Search Results (1,653)

Information infrastructure is essential for digital transformation and AI-enabled services, but its operation also involves high electricity consumption and carbon emissions. This study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving the government, information-infrastructure operators and the public, and integrates it with system dynamics to examine how regulatory mechanisms influence operators’ net-zero behaviours. The model focuses on operational-stage information infrastructure. Initial parameters are calibrated using the 2023 China Statistical Yearbook on Resources and Environment and expert consultation, with key variables measured by operational revenue, net-zero costs, regulatory costs, incentives, penalties, public scrutiny costs and environmental losses. The results show that operators’ net-zero behaviours may fluctuate under weak or static regulation. Government incentives, penalties and public scrutiny can promote net-zero operations, while dynamic reward–penalty mechanisms are more effective in stabilising behavioural evolution. This study extends evolutionary game theory and system dynamics to the net-zero governance of information infrastructure and provides an adaptive regulatory framework for coordinating government regulation, operator behaviour and public participation. Full article

As artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into the workplace, employee–AI collaboration is evolving from a personal productivity tool to a social cue that coworkers can observe and interpret. Existing research has largely emphasised the performance and well-being effects of employee–AI collaboration; however, few studies have revealed, from the observer’s perspective, its potential negative spillover mechanisms on coworkers’ helping behaviour. Based on attribution theory, this study constructs a theoretical model of ‘employee–AI collaboration–coworker attributions–coworker helping behaviour’, distinguishing two mechanisms—laziness attribution and responsibility-avoidance attribution—and examines the boundary role of human–AI task interdependence. Study 1, based on 375 two-wave coworker survey responses, tested the hypotheses using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping methods. Study 2 employed a 2 × 2 scenario experiment to further test the effects of employee–AI collaboration and human–AI task interdependence on coworker attributions and willingness to help. The results indicate that higher perceived employee–AI collaboration is associated with lower coworker helping behaviour; laziness attribution and responsibility-avoidance attribution play a mediating role between perceived employee–AI collaboration and coworker helping behaviour. The higher the human–AI task interdependence, the more likely coworkers are to interpret employee–AI collaboration as laziness or responsibility-avoidance, thereby reinforcing the aforementioned negative effects. Full article

The transition to automated vehicles (AVs) introduces complex human factors and system-level challenges across Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Levels 0–5, with profound implications for the long-term viability of future transport infrastructure. Drawing on a synthesis of socio-technical, cognitive, and behavioural adaptation theories, this study develops an integrated framework to analyse the evolving relationships among driving automation, human behaviour, system risks, and urban sustainability. The findings demonstrate that human-factor risks are inherently nonlinear, meaning they do not decrease proportionally as technology advances; instead, risk profiles peak significantly at intermediate automation levels (SAE 2–3) due to supervisory fatigue and delayed takeovers, introducing severe traffic flow volatility and localised micro-congestion that directly compromise the environmental efficiency of sustainable transport systems. As these risks reconfigure into institutional and digital infrastructure dependencies at higher levels (SAE 4–5), the primary constraint shifts toward network readiness. Through an analysis of real-world AV deployment case studies and a structured narrative literature review, this paper identifies critical operational discontinuities and mixed-traffic complexities that threaten urban grid resilience. This study proposes a conceptual framework that translates these cross-level socio-technical insights into actionable deployment pathways, providing policymakers with adaptive governance models, transportation planners with mixed-traffic management strategies aimed at preserving network efficiency, infrastructure agencies with physical and digital readiness criteria for long-term asset sustainability, and AV developers with human–machine interface optimisation frameworks to secure human-centric safety within sustainable smart city networks. Full article

The ethical dimensions of sustainability can be overlooked by academics and project professionals despite ethics being relevant to the achievement of United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A survey of United Kingdom (UK)’s construction industry leaders is used to identify ethical challenges and solutions, while highlighting the link between sustainability, ethics and individual behaviour. A Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) approach is employed to scope out a series of ethical scenarios via an analysis of people, work tasks, culture and training, and subsequently validated via an industry workshop. It is argued that while project tools and techniques fail to engage adequately with ethical issues (e.g., stakeholder management), a proactive examination of attitude, norm, control and intention by project managers at appropriate project times can assist with the identification of potential ethical issues: a TPB-based prompt sheet being presented to assist project managers with their ethics work. The paper makes an original contribution that highlights the relationship between sustainability, ethical working practices and UN SDGs. Despite the relevance of ethics to SDGs, no prior study has used TPB to model ethical scenarios in construction project management. Full article

