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Purpose -- The purpose of this study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the academic activities of Kazakhstan's academics and to present a comprehensive map of the academic landscape in the country. Research methodology -- The study combines synthesis and comparative scientific analysis of concepts and methods in the literature. It involves secondary data analysis, statistical processing, and bibliometric analysis to gather and interpret the data. Findings -- The analysis reveals a significant gap between the practical applications of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Kazakhstan and the academic research on the topic. Furthermore, academic activities and practices in Kazakhstan do not align well with the official reports on the SDGs. While some SDGs have comparable publications in Kazakhstan to global averages, others present distinct challenges and problematic issues unique to the country. Research limitations -- The study faces limitations due to the lack of data or difficulty accessing relevant information. Practical implications -- This research is crucial for promoting SDGs as it aids in understanding global issues, identifying knowledge gaps, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to address complex issues related to sustainable development. Additionally, examining a country's academic activities through the lens of SDGs is essential for assessing the nation's academic awareness and engagement with these global goals. Originality/Value -- The article provides a unique and valuable perspective on integrating sustainable development goals within Kazakhstan's academic landscape, highlighting achievements and areas needing improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shift towards sustainable transportation is becoming increasingly important as the negative impact of traditional fuel-powered vehicles on the environment becomes more evident. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are considered a viable solution to this problem, and understanding the factors that influence consumer intention to purchase EVs is crucial for their widespread adoption. This study investigates the factors that influence individuals’ intention to purchase EVs. 4 independent variables were considered: Perceived Environmental Benefit (PEB), Perceived Performance Benefit (PPB), Perceived Performance Risk (PPR), and Perceived Financial Risk (PFR). A survey was conducted with 398 respondents, and the data collected were analysed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results indicate that PEB, PPB, PPR, and PFR have significant effects on Purchase Intention (PI). Specifically, PEB and PPB positively affect PI, while PPR and PFR negatively affect it. These findings suggest that improving the PEBs and PPBs of EVs and reducing perceived performance and financial risks could encourage more individuals to purchase them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's highly competitive business environments, manufacturers face stiff competition. As digital technologies have become more pervasive, many businesses in the manufacturing sector have begun to tap into the potential of big data analytics to gain an edge in their markets. Companies in the manufacturing sector can gain a significant competitive advantage by strategically utilizing big data analytics to uncover profound insights that have the potential to significantly enhance their capabilities in product innovation. This research delves into communication's role as a go-between for big data analytics and product innovations' success at manufacturing firms. The validity and reliability of the measurement scales were first thoroughly examined in this study. The research model was then tested using structural equation modeling and process macro analysis. The analytical findings unveil those big data analytics exert a pronounced, positive, and statistically significant impact on product innovation performance and information-sharing dynamics. Furthermore, it is discerned that information-sharing exerts a substantial and affirmative influence on the capacity for product innovation. Additionally, it is established that the impact of big data analytics on product innovation performance undergoes moderation by the information- sharing mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration is one of today’s most sensitive and relevant topics. In 2022 alone, 32.5 million people worldwide will have left their country due to war, political instability, economic hardship, climate change, and other reasons. In recent years, the constantly growing flow of migrants to developed countries poses increasing challenges to the institutions and organizations of those countries, which are looking for new ways of integrating migrants into the social environment. It is difficult for state institutions that do not have the right tools to assess the integrity of the state, and it is difficult to control the ongoing migration processes and quickly make decisions regarding the increased flows of migrants, which could be solved promptly with minimal use of resources. One of the most important solutions for overcoming the challenges of migration is using a dynamic complex instrument that would allow us here and now to identify the causes of changes and efficiently mobilize the necessary resources to solve the challenges of migration that are usually not planned. The article aims to form a complex evaluation instrument to integrate migrants into the social environment. To achieve the goal, a systematic, comparative analysis of concepts and methods published in the scientific literature, statistical processing, and multi-criteria evaluation methods (COPRAS), and the method of determining weight coefficients (CRITIC) is applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - to determine whether changes in sustainable transport influence the difference in the number of road accidents. Research methodology - synthesis and comparative scientific analysis of concepts and methods published in the literature, secondary data analysis, statistical processing, correlation-regression analysis, ARIMA method. Findings - the number of traffic accidents will increase in the coming years. According to the result of the correlation regression analysis, the number of traffic accidents is influenced by the reduced level of work capacity, people and the average traffic intensity, car/day; the change in the number of electric cars was not identified as an influencing factor. Research limitations - lack of data (incomplete statistics on sustainable vehicles) or difficult access to them. Practical implications - the results can be used in preparing strategic city plans to predict the consequences of sustainable transport regarding traffic accidents. Originality/Value - the article covers the development and changes in road traffic accidents in the big cities of Lithuania and predicts the possible reasons for this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high priority of military training programs in the army is to improve the resilience of its professional and reserve soldiers. In addition, resilience helps to maintain the optimal cognitive and physical performances necessary for mission success; it also has other positive effects that have not yet been studied. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to understand the effect of psychological resilience (PRE) on the intention of reservists to remain in the active reserve (FMT) after the completion of combat training. In addition, we focus on the motivation (prosocial motivation (PRM) and intrinsic motivation (IMT)) and psychological capital (passion in the pursuit of long-term goals (LTGs), proactivity (PRO), and capability to harness the circumstances (SEF)), and achieved a level of competence after the completion of training (ACH). Building on the perspective of training sustainable reserve soldiers' capabilities and the theory of psychological resilience, we hypothesize and assess the effect of psychological resilience on the intention of reservists to remain in the active reserve for future military training, as well as the mediating role of psychological capital, motivation, and the obtained training ratings. The study hypotheses are tested on a sample of 345 Lithuanian reserve soldiers. The mediating effects are tested by employing the PROCESS v3.5 macro program developed by Hayes, and bootstrap 10,000. The main findings propose that the total impact of psychological resilience is highly positive (β = 0.659, t = 7.670, p < 0.001) and influences the decision of the reservists to extend their capabilities in future military training. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation (β = 0.691, p < 0.001, and 58.6% of the total effect) and the achieved rating of completed training (β = 0.136, p < 0.01, and 21.2% of the total effect) positively mediate the relationship between psychological resilience and the intention to remain in the active reserve. Selected bootstrap confidence interval and Sobel test statistics with two-tailed probability values evidence the robustness of the mediating results. The significance of the theoretical and practical implications is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial for a city to ensure economic stability and growth, along with social security and prosperity, not only for the present, but also for future generations. Increasingly, researchers are highlighting the need to apply sustainable urban growth principles to the field of urban development, arguing that this would reduce the negative impacts of urbanization processes (poverty, air pollution, unemployment, and crime). At the same time, cities are competing with one another to maintain their position in the urban hierarchy, not only in the short term, but also in the long term. The COVID-19 pandemic affected many areas of our everyday life: over 5.85 million deaths, increased unemployment, the introduction of restrictions, the closure of national borders, and various other circumstances have all undoubtedly affected to a certain degree those factors which serve to influence competitiveness. The aim of this article is to conduct an integrated competitiveness assessment of the Baltic capitals within the context of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the period 2015–2020, according to an integrated assessment model for urban competitiveness (MDK), which is based upon the principles of sustainable development. A systematic and comparative analysis of the concepts published in the scientific literature has been performed, the concepts of sustainable city and sustainable urban competitiveness have been formed, research and methods of urban competitiveness evaluation have been carried out, and a comprehensive competitiveness assessment of the results of the study showed that the evaluation of integrated competitiveness of a sustainable city in the context of the impact of COVID-19 (using the Baltic capitals as an example in the period 2015–2020), in terms of the multi-criteria SAW and TOPSIS evaluation methods, is in the highest position in 2016–2019. Vilnius is in second place during the whole period 2016–2019. Riga takes third place in 2015–2019 (except in 2020, when it exchanges places with Vilnius and takes second place). Meanwhile, the results of the COPRAS multicriteria method differ from those discussed above. In 2016, 2019, and 2020, Tallinn is in the highest position, and in 2015, 2017, and 2018, it is surpassed by Vilnius. Riga remained in third place from 2015 to 2019. In 2020, Vilnius took over this position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on some of the most important aspects of ethics in the healthcare industry and examined the relevance of the system created to evaluate ethical healthcare practices in the public sector. The research included developing a conceptual model representing variables that influence ethics in public healthcare services in Portugal, using fuzzy cognitive mapping to facilitate the identification of the most significant variables. This method is a well‐established decision problem‐structuring tool that allows experts to define cause‐and‐effect relationships between variables and make decisions. The insights obtained were generated in face‐to‐face group meetings with experts in the public healthcare sector, showing that professional profiles, management, team relationships, external factors, equity principles, and respect are among the most relevant determinants of ethical healthcare. That is, these criteria are the most commonly applied standards in analyses of ethical practices in public healthcare services. The resulting assessment framework and its applicability were validated by both the panel of experts and the chairperson of the board of directors of S. Francisco Xavier Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal. The advantages and limitations of the analysis developed in this study are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, the innovative activities of companies in new service development (NSD) have an undeniable contribution to the economic development of countries. Given the recent advances in the healthcare industry, the issue of NSD and performance management of firms operating in this industry has received special attention of researchers and decision makers. A review of previous research shows that on the one hand there is no agreement among experts on NSD performance measurement criteria and on the other hand there has been no systematic framework that can measure and manage firm performance in this area. The proposed framework should allow for interaction between different decision makers, considering multiple and sometimes conflicting criteria. In this regard, this paper aimed to provide a framework to assess the NSD performance in healthcare industry using multiple-criteria-decision-making methods. The proposed model consists of 17 different criteria that have been identified and finalized based on previous studies as well as experts' opinions. Then, the indicators are classified with the help of experts in the form of a balanced scorecard model and presented as an initial model. Due to internal relationships between criteria, this model was evaluated using interpretive structural modelling and modelled at 5 different levels. Then, the analytic network process approach was applied to determine criteria weights. Finally, new service development performance in Moheb hospital was evaluated through the framework proposed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development in supply chain management (SCM) is challenging to implement, so various studies have sought to identify appropriate practices that eliminate barriers and challenges' effects on sustainable SCM (SSCM). To overcome previous investigations' limitations, the present research developed a multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) framework for prioritising SSCM practices, which was applied to an Iranian case. A careful, systematic review of previous studies extracted a comprehensive list of SSCM barriers and practices. To shorten the long list of barriers identified, the fuzzy Delphi and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation methods were used to reduce the decision criteria list. These two approaches are particularly appropriate because of the criteria's complex interactions. In addition, fuzzy sets are useful when dealing with uncertainties in decision-making processes and obtaining experts' opinions. With the selected experts' help, the extent of each practice's impact on barriers was measured. The practices were then ranked by order of priority using six fuzzy MADM methods. The implemented methods' weights were determined using the correlation coefficient and standard deviation (CCSD) approach in order to prioritise the practices for the final time. The proposed methodological framework combines different approaches' results and increases the findings' empirical robustness by applying the CCSD method, thereby eliminating previous studies' limitations. Results show that 'Lack of sustainable product and service promotion' (B18) and 'Weak social and society-related pressures' (B34) are the top priority barriers and 'Applying preventive and maintenance strategies to maximize equipment's effectiveness' (P5) and 'Implementing reverse logistics' (P3) have been identified as the most important SSCM practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at investigating military and demographic inter-linkages in the context of the Lithuanian sustainability. The investigation combines three important economic aspects such as demographic, military and sustainable development. The authors have revealed that demographic trends should be seen as a necessary conditions for ensuring the functioning of the military sector contributes to public security and sustainable development in general. Correlation and stepwise regression analysis, also Monte Carlo forecasting method have been applied for this purpose. Research results have revealed statistically significant interrelationship between military personnel as a share of total labour force and population growth rate, population median age, total fertility rate as well as birth rate. Moreover, Monte Carlo forecasting method allowed revealing for the next 10 years a steady slight increase in armed forces personnel, stable population growth rates, a rapid aging process and a slight decline of total fertility rate. Military and demographic estimations and future projections allow government to incorporate information into planning and sustainable development policy. The insights from this research may contribute to implementing the goals of sustainable development related to eradication of poverty, inequality, social exclusion, improvement in education, well-being and employment and tackling climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, simply delivering a product to the right place at the right time is no longer enough. Customers demand more; they demand the full suite of logistics services. Customers thus seek higher-value and additional services, and more, which enable them to compete. Thus, the problem underlying analysis is customers' growing dissatisfaction with existing services and their quality. Quality of service no longer gives business entities a competitive edge. It is vital for companies to have different activities, to operate in different branches of the economy, and to work with different types of goods. However, despite these differences, they all want to obtain maximum satisfaction from logistics services. With this in mind, the purpose of this article is to present a study examining the impact of logistics service quality on the satisfaction of companies working with different categories of goods Results indicated that different logistics service users do not have the same requirements for logistics service quality. Moreover, it was proved that SERVQUAL method is suitable for identification of sectoral value gaps, which can be applied in practice assuring competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing concentration of populations in urban areas in recent decades has strengthened the interest in - and the importance given to - these zones. Cities have become quite attractive from investors' point of view because of the wide array of opportunities and growing need for investment in urban areas. Thus, city strategic planning quite often requires an understanding of the determinants that attract investment to urban zones. This study sought to identify the factors that strengthen urban investment based on the knowledge of a panel of experts. Fuzzy cognitive mapping techniques were applied to understand the concepts and decision criteria included in the decision-support model and their cause-and-effect relationships. The results provide insights into which determinants most strongly influence urban investment, namely, infrastructure, supporting services, and political-administrative factors. Diverse scenarios at the intra- and inter-cluster levels were created to clarify the impacts of variable changes on the model developed. The findings were validated by both the expert panel members and the vice-president of the Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors. Advantages and limitations of the proposed framework are presented, as well as recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience is an increasingly important concept in current socioeconomic landscapes. Due to the competitive global context in which we live, this trend is particularly noticeable in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Due to their limited resources and capabilities, these firms are exposed to unfavourable scenarios that can threaten their stability, viability, and development (i.e., their resilience). Thus, identifying the determinants of SME resilience and their respective cause-and-effect relationships is a vital endeavour because these companies' resilience involves a wide variety of conceptual or theoretical issues that need to be understood more fully. This study proposes the creation of a fuzzy cognitive map as a novel way to analyse the determinants of SME resilience. The fuzzy cognitive map was developed based on the insights obtained during two intensive group meetings with a panel of SME managers and entrepreneurs. The resulting well-informed, process-oriented framework contains the determinants that need to be considered in this research context. The static and dynamic analyses carried out produced an improved understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships between determinants of SME resilience, which facilitates better strategic planning by these firms' managers. The practical implications, advantages, and limitations of the proposed approach are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]