Resource Management Challenges Research Articles

Digital Twin-Empowered Network Planning for Multi-Tier Computing

In this paper, we design a resource management scheme to support stateful applications, which will be prevalent in 6G networks. Different from stateless applications, stateful applications require context data while executing computing tasks from user terminals (UTs). Using a multi-tier computing paradigm with servers deployed at the core network, gateways, and base stations to support stateful applications, we aim to optimize long-term resource reservation by jointly minimizing the usage of computing, storage, and communication resources and the cost from reconfiguring resource reservation. The coupling among different resources and the impact of UT mobility create challenges in resource management. To address the challenges, we develop digital twin (DT) empowered network planning with two elements, i.e., multi-resource reservation and resource reservation reconfiguration. First, DTs are designed for collecting UT status data, based on which UTs are grouped according to their mobility patterns. Second, an algorithm is proposed to customize resource reservation for different groups to satisfy their different resource demands. Last, a Meta-learning-based approach is developed to reconfigure resource reservation for balancing the network resource usage and the reconfiguration cost. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed DT-empowered network planning outperforms benchmark frameworks by using less resources and incurring lower reconfiguration costs.

Impact of Efficient Resource Management Practices on Sustainable Performance: Moderating Role of Innovative Culture-Evidence From Oil and Gas Firms.

Academics and practitioners have paid close attention to waste, energy, and resource management due to growing awareness of its effects on sustainable performance. This study aims to explore the status and challenges of efficient resource management in China, an under-researched area. Moreover, it proposes a theoretical framework to fill the academic and practical gap how efficient resource management practices can build sustainable performance. This study justifies the need to explore the need of efficient resource management practices in emerging economies like China. Empirical data derived using a cross-sectional survey of 265 employees from oil and gas firms in China were used to test the theoretical framework developed from mainstream literature. Empirical findings of this study highlight the role of efficient resource management practices such as CSR, process and equipment, human resource practices, product design, and manufacturing planning which have a positive and significant impact on sustainable performance. In addition, innovative culture plays a moderating role in enhancing firms' sustainable performance. The findings suggest that there is further scope to utilize the efficient resource management practices for encouraging innovative culture to build sustainable performance. This study creates a basis for future research of building sustainable organizational performance by integrating efficient resource management practices. This study also highlights gaps in the system and provides insights into policymakers and manufacturing sector employees on holistically building a sustainable organization.

The impacts of economic sanctions on the performance of hospitals in Iran: implications for human rights

PurposeStudies show that economic sanctions have had major negative impacts on health systems during the past years. The aim of this study is to identify the impacts of US sanctions on the performance of public hospitals in Iran.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research study was conducted between October 2019 and September 2020 in Kermanshah Province, Iran. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, lasting between 25 and 90 min, were carried out with 20 participants in seven public hospitals affiliated to the authors’ institution in Kermanshah Province. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the data.FindingsFive main themes emerged from the analysis: resource management challenges; financial restrictions; interruptions in planning; reductions in the quality of service delivery; and changes in organizational relationships.Originality/valueThe results of the present study demonstrate that US economic sanctions have considerably reduced access to necessary medical equipment and medicines for public hospitals in Iran. Policymakers should monitor the distribution of equipment and pharmaceutical products within public hospitals in Iran and take actions to ameliorate shortages during times of economic sanctions.

Cascading impacts of a climate-driven ecosystem transition intensifies population vulnerabilities and fishery collapse

