Purpose: This study investigated the interrelationships between supply chain risk
identification and mitigation practices and the operational performance of sachet and bottled
water firms in the Northern region of Ghana, and whether knowledge management mediated
these relationships.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This quantitative study adopted a descriptive research
design using a simple random sampling technique to collect data from 162 respondents,
comprising chief executive officers, operations officers, marketing officers, supply chain
officers and distributors, using a seven-point Likert-scale interviewer-administered
questionnaire. The population of this study was 698 licensed and registered sachet and bottled
water producers and distributors. A partial least squares structural equation model(SEM) SEM
was used to analyse the data.
Findings: Indicated supply chain risk mitigation practices significantly and positively
influence the operational performance (OP) of sachet and bottled water producers; supply chain
risk identification has an insignificant impact on OP. Knowledge management was found to
mediate supply chain risk mitigation and identification practices and operational performance.
Research Limitation: One important limitation of the study is its geographic focus on the
Northern region, which may limit the generalisability of the findings to other regions or
countries.
Practical Implication: The study provides insights for managers in Ghana's sachet and bottled
water industry, emphasising the importance of adopting proactive supply chain risk
management strategies, advanced logistics technologies, supplier diversification, and focusing
on knowledge management to achieve operational excellence.
Social Implication: This study highlights the need to improve the operational performance of
sachet and bottled water firms in Ghana. This can lead to better outcomes, such as job creation,
economic stability, and improved quality of life for the local population.
Originality/Value: Drawing on the knowledge-based perspective on the firm, it theoretically
conceptualises knowledge management as a mediating capability through which specific
SCRM practices are converted into operational performance, providing a more process-focused
interpretation of the SCRM-performance relationship.
There is abundant literature on sustainable construction projects. This review study collects a set of studies to understand the depth of the topic as per the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this purpose, the Scopus database is explored with a systematic review approach, and 80 studies are selected. The literature emphasizes the integration of human capital, technological innovation, governance, and financial support to achieve sustainable objectives in construction projects. Moreover, education can improve technical and strategic competencies in graduates to promote experiential learning for the construction industry. Furthermore, sustainable construction can be enhanced by circular economy principles. In addition, risk management also needs attention to ensure operational reliability in construction projects. For this purpose, institutions and governance can align technical and ecological priorities in a project to achieve sustainability objectives. Innovations can also improve efficiency and knowledge management. Lastly, economic and financial mechanisms can also support this phenomenon. The study suggests promoting education, technology, and governance to support sustainable construction as per the SDGs.
In relation to the new vision of Industry 5.0 released in January 2022 by the European Commission for pushing the human centricity of any transformative effort in present and future industrial developments, we pose the daunting question of whether the existing and practiced approaches of risk assessment and risk management are fit to follow and contribute to such vision or require updating. Some reflections are provided and, even more, points of discussion are raised. We argue that the human-centric and environment-concerned vision of Industry 5.0 extends the boundaries of the risk landscape, with resilience standing out as a core value to drive industrial decisions on system reliability and operation safety. We argue that a change is, then, needed in the perspectives of risk assessment and risk management, that calls for the introduction of specific metrics to measure vulnerabilities and the performance of preventive, mitigative, and recovery solutions in relation to the objectives of human wellbeing and environment protection.
Recent advances have significantly enhanced dynamic early warning systems for rainfall-induced landslides by integrating rainfall thresholds with susceptibility mapping. However, there is still room for optimizing these models for regional-scale applications. This study introduces a dynamic early warning model in Anxi County, Fujian Province, China—a region prone to rainfall-induced landslides. First, historical landslide data and their controlling factors were analyzed for the study area, and an optimal landslide susceptibility map was produced by integrating an information value model with a logistic regression model. Second, based on the theory of effective rainfall, the regional rainfall threshold model was established according to the indices of daily and hourly rainfall, and the model’s accuracy was evaluated. Third, the more effective E-D (daily index) and EE-D (hourly index) models were coupled with the landslide susceptibility map for landslide dynamic early warning. The model’s validation results show its significant predictive capabilities, with the hourly model proving more accurate for short-duration rainfall events. This study provides valuable insights for local authorities on dynamic early warning for rainfall-induced landslides and offers guidance for refining dynamic early warning systems in similar regions.
