Search Results (1,110)

This study seeks to evaluate the extent of risk disclosure procedures within the Jordanian corporate sector and to analyze the impact of key dimensions of audit quality—namely audit opinion, audit fees, and auditor type—on the level of corporate risk disclosure (CRD). The study analyzes 90 annual reports from Jordanian non-financial publicly listed firms spanning 2014 to 2023, yielding 900 firm-year observations. A manual content analysis approach was used to quantitatively evaluate the extent of risk disclosure, augmented by logistic regression to examine the impact of audit quality indicators. The empirical data demonstrate that the number of risk disclosure statements varies across firms, ranging from 2 to 10 words, with an average of 24 phrases. The data demonstrate that factors affecting audit quality—namely unqualified audit opinions, higher audit fees, and Big Four auditors—show a positive and significant link with heightened levels of risk disclosure. This indicates that enhanced audit quality elevates the legitimacy and openness of company reporting, thus reducing information asymmetry between management and stakeholders. Previous research on risk disclosure in Jordan has mostly neglected the influence of audit quality as a factor in transparency. This study is among the few that thoroughly investigate the impact of audit opinion, audit fees, and auditor type on company risk disclosure within the non-financial sector. The results underscore the essential importance of audit quality in improving monitoring and disclosure processes, thereby enriching the existing literature on corporate governance and risk reporting in developing economies. Full article

Back-support exoskeletons are emerging as a promising solution to enhance workers’ safety, performance, and well-being in logistics environments. In warehouses, order picking and palletizing tasks impose substantial physical loads on workers and are associated with an increased risk of developing low back pain. However, evidence on exoskeleton evaluation in real industrial settings with actual workers remains limited. This study presents a pilot field test assessing the XoTrunk active back-support exoskeleton in a logistics warehouse involving six workers. To assist workers in palletizing, exoskeleton torques were modulated by a novel control strategy that integrates acceleration-based intention detection with muscle-activity-based torque modulation that scales with the handled load. The aim was to evaluate the workers’ perceptions of the exoskeleton in terms of assistance, comfort, usability, and acceptance and to assess the reduction in metabolic cost previously observed in laboratory studies. Results showed a non-significant decrease of 7.6% in average metabolic cost when using the exoskeleton compared to working without it (t(5) = 1.6, $p>$ 0.05). Nonetheless, some drawbacks emerged during field use: comfort issues and movement hindrance were frequently reported, affecting overall user acceptance. These findings highlight the importance of user-centered field tests to assess exoskeleton performance, support companies in making evidence-based decisions, and enhance workers’ awareness and acceptance to ultimately improve industrial ergonomics and safety. 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

The conducted study examines the environmental impacts of logistics sector operations and possible solutions to reduce them. The main aim is to balance the stability of sustainability principles across economic, social, and environmental indicators by applying green methods. Logistics warehouse operations are also important, because they can also have negative impacts, but this study focuses on environmental pressures. Logistics firms choose to implement green sustainable methods because their major sustainability aim is the protection of the environment. Moreover, by achieving this vision, logistics companies can create better brand image and attract more customers and suppliers. This study included a survey conducted among various professionals to obtain a deep understanding of the topic, with the findings being visualised in charts to improve understanding and generate an interest for this area of study; a table illustration is also provided to clearly present the factors contributing to the environmental footprint of logistics firms and solutions to mitigate them. According to the results given in this article, it can be stated that the modern world shows great interest in the topic of sustainability and takes into strict consideration green methods in order to achieve sustainable operations efficiently. Full article

Background: Thailand is considered a logistics hub in Southeast Asia where the freight forwarding sector is essential for international trade and economic growth. This study aims to explore the relationships between logistics resources, strategic capabilities, competitive advantage, and organizational performance in Thailand’s freight forwarding sector. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 250 management-level respondents from Thai freight forwarding companies. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine direct and mediating relationships among constructs. Results: Logistics resources significantly influenced competitive advantage, while strategic capabilities that integrate dynamic capabilities and green supply chain management exerted a stronger effect. Competitive advantage strongly predicted organizational performance, explaining 53.4% of its variance. Mediation analysis confirmed that competitive advantage mediates the effects of both logistics resources and strategic capabilities on organizational performance. Conclusions: Strategic capabilities exert greater impact on competitive advantage than static logistics resources, underscoring that organizational adaptability is more critical than resource possession alone. Freight forwarding firms should prioritize capability development and embed environmental management as a core competency rather than a compliance obligation. Full article