The recent large-scale intensification of marine heatwaves, and other climate-related stressors, has dramatically impacted biogenic habitats around the globe, including marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrasses, and kelp forests. While the impacts to foundation species may be of particular concern, these ecological catastrophes underscore the need to examine how whole systems respond to a suite of stressors. The recent climate-driven collapse of the bull kelp forest and recreational red abalone fishery in northern California provides an example of unanticipated ripple and lagged effects in the system, intensifying vulnerabilities and accelerating population and fishery collapse. For this case study, we examined 15 years (2003–2018) of biological survey data on the bull kelp forest ecosystem—before, during, and after an extreme climate event. We document the interactions and complexity of impacts over time, as well as the resulting increased vulnerability of red abalone to additional anthropogenic, biological, and environmental stressors. We observed progressively stronger population-level responses of the red abalone to the marine heatwave and the regional loss of kelp, driving the movement of adults and juveniles in search of food. As food remained scarce, we documented the loss of productivity with diminished gonad and body condition, the absence of larval or newly-settled abalone, mass mortalities, and shoreward shifts in depth distributions. With 40% of the population dead or dying, juvenile and trophy-sized abalone abandoning cryptic habitats, the shift in the distribution to shallower depths increased the vulnerability of red abalone to the fishery. Other anthropogenic, biological, and climate-related stressors that disproportionately impact shallow habitats are now a growing concern for the survivors. For red abalone, previously unanticipated cascading risks include increased wave energy, warming air temperatures, freshwater flooding, landslides, as well as possible oil spills and harmful algal blooms. Climate-driven changes in vulnerability to fishing and environmental stressors present significant challenges for sustainable natural resource management in dynamic stressed systems, and underscore the need for continued system-focused monitoring. We present a conceptual framework supporting similar ecosystem investigations of recent and future climate impacts to inform adaptive ecosystem-based management strategies.

Evolution Toward 6G Multi-Band Wireless Networks: A Resource Management Perspective

In this article, we first present the vision, key performance indicators, key enabling techniques (KETs), and services of 6G wireless networks. Then, we highlight a series of general resource management (RM) challenges as well as unique RM challenges corresponding to each KET. The unique RM challenges in 6G necessitate the transformation of existing optimization-based solutions to artificial intelligence/machine learning-empowered solutions. In the sequel, we formulate a joint network selection and subchannel allocation problem for 6G multi-band network that provides both further enhanced mobile broadband (FeMBB) and extreme ultra reliable low latency communication (eURLLC) services to the terrestrial and aerial users. Our solution highlights the efficacy of multi-band network and demonstrates the robustness of dueling deep Q-network in obtaining efficient RM solution with faster convergence rate compared to deep Q-network and double deep Q-network algorithms.

Work experience on algorithm-based platforms: The bright and dark sides of turking

The prevalent use of digital labor platforms has transformed the nature of work globally. Such algorithm-based platforms have triggered many technological, legal, ethical, and human resource management challenges. Despite some benefits (i.e., flexibility), the precarious conditions and commodification of jobs are major concerns in these platform-based employment conditions. The remote-work paradigm shift during the COVID-19 pandemic has made the interplay between technology, digitalization, and precarious workers' well-being a critical issue to address. This paper focuses on microtask platforms by examining overall well-being associated with turking as a work experience. Using a sample of 401 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, data were collected on individual conditions affecting the overall quality of workers' lives. The results from two structural equation models demonstrated the direct and mediating effects of task characteristics, excessive working, and financial pressure, mirroring the bright and dark sides of turking. Greater turking task significance and meaningfulness increase personal growth opportunities, ultimately improving workers' perceived quality of life. However, excessive work and greater financial pressure decrease self-acceptance and overall quality of life. This study examines the complicated nature of work experience on algorithm-based platforms by unpacking individual factors that affect workers' well-being.

Climate resilience and the human-water dynamics. The case of tomato production in Morocco

In Morocco, droughts are an increasing threat affecting water availability, agricultural production and producers' livelihoods. Moreover, water demand for irrigation has led to overexploitation of the groundwater table causing significant natural resource management challenges. The combination of groundwater changes and increasing drought risk raises concerns about the ability of agricultural producers to be resilient against drought. In this study, we describe the interactions of environmental and socioeconomic processes which influence farmers' livelihoods involved in tomato production in Morocco. Building on system dynamics modelling tools, we aim to improve the understanding of the long-term dynamic behavior of water management and to explore plausible policy scenarios necessary for sustainable and resilient water resource management and agricultural development. Our results show that tomato production is not yet severely impacted by droughts. However, droughts are accelerating the process of groundwater depletion, impacting farmers' livelihoods, by decreasing crop productivity and reducing farmer's revenue over a longer time period, especially since tomatoes are a high-value crop. Therefore, integrated and effective policies are presented as a set of measures for a systemic enhancement of resilience. We conclude that a more radical approach toward water resource conservation and upholding the most vulnerable producers has to be adopted in order to enhance a sustainable and inclusive resilience of the tomato production in Morocco.

Enhancing data mobilisation through a centralised data repository for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.): Providing the resources to promote an ecosystem-based management framework.