This paper examines the hypothesis of local herding (i.e. own-area effects) by individual investors on a particular stock-month. Using a unique dataset on online and offline individual investors’ trading records in Korea, we analyze buying and selling transactions involving 10,000 accounts from February 1999 to December 2005. We find that both online and offline investors in the same area tend to exhibit stronger local herding compared to investors’ trades who are geographically remote. Interestingly, online investors not only present stronger own-area effects but also exhibit more pronounced other-area effects compared with offline investors. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that gender and religious affiliation are important in investment behavior, with male and non-religious investors displaying a greater stock market participation in contrast to investors who are female and Protestant.
The article discusses issues of ensuring economic security as one of the most important qualitative characteristics of logistics systems, which determines the ability to ensure the established parameters of material flows in the process of goods distribution when implementing digital systems and technologies. Contemporary risks and threats characteristic of the development of digital transport and logistics ecosystems are analysed. The key factors for ensuring economic security and their importance in logistics are examined from the point of view of ensuring operational control over compliance with established key indicators of product distribution. An interpretation of the concept of ‘economic security’ is given from the point of view of protecting a business entity from external and internal threats in order to increase the level of competitiveness and sustainability of business in the market. The issues of ensuring the parameters of goods distribution within the established thresholds are addressed in order to achieve the optimal functioning of the goods distribution system and to ensure the economic activity of the enterprise with all the necessary resources. Logistics systems are studied for the effective organisation and management of material flows, aimed at ensuring the reliability of operations and the implementation of the strategy of economic entities. The need to use modern digital technologies to increase the level of economic security in logistics systems and to ensure the transparency, controllability and traceability of material flows in the field of goods distribution has been demonstrated. At the same time, the very fact of digitising cargo delivery processes is considered from the perspective of the ecosystem paradigm and the platform concept. The patterns of transformation of traditional logistics operators into providers of digital logistics services are substantiated. A model of a cyber-physical ecosystem in logistics has been developed, enabling end-to-end management of business processes and data exchange in the distribution of goods.
Airport tower control plays an instrumental role in ensuring airport safety. However, obtaining objective, quantitative safety evaluations is challenging due to the unavailability of pertinent human operation data. This study introduces a probabilistic model that combines aircraft dynamics and the peak-over-threshold (POT) approach to assess the safety performance of airport controllers. We applied the POT approach to model reaction times extracted from a radiotelephony dataset via a voice event detection algorithm. The model couples the risks of tower control and aircraft operation to analyze the influence of human factors. Using data from radiotelephony communications and the Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) database, we compared risk levels across scenarios. Our findings revealed heightened airport control risks under low demand (0.374) compared to typical conditions (0.197). Furthermore, the risks associated with coupling under low demand exceeded those under typical demand, with the final approach stage presenting the highest risk (4.929×10−7). Our model underscores the significance of human factors and the implications of mental disconnects between pilots and controllers for safety risks. Collectively, these consistent findings affirm the reliability of our probabilistic model as an evaluative tool for evaluating the safety performance of airport tower controllers. The results also illuminate the path toward quantitative real-time safety evaluations for airport controllers within the industry. We recommend that airport regulators focus on the performance of airport controllers, particularly during the final approach stage.
The study investigates the critical importance of destination resilience in enhancing tourism, particularly in the wake of challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary aim of the research is to analyze how effective governance, stakeholder engagement, resource management, and risk assessment contribute to the resilience of tourist destinations and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). To achieve this, the study employs a comprehensive literature review methodology, synthesizing existing research on destination resilience strategies and their implications for tourism promotion. The findings reveal that destination resilience plans significantly impact tourism performance, stakeholder participation, and sustainable development. Additionally, the study highlights the necessity of integrating innovative practices and technology to bolster the resilience of tourism sectors. In conclusion, this research provides valuable insights for destination management organizations, policymakers, and industry researchers, emphasizing the need for strategic planning and collaboration to foster long-term sustainability and resilience in tourism. The study serves as a foundation for future investigations and policy-making in the realm of sustainable tourism, addressing existing gaps in the literature and offering practical recommendations for enhancing destination resilience.
In a historical moment inundated by disasters, understanding and conceptualising the phenomenon is a matter of some importance. No framework for doing so has been more productive than that developed by Wisner and his colleagues. But their so-called ‘Progression of Vulnerability’ (pressure and release [PAR] model) framework was conceived before the onset of the climate crisis. And that crisis, as the saying goes, changes everything.
Contribution: What follows is an immanent critique of the framework, with an eye towards shifting some of its parameters in order to account for the process of climate breakdown now multiplying disasters across the globe.