Tile adhesive mortars are industrialized products used for installing ceramic coverings and are classified according to the Brazilian standard ABNT NBR 14081/2012 on the basis of tensile adhesion performance under different curing conditions. Their formulation directly affects both technical performance and manufacturing competitiveness, while conventional product development remains slow, costly and strongly dependent on trial-and-error laboratory testing. This study evaluates whether historical industrial formulation data can support the retrospective prediction of approval or failure of tile adhesive mortars under ambient, oven, immersed and open-time curing conditions. A dataset comprising 6031 individual pull-off observations collected between 2021 and 2023 by a European multinational company in the construction materials sector was used to train and compare Logistic Regression, Random Forest, Boosted Decision Tree and Support Vector Machine models in R and Azure. The study was designed as an industrial-data modelling investigation rather than as a prospective optimization experiment. The results show that ensemble tree-based models, particularly Boosted Decision Tree and Random Forest, achieved the strongest predictive performance, whereas Logistic Regression remained more suitable for inferential interpretation of formulation variables. Model performance was uneven across curing conditions: prediction was more reliable for oven and immersed curing, whereas ambient curing and open time were affected by strong class imbalance and low failure prevalence. The findings indicate that Machine Learning can support formulation screening and quality-oriented decision-making for tile adhesive mortars, provided that its use remains restricted to the formulation ranges represented in the historical dataset and is complemented by prospective experimental validation before deployment in new product development. Full article

Disruptions in supply networks have caused many logistical and planning challenges in the last few years. The previous predictability of the shipping times of raw materials changed drastically due to various global issues, which affected many production areas, including the wood industry. This work is motivated by a case study of a Central European plywood production facility, where supply-side disruptions caused difficulties in meeting deadlines for downstream companies of the construction and furniture industry. As a result, the objective of production planners shifted towards mitigating the financial burden caused by cancellation penalties. Three MILP (Mixed-Integer Linear Programming) models and a genetic algorithm were developed to tackle the scheduling of a plywood production plant with raw material shipments and order deadlines. The novelty of the considered problem lies in the flexibility of swapping order deadlines from the same client, which was inspired by the real-life deals of the aforementioned company. The methods were tested on 120 benchmark instances of different sizes generated from real industrial data. The genetic algorithm terminated within 60 s for all instances and found the optimal or best-known solution in 71 of 80 short-horizon instances, while also remaining efficient on larger 30-day cases. As the solution approach is not specific to plywood production, it can be applied to scheduling problems in other fields as well, where similar disruptions can develop, and the production process features are covered by the Multi-Mode Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem class. Full article

In today’s world, renewable energy sources (RESs) are crucial. Their role is growing year by year, for commercial enterprises, public institutions, and individuals alike. The aim of this study was to examine the competitiveness of solid biomass compared to other renewable energy sources in the opinion of entrepreneurs participating in the acquisition and processing of biomass. We did the research in 2024–2025. The number of companies participating in the research and involved in the production and sale of solid biomass was 37. The largest number of companies focus on two key stages of the biomass value chain: the acquisition and processing of biological raw materials. The most frequently indicated strategy is concluding long-term contracts with suppliers, which was chosen by 13 respondents. In total, 25 companies (representing approximately 68%) declared active investment in pro-ecological solutions and 12 companies (approximately 32%) indicated no such activities. The most noticeable factor influencing the sector was the development of regulations and certification at the European Union (EU) level, including the Renewable Energy Directives (RED II and RED III) and ESG requirements, as indicated by 10 respondents. The largest number of respondents (13 responses) indicated a moderate increase in the share of solid biomass. The most frequently cited barrier was high transportation and logistics costs, highlighted by as many as 13 companies. The increasing environmental awareness of customers, especially institutional ones, is fostering an increase in demand for certified biomass. The vast majority of companies confirmed that transportation costs pose a significant challenge, highlighting the importance of logistics in the biomass value chain. Maintaining and strengthening its market position requires overcoming the identified barriers and systemic political and economic support. Full article

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) established an initial strategy for maritime decarbonization and later specified its long-term target of achieving net-zero strategy by 2050. The institutional framework for mid-term measures was introduced by IMO, and mid-term measures were originally scheduled to be adopted at the end of 2025, but will be re-discussed in 2026 due to opposition from some current member states; South Korea relies on maritime transport for over 99% of its total import/export volume, meaning that the national shipping sector constitutes a core infrastructure supporting trade-driven economic activity. However, mid-term measures are expected to increase logistics costs and weaken route competitiveness and contract markets, affecting individual shipping companies and the entire export–import industrial base. However, quantitative analyses of the cross-industry ripple effects remain limited. Existing studies assess regulatory burdens on shipping but rarely estimate economy-wide spillovers or provide empirical guidance for policy strategies. Therefore, research is needed to move beyond regulatory interpretation, assess domestic response capabilities, and quantitatively analyze the macroeconomic impacts of mid-term measures to support sound policy decision-making. This study aims to quantitatively evaluate the nationwide economic impact of the IMO mid-term measures and propose strategic policy solutions for effective domestic responses. Full article

