Behavior Of Stakeholders Research Articles

Gender influence on business students’ expectations for sustainability transformations in higher education: a cross-national study

Purpose This study aims to examine how male and female students’ sustainability expectations of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) differ in various cultural contexts. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 239 business students from the USA and Germany, a mixed qualitative-quantitative research design is employed combining content analysis and Kano analysis to examine gender- and country-different students’ sustainability expectations. Findings Female students across countries have higher sustainability expectations than males. Gender equality and inclusion are more important to female than male students. While male students considered most attributes as indifferent, female students in the US considered many sustainability attributes as one-dimensional, and those in Germany considered production and consumption and equity and inclusion as must-be attributes. Research limitations/implications A larger, more representative sample could provide deeper insights into students’ sustainability expectations. The Kano model may not fully capture the complexity of these expectations due to its reliance on predefined definitions. More comprehensive and dynamic approaches are needed to understand and predict students’ sustainability expectations. Practical implications Grouping HEIs’ sustainability transformation attributes based on students’ basic, performance and excitement needs supports quality and expectation management at HEIs by prioritizing measures and aligning sustainability communication. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to apply Kano analysis to examine and compare students’ future-oriented normative sustainability expectations of their HEIs across different gender groups and countries. It enables more profound and realistic insights into barriers and enablers of HEIs’ sustainability transformations and highlights how unmet expectations can impact stakeholder behavior across different country contexts.

(Dis-)Continuation of Territoriality: A Framework for Analysis of the Role of Social Practices in (Re-)Production of Space

The paper explores the correlation between the concepts of territoriality and social practices in the context of urban and rural (re-)production of space. It traces the degree of “habitualisation” of certain actions and the behaviour of stakeholders, identifying those defined as practices, and revealing their role in the (dis-)continuation of territoriality of a region. It takes a German region Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) as a case study. The research methodology is based on the practice theory of Andreas Reckwitz and his “praxeological quadrat of cultural analysis”, which is applied in this study. The research process includes (a) semi-structured interviews with the representatives of several institutions from the region, (b) narrative analysis and thematic content structuring of the interviews and (c) synthesis analysis. The study clarifies relations between the artefacts and discourses mentioned by the interviewees, and their impact on the practices of the institutions and others contributing to the (dis-)continuation of territoriality and identity of the region. The main findings are related to the (1) methodological contribution—operationalisation of the “praxeological quadrat of cultural analysis”, and (2) substantive contribution—revealing the role of social practices on the continuation of territoriality of the region. The article presents cultural patterns in the perception of and orientation towards long-past territorialities by the interviewees and makes clear what significance these historical and historicising spatial references have for the spatial planning of the present.

An Evolutionary Game and Simulation Study of Work Safety Governance and Its Impact on Long-Term Sustainability Under the Supervisory System

Work safety governance is a critical component of corporate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance, particularly in high-risk industries. Effective safety supervision systems not only protect workers’ wellbeing, a key social metric in ESG frameworks, but also enhance corporate governance through improved risk management and regulatory compliance. The supervisory system represents a major institutional innovation in China’s approach to addressing increasingly complex work safety governance challenges. This study constructs an evolutionary game model involving the central government, local government, and high-risk enterprises to analyze the evolutionary characteristics of stakeholder behaviors. Through system simulation, we examine how key parameter changes affect the stability of system equilibrium points. Our findings reveal that (1) the current supervisory system effectively incentivizes both local governments to conduct safety supervision and high-risk enterprises to comply with safety investment requirements. (2) While government penalty levels do not affect strategy combinations, both insufficient and excessive penalties slow the system’s evolution toward optimal states. (3) Local governments tend to choose non-regulatory strategies when transfer payments and enterprise subsidies are inadequate. (4) Insufficient supervision intensity from the central government leads to local government non-regulation, and although this can be addressed by increasing supervision intensity, excessive supervision reduces the system’s evolution speed toward ideal states. Based on these findings, we propose policy recommendations for rational supervision intensity control, scientific reward–punishment mechanisms, and enhanced safety information transparency. This framework provides insights into the relationship between governance mechanisms and corporate long-term sustainability, which has been shown to improve ESG standards.

