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Nature loss threatens businesses, the global economy and financial stability. Understanding and addressing these risks for business will require credible measurement approaches and data. This paper explores how natural capital accounting (NCA) can support business data and information needs related to nature, including disclosures aligned with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures recommendations. As businesses seek to measure, manage and disclose their nature-related risks and opportunities, they will need well-organized, consistent and high-quality information regarding their dependencies and impacts on nature, which few businesses currently collect or track in-house. NCA may be useful for these purposes but has not been widely used or applied by businesses. National NCA guided by the U.N. System of Environmental-Economic Accounting may provide: (i) a useful framework for businesses in conceptualizing, organizing and managing nature-related data and statistics; and (ii) data and information that can directly support business disclosures, corporate NCA and other business applications. This paper explores these opportunities as well as synergies between national and corporate natural capital accounts. In addition, the paper discusses key barriers to advancing the wider use and benefits of NCA for business, including: awareness of NCA, data access, business capabilities related to NCA, spatial and temporal scales of data, audit and assurance considerations, potential risks, and costs and incentives. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bringing nature into decision-making'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid advances in digital hearing technologies, also known as hearables, are expected to disrupt the direct‐to‐consumer health market. For older adults with higher incidence of hearing loss, such disruption could reduce hearing problems, increase accessibility to hearing aids, and mitigate related stigmas. This paper delves into the intersection of disruptive innovation and hearables within the realm of biomedical ethics. Through a comprehensive exploration, we shed light on the ethical implications surrounding hearables. By critically evaluating the key ethical advantages and drawbacks, we find that no single concern presents an insurmountable a priori objection to hearables. We conclude with some ideas to maximize the benefits of hearables and further promote opportunities for equitable hearing health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how exposure to a field of study influences students’ major choices. If students have incomplete information, exposure potentially helps them to learn about the scope of a field as well as how well the field matches their interest and abilities. We exploit a natural experiment where university students have to write a research paper in business, economics, or law during their first year before they choose a major. Due to oversubscription of business papers, the field of the paper is assigned quasi-randomly. We find that writing in economics raises the probability of majoring in economics by 2.7 percentage points. We show further that this effect varies across subfields: the effect is driven by assignment to topics less typical of the public's perception of the field of economics, suggesting students learn through exposure that the field is broader than they thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is the relationship between sustainable energy sources and financial development. The main research hypothesis assumes a positive link between these areas, with inevitable differences across countries and business sectors. The following research questions were asked: Is the impact of financial development on sustainable energy resources the same in different EU countries advanced in green transition processes? How is transition towards renewable energy sources progressing in different economic sectors? Does financial development influence sectoral transition in particular countries? This study uses the TOPSIS method and 25 variables for EU countries from 2013 to 2021. Key findings reveal that the link between sustainable energy sources and financial development varies across EU countries, country size affects energy autonomy, and the transition also differs by business sector. Surprisingly, higher financial development correlates with less progress in sustainable energy initiatives. The results of our research may be useful for government decision-makers in the process of designing and controlling the country's transition to sustainable energy. The original contribution of the study is expressed in its the diagnosis of the relationship between financial development and sustainable energy sources, while most studies have focused on the relationship between the energy market and financial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As technology ceases to be a privilege in organizations to become a basic requirement in any business sector, especially after the Covid 19 pandemic, enterprise architecture becomes a technology management tool to improve the performance of companies, hence the importance of studying their evolution, current status and trends through a bibliometric analysis that allows building a foundation for future research. The methodology used identifies the scientific production regarding its quantity, quality, structure and trends through the use of automated algorithms in the bibliometrix and biblioshiny applications, in 1,091 scientific papers published from 2011 to 2022. The results show a slightly upward linear scientific production, with references in authors and impact located mainly in developed countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and with the presence of emerging countries such as China and India. Regarding the structure of the theme, the clusters related to technology and information are the predominant ones, although themes such as innovation and business models begin to show connections with the study of enterprise architecture. Finally, regarding the study trend, until 2020 the topics were focused on technology and information, changing towards sustainable development, the internet of things, business models, digital transformation, blockchain and case of studies, which shows the insertion of this study in the business field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented scientific paper arises mainly in the context of solving current issues, problems of theory and practice of entrepreneurship. In particular, in the field of dispositional solutions, dimensions of the formation of normative basis of sustainable development in the field of production and logistics. It is an expression and continuation of the previous opinion, thought march, experiential expression of the authors on the issue. It focuses mainly on the current challenges associated with the development management of production and logistics, on the parameters that will need to be respected and, to a greater extent, applied in the future. It is also a response to the fact in the sense that the results of research, predispositions in the field are insufficient. Especially in terms of the approach to solving the problems of the normative base, not only in the responsible authorities, institutions in this area, but also in the business units themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context and background A global land rush -driven by a variety of factors-is driving transformative change in African rural communities that depend on land for their livelihoods. This increased demand has resulted in the acquisition of large areas of land on the continent. While the pace