Sustainable forklift technologies have become essential in modern industrial logistics due to increasing environmental regulations, rising energy costs, and heightened occupational safety requirements. Given the complexity and variety of sustainable forklift options, selecting the most appropriate one has become a critical multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem for companies. This study aims to determine the most appropriate sustainable forklifts by considering multiple qualitative and quantitative criteria that play a critical role in the forklift selection process of companies. To this end, meetings are conducted with managers possessing expertise in sustainability and logistics at companies operating in Turkey. Based on these insights, ten forklift alternatives and six evaluation criteria are identified. This is the first time, in this study, sustainability criteria such as sustainability in occupational health and safety, sustainability in agility, sustainability in ergonomics, durability and material sustainability, sustainability in load lifting capacity and sustainability in price are incorporated into the evaluation. To the best of our knowledge, no study in existing literature has specifically focused on sustainable forklift selection, incorporating the comprehensive sustainability-oriented criteria considered in this study. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is employed to determine the weight of each criterion. Subsequently, forklift alternatives are ranked using the Multi-objective Optimization by Ratio Analysis (MOORA) ratio approach, the Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS), and the Elimination and Choice Translating Reality (ELECTRE) methods. Moreover, weights derived based on different subjective and objective weighting schemes, specifically FUCOM, BWM, and Entropy, as well as the resulting ranking outcomes are comparatively examined to assess the impact of varying weighting structures on the robustness and consistency of the final decision results. The proposed methodology is applied within manufacturing and logistics companies in Turkey to assess its practical effectiveness. As a result of this study, the most appropriate sustainable forklifts for the companies are identified. Furthermore, the outcomes of the applied methods yield consistent/similar results. The results emphasize that managers should place greater importance on the criteria of sustainability in occupational health and safety—identified as the most critical factor—followed by durability and material sustainability, and sustainability in load lifting capacity when selecting forklifts. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the method yields consistent and effective results. Moreover, it demonstrates the robustness and accuracy of the forklift evaluations. In this context, this study serves as a guided reference for companies in the selection of sustainable forklifts. Full article

The rapid diffusion of industry 4.0 technologies has substantially transformed the maritime transportation sectors by enabling data-driven operations, enhanced connectivity, and more intelligent decision-making processes. Digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), simulation systems, and advanced data analytics are increasingly reshaping operational structures in maritime logistics, positioning technological transformation as a strategic priority for firms. However, the weighting and prioritization of components emerging with industry 4.0 technologies remain an underexplored area in the literature. The primary motivation of this study is to determine the weights of these industry 4.0 components using the Bayesian Best Worst Method (BWM) and to reveal their corresponding credal ranking levels. In this context, the present study aims to evaluate and prioritize the critical industry 4.0 components influencing technological transformation processes using the Bayesian BWM. Bayesian BWM is preferred over alternative Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approaches due to its ability to explicitly model uncertainty within a probabilistic framework, generate more consistent weighting results, and flexibly incorporate decision-makers’ judgments. The findings reveal that safety and security (0.2945) constitute the most influential main component, underscoring the necessity of robust digital infrastructures and reliable systems within highly digitalized operational environments. Among the sub-components, data privacy (0.1301) demonstrates the highest global weight, highlighting the growing importance of safeguarding sensitive information in data-intensive digital systems. The results further indicate that autonomous operation and coordination play significant roles in facilitating efficient digital operations, particularly through real-time equipment monitoring and IoT-based operational visibility. Moreover, sustainability (0.1968) emerges as the second most important component, suggesting that organizations increasingly assess technological investments not only in terms of operational efficiency but also with respect to long-term resilience. Within this dimension, continuous training (0.0614) is identified as the most influential component, indicating that the success of digital transformation depends not only on technological infrastructure but also on the development of human capabilities. With the increasing digitalization of the maritime industry, protection against cyber threats has become essential for ensuring operational continuity and safeguarding data integrity. In this regard, adopting proactive cybersecurity strategies and continuously monitoring and updating systems are of critical importance. In the digital transformation of maritime transportation, integrating sustainability considerations is essential to ensure long-term operational efficiency and environmental responsibility. These practical implications are particularly relevant for policymakers, port authorities, and shipping companies seeking to enhance both digital capabilities and sustainable performance. Full article