Medicare Part D: Major Shifts With the Inflation Reduction Act and a Way Forward.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 introduced major changes in the Part D benefit that aim to improve medication access and correct several of the financial misalignments in the current Part D benefit. The changes address financial obligations of Medicare beneficiaries, the federal government, Part D plan sponsors (i.e., insurance companies), and drug manufacturers. The changes include new brand and biologic manufacturer obligations to beneficiaries eligible for the low-income subsidy. Effects on the drug supply chain and stakeholder behaviors remain to be seen but current financial arrangements inform likely responses. Currently, the Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) nestled between the plans, drug manufacturers, and pharmacies heavily influence manufacturers' list prices and squeeze community pharmacies. With the IRA restructuring of Part D, plans are likely to interject more administrative obstacles before beneficiaries can obtain higher-cost therapies, while drug manufacturers might alter their patient assistance programs. Manufacturers have already begun to change their assistance programs at many safety net pharmacies. Many Medicare beneficiaries who relied on these deeply discounted medications will face significant late enrollment penalties if they do enroll in Part D plans, creating a major barrier to participation. Providers and policymakers should understand the Part D changes and leverage the skills of pharmacists to support community and team-based care that improves access to medications and ensures that medications are doing more good than harm.

MSN Approach Model in the Implementation of Waste Management Policy in Bungo District

This research is motivated by the increasing volume of waste in the market village, but the fleet cannot transport waste every day, especially in community housing areas in two villages, especially in the pasir putih village and batang bungo village. The purpose of this research is to create a recommendation model for the MSN Approach to the Implementation of Waste Management Policies in Bungo Regency, especially in the Pasir Putih Village and Batang Bungo Village. The method used in this research is descriptive with a qualitative approach. The results of the research are changes in attitudes, behavior, and better and positive responsibilities of policy stakeholders in the Mentality Approach category, aspects of the function and organizational structure of implementing waste management policies in each Kelurahan spread across the Rimbo Tengah and Market sub-districts are quite good in the System Approach category, and in the aspect of synergy must be able to build synergy in institutional aspects, program policies and budgeting, human resources, information data and monitoring and evaluation strategies for policies and programs. As for the symbiotic mutualism aspect, it must be based on the principles of mutual need, mutual benefit, and mutual support. From this approach, it can be analyzed that the strategic partnership aspect is still not going well in the Networking Approach aspect.

Optimal Weigh-in-Motion Planning for Multiple Stakeholders

Overloaded trucks contribute heavily to road damage and increased maintenance costs, and Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) systems are an effective tool for detecting them without disrupting traffic flow. However, overloaded truck drivers often adjust their routes to avoid WIM stations, complicating enforcement efforts for road management stakeholders. To address these challenges, this study integrates the strategic behaviors of multiple stakeholders with diverse objectives into optimal WIM planning by modeling interactions among the government, pavement management agencies, and drivers. The authorities are responsible for WIM installation, while drivers minimize their respective travel costs. The proposed approach considers both road maintenance costs incurred by authorities and travel costs for drivers, based on a traffic assignment model for each WIM installation strategy. Basic concepts from game theory are adopted to formalize the dynamic interactions among these stakeholders.

