Faced with a number of socio-economic challenges and a continuously rising risk of more frequent and higher-impact disasters, the Japanese government, in cooperation with the private sector, has formulated a new comprehensive strategy, under the name of “Society 5.0”, which is to utilize a number of various technological innovative solutions in an attempt to provide a secure future for its citizens, centering around several important sectors. The current paper aims to discuss disaster risk and climate change policies in Society 5.0 in particular, with some special focus on adaptation and inclusiveness. We start with giving details on the Society 5.0 concept and its goals, after which we focus more specifically on how disaster and climate change policies are integrated into the new strategy and proceed to discuss several contentious issues which represent both opportunities and risks or challenges for implementing the concept in a truly sustainable way. The paper tries to present various points of view and hopes to provide some food for future thought and research, rather than solutions or specific suggestions. Full article

Planet Earth is under severe stress from several inter-linked factors mainly associated with rising global population, linear resource consumption, security of resources, unsurmountable waste generation, and social inequality, which unabated will lead to an unsustainable 21st Century. The traditional way products are designed promotes a linear economy that discards recoverable resources and creates negative environmental and social impacts. Here, we suggest multi-disciplinary approaches encompassing chemistry, process engineering and sustainability science, and sustainable solutions in “game changer” challenges in three intersecting arenas of food: Sustainable diet, valorisation of unavoidable food supply chain wastes, and circularity of food value chain systems aligning with the United Nations’ seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. In the arena of sustainable diet, comprehensive life cycle assessment using the global life cycle inventory datasets and recommended daily servings is conducted to rank food choices, covering all food groups from fresh fruits/vegetables, lentils/pulses and grains to livestock, with regard to health and the environment, to emphasise the essence of plant-based diet, especially plant-based sources of protein, for holistic systemic sustainability and stability of the earth system. In the arena of unavoidable food supply chain wastes, economically feasible and synergistically (energy and material) integrated innovative biorefinery systems are suggested to transform unavoidable food waste into functional and platform chemical productions alongside energy vectors: Fuel or combined heat and power generation. In the arena of circularity of food value chain systems, novel materials and methods for plant-based protein functionalisation for food/nutraceutical applications are investigated using regenerative bio-surfactants from unavoidable food waste. This circular economy or industrial symbiosis example thus combines the other two arenas, i.e., plant-based protein sourcing and unavoidable food waste valorisation. The multi-disciplinary analysis here will eventually impact on policies for dietary change, but also contribute knowledge needed by industry and policy makers and raise awareness amongst the population at large for making a better approach to the circular economy of food. Full article

In this editorial we are delighted to present the four papers included in this special issue. Each of them tackles different issues with important academic and managerial implications. Then, we will discuss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the potential they represent for higher education institutions and management education, in particular. One of the most important challenges in this field will be how to introduce SDGs in management education, an area of interest for practitioners and academics. Full article

Digital stores are spreading their tentacles slowly in Vietnam, the most upcoming economy of the ASEAN region, so it is a relevant and contemporary study to know the perceptual thought and socioeconomic profiles of customers. Since there is a lack of independent study in this area, the relationships can be researched and presented. The context of digitization and consumerism is slowly growing in the Vietnamese market. So, this article studies the factors influencing online consumer perception and purchase orientation for digital stores operating in Vietnam through apps and websites. This study is a bi-phase study. In the first phase, constructs, such as digital store images, digital customer loyalty, satisfaction and digital socio-economic profiles of consumers, are examined. In the second part, the empirical analysis is carried by the authors. The study is done by SPSS 22, R studio, and R-cran software packages. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, very simple structure (VSS) criterion, and parallel analysis are used for the study. Customers have an almost balanced view of shifting to other stores and the image of the digital store, which makes the price have a substantial effect on the digital store image. The education and empathetic nature of employees also affect the way customers complain, and the way delivery is handled, which is Factor 1 for the model. Factor 2 is promotion, pricing, billing ease, or proper billing, which influence the purchasing power of the customer. So, the service provider or digital store has to be cautious of a specific socioeconomic variable. Digital store image is significantly about complaint handling methods, promotional aspects, and image-driven pricing. So the digital store has to be more careful about these factors. So, from the model, it can be concluded that digital consumers’ socioeconomic profiles, the price of the product, and the digital store’s image appear to have a significant relationship. A consumer pattern is having the education and the period of purchase, which explains the relationship better. The level of education and the period of purchase from a digital store also have significant differences among each other. Thus, the digital service provider should consider the level of education and the period of continuous purchase from a digital store as the criteria for evaluating digital customer loyalty. The price of the product seems to be significant as a variable too. The digital store image appears to be substantial for grievances, promotion, and image driven by price. So this considerable relationship has to be taken into consideration by the service provider while focusing on making decisions for customer loyalty. Full article