Industrial systems such as lean practices, quality systems, workplace safety, and organisational culture are often managed as separate systems; however, in practice, they are interdependent. This study presents a preliminary survey instrument (CiE II) to assess organisational conditions commonly associated with effectiveness in manufacturing systems. A multi-stage refinement process was applied to an initial 107-item survey using pilot data (n = 127) collected from engineering students with work-integrated industry experience. The methodology combined exploratory factor analysis, item response theory, and thematic analysis to improve both statistical and conceptual coherence. The resulting instrument comprised 28 items, making it more suitable for industrial deployment. Analysis of responses (N = 127) identified three common facets that support lean, quality, safety, and culture. These are (i) Integrated Quality and Workflow Management (α = 0.960), referring to workers perceptions that quality standards exist and that they are resourced to meet them; (ii) Safe and Collaborative Work Culture (α = 0.901), referring to perceptions of behavioural norms and that workers will be treated fairly within the team; (iii) Supportive Leadership and Professional Growth (α = 0.852), referring to perceptions that management supports workers’ ongoing professional development. The potential benefit is the provision of a candidate survey that economically covers four key domains of relevance for manufacturing organisations. This has the potential to allow cross-domain correlations and larger-span regression models that integrate the four domains. Full article

Understanding how consumers perceive the value of travel packages is essential for pricing and product design. Grounded in behavioral economics frameworks, such as Prospect Theory and Mental Accounting, this study analyses satisfaction across three progressive travel packages before and after explicit price disclosure, exploring multi-attribute service valuation and the moderating influence of traveller profiles. Using a quantitative approach with 387 higher education participants, expected satisfaction was measured through a two-phase price disclosure design. Inferential statistical analyses revealed that satisfaction levels decreased significantly for all packages once prices were revealed, with the sharpest decline occurring in the highly comprehensive, all-inclusive option, validating a psychological threshold of value saturation. Packages comprising only essential elements (flights, accommodation with breakfast and insurance) yielded the highest consistent post-price satisfaction, with these core structural components identified as the absolute most valued attributes. Findings suggest that explicit price disclosure acts as a negative moderator of expected satisfaction, triggering an immediate psychological pain of paying, particularly among independent travellers who exhibit higher price sensitivity and remain more analytical of bundled configurations than users of physical travel agencies. This study provides a framework for stakeholders to avoid over-bundling and optimize product efficiency. Furthermore, it contributes to academic discourse on generational consumer behaviour by highlighting how individual travel organization profiles within an emerging European cohort shape the perceived utility and fairness of tourism pricing. Full article

This paper explores how children perceive and use outdoor spaces in their everyday urban environment, and which spatial characteristics encourage engagement, autonomy, and diverse play. This study was conducted using child-led sensory walks—an exploratory qualitative method in which children acted as active research guides—with ten children aged 6 to 11 in residential areas of Zagreb. Verbal comments, movement patterns, and play behaviours were recorded and analysed through thematic analysis. Following the walks, eleven public playgrounds were assessed from a landscape architecture perspective, integrating children’s observations with an expert evaluation of spatial organisation, shade provision, connectivity with surrounding green spaces, and potential for unstructured play. The results reveal a pronounced preference for natural and semi-natural spaces, where children exhibited longer stays, more diverse physical and symbolic play, and a greater sense of autonomy. These findings affirm the relevance of affordance theory and multisensory experience in understanding children’s spatial behaviour and demonstrate the potential of the sensory walk as a transferable research and design tool in landscape architecture practice. At a broader scale, they point to the untapped role that playgrounds—redesigned as genuine green infrastructure nodes—could play in advancing urban climate adaptation goals at the neighbourhood scale. Full article

Capital structure theory remains a central concern within corporate finance, despite more than six decades of sustained scholarly inquiry. The seminal contributions of Modigliani and Miller established the analytical foundations from which subsequent frameworks emerged, notably the static trade-off theory and its later evolution into dynamic adjustment models. Although competing theoretical perspectives have advanced the debate, their respective limitations have increasingly encouraged a more integrative understanding of firms’ financing behaviour. This study critically examines the limitations of the dynamic trade-off model in explaining the financing decisions of Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the period 2015–2024. The article contributes to the literature by proposing an original comparative methodological framework and introducing an empirical indicator designed to assess the divergence between the model’s theoretical assumptions and observed financing practices. Using dynamic panel estimations based on the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), the findings reveal that, although SMEs exhibit partial adjustment behaviour towards target leverage rations, several core determinants predicted by the dynamic trade-off framework lose explanatory power when confronted with observed data. In particular, profitability displays patterns more consistent with pecking order behaviour, while variables traditionally associated with debt optimization and collateral effects become statistically weak or inconsistent. These results suggest that the financing behaviour of Portuguese SMEs cannot be fully explained by a single theoretical framework and is strongly shaped by institutional constraints, internal financing preferences, and contextual factors. The study therefore highlights both the continuing relevance and the empirical limitations of the dynamic trade-off model, while reinforcing the need for more pluralistic approaches to capital structure analysis. From a practical perspective, the findings indicate that SME financing decisions should not be interpreted solely through leverage optimization logic, carrying implications for managers, financial institutions, and policymakers involved in SME financing and fiscal policy design. Full article

