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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the legal regulation of cross-border commercial agency agreements in two main legal systems: civil law and common law. It should be noted that the legal regulation of international commercial agency agreements is fragmented; therefore, the general principles of agency law could be applied in order to propose sustainable solutions in international commercial agency relationships. In this paper, the authors consider the effectiveness of these general rules in commercial agency agreements and conclude that the lack of common international regulation for leads to the application of conflicting national rules that are not sufficient in aligning the sustainable interests of all parties of such complex legal relations.

The paper explores the teacher-learner relationship and the perceived role of communication by comparing the five dominant learning theories: behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, humanism, and social constructionism. Prior studies argue that learning is a matter of conditioning, occurs through transmission, is brain-governed and is separable from communication. In contrast to past research, we adopt a social constructionist perspective to argue that communicating and knowing are interdependent activities. The paper offers a novel communication-centred narrative to highlight the relationship between communicating and learning. The study proposes a new model representing the teaching-learning dynamic and offers direct implications on the teacher-learner relationship, calling for a new taxonomy of learning.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical factors of e-learning and examine the influence of these factors on learning success among undergraduate engineering students in India. Exploratory research is carried out to determine the critical success factors of e-learning. The data from 307 respondents was collected using an online survey with the snowball technique. The causal relationship between the factors of e-learning and the success of e-learning was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The exploratory study identifies control, quality of education, platform design, online peer support, perceived usefulness, diversity of assessment, pricing, effort expectancy, and awareness as the critical success factors. The result indicates control, perceived usefulness, platform design, pricing, and quality of education support e-learning success. The theoretical model presented in this paper is the first of its kind and would enable researchers to understand e-learning from a holistic perspective. The factors developed would act as a guideline for future researchers who would like to analyse e-learning in different contextual settings. This study serves as a potential aid to higher education institutions that encourage e-learning in their curriculums.

The scientific problem of the paper is related to the need to improve corporate marketing communication by using innovative technologies to improve consumer experience in the purchase decision process and to reduce purchase risks. The use of augmented reality is one of the innovative marketing communication technologies. So far, the impact of the use of this technology on the consumer experience in the purchase decision process has not been sufficiently explored in both qualitative and quantitative aspects, and no statistical data on the use of augmented reality in marketing communication are available. However, the use of augmented reality became an important milestone during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the aim of this study is to assess the role of augmented reality tools in the purchase decision process and to develop proposals to improve the use of augmented reality tools in corporate marketing. The research hypothesis has been confirmed and it has been concluded that the use of augmented reality in marketing communication enhances the consumer experience in the purchase decision process.

Playfulness as a learning technique is applied into the present research in a group of adult learners. Initially, a game scenario was designed and implemented for the subject of microeconomics. Following a qualitative research methodology, through observation and interviews with ten participants before and after the playful activity, the results of the intervention were examined in terms of learning impact, student motivation and the interaction that was developed between them during the game. The participants' views on the advantages and disadvantages they identified in this scenario as well as their suggestions for improvement and expansion were also explored. Significant findings on this application were drawn, since playfulness in teaching is gradually coming to the forefront of adult training worldwide. The present paper provides insights on what conditions should be further examined, in order for such scenario to be effective as teaching techniques. The limited literature on the topic as well as the increasing realisation of the important effects of playfulness in adult training render the present study significant at an international level for multiple disciplines.

Technology is advancing and metaverse is gaining popularity. The magic of metaverse is beyond our imagination. In simple terms, the metaverse refers to a virtual shared space that exists online, where people can interact, socialise, work, and play using digital avatars, just like they do in the real world. It is a combination of virtual reality, augmented reality, and the internet, all rolled into one immersive environment. Virtual reality (VR) immerses users in entirely computer-generated environments through headsets, while augmented reality (AR) overlays digital information onto the real world, enhancing the user's perception. This paper introduces new strategies to bring healthcare into the metaverse by providing solutions to the hurdles that have kept us from exploring this idea. These include reducing data transfer delays in the metaverse, making VR headsets more affordable, accurately predicting diseases by studying symptoms, and creating a platform for medical professionals to practice procedures on avatars before performing them on real patients. Metaverse has immense scope of revolutionising the healthcare and we are yet to unfold its complete usefulness.

