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Item Open Access Dark and bright repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on international business: a systematic literature review and future research agenda(Emerald, 2025-12-31) Khan, Huda; Khan, Zaheer; Wood, GeoffreyPurpose As a global pandemic of historically significant scale, COVID-19 and its impact on global business activities have gained significant scholarly attention in the international business (IB) domain. This study aims to review and consolidate the IB research findings on the COVID-19 crisis, considering both the literature on the dark and bright repercussions for firms. Design/methodology/approach The authors systematically reviewed and synthesized a sample of 87 scholarly articles published in major IB journals from 2019 to 2022. Findings This review paper highlights the important domains – including global value chains, digitalization and varieties of functional areas – that have been substantially affected due to the widespread disruptions caused by the pandemic. This study also discusses future avenues for extending the work on the dark and bright sides of crisis management. Originality/value Applying the overarching concept of the bright and dark sides of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors developed a framework that highlights the important knowledge gaps and points to future research directions. This review also suggests the salient methodological and contextual avenues potentially suited for future IB research on the pandemic and similar crises.Item Open Access Rapid decarbonization requires industrial efficiency(Springer, 2025-01-31) Yang, Miying; Evans, SteveThe potential of effciency to support decarbonization is underestimated and overlooked relative to more expensive and intensive actions. Implementing resource and energy effciency strategies in industry could deliver rapid and cost-effective decarbonization.Item Open Access Female FTSE Board Report 2016: Women on boards - taking stock of where we are(2016-12-31) Sealy, Ruth; Doldor, Elena; Vinnicombe, SusanItem Open Access The Female FTSE Board Report 2018: Busy going nowhere with the female executive pipeline(2018-03-31) Vinnicombe, Susan; Doldor, Elena; Sealy, RuthThis year we see two different pictures emerging in terms of women’s representation on FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 corporate boards. Since October 2017 the percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards has increased from 27.7% to 29%, meaning that if the current pace continues it is possible to reach the targeted 33% by the end of 2020. In total 264 women hold 305 directorships on FTSE 100 boards. The percentage of female Non-Executive Director (NED) positions is at the all-time high of 35.4%, whilst the percentage of female executive positions has flatlined at 9.7%. On a positive note, seven women hold a Chair position and 18 hold Senior Independent Directorships. A further 85 women hold 95 Chair roles on the various committees across FTSE 100 boards. In contrast, the percentage of women on FTSE 250 boards has only increased marginally from 22.8% in October 2017 to 23.7%, the percentage of female executive directorships has dropped from 7.7% to 6.4% and the number of all male boards has increased to ten. These present challenging conditions for meeting the 33% target in 2020.Item Open Access The Female FTSE Board Report 2022: What works?(2022-12-31) Vinnicombe, Susan; Tessaro, MichelleThere has been a continued increase in the number of women on corporate boards. The percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards is 40% and the parallel percentage for FTSE 250 boards is 39%, meaning that FTSE 100 boards have already met the target set by the Women Leaders Review for 2025 and FTSE 250 are on the cusp of meeting it. Overall, women hold 413 directorships across FTSE 100 boards - the increase in women coming primarily as usual from female Non -Executive Directorships (NEDs). The number of women in Executive Directorships (EDs) has increased marginally from 31 to 36. A similar pro昀椀le emerges for FTSE 250 companies where women hold 752 directorships, of which 705 are NED and only 47 are EDs. There has been no change in the number of women EDs for the past three years. As in previous years there continues to be a wide variance between the top and bottom companies, indicating the downside of voluntary targets over mandatory quotas.Item Open Access The Female FTSE Board Report 2017: Women on Boards: Back on track?(2017-03-31) Vinnicombe, Susan; Sealy, Ruth; Humbert, Anne LaureThis year we have seen the percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards rise to almost 28% (27.7%) after a year of stagnation. Over the past 12 months, turnover of board directors has been low (12.5%), but the proportion of new appointments going to women has hit the target of at least 1:3. This means that we could be within reach of 33% women on FTSE 100 boards by 2020 as long as the momentum is maintained. Progress continues also on the FTSE 250 which has risen to almost 23% (22.8%). Here there needs to be a greater push in order to meet the target of 33% by 2020. The percentage of women holding FTSE 100 non-executive (NED) positions is at an all-time high of 33.3%, but the percentage of women holding executive directorships remains low at just under 10%. This year six women hold chair positions and a further 14 hold Senior Independent Directorships on the FTSE 100.Item Open Access The Female FTSE Board Report 2019: moving beyond the numbers(2019-07-11) Vinnicombe, Susan; Atewologun, Doyin; Battista, ValentinaThis year we see a more encouraging picture emerging in terms of the number of women on FTSE boards. Over the past 12 months the percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards has increased from 29% to 32%, so the 33% target set for 2020 is well in sight. In total 292 women hold 339 directorships on FTSE 100 boards. The percentage of female non-executive directors (NEDs) is at the all-time high of 38.9%, whilst the percentage of female executives remains worryingly low at 10.9%. There is also progress on the FTSE 250 boards with the percentage of women directors rising from 23.7% to 27.3% this year and the number of all male boards dropping to three, but still, three is too many. The percentage of female NEDs is now 32.8% but the percentage of female executivedirectors (EDs) remains low at 8.4%.Item Open Access Female FTSE Board Report 2024: 25 years on - milestones and misses(2024-12-31) Vinnicombe, Susan; Tessaro, Michelle; Battista, ValentinaThis year we see continuing progress in the appointment of women to Non-Executive Directorships on FTSE 350 boards. The percentage of women in total on FTSE 100 boards now sits at 43.4% and on FTSE 250 boards is 42.4%, thus on average both sets of companies have met the target set by the Women Leaders Review. In total, women hold 450 directorships across FTSE 100 boards. The percentage of female Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) stands at 49%, in comparison with the percentage of female Executive Directors (EDs) which is 20.3%. The latter is at an all time high and is explained by the increase of female Chief Finance Officers (CFOs) in an active market for new CFOs. Women hold 793 directorships across the FTSE 250 boards. The percentage of female NEDs is very similar to the FTSE 100 at 49.3%, thus there is now parity of men and women in NED roles across FTSE 350 companies. Following the target set by the Women Leaders Review of appointing at least one woman to one of the top four roles (CEO, CFO, Chair and SID), there has been a push to appoint women into the ‘softest’ of those roles, the SID role, where we now see gender parity across both FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 boards. The percentage of women in ED roles across FTSE 250 boards has slipped further since our last report to 11.8%. The gap between the percentage of women in ED roles and NED roles across FTSE 250 boards has grown over the past three years (30%, 33% and 37%). Companies seem to have taken their focus off the big prize of getting more women into the top executive leadership rolesItem Open Access The Female FTSE Report 2008: A Decade of Delay(Cranfield School of Management, 2008) Sealy, Ruth; Vinnicombe, Susan; Singh, Val2008 marks our tenth index and report with a slight, incremental increase ofdirectorships held by women on the FTSE 100 corporate boards, bringing the totalnumber to 131. Ten years ago there were only 66 women on the FTSE 100 boards.The most meaningful increase has occurred in the 39 companies that now each havetwo or more women on their boards.Item Open Access Sustainable e-grocery home delivery: an optimization model considering on-demand vehicles(Elsevier, 2025-03) Tudisco, Vittoria; Perotti, Sara; Ekren, Banu Yetkin; Aktas, EmelThe e-grocery sector has experienced a significant boost since the COVID-19 pandemic, dramatically changing consumer buying behaviours. As demand for faster and more efficient delivery options grows, e-grocery retailers face increasing pressure to optimize home delivery operations. Collaborations with third-party logistics providers (3PLs), although still overlooked, have emerged as promising, offering operational flexibility and environmental benefits. This work introduces an optimization model that supports the design of an on-demand delivery fleet conjunctly with delivery routings and schedules, while considering both cost and environmental impact. To this aim, a vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW) is extended to incorporate on-demand fleet design and three different objective functions embodying a cost-efficient, an environmentally-effective and a cost-environmental balanced perspective respectively. Numerical experiments based on an Italian case study show that prioritizing environmental objectives reduces emissions by over 90%, with marginal increases in annual costs. Besides, on-demand vehicles enable flexibility that facilitates the adoption of sustainable delivery options without requiring challenging investments such as delivery fleet. Several contributions are provided: insights into using on-demand vehicles are proposed; a mathematical model jointly optimizing fleet design and delivery routing and scheduling, while considering both costs and environmental objectives, is developed and its