Search Results (1,457)

This study examines whether digital capabilities constitute a necessary condition for green innovation and firm competitiveness in the context of increasing sustainability and digital transformation pressures. Although prior research frequently links digitalization to improved environmental and business outcomes, limited evidence exists on whether firms must achieve a minimum level of digital capability to successfully generate green innovation and sustain competitive performance. To address this gap, the study investigates the relationships among digital capabilities, green innovation, and firm competitiveness using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). Using survey data from 740 firms across Hungary, Romania, Poland, Austria, and other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, the findings demonstrate that digital capabilities significantly enhance both green innovation and firm competitiveness. Green innovation further acts as a mediating mechanism through which digital capabilities translate into superior competitive outcomes. Importantly, the NCA results reveal that digital capabilities are not merely beneficial but represent a necessary condition for achieving high levels of green innovation and competitiveness within the studied sample of CEE firms, suggesting a threshold relationship that warrants further causal investigation. Firms with higher digital maturity consistently outperform less digitally developed firm. Firms with higher digital maturity consistently outperform less digitally developed firms in leveraging sustainability-oriented innovation strategies. The study contributes to the literature by advancing understanding of how digital transformation capabilities support sustainable competitiveness and by combining sufficiency and necessity analytical approaches to examine these relationships. The findings also provide practical implications for managers and policymakers by highlighting the strategic importance of investing in digital capabilities to simultaneously support environmental sustainability and long-term competitive performance. Full article

Affordable housing delivery is a global concern, especially in developing countries; in the same way, Pakistan is also facing this challenge due to haphazard urbanization. Governance failures, and socio-economic and cultural constraints make policy interventions difficult. This research synthesizes market, regulatory, governance and cultural factors to investigate the critical barriers of affordable housing delivery. To analyze this phenomenon, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was performed. Formative and reflective constructs were evaluated using primary data from 200 professionals in Punjab, Pakistan. The findings show that while market and financial restrictions have no evident impact, policy and governance failure, institutional and regulatory impediments, and socio-cultural constraints have a considerable impact on housing affordability delivery. The model highlights the predominance of institutional and cultural variables over simply financial reasons, accounting for 77.8% of the variance in housing affordability delivery. The findings give vital insights to policymakers pursuing housing affordability solutions in developing countries. Full article

The shift to circular agrosystems necessitates using new ideas like sustainable biochar, which provides many eco-beneficial attributes like enhancing soil fertility, storing atmospheric carbon dioxide, and retaining soil moisture. However, there is still a small number of farmers worldwide (particularly those located in low-income countries) adopting biochar. Accordingly, this research is focused primarily on determining how factors affecting behavior will influence the decision of wheat producers in Marvdasht County, in Iran’s Fars Province, to use biochar as a circular technology for farming. The study will focus on addressing issues related to environmental challenges (e.g., degradation of soil and drought) through the implementation of resource-efficient, sustainable agricultural technologies. The intent of this paper was to research the behavioral characteristics associated with wheat farmers who choose to use biochar in the city of Marvdasht, Fars Region, Iran, using a new Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The model is theoretically enriched through the inclusion of personal norms and connectedness to the land, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of pro-environmental decision-making. Data was collected from a total of 386 wheat farmers through the use of a structured survey. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with the software Smart-PLS 3.0. The results reveal that attitude (β = 0.342, p < 0.001) and personal norms (β = 0.278, p < 0.001) are the strongest predictors of behavioral intention, while perceived behavioral control showed a weaker but significant effect (β = 0.178, p = 0.049). Subjective norms do not have a significant direct effect (β = 0.115, p = 0.199) but significantly influence intention indirectly through personal norms (β = 0.100, p < 0.001). Furthermore, connectedness to the land strongly affects personal norms (β = 0.420, p < 0.001) and exerts a significant indirect effect on intention (β = 0.117, p < 0.001), highlighting the importance of emotional attachment to land. The findings are significant because they demonstrated that farmers’ biochar adoption decisions are shaped not only by rational evaluations but also by moral obligations and emotional relationships with land. This study makes significant theoretical contributions by extending TPB with moral and relational constructs and empirically demonstrating their mediating roles in agricultural innovation adoption. The novelty of this study lies in integrating personal norms and connectedness to the land into the TPB framework to explain biochar adoption behavior within the context of circular agriculture in a developing country. Practically, the findings provide evidence-based insights for designing policies that integrate cognitive, ethical, and emotional drivers to promote biochar adoption and advance circular agriculture. Specifically, policymakers and extension agencies should prioritize behavioral-level strategies such as awareness campaigns, farmer training programs, and community-based initiatives that strengthen positive attitudes, environmental responsibility, and farmers’ emotional connection to land in order to enhance biochar adoption. Full article