New competencies are required given new technologies, shifting business strategies, changes in external environment, such as COVID-19 crisis as well as many other factors. The aim of this paper is to identify key competencies and create a construct describing contribution of specific groups of competencies related to technical, managerial and specialised jobs to form future-oriented reskilling flexible competency models. The data were obtained from 134 organisations oriented on competency modelling. Multidimensional statistic was used to create and confirm designed future-oriented competency models usable in practice. Results developed new framework of competency models defining required competencies reflecting flexibility, leadership, talent and specialised competencies. This research contributes to academia by providing an integrated, and fundamental framework for competency development in different types of organisations based on which practitioner may adjust their models to support development of necessary future competencies.

Emotional intelligence is a way to enhance workforce capability in the 21st century. Psychological well-being is vital for shaping faculty and student relationships in the educational sector. This article aims to provide an updated methodological review of emotional intelligence studies in academia. This study investigates two decades of emotional intelligence concepts and theories they have used for analysis in numerous studies in higher educational academia. A detailed examination of the method and result of the study was found and critical of the overall state of knowledge on emotional intelligence. The documents are extracted from the Scopus database, and after inclusion and exclusion, 43 empirical papers were selected for analysis. From these 43 articles, we extracted the scale and instruments used in the earlier studies. The literature has proven a substantial linkage between variables such as e-learning, training, and development. Finally, the findings suggest that the most used theories are Daniel Goleman's theory, trait emotional theory, and the bar on model. Moreover, most of the studies are conducted in Spain, the UK, and the USA. Deep learning, neurodiversity, and cognitive ability might motivate the educational sector and technological advancement in future research.

Thailand's general education policy has been intended to provide students with the necessary basic knowledge for their subsequent major studies, as well as to serve other important functions in daily life practices. The university has several reasons for requiring the general education program as part of degree completion. In this paper, I will discuss pedagogical languages of general education through the lens of anthropology of learning. It can be argued that the importance of anthropology of learning is rooted broadly in class traditions and fieldwork that once demanded students to develop a breadth of diverse knowledge. By reframing the question of anthropological fieldwork, I would like to use my teaching experiences in the general education program over the decades to discuss what and how to interact with students and academicians, resulting in improved teaching techniques and learning processes.

The importance of adequate risk management is growing, whereas quality management unifies all managerial processes to direct and manage activities toward the achievement of organisational goals. The goal of this study is to validate the relevance of the link between the application of quality management principles and risk management maturity. This paper constitutes a critical literature review and an analysis of the latest scientific articles, published in international databases, and other scientific sources over a period of 15 years. In summary, organisation can attain a higher level of risk management maturity through the synergistic application of all seven quality management principles. The findings practically are beneficial for all types of organisations that seek to successfully implement risk management processes.

E-leadership as one of the new leadership paradigms is located in a wide field of different leadership theories and titles like remote leadership, virtual leadership, digital or distance leadership mean. However, all new leadership styles are mainly influenced by their environment above all by the organisational infrastructure of their companies as well as the individual competencies actual leaders have or need to have in dealing with new media. The following paper shows statistically proven, that the main competencies of e-leadership are e-trust, e-communication and e-technologies and that they are mainly influenced by the organisational infrastructure. The final result of the study contains the finding that information symmetry plays a crucial role in the whole e-leader-follower cooperation, which could be further explored in future research.

The importance and the impact of communication in every domain that deals with human resources is undeniable. Yet, as far as the authors' knowledge concerns, the research has been mostly developed in the human resources field. In the project management field, the research developed is still scarce. Yet, some authors emphasise the role of the project managers' communication with teams, and the importance of the project management teams on the success of projects. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse the influence of the communication styles and leadership of the project managers on the motivation of the teams and the success of projects. Literature was reviewed and exploratory research was developed using a qualitative methodology (content analysis of eight semi-structured interviews). A conceptual framework was developed. The results suggest that communication style and leadership are related and impact the teams' motivation and the projects' success.