Decision-Making in Grain Supply Chains for Sustainable Food System

Grain supply chains (GSCs) are crucial for global food security, economic development, and environmental sustainability. This study investigates the complexities and challenges of enhancing the resilience of GSCs. The research unravels decision-making intricacies, assesses post-harvest risks and stakeholder interactions, and identifies future research avenues. This systematic literature review (SLR), following PRISMA guidelines, and conducted with two search rounds, addressed questions of resilience and efficiency of post-harvest GSCs, key decision factors of stakeholders influencing the sustainability and operational success of GSCs, and methods that can be used to develop robust decision-making for managing risks and uncertainties in GSCs. A comprehensive database of post-2000 journal articles from the Web of Science and Scopus was analysed using bibliometric and content analysis. This research identified five key themes: (1) operational complexity requiring strategic resilience, (2) comprehensive risk management strategies, (3) critical role of transport and storage infrastructure, (4) significant impact of stakeholder decisions on GSC dynamics, and (5) diverse methodological approaches for robust analysis. These themes illustrate the multifaceted challenges and opportunities within GSCs, suggesting that integrating operations research with behavioural economics is vital for improving strategic decision-making. The results advocate for adopting advanced technologies and innovative multidisciplinary methods to improve GSC efficiency and resilience, which are essential for navigating geopolitical tensions, market fluctuations, and complex stakeholder behaviours. It identified under-researched areas such as farmer transport decisions and logistics provider selection, and integrated emerging themes (such as resilience and behavioural aspects), contributing to the body of knowledge and supporting enhanced decision-making in GSCs for a stable global food supply system.

Collaborative supervision strategies for risk issues of generative artificial intelligence in the tourism industry

ABSTRACT This study investigates the collaborative supervision strategies of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in the hospitality and tourism industry, focusing on managing risks in GAI-based travel recommendations. Using evolutionary game theory and system dynamics, a tripartite model is developed, involving the government, GAI companies, and tourists. Five evolutionarily stable strategies (E1, E5, E6, E7, E8) are identified, showing how stakeholder behaviour evolves under different scenarios. The model operates through ‘dual supervision, one implementation’, with government regulation, tourist monitoring, and GAI self-regulation via AI or manual reviews. Simulations indicate that combined government and tourist involvement enhances self-regulation, with subsidies being more effective than penalties. While GAI companies may currently favour manual reviews, the potential for AI-driven reviews remains substantial. This framework provides practical insights for sustainable GAI governance in tourism.

Impact pathways: improving medicine access through cross-national stockpiling

PurposePressure to address drug shortages is increasing, and calls for cross-national stockpiling solutions are on the rise. This paper argues that cross-national stockpiling presents an important opportunity for operations and supply chain management (OSCM) research to help improve medicine access in the short- and long-term.Design/methodology/approachTo substantiate our claims for future research, we conducted an empirical analysis of shortage co-occurrence on twelve EU member-states, reviewed practice reports and academic literature, and held extensive discussions with pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders.FindingsWe show that the potential for cross-national stockpiling is unmistakably there and that, although OSCM research has touched upon important facets of cross-national stockpiling, many open questions still require novel research.Originality/valueWe present opportunities for impactful research along various dimensions, including understanding barriers and stakeholder behavior, quantifying cost-effectiveness and potential knock-on effects, analyzing the positive and negative implications of product standardization and determining novel equitable mechanisms for allocation and financing cross-national stockpiles.

When corporate silence is costly: Negative consumer responses to corporate silence on social issues

AbstractResearch SummaryThe growth of corporate activism on contentious social issues creates a puzzle as to why companies would risk engaging on divisive topics. Indeed, a mixed body of evidence identifies that such activism often reduces stakeholder support. We shed light on this puzzle by reversing attention to the costs of not engaging in corporate activism. Grounded in the cognitive model of stakeholder behavior, we theorize whether and when consumers will negatively respond to corporate silence on a social issue based on the visibility of silence. Our theory also suggests that peer activism and market niche are pivotal contingencies that exacerbate or mitigate such negative responses. Using a rigorous within‐company cross‐platform difference‐in‐differences econometric model, we find support for our theory and uncover substantial costs of corporate inaction.Managerial SummaryWe study stakeholder responses to corporate silence on social issues, using the empirical context of fashion firms and the Blackout Tuesday event in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which occurred on Instagram but not Twitter. We find that there are sizeable risks to staying silent on a highly salient social issue. For firms that do not participate in the event, follower growth slows 33% and likes on their posts drop 12% in the following month on Instagram as compared to Twitter. In addition to issue salience, managers should closely attend to peer activism, which exacerbates these negative reactions. They should also consider their market niche, as a narrow niche offers protection while firms with a wider market experience larger declines in stakeholder support.

