comprehensive tool to assess the needs of PPP implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to identify risk patterns of road and bridge projects in Vietnam, where the construction market is emerging but attractive to construction organizations, especially foreign companies.

Using a questionnaire, experienced practitioners of various contractors were interviewed to collect risk-related data in terms of actual likelihood and impact from road and bridge construction projects in Vietnam. Using the collected data of actual likelihood and impact, the specific probability and impact of risk factors were determined for different types of road and bridge projects, including small and medium type, big type, government-funding type, and other-funding type (e.g. official development assistance funds, public-private partnership).

The results of analysis indicate the specific probability and impact of risk factors in four risk themes, including contractor-related, project-related, owner-related, and external risks. Actual risk patterns for different types of road and bridge projects in Vietnam were identified.

The identification of actual risk patterns could help practitioners to know which risk factors are severe in frequency and/or impact. Hence, they could establish proper strategies to manage risk-related problems of road and bridge projects, in which they are directly involved.

The findings of this study could provide construction companies, especially foreign companies, with a better understanding of real risk panorama in Vietnamese road and bridge construction. Hence, they could make effective improvements on risk management of road and bridge projects in Vietnam.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to develop a performance evaluation framework for construction and demolition waste management (CDWM); second, to investigate feasible and effective strategies to improve the CDWM performance.

A review of the literature highlighted a lack of comprehensive research to evaluate CDWM performance of key project stakeholders, like owners, contractors and consultants. After the identification of 22 performance variables through a pilot study, a first questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the views of respondents toward CDWM performance. The 132 responses were analyzed using factor analysis to determine specific CDWM performance factors, which formed a conceptual performance evaluation framework of CDWM. Furthermore, a practical index (PI) was proposed to integrate the feasibility and effectiveness of CDWM strategies. The values of PI were employed to prioritize CDWM strategies from data collected in a second questionnaire survey.

The validated results from factor analysis revealed that the conceptual performance evaluation framework of CDWM consists of six factors; and the attitude toward CDWM emerged as the foremost critical factor. The prioritization of PI values indicated that raising CDWM awareness among construction stakeholders was the most feasible and effective strategy for CDWM.

This CDWM performance evaluation framework is one of the first to holistically evaluate CDWM from key stakeholder perspectives. In addition, the PI firstly enables quantitative integration of the feasibility and effectiveness of CDWM strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to advance our understanding of international crisis mediation by introducing and examining the nested insider-partial mediator (NIPM) concept, a nuanced perspective on IPM behavior. This study challenges the traditional view of effective mediators as external, unbiased entities by delving into the behavior and contribution of mediators who are deeply embedded in the conflict environment, such as South Korea’s unique position in navigating the US–DPRK crisis in 2017–2018. By analyzing South Korea’s dual role as mediator and negotiator and its employment of both nondirective and directive mediation strategies, the paper demonstrates the potential effectiveness of NIPMs in managing complex biases and contributing to de-escalation in intense crisis scenarios.

This paper uses a focused single-case study approach to analyze South Korea’s role as an NIPM. Using a process-tracing methodology, it examines how contextual factors such as relationships, interests and inherent biases influenced South Korea’s mediation strategies in this complex geopolitical scenario. Empirical evidence was retrieved from public sources, including official statements and press interviews, providing an empirical foundation for understanding NIPM behavior. This approach facilitates a detailed study of South Korea’s unique mediation role within the intricate dynamics of the Korean Peninsula conflict.

The study’s findings illustrate the pivotal role NIPMs can play in complex international conflicts, underlining the significant potential of NIPMs in crisis prevention. The findings highlight South Korea’s adept navigation through intricate geopolitical dynamics, leveraging its unique insider position and established relationships with both the USA and North Korea. This behavior was instrumental in mitigating a potentially explosive situation, steering the crisis toward negotiation and de-escalation. The research underscores the effectiveness of the NIPM framework in understanding the nuanced behavior of mediators who are deeply integrated into multi-level conflicts, influenced by their connections, interests and inherent biases.

This research not only broadens the theoretical framework of insider-partial mediation by introducing the concept of NIPM, but also has practical implications for policymakers and practitioners in leveraging regional mediation strategies for international crisis mitigation. The study underscores the importance of mediators’ deep-rooted connections, biases and vested interests in influencing their mediation tactics, thus offering a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of international mediation in complex geopolitical conflicts.

Lightweighting of components in the automotive industry is a prevailing trend influenced by both consumer demand and government regulations. As the viability of additively manufactured designs continues to increase, traditionally manufactured components are continually being replaced with 3D-printed parts. The purpose of this paper is to present experimental results and design considerations for 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) components with non-solid infill sections, addressing a large gap in the literature. Information published in this paper will guide engineers when designing fused deposition modeling (FDM) ABS parts with infill regions.