In developing nations, health systems are still fragmented, especially components such as public supply chain and procurement systems, often resulting in medicine stock-outs at last mile health facilities. Sophisticated systems are needed to address these challenges, often in alignment with a demand driven supply chain management (DDSCM) strategy, which has been gaining momentum in other industries. If the vision of DDSCM is to be realised, most processes must become digitised and a critical element will be the evolution of traditional supply chains toward a connected, smart, and highly efficient supply chain ecosystem driven by actual demand information. This paper identifies DDSCM dimensions and map out the interrelationships between them. Validations of the interrelationships are put forward through a survey of 78 subject matter experts. To guide decision-makers on how the framework is used, case study results were used to generate a scenario to test the applicability of the tool in the public healthcare supply chain network. More broadly, the findings in this paper reveal that digital implementation, decision support and DDSCM supply chain strategy can enhance efficiency in the supply chain.

Publication of research outputs is a method of researchers to capture their knowledge generated. Analysing the publication topics and trends in a research field can provide insight into the main research trends. A bibliometric analysis, based on the topics from published literature, provides insight into the focus areas and trends of a research field. The objective of this paper is to extract the main research topics from papers on 'sustainable development' and 'information communication technology'. The research topics are extracted from the abstracts and titles of papers using machine-learning for topic modelling. This paper identified the topics of knowledge management, design process, social change, and smart systems, as the primary focus of research into information communication technology for sustainable development. A deeper analysis into smart systems identified quality of citizen life, solutions for the urban setting, energy, and the environment as key research concerns.

South Africa's largest electricity producer has embarked on mega investments to build new power stations. This paper reports on the risk management maturity level, and risk management processes. The research adopted the survey research method and self-administrated questions to collect primary data. The investigation targeted the total population of 100 engineers, technical managers, safety officers and quality officers. The researchers collected a total of 44 useful responses. The research established that the overall risk management maturity at the intermediate level. The risk response planning and risk monitoring were identified as processes that need improvement. The risk factors in the South African power utility construction projects were a lack of pre-planning, the level of contractor's performance, community unrest, labour unrest, safety incidents, defective work and poor risk management skills. The paper has both theoretical and practical implications despite the limitations associated with the study design.

Despite the importance of professional accounting education to the accounting profession, the issue of learning and delivering the approach of professional accounting education is under-researched. This paper examined whether student-centred pedagogy, is ideal for the professional accounting education from the perspective of professional accounting lecturers, in an emerging country where the learning and political environment differs from the western countries. Drawing upon 14 semi-structured interviews, the paper offers evidence on the views on student-centred pedagogy in professional accounting education, the challenges in implementing it, the current landscape of professional accounting education and the way forward. The main challenge in professional accounting education is the urge to pass the examination where the assessment is entirely from the final examination. The findings of this paper offer important implications for regulators, policymakers and education educators in devising the accounting education system in emerging countries like Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific region, where the learning environment is passive.

This paper focuses on employees' training and development as a significant factor facilitating knowledge transfer. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of employee training and development on tacit knowledge transfer mediated via interpersonal trust. The target population of this study are employees from the telecommunications sector (n = 175). Mediation analyses were conducted, the multiplied regression method and simple mediation model with bootstrapping were applied to analyse the data according to mediation analysis. Cronbach alpha and McDonald's omega are used to verify data reliability. This paper finds that training and development influences tacit knowledge transfer and interpersonal trust mediates this relationship. The results showed that training and development has a positive and significant relationship with tacit knowledge transfer, mediated via interpersonal trust. These findings supported the importance of competency development and employee training as a facilitating condition for effective tacit knowledge dissemination on the basis of mutual trust.

The purpose of the paper was to illustrate and substantiate specific approach to innovation potential measurement by means of the complex indicator. The approach to the construction of the index was supported by qualitative research that included questionnaire survey, contextual interviews and case studies. The sample consisted of more than 50 Czech companies the size of which varied from middle to big ones. This research was complemented by semi-structured interviews conducted with innovation managers and specialist. The research resulted in the construction of the complex index ('index') that is suitable for the measurement of company innovation indicator. The model was validated by testing the index on the example of 15 companies. The research was aimed at the elaboration of complex innovation index that would include all relevant factors and enable measuring company innovation potential. The main practical implication was software-based application that facilitates the calculation of innovation potential index was developed. The paper consolidates factors that are essential for company innovation potential measurement into one complex indicator that is easy to interpret. No similar approach has been addressed yet. The paper brings clarity to the issue of measuring innovation potential in companies. It also offers solution to this problem.

