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In the last year a new virus (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease caused by it (COVID-19) has quickly spread around the world, leading the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency and, then, a global pandemic status. The strategies adopted by many countries to reduce the impact of the pandemic were mainly based on social distancing rules and on stay-at-home measures or lockdowns. These strategies had severe disruptive consequences on many sectors, including all levels of education. While the "traditional" (face-to-face) Higher Education (HE) system was unprepared for the lockdown (e.g., no plans for a massive shift to online teaching were available/ready), it reacted in an extremely quick and effective way, replacing face-to-face teaching with online teaching. While COVID-19 has been extremely challenging for education, the experience has undoubtedly provided positive inputs for the digitalization of the HE system. The question is however, if whether after the COVID-19 emergency everything will go back to the previous situation or instead if the pandemic has irreversibly changed HE. While we are still in the middle of the crisis, it is in our view beneficial to start to reflect on the challenges and open issues that emerged during this period and the lessons learned for the "new normal" (as it is often referred to). In this conceptual paper we seek to start this discussion by focusing on the following relevant aspects that should be considered to succeed in the digital transformation: broadband network infrastructure and hardware devices; e-learning software; organization of teaching activities; pedagogical issues; diversity and inclusivity; and a number of other issues. We conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic will irreversibly change HE and probably for the better.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the relationship between environmental, social and financial performance. In particular, based on the literature, we hypothesise the existence of a 'sand cone' model of sustainability that implies cumulative and sequential effects among the three performance dimensions. The hypothesis is tested using the fixed effects model on a longitudinal dataset of secondary data covering the period 2010–2019. The dataset includes 661 companies operating in the manufacturing industry and located in Europe, North America and Asia. The findings show that environmental, social and financial performance do not conflict but cumulate. The sequence of performance improvements that outlines a 'sand cone' starts with environmental sustainability and ends with financial performance, while social performance fully mediates the relationship between the two. Any other sequence is not confirmed by the data. These results are however valid only in Western countries (i.e. Europe and North America). Based on these findings, this research informs managers that the three pillars of sustainability have a cumulative effect, but only if a specific implementation sequence is followed. However, managers should be aware that these cumulative effects need some time to show up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is experiencing significant changes, including exponential growth of the global population, global warming and climate change, biodiversity loss, international migration, digitalization, smart agriculture/farming, synthetic biology, and most recently a global human health pandemic. These trends pose a set of relevant challenges for the training of new graduates as well as for the re-skilling of current workers through lifelong learning programs. Our paper seeks to answer two research questions: (1) are current study programs suitable to prepare students for their professional future and (2) are study programs adequate to deliver the needs of current and new generations of students? We analyzed the professional figures and the skills required by the job market, as well as the number of students enrolled in technical-scientific HE study programs in Europe. We discuss the needs of future students considering how the teaching tools and methods enabled by digitalization might contribute to increasing the effectiveness of training these students. Finally, we shed light on the different types of HE study programs that can meet the educational challenges of the future.

The aim of this study is to shed light on the relationship between ISO 45001 adoption and firm performance. To explore the issue, we conduct an event study and a weighted least squares regression on a dataset of 157 publicly listed companies – operating in various countries and sectors – that have given public announcement of the attainment of the ISO 45001 certification. The results show that, when compared to non‐adopters, ISO 45001‐certified companies display better performance in terms of productivity and profitability, while no significant differences emerge for sales. The effects of ISO 45001 adoption are significantly influenced by industry‐ and company‐related contextual factors. The study contributes to the academic literature by developing the first large‐scale empirical investigation on the performance implications of ISO 45001. Furthermore, it informs managers that by ensuring healthy and safe workplaces companies can also achieve higher financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the hype about blockchains among supply chain management (SCM) practitioners and researchers, the technology's adoption is still low, and confusion remains about its potential benefits for operational efficiency and effectiveness. Building on a multiple case study research, this paper clarifies current value creation opportunities enabled by the blockchain for product/material tracking and tracing. We highlight that the setup of blockchain projects depends on the presence of different drivers on customer value or efficiency and the focus towards products/components or raw materials. Based on how tracking and tracing drivers and focus influence the initial blockchain setup, contingent factors are discussed and possible evolutionary patterns are identified. These findings are elaborated in one setup matrix and three propositions. The study is one of the few to add empirical evidence to the mainly conceptual SCM blockchain literature and provides a middle-range theoretical contribution based on contingency theory. Furthermore, it offers actionable guidance for managers and policy makers about SCM blockchain adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]