Uniaxial tensile tests and three-point bend tests were performed on 12 different build configurations of 20 samples. FDM with ABS was used as the manufacturing method for the samples. Failure strength and elastic modulus were normalized on print time and specimen mass to quantify variance between configurations. Optimal infill configurations were selected and used in two automotive case study examples.

Results obtained from the uniaxial tensile tests and three-point bend tests distinctly showed that component strength is highly influenced by the infill choice selected. Normalized results indicate that solid, double dense and triangular infill, all with eight contour layers, are optimal configurations for component regions experiencing high stress, moderate stress and low stress, respectively. Implementation of the optimal infill configurations in automotive examples yielded equivalent failure strength without normalization and significantly improved failure strength on a print time and mass normalized index.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to experimentally determine and quantify optimal infill configurations for FDM ABS printed parts. Published data in this paper are also of value to engineers requiring quantitative material properties for common infill configurations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of country of origin (COO) information as an important/salient categorical attribute on choice context effects. Specifically, this research examines whether the introduction of a unique COO in the choice set will have a differential influence on context effects depending on the relative position of the third option (the asymmetrically dominated option vs the extreme option).

Five experiments were conducted in this research. Study 1 had a 2 (set size: two-option core set vs three-option asymmetric dominance set)×2 (competitor’s COO: common vs unique) between-subjects design. Study 2 had a 2 (set size: two-option core set vs three-option extreme option set)×2 (competitor’s COO: common vs unique) between-subjects design. To address the robustness of the effects, Studies 3-5 replicated the results of Studies 1 and 2. The data were analyzed by χ² tests and logistic regression analyses.

The current research demonstrates that the attraction effect is attenuated by the introduction of a unique COO information in the competing option, whereas the tendency to prefer a middle option is not significantly affected.

The present research adds to the current understanding and the practical relevance of COO effects and context effects in marketing by examining the impact of COO as an important/salient categorical attribute on context effects.

U.S. bank holding companies (BHCs) have experienced dynamic changes over a period of 2000–2010. We find that the size distribution of sample banks becomes highly positively skewed with a small number of big banks becoming super-sized, and these big banks tend to take extra risk by holding derivative positions for trading purposes. The ten largest risk-taking banks hold about 70% of total assets of all the sample banks in 2010. We investigate whether the risk-taking activities of the BHCs translate into higher risk-adjusted return performance. In extensive panel regression analyses, we find that the risk-taking strategies of large banks by holding derivative positions for trading purpose do not show the clear evidence of enhancing risk-adjusted performance. We find that negative impacts of extra risk-taking on the risk-adjusted performance become bigger with the size of banks.

Drawing on studies in flood-affected upland areas of Thailand and Vietnam, this chapter explores the complex interplay between collective, state and individual responses to disastrous flood events and subsequent mitigation strategies. Fieldwork was conducted between 2007 and 2009, employing a variety of qualitative methods, such as semi-structured interviews in flood-affected households, focus group discussions and narrative essays written by local people. Evidence suggests that farmers’ willingness to engage in flood mitigation is curbed by the common perception that flooding is caused by a bundle of exogenous factors. In the case study from Vietnam, state intervention in formerly community-based water management has alienated farmers from water governance and reduced their sense of personal and collective responsibility. Their lack of engagement in flood-prevention strategies could also be explained by the fact that their major cash crop was not affected by the flood event. In the Thai case study, where community-based water management remained largely unaffected by state influence, villagers agreed in a collective decision-making process to widening the riverbed after a severe flood, although this meant that some farmers had to give up parts of their paddy fields. Yet, following a second flood, these farmers opened up new upland rice fields in the forested upper watershed areas to ensure their food security, thus increasing the likelihood of future flood disasters downstream. We conclude that flood mitigation and adaptation policies need to consider (1) local people’s own causal explanations of flood events and (2) the potential trade-offs between collective action, state intervention and individual livelihood strategies.

Research on the relationship between high job satisfaction human resources (HR) practices and work-related outcomes at the individual level rarely focuses on job crafting and levels of job passion. To fill this knowledge gap, we show how the relationships between perceived job passion by employees and the availability of HR practices and job satisfaction can vary in job crafting. Based on the job demands–resources (JD-R) perspective, this study was conducted primarily to test the effect of job crafting on the relationship between job passion and job satisfaction. Within the scope of the study, the mediator and moderator role of job crafting between these variables was investigated. The study was collected from 790 people working as blue collars in companies operating in the field of industry in Turkey by survey method. According to the findings of the study, it was observed that job crafting affects job satisfaction in the same direction. In addition to these, the partial mediator and moderator role of job crafting has been observed in the effect of job passion on job satisfaction. Considering these results, it has been observed that the passion for work of blue-collar employees affects job satisfaction. When job crafting is added to this effect, the intensity, strength, and direction of the effect between two variables can change. As a result of the study findings, it has been shown that managers and especially HR managers will strengthen the effect between job crafting and job satisfaction by ensuring the passion of blue-collar individuals.