Subsidy Removal, Corrupt Practices and Implications on the Nigerian Economy, 2012-2023

Subsidy removal and corruption significantly impact the Nigerian economy. This study investigates the impact of subsidy removal and corruption on the Nigerian economy from 2012 to 2023. The main objective is to analyse the economic consequences of subsidy removal policies and the types and forms of corruption associated with them. The study adopted the Public Choice Theory as the theoretical framework for understanding the decision-making processes and behaviour of stakeholders involved in subsidy removal and corruption. Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative approach, using secondary data, analysed through content and historical analysis. Findings indicate that while subsidy removal policies aim for fiscal sustainability, they often lead to inflationary pressures, social unrest, and public dissatisfaction. Moreover, corruption exacerbates these challenges, undermining governance, transparency, and accountability. Based on the findings, the study recommends strengthening anti-corruption measures, enhancing governance and institutional capacity, implementing targeted social safety nets, fostering public-private partnerships, and enhancing international cooperation to address the challenges posed by subsidy removal and corruption. These recommendations aim to promote transparency, accountability, and inclusive economic development in Nigeria. Overall, this study contributes empirical evidence, theoretical insights, and policy recommendations for understanding and addressing the complex interactions between subsidy policies, corruption dynamics, and socio-economic development in Nigeria.

Evolutionary game analysis of building a sustainable intelligent elderly care service platform.

With the rapid aging of populations and advancements in information technology, the development of intelligent elder-care service platforms (IESPs) has gained momentum. This paper examines the feasibility and strategies for constructing an IESP. Unlike commercial internet platforms, IESP facilitates transactions in elderly care services, which are quasi-public goods requiring government guidance and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Utilizing value co-creation theory, this study constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model involving a digital technology company, a social organization, and an elderly care service provider to analyze factors influencing stakeholder behavior. The findings reveal that sustained value co-creation is influenced by platform revenue, participation costs, reputation effects, and government subsidies. To optimize outcomes, the government should balance stakeholder interests, ensure reasonable profits for the digital company and social organization, and reduce participation costs through grassroots mobilization, data support, and subsidies for digital transformation. Strengthening reputation management and standardizing service evaluations are also crucial for achieving system equilibrium.

Pathways to commercial building plug and process load efficiency and control

To accomplish net-zero carbon emissions in the built environment by 2050, we must equitably decarbonize commercial buildings, including reducing plug and process loads (PPLs). PPLs are plug-in or hardwired electric and gas loads that are not associated with major building end uses like lighting and HVAC. Research shows PPL energy reduction strategies and control technologies have the potential to save energy. But even when implemented, these savings have rarely been achieved and there has not been widespread uptake in U.S. commercial buildings. We investigate why these technologies and strategies have not seen widespread adoption and identify behavior and technology pathways to increase PPL reduction in U.S. commercial buildings. We examined behaviors of commercial building stakeholders through 44 interviews and cross-referenced qualitative analysis findings with in-depth technical knowledge of existing PPL control technologies and reduction strategies. PPL control implementation must be paired with management strategies, such as occupant engagement and training, to achieve optimal savings, and best practices should be disseminated across the industry. We found that increasing access to cost and energy savings data will promote uptake of PPL control technologies and allow designers to better incorporate PPLs into building design. Improving access to funding for PPL energy efficiency projects and addressing the split-incentive problem will increase adoption of PPL efficiency and control. Code bodies should continue to include PPL monitoring and reduction measures in energy codes. Key building stakeholders, including cybersecurity and information technology teams, should be involved in PPL monitoring and reduction strategy processes for successful implementation.