The urban remoteness of warehouses and distribution centres, known as logistics sprawl, has been observed for several decades. According to some, this increase in distances between logistics facilities and hypercentres contributes to the environmental worsening of transport operations, especially in densely populated places such as the Paris metropolitan area. Therefore, the question of logistics tightening—the opposite phenomenon—arises in the context of reducing pollutant emissions in the territories concerned. The objective of this work is to clarify the “hidden” mechanisms of freight transport services. It evaluates, through a simulation, the carbon footprint and operational efficiency of logistics tightening in the city of Paris. The input data we use comes from a large courier service company that can be regarded as an interesting case study when it comes to the Paris region. In our scenario, the ecological consistency of the journeys and the logistical requirements of the transport chain may be contested. Indeed, the inner resettlement of hubs for greener deliveries suggests the actual scheme of the company gets closer to optimum and ironically illustrates the relevance of the current locations. Logistics tightening mainly focuses on the last mile, but such a problem is complex, as each link of the chain has its own peculiarities, meaning the sustainability of one can undermine that of another. Full article

This paper proposes an adaptive decarbonization model for the Russian non-ferrous metallurgy sector. The model accounts for the specific structure of the national energy balance (with nuclear and hydropower accounting for up to 40%), existing technological constraints, and regulatory risks, including the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Based on a comparative analysis of key companies (RUSAL, Norilsk Nickel, and UMMC), an algorithm for the sequential assessment of decarbonization priorities is developed. Its core element is an integrated urgency indicator, which enables the ranking of enterprises according to their sensitivity to carbon-related restrictions. The model aims to minimize potential financial losses arising from external carbon taxation while leveraging the structural competitive advantages of the Russian energy system. The priority in decarbonization in Russia is determined not by the absolute level of technological development or the current carbon intensity of production, but by the degree of exposure to external regulatory and market risks combined with the ability to adapt. It is proven that in the current geopolitical and economic realities, the successful decarbonization of Russian non-ferrous metallurgy is impossible either as exclusively technological modernization or as a passive reaction to external regulatory pressure. The findings indicate that directly adopting international decarbonization strategies developed for the EU and North America (such as the EU Green Deal and CBAM) is ineffective due to fundamental differences in raw material bases, climatic conditions, and logistics. Full article

The maritime sector plays a critical role in global logistics systems, acting as a key link within international supply chains. Companies in this sector generate significant employment across the logistics and global value chain. However, it is noticeable that this sector still lacks innovative ideas related to the growth of the level of sustainable development. A wider adoption of green innovations could significantly improve environmental performance and reduce the ecological impact of maritime activities. A key factor that can stimulate the development of innovations in the maritime sector is green finance solutions. Dedicated financing for the greening of the maritime sector can catalyze innovation implementation processes both on ships and in ports. This article analyzes the opportunities for investments in greening activities using specific green finance instruments. This article presents the current situation of the maritime sector in terms of innovation and opportunities for project financing and increasing the value of companies, as well as key technological solutions that increase the level of sustainability in this sector. One of the key challenges is the limited intervention of governments and international organizations in accelerating maritime decarbonization. Maritime sector companies are slow to make progress towards sustainability—there is a lack of fundamental innovation and voluntary efforts to decarbonize. This has led to a situation where a large part of the innovations created are unprofitable today. The authors of this article suggested key investment directions—digitalization and robotization solutions, modernization of old ships and greening solutions for port companies. These actions would provide a short-term breakthrough, but it is necessary to consistently invest in new types of innovations based on scientific research. Full article

Voluntary turnover represents a critical challenge in essential public services, where workforce attrition affects both employee well-being and service quality. The primary objective of this study was to identify the psychosocial predictors of well-being profiles and turnover intention among public transport workers, using the Job Demands–Resources model as a theoretical framework. A cross-sectional study design was employed, with 131 employees of an Italian public transport company completing a questionnaire assessing turnover intention and key psychosocial factors (job satisfaction, perceived work-related stress, work engagement, meaning of work, and perceived workplace safety). The analytical strategy integrated Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), logistic regression, and path analysis. LPA identified two distinct well-being profiles: a “low well-being profile,” with high perceived stress and low engagement and meaning of work; and a “high well-being profile,” with low stress and high engagement and work meaning. Logistic regression analyses showed that satisfaction with pay and the intrinsic nature of work tasks predicted membership in the high well-being profile. Path analysis indicated that profile membership significantly predicted turnover intention, with employees in the high well-being profile reporting lower turnover intention. Additionally, satisfaction with supervision, perceived workplace safety, and age showed direct effects on turnover intention. These findings highlight the organizational and psychological resources that can increase employee well-being and retention in the public transport sector, offering insights for preventive interventions and for promoting safer and more sustainable public transport systems. Full article