Foam injection moulding (FIM) enables lightweight thermoplastic parts, but current process simulations do not resolve microstructure formation. This work presents a micro-scale CFD framework for FIM that captures gas–melt interaction and bubble morphology. A two-phase, compressible volume-of-fluid solver (OpenFOAM) with surface tension and viscoelastic Phan–Thien–Tanner rheology is coupled to a nucleation pre-processor based on classical nucleation theory, which places bubbles stochastically using macro-scale pressure and temperature histories. The approach was demonstrated on a plate geometry using a 2D through-thickness section to investigate bubble nucleation, deformation, coalescence, and interaction under realistic process conditions. The simulations reproduced characteristic morphology trends across the thickness. In particular, the predicted aspect ratio and orientation show the expected skin–core behaviour and agree qualitatively with experimental observations. These results demonstrate that the framework can describe morphology development beyond simplified spherical-cell assumptions and provides a proof of concept for multiscale coupling between macro-scale process conditions and micro-scale foam structure evolution. A simplified surrogate growth representation was used to enable bubble expansion; however, a physically based mass-transfer model is required for quantitatively accurate growth kinetics. Full article

This study examines customer retention intention in neobanking environments using a theory-informed explainable machine learning framework. Existing digital banking research typically relies on linear modelling approaches to explain retention behaviour, potentially overlooking nonlinear, value-range-dependent, and interaction-based predictive patterns. Using a publicly available survey of 305 neobank users, this study compares regularized linear models, a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM)-inspired benchmark, and XGBoost (version 3.2.0) under repeated nested cross-validation. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP)-based explainability, SHAP interaction analysis, generalized additive model (GAM) diagnostics, construct-level aggregation, and construct-sensitivity checks are used to interpret model behaviour and assess robustness. The results show that XGBoost substantially outperforms the linear benchmarks, achieving the lowest average RMSE and highest average R² across 100 out-of-sample test-fold estimates. Trust-related indicators provide the largest share of model-based predictive importance, followed by perceived security and switching costs. SHAP and GAM diagnostics suggest that trust and switching costs may contribute to retention intention in heterogeneous and nonlinear ways, while perceived security displays a more stable positive predictive pattern. Age-related nonlinearities appear weak and should be interpreted cautiously given the young sample profile. The analysis also suggests possible non-additive relationships between trust and perceived security. The study contributes to digital banking and FinTech research by showing how explainable machine learning can complement theory-driven retention models, identify potentially nonlinear predictive patterns, and preserve interpretability. The findings offer practical insight for trust-building, visible security assurance, and retention diagnostics in neobanking contexts. Full article

Traditional food systems are increasingly threatened by industrialised agri-food production based on standardised processes, economies of scale, and lower production costs. This transformation risks undermining not only the economic viability of artisanal producers but also the cultural heritage, pastoral knowledge, and territorial identities embedded in traditional foods. This study contributes to rural studies and food heritage research by examining whether consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for traditionally produced foods can sustain endangered rural production systems within competitive PDO markets. Focusing on Fiore Sardo PDO cheese, the study combines a Bertrand duopoly framework with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to connect market competition, consumer beliefs, and support for traditional agri-food systems. Data from 1640 Italian consumers were analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings show that attitudes towards cultural preservation, social recognition of traditional production, and perceived support for shepherd communities significantly influence consumers’ willingness to purchase and pay premium prices for traditionally produced cheese. Consumers associate artisanal production not only with superior sensory quality and authenticity but also with the protection of cultural identity, traditional pastoral practices, and rural landscapes. By integrating behavioural and economic perspectives, the study demonstrates that willingness to pay operates as a market mechanism through which consumers actively contribute to the resilience of traditional food systems facing industrial competition. The study advances existing literature by showing how cultural values, behavioural intentions, and market dynamics jointly shape the economic sustainability of traditional foods. Full article