The production of animal food products is (besides fossil fuels) one of the most important noxae with regard to many of the environmental problems, such as climate change, biodiversity loss or globally disrupted nutrient cycles. This paper provides a qualitative governance analysis of which regulatory options there are to align livestock farming with the legally binding environmental objectives, in particular the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Two innovative governance approaches are developed and compared: a cap-and-trade scheme for animal products and a livestock-to-land ratio. Both instruments are measured against the above-mentioned environmental objectives, taking into account findings from behavioural sciences and typical governance problems. Both approaches are generally suitable as quantity governance in animal husbandry if they are properly designed. In the end, a combination of both approaches proved to be particularly effective ecologically. All of this simultaneously demonstrates, on the basis of a rarely considered but ecologically highly relevant sector, how a quantity governance approach that is based on an easily comprehensible governance unit can function across all sectors and regions. Full article

Serious gaming has gained increasing prominence in climate change communication, and provides opportunity to engage new audiences and new platforms for knowledge co-creation and dialogues. This paper presents the design and evaluation of a serious game on climate adaptation, primarily targeted towards high school students, practitioners and politicians. The game aims to provide an experience of the impact of climate adaptation measures, and illustrates links with selected Agenda 2030 goals, which the player has to consider, while limiting impacts of hazardous climate events. The game design builds on the key goals in Education for Sustainable Development combining comprehensive views, action competence, learner engagement and pluralism. This study draws on game sessions and surveys with high school students in Sweden, and aims to assess to what extent different aspects of the game can support an increased understanding of the needs and benefits of adaptation actions. The results of this study indicate that the game can engage players to reflect upon challenges related to climate adaptation decision making, but also point towards the challenge of including a high degree of complexity which can make it difficult to grasp consequences of individual measures, as well as to link these to the natural variability of the occurrence of extreme climatic events. Full article

Renewable energy plays an important role in the transition to a low emission society, yet in many regions energy projects have resulted in increasing societal polarization. Based on a comprehensive literature review and a survey among stakeholders from specific regions in Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland and Spain with little prior experience with wind energy, we highlight six categories of factors that shape community acceptance of onshore wind energy development: technical characteristics of wind energy projects, environmental impacts, economic impacts, societal impacts, contextual factors and individual characteristics. We identify key similarities in acceptance-related patterns of wind energy development across the selected regions, but also important differences, highlighting the very context-specific nature of community acceptance. The findings contribute to improving the understanding of the forces, factors and relationships at play between policy frameworks and perceptions of wind energy under different conditions. We conclude by proposing policy recommendations regarding measures to increase the positive impacts and reduce the negative impacts of wind energy projects, and to strengthen existing drivers and reduce barriers to community acceptance of wind energy development. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainable marketing orientation (SMO) should be properly implemented in an organization built on the theoretical model of market-oriented sustainability. The aim of the paper is to explore and confirm the elements of sustainable marketing orientation and to develop a measurement tool with a mixed method approach. First, the construct was conceptualized through a literature review and qualitative research of in-depth interviews on a purposive sample of 20 experts, who generated items. The next stage included collection of data from 112 respondents that resulted the item purification and exploratory factor analysis, which confirmed the three dimensions of SMO: strategic integration, societal engagement and ethical capabilities. The main study consisted of 174 respondents and confirmed the measurement instrument, which contains three subscales proposed by the theoretical model, each containing six, five and four items, respectively, with high degrees of proven reliability and validity. The paper confirmed and further explored the framework of multidimensional SMO; the measurement tool captured the actual implementation of the construct in practice, allowing it to be investigated across industries. Full article

This study qualitatively analyzes the phenomenon of fashion everydayness as a cultural revolution in the digital space as everyday life continues to expand into digital platforms. The analysis proceeded in four perspectives based on Lefebvre’s theoretical framework: the festivalization of everyday life, the artification of everyday life, the holistic stylization of everyday life, and cultural revolution as a daily practice. Instagram, the case for this study and the most popular image-centric social network, leads the digital aesthetics paradigm through creative acts that weave fashion into the daily life of the individual. The study focuses on three fashion mega-influencers whose successful careers began with blogs documenting their daily lives. The analysis showed that Instagram, as a social platform, is a creative space for sharing everyday life with its appropriation of time and space. In there, fashion visualizes the look of the everyday beyond the boundaries of time and space. In practice, it suggests a digital cultural revolution: a composite lifestyle expressive of various tastes and styles—a vital medium to inspire and sustain fashion everydayness. This has implications that the information and communication technology of the digital age created a new cultural space and that daily visualization through fashion will eventually produce sustainable cultural contents. Full article

The study aims to investigate the formation of customer loyalty among luxury restaurant patrons in Korea. Moreover, the study investigated how the restaurants’ performance could contribute to the trust and sustainability of the Michelin restaurant guide’s reputation. The study identified meal experience, brand credibility, and brand love to influence customers’ revisit intention and willingness to pay a premium. The study surveyed 400 luxury restaurant patrons in Korea. The Michelin restaurant guide was used to classify fine dining restaurants. Measurement items from previously validated studies were adopted. The results of the study showed the meal experience scale satisfactorily measures service performance and leads to the formation of brand credibility. Subsequently, brand prestige and brand love significantly predicted customers’ loyalty intentions. Additionally, brand credibility helps form the trust of the Michelin guide and eventually predicts the long-term reputation of the guide. Full article