and scale of land acquisition may be levelling off,1 in many cases, some or all of the land acquired by investors stands idle.2 Land return- in which a private company legally transfers all or part of its land holdings back to a community or government-is an emerging phenomenon that may be on the rise as companies seek to limit their exposure to risk, governments redesignate lands and communities push for the return of their land. Land return holds promise as a way to correct for overzealous and misguided land acquisition and historical injustices amidst a growing understanding of the value of land to communities. Goal and Objective Yet land return presents challenges, many of which may be unexpected. Though existing frameworks and guidelines regarding responsible investments require effective community consultation, there is less clarity and limited guidance on what risks, mitigation strategies, and tools are needed to safeguard the rights of communities in the context of land return. Methodology This paper brings forward experience from a recent land return process in Tanzania in which Landesa and its partners worked to identify and put into practice standards and approaches that protect community rights while supporting a company's efforts to comply with best practices, national and international requirements and expectations for responsible corporate practice. The tools and processes tested and shared through this project align with efforts to support implementation of the Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Areas (AfCFTA) and achieve the aspiration of the Africa We Want (Agenda 2063). Results: This paper highlights the importance of inclusive and transparent land governance practices by presenting a case study of Landesa's experience working with a forestry company to engage with communities and local land administration to understand needs and expectations around the companys intention to return approximately 14,000 hectares of land. The case study will highlight land return-related risks, present a model for community benefit sharing arrangements, and will share lessons learned, highlighting potential best practices that companies holding idle land might consider and employ to reallocate to landscarce communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This systematic review contributes to the understanding of the characteristics of built food environments that may be associated with choices of alternative protein foods (APF). Using the built food environment typology proposed by Downs et al., we investigated various environmental structures (e.g., supermarkets, other retailers, farmers' markets, restaurants, schools, and online vendors) and the characteristics that may facilitate or hinder consumers' choices. For example, facilitators and barriers may refer to the physical characteristics of environmental structures, food presentation practices, the organizational strategies or policies operating in the setting, or the actions that retailers or consumers engage in while selling, serving, choosing, trying, or purchasing APF in these environmental structures. Methods: A systematic review (PROSPERO database preregistration; no. CRD42023388700) was conducted by searching 13 databases for peer-reviewed journals focusing on the fields of economics and business, agriculture, medical sciences, and social sciences. Data searches, coding, and quality evaluations were conducted by at least 2 researchers. A total of 31 papers (36 original studies) were included. The risk of bias was evaluated with the Joanna Briggs Institute quality evaluation tool, with 24 publications presenting low risk of bias. Results: The findings indicate that perceived and actual availability facilitate consumers' APF choices across a built food environment. Several barriers/facilitators were associated with APF choices in specific types of built food environments: the way food is presented in produce sections (supermarkets), consumer habits in terms of green and specialty shopping (grocery stores), and mismatches among retailer actions in regard to making APF available in one type of food environment structure (e-commerce) and consumers' preferences for APF being available in other food environment structures (supermarkets, grocery stores). The effect of a barrier/facilitator may depend on the APF type; for example, social norms regarding masculinity were a barrier affecting plant-based APF choices in restaurants, but these norms were not a barrier affecting the choice of insect-based APF in restaurants. Conclusions: Addressing barriers/facilitators identified in this review will help in developing environment-matching interventions that aim to make alternative proteins mainstream. Trial registration: PROSPERO database registration: #CRD42023388700. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the theory of learning in games to show that no-trade results do not require that gains from trade are common knowledge nor that play is a Nash equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the benefits and risk of asset-backed commercial paper programs. The risk-based capital treatment of the liquidity facilities and other supporting arrangements for these programs provided by banking organizations; How the existing guidance on securitization activities that the Federal Reserve has provided its examiners pertains to asset-backed commercial paper programs.

Tenors like "bring in the arts and get the creativity for free" have attracted business practitioners and researchers, and this "intersection" of business and arts has developed into a study field. Metaphorical learning from arts involves musical, also theatrical, and terpsichorean improvisation. Not surprisingly, several subfields in business - entrepreneurship, project, process, and service management - as well as other business and non-business fields - have been "jazzed". Another strengthening trend is linking different (sub)fields and fostering mutual learning. The paper seeks for novel possibilities to learn from jazz and to support further mutual learning and linking of disserted business, also non-business fields. Nowadays traditional business models and services are moving towards problem-solving and adaptation to change, implementing creativity and improvisation. Taking a fresh stock of relevant academic literature and discussion revealed the increasing importance of organizational improvisation. Jazz (music and arts) appeared to be a fruitful metaphor and source of learning. As differences appeared across the examined fields, possibilities for learning from jazz, as well as for mutual learning are not yet depleted. This paper provides insights to further learning from the jazz approach, as well as mutual learning and enrichment between the examined subfields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting policy-making from tobacco industry influence is central to effective tobacco control governance. The inclusion of industry actors as stakeholders in policy processes remains a crucial avenue to corporate influence. This influence is reinforced by the idea that the tobacco industry is a legitimate partner to government in regulatory governance. Addressing the influence of the tobacco industry demands a focus on the government institutions that formalize relationships between industry and policy-makers. Industry involvement in government institutions is particularly relevant in tobacco-growing countries, where sectors of government actively support tobacco as an economic commodity. In this paper, we discuss how controlling tobacco industry influence requires unique consideration in tobaccogrowing countries. In these countries, there is a diverse array of companies that support tobacco production, including suppliers of seeds, equipment and chemicals, as well as transportation, leaf buying and processing, and manufacturing companies. The range of companies that operate in these contexts is particular and so is their engagement within political institutions. For governments wanting to support alternatives to tobacco growing (Article 17 of the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control), we illustrate how implementing Article 5.3, aimed at protecting tobacco control policies from tobacco industry interference, is fundamental in these countries. Integrating Article 5.3 with Article 17 will (i) strengthen policy coherence, ensuring that alternative livelihood policies are not undermined by tobacco industry interference; (ii) foster cross-sector collaboration addressing both tobacco industry interference and livelihood development; and (iii) enhance accountability and transparency in tobacco control efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bushmeat is a resource exploited by thousands of people around the world, especially in tropical and neotropical regions, constituting an important source of protein and income. But what is known, so far, about the consumption and trade of wild vertebrate meat (hereinafter "bushmeat") in a megadiverse country like Brazil? This question was answered through a systematic survey of publications on the consumption and trade of wild vertebrate meat made in Brazil between 2011 and 2021. Methods: We selected 63 scientific articles available on "Google Scholar," "Science Direct," "Scopus," " Web of Science" and "Portal de Periódico da CAPES." The articles were categorized as: exclusive to (1) consumption or (2) bushmeat trade, totals of 54 and three articles, respectively; both (3) consumption and trade bushmeat, totaling six articles. We applied a nonparametric Spearman's correlation analysis to verify the association between the number of papers and the species richness of wild vertebrates cited for consumption by Brazilian state. Results: The results revealed that the publications were concentrated in the Northeast (36), North (26) and Southeast (1) regions, distributed across 16 states of the federation. These data reinforce the need for more researches in states and other regions of the country. Our research hypothesis was confirmed, since the richness of species cited for meat consumption was positively associated with the amount of work carried out by the states of the federation. We identified a total of 321 species of wild vertebrates mentioned in the categories involving the consumption of bushmeat. We had a greater bird species richness mentioned for consumption (170) to the detriment of mammals (107), reptiles (40) and amphibians (4). Furthermore, in the articles involving the bushmeat trade categories we had 57 species of vertebrates mentioned, with mammals being the most representative in terms of species richness (29), to the detriment of birds (20) and reptiles (8). These data reinforce that birds and mammals have been the groups most used both for consumption and trade in bushmeat in the country's regions, and it is necessary to mitigate the hunting exploitation of these groups. We recorded that socioeconomic, biological, environmental and sociocultural factors were the most cited predictors of the consumption and trade of bushmeat in the articles. We identified that the bushmeat trade chain is dynamic and ramified, made up of several actors, including specialized and diversified hunters, intermediaries, market sellers, market vendors, restaurant owners and final customers. Public markets and open-air fairs were the most cited places for buying and selling wild meat in commerce. Conclusions: In general, our results indicate that we have made significant advances in publications on the consumption and trade of bushmeat in Brazil over the last few years. However, we highlight the need to better understand the patterns of consumption and trade of bushmeat in different regions of the country, as well as the factors associated with the dynamics of the trade chain and uses of wildlife by local communities. We emphasized that a multidimensional understanding of hunting activities is important to face socio-ecological problems and improve the conservation of target species which have continually been explored for uses by populations in different regions of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term internationalization has been mainly used to show the expansion of economic activities of firms outside of their home country where they aim at capturing a bigger market. The Central and Eastern Europe region has gone through a process of market transition over the past few decades, yet the business internationalization process has played an important role in the states' economies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the firm internationalization process in the new member states and the Western Balkans countries and gain a better understanding of the process and its course over time. Due to different geopolitical circumstances, the Western Balkan countries did not attract as many investors as much as the EU member states in CEE did that have had a constant flow of investments once they were members of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cutting-edge technologies, with a special emphasis on the Internet of Things (IoT), tend to operate as game changers, generating enormous alterations in both traditional and modern enterprises. Understanding multiple uses of IoT has become vital for effective financial management, given the ever-changing nature of organizations and the technological disruptions that come with this paradigm change. IoT has proven to be a powerful tool for improving operational efficiency, decision-making processes, overall productivity, and data management. As a result of the continuously expanding data volume, there is an increasing demand for a robust IT system capable of adeptly handling all enterprise processes. Consequently, businesses must develop suitable IoT architectures that can efficiently address these continually evolving requirements. This research adopts an incremental explanatory approach, guided by the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). A rigorous examination of 84 research papers has allowed us to delve deeply into the current landscape of IoT research. This research aims to provide a complete and cohesive overview of the existing body of knowledge on IoT. This is accomplished by combining a rigorous empirical approach to categorization with ideas from specialized literature in the IoT sector. This study actively contributes to the ongoing conversation around IoT by recognizing and critically examining current difficulties. This, consequently, opens new research possibilities and promotes future developments in this ever-changing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prospective authors are requested to submit new, unpublished manuscripts for inclusion in the upcoming event described in this call for papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So-called spatial web queries retrieve web content representing points of interest, such that the points of interest have descriptions that are relevant to query keywords and are located close to a query location. Two broad categories of such queries exist. The first encompasses queries that retrieve single spatial web objects that each satisfy the query arguments. Most proposals belong to this category. The second category, to which this paper's proposal belongs, encompasses queries that support exploratory user behavior and retrieve sets of objects that represent regions of space that may be of interest to the user. Specifically, the paper proposes a new type of query, the top- $k$ k spatial textual cluster retrieval ($k$ k -STC) query that returns the top- $k$ k clusters that (i) are located close to a query location, (ii) contain objects that are relevant with regard to given query keywords, and (iii) have an object density that exceeds a given threshold. To compute this query, we propose a DBSCAN-based approach and an OPTICS-based approach that rely on on-line density-based clustering and that exploit early stop conditions. Empirical studies on real data sets offer evidence that the paper's proposals can find good quality clusters and are capable of excellent performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology is taken into account because the vital driver for the changes happening round the creation and within the future enlargement of monetary services and banking is one among the foremost significant between them. With the rapid climb of the web most banks are trying to draw in and retain customers during this highly competitive market through providing various ebanking services. Electronic banking service is gradually important in providing customers with a suitable and interactive facility. The target of this study is to explore factors like reduced cost of deal processing, improved payment efficiency, suitability, ease usage, improved banker customer link, less transaction time, consciousness and access to internet facility that shape the customer decision in adoption of e-banking service and to see the customer's level of satisfaction with reference to electronic banking services provided by Indian banks. The purchasers consuming banking services with the various e-channels are more satisfied but the shortage of alertness and safety may be a major issue within the spread of e-banking services. The paper also aims to look at the present status of banking e-services, identity its strengths and weaknesses, and use the findings in formulating future recommendations to form a contribution to knowledge within the chosen area. The paper concludes with suggestion to form ebanking services simpler within the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The online retail market shows a sharp increase in traffic during holiday sales. The ability to distinguish customers who will likely purchase is critical for provisioning traffic and for providing cost-effective promotions. This paper uniquely studies the browsing and purchasing behaviors of online shoppers during a yearly sale event in China, the world’s largest online marketplace. Based on 31 million action logs gathered from wide residential areas, we characterize the steps leading to purchases and determine their precursors. We investigate the effect of time (e.g., date, time of date), environment (e.g., platform, viewed category), and action (e.g., session time, clicks, sequence) on purchases. Action cues from shopping behaviors can be used for early detection. While most shoppers start with strong intentions to purchase, yet the moment of ordering comes rather impulsively within 30 seconds to several minutes of browsing. The predictive accuracy reaches as a high AUC of 0.924. The findings in this paper provide an understanding of traffic during mega sale events that can help online shops plan and provide a better user experience for upcoming shopping festivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the impact of the exchange rate on stock market indices of four main sectors in Turkey. For this purpose, the paper uses monthly data spanning the period between 06/2008-11/2020 and employs the panel GMM estimation method. This method instrumentalizes the past observation values of the dependent variable to control the endogeneity and provides efficient results. Considering that firms operating in many sectors in Turkey are affected by the volatility of the exchange rate, the paper takes initiative in understanding how stock market indices of four sectors react to the fluctuation in USD and Euro prices. This study contributes to the current literature, performing the panel GMM estimation method, unlike studies that only examine the causality relationship on the link between exchange rate and the stock market. The results show that there is unidirectional causality from the exchange rate to stock market indices. According to our findings, the USD/TRY exchange rate negatively affects stock market indices, and the Euro/TRY exchange rate positively affects stock market indices. The findings obtained from the analysis results confirm prior knowledge acquired from Turkey's foreign trade structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social enterprises, which are businesses with social objectives, have been championed by the UK government as an opportunity to deliver more innovative, socially oriented, and commercially sustainable public services. However, very little is known about them, especially in a social care context. This paper therefore aims to answer the following three questions: (1) What are care social enterprises?, (2) What are their distinctive qualities?, and (3) How can they contribute to the adult social care sector? It presents evidence from a "mapping" of care social enterprises in three English local authorities, and from interviews with 35 stakeholders from across the social care and social enterprise sectors. Drawing on an institutional logics framework, we explore the influence of different norms, goals, and practices on care social enterprises and the extent to which they are aligned with those of the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. We found that their unique combination of business and social logics, along with an entrepreneurial mindset, may make them more flexible, innovative, and able to diversify their income than public and not-for-profit care organisations. They were also considered more trustworthy than private care services. However, their competing social and business logics can create internal tensions and bring uncertainty about what organisational model they are. These tensions can make it challenging for us to define what a care social enterprise is and in turn for social enterprises to promote themselves and attract funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents various titles and abstracts of research papers related to geography by the Association of American Geographers. Some of papers included are "Problems of Geographic Influence," by Albert Perry Brigham, "Some Geographic Factors Influencing Brazilian Trade," by Walter S. Tower, "Postglacial Migrations of Vegetation in the Middle West," by Henry Allan Gleason, "Bases for Dividing the United States into Physiographic Provinces," by N. M. Fenneman, "The Losses of Nebraska," by G. E. Condra.

The quince is a fruit tree species that occupies 2% of the total orchard area in Romania. It can be utilized considering that quince is a fruit species used for ornamental purposes, for protective hedges, as a pollen-rich plant, for obtaining rootstock seedlings, in medicine, and the food industry. Following the identification of eco-pedological factors influencing the growth and development of quinces and the implementation of the stages underlying quince cultivation technology, it has been demonstrated that, in the pedoclimatic conditions of South Western Romania, establishing and exploiting a quince orchard is a highly profitable and interesting business with low investment and high returns. This fruit species yields abundantly, produces a large quantity of fruits, the production costs are low and can be recovered in a short time, the inter-row spaces can be used for intermediate crops, and the attractive selling price and the scarcity of quinces on the market provide the entrepreneur with an attractive income, making the business economically efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to propose an integrative framework that synthesizes the literature on collaborative value creation between nonprofit and business organizations. A systematic literature review was conducted of 41 papers. We analyzed the content of the papers quantitatively to present an overview. We also provided a qualitative analysis with the aim of identifying those attributes that influence collaborative value creation. The proposed integrative framework was based on the main findings, and the attributes and sub-attributes for value creation were presented. The framework extends the study on collaborative value creation, and provides the context (countries and businesses) and the main theories found in the literature. There is a lack of studies of emerging economies that adopt relevant theories (such as the relational view) and quantitative methods. Studies that address the environmental and economic impacts of partnerships and analyze the relationship between attributes and their influence on value creation are also scarce. Thus, a research agenda was proposed encompassing such aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to systematize the state of knowledge of and research on the inclusion of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) risk in companies' business models, with a special stress on energy sector companies. Many publications address incorporating ESG, but only some deal with it from the perspective of business models. This paper fills that gap. The methods of incorporating ESG risk into a sustainable business model, identified on the basis of the literature review, were verified based on the examples of three companies from the energy industry. A two-stage review of publications from the WoS and Scopus databases was carried out, considering a more comprehensive (sustainability) and a narrower (ESG risk) range of keywords, and the period from 2000 to 2022. The result showed that SMEs and large enterprises consider ESG risk in their risk management systems (ERMs), while small enterprises and start-ups do not. In Europe, Asia, and Australia, it is common to include ESG risk in an ERM, while it is rare in Latin America. In developing countries, companies in the service sector are more likely to include ESG risk in ERMs than those in the manufacturing sector. These findings may be useful for policymakers who wish to provide support and financial incentives for companies transforming their business models toward sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The introduction of elements of the circular economy requires major structural changes in economies, the involvement of a wide range of actors, including primarily businesses. However, it is worth noting the importance of other organizations, including the so-called third sector. Research objectives: The purpose of this article is to introduce the issue of cooperation of business and the third sector entities for the development of the circular economy. Research design and methods: For the purpose of the research paper, the following research method was used: a classic literature review and case study. Results: Collaboration between business and third sector providers has enormous potential for development and innovation. Conclusions: In Polish conditions the benefits and possibilities of cooperation between business and the third sector are not properly appreciated, and they are connected with a huge potential for the entities themselves and the possibilities of implementing the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New business opportunities based on grassland and green fodder present a promising avenue to realize the transition towards a circular and sustainable bio-based economy. Yet, such potential remains largely untapped and grass-based products and businesses remain a small niche in the global economy. To understand this phenomenon, this paper introduces and operationalizes a model to assess innovation readiness built around seven focus areas: technology, manufacturing, business, IPR, customer, team, and funding readiness with their own detailed "progress scales." We employ necessary condition analysis (NCA) to identify limiting factors and bottlenecks in actual business situations. Our results reveal that lack of consumer awareness, infant conversion technologies and paucity of long-term investments that support emerging bio-based businesses are the most limiting conditions for the growth of emerging grass-based markets. The present study advances our understanding of the factors that limit complex innovations in grassland systems. Focusing on necessary conditions in a coordinated way between practitioners and policy makers by giving priority to fostering positive awareness of bioeconomy businesses, developing conversion technologies, and improving access to capital is a recommended approach to foster emerging grass-based innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) is a mega regional trade agreement signed by fifteen countries on 15 November 2020 after 8 years of negotiation. Signatories include the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Australia. India was a negotiating party until it withdrew from the negotiations in November 2019. The RCEP negotiations were initially framed as focused on the needs of low income countries. Public health concerns emerged however when draft negotiating chapters were leaked online, revealing pressures on countries to agree to intellectual property and investment measures that could exacerbate issues of access to medicines and seeds, and protecting regulatory space for public health. A concerted Asia Pacific civil society campaign emerged in response to these concerns, and in 2019, media and government reporting suggested that several of these measures had been taken off the table, which was subsequently confirmed in the release of the signed text in November 2020.Results: This paper examines civil society and health actors' views of the conditions that successfully contributed to the removal of these measures in RCEP, with a focus on intellectual property and access to medicines. Drawing on twenty semi-structured qualitative interviews with civil society, government and legal and health experts from nine countries participating in the RCEP negotiations, the paper reports a matrix of ten conditions related to actor power, ideas, political context and specific health issues that appeared to support prioritisation of some public health concerns in the RCEP negotiations.Conclusions: Conditions identified included strong low and middle income country leadership; strong civil society mobilisation, increased technical capacity of civil society and low and middle income negotiators; supportive public health norms; processes that somewhat opened up the negotiations to hear public health views; the use of evidence; domestic support for health issues; and supportive international public health legislation. Lessons from the RCEP can inform prioritisation of public health in future trade agreement negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the subject matter is conditioned by the fact that the innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is based on the introduction of technological advances, the use of computer and resource-saving technologies, industrial and innovative achievements, is currently of great importance for the country’s economy. The paper aims to prepare recommendations for the development of public-private partnerships (PPP) in the conditions of innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The leading methods of researching the issues of the paper include the analysis of theoretical sources, analysis of statistics, and comparison. The analysis of statistical indicators plays a crucial role in the study since data on the innovation level on the development of PPP can be directly obtained from statistical databases. The research results showed that for the development of projects that are carried out on an innovative basis, cooperation between the state and business is necessary. Certain risks and consequences are inherent in innovative projects. Therefore, such projects require private partners who agree to PPP even under unstable political, economic and social conditions and also have corresponding production and innovative potential. Given the improvement of the regulatory framework at the national and regional levels, increasing the attractiveness of such cooperation, and providing comprehensive support for such projects, a partnership between the state and business in the innovation sector will develop. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the fact that the method of analysis of statistical indicators was used for the first time to analyse the concept of PPP in the context of the innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The observations of the paper have practical value for the development of PPP in the conditions of innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization, high city population growth rates, technological development, environmental impacts, and human wellbeing in urban areas have over the years become increasingly challenging concerns. These trends are related to the complex, multiple factors to be considered when evaluating “smart” cities, that is, municipalities that seek to improve residents’ quality of life by combining new technologies and environmentally sustainable practices. The above tendencies thus add to the myriad of indicators that need to be included in smart city assessments, whose intricacy hinders related decision-making processes. Based on the principles of multiple-criteria decision analysis, this paper seeks to integrate cognitive mapping and the Choquet integral to develop an assessment system that facilitates the evaluation of smart cities, which was named “SMART-C.” The research includes a panel of experts on smart cities who identifies the evaluation criteria and their respective interactions. The results of a real-life application of the assessment system developed in this paper are validated both by the panel members and a representative of the Lisboa E-Nova nonprofit association of the Lisbon City Council's Environment and Energy Department. These experts confirm that the proposed evaluation system facilitates making distinctions between cities according to how fully they develop “smartness.” The advantages and limitations of this assessment framework are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the supervised classification area, the algorithm selection problem (ASP) refers to determining the a priori performance of a given classifier in some specific problem, as well as the finding of which is the most suitable classifier for some tasks. Recently, this topic has attracted the attention of international research groups because a very promising vein of research has emerged: the application of some measures of data complexity in the pattern classification algorithms. This paper aims to analyze the response of the Customized Naïve Associative Classifier (CNAC) in data taken from the business area when some measures of data complexity are introduced. To perform this analysis, we used classification datasets from real-world related to business, 22 in total; then, we computed the value of nine measures of data complexity to compare the performance of the CNAC against other algorithms of the state of the art. A very important aspect of performing this task is the creation of an artificial dataset for meta-learning purposes, in which we considered the performance of CNAC, and then we trained a decision tree as meta learner. As shown, the CNAC classifier obtained the best results for 10 out of 22 datasets of the experimental study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviewed the relevant scientific literature on the business and economics of biobanking to explore key themes and paradigms. The structural properties of the literature were investigated, such as key authors, journals, studies, as well as co-citation and co-authorship networks; the study revealed that the research on business and economics is a niche area within the vast biobanking literature. The research is concentrated in a relatively small number of journals, institutions, and countries, which is rather surprising given the substantial public investment in and concerns about biobank sustainability. The structural analysis also suggested major themes in research on biobanking business and economics and noted shifts in focus on specific themes. The commercialisation of samples is more acknowledged than before but under the condition of equitable sharing of benefits across various stakeholders. Most biobanks are heavily subsidised by the public sector and are considered public goods rather than business enterprises. This is OK, but underutilisation of specimens and low rates of cost recovery suggest that the current mainstream operating model is hardly sustainable. With many biobanks maturing, long-term sustainability became a key topic of the discussion on biobanking trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The auditing of organizations' activities plays a crucial role in ensuring the direction chosen by top management and identifying early signs of upcoming changes and threats. The audit assesses the efficient use of resources and processes and promotes corporate credibility, which is essential from investors' perspectives, particularly in ecosystems of innovations. Meanwhile, little is known about lean auditing, which is crucial in achieving effective processes. This paper summarises the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of auditing. The research's primary purpose is to identify types of waste in auditing and formulate the principles of lean auditing. The systematic literature review and approaches for solving the problem based on grounded theory and triangulation of methods enabled the resolving of research problems. This article analyses the internal auditing standards and guidelines and uses in-depth interviews with 19 internal auditors from different Polish public organizations from 2017 to 2020. The choice of a qualitative approach resulted from the research phenomenon's open nature, with very few studies. It created a need for a reflective approach with respondents simultaneously being key informants and experts. The results of an empirical analysis showed that internal auditors little knew about the lean concept in audit processes. However, they noticed the benefits of using the lean concept in the audit. The research enabled the development of the model of lean auditing. It could help improve the audit process, which is particularly important from the innovation ecosystem perspective. Besides, one determined the waste of auditing and formulated the principles of lean auditing. The research results develop the audit theory and are helpful for practitioners. Improved internal audit better meets stakeholders' expectations regarding the spending of funds and implementation of tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future communication networksrequire higher bandwidth, greater coverage, and better throughput. The Space-Air-Ground Integrated Network (SAGIN) has the advantage of wide-area coverage and can cover global communications. It can meet the needs of network resources for maritime activities and remote mountainous areas, which is of great significance to the realization of a new generation of communications networks. With the development of the network and the emergence of delay-sensitive applications such as the Internet of Things, improving the delay performance of the system has received extensive attention. SAGIN involves multiple networks and is more complex than other networks. If there is no reasonable management between different networks, it is easy to lead to difficult link deployment and high time delay. On the basis of research and customization of SFC technology, it can provide a wide range of services and other advantages. It has significant performance in application scenarios involving multi network integration. In order to solve the above problems, this paper studies the SAGIN architecture of SFC based on business types. A service function chain mapping method based on delays prediction is proposed. Calculate the delay of the deployment path and select the path with the lowest delay as the SFC mapping path. The service model is constructed according to the mapping path, and the network slices are divided based on the service type. The simulation results show that the SFC mapping algorithm based on time delay prediction is compared with the traditional SFC mapping scheme. The algorithm does not affect other indicators, the CPU resource utilization rate is 27.8 $\%$ higher, and the link resource utilization rate is 22.7 $\%$ higher. The service acceptance rate increased by 21.5 $\%$ , the latency performance increased by 38.2 $\%$ , and the total resource consumption is reduced by 25.2 $\%$. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online social networks have become major battlegrounds for political campaigns, viral marketing, and the dissemination of news. As a consequence, “bad actors” are increasingly exploiting these platforms, which is a key challenge for their administrators, businesses and society in general. The spread of fake news is a classical example of the abuse of social networks by these bad actors. While some have advocated for stricter policies to control the spread of misinformation in social networks, this often happens in detriment of their democratic and organic structure. In this paper, we aim to limit the influence of a target group in a social network via the removal of a few users/links. We formulate the influence limitation problem in a data-driven fashion, by taking into account past propagation traces. More specifically, our algorithms find critical edges to be removed in order to decrease the influence of a target group based on past data. The idea is to control the diffusion processes while minimizing the amount of disturbance in the network structure. Moreover, we consider two types of constraints over edge removals, a budget constraint and also a, more general, set of matroid constraints. These problems lead to interesting challenges in terms of algorithm design. For instance, we are able to show that influence limitation is APX-hard and propose deterministic and probabilistic approximation algorithms for the budgeted and the matroid version of the problem, respectively. Experiments show that the proposed approaches outperform several baselines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism has been the sector most affected by the current pandemic, resulting in job loss and the closure of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME's). This research paper aims to determine the factors that can help restaurants to be more competitive in the face of a health crisis. The study was carried out in the City of Zacatecas, Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the magical town of Guadalupe, located in the state of Zacatecas of the Mexican Republic. Based on the literature review, it was constructed the «resources» latent variable measured by five questions and «capabilities» through six items. For the hypothesis test, an analysis of structural equations of maximum likelihood was carried out. The results show that the businesses that promote food with authenticity and adherence to the customs of the region can increase their competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a list of titles of Working Papers on business and economy in the U.S. "Data Revisions and the Identification of Monetary Policy Shocks," by Dean Croushore and Charles L. Evans; "Non-Exclusive Contracts, Collateralized Trade, and a Theory of Exchange," by Yaron Leitner; "The Rise of the Skilled City," by Edward L. Glaeser and Albert Saiz.

This paper focuses on the behavior similarity of workflow nets (WF-nets). The similarity of two WF-nets reflects their consistent degree in behaviors. It explores the behavioral relations of subsets of transitions based on the interleaving semantics, and more accurate relations are defined than the existing work. Therefore, a more accurate similarity of two WF-nets (in their behaviors) can be obtained than that in the existing work that usually do not consider the loop and complex correspondence. By refining the interleaving relation in a behavioral profile into six types, this paper proposes the notion of a relation profile based on behavioral profile. Based on the relation profile of a WF-net, behavioral relation matrix can be constructed. Additionally, we refine the complex correspondence and generate a group of behavioral relation submatrices from the behavioral relation matrix. By using them we present a new formula to measure the behavior similarity of two WF-nets. Finally, examples illustrate that our method can measure the similarity degree more accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the ownership and location strategies as contingency factors, which affect the relationship between SMEs’ open innovation activities and innovation performance in the context of emerging economies. Drawing from the corporate strategy and open innovation literature, we argued that SMEs with state and foreign ownership can more effectively capture economic rents from open innovation in a weak intellectual-property-rights regime. Meanwhile, the subnational environments in which SMEs locate their businesses is also crucial for them to capture value from open innovation. Using the data of 1050 SMEs in China, we found that state ownership positively and significantly moderates the relationship between openness and innovative performance, while foreign ownership partially supports the same effect. By disentangling the pro-business environment and the market development, we found that for SMEs that are located in a region with a stronger pro-business environment and a higher level of market development, open innovation can bring more value than it does for those located in regions with lower levels of those factors. Overall, this paper also contributes to our understanding of the complementary relationships between ownership and location strategies and open innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embracing outside-in open innovation (OI) can result in a plethora of organizational advantages, including improved innovation performance. Although some studies have found that outside-in OI improves innovation performance, others have shown that it has no effect or even a negative effect. This mixed empirical evidence leads to a need to unpack the relationship between outside-in OI and innovation performance, and to examine how certain key mediating variables related to the outside-in OI process can ensure that outside-in OI turns into improved innovation performance. Thus, this paper aims to examine the influence of outside-in OI on innovation performance considering the mediating roles of knowledge sharing and innovation strategy. This paper draws on a cross-industrial sample of 112 firms. Data are analyzed using a set of ordinary-least-squares regression models and the bootstrap procedure. Results show that knowledge sharing and innovation strategy fully mediate the relationship between outside-in OI and innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The term 'commercial determinants of health' (CDOH) is increasingly focussing attention upon the role of tobacco, alcohol and food and beverage companies and others—as important drivers of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, the CDOH do not seem to be clearly represented in the most common social determinants of health (SDOH) frameworks. We review a wide range of existing frameworks of the determinants of health to determine whether and how commercial determinants are incorporated into current SDOH thinking. Methods We searched for papers and non-academic reports published in English since 2000 describing influences on population health outcomes. We included documents with a formal conceptual framework or diagram, showing the integration of the different determinants. Results Forty-eight framework documents were identified. Only one explicitly included the CDOH in a conceptual diagram. Ten papers discussed the commercial determinants in some form in the text only and fourteen described negative impacts of commercial determinants in the text. Twelve discussed positive roles for the private sector in producing harmful commodities. Overall, descriptions of commercial determinants are frequently understated, not made explicit, or simply missing. The role of commercial actors as vectors of NCDs is largely absent or invisible in many of the most influential conceptual diagrams. Conclusions Our current public health models may risk framing public health problems and solutions in ways that obscure the role that the private sector, in particular large transnational companies, play in shaping the broader environment and individual behaviours, and thus population health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technologies introduce fundamental changes in the mechanisms for verifying identity, transferring wealth, securing records, and tracing the movement of assets. The technology is poised to profoundly affect business processes and models in industry, government, and the social sector. Because graduating business students are likely to work in businesses that deploy or interact with blockchain and blockchain-related technologies, business programs must prepare them by introducing the intellectual foundations of this emerging technology and the operating practices it enables. This paper introduces a paper-based assignment designed to provide students this valuable opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the role of the application of reengineering and TQM to improve the efficiency of the company's business. In a situation when we have more competition, where there are many organizations today it is needed request for constant development and innovation. One of the possibilities presented in the paper is used. Reengineering represents a complex operation in which everything, except the final objective, is changing. Total Quality Management (TQm) is presented as the continuous satisfaction of customer needs, wants and requirements. Quality was and still is the key aspect in the process of increasing value for the final user. It is believed that reengineering and TQM represent excellent operational and functional brilliance for companies. But with these two concepts there are certain differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of rapid IT development affects the world of business and management. In recent years, businesses have applied new technologies to their management. One of the modern technologies is Enterprise Social Network. The primary aim of the paper is to identify the use of Enterprise Social Network at present and to compare the data with the results of 2014. Secondary research is to find out how many businesses use information systems in internal communication, and then determine if these systems are sufficient. The methodology of the paper is based on a controlled interview with representatives of companies at the University of Pardubice meeting, called Contact. The paper publishes summary information of entrepreneurs about the interest and experience with Enterprise Social Networks, and about the tools used for internal communication. The discussion of the paper addresses the current concerns and wishes of entrepreneurs. The paper seeks to highlight the rapid development of information technologies and the adaptability of entrepreneurs to gain greater competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a research aimed to investigate the relationship among the quality of information received by business professionals and their level of decision making. The motivation for this study came from discussions about the mass spreading of data and its reflections in the management of organizations. It is a descriptive study, of a quantitative character, and it had a questionnaire as instrument for data collecting whose the final sample consisted of 311 professionals from two cities of the State of Paraná. The validation of the instrument was performed through the Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Cronbach Alpha. The main techniques employed to work with data were: Exploratory Factorial Analysis, Spearman Correlation, Conglomerate Analysis and Variance Analysis. The original dimensions of the model were unified into two factors for the quality of the information, which symbolize the information congruence with organizational tyfications and their usefulness and usability. The results indicated that groups of individuals who make tactical decisions have a disproportionate representation from the other ones about the quality of information; and it is possible to admit that for them the quality of information brings a new connotation, which is leveled in terms of inner information coherence and its proficiency for practice. The results of this study contribute to a better analysis of the literature gap reported by Petter, DeLone and McLean (2013), regarding the lack of representative variables to the construct quality of the information, as well as its relations with the decision process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the beginning of the xxi century, research on organizational legitimacy has been frequently used to explain the survival of new companies. The need of being considered legitimated for new companies to improve their access to necessary resources to survive has called the researchers attention. This situation has favored the increase in the research about organizational legitimacy in the entrepreneurship field, which has augmented the complexity of obtaining a global understanding of the field´s current context. The aim of this research is to identify and visualize the intellectual structure of the research and the emerging trends regarding organizational legitimacy in the entrepreneurship field. The database is made up of the sources of knowledge and references on which the scientific articles published in the data base of the Web of Science (WOS) were based. Through a bibliometric methodology based on co-citation, we identify the main research areas, the most active ones, the main contributors, dissemination paths and emerging trends in the research field. This research paper contributes to the development of organizational legitimacy in the entrepreneurship field offering a comprehensive view of the situation of this domain, a starting point as well as a theoretical base for the researchers to build new developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]