Data and knowledge mobilisation are significant challenges in ecology and resource management, with the journey from data collection through to management action often left incomplete due to difficulties sharing information across diverse and dispersed communities. This disconnect between science and management must be resolved if we are to successfully tackle the increasing impact of human activity on our ecosystems. Across their North Atlantic range, Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) populations are in steep decline in many areas and urgent actions are required to curb this decline. Being commercially important this species has been subject to intense research, but management action often suffers from both a lack of access to this knowledge resource and support for its integration into effective management strategies. To respond to this challenge, the science and management communities must place higher priority on mobilising existing and emerging knowledge sources to inform current and future resource use and mitigation strategies. This approach requires a more complete picture of the current salmon ecology data and knowledge landscape, new mechanisms to enable data mobilisation and re-use, and new research to describe and parameterise the responses of wild populations to habitat changes. Here we present a unique interface for registering and linking data resources relevant to the Atlantic salmon life cycle that can address the data mobilisation aspect of these challenges. The Salmon Ecosystem Data Hub is a salmon-specific metadata catalogue, natively interoperable with many existing data portals, which creates a low resistance pathway to maximise visibility of data relevant to Atlantic salmon. This includes the capacity to annotate datasets with life-stage domains and variable classes, thereby permitting dispersed data to be formally contextualised and integrated to support hypotheses specific to scenario-based modelling and decision-making. The alignment and mobilisation of data within the Salmon Ecosystem Data Hub will help advance the development of appropriate environmentally driven forecast models and an ecosystem-based management approach for Atlantic salmon that optimises future management strategies.

Identifying leverage points for shifting Water-Energy-Food nexus cases towards sustainability through the Networks of Action Situations approach combined with systems thinking

In the twenty-first century, the world´s demand for natural resources is more pressing and deeply interconnected than ever before. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has gained growing interest as a promising concept for complex resource management challenges. However, knowledge about the root causes of cross-sectoral coordination problems and how they can be shifted towards sustainability is still lacking. This paper fills this gap by conceptualising a WEF nexus case with the Networks of Action Situations approach combined with systems thinking. This approach allows a deep analysis of the root causes of coordination gaps, facilitates a joint understanding of the system dynamics to identify leverage points for shifting the WEF nexus towards sustainability, and to envision the impact of potential interventions on the network of action situations and their outcome. The value and the reciprocal benefits of the combined approach introduced are illustrated for a case in Switzerland, Europe. The results show a coordination gap between the different sectors and that not all sectors were considered equally. This leads to a prioritization of energy production over water-bound biodiversity and food production. The root causes for this outcome are a focus to mitigate climate change and awareness of biodiversity but much less awareness of the impacts of climate change on Swiss water bodies. The study identifies five deep leverage points for interventions, which are expected to ensure a shared systemic problem understanding and more balanced coordination between different sectors resulting in the sustainable and equitable provision and utilization of WEF resources.

Human resource management in Ethiopian public hospitals

BackgroundIn Ethiopia, public hospitals deal with a persistent human resource crisis, even by Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) standards. Policy and hospital reforms, however, have thus far resulted in limited progress towards addressing the strategic human resource management (SHRM) challenges Ethiopia’s public hospitals face.MethodsTo explore the contextual factors influencing these SHRM challenges of Ethiopian public hospitals, we conducted a qualitative study based on the Contextual SHRM framework of Paauwe. A total of 19 structured interviews were conducted with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and HR managers from a purposive sample of 15 hospitals across Ethiopia. An additional four focus groups were held with professionals and managers.ResultsThe study found that hospitals compete on the supply side for scarce resources, including skilled professionals. There was little reporting on demand-side competition for health services provided, service quality, and service innovation. Governmental regulations were the main institutional mechanism in place. These regulations also emphasized human resources and were perceived to tightly regulate employee numbers, salaries, and employment arrangements at detailed levels. These regulations were perceived to restrict the autonomy of hospitals regarding SHRM. Regulation-induced differences in allowances and external employment arrangements were among the concerns that decreased motivation and job satisfaction and caused employees to leave. The mismatch between regulation and workforce demands posed challenges for leadership and caused leaders to be perceived as incompetent and unable when they could not successfully address workforce needs.ConclusionsBottom-up involvement in SHRM may help resolve the aforementioned persistent problems. The Ethiopian government might better loosen regulations and provide more autonomy to hospitals to develop SHRM and implement mechanisms that emphasize the quality of the health services demanded rather than the quantity of human resources supplied.

Challenges for HR Professionals in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Because of the unexpected changes in business practices tempted by the COVID-19 pandemic, human resource (HR) specialists are working hard to guide and help employees in adapting to the new way of working. On the other hand, HR managers must be prepared to cope with the issues that may occur as businesses adjust to the new normal. The goal of this article is to look at the issues of human resources in the post-COVID-19 era. The study identifies and defines some unique problems that any organization's HR department will confront following the pandemic. Secondary data for this narrative literature study was acquired from various sources, including published articles, reports, and websites. The study's findings are the result of a rigorous review of pertinent data. Remote working concerns, workforce engagement, maintenance, more flexibility, maintaining work-life balance, and raising employee morale were highlighted as long-term Human Resource Management (HRM) challenges in the COVID-19 new normal by this study. The importance of this research lies in the implications it has for businesses as they respond to change. HR professionals can use the study's findings to develop successful methods for adapting to the new reality created by the COVID-19 epidemic. This could assist HR leaders in being better prepared for the post-pandemic new business age.

Analysis of support vector machine and maximum likelihood classifiers in land cover classification using Sentinel-2 images

Remote sensing data has been widely applied to classify the land cover more frequently and on a near real-time basis for updating as it is more economic, less time consuming compared to ground based survey. Accurate classification of the land use/cover classes such as water body, cropland, built-up area, scrub land, fallow land, forest etc., is one of the biggest challenges in natural resource inventory, management and monitoring. As accuracy of remote sensing data classification is affected by many parameters which include type of data, presence of heterogeneous landscapes in study area, classification approaches etc., as satellite imagery is complex in nature. Many classifiers have been developed and tested on remotely sensed data for better classification. Classification of remote sensing data is mainly divided into two categories such as supervised and unsupervised. In supervised classification, the decision boundaries in feature space are determined by training the samples. Two supervised classifiers namely maximum likelihood (ML) classifier, which is a parametric classifier that assumes data to be normally distributed, and support vector machine classifier (SVM) which is a non-parametric classifier are used in classification. In the present study, the accuracy of these two classifiers is studied on five different data sets of Sentinel-2 satellite image of different years and sessions to accommodate intra and inter annual variations of the datasets. Sentinel-2 satellite images covering part of Nagpur, located in Maharashtra, India were used for the classification. Classifier accuracy has been calculated using overall accuracy and kappa statistics based on ground truth information. The result obtained were carefully examined by comparing classification accuracies and then by visual analysis. The result shows that SVM classifiers gives better overall accuracy and kappa coefficients and its average value for intra and inter annual classification outputs were 91.78% and 0.89 in that order which is far better than ML classifier which gave 87.07% and 0.83 respectively. The experimental results obtained from the present study, it is clear that SVM classifier produced better accuracy than ML classifier in classifying Sentinel-2 optical image and have significant potential in classifying various land cover classes in the heterogeneous land use/land cover conditions of the tropical regime.

Human vs technology: a cross-cultural comparison of HR professionals' perceptions

PurposeThis quantitative study seeks to explore HR professionals' perceptions regarding the adoption of technological applications under the fourth industrial revolution on 25 critical human resource management (HRM) challenges. Additionally, the authors compare data for potential cross-cultural differences.Design/methodology/approachA total sample of 251 HR professionals from 11 countries was divided into four different cultural clusters. They were asked about their attitudes to the most important HRM challenges when managing industrial relations. A 25-item structured Likert five-point scale questionnaire was used to explore the human vs technology relation and examine if there were any significant differences between clusters for each of the challenges.FindingsThe results suggest that most HR professionals believe that the use of technology instead of people cannot solve entirely human-centered and emotional based challenges, as those seem to be less exposed to machinery. Moreover, their views on only two of the 25 challenges present significant differences between cultural clusters, regarding making decisions solely on personal interest and managing confidential information after terminating employment.Originality/valueThis paper constitutes the first attempt of addressing the impact of the fourth industrial revolution on HRM challenges at a cross-cultural level. It is plausible that globalization and the fourth industrial revolution affect the perceptions of HR professionals worldwide. The study shows that respondents' perceptions about the “human vs technology” dilemma point toward the same direction, irrespective of their cultural background: that of enhancing human worker's role in business in the age of rapid technological advancements. In addition, the way our sample was drawn, taking into account the top Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 countries, makes our results robust and reliable.

Cross border HRM challenges of Chinese companies: An exploratory study

With the growing footmark of Chinese MNCs around the globe, the management of the host country employees has been a new challenge on the horizon. The study aims to understand the human resource management and cross-cultural practices and challenges faced by Chinese companies across the border. This cross-sectional and exploratory study used semi-structured interviews and focus groups for the data collection. The respondents were Chinese managers from Chinese companies and Chinese cultural centres working in Pakistan. This study used thematic analysis with triangulation of sources and methods. This study found culture as a key theme affecting all the emerging human resource management themes. Chinese companies working in Pakistan use informal social networks in addition to traditional applicant recruitment methods. Cultural training is common along with technical training in particularly state-owned Chinese enterprises. Although in many Chinese companies, the parent country nationals fill top positions, local employees could be seen working in the top tier management of some Chinese companies. The Chinese companies’ management practices have not been paid much attention to in this region. This study enables us to develop deep insights into Chinese companies’ human resource management practices and challenges. This research also contributes to the literature on international human resource management and cross-cultural management.

A Bibliometric Analysis and Review of Resource Management in Internet of Water Things: The Use of Game Theory

To understand the current state of research and to also reveal the challenges and opportunities for future research in the field of internet of water things for water quality monitoring, in this study, we conduct a bibliometric analysis and a comprehensive review of the published research from 2012 to 2022 on internet of water things for water quality monitoring. The bibliometric analysis method was used to analyze the collected published papers from the Scopus database. This helped to determine the majority of research topics in the internet of water things for water quality monitoring research field. Subsequently, an in depth comprehensive review of the relevant literature was conducted to provide insight into recent advances in internet of water things for water quality monitoring, and to also determine the research gaps in the field. Based on the comprehensive review of literature, we identified that reviews of the research topic of resource management in internet of water things for water quality monitoring is less common. Hence, this study aimed to fill this research gap in the field of internet of water things for water quality monitoring. To address the resource management challenges associated with the internet of water things designed for water quality monitoring applications, this paper is focused on the use of game theory methods. Game theory methods are embedded with powerful mathematical techniques that may be used to model and analyze the behaviors of various individual, or any group, of water quality sensors. Additionally, various open research issues are pointed out as future research directions.

The researcher's lament: Why do they ignore my science?

AbstractThe researcher's lament is shared by many environmental and conservation scientists who complain about the little support they receive for their research proposals during the review and selection process. Understandably, any hopes of having their anticipated scientific findings applied toward the formulation of environmental management decisions or natural resource policy action are shattered. They attribute this lack of endorsement to shortcomings and limitations among decision makers and proposal selection officials when, in many cases, the rejection of project proposals is often a function of a handful of self‐inflicted failures by applied scientists who anchor themselves stubbornly to doomed approaches. Familiar deficiencies in their research proposals perpetuate the disconnect between the enterprise of science and real‐world resource management challenges. Researchers themselves can affect conditions that turn up the appetite for their scientific endeavors as a more meaningful component of the decision‐making process, namely, to stage and deliver science that is more readily “actionable.” Perhaps it is time for them to consider a course correction to improve the viability of their actionable science proposals. A few basic steps may help rejigger the science planning process in this direction and, consequently, help avoid the researcher's lament. The likelihood of gaining support during the proposal review and award adjudication process, and securing practical application of scientific products, increases when the products are (1) the result of active engagement of researchers with decision makers; (2) better connected to social and political priorities; (3) clearly designed to inform specific management decisions; and (4) tailored to fit the needs of targeted end users. These considerations and activities exist beyond the comfort zone of many environmental or conservation scientists. Yet, those who adopt them will spend less time lamenting rejection and become more influential in the production of actionable knowledge.

Spatio-temporal analysis of water storage variation and temporal correlations in the East Africa lake basins

Study regionEast Africa (EA), lake basins (Tana, Abaya-Chamo, Turkana, Victoria, and Tanganyika), 6472,404 km2 of total area. Study focusTotal water storage change (TWSC) exposes serious challenges in sustainable water resources management and ecosystem sustenance. While TWS changes have been increasingly studied based on Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) derived TWS dataset, spatio-temporal changes in TWS and the driving factors remain unexplored. Herein, Mann–Kendall test, Theil-Sen's slope estimator, empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), component contribution ratio (CCR), and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) models were employed. We found a slight spatial fluctuation of TWS, and groundwater could affect TWS variability in the EA region. New hydrological insightsHigh annual TWSC was observed in the southwestern and northern regions, reaching values of 220 and − 100 mm/yr, respectively. Among lake basins, the maximum and minimum TWSC values attained 97.5 ± 28.2 mm/yr and 24.8 ± 7.7 mm/yr, in Victoria and Tana basins, respectively. The regional level groundwater contribution was about 42%, while 48%, 53%, and 46% were in Abaya-Chamo, Turkana, and Victoria basins, respectively. However, surface runoff contribution was 52% and 35% in Tana and Tanganyika basins, respectively. The seasonal TWS changes show substantial linkage with the lake basins' seasonal precipitation distribution. Our findings highlight the driving factors of TWS variability, which could help guiding water management policies, and promote satellite remote sensing datasets.

Changes and Challenges in Human Resources Management: An Analysis of Human Resources Roles in a Bank Context (after COVID-19)

Background: In the coming years, HR in the banking industry will need to play a leading role to develop human capital management, based on people care, evaluation, development, and training. To properly face this change in one of the biggest Italian banks we wanted to contribute to understanding the actual HR areas of change and examine how HR roles are dealing with “being on the frontline” of an unparalleled organisational evolution. Methods: Six focus-group sessions with up to 10 participants per session. Results: The crucial issue that emerged is a profound rupture and crisis that showed the (already existing) fragilities of the HR role interpretation: develop a new synergic relationship with the top management; define a stronger and wider organisational mandate; establish structured moments of discussion between professionals. Conclusion: HR roles in the banking context, especially after the pandemic, entail a high emotional burden related to role assumption. Specifically, our research highlighted the need to discuss the evolution of the HR role with top management, the need for synergies and a definition of the organisational mandate that allows wider participation in terms of decision-making and planning, and finally the need for supervision of HR roles.

A review of the current status of water quality and eutrophication in Dhaka’s water bodies

Purpose of the study: The study aims to provide an overview of urban water quality and the degree of eutrophication in Dhaka’s freshwater systems, and to discuss control strategies to combat eutrophication. 
 Methodology: The paper systematically reviews available scholarly and non-scholarly materials, and summarizes the findings from recent field investigations. This review paper is based on data and information collected from sixty-four previously published papers on the subject matter. 
 Main Findings: Owing to rapid urbanization and increased industrialization, Dhaka faces various water resource management challenges and struggles to provide adequate water for its residents. Nutrient enrichment (e.g., phosphorus and nitrogen) of Dhaka’s water bodies is a serious threat to overall water quality. Future climate conditions are expected to create favourable conditions for algal and potentially toxic cyanobacteria growth in water bodies.
 Applications of this study: The findings of the review may be used to identify in situ treatment technologies for the remediation of Dhaka’s water bodies. The gathered information may also aid in implementing and enforcing water pollution regulations, and provide a coordinated focus for environmental policy.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: The study highlights the potential consequences of changing climate on the water environment of Dhaka, with a specific emphasis on water quality and nutrient pollution. The paper summarizes the current knowledge of the possible effects of changing climate in Dhaka’s water bodies and presents measures to control eutrophication.

Investigation of rental business model for collaborative consumption - workwear garment renting in business-to-business scenario

Increasing population and improving living standards have continued to amplify the consumption of textiles and apparel, which has created challenges in resource management and sustainable development. In this context, renting-based collaborative consumption business models (CCBMs) have received considerable attention in recent times. Consumption through renting allows the replacement of ‘ownership’ of a product to ‘usership’ which creates new opportunities for the companies as well as for the customers. For the development of renting-based CCBMs or decision making in rental activities by the companies, one of the fundamental requirements is the baseline characterization of consumers’ renting pattern – which includes general rent duration, renting frequency, inventory management, rental product movement, etc. – that acts as input from the operational aspect of a rental business. In this context, the paper aims at investigating the general renting characteristics for workwear garments through data analysis of about 5.4 million garment-rents to multiple business customers over 6 years. Further, the implications of the renting characteristics are investigated through discrete event simulations under various scenarios of inventory management by the customers. The findings from the study are anticipated to help the rental companies in operational and strategic decision-making.