The main purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the cognitive apprenticeship teaching approach in food and beverage (F&B) service training courses on learning satisfaction. This study is a quasi-experimental research design conducted using pretest–post-test nonequivalent groups. Its research subjects are primarily new employees from the F&B departments of well-known five-star, high-end hotels in Taiwan who must undergo education and training. The new employees are divided into an experimental group and a control group for the eight-week teaching practicum. This study concludes that learning satisfaction achieved through the cognitive apprenticeship teaching approach during the F&B training course is superior to that achieved through the conventional teaching approach of lecturing. An innovative finding of the current research is that regardless of whether cognitive apprenticeship teaching is adopted, the master–apprentice relationship is the most important factor in the five-facet measurement of learning satisfaction. This point also explains why the cognitive apprenticeship approach is a suitable teaching and training strategy. The greatest contribution of this study is that it provides a direction for the application and sustainable development of hotel staff training and offers references for the improvement of future hotel training programs. Full article

As the climate changes globally and locally, the built environment will be subject to different climatic exposure than in the past. Adaptation measures are required to ensure the long-term integrity and successful operation of the built environment. This study examines literature on climate adaptation measures for buildings through a scoping literature review. It is centered around the main journals in the field of climate adaptation of the built environment, then expanded to map the extent of scientific publications about climate adaptation in general. Studies that regard future climate scenarios have been of particular interest. The majority of the identified literature concerns climate change impacts on buildings in warm climates, with overheating being seen as the greatest challenge. Additionally, few empirical studies are found; most identified research is based on computer simulations or literature reviews. The volume of research on the consequences of climate change on buildings in cold regions is surprisingly small, considering the pecuniary stakes involved. The predictions of climate scenarios suggest regulatory/policy measures on climate adaptation should be taken as quickly as possible to avoid greater costs in the future. However, further research into future scenarios is also essential. Full article

Adopting a voluntary simplicity lifestyle (VSL) contributes to a change in consumption patterns towards more sustainable ones, which is urgently needed. This study defines the VSL as a voluntary reduction of income and consumption in exchange for more free time. Our research aims to contribute with more detailed VSL criteria. A literature review develops initial VSL criteria, which are validated against and enriched by data gathered through in-depth interviews with nine voluntary simplicity practitioners. This study contributes with: (1) more detailed insights into the value changes during lifestyle adoption of a VSL, (2) a detailed perspective on significant aspects in VSL adoption as well as how they tend to happen in sequence, and (3) insight into how consumption reduces or changes and how free time is spent when adopting a VSL. A conceptual framework for more detailed VSL criteria, as proposed in this study, is valuable to characterise the VSL lifestyle and differentiate it from other lifestyles. In sum, the study contributes to clearer perspectives on the VSL and provides detailed VSL criteria. Finally, we reaffirm the potential of VSL to contribute toward changing dominant unsustainable consumption patterns and indicate directions for future research. Full article

Research and development (R&D) investment is widely recognised as one of the crucial elements of generating the competitive advantage of contemporary companies. At the same time, it is also considered to represent one of the key determinants of overall sustainable development. Global competition, which is becoming increasingly harsh and forces companies to provide value-added products, processes and services, constitutes a reason why R&D investment is indispensable in contemporary business operations as they facilitate keeping the companies’ position in the market in terms of their competitiveness. The main aim of this paper is therefore to examine the impact of R&D expenditures on corporate performance. Using a multiple regression analysis, two different panel datasets covering Slovenian and world R&D companies are analysed. This gives a unique opportunity to obtain comprehensive and interesting findings, representing the main originality and value of the paper. The empirical results reveal that R&D expenditures are not effective in the short-term period and bring certain benefits in the long-term period. The findings of this paper provide several important theoretical and practical implications. Full article

Based on a primary prevention perspective, the main purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between ability emotional intelligence, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and well-being indicators (e.g., psychological well-being and satisfaction with life), controlling for sociodemographic variables and personality traits in our analyses. Three hundred and seventy-eight college students (123 males; 252 females; 3 unreported) participated voluntarily in this study. We predicted that ability emotional intelligence would be significantly and positively correlated with well-being outcomes, and that cognitive emotion regulation strategies would mediate the associations between ability emotional intelligence and well-being, controlling for sociodemographic and personality traits. Structural equation modelling estimated by bootstrap method indicated that two adaptive cognitive coping strategies were found to act as partial mediators between ability emotional intelligence and well-being indicators. Our findings provide preliminary support for theoretical work linking ability emotional intelligence, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and well-being outcomes, and contribute to the understanding of how ability emotional intelligence is related to subjective well-being via specific cognitive emotion regulation strategies in college students. Full article