practical application is demonstrated using real-world data. The findings highlight the significant impact of environmental considerations on fleet composition and operational efficiency, offering actionable strategies for e-retailers to reduce emissions while maintaining service quality.Item Open Access Muslim employees’ religious and intersectional identities as sources of discrimination: how deeper understanding can improve managerial practice(Emerald, 2025-01-09) Gottardello, Debora; Cascón-Pereira, Rosalía; Anderson, DeirdrePurpose: This study aims to explore how intersecting identities shape experiences of workplace discrimination faced by Muslim employees in Catalonia, Spain. We seek to understand the interplay of religion, ethnicity, gender and age in their employment experiences in order to improve managerial practices. Design/methodology/approach: The research employs a qualitative approach, conducting in-depth interviews with 39 diverse Muslim employees in Catalonia through convenience and snowball sampling to support an intersectional analysis. Findings: Findings reveal that Muslim employees navigate a workplace environment where their experiences of discrimination are shaped by intersecting identities including religion, age, gender and ethnicity which become salient at various stages of their careers, prompted by HRM practices such as recruitment, selection and promotion. Their experiences as recipients of these practices illuminate the complex ways in which intersecting identities shape the experiences of discrimination. The study reveals the hiding of their religious identity, giving up on traditional career paths, seeking social support from other Muslims and emphasizing privileged identities, to deal with discrimination. Originality/value: This study deepens understanding of the complexity of religious identity in minorities and explores its role in workplace discrimination. In particular, the research sheds light on the psychological impact in the form of feelings of guilt and shame which arise from coping strategies such as concealing religious markers which are adopted by these employees in response to organizational and managerial practices. Lastly, the paper stresses the need for intersectional approaches in order to improve effectiveness of HR policies and managerial practices.Item Open Access Unlocking circular economy: overcoming roadblocks to circular healthcare supply chain in Indian healthcare(Emerald, 2025) Agrawal, Deepak; Gupta, Sumit; Dusad, Chandni; Vishwakarma, Amit; Meena, M. L.; Dangayach, Govind Sharan; Jagtap, SandeepPurpose The circular economy concept in the healthcare supply chain can demote using single-use devices by reprocessing, reusing or recycling. India is the most populous country in the world and has numerous challenges to implementing a circular economy in the healthcare supply chain. The objective of this study is to identify and analyse the roadblocks to circular healthcare supply chains in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach The contribution of the manuscript is to the healthcare supply chain in adopting a circular economy and prioritizing the roadblocks using Fuzzy FUCOM and Fuzzy Bonferroni Mean Operator. A sensitivity analysis is performed to check the robustness of the results obtained. Findings The finding of this study suggests that regulatory roadblock is a more important roadblock in adopting the circular economy in the healthcare supply chain. It is expected that the government should formulate precise and consistent guidelines for the implementation of a circular economy in the healthcare supply chain. In addition, for faster implementation, tax rebate policy should be framed for the industries that are taking the initiative to implement a circular economy in their system. Practical implications This study explores and prioritizes twenty secondary roadblocks categorized into five primary roadblocks that will enhance the motivation of healthcare industries to become green and circular and contribute to the sustainability in healthcare sector. The government agencies should also take initiatives to create awareness about the circular economy among all the stakeholders. Originality/value This research is beneficial for policymakers, researchers, and industrial practitioners and is recommended based on current findings to facilitate the implementation of a circular economy in the healthcare sector.Item Open Access Machine learning application to disaster damage repair cost modelling of residential buildings(Taylor and Francis, 2025) Wanigarathna, Nadeeshani; Xie, Ying; Henjewele, Christian; Morga, Mariantonietta; Jones, KeithRestoring residential buildings following earthquake damage requires a significant level of resources. Being able to predict these resource requirements in advance and accurately improves the effectiveness of disaster preparedness and subsequent recovery activities. This research explored how the latest ML algorithms could be used for antecedent earthquake loss modelling. A cost database for repairing residential buildings damaged by the Emilia Romagna earthquake in Italy was analysed using six state-of-the-art ML models to explore their ability to predict repair cost rates(cost per floor area) for a domestic building damaged by earthquakes. A Gradient Boost Regression model outperformed five other models in predicting earthquake damage repair cost rate. The performance of this model was significantly accurate and covers about 76% of the cases. A further SHAP analysis revealed that operational level, damage level and non-housing area of the buildings as top 3 important features when predicting the resultant damage repair cost rate. Overall this research advanced antecedent earthquake loss modelling approaches to increase the accuracy of estimates by incorporating more variables than the widely used damage level based simple methodology.Item Open Access Inheritance expectations and social isolation: evidence from South Korea(2024-11-30) Saade, Ahmed J.; Alexiou, Constantinos; Belghitar, YacineLittle is known about the economic causes of social isolation among elders in spite of the phenomenon becoming a growing policy concern in many developed countries with ageing populations. This paper fills this gap by assessing the role of inheritance as a novel determinant of social isolation among elders. Drawing on bequest motive theory as well as aspirations theory, we utilize a granular dataset from South Korea spanning the period 2008 – 2020. The nascent evidence suggests that adult children having high inheritance expectations is beneficial to parents. In particular, having higher inheritance expectations is found to increase the frequency of parent-child meetings, thus lowering the risk of parents’ isolation. Additionally, mothers who report a higher likelihood of leaving an inheritance to their children are less isolated and disclose better well-being. Lastly, we find that the split of inheritance following a father’s death has consequences on the subsequent isolation of mothers. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study that investigates the direct role of inheritance in the creation of elderly social isolation, hence providing useful insights to policymakers of countries facing this problem.Item Open Access Improving the likelihood of positive outcomes for survivors of sexual violence, considering intersections between justice, gender, and trauma(Wiley, 2024) Bond, Kim; Davis, KateThis paper explores the complex impacts of childhood abuse on survivors, emphasising how these experiences shape both individual and societal outcomes. It acknowledges the extensive and enduring effects of abuse, which extend beyond immediate physical and psychological harm to broader social and economic repercussions. The paper critically examines the difficulties of holding perpetrators accountable within the criminal justice system, where low reporting rates, high attrition, and re‐traumatization are significant challenges. Using a gendered lens, the analysis situates these issues within a broader social, cultural, and historical context, highlighting how abuse, particularly sexual abuse, is perceived and managed. A key focus is on the issue of disclosure, essential for survivors to access support and justice. However, disclosure is often hindered by fears of disbelief, stigma, and retaliation, which are exacerbated by socioeconomic factors. Even when support systems are available, low conviction rates and ongoing re‐victimisation significantly impede justice and healing, undermining the criminal justice system and support structures. The paper also discusses the wider implications of childhood abuse for public health, social services, and education. The trauma affects not only survivors' mental and physical health but also their ability to engage fully in society, impacting relationships, employment, and educational outcomes. These personal challenges lead to broader societal costs, including increased demand for healthcare and lost productivity. The paper advocates for an integrated approach that improves prevention, enhances safeguarding, and develops effective support systems, addressing both the immediate needs of survivors and systemic barriers to recovery and justice.Item Embargo Supply Chain Disruptions and Stock Prices: Chapter 6 - Conclusions(Springer , 2024) Schelp, Priscilla; Skipworth, Heather; Aktas, Emel; Vieth, BeateThis chapter concludes the book, summarising key takeaways for both practitioners and academics on managing Hurricane-Related Risks based on our research findings. The summary encapsulates the critical outcomes of our research, shedding light on the intricate relationship between hurricanes, supply chain disruptions, and firm performance. Our study draws from a diverse range of academic sources, offering profound insights into the imperative of proactive management and transparent communication during hurricane-induced supply chain disruptions.Item Open Access Boundary objects at play in the world's greenest football club(Wiley, 2024) Samuel, Anthony; White, Gareth R. T.; Thomas, Robert; McGouran, Cathy; Bull, MichelIn the face of increasing environmental and societal pressures, organizations are gradually moving away from merely reducing their detrimental effects toward making positive impacts. One sizeable sector of economic activity, that is frequently overlooked, is that of sport, of which