Industry 4.0 describes the phenomenon when wireless connectivity augments business processes. It not only improves work processes but also is radically impact business models. However, there is a paucity of scholarly enquiry in this field, especially the economic efficiencies to be obtained. This article analyses scientific publications related to an efficiency assessment and business models of Industry 4.0, approaches the dynamic efficiency and develops a conceptual framework that assess the efficiency of transformed and disrupted business models. The paper is based upon a systematic review of scientific publications indexed in clarivate analytics and evaluation by experts. Research revealed a lack of holistic assessment of efficiency of business models and its parts in the current literature. It also focuses on the impact of efficiencies at the enterprise, societal and environmental level. The paper makes recommendations for managers and policymakers at a national level on the assessment of efficiencies derived from Industry 4.0 to the whole society. The research has several limitations: literature review only in clarivate analytics limit from recent results; very rare publications include a multidisciplinary approach to cover social and environmental aspects; and most researches use historical data and does not use ex-ante approach.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the level of satisfaction of the academic community towards the implementation of green campus that took place in higher education institution, especially universities that have been awarded as green campus, by focusing in four elements of green campus, environmental management system, green building and green transportation, community participation and social responsibility, and teaching as well as research regarding sustainability. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data on sample of 100 respondents consist of all civitas academics in higher education institution. This paper uses importance performance analysis (IPA) approach technique in analysing data to find the gap between performance and expectation in term of green campus implementation. The average score of all aspects of the statement at the perception level is 3.25 while the average score of expectation level is 4.22 with a difference or gap of −0.77. The negative point shows that the perception level has not fulfilled the academic community's expectation in terms of green campus implementation from whole elements and indicators in Telkom University.

The paper deals with characteristics of psychological and pedagogical support of children with special needs. The main attention is paid to the formation of harmonised personality despite the physical disabilities. The topicality of the subject is conditioned with the constant increase of the number of children with special needs, and the need for their entering to society, affording possibilities for access to education and field of professional activities. The purpose of the paper is the research of the characteristics of psychological and pedagogical support of children with special needs. The conducted research provided diagnostics of the maturity level of key life children with special needs competences. A special training course was developed, the implementation of which will contribute the further successful socialisation of children with special needs. The prospects of further researches in this area provides development and implementation of a system of individual lessons for different aged children with special needs. The practical value of this research is the extension of the spectrum of practical researches in the area of possibilities' enhancement for children with special needs.

The paper discusses the integration of elements of management technology in the management structure of higher education institutions. As a research area, we chose marketing type technologies that determine the possibility of developing and introducing innovations in the process of forming quality educational services. Management in the sphere of education is considered not only as a process activity aimed at increasing the marketing recognition of an educational institution, but also as a consequence of the need for adaptation on the part of the market for the external environment, which determines novelty of the work. Marketing communications, designs and principles of building the administrative structure of an educational institution with the use of a correlation model were considered in this paper.

This paper describes a qualitative case study of a fledgling IT organisation's espoused journey to becoming a learning organisation (LO). In particular, it examines how that change journey was informed and impacted by notions and elements embedded in Örtenblad's (2004) model of a LO. It derives insights from the organisation's experience to determine whether and how the model needs to be refined or re-interpreted for organisations pursuing the benefits of becoming a LO. The study concludes that Örtenblad's model has value in guiding such change and affirms the heightened importance of facilitating an appropriate climate for learning (CL), and of meaningfully contextualising learning processes within an organisation's formal and informal learning structure (LS), on that LO journey. The study is unique in identifying the relative influence and importance of Örtenblad's elements, the need for a more nuanced interpretation of those elements, and of evolving rather than developing a new model.

The rationale of this paper is to investigate the inter-relationships among leadership styles, organisational learning capability and job satisfaction. In particular, it aims to analyse whether the leadership styles impacts the learning capability of an organisation and job satisfaction level of its employees or not. Two hundred managers from various management levels at IT companies in the Delhi/NCR, India, were surveyed. Descriptive statistics, correlations and moderated regression analysis were used to assess the data. The study found a significant association of transactional and transformational leadership styles with organisational learning capability. However, in case of their association with job satisfaction, only transformational leadership style showed a significant one. The study also found a significant moderating effect of transformational leadership style on organisational learning capability and job satisfaction relationship. The results are of utmost significance as it gives valuable insights about the preferred leadership style by the managers that help them towards enhancing their organisational learning capability and job satisfaction.

