Search Results (7,074)

This study proposes a standards-based Reference AI Business Model Canvas (Reference AI-BMC) that translates the use-case descriptors of ISO/IEC TR 24030 into the nine blocks of the Business Model Canvas, addressing the lack of a structured translation layer between AI standards and business-model design. Using ten selected fields of the ISO/IEC TR 24030 use-case template, a two-round Delphi process derives consensus-based mapping rules from expert judgments; Latent Dirichlet Allocation is used as a field-level semantic analysis to provide interpretive context for the Delphi-derived mappings. Primary mappings are reported as default translation references that met the 80% strict-consensus threshold, secondary mappings as context-dependent relations, and the adjudicated dual-mapping exception A5 (Threats/Challenges → Cost Structure) as a separately documented case. After converting the finalized primary mapping rules into a coding manual, three independent coders applied them to 81 AI use cases; the Layer 1 coding yielded Krippendorff’s α = 1.000, descriptively indicating no observed coder disagreement under the specified coding conditions. The Reference AI-BMC contributes a standards-based, consensus-derived translation layer for systematically organizing AI use cases in business-model terms, offering a structured starting point for early use-case workshops, preliminary portfolio screening, and standards-aware AI service design discussions. Together, these results position the Reference AI-BMC as a standards-based, consensus-derived reference layer for organizing AI use cases in BMC terms, with its applicability bounded by the ISO/IEC TR 24030 descriptor structure and the specified mapping procedure. Full article

To address the challenges of difficult value quantification, lack of market benchmarks, and scarcity of historical data for embedded software amidst the intelligent transformation of equipment systems, this study develops a scientific price estimation method based on functional capability contribution. A nonlinear pricing model is constructed to accurately characterize the two-stage evolution of software price: diminishing marginal utility during the mature technology accumulation stage and exponential growth during the technical bottleneck breakthrough stage. To ensure the consistency of pricing logic between hardware and software, a penalty function is innovatively designed to modify the standard likelihood function, effectively transforming practical business logic into a model regularization term. Parameter estimation is achieved by employing a Bayesian inference framework integrated with operational constraints, utilizing Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling to realize robust posterior inference under small-sample constraints. Empirical analysis demonstrates that the proposed method achieves superior cross-domain data transfer performance compared to traditional baseline models, with a Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation (LOOCV) Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 21.2%. This research provides a practical value-oriented price estimation method for embedded equipment software pricing. Full article

The commitment of Australian Universities in providing sustainability education and contributing to scholarly outputs in sustainability represents their critical efforts in supporting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using data collected on sustainability-focused unit offerings and bibliometric analysis on 3119 scholarly outputs extracted from Scopus, this study investigates the extent of engagement and contribution of business schools across Australia in cultivating a culture of sustainability among graduates. The results indicate that 63.15 percent of business schools offer sustainability units in either undergraduate or postgraduate business programs, or in both. Empirical findings highlight that AACSB accreditation status, QS World University Rankings, and size of the business school significantly influenced sustainability-focused unit offerings. Additionally, a clear upward trajectory in scholarly outputs during the study period was observed. The bibliometric analysis reveals that academics coauthored with peers from 109 countries. Among the key themes identified are: “sustainability”, “sustainable development”, “ecotourism”, and “environmental sustainability”. These findings suggest that the social sustainability domain, and the application of the degrowth research paradigm in sustainability research are underexplored. This study is significant as it provides useful insights into the extent of commitment of Australian business schools in advancing the SDGs over the past three decades. The findings are useful in informing future course offerings and research directions. Full article

National risks constitute an important but still underexplored dimension of sustainable development, particularly in countries exposed to institutional fragility, demographic decline, and geopolitical uncertainty. This study identifies and prioritizes the ten most significant risks facing Bulgaria’s development over the next decade, with particular attention to their fiscal and macro-financial transmission channels. The analysis is based on a structured expert survey conducted among 82 specialists from academia, business, research institutions, civil society, and public practice. Respondents assessed 32 potential risks according to likelihood and impact using a five-point scale. A combined priority index was constructed as the product of mean likelihood and mean impact scores. The results show that the most significant risks are concentrated around institutional and systemic vulnerabilities, especially distrust in the rule of law, ineffective healthcare, disinformation, corruption, crisis of statehood, demographic decline, and deterioration in education and infrastructure. The findings indicate that these risks affect Bulgaria’s long-term development through five main fiscal and macro-financial channels: higher sovereign risk premia, expenditure pressure, weaker revenue capacity and investment efficiency, labor market deterioration, and broader financial fragility. The study contributes to the literature on sustainability governance, sovereign resilience, and fiscal sustainability by showing that national resilience depends not only on the management of external shocks, but also on the institutional capacity of the state to absorb long-term structural pressures. The practical applicability of the study lies in the possibility and necessity of conducting a content analysis of the main strategic documents for the country’s development in order to establish the extent to which the identified main risks are reflected in them, as conclusions about the situation and as countermeasure policies. Full article

Against the backdrop of global energy pattern restructuring, the advancement of dual-carbon goals and large-scale development of unconventional oil and gas, complex oil and gas fields are confronted with practical challenges including harsh geological conditions and diversified development objectives. Traditional development planning methods for oil and gas fields suffer from single evaluation dimensions, strong subjectivity in decision making and insufficient dynamic adaptability, which make them unable to meet the full-process development requirements. To realize scientific, quantitative and systematic development planning of complex oil and gas fields, a development planning evaluation method suitable for complex oil and gas fields is established by integrating multidisciplinary theories. First, a multilevel evaluation model for oil and gas field development planning is constructed according to the characteristics and difficulties of development planning evaluation for complex oil and gas fields. The model consists of five core modules: external analysis, internal analysis, corporate development strategy selection, business planning and risk assessment. Secondly, a development planning evaluation method is established through a closed-loop process including special quantitative IFE/EFE analysis, IE matrix strategic positioning, SWOT alternative strategy pool and QSPM priority ranking. Then, the strategic priority ranking is dynamically adjusted by considering the impact of stepped oil prices. Finally, combined with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a comprehensive risk index evaluation model is established to realize quantitative assessment and traceability of risk levels. A case application in Block M demonstrates that its strategic positioning belongs to the growth type. Under low–medium–high tiered oil prices, the strategic combinations with the highest strategic priority are W+O strategy, S+O strategy and S+O, respectively. The development risk level is moderate risk. This study fills the gap in the whole-process evaluation system of complex oil and gas fields, and realizes the transformation of development planning from qualitative analysis to quantitative decision making. It provides theoretical methods and practical references for ensuring high-quality development of complex oil and gas fields and energy security. Full article

This study develops a comprehensive carbon footprint assessment model that integrates forward and reverse logistics to evaluate and compare greenhouse gas emissions from online and offline apparel sales channels in China, with a particular focus on high return rates. The model quantifies emissions from transportation, packaging, storage, and operations, incorporating return and exchange logistics. The system boundary is limited to enterprise-controllable sales-phase activities and excludes consumer travel. Three sales models are compared: factory-to-consumer (F2C), traditional business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, and brick-and-mortar retail (BMR). Within this defined boundary, BMR exhibits the lowest carbon footprint (0.296 kg CO₂e/item), followed by F2C (0.408 kg CO₂e/item) and B2C (0.602 kg CO₂e/item). Packaging dominates online emissions (55–57%), whereas store operations are the main contributor to offline emissions (43%). Return rates are identified as a decisive factor, accounting for over 31% of e-commerce emissions and potentially increasing them by 171.3% under extreme scenarios. Sensitivity analysis reveals that trunk line distance (factory to warehouse) has a greater impact on emissions than last-mile return route optimization. Relocating the factory closer to consumers reduces B2C transport emissions by 72.3%, whereas replacing conventional packaging with recycled plastic reduces total B2C emissions by 46.0%. These findings provide channel-specific sustainability strategies: return reduction and packaging innovation for online channels, and energy efficiency improvements for physical stores. These results are conditional on the defined system boundary. If consumer travel by private car were included, the relative advantage of offline channels would diminish or could reverse. Full article

The strategic decision to choose in-house production and outsourcing (make and buy) is one of the enormous research questions of international business studies. However, the dynamics of offshore mixed sourcing involving suppliers with varying capabilities remain under-explored. This study intends to elucidate how a firm optimizes the division of labour between an affiliated offshore factory and heterogeneous contract manufacture. We adopt a single-case study design to analyse a Japanese apparel firm operating in China. The empirical analysis using the plant-level data of both in-house and outsourcing Chinese factories reveals a clear strategic distinction: the affiliated factory specializes in High-Mix Low Volume (HMLV) production to manage market volatility, whereas outsourcing partners are utilized for volume production, segmented by their quality capabilities. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that mixed sourcing is not merely a cost-saving tactic but a mechanism to manage supply chain heterogeneity. Full article

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies and information technology (IT) systems in entrepreneurship education has accelerated alongside the digital transformation of higher education. With a particular focus on gender-related disparities, this study examines how digital business modeling tools influence students’ entrepreneurial intentions. It conceptualizes digital tools along a continuum, ranging from non-AI solutions to AI-embedded and fully AI-driven systems. Data from 440 students taking part in entrepreneurial workshops using the AI-enabled digital tool KABADA served as the basis for empirical investigation. Changes in entrepreneurial intention and its key antecedents—attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control—are examined by comparing the pre-workshop and post-workshop groups using structural equation modeling. According to the findings, the KABADA workshop has a statistically significant positive indirect effect on entrepreneurial intention, which is mainly mediated by perceived behavioral control. Significant gender differences are revealed by multi-group analysis: for female students, the main factor influencing entrepreneurial intention is perceived behavioral control, while for male students, the main factor is attitude toward entrepreneurship. These results emphasize the significance of IT systems that integrate guided user engagement with AI-based analytics to improve entrepreneurial self-efficacy, especially among women. Full article

Family businesses represent an important part of the wood-processing and furniture industry and may play a significant role in sustainable forest-based development. This study aims to analyze how family businesses perceive selected external determinants of the microeconomic environment, assess the role of non-economic goals in their management, and propose a strategic framework for their sustainable development. The research was conducted in Slovakia through a questionnaire survey administered between August 2024 and May 2025. The final dataset included 507 valid responses, of which 432 businesses were identified as family businesses. The data were analyzed using non-parametric statistical methods, particularly the Kruskal–Wallis test and multiple comparison analysis. The results confirmed significant differences in the perceived importance of external determinants, with customers identified as the most important factor and intermediaries as the least important. The findings also showed that non-economic goals, such as sustainability and intergenerational continuity, are relevant, although not the most prominent characteristic. Relational factors, especially trust, reputation, and long-term relationships, play a more central role. Based on these findings, a conceptual strategic framework was developed using the Ishikawa diagram. The study highlights the role of family businesses in long-term competitiveness and sustainable forest-based development. Full article

