Search Results (68)

Background: The mediating effect of business resilience in the association between digital logistics strategy and competitive advantage is investigated in emerging markets. Given current global events, digital logistics is more than merely a competitive advantage for firms looking for stability and sustainability. Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV), the research aims to explore how digital strategies promote resilience and performance outcomes, particularly for SMEs in turbulent environments. Methods: They used mixed methods. The quantitative data were obtained from 227 Jordanian SMEs using a structured survey, and the qualitative data were from 10 semi-structured interviews with experts in logistics and marketing. Hypothesized relationships were tested through Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and qualitative validation through Thematic Analysis. Results: The results reveal that business resilience is a potent mediator between digital logistics strategies and competitive advantage. Both content marketing and social media marketing contribute to the enhancement of sustainable performance and to decreasing levels of market volatility. Email also has an impact on the sustainability, but does not directly or indirectly affect the volatility. Sustainable performance is thus confirmed to be a major factor for market stability. Conclusions: The findings emphasize the need for resilience-based digital logistics strategies for SMEs in developing economies. Well-directed content and social media marketing support both sustainability and competitive advantage. These findings offer managerial implications for the development of adaptive capacities to achieve long-term performance objectives in uncertain environments. Full article

This paper introduces the Integrated Model for Sustainable Development (IMSD), a theory-driven governance framework that embeds Corporate Diversity Responsibility (CDR) into climate and energy policy to advance systemic equity, institutional resilience, and inclusive innovation. Grounded in Institutional Theory, the Resource-Based View (RBV), and Intersectionality Theory, IMSD unifies fragmented sustainability efforts across five pillars: Climate Sustainability, Social Sustainability (CDR), Governance Integration, Collaborative Partnerships, and Implementation and Monitoring. Aligned with SDGs 7, 10, and 13, IMSD operationalizes inclusive leadership, anticipatory adaptation, and equity-centered decision-making. It addresses the compounded climate vulnerabilities faced by women and marginalized groups in the Global South, integrating insights from Indigenous resilience and intersectional adaptation strategies. Unlike conventional CSR or ESG models, IMSD institutionalizes diversity as a strategic asset and governance principle. It transforms DEIB from symbolic compliance into a catalyst for ethical leadership, legitimacy, and performance in turbulent environments. The model’s modular structure supports cross-sector scalability, making it a practical tool for organizations seeking to align ESG mandates with climate justice and inclusive innovation. Future empirical validation of the IMSD framework across diverse governance settings will further strengthen its applicability and global relevance. IMSD represents a paradigm shift in sustainability governance—bridging climate action and social equity through theory-based leadership and systemic institutional transformation. Full article

Background: China’s relocated for poverty alleviation policy has played a pivotal role in eradicating extreme poverty nationwide. However, adolescents relocating with their parents may face multifaceted challenges, including abrupt shifts in their living environments, the reconstruction of social capital, and the psychological turbulence inherent to adolescence. Objectives: We aimed to explore predictors of reducing depressive symptoms in relocated adolescents. We analyzed the associations between social capital, life satisfaction, and adolescent depression. Methods: This study investigated 631 adolescents aged 10–19 years from 24 relocation for poverty alleviation resettlement sites in Shanxi Province. Respondents completed basic demographic information and questionnaires on adolescent social capital, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. The mediating role of life satisfaction was assessed using PROCESS 3.4 analysis. Results: The mean social capital score of the adolescents was 31.96 ± 3.666, the mean life satisfaction score was 23.21 ± 6.282, the mean depression score was 4.03 ± 5.503, and the depression detection rate was 15.2%. We found that social capital was significantly positively correlated with life satisfaction (r = 0.363, p ˂ 0.05), both social capital and life satisfaction were negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = −0.362, p ˂ 0.05; r = −0.398, p ˂ 0.05), and life satisfaction partially mediated the association between social capital and depressive symptoms (mediating effect of 18.20%). Conclusions: Adolescents in communities relocated for poverty alleviation are overall satisfied with their lives, but some are experiencing some form of depression. Both social capital and life satisfaction are associated with lower depression levels, and those with higher life satisfaction are better able to cope with the changes in social capital associated with environmental changes after relocation, thus helping to reduce depressive symptoms. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic devastated businesses globally, leading to significant economic and social challenges. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are particularly vulnerable to environmental turbulence, while their survival and resilience are critical to the national economic recovery of countries globally. This study adopted a qualitative approach to examine the strategic responses adopted by MSMEs and the impact of the strategies on survival and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The sample size comprises ten (10) MSMEs and data collection using a semi-structured interview schedule. The key findings indicate that the MSMEs adopted cost reduction and diversification strategies to mitigate the impact of the abrupt COVID-19 lockdowns and the subsequent financial and cashflow problems, threats to business continuity and survival. The study conclusions indicate that adopting a combination of cost reduction and diversification strategies improved the business continuity and survival of MSMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study recommendations include the need for government and stakeholders to enhance the capacity and competence of MSMEs in strategic and operational planning, investing in technology, innovation, creativity, training and development of strategic agility and fostering adaptive organisational cultures that enhance flexibility, resilience and survival when faced with economic and business environment disruptions in future. Full article

Research background: Modern enterprises operate in conditions of very dynamic changes, where the increasing complexity of the environment affects their ability to achieve their assumed organizational goals. These goals are extremely important in the context of the current functioning of the enterprise, as well as in moving towards sustainable economic development. Functioning in this era of unpredictability and turbulence is a significant challenge not only in the context of the current activities of business entities, but especially for their development. An important element in the aspect of development is the ability to recognize and identify development factors that may directly and/or indirectly affect the results of the activities or projects that are undertaken. In this context, undertaking research on development factors during the COVID-19 pandemic (referred to in the literature as a time of crisis in global economies) seems to be fully justified, and the adoption of comparative periods, i.e., before and during the pandemic, has cognitive value. This value also refers to the possibility of recognizing the conditions needed for the strategic management of the enterprise in the context of a transformation towards sustainable development goals. The authors of the study point to the research gap related to the lack of in-depth and multifaceted research on the factors in the development of family businesses in the SME sector. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the paper is to analyze and assess the development factors of family businesses in the SME sector in Poland during two periods, namely 2018–2019 (two years before the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2020–2021 (two years in the COVID-19 pandemic period). Methods: To achieve this aim, a comparative analysis of the performance of family businesses in the SME sector was carried out based on the author’s own data. These data were obtained through surveys (CAPI method) carried out among micro-, small-, and medium-sized family enterprises in the Masovian Voivodeship in Poland, taking into account the two research periods indicated above. Statistical methods were also used in the data analysis. The average values of the assessments of the importance of groups of development factors for the development of the enterprise were analyzed using an analysis of variance with repeated measures in a mixed model, because the average assessments were determined on an interval scale. Tests of between-subject effects made it possible to compare enterprises of different sizes, and tests of within-subject effects and tests of interactive effects made it possible to compare two time perspectives. Findings and value added: The findings of this study contribute to the literature on family businesses in the SME sector and the factors in their development. The implementation of this publication contributed to filling the revealed research gap, as well as solving the formulated research problem, along with verifying the research hypotheses formulated in the work. Based on the research conducted, the main determinants of development in family enterprises in the SME sector were identified, taking into account both individual factors and groups of factors. The conducted research allowed us to show the similarities and differences both between the individual size classes of these enterprises and between the research periods. The added value of the empirical research conducted refers to the identification of factors for the development of family enterprises in the SME sector, their comparison in terms of the size classes of these entities, and the comparison of their importance in economically and socially diverse research periods, i.e., before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It should be emphasized that while the literature on the subject presents research in this area in relation to family enterprises in general, research on these family units belonging to the SME sector, along with their division into size classes, is much less common. The implementation of the research is, therefore, an important contribution to the development of the broadly understood science of the development of family enterprises, showing the importance of groups of factors in their development in light of the changing conditions of the modern economy in the individual size classes of these entities. Full article

Startups face significant challenges in balancing survival with sustainability, as approximately 90% of them fail. Sustainability is often perceived as a short-term cost, yet turbulent business environments—driven by climate change, environmental regulations, and evolving social expectations—are compelling startups to align their innovations with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. These efforts aim to attract investors, customers, and other stakeholders. Despite resource constraints and the liabilities of smallness and newness, understanding how startups leverage innovation to achieve sustainability performance is of both theoretical and practical importance, particularly within the framework of triple bottom line theory. This study empirically examines the roles of absorptive capacity, appropriability, and openness in mediating and moderating the relationship between innovation activities and sustainability performance in startups. Using data from the Korean Innovation Survey 2018—a structured tool aligned with global standards for tracking innovation activities—we analyze 278 young manufacturing firms. Regression analyses reveal that product innovation and organizational innovation are significantly associated with sustainability performance. Furthermore, absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between these types of innovation and sustainability performance. To explore the contingencies influencing these relationships, we test appropriability (measured by protection mechanisms) and openness (quantified by external partnerships). Moderated mediation analysis indicates that openness strengthens the direct relationship between product innovation and sustainability performance up to a threshold but weakens it beyond this point. Organizational innovation’s impact on sustainability performance is fully mediated by absorptive capacity, while appropriability moderates this mediation by enhancing absorptive capacity’s effectiveness when limited protection mechanisms are used. These findings contribute to sustainability research by highlighting that startups’ sustainability efforts are driven by innovation activities mediated by absorptive capacity and contingent upon specific factors such as appropriability and openness. The study confirms the paradox of openness in startup contexts pursuing triple bottom line objectives. Practically, this research provides actionable insights for corporate leaders and policymakers on fostering absorptive capacity through external knowledge acquisition while carefully managing appropriability mechanisms and collaboration strategies to enhance sustainability outcomes. Full article

Climate change and environmental pollution pose urgent global challenges that critically affect economic and social development. Corporate green innovation has emerged as a pivotal driver of coordinated environmental and economic progress. However, the existing research has predominantly focused on the effects of media coverage pertaining to corporations themselves in regard to corporate decisions, providing limited insight into the effects of media coverage on environmental protection. Thus, this study aims to investigate the governance effect of the media and its influence on corporate green innovation. Utilizing fixed-effect models, which involves analyzing data from various secondary sources, this study focused on Chinese manufacturing companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2008 to 2019. The results revealed that media coverage of environmental protection had a positive impact on corporate green innovation. In addition, this study found that industry turbulence enhanced the connection between media coverage of environmental protection and green innovation, whereas factor market development and managers’ overseas experience weakened this relationship. Recognizing the role that the media plays in promoting green innovation can empower companies to effectively address environmental challenges and contribute meaningfully to sustainable development. Full article

This study examines how integrating the critical components of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) can improve the adaptability of microenterprises by applying the Viable System Model (VSM). Given the crucial role of microenterprises in job creation, entrepreneurship promotion, and social cohesion, the need for approaches that ensure their success in turbulent environments is highlighted. We applied Social Network Analysis (SNA) to analyze a co-occurrence network to identify critical EO factors relevant to microenterprises and to understand how authors relate them to the structure of the VSM using a Californian microenterprise as a conceptual model. These factors include innovation, autonomy, control implementation, market orientation, and change management, organized into the five functions of the VSM. The results suggest that this conceptual framework strengthens organizational responsiveness in disruptive environments, promoting internal cohesion and more informed decision-making. Although the specific characteristics of each microenterprise require adjusting the VSM to their particular needs, this study provides a solid basis for applying the key elements of EO in the VSM, underscoring the need for further research to adapt this approach to different contexts to improve organizational agility in the face of exogenous shocks. Full article

This paper explores the phenomenon of lapsing among young Japanese Catholics, highlighting how both local and translocal experiences of Roman Catholicism shape the ebbs and flows of faith for our interlocutors. While global Catholic events such as World Youth Day can reignite faith by fostering a sense of belonging to a larger, global Church, the contrast with the small and socially isolated Catholic community in Japan often precipitates lapsing. This study examines the influence of the New Evangelisation, which promotes active belief and translocal unity, and argues that this movement can both strengthen global Catholic identity and exacerbate feelings of alienation in local, non-Catholic societies. Ultimately, we stress, in the context of Roman Catholicism, that lapsing should not be seen as simply a rupture in faith but as part of a continuous, if turbulent, Catholic identity, mediated by translocal flows of belief and institutional authority. Full article

To enable wind energy to surpass fossil fuels, the power-to-cost ratio of wind turbines must be competitive. Increasing installation capacities and wind turbine sizes indicates a strong trend toward clean energy. However, larger rotor diameters, reaching up to 170 m, introduce stability and aeroelasticity concerns and aerodynamic phenomena that cause noise disturbances. These issues hinder performance enhancement and social acceptance of wind turbines. A critical aerodynamic challenge is flow separation on the blade’s suction side, leading to a loss of lift and increased drag, ultimately stalling the blade and reducing turbine performance. Various active and passive flow control techniques have been studied to address these issues, with passive techniques offering the advantage of no external energy requirement. High-lift devices, such as leading-edge slats, are promising in improving aerodynamic performance by controlling flow separation. This study explores the geometric parameters of slats and their effects on wind turbine blades’ aerodynamic and acoustic performance. Using an adequate turbulence model at Re = 10⁶ for angles of attack from 14° to 24°, 77 slat configurations were evaluated. Symmetric slats showed superior performance at high angles of attack, while slat chord length was inversely proportional to aerodynamic improvement. A hybrid method was employed to predict noise, revealing slat-induced modifications in eddy topology and increased low- and high-frequency noise. This study’s main contribution is correlating slat-induced aerodynamic improvements with their acoustic effects. The directivity reveals a 10–15 dB reduction induced by the slat at 1 kHz, while the slat induces higher noise at higher frequencies. Full article

In the turbulent and dynamic post-COVID business environment, strategic management (SM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) must increasingly adapt to meet the diverse needs of stakeholders and improve outcomes. Within this context, the total compensation (TC) system can play a pivotal role. This study aims to evaluate the importance of the TC system as a human resource management (HRM) tool that is mediated by the organisation’s strategy and a socially responsible factor in organisational behaviour. Our analysis explores various TC policies, including both financial and non-financial elements, and examines their relationship with SM and CSR policies. Using structural equation modelling on a sample of 205 employees from multinational technology companies based in Spain, we demonstrate a stronger relationship between SM and non-financial TC. Additionally, the indirect effect of SM on the social aspect of CSR is notably stronger through non-financial TC. These findings could have profound implications for practitioners, suggesting that the effective implementation of non-financial TC systems can enhance SM and foster socially responsible organisational behaviour. Moreover, aligning SM with CSR policies through robust compensation systems could enable companies to achieve competitive advantages by increasing workforce commitment and engagement. Full article

This study aims to examine the role of digital leadership in mediating the relationship between institutional pressures (regulatory, normative, and cognitive) and sustainable performance (economic, social, and environmental) from an institutional perspective. It further examines the moderating effect of environmental turbulence as uncertainty rises. Using a sample of 508 Chinese listed firms, this research empirically investigates the mediating role of digital leadership between institutional pressures and sustainable performance. Additionally, it outlines the moderating influence of environmental turbulence between institutional pressure and digital leadership, as well as between digital leadership and sustainable performance. Our findings indicate that enhanced digital leadership under institutional pressures can boost sustainable performance. Moreover, environmental turbulence has been identified as a moderating factor that weakens the relationship between cognitive pressure and digital leadership, and between digital leadership and sustainable performance. Full article

Turbulent political and economic changes in 1989 caused the gradual decline of the mining industry in the Slovak Republic. Abandoned territorial localities were created, affected by mining activity, without any use with devastated mining objects, or even a certain form of environmental burden. These territorial locations used for mining in the past, unused currently, in varying degrees of devastation, are referred to as mining brownfields. This issue is topical, as there is constant urbanization of new territories. Mining brownfields often represent a certain form of territorial reserve to support tourism development. The present study deals with identifying the tourist potential of the Fedö shaft mining brownfield in the Červenica—Dubník area (Slovakia), which is included in the list of national cultural monuments. The study points out the need for reclamation from the point of view of supporting the development of a tourist destination based on the accessible mining brownfield—the Jozef tunnel—making it possible to use the interaction links of both mining brownfields in the investigated area of tourism. Based on the results of the conducted SWOT analysis, the study presents the quantification of the tourism development support potential of the analyzed mining brownfield. It also includes selected environmental, social, and economic aspects of the reclamation, and the definition of an effective strategy for usage of the examined mining brownfield as a tool to support tourism development. The article concludes a model of effective management of the use of mining brownfields in the field of tourism in Slovakia, which is constructed as open and modifiable in its interaction with the specification of diverse conditions of tourist destinations with integrated mining brownfields, which include old mine works. Full article

Background: An alternative to unsustainable urban developments, rural living is on the rise, but it already has its challenges. To that end, rural logistics and transportation (RLT) calls for a comprehensive analysis of its context, especially in a climate-changed and socially turbulent world. Unlike urban logistics, there is limited focus on RLT in academic literature. However, rural areas’ lack of transportation and limited logistics operations negatively affect rural residents’ daily lives, especially socially disadvantaged groups such as older people, children, women, and low-income households. Methods: This study first identifies the key literature on RLT and sustainability using a systematic literature review. Then, it synthesizes from the extant literature the challenges in RLT and proposed solutions to understand how to improve accessibility and address some barriers to implementation, all through the perspective of quadruple bottom line (QBL) sustainability pillars. Results: The lack of opportunities presented to rural residents due to limited RLT leads to inequality between rural and urban populations, requiring academic attention. Moreover, despite the growing emphasis on sustainability in academic literature, there is a noticeable lack of attention to sustainability in RLT. Conclusions: This study leads policymakers toward a better understanding of rural communities’ complexities, directs practitioners to adopt the QBL perspective in decision-making, and aims to stipulate innovative RLT topics for further research for academicians. Full article

Climate change, changes in the natural environment, changing markets, price volatility, etc. pose tension and threats to the future of European Union farms. The uncertain future of family farms requires farm resilience—the ability to survive, adapt, and grow in the face of turbulent change. The limited resilience of family farms has become an important concern for rural and agricultural policy. The main goal of this work is to identify disturbances affecting Lithuanian family farms, assess their influence, investigate the general resilience of Lithuanian family farms, propose measures to reduce the vulnerability of farms, and increase the general resilience and sustainability. We used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to conduct the research. Survey research was conducted using a semi-structured expert interview in which various types of variables were collected. The survey questionnaire, consisting of 38 groups of questions, was sent by email to 500 randomly selected family farmers in January 2024 and collected in the same month. The statistical analysis of the data from the 205 duly filled-out questionnaires was carried out using correlation analysis. In this article, we apply the concept of general resilience of the family farm in the direction of robustness, adaptability, and transformability. We identify the main factors influencing the general resilience of the family farm and study the main attributes of the resilience of family farms. We find some links between family farm characteristics, vulnerability factors, and general resilience capabilities, and we make several proposals to increase family farms’ resilience. The obtained results prove that higher education, larger farm sizes, higher agricultural sales, and employment of permanent workers are associated with better resilience. Furthermore, increasing environmentally friendly practices positively impacts resilience. Older farms and farmers, longer durations of farming activity, and risk-averse behaviors tend to decrease resilience. Due to local and global circumstances, economic and social changes have occurred very quickly in recent years, so the results obtained in the study may not be valid in the long term. Similar surveys after several years will be necessary to study the resilience of Lithuanian farms, including deeper economic analyses that evaluate factors such as price sensitivity, the level of farm debt, and market access. Full article