In supply chains, the focus on last-mile logistics, environmental sustainability, and consumer behaviour became a priority for an increasing number of companies. There is a growing trend towards encouraging environmentally sustainable consumer behaviours by means of retail incentives and sales tactics. Background: This article analyses the research literature at the intersection of three fields: sustainable last-mile logistics, sustainable consumer behaviour, and retail contributions to the development of environmentally sustainable behaviours among consumers. Methods: The article is a systematic review which is based on a framework that assesses the current state of the literature, as regards the theories, methodologies, research contexts, and characteristics of the topics under study. Results: Three conceptual frameworks are suggested to analyse the process of encouraging sustainable consumer behaviours, as well as the types of retail incentives and sales tactics that stimulate specific consumer behaviours. Conclusions: At present, the literature is in an emerging stage of development. Distinct conclusions are drawn about the theories, methodologies, contexts and characteristics of the studied topics. Given the rapid development of e-commerce, omnichannel retailing, and sustainability in logistics and supply chains, further advancements in research are anticipated. On this basis, the paper concludes with a detailed agenda for future research. Full article

Mature technical business-to-business (B2B) markets challenge the canonical commitment–trust hierarchy because product parity, informational asymmetry, long-cycle repeat purchasing and enduring dyadic relations may decouple the antecedents of trust from those of commitment. This study re-specifies the commitment–trust model by proposing a dual-pathway architecture in which communication is associated with commitment via trust, whereas product quality and salesperson behaviour are associated with commitment through perceived value. The model was tested through a cross-sectional survey of Portuguese business customers in the paint sector (n = 101), analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results corroborate the five positive hypotheses: communication strongly predicts trust; trust is the strongest predictor of commitment; product quality and salesperson behaviour both predict perceived value; and perceived value retained a smaller but significant direct effect on commitment. The theoretically motivated non-effect of perceived value on trust is also supported, indicating that, under the specified scope conditions, trust is formed primarily through epistemic and communicational mechanisms rather than through utilitarian value aggregation. The study contributes by refining the commitment–trust tradition, distinguishing epistemic–relational and utilitarian routes to commitment, and offering managers a pathway-specific basis for allocating relational investments in mature technical B2B markets. Full article

The transition towards circular economy models requires, alongside technological innovation and regulatory instruments, design configurations capable of making circular practices operationally legible, executable, correct, and stable over time. Within this framework, the paper investigates the relationship between smart circular economies and gamification as complementary components of socio-technical configurations oriented towards behaviour activation, action quality, and continuity of practice. The aim is to develop a design-led framework that connects design configuration, behavioural outcomes, and accountability. The study adopts a theory-driven approach based on a critical review of the literature, the construction of a case-agnostic analytical grid, and the qualitative comparison of three paper-based case studies: a gamified recycling station in Sweden, a marketplace for urban logistics, and a smart and gamified mobile application for waste recycling. The results show that the synergy between smartness and gamefulness is more robust when the target action is unambiguously defined, the quality of the action is at least partly observable, feedback is located at the point of action, and incentives reward what the system can credibly verify. The comparison identifies three recurring profiles, two cross-cutting trade-offs, and the risk of “performative circularity”. The contribution consists of an exploratory, preliminary, and controlled analytical–comparative device for examining existing cases, clarifying the added explanatory value of integrating smartness and gamefulness, and formulating hypotheses for subsequent empirical validation. Its applicability is bounded by the robustness of the available evidence, the observability of action quality, and the explicitness of accountability conditions. Full article

Taxi drivers are a group with high driving exposure and are involved in a significant number of urban traffic casualties. Using two modelling approaches, this study examines whether the intention to speed, as measured by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), can better fit a crash frequency model than errors or lapses as measured by the Driving Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). Data from 1000 drivers in Tehran was collected through questionnaires. The crash prediction model included a cross-sectional model using negative binomial (NB) regression methods and a tree regression model from a previous study. In the last three years, the drivers had been involved in 544 road crashes, and of those, 42 resulted in serious injuries. Due to the rare and random nature of crashes, the empirical Bayesian (EB) method was used for model testing. Comparing AIC and BIC showed that zero-inflated NB (ZINB) models performed better. The final selected model was the intention-based ZINB model without the age variable. The coefficients for intention, exposure, and driver experience were 0.205, 0.103, and −0.443, respectively. The high EB coefficients indicated strong reliance on predicted crash values. The conclusion is that road crashes are closely related to taxi drivers’ intention to speed rather than errors and lapses. This indicates that it can be described as a traffic violation, rather than a mistake. Therefore, significant efforts are required to increase compliance with speed limits and reduce road crashes. Further education and high-quality campaigns are essential elements to achieve this goal. Full article