The perception ability has attained much recognition in the identification of cognitive processing and decision-making in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) individuals. However, the prior studies have subjectively worked on perception ability using conditioning paradigms that can be intolerable for ASD individuals. The present paper quantitatively investigates the perception ability of ASD individuals by modelling visual judgement and statistical learning. Thirty ASD and typically developing (TD) individuals are selected for experimenting distinguishing animated images related to risk situations with different risk levels. The experimental paradigm-based behavioural measures (reaction time, d′ index, and accuracy) revealed that ASD individuals, although performed poorly than TDs, they visually and statistically perceived the risk. Quantitatively, the perception level in ASD is (mean 0.57 ± 0.02) in the range [0 1]. In comparison to TDs, the attenuated visual and statistical learning during the experiment could lead to impaired perception in ASD. However, when statistical learning comes into action (comparing performance in block 1 and block 6), it played a crucial role in improving visual knowledge; thus, the perception ability of ASD individuals. In the future, the studies can implicate the quantitative perception to identify other deficits in the ASD phenotype.

Social entrepreneurship is a planned behaviour and rapidly gaining its importance in society. This complex process can be understood by studying intention which is the single best predictor of subsequent behaviour. It helps in understanding the reasons behind the actions undertaken and the manner in which potential entrepreneurs decide and act to achieve their social entrepreneurial goals. One of the major reasons of studying intention is its empirically proven psychological models. Such general intention models provide base for the development of intention models of social entrepreneurship. Therefore, it becomes necessary to study this process in an organised manner, as various other variables are also getting introduced. The paper clarifies this evolution process and categorises the main areas of knowledge used to explain different aspects of entrepreneurial intention to start a social venture. The classification of variables is done on the basis of three ecosystems of socio-ecological model introduced by Urie Bronfenbrenner in 1970s namely, individual, social, contextual/situational factors. Hence, this study attracts the attention of academic community, who are at the initial level of research or seeking foundational knowledge about this subject. However, it was difficult to include every variable which predict social entrepreneurial intention in an individual.

This paper presents a documentary review in Spain on the uses and experiences of school change with Index for Inclusion materials (Booth and Ainscow, 2000, 2011) during the last 15 years. A brief description of the Spanish educational system is made in order to contextualise this analysis. The initiatives are grouped into three categories. Firstly, it has served as a source of partial inspiration, primarily in research contexts, to generate tools for analysis. Secondly, it has been taken up in teacher education activities. In this context, the index has been especially useful to help to construct and share a common language about inclusive education. The third category encompasses projects that have used the index in the evaluation and improvement processes to guide inclusive development in schools. Some 'lessons learned' are shared and common challenges are discussed, among them the need to give greater emphasis to the conditions which support schools on their journey to become more inclusive.

Delivering a project has several challenges to be addressed, and to mitigate them, multiple approaches have arisen and suggested as best practices to stakeholders' satisfaction. This research presents a proposal to manage communication inside a virtual project team, adapting concepts from traditional and agile approaches into a hybrid framework, created using the action research spiral approach to evaluate the performance. It was possible to implement three action-research cycles, considering the spiral approach, starting will a diagnosis of the team, followed by action planning and implementation in a two month cycle, finishing with evaluation of the results and collection of feedbacks and potentials improvements. This paper describes all the process, tools and communication structure implemented in a product development project team of an industrial company for a period of six months. The results show that the team became project oriented, increasing trust among members and the alignment of dependencies between areas.

The current status of inclusive education for students with low vision in Lebanon is ambiguous. This is due to a scarcity of available studies on the topic. This paper aims to identify the opportunities and challenges pertaining to the proper implementation of inclusive education for this subgroup in Lebanon. Also, it aims to provide recommendations regarding the proper implementation of inclusive education, as well as overcoming the challenges identified. The paper begins with an introduction to the topic, portraying the importance of the study, and detailing its significance. A case study of one private school in Lebanon is presented, and interviews with 14 individuals with different titles are performed as per the qualitative research methodology. This will help to elucidate and clarify the opportunities and challenges of inclusive education. Interview results are presented in codified form, and are then discussed in reference to available literature to provide recommendations. These include, but are not limited to; increased governmental funding for inclusive education programs; increased teacher training in inclusive education; increased community involvement in the development of inclusive programs; and increased awareness regarding low vision and inclusive education in Lebanese communities.