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) has emerged as a promising mechanism for climate mitigation; however, farmer participation in developing countries remains limited. This study combines the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Capability–Opportunity–Motivation–Behavior (COM-B) framework to investigate factors associated with Thai farmers’ intention and self-reported stage of participation in VCM. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 240 farmers across multiple crop systems in Thailand and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The model explained substantial variance in intention and behavior (R² = 0.610 and 0.555, respectively), although PLS-Predict indicated limited predictive performance. Perceived behavioral control (PBC) showed the strongest positive association with reported participation behavior (β = 0.493, p < 0.001), followed by intention (β = 0.343, p < 0.001). Access to extension and technical support (AES) was positively associated with intention (β = 0.624, p < 0.001) and PBC (β = 0.338, p < 0.001). Knowledge was positively associated with PBC (β = 0.324, p < 0.001) but negatively associated with intention (β = −0.106, p = 0.045). No significant association was observed between attitude and intention; however, subjective norms were negatively associated with intention (β = −0.336, p < 0.001). Indirect associations through intention and PBC were also observed. Overall, the findings suggest that capability-, opportunity-, and trust-related factors are associated with farmers’ reported participation in VCM and may inform the design of future policies and support programs. Although the model demonstrated useful explanatory capability, its predictive performance was limited, indicating that the findings should be interpreted primarily as explanatory rather than predictive. Full article

Compact urban form can reduce road transportation GHG emissions and mitigate resource supply bottlenecks associated with mass EV adoption. Global databases from Climate TRACE and the Global Human Settlement Layer are utilized to develop the Compact Urban Form Estimation Tool or CUFET for calculating the reduction in VKT and road transportation GHGs from shifting toward CUF. The CUFET does not explicitly account for mechanistic changes in driving (e.g., modal shift) but rather uses settlement density as a coarse proxy for walking and transit urban fabrics. VKT was modeled using weighted least squares regression from the independent variables settlement population, settlement population density, and country fixed effects. Population size banding was introduced to the model to improve explanatory power. The model was developed using 10,495 settlements in the 2021 Climate TRACE dataset. The CUFET VKT model was able to explain 78% (p < 0.001) of the variation in the VKT of test settlements and improved with the addition of a country fixed effect. The CUFET on average gave estimates of VKT within 24% of Climate TRACE-calculated VKT for countries with a GDP per capita between $20,000 and $45,000 and average estimates within 20% for countries with a GDP per capita above $45,000. Increased settlement density was associated with more substantial reductions in VKT in small (50,000 to 88,335) and medium (88,335 to 329,480) sized settlements relative to large (>329,480) settlements. Higher variability was observed in VKT estimates of small settlements. The CUFET VKT was validated by backcasting historical VKT data from 1960 to 2000. The backcasting exercise used historical administrative boundaries and only included high economic output nations (GDP per capita above $20,000 in 2021 USD). Despite these limitations, backcasting achieved a % difference of ~20% for settlements after 1990, suggesting the model can make useful estimates within 30 years of the model calibration year for high economic output nations. The VKT model was used to calculate emissions using a settlement-specific emissions factor. Settlements with annual road transportation emissions per capita greater than 2 t CO₂eq have the lowest population densities relative to their populations and are mostly located in the United States, Japan, Canada, and Australia. The nations with the highest transportation emissions are also nations where the CUFET provides the most accurate VKT estimates. The CUFET aims to bridge the gap between academic consensus and local decision-making practice by reducing the barriers to estimate VKT and transportation GHG reduction from shifting to compact urban form. Full article

Amid growing global attention to corporate sustainability and responsible investment, the disclosure of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has emerged as an important component of non-financial reporting. However, the extent to which SDG disclosure contributes to firm value remains underexplored, particularly in emerging markets. This study examines the association between SDG disclosure in corporate reports and firm value among 660 publicly listed companies across four Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. SDG disclosure is measured using 17 SDG indicators derived from the Refinitiv database and should be interpreted as a measure of disclosure breadth rather than disclosure quality or depth. The analysis begins with descriptive statistics to illustrate the distribution of key variables, followed by ANOVA to assess differences in SDG disclosure across countries and industries. Hypothesis testing is then conducted using multiple regression analysis with robust standard errors, with firm value proxied by price-to-book value (PBV). Several robustness checks are performed, including winsorised regression, year-by-year regressions, and regression models incorporating country and industry dummy variables. The results indicate that SDG disclosure is positively associated with firm value, although the relationship is interpreted as correlational rather than causal because of the short observation period and potential endogeneity. The findings also show that SDG disclosure is unevenly distributed across goals and countries, with SDG 8 and SDG 13 receiving the highest attention, while SDG 2 and SDG 14 remain among the least disclosed. These results highlight the importance of sustainability transparency in shaping market valuation and underscore the need for more balanced, comparable, and quality-oriented sustainability reporting frameworks across the region. Full article

Platform work governance has emerged as a pressing policy challenge in emerging economies, yet comparative scholarship remains dominated by advanced-economy cases and tends to analyse regulatory instruments in isolation rather than as interdependent governance configurations. This article addresses that gap through a theory-informed qualitative comparative documentary analysis of platform work governance across three Southeast Asian countries, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, selected through a most-different-systems logic to maximise institutional variation. Drawing on a systematically constructed corpus of 127 national policy documents (2015–2024) and a five-dimensional analytical framework—legal classification, social protection, platform accountability, worker representation, and governance capacity—the study tests three falsifiable propositions linking institutional capacity to governance design. The documentary analysis identifies three distinct regulatory pathway designs in the 127-document corpus: managed flexibilisation (Singapore), coordinated transition (Malaysia), and controlled experimentation (Vietnam). Rather than converging on a universal model, platform governance appears to be path-dependent, institutionally mediated, and development-specific, at least in the three cases examined here. The central theoretical contribution is the concept of modular regulation a development-oriented framework proposing that governance configurations, not individual instruments, are the primary unit of cross-national variation in platform labour policy. A four-pillar policy architecture derived from the analysis provides context-sensitive guidance for emerging economies. The principal limitation is the study’s reliance on documentary evidence, which documents governance design but cannot assess implementation quality or worker-level outcomes. Full article

This study enhances the knowledge base by providing an empirical inquiry into the asymmetric sensitivity of economic complexity (ECI) to changes in financial development (FD), using data from 30 African countries for the period of 1995–2023. To deliver robust estimates in the face of econometric pitfalls, this study employs estimators such as Hatemi-J data decomposition procedures, robust standard-error regression of Driscoll and Kraay, Feasible Generalised Least Squares, Lewbel’s IV-Two-Stage Least Squares, and Quantile regression via moments. The findings from the linear model indicate that FD enhances ECI upgrades in Africa. The findings provide robust evidence of asymmetric structures in ECI’s sensitivity to changes in FD. It highlights that both positive and negative change components (financial sector expansionary and contractionary policies, respectively) in the FD significantly contribute to ECI upgrades. These findings reveal the obscure aspects of how FD change components contribute differently to ECI upgrades in African countries. These findings highlight that expansionary financial sector policies aid the development of knowledge-based productivity, technology diffusion, and manufacturing capabilities, enabling the production of a chain of high-tech, high-quality, and globally competitive products for export. On the other hand, contractionary financial sector policies in African countries spur cumulative reductions in the channelling of financial resources and other technical support to ECI-impeding initiatives, thereby making more resources available to fund ECI-enhancing initiatives that aid the manufacturing of quality, competitive products for exports. This study draws and outlines relevant policy implications of the findings. Full article

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is widely promoted as a driver of economic output through mechanisms such as technology transfer, capital accumulation, and productivity spillovers. However, the empirical literature shows highly inconsistent results known as the “FDI-output puzzle.” We argue that these inconsistencies arise because the output-level effects of FDI are non-linear and depend crucially on the host country’s absorptive capacity. By analyzing a global panel of 172 sovereign nations from 2000 to 2022, we demonstrate that FDI’s output impact depends on a country’s financial development and institutional quality. Our baseline fixed effects models yield a positive and significant within-country FDI-output elasticity of 0.019–0.047. Furthermore, interaction models reveal that deeper financial markets and stronger legal institutions amplify FDI’s effect on real GDP levels. Two-stage least squares estimation confirms these relationships are not due to reverse causality. Following I employ a levels specification—regressing the natural logarithm of real GDP on the natural logarithm of FDI—that directly estimates output-level elasticities, capturing the steady-state relationship between FDI and the level of economic output. This dual-specification design is complemented by dynamic panel GMM estimation, which confirms the positive FDI–output relationship in a dynamic setting. Our findings show that attracting FDI alone is insufficient for expanding output; countries must also develop robust financial infrastructure and effective governance to fully benefit from foreign capital. Full article

Building Information Modeling (BIM) implementation is increasingly adopted in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries. However, its integration into the academic curricula in developing countries remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the barriers to integrating BIM into the curricula of civil engineering in Jordanian higher education institutions (HEIs). A quantitative approach was used, including Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The data was collected from 102 respondents, including industry professionals and academics. Six key barrier constructs were identified: support, standards, delivery, resources, knowledge, and infrastructure and security. Altogether, they explain 66.896% of the BIM integration barriers. The results of the structural model indicate that institutional and governmental support is the most critical barrier (β = 0.486), followed by the lack of standards (β = 0.206) and curriculum-delivery constraints (β = 0.166). Other barriers, including infrastructure and security-related factors, knowledge gaps, and resource limitations, were found to have statistically significant effects on BIM integration. The findings revealed that the barriers to integrating BIM into civil engineering curricula in Jordanian HEIs are institutional and systemic rather than purely technical or resource-based. This study contributes to the BIM education literature by developing one of the first empirically validated PLS-SEM models to investigate barriers to integrating BIM curriculum in Jordan and in developing countries. This research is distinct from previous descriptive studies by prioritizing the institutional, technical, and curricular barriers to the integration of BIM into civil engineering education. Practically, the research provides a specific roadmap for Jordan to integrate BIM into curricula through improving the collaboration between HEIs and the Jordan Engineering Association, strengthening the accreditation standards, enhancing the support of the government for digital construction education, and endorsing the partnerships between HEIs and the industry to align the graduates with the needs for digital transformation of the construction sector in Jordan. Full article

Sustainability monitoring has mainly focused on measuring where countries stand today, rather than anticipating where they are headed. This study develops an AI-based forecasting framework to predict national sustainability outcomes and identify countries whose actual paths deviate from predictions. Using 749 World Development Indicators across 184 countries and regions from 2003 to 2022, a Temporal Fusion Transformer (TFT) is developed using data from 2003 to 2017 (training and validation) and evaluated on a held-out 2018 to 2022 test period, with calibrated prediction intervals constructed retrospectively over the test period. Assuming that historical development patterns remain informative over the forecast horizon, the model achieves mean absolute errors of 1.10 for the Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDGI, 0 to 100 scale) and 0.008 for the Human Development Index (HDI, 0 to 1 scale), reducing error by at least 19 percent for SDGI and 60 percent for HDI relative to linear trend and XGBoost baselines. Of 184 countries and regions, 115 (62 percent) are classified as on-track for both indices. Among the rest, 35 show positive SDGI deviations, mostly developing nations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia that are exceeding their forecast trajectories, while 23 show negative HDI deviations concentrated among nations affected by conflict and economic disruption. We find this asymmetric pattern is consistent with a decoupling between goal-level and capability-level sustainability, in which policy-driven SDG indicators can advance while foundational human development in health and income stalls. Our model identifies economic indicators as the dominant predictors of HDI (7 of the top 10), while SDGI prediction draws on a more balanced mix of economic, social, environmental, and institutional indicators. We also find that better governance is associated with lower prediction error for both SDGI (p = 0.004) and HDI (p < 0.001), suggesting that countries and regions with stronger institutions follow more predictable sustainability trajectories. Full article

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown in importance as a means for companies to engage with customers who are increasingly environmentally and socially conscious. This study examines how CSR affects sustainable consumer buying tendencies, emphasizing the mediating role of consumer happiness and corporate image. Scientists contend that customers are more inclined to support businesses whose values align with CSR programs that foster positive feelings and trust. Therefore, a conceptual model was developed by following cognitive consistency theory. Data from 504 customers in Pakistan, an expanding market where awareness of sustainability issues is continually rising, were gathered to test this. The results demonstrate that CSR has a significant and favorable influence on consumer purchasing preferences, as assessed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Crucially, the proposed relationship is not only direct: CSR improves consumer happiness and corporate image, leading to better purchase decisions. By emphasizing the emotional and perceptual processes involved, these findings provide a better understanding of how CSR influences consumer behavior. The study demonstrates how CSR can encourage more conscientious consumption habits from a sustainability standpoint, supporting Sustainable Development Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Findings suggest that well-thought-out CSR programs may truly affect how and why customers make purchase decisions, especially in emerging countries, going beyond reputation-building. Full article