football is the largest in terms of economic value, fan base and global cultural influence. It is only relatively recently that outliers in the football industry have transitioned from being purely profit‐motivated to being both socially and environmentally aware. This transition is challenging since it is being undertaken within the often aggressively masculine environment, as well as the deep‐seated socio‐historical origins and contexts of the individual clubs and the sport as a whole. One such outlying football club is Forest Green Rovers which appears to have navigated this journey successfully. However, research has yet to understand “how” this has been achieved. This study addresses this gap through a 4‐year examination of the social and environmental initiatives of Forest Green Rovers. This lower‐league “club on the hill” is globally recognized for its novel approaches and solutions. Through examining the various Boundary Objects that aid in uniting disparate social groups in order to effect considerable changes to the “match day experience” and to stakeholders' consumption behaviors, it explains how their pragmatic, syntactic, and semantic functions combine to create an accepted suite of socially and environmentally beneficial initiatives.Item Open Access Impact of political and legal environments on international trade(Springer, 2024-11-07) Abugre, James Atambilla; Nellis, Joe; Ofosu-Dorte, David; Ocran, Matthew Kofi; Abor, Joshua YindenabaInternational trade has become increasingly important in the functioning of the global economy as a result of financial globalization and differences in resource endowments, prompting extensive economic research and increased demand for regional and global integration among nations and continents. International trade is one of the most salient changes in the world economy since 1980. However, many nations and other regional economic blocs have over the years instituted trade restrictions, tariffs, trade policies such as subsidies, and tax waivers among others to harness the potentials of economic comparative advantages in and within their jurisdictions. Political ideologies, instability, and insurgencies and risks are important factors that affect international trade across the globe. Legal regimes are equally important factors that determine the flow of free trade among nations. Civil and common law countries which have different focus of trade regulations and dividend policies are critical matters that affect trade decisions among MNCs and countries. This chapter examines the political and legal environments of international trade. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the emerging political and legal environments in Africa. We then discuss how the political as well as the legal environments and policy trends impact international trade of African countries.Item Open Access Beyond binary: exploring the interplay of China’s digital transformation and firm performance through dual mechanism analysis(Taylor and Francis, 2024-12-31) Chen, Shunru; Alexiou, Constantinos; Lee, SeungraeUtilizing data from Chinese A-share listed firms we explore the paradoxical effects of digital transformation on firms’ financial and operational performance. Through text mining, mechanism and heterogeneity analyses, the study’s findings indicate that digital transformation may inflate operational costs and compromise firm performance. When considering financial restrictions and R&D, the productivity gains emanating from digital transformation, underscores the symbiotic potential of concurrent technological and financial strategies. Heterogeneity analyses reveal a differentiated impact: larger firms and specific sectors, such as technology, witness a significant boost in productivity, whereas state-owned entities and joint ventures are less susceptible to performance downturns.Item Embargo The influence of neighbours’ supply network structure on firm’s environmental, social and governance controversies(Taylor and Francis, 2024-12-31) Qiu, Jilin; Alinaghian, Leila; Brintrup, AlexandraThis study investigates how the structural characteristics of a firm's supply network and its neighbouring firms affect their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) controversies. A secondary dataset comprising 18,943 firms and 103,632 contractual links from the global automotive industry was employed to test the hypotheses. Publicly available ESG controversies data for 268 firms were gathered from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database. The results indicated a negative relationship between the interconnectedness of neighbours’ networks and their ESG controversies. The results further revealed a positive association between the centrality of a firm’s neighbours and their ESG controversies. Furthermore, the study highlighted that a firm occupying a bridging position positively moderates the relationship between neighbours’ interconnectedness and ESG controversies. Drawing on a real-world large-scale supply network, our study extends the emerging debate on the criticality of broader supply networks in firms’ sustainability by investigating the role of neighbours’ structural properties in firms’ ESG controversies.