As an emerging technology, blockchain provides a range of advantages, such as decentralized and transparent data storage, secure access control, and enhanced data traceability. However, it is rarely applied in the field of public safety. This paper presents an in-depth survey of blockchain technology, focusing on its potential applications and implications within the field of public safety research. We explore the practical needs of multi-party data collaboration in emergency management and discusses the applicability and value of blockchain technology in this context. Additionally, this paper introduces and compares several popular blockchain platforms. By providing a comprehensive examination of blockchain technology and its potential benefits for public safety, this paper seeks to enhance understanding of the technology's capabilities, encourage further research, and inspire innovation in this domain.
Jorge Paucar Luna, Jorge Jave Nakayo, Carlos Cabrera Carranza
et al.
Industrial activity is always exposed to events related to working risks that should be identified to seek suitable measures to tackle if necessary. The objective of the research was to identify the hazards and evaluate them to implement control measures to reduce the occupational accidents that may occur in the processes and activities of fresh asparagus agro-industrial companies. The industrial safety risk management methodology was used, starting by knowing the processes that are carried out in the production line, describing in detail the activities that are carried out, and then identifying the risk factors based on the probability and their frequency, as well as the dangers they pose. As a result, the risk was estimated as "Important" in all the processes of activities of the material collection and transport (all the activities), for the Hydrocooling process of raw material only in two activities out of a total of three and in two activities of the hydrocooling process and disinfection of the final product. On the other hand, a risk estimate of "Moderate" was obtained in the processes of raw material storage, selection and calibration, cutting and weighing, filling and coding of boxes, palletizing, storage in the chamber and dispatch, transporting the finished product. The importance of the results will allow them to make the best decisions in the risk management of this industry, allowing to reduce the negative impacts on the health of the operators and the environment.
Chemical engineering, Computer engineering. Computer hardware
Rizwan Niaz, Muhammad Ahmad Raza, Mohammed M. A. Almazah
et al.
Drought is probably the most multifaceted environmental disaster that results from a precipitation deficiency. It perhaps has directly and indirectly potential effects on people's lives, the economy, and other environmental resources worldwide. However, for reducing the potential negative impacts of drought, the understanding and information about seasonal drought frequency and persistence are crucial for drought early warning and mitigations policies. Therefore, the current research examines the selected stations' seasonal meteorological drought frequency and persistence. For this purpose, ordinal outcomes of the current research are modelled under the set of cumulative Logit Models (CLM). The estimation of the CLM is made from the logit link function. Further, the Brant Test (BT) is used to check the parallel line assumptions. The BT substantiates that the odds ratios are the same across the several drought classes. Thereby the POM is a ubiquitous choice for the current analysis. Therefore, the Proportional Odds Model (POM) is utilized to compute the odds and Probability of Drought Persistence (PDP) in varying seasons (March, April, May (Spring); June, July, August (Summer); September, October, November (Autumn); December, January, February (Winter). Further, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for a certain time scale (i.e. three-month time scale SPI-3) is mainly utilized in POM. Amid SPI and various seasons, the relationship is found significant at a 5% significance level in various stations, including Murree, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Mianwali, Jhelum Multan, Khanpur, and Lahore. The potential of the current research is substantiated by twelve meteorological stations in a certain province of Punjab, Pakistan. The current research outcomes provide the direction to dynamically identify the spatial interseasonal propagation of meteorological drought. Moreover, the obtained results can be helpful in making useful policies for the early warning system, drought risk assessment, and management, and formulating the drought-reducing plans.
Kenechukwu Anadu, Kenechukwu Anadu, Mathias S. Kruttli
et al.
The past couple of decades have seen a significant shift in assets from active to passive investment strategies. We examine the potential effects of this shift on financial stability through four different channels: (1) effects on investment funds? liquidity transformation and redemption risks; (2) passive strategies that amplify market volatility; (3) increases in asset-management industry concentration; and (4) the effects on valuations, volatility, and comovement of assets that are included in indexes. Overall, the shift from active to passive investment strategies appears to be increasing some types of risk while diminishing others: The shift has probably reduced liquidity transformation risks, although some passive strategies amplify market volatility, and passive-fund growth is increasing asset-management industry concentration. We find mixed evidence that passive investing is contributing to the comovement of assets. Finally, we use our framework to assess how financial stability risks are likely to evolve if the shift to passive investing continues, noting that some of the repercussions of passive investing ultimately may slow its growth.