Under wartime conditions, conceptual approaches to organizing the education system are changing, and the means of achieving goals are being modified. All of this affects the development of infrastructural provision for the educational network and simultaneously requires adequate management. The state, as the main subject of social management, employs management theory and practice of competent (professional) business leadership. This approach not only allows it to survive but also to develop in the objectively existing competitive environment. It has been determined that the main elements of educational management (EM) organization include the quality of intellectual resources, analysis of internal and external environments, analysis, selection and implementation of educational system (ES) development strategies and evaluation and control of their execution. Attention is focused on forming an ecologically oriented society through the lens of knowledge transfer, with a focus on the irrational use of natural resources across various spheres of human activity, energy resource deficits, and sustainable development tasks in Ukraine. A central place in this process is assigned to organizing project activities and to forming an ecologically oriented worldview among future specialists trained by educational institutions at various levels and forms of ownership. The analysis of educational management (EM) models shows that the project-investment model remains relevant. Trends in quantitative indicators of EM and ecological projects in Eastern European countries have been analyzed, based on which conclusions have been formulated that reflect the current state of ecological education development and demonstrate existing changes, challenges, and prospects. A visualized flowchart of optimizing the organization of higher education through the prism of an environmentally friendly society has been developed, with four blocks highlighted: methodological, organizational, analytical, and resultant. It has been determined that knowledge transfer from universities to communities should become a priority in the state’s post-war reconstruction, ensuring the socio-economic development of regions, including strengthening Ukraine’s energy independence. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in developing recommendations for implementing the integration of educational management (new functions) and project activities in educational institutions, which can be used when forming their development strategies, establishing international partnerships in the educational sphere, as well as for developing state programs to support the development of Ukraine’s economic, ecological, and social policy. Full article

Peer-to-peer car-sharing (P2PCS) is a mobility solution in which vehicle owners make their cars available through digital platforms that mediate booking, access, and fleet management. Although P2PCS can offer theoretical advantages in terms of resource efficiency and reduction in private ownership, its market scaling is critically dependent on users’ perceived value. In this context, the present study investigates systemic determinants of scalability in the P2PCS market using a Mixed-Methods Research (MMR) approach, combining a literature review, expert survey, focus-group interviews, Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM), and cross-impact matrix analysis (MICMAC). This combined approach allows for the identification of barriers and their position within a hierarchical structure of interrelationships, influence, and dependence. The most influential determinants are emotional attachment to private car ownership, legal and regulatory uncertainty, stakeholder misalignment, infrastructure constraints, and ambiguous insurance coverage. By analyzing the hierarchical interrelationships between these determinants and their respective driving and dependence powers, experts in a focus group suggested a set of targeted measures to address the P2PCS system of barriers. Proposed measures include regulatory sandboxes to safely test innovative business models, modular and usage-based insurance products, the promotion of public–private partnerships for shared mobility infrastructure, the advancement of digital interoperability across smart mobility services, and communication campaigns to foster sustainable travel behaviors. Collectively, the findings provide a decision-support framework for policymakers, P2P platform operators, and municipalities, illustrating how the Mixed-Methods Research approach can deepen understanding of the socio-technical interdependencies that shape the effectiveness and scalability of emerging mobility solutions such as peer-to-peer car-sharing. Full article

Environmental taxation, as a market-based regulatory instrument, has the potential to internalize pollution externalities while also promoting the shared goals of environmental protection and economic development. This study investigates the impact of China’s Environmental Protection Tax in 2018 on corporate green investment using a Difference-in-Differences (DID) model and a dataset of A-share listed businesses from 2012 to 2023. Our empirical results show that environmental taxation strongly increases green investment among heavy-polluting enterprises, a finding that holds significant across a range of robustness tests. According to mechanism analysis, the policy functions through two principal channels: an innovation effect that encourages technical upgrades and a financing effect that reduces information asymmetry and credit constraints. Furthermore, the policy has a threshold characteristic: enterprises with higher pollution intensity show more pronounced improvements in ESG performance and investment incentives. This paper gives policy evidence for integrating environmental taxation with green finance to enhance sustainable development, as well as theoretical insights and practical implications for accelerating business low-carbon transition under environmental regulation. Full article

