Context Of Emerging Economies Research Articles

Industrial engineer and Industry 4.0? Empirical evidence from the Brazilian context considering the relation between competences and technologies

PurposeManufacturing systems have undergone radical changes because of the implementation of physical and digital innovating technologies with high levels of connectivity, interoperability and autonomy. In this regard, the objective of this study was to investigate whether industrial engineers graduated in recent years in Brazil are prepared or not to work in companies and industries within the scope of Industry 4.0 technologies in a way that they positively contribute to the implementation and management of such technologies.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve these objectives, a literature review and a survey on managers of the industrial sector acting in Brazil were carried out as the research strategies. The data collected were analyzed through a quantitative approach by means of the structural equations modeling method.FindingsThe hypothesis that the competencies of industrial engineers currently graduating in Brazil have a positive impact on the implementation and management of Industry 4.0 technologies has been confirmed. Predicting the evolution of production scenarios, understanding the interaction between organizations and their impacts on competitiveness and keeping abreast of technological advancements, organizing them and putting them to the service of business and societal demands were the competencies that obtained the highest factor loadings in the construct of industrial engineer competencies. In addition, cloud manufacturing, automation and robotization were the competencies that obtained the highest factor loadings in the industry 4.0 construct.Originality/valueThe analysis of skills development stands out as a source of competitive advantage for companies that intend to transition to a production system aligned with the principles of Industry 4.0, considering the training of professionals in an emerging economy context.

Entrepreneurial finance and institutional logics in an emerging economy

Entrepreneurs raise money from multiple funding sources over time; however, studies of entrepreneurial finance typically focus on a dyadic view based on Global North institutional scaffolds. Taking a contextualised approach that understands funding as situated in local conditions, this research explores the influence of an emerging economy context on a financing process that incorporates multiple sources. Based on analysis of 36 interviews with entrepreneurs and financiers in Thailand, the research offers a model that identifies emerging entrepreneur–financier relationships and strategies for navigating multiple logics. Accessing funding involves a process of deal-making that requires multiple foci of attention over time. This article advances institutional theory by reclassifying how entrepreneurs interact with heterogeneous resource holders. Divergent logical pathways of relational formation are found among various types of financiers, suggesting an underlying institutional logic is not universal. Instead, it depends on the habitual organising principles of the focal actors and strategies adopted to manage the requirements of multiple funders.

Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Internal Control in Joint Stock Commercial Banks in Thai Nguyen Province

Purpose: This research explores the factors influencing the effectiveness of internal control in joint stock commercial banks in Thai Nguyen province. Design/Methodology/Approach: Adopting a cross-sectional quantitative design, the study employed a bilingual questionnaire. It facilitated data collection via an offline in-person and online platform from a diverse set of professional respondents in Vietnam. The analysis utilized regression in SPSS, applied to a robust dataset of 230 valid observations, ensuring a representative understanding of the research phenomena within the unique sociocultural context. Findings: This research revealed a significant positive relationship between Control Activities (CA), Control Environment (CE), Information and Communication (I&C), Monitoring (MO), Risk Assessment (RA), Group benefit (GB), Goverment support (GOS) and the effectiveness of Internal Control (EIC). Research Limitations/Implications: Despite the rich insights, the study has limitations that future research can address. For instance, the study employed a cross-sectional design, limiting its ability to capture changes over time. Moreover, the research context was limited to Thainguyen a province in VIetnam, suggesting additional studies were needed in other cultural and economic contexts. Practical Implications: The study provides actionable insights for bank to enhance the effectiveness of Internal Control. Originality/Value: This study significantly contributes to the literature by exploring the intricate relationships among CA, CE, I&C, MO, RA, GB, GOS and EIC in an emerging economy context, providing a nuanced understanding of these dynamics.

An empirical analysis of SDG disclosure (SDGD) and board gender diversity: insights from the banking sector in an emerging economy

AbstractThere has been a recent surge in interest in academic research and public discourse surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study examines the level of SDG disclosure (SDGD) in Bangladeshi banking companies and explores its relationship with board gender diversity. An automated keyword search is applied to measure SDGD in the annual reports of publicly traded commercial banks. Based on agency, resource dependence, and stakeholder theories, this study hypothesises that a higher presence of female directors on the board is associated with greater commitment and contribution to SDGs, as evident in SDGD. The findings reveal a consistent increase in SDGD from 2015 to 2020 and confirm a significant positive relationship between board gender diversity and SDGD. The results remain consistent following robustness tests, including one-step and two-step system (dynamic) GMM estimations. Also, the study provides evidence that a critical mass of at least three female directors is necessary to establish a significant positive relationship between board gender diversity and SDGD. The implications of this study are twofold: firstly, it provides preliminary insights into the state of SDGD in the banking industry, which can inform regulators in assessing corporate engagement to SDGs and issuing disclosure guidance for the interest of the stakeholders. Secondly, the study highlights the importance of gender diversity on boards, as more female representation is associated with increasing SDGD. Such empirical findings imply that banking companies should consider appointing more female directors to their boards to advance SDG initiatives. Policymakers can utilise these findings to formulate regulations, particularly regarding the minimum number of female directors on corporate boards. This research contributes to the limited SDGD literature in the emerging economy context, offering insights into how board gender diversity is associated with SDGD.

Proactiveness, knowledge management capability and innovation ambidexterity: an empirical examination of digital supply chain adoption

PurposeThis paper has predicted digital supply chain (DSC) adoption through the role of firms' proactiveness, knowledge management capability (KMC), innovation ambidexterity and the moderating effect of environmental dynamism.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from 354 managers in manufacturing and service firms were analysed using the PLS-SEM model.FindingsThe present study's findings ascertained the significant role of innovation ambidexterity in influencing DSC adoption, given that innovation exploration's direct and mediating impacts were greater than innovation exploitation's. Firms' proactiveness had the highest path coefficient value among the endogenous variables as an indispensable source for firms to successfully embrace KMC and innovation ambidexterity. The role of firm size on DSC adoption was also significant, revealing that SMEs were more likely than larger firms to adopt DSC practices. Despite its significant effect on innovation ambidexterity, KMC surprisingly exhibited no direct influence on DSC adoption. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated the significant moderating role of environmental dynamism on the effect of KMC on innovation exploration.Research limitations/implicationsThis research endeavour has presented valuable insights for scholars and managers, furnishing them with a framework to facilitate decision-making processes regarding adopting DSC practices. A key insight gleaned from this study has been the remarkable value of firms' proactive behaviour and innovation ambidexterity in facilitating DSC adoption decisions. Such adoption has empowered organisations to deploy appropriate interventions and allocate resources efficiently, considering the pivotal role of innovation exploration in contrast to the relatively limited impact of innovation exploitation within this context. Managers may also underscore the significance of firm size in shaping DSC adoption decisions. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been more likely to embrace DSC initiatives than their larger counterparts. The agile scale and streamlined organisational structures of SMEs often translate into faster decision-making processes, allowing for DSC adoption with relative ease. SMEs might also exhibit a greater openness to reap the benefits associated with DSC systems, such as improved operational efficiency and cost reduction.Originality/valueThe present study has advanced DSC adoption research by examining innovation ambidexterity, knowledge management capability and firms' proactiveness. It has also provided valuable insights for scholars and managers, presenting a framework for decision-making processes regarding DSC adoption in an emerging economy context.

Internal crisis communication practices and job performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating effects of internal crisis communication satisfaction

ABSTRACT The study examines the influence of internal crisis communication practices on internal crisis communication satisfaction and the job performance of frontline employees. Also, the mediating effects of internal crisis communication satisfaction are considered. Data were collected from 284 frontline employees working in the UAE public service organisations, and SmartPLS was used to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that internal crisis communication practices are positively related to internal crisis communication satisfaction. Also, the relationships between internal crisis communication satisfaction and the identified work outcomes (job satisfaction, employee engagement and affective organisation commitment) were statistically significant. This study will assist service organisations in converging their attention on communication practices, particularly during crisis time to enhance employees’ work-related outcomes and achieve desired job performance. Our research extends work on organisational communication in an emerging economy context. This study offers solutions to advance communication practices in service organisations.

Making of intrapreneurial managers: Investigating unethical behavior, risk-taking, and decision-making speed as antecedents

PURPOSE: The entrepreneurship-ethics nexus draws considerable interest from researchers and practitioners with little resolution. Our purpose with this paper is to contribute to the debate by shedding light on the relationship between managers’ attitudes toward unethical behavior and their subsequent entrepreneurial intention (EI) in an emerging economy context. Given the complex and multifaceted interplay between unethical behavior and EI, we extend our investigation by including decision-making speed and attitude toward risk to explain the relationship further. We take a granular approach to facets of unethical behavior to gain deeper insights into the specificity of influences they pose on subsequent behavioral intentions. METHODOLOGY: Primary data were collected from 214 Kosovan managers employed in companies from different industries. Hypothesized relationships were tested by conducting hierarchical regression analyses. FINDINGS: Our results indicate that managers with higher EI are not necessarily unethical overall. We did not find support for the hypothesis that managers with stronger attitudes toward unethical behavior demonstrate higher entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on dimensions of unethical behavior, we find that managers who favor bribery are more entrepreneurially inclined. Furthermore, we find that managers who are quick decision-makers and risk-takers express higher EI. IMPLICATIONS: Theoretically, we add to the existing body of research on ethics and entrepreneurship by empirically examining the relationship between attitude toward unethical behavior and EI and the viability of the Theory of Planned Behavior as a framework for integrating unethical behavior in entrepreneurship research. Our study affirms the extension of the theoretical and empirical underpinnings concerning ethics and entrepreneurship, contemplating that they are pervasive across contexts. We provide important practical implications for managers, especially in the corporate entrepreneurship and training context. Managers are encouraged to foster an entrepreneurial-friendly environment that abides by ethical standards. Our study also informs policymakers of the importance of formal education on entrepreneurship as a mechanism to enforce ethical awareness in future entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This study is among the first attempts to test the relationship between unethical behavior and EI in a managerial sample and non-western context.

CEO Compensation and Earnings Management-The Moderating Role of COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Bangladesh

This study examines the impact of CEO compensation on earnings management and the moderating role of COVID-19 pandemic on this connection using accrual and real earnings management techniques in an emerging economy context. The annual reports of non-financial enterprises in Bangladesh from 2011 to 2021 have been analyzed in order to compile the data being collected. The methodologies of accrual and real earnings management are utilized in the beginning stages of the study in order to measure earnings management. Following this, the research employs the ordinary least square model in order to determine the findings of the regression. According to the findings of the study, there is a negative correlation between the compensation of CEOs and both accrual and actual earnings management. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic phase, businesses had a tendency to participate in real earnings management less frequently than they did before the pandemic outbreak. It is interesting to note that the data underline the fact that CEO compensation and the COVID-19 epidemic combined have a favorable impact on real-earnings management. The findings of the study make a contribution to the existing body of literature on corporate governance by offering insights into the influence that CEO compensation has on earnings management. It is anticipated that the findings of the study will be helpful for corporate policymakers in the process of formulating policies that are suited for lowering the earning management strategies that are utilized in businesses.

Financial accessibility and crime – Empirical study based on panel data from Chinese cities

PurposeThis paper empirically investigates the relationship between financial availability and crime by measuring it across five dimensions: banking, securities, insurance, private lending and digital inclusive finance.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes 2011–2017 data from prefecture-level cities as a representative sample. Moreover, these findings remain robust after addressing endogeneity through the use of the historical distance between cities and the railroad network as an instrumental variable.FindingsThe findings demonstrate a significant negative relationship between financial accessibility and crime rates. Heterogeneity exists in the inhibitory effect of different types of financial accessibility on crime, with banking finance exhibiting a stronger inhibitory effect compared to private lending. Areas affected by natural disasters and infectious diseases exhibit a stronger inhibitory effect of financial accessibility on crime rates, particularly in areas with severe shocks of natural disasters and epidemics. This effect is attributed to the low financing threshold and easy access to private lending, which plays a more effective role than bank finance when people face extreme risks.Practical implicationsThere should be stricter regulations imposed on private lending markets and the introduction of more rational legislation aimed at guiding a healthy development within these markets; such measures serve as effective and complementary means for individuals from all walks of life to access credit financing.Social implicationsThe regulation of financial resources by the government should always prioritize ensuring the accessibility of financial policies to cater to the needs of the majority population.Originality/valueThis study is for the first time in an emerging economy context, the causal relationship between financial accessibility and crime. To provide a more comprehensive measure of financial accessibility in a region, this paper proposes a five-dimensional methodology.

Development Policies and Subjective Economic Wellbeing: Evidence From India

In recent years, there has been a significant expansion in India’s development policy discourse accompanied by rights-based approach, grassroots transformation and socio-economic change. Consequently, impact evaluation has become central to development interventions. However, the evaluation of subjective measures within development policy discourse remains under-studied. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of development policies on subjective economic wellbeing (SEWB) in India. Utilising household data from India human development survey and applying ordered probit regression, we test medium-term impact of development policies on SEWB. The findings show that while development policy does have significant impact in driving SEWB, interaction among development policies also curates interesting perspectives. Moreover, evidence suggests that relative social and economic considerations are significant in driving SEWB. The article attempts to combine insights from the development discourse and an empirical approach to go beyond a critique and draw emphasis on SEWB in an emerging economy context. JEL Codes: O11, O53, R28

Bookkeeping practices and SME performance: The intervening role of owners’ accounting skills

Aside from statutory requirements, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) hardly take into consideration reliable accounting systems. Therefore, poor and ineffective bookkeeping has contributed to the collapse of some SMEs. This paper examines the intervening role of owners' accounting skills in the relationship between bookkeeping practices and the performance of SMEs in the Ho Municipal Assembly of Ghana using a sample of 296 SMEs. In a structural equation modelling (SEM) framework, the Smart Partial Least Squares (Smart-PLS) software is employed to analyse the relationships between owners' accounting skills, bookkeeping practices, and the performance of SMEs. We find that bookkeeping practices and owners' accounting skills have significant positive effects on the performance of SMEs. Most importantly, we show the existence of a significant indirect relationship between bookkeeping practices and SME performance such that owners' accounting skills positively intervenes the relationship between bookkeeping practices and SME performance. Thus, in the presence of higher owners’ accounting skills, the relationship between bookkeeping and the performance of SMEs is strengthened further. In a typical emerging economy context, while appropriate regulatory bodies, such as the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), in the Ghanaian context, and local revenue collection authorities could put forth measures like periodic compliance audits to ensure that registered SMEs are managed by skilled personnel, fostering them to meet basic requirements for keeping records and managing their accounts to improve their performance, it is worth acknowledging that the onus lies on SME managers to recognise the relevance of good recordkeeping and account management practices to ensure sustained business performance.

Online Learning by University Students for Improved Performance in Emerging Economies

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the uptake of online learning as a new normal by university student for improved performance in emerging economies. Objectives of this study is to determine the uptake of online learning by university students, establish effect of online learning on university student performance, and to develop a framework that promote the uptake of online learning by university students in improving their performance in emerging economies. Emerging technologies and practices, such as online learning, are reported and predicted to have the potential to influence the future of global higher education teaching and learning. Lecturers and students in emerging economies contexts are less familiar with the use of digital technologies and had to struggle hard due to the lack of proper training and skills to utilize digital technologies which are inevitable for online learning, be it synchronous or asynchronous. A systematic literature review approach was used. 219 articles were found in the Scopus database, 69 papers were selected for the study. Results showed that online learning has bought positive impact on the lives of students in improving their academic performance for universities in emerging economies. There has been limited research into the use of digital technologies and their effects on student engagement and performance in emerging economies context. The present study was therefore designed to address this gap by focusing on the use of online learning by establishing various digital tools and their roles in fostering students’ online performance. This study therefore recommends a framework that promotes the uptake of online learning by university students in improving their performance in emerging economies through the four pillars of legislative framework, online leaning platforms, infrastructure, and human capital. The theoretical findings of this study therefore offer insights on policy implications for online learning practitioners and policymakers.

How does intellectual capital drive firm performance via dynamic capabilities: evidence from India

PurposeThis study examines how intellectual capital (IC) drives firm performance via the lens of dynamic capabilities (DCs). Drawing on resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capability view (DCV), the authors elaborate the mediating role of learning, integration and reconfiguration DC in the Indian banking context.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 358 top- and middle-level managers from the Indian banking sector was administered with structured questionnaires for data collection. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and Sobel test were used to analyze the data and test the hypothesized mediating effect.FindingsThe findings reveal that learning and integration DCs are key mediators in IC and banks' performance relationships in an emerging economy context. In contrast, the analysis revealed partial mediating role of reconfiguration DC. Furthermore, the learning DC has been identified as the primary mediating mechanism for transforming bank's IC into performance benefits.Practical implicationsThis study provides an important implication for the IC and DC link by empirically developing and validating a model in the Indian banking sector and making a several contributions to the related literature. This sector needs to incorporate and strengthen their IC and DCs to attain enhanced performance in today's dynamic environment. Bank managers can use these findings to bring their knowledge-related activities to channelize specific DCs to transform banks' IC when seeking to improve overall performance. Theoretically, this study extends previous research by outlining a set of organizational elements that tend to influence firm performances with the help of IC, learning, integration and reconfigurations DCs.Originality/valueAlthough several studies have investigated the links between IC, DC and firm performance, studies on emerging economies are scarce. This study is one of the most in-depth investigations of the relationship between IC, learning, integration and reconfiguration DCs and firm performance in an integrated framework, with a particular focus on the banking sector of an emerging economy.

A contingency study of the performance of new venture logistics firms in Nigeria

Purpose High failure rates characterise the experience of new entrepreneurial ventures in Nigeria and other emerging economies. Reliance on strategic tools such as entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is critical to the growth and survival of new ventures. This empirical study aims to deepen the understanding of the relationship between EO and performance of new venture logistics firms in Nigeria. It further explores the contingent effects of social capital and marketing capabilities on the hypothesised direct relationships from a transport industry perspective. Design/methodology/approach Managers of 650 new venture logistics service providers in selected Nigerian cities were Web-surveyed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. Regression analysis was further performed. Common method variance and other validity checks were assessed. Findings The 469 valid responses showed a positive relationship between EO and new venture performance (NVP). Social capital and marketing capabilities positively moderate the direct relationship between EO and NVP. Managerial implications suggest that context-specific dynamics must be considered when making strategic EO decisions to aid firm growth and survival. Originality/value This study directly responds to the contingency approach recommendation of past studies (Anwar et al., 2022; Van Stel et al., 2021; Covin and Wales, 2019) using the logistics service and emerging economy context. It also introduces social capital and marketing capabilities as moderators.

The silver lining of supply chain complexity: building supply chain resilience and robustness through exploitation and exploration

PurposeThis study aims to analyse whether the presence of supply chain complexity (SCC) influences firms to improve their supply chain (SC) resilience and SC robustness capability. This study also examines an important paradox: whether investing in both exploitation and exploration practices is conflicting or complementary to enabling SC resilience and robustness in the presence of SCC.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a survey-based approach to collect 242 useful responses from SC professionals of Pakistani firms, an important emerging economy context. The data were analysed with covariance-based structural equation modelling to statistically validate the model.FindingsThe analysis reveals several key findings: the presence of SCC has a direct, positive influence on SC resilience and SC robustness; while exploitation practices only partially mediate the nexus between SCC and SC resilience, they fully mediate the relationship between SCC and SC robustness; while exploration practices partially mediate the nexus between SCC and SC resilience, they do not mediate the relationship between SCC and SC robustness and SCC has a significant influence on SC resilience and SC robustness sequentially through exploitation and exploration (i.e. one after the other).Practical implicationsThese findings help to reconcile the exploitation versus exploration paradox in cultivating SC resilience and SC robustness in the presence of SCC. The findings assist SC managers in determining how to deploy their limited resources most effectively to enhance SC resilience and SC robustness while facing SCC.Originality/valueThe authors devise and empirically validate a unique framework that demonstrates how the presence of SCC works as a stimulus to build SC resilience and SC robustness.

An investigation into knowledge management adoption and sustainable competitive advantage in an emerging market economy

Purpose Organizations sustain competitiveness by improving product or service quality, performing efficiently or innovating. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge management (KM) and sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in business organizations in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The KM initiatives are categorized into knowledge creation, knowledge storage, knowledge transfer and knowledge application. Employees’ attitudes toward workplace knowledge resources are derived from their perceptions of their importance, usefulness and ease of use. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a cross-sectional survey design. Data is collected via an electronic questionnaire developed using Google Forms. Purposive sampling used a list of 122 business organizations. Ninety responses were received and taken into consideration for data analysis. Findings Spearman correlation analysis and partial least square structural equation modeling revealed a positive association between KM and SCA. This study reflected a positive association between employees’ attitudes toward knowledge resources and sustaining organizations’ competitive advantages. Originality/value In Bahrain, empirical studies still need to be developed to explore KM in business organizations and investigate its association with SCA. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the relationship between KM and the sustainability of quality, efficiency and innovation-based competitive advantages in business organizations in an emerging economy context.

Re-examining asymmetric dynamics in the relationship between macroeconomic variables and stock market indices: empirical evidence from Malaysia

PurposeThe aim of this research is to re-examine the dynamic linkages between macroeconomic variables and the stock market indices in Malaysia following some transformational changes in the policies and the exchange rate regime.Design/methodology/approachUsing monthly data points for all the economic variables and the stock market index (KLCI Index), the authors applied vector autoregression (VAR) model to examine the relationship. The authors also used impulse response function (IRF) in order to explore the effect of one-unit shock in “X” on “Y” under the VAR environment.FindingsThe authors' study finds a significant relationship between all the macroeconomic variables and the stock market index of Malaysia. The cointegration results indicate a long-term relationship, whereas the vector autoregressive-based impulse response analysis suggests that the Malaysian stock index (KLCI) responds negatively to the money supply, inflation and producer price index (PPI). However, the authors' results indicate a positive response from the stock index to the exchange rate.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' study's results are based on selected macroeconomic variables and the VAR model. Researchers may find other variables and methods more useful and may provide findings accordingly.Practical implicationsSince the results are quite asymmetric, it would be interesting for the market players, policymakers and regulators to consider the findings and explore appropriate opportunities.Originality/valueWhile the relationship between macroeconomic variables and stock market indices has been widely examined, a significant gap in the literature remains concerning the role of exchange rate variable on the stock market in an emerging economy context.

Transformational Leadership fostering Open Innovation: A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

Drawing upon dynamic capability theory, this research examines the role of transformational leadership in fostering open innovation in an emerging economy context in Southeastern Europe. Foremost, the study endeavours to tackle a noteworthy limitation, namely the nascent state of open innovation in the current body of literature pertaining to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using a quantitative survey, we gathered information from 154 Albanian SMEs respondents. Data was analysed using PLS-SEM on the SmartPLS 4.0 version. The results show transformational leadership has a significant relationship with developmental culture and open innovation. In addition, we found that developmental culture mediates the relation between transformational leadership and open innovation. This research provides important practical implications for policymakers, leaders and industry practitioners to develop new business models for innovation diffusion. It requires shifting the focus from traditional innovation approaches towards new solutions to ensure collaboration and knowledge exchange. Existing researchers have highlighted transformational leadership with open innovation in the Western context. However, open innovation is less explored in Southeastern Europe specifically in SMEs which is an important context to unravel the useful insights. Significantly, open innovation became enabler of value creation, improved competitiveness and economic growth.

Dynamics of Venture Capital and Private Equity Investments in India: An Empirical Analysis

In this study, we explore the inter-dynamics among holding periods, return multiples, fund types, and exit routes of different VC and PE investments in the emerging economy context of India. We employ data spanning from January 2004 to March 2021, and our results indicate that there is a negative association between the holding period and return. The results also indicate that the average holding periods for India-dedicated and foreign funds are not significantly different. Furthermore, the results show that India-dedicated funds outperform foreign funds significantly in generating returns. Finally, the findings suggest that all exit routes can potentially yield similar results, contrary to the prevailing belief that certain exit routes guarantee superior returns. These findings provide useful insights for a spectrum of stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, practitioners, investors, financial analysts, and policymakers.

Evaluating the intention to use Industry 5.0 (I5.0) drones for cleaner production in Sustainable Food Supply Chains: an emerging economy context

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate food supply chain stakeholders’ intention to use Industry 5.0 (I5.0) drones for cleaner production in food supply chains. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a quantitative research design and collected data using an online survey administered to a sample of 264 food supply chain stakeholders in Nigeria. The partial least square structural equation model was conducted to assess the research’s hypothesised relationships. Findings The authors provide empirical evidence to support the contributions of I5.0 drones for cleaner production. The findings showed that food supply chain stakeholders are more concerned with the use of I5.0 drones in specific operations, such as reducing plant diseases, which invariably enhances cleaner production. However, there is less inclination to drone adoption if the aim was pollution reduction, predicting seasonal output and addressing workers’ health and safety challenges. The findings outline the need for awareness to promote the use of drones for addressing workers’ hazard challenges and knowledge transfer on the potentials of I5.0 in emerging economies. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to address I5.0 drones’ adoption using a sustainability model. The authors contribute to existing literature by extending the sustainability model to identify the contributions of drone use in promoting cleaner production through addressing specific system operations. This study addresses the gap by augmenting a sustainability model, suggesting that technology adoption for sustainability is motivated by curbing challenges categorised as drivers and mediators.