As mobility and transport activities declined during the COVID-19 lockdowns, transactions and operations became increasingly dependent on digitalisation. This shift reduced the need for carbon-emissions-intensive fossil-fuel-based transportation. Using a panel of thirteen (13) Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries over the period 2002–2021, the analysis captures financial inclusion through indicators of ATM density and commercial bank accessibility, while digital inclusion is measured using mobile phone subscriptions and internet penetration. On this basis, it investigates the effects of (a) financial and (b) digital inclusion, and (c) the moderation of financial and digital inclusion on transport-related carbon emissions. Employing the Panel Two-Stage Estimated Generalised Least Square (EGLS) analysis on data obtained from the World Bank database and Our World in Data, the findings reveal statistically significant outcomes. Increasing ATM accessibility, commercial bank branch accessibility and mobile phone subscription rates are associated with reduced transport-related emissions. In contrast, enhanced internet access does not contribute to transport-related carbon emissions. Moderation analyses further indicate that the interaction of the accessibility of ATMs or commercial bank branches with internet access do not lead to a further reduction in carbon emissions than the individual ones but might have a slightly opposing direction (that still do not annihilate the individual effects). Findings show that only the moderation of ATM accessibility and mobile subscriptions reduce transport-related carbon emissions further than the individual effects. Taking the economic development of most SADC countries in the last 20 years into account, the study recommends strategic investment in advanced digital innovations, particularly linked with mobile devices, to strengthen digital banking efficiency and improve customer service while supporting emission-reducing pathways. Full article

Background/Objectives: Health promotion (HPr) is increasingly recognized as an essential component of modern pharmacy practice. In developing countries like Pakistan, pharmacists’ roles are evolving from traditional dispensing toward extended pharmacy services (EPS). This study evaluated the willingness, knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers of pharmacists in Karachi, Pakistan, regarding the provision of HPr-focused EPS. Methods: An online, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted between October 2024 and April 2025, using a 32-item questionnaire. Purposive and snowball sampling were employed to recruit pharmacists, including interns and fresh graduates. Descriptive and inferential statistics (χ², Fisher’s exact and Welch’s t-tests) were used for data analysis. Results: Of N = 389 respondents (mean age 29.8 ± 4.8 years), 85.1% expressed willingness to provide HPr services. A majority of respondents (72.7% and 70.4%, respectively) felt they possessed sufficient knowledge for HPr and for identifying lifestyle-related risks, while more experienced pharmacists (>1 year) reported higher confidence (p < 0.001 and p = 0.043). Positive attitudes toward public health involvement were high (82.3%), particularly among females (p < 0.001), younger pharmacists and fresh graduates (p = 0.019 and p = 0.010). However, only 39.1% believed they had sufficient time for patient education. Practicing pharmacists (n = 114) were most frequently involved in dietary advice (4.38 ± 0.89) and medication safety education (4.36 ± 0.97), while family planning counseling (2.92 ± 1.36) was the least commonly reported activity. Leading barriers identified via word cloud analysis included lack of time (n = 101), perceived lack of necessary skills (n = 96), insufficient resources (n = 91), limited technology access (n = 89), and lack of specific protocols (n = 84). Conclusions: Pakistani pharmacists demonstrate high professional willingness to engage in HPr-focused EPS. However, systemic barriers—primarily time constraints and a lack of supportive infrastructure—impede the full integration of these services into routine practice. Policy interventions, standardized protocols, and reimbursement models are necessary to leverage pharmacists’ potential in primary healthcare. Full article

Tropical forests are facing escalating deforestation, while forest degradation, driven by a complex interplay of human-induced factors, emerges as an additional and compounding threat. In this context, regulated selective logging persists as an alternative to conciliate forest protection and economic development. This study synthesizes current knowledge on the impacts of logging, focusing on research trends, geographic distribution, ecological topics, and key variables like logging intensity, time since logging, and number of logging cycles. Since the 1970s, 641 papers listed on the Scopus platform have demonstrated a sharp increase in publication activity over the past five years, followed by a tendency toward stabilization. Papers were concentrated in Brazil and Malaysia, with few papers coming from other countries, particularly from Africa. Notably, 47% of the studies did not report logging intensity, and one-third focused almost exclusively on its impacts on forest physical structure, damage, or biomass—leaving a wide range of other topics largely unexplored until 2022. We refer to 13 topics with less than 20 studies in total, such as nutrient cycling, non-timber forest products, biological invasion, and key biological taxa. Herbs, epiphytes, fishes and amphibians were among the least investigated taxa across the regions. Furthermore, when controlling variables like region and logging intensity, most ecological topics had fewer than five dedicated studies. Research remains largely restricted to similar scenarios: first-cycle logging in old-growth forests, leaving substantial knowledge gaps. As logging operations are expected to increase, we argue for (1) mandatory long-term monitoring in logging regulations; (2) public access to monitoring data, reports and information related to regulated logging; (3) a global platform to exchange experience such as long-term monitoring, better practices, silvicultural approaches and sustainability assessment; (4) alignment among regulatory and certification agencies on sustainability standards; (5) capacity building initiatives; and (6) long-term experiments devoted to logging sustainability and better practices. Full article