Background: High quality pediatric sleep is shaped by multiple factors, including duration, restoration, and continuity. Multiple socio-ecological factors that are typically enforced by caregivers (e.g., bedtime routines) also determine the likelihood of attaining optimal pediatric sleep health. Consistent with the extant sleep literature on pre-pubertal children, this qualitative study targeted caregivers to identify factors influencing children’s sleep quality. Methods: Participants were recruited from Project G-SPACE, a US-based study exploring the influence of greenspace on sleep and mental health among elementary school-aged children. A racial, ethnic, and socio-economically diverse sample of caregivers (n = 21) participated in virtual semi-structured interviews about their perceptions of determinants of child sleep quality and behavior. Template-style thematic analysis was employed to synthesize the interviews. Results: Caregivers report that busy days for their children, especially characterized by high levels of physical activity, facilitate sleep continuity and good sleep quality. Sibling dynamics can be disruptive, resulting in poor sleep quality. To promote sleep health, parents employ rules regarding screentime, food/drink, and bed/wake time schedules, though the latter seems to be more flexible when children are not in school (e.g., weekends). Conclusions: Caregivers demonstrated great variability regarding implementing strategies to enhance their children’s sleep quality, suggesting that parents may be unsure of how to optimize the strategies they employ, which are most effective, or how to manage resistance from their children. Clinicians should discuss how to address these practical challenges with caregivers. Future research investigating the developmentally unique differences in determinants of sleep quality among elementary school-aged children is prudent. Full article

With decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization, energy coordination increasingly involves many actors, heterogeneous cyber–physical data, and compliance-sensitive settlement workflows. Although blockchain has been widely discussed in this domain, existing studies are still fragmented across application-specific or platform-specific narratives. As a result, it remains difficult to compare recurring mechanisms across scenarios or to determine which blockchain functions are operationally justified in deployable energy systems. We address that fragmentation through a structured narrative review of 41 representative sources, including prior surveys, foundational technical references, and scenario-specific studies. We formulate three research questions concerning architectural positioning, cross-scenario mechanisms, and deployment barriers. On this basis, we synthesize a unified five-layer reference architecture that links off-chain physical infrastructure and trusted data acquisition to protocol-level trust anchoring, reusable business services, interface and compliance functions, and application scenarios. The framework is then used to compare five recurring scenario families, namely peer-to-peer energy trading, carbon markets and renewable energy certificates, electric vehicle charging and vehicle-to-grid services, virtual power plants, and grid flexibility coordination. The analysis shows that blockchain is most defensibly positioned as an evidence-and-settlement trust layer, rather than as a replacement for real-time physical control. It also identifies three persistent adoption bottlenecks, namely scalable ledger interaction, trustworthy cyber–physical data binding, and interoperability with regulatory and operational infrastructures. By making the trust boundary explicit and by providing a common analytical lens for cross-scenario comparison, this review clarifies the scientific contribution of blockchain to energy systems and outlines stakeholder-oriented directions for deployable hybrid designs. Full article

This study develops a human-centered Artificial Intelligence (AI) framework enabling rapid ecodesign prioritization for Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) compliance while demonstrating Large Language Model (LLM) integration in sustainability strategy. A four-stage hybrid methodology combining LLM-assisted action identification (30 ESPR-aligned interventions) with multi-criteria decision analysis with analytic hierarchy process (MCDA-AHP) is developed. Expert validation addressed LLM-driven interventions' limitations with practitioners evaluating AI suggestions based on the value chain context. The framework applied to two Italian building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) small-medium enterprises (SMEs) demonstrated strategic differentiation based on feasibility vs. desirability vs. affordability, producing systematically different action portfolios within regulation-aligned aggregate structures. Sensitivity analysis showed 100% priority stability under ±10% AHP variations for priority one, three, and four actions and 82% for priority two actions, validating framework robustness. The framework provides empirical evidence for augmentation-not-automation in AI-assisted strategic planning, contributing a replicable methodology for responsible LLM integration across manufacturing sectors. Results demonstrate that combining AI synthesis efficiency with human contextual judgment enable regulation-aligned, business-model-specific sustainability strategies. Full article