An Evolutionary Game Analysis of China’s Power Battery Export Strategies Under Carbon Barriers

With the continuous evolution of international trade, the global market has been steadily expanding while also facing increasing challenges, particularly in relation to the introduction of environmental policies such as carbon barriers. Our research explores how China’s power battery manufacturers can adapt their export strategies to the EU’s carbon barrier policies. Additionally, we examine the roles of government regulations, research institutions, and manufacturers in either facilitating or hindering compliance with carbon reduction objectives. Using evolutionary game theory, we construct models involving government entities, manufacturers, and research institutions to systematically analyze market evolution, strategic interactions, and outcomes among these stakeholders. Our analysis focuses on understanding the competitive dynamics faced by exporting countries under stringent environmental policies and provides strategic insights to guide export strategies. Taking the EU’s carbon barrier policy as a case study, we explore Chinese battery manufacturers’ adaptive strategies and decision-making processes as they respond to shifting market demands and regulatory environments. The findings not only offer valuable insights into exporting countries but also provide policymakers with information on international trade and industrial policy design. Furthermore, we validate our model through numerical simulations and conduct sensitivity analyses on key parameters. The results underscore the importance of governmental adoption of punitive and incentive policies, revealing their substantial impact on stakeholder behavior. Additionally, the study highlights how participants’ pre-cooperation losses and post-cooperation gains influence participation rates and the speed at which stakeholder consensus is reached. By offering a novel approach with which to address carbon barrier challenges, this research contributes valuable perspectives on environmental regulations’ strategic and policy implications in global trade.

Evolutionary Game Analysis of Electric Vehicle Distribution Entities with Shared Charging Facilities

This study investigates the evolutionary game dynamics among electric vehicle distribution entities in the context of shared charging facilities, addressing the critical issue of inadequate charging resources. To understand the behavior of different stakeholders under government incentive policies, we develop an evolutionary game model involving a government department and two logistics enterprises (A and B). Through stability analysis, we explore equilibrium conditions of evolutionarily stable strategies (ESSs) for the tripartite evolutionary game. To ensure the robustness of our findings, we conduct a MATLAB simulation analysis to validate the analytical results. Our findings highlight that government subsidies, the costs incurred by logistics enterprises to share charging facilities, and the additional distribution income derived from this sharing are critical in determining whether the evolutionary game can achieve a stable equilibrium state. This research enables logistics companies to optimize the use of charging resources, lower operating costs, and enhance delivery efficiency. Additionally, government subsidy policies play a crucial role in encouraging logistics enterprises to engage in charging facility sharing, thereby fostering the sustainable development of the entire logistics industry. Based on these insights, the paper offers practical recommendations to further promote the sharing of charging facilities in electric vehicle distribution.

Collaborative models and uncertain water quality in payments for watershed services: China’s Jiuzhou River eco-compensation

As Payments for Watershed Services (PWS) schemes are widely implemented around the world, determining downstream payment rates based on expected water quality is critical to designing efficient PWS schemes. Combined with a case study of the Jiuzhou River Horizontal Eco-compensation (JRBHE) in China, this study builds a stochastic differential game model of PWS considering water quality uncertainty. Using this model, this study explores how water quality uncertainty affects the decision-making of watershed protection behaviors of various stakeholders in PWS. In comparing changes in stakeholder watershed protection behaviors in multiple JRBHE scenarios, this study argues that the collaborative eco-compensation model in the PWS can achieve social optimality as it can coordinate multi-stakeholder goals regarding watershed services and water quality. In addition, this study also emphasizes that the collaborative eco-compensation model is riskier than the existing horizontal eco-compensation model due to water quality uncertainty, and penalties aimed at reducing risk are often necessary for the collaborative eco-compensation model. Finally, this study highlights that designing incentive-compatible PWS schemes remains challenging because both water quality uncertainty and stakeholders’ risk preferences influence their ultimate watershed protection behavior.

Analysis of Stakeholder Behavior Adjustment Strategies for Entrepreneurship Education in Higher Education Institutions from the Perspective of Digital Collaboration

Under the background of digital age, this study discusses the behavior debugging strategies of stakeholders in entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities. The research significance is that with the rapid development of information technology, digital collaboration has become an important force to promote the development of entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities. Through questionnaire survey and data analysis, it is found that college students' cognitive interest in innovation and entrepreneurship fluctuates regularly with time, and college entrepreneurship education should adjust curriculum design and teaching methods according to this cognitive law. The research suggests that colleges and universities should integrate the resources and advantages of teachers, students, parents, businesses, financial institutions and communities, strengthen cooperation through digital platforms, and optimize the implementation path of entrepreneurship education. At the same time, the government should provide policy support, narrow the digital gap between universities, build a cooperation platform, and promote data security and privacy protection. These strategies aim to improve the quality of education and cultivate innovative entrepreneurial talents to meet the needs of the digital age.

Optimizing Stakeholder Behavior for Groundwater Management in Arid and Semi-arid Climates: A Multi-agent System Approach in Karaj Plain, Iran

Optimizing Stakeholder Behavior for Groundwater Management in Arid and Semi-arid Climates: A Multi-agent System Approach in Karaj Plain, Iran

Is it Irrational to Assume Rationality in Business?

Purpose: Academic research continuously introduces new theories, methodologies, etc. to improve upon prior studies. Researchers commonly base their theories on the assumption that managers and stakeholders have calculated motives and make well-educated decisions. However, they ignore the fact that certain corporate decisions are completely random with no logical explanations. Researchers still are not comfortable with this idea and always try to justify business decisions by advancing new sophisticated theories while in fact, many executives and stakeholders are not that sophisticated. This paper discusses such instances of irrationality. Methodology: This paper discusses several instances of irrational business decisions in various aspects of finance including capital budgeting, capital structure, stock buybacks, executive compensation, overinvestment, and stock market irregularities. By examining a historical set of corporate events, it is shown that various forms of irrationality, when abundant, may cause empirical studies to refute theories. Findings: Theories cannot always be justified by empirical work not necessarily because of flaws in these theories but possibly because of irrational behavior of ill-informed executives and stakeholders. That is, if the assumption of rationality commonly imbedded in academic studies does not hold, then it may be the culprit, at least in part, behind the discrepancy between theory and empirical findings. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This paper postulates that the discrepancy between theory and empirical findings may, in part, be caused by the common assumption of rationality that may not hold true. By discussing numerous instances of irrational behavior in various aspects of business, this paper attempts to show that irrationality is not uncommon and should be considered in the design of academic research.

Research on the Game Strategy of Mutual Safety Risk Prevention and Control of Industrial Park Enterprises under Blockchain Technology

Systematic management of corporate safety risks in industrial parks has become a hot topic. And risk prevention and control mutual aid is a brand-new model in the risk and emergency management of the park. In the context of blockchain, how to incentivize enterprises to actively invest in safety risk prevention and control mutual aid has become a series of key issues facing government regulators. This paper innovatively combines Prospect Theory, Mental Accounting, and Evolutionary Game Theory to create a hypothetical model of limited rationality for the behavior of key stakeholders (core enterprises, supporting enterprises, and government regulatory departments) in mutual aid for safety risk prevention and control. Under the static prize punishment mechanism and dynamic punishment mechanism, the evolutionary stabilization strategy of stakeholders was analyzed, and numerical simulation analysis was performed through examples. The results show: (1) Mutual aid for risk prevention and control among park enterprises is influenced by various factors, including external and subjective elements, and evolves through complex evolutionary paths (e.g., reference points, value perception). (2) Government departments are increasingly implementing dynamic reward and punishment measures to address the shortcomings of static mechanisms. Government departments should dynamically adjust reward and punishment strategies, determine clearly the highest standards for rewards and punishments, and the combination of various incentives and penalties can significantly improve the effectiveness of investment decisions in mutual aid for safety risk prevention and control. (3) Continuously optimizing the design of reward and punishment mechanisms, integrating blockchain technology with management strategies to motivate enterprise participation, and leveraging participant feedback are strategies and recommendations that provide new insights for promoting active enterprise investment in mutual aid for safety risk prevention and control. The marginal contribution of this paper is to reveal the evolutionary pattern of mutual safety risk prevention and control behaviors of enterprises in chemical parks in the context of blockchain.