Abstract Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) focuses on the elevation of risk management to the center of the firm’s strategic activities. Risks are treated both as exposures to be managed and opportunities to be exploited. This study examines the firm performance implications of ERM maturation and more specifically firm characteristics that serve to engender or inhibit these performance implications. We find that in general ERM maturation increases firm value and return on assets and the impact is moderated by stakeholder related factors such as innovation intensity and knowledge focused industry structures. Additionally, we show that a firm’s complexity moderates the effect of ERM valuation over the long term.
Estefanía Cadenas-Fernández, Jose M. Sánchez-Vizcaíno, Antonio Pintore
et al.
African swine fever virus (ASFV) is spreading throughout Eurasia and there is no vaccine nor treatment available, so the control is based on the implementation of strict sanitary measures. These measures include depopulation of infected and in-contact animals and export restrictions, which can lead to important economic losses, making currently African swine fever (ASF) the greatest threat to the global swine industry. ASF has been endemic on the island of Sardinia since 1978, the longest persistence of anywhere in Eurasia. In Sardinia, eradication programs have failed, in large part due to the lack of farm professionalism, the high density of wild boar and the presence of non-registered domestic pigs (free-ranging pigs). In order to clarify how the virus is transmitted from domestic to wild swine, we examined the interaction between free-ranging pigs and wild boar in an ASF-endemic area of Sardinia. To this end, a field study was carried out on direct and indirect interactions, using monitoring by camera trapping in different areas and risk points. Critical time windows (CTWs) for the virus to survive in the environment (long window) and remain infectious (short window) were estimated, and based on these, the number of indirect interactions were determined. Free-ranging pigs indirectly interacted often with wild boar (long window = 6.47 interactions/day, short window = 1.31 interactions/day) and these interactions (long window) were mainly at water sources. They also directly interacted 0.37 times per day, especially between 14:00 and 21:00 h, which is much higher than for other interspecific interactions observed in Mediterranean scenarios. The highly frequent interactions at this interspecific interface may help explain the more than four-decade-long endemicity of ASF on the island. Supporting that free-ranging pigs can act as a bridge to transmit ASFV between wild boar and registered domestic pigs. This study contributes broadly to improving the knowledge on the estimation of frequencies of direct and indirect interactions between wild and free-ranging domestic swine. As well as supporting the importance of the analysis of interspecific interactions in shared infectious diseases, especially for guiding disease management. Finally, this work illustrates the power of the camera-trapping method for analyzing interspecific interfaces.
The paper considers the indicators and multi-scale assessment of innovative activity of industrial companies. The research methodology consistently includes the analysis of the factors of innovative activity; collection and analysis of information about the indicators for assessing the innovative activity of industrial enterprises taking into account the defined factors of innovative activity; compiling of the short and aggregated lists of indicators for assessing the innovation activity taking into account the determined factors; defining an aggregate indicator of the innovative activity of an industrial enterprise. To define the aggregate indicator of the innovative activity we analysed the published reports of 57 companies, which have been the leaders in the industrial sectors for the last 15 years. Moreover, we analysed 40 scholarly publications focused on the assessment of the innovative activities and interviewed 16 experts, which are heads of large industrial companies. In addition, we analysed key performance indicators (KPI) of innovative activity recommended by the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC). As a result of the research, we have proposed a methodology of the multi-scale assessment of the innovative activity of industrial companies. We have selected 5 key performance indicators to calculate the integral indicator. Furthermore, we have developed an algorithm to calculate the integral indicator of innovative activity. In addition to the integral indicator, we recommend to use 3 indicative values, which influence the integral indicator: a) comprehensive indicator of the development of scientific research, research institutes, academic organisations, technology platforms, per cent; b) number of proposals to generate new technologies, technical and technological solutions from affiliated companies over the year; c) number of new competences acquired by a company from innovative activities.The production of this integral indicator of the innovative activity will allow to the industrial enterprises a more informative assessment of their innovative activities and innovation behaviour transformations.
The work purpose is to reveal the main directions of transformation of business models of the companies of telecommunication sector in crisis years and to develop offers on management of process of introduction of changes in a business model of the telecommunication companies. As the main method of research the qualitative and comparative analysis was chosen. On the basis of the received results five strategic directions of transformation of business models of the companies of telecommunication sectorareformulated. On their basis the author's model what can be behavioural patterns of the Russian telecommunication companies in the conditions of the being reduced market is constructed.