This paper outlines how managers or policy makers can use system dynamics tools to clarify their thinking in order to better identify and address the unintended consequences created by their change efforts. Prominent systems thinkers have maintained that to truly understand a complex system you have to observe how the parts of the system interact. System dynamics tools allow people to create and observe these interactions in a condensed time frame, which in turn allows them to learn from the model and then apply these insights to reality. The key stumbling block has always been the uncertainty that a model accurately reflects reality. In this paper we show that insights can be gained simply by building the model. Once our thinking becomes visible to others we can refine and improve our models using group processes.

With growing pressures to modernise the value chain, rationalise operations and minimise costs, a firm's logistics and knowledge management systems require continuous renewal. This paper examines inter relationships between logistic and firm's knowledge management from a value concept. A value concept is a useful construct to ascertain the contingent factors of logistics and firm's knowledge and how they are interrelated. We asked the question: what happens to a firm's logistic operations and knowledge resources when it decides to outsource business functions? This paper draws on logistics, supply chain and knowledge theories to introduce a conceptual framework of firm's logistic and knowledge value. Using this value concept, our analysis offers insights into managerial practices and an agenda for future research for a deeper understanding of the connection between logistic and knowledge management functions. We postulate that firm's logistics and knowledge are intrinsically connected and the outsourcing of logistics invariably alter a firm's value.

The paper contains the analysis of the modern youth's installations towards labour in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The focus is on the following aspects: youth's goals in work, factors influencing the youth's career choice, youth's ideas of occupational prestige, youth's requirements to an ideal profession, factors influencing the emergence of unemployed youth with no educational background and the youth's opinion on the level of threat from this phenomenon to the society. The basis of the paper is formed by the data of sociological research 2016 conducted in Kazakhstan. The basic method of the sociological research was the mass survey with the application of the accidental representative sample of 2000 people. The Kazakhstani youth's values were analysed through the lens of such socio-demographic indicators as gender, age, region of living, profession, level of income, sphere of employment, and level of education.

This paper explores the links between the fields of dynamic capabilities and organisational learning (OL), emphasising the role of the different ontological learning levels. The resource-based view (RBV) is pinpointed as the key origin of the dynamic capabilities view (DCV), in connection with OL and knowledge management. Ontological learning levels are identified as key OL stages. The knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm is introduced as a key link between OL processes and dynamic capabilities development. Specifically, we propose a novel and integrative framework for understanding the role that the RBV, the DCV, OL, and the KBV, have, in an inter-connected way, have played in achieving a progressively deeper understanding of the key internal sources of competitive advantage. Accordingly, our paper opens interesting opportunities for future inquiry, e.g., studying how different ontological learning levels may distinctively influence the development of particular types of dynamic capabilities (e.g., in design, marketing, etc.).

The purpose of this paper sought to develop a collaborative framework that provides wine bottling facilities, wine cellars and their direct supply chain partner guidelines to facilitate a collaborative partnership – aiming to aid responsive decision making and improve reliability. The framework was developed using a triangulation approach, consisting of an in-depth literature review, 14 semi-structured interviews with industry experts and a theoretical case study. The developed framework was presented to wine bottling facilities and their supply chain stakeholders. Indication are that the proposed wine industry collaborative framework should enhance supply chain collaboration and will contribute towards the guidance and facilitation in developing collaboration platforms to align supply chain operations, while improving bottling responsiveness and meeting demand requirements.

The research background rests on the shortcomings of existing electronic business development models. The main aspects of the framework for e-business development as a prerequisite for sustainable competitive advantage are based on an analysis of scientific literature on sustainable competitive advantage and electronic business development. The paper aims to form a framework of electronic business development model oriented at the creation of sustainable competitive advantage for the enterprise. The research methodology consists of the critical analysis of e-business development and the analysis and related theories of the sustainable competitive advantage activities based on task-oriented questions that were met using the method of essential components identification. The main research findings are presented in the form of newly formed framework for the development of an electronic business that integrates the goals of economic, ecologic, and social dimensions into the IT-driven business activities. The framework is based on four dimensions identified as key to the company and influenced by the use of information technology: the dimensions of interoperability and robustness that incorporate external environment factors; value creation that includes the internal environment; the productivity dimension that includes changes to IT infrastructure and separation of key business areas.

The manufacturing sector is facing an increase in product recall which damages the brand images and customer goodwill. The main purpose of this research was to explore the direct, indirect and total effects of quality management factors toward management of the cost of poor quality in the South African manufacturing sector. The study proposed the theoretical model based on the literature reviewed and tested the proposition using structural equation modelling in AMOS 26. The empirical data were collected from 119 managers from the South African manufacturing industry and the snowball sampling provided the ability to identify the target group. The findings identified process management and business result focus to have a statistically significant total effect on cost of poor quality. The contribution of this paper lies on the observed effects of quality management factors which could be used by managers to prioritise their efforts toward management of the cost of poor quality.

Greece is going through a transitional period. The severe socio-economic crisis has left its mark on the country while the pandemic crisis is undoubtedly going to delay the recovery. This conceptual paper aims to explore the 'school as a learning organisation' (SLO) in the Greek context, analyse challenges and opportunities for transforming Greek schools into SLOs and outline the roadmap for such a crucial transformation. Specifically, it includes a theoretical discussion on the applicability of the SLO concept in the Greek context, combining an in-depth analysis of the extant literature and four key aspects that should be considered for developing SLOs in Greece. Developing SLOs can lead to school effectiveness and improve Greece's well-being. Integrating the learning philosophy into their daily practice, schools in Greece will enhance teachers' professional development, work effectiveness and well-being, as well as students' well-being and academic performance. However, specific steps need to be taken, in both school and system level, to support this development.

In the spring of 2020, the learning process globally was reorganised using online technologies that support a new strategy 'emergency remote learning'. At present, it is unclear how long emergency remote teaching and learning will need to be in place. As a consequence of recent health safety measures the teaching and learning activities have changed, including student assessment. The aim of this paper is to explore educators' perceptions of the changes in assessment and feedback. A survey of educators in Latvia was conducted, as well as two focus group discussions. The main findings examine such important aspects as the importance of feedback, the possibilities and use of technology, and well-designed assignments. One initial finding of this review is that Latvian educators have reviewed, supplemented and developed assignments to deal with this new situation. In summation, this study aims to strengthen the understanding of learning and assessment when emergency remote teaching and learning is utilised.

The quest for structural transformation has been a crucial challenge in Africa in spite of the huge amounts of aid disbursed, investments undertaken, policies implemented, etc. Notwithstanding several important reasons highlighted in the literature, they are insufficient because they focus on the role of financial resources but neglect non-financial issues and resources that are required to guarantee efficient mobilisation, utilisation and prudent management of public resources. Consequently, this paper examines these non-financial issues and resources through a systematic review of the relevant literature and analysis of their contents. The major finding was that most policy efforts at structurally transforming finance in Africa achieved little success because they were not rooted in the continent's cultures and traditions, which should be employed to enhance sound financial management and control systems.

The extent of competition in the market affects the balance of bargaining power of market participants. When price discrimination is low, it increases consumer welfare - that is, if the price does not correspond to the evaluation of each product by the consumer, then discrimination allows for additional consumers to buy the product at a price, which is lower than the one they would have liked to pay for it. This often results in negative consequences for both buyers and suppliers. The aim of the article is to analyse the existing theory and practice of negotiation strategy in a complex way, at different levels of competition, to reveal possibilities to develop and implement negotiating strategies, taking into account the problems of price discrimination. The article deals with the problem - there are not enough tools in the negotiation theory to help develop negotiation strategies with different levels of competition and price discrimination problems. The paper analyses the mathematical model of oligopoly. This model explores the feasibility and effectiveness of negotiation strategy preparation in the face of distorted market competition.

In Africa, the processes of democratic consolidation are endangered in spite of various administrative and financial reforms having been implemented to reinforce fiscal consolidation and strengthen governance in the public sector. This then requires investigating the efficacy of these ingenuities in situations where the policy-makers wield considerable political and economic power. It means looking at the processes of reforming public financial management by looking at local people's traditions and using their indigenous knowledge (IK). This paper, using qualitative data and contents analysis, illustrates how public funds can be insulated from mismanagement using IK. Findings show that the use of African IK and resources depicted by oath taking, swearing/reverence to deities is efficacious in reducing fraud and mismanagement of public funds. Thus, IK nurtures and enhances societal ethical and moral standards and values while ensuring the promotion of acts of prudency, probity, accountability and transparency.

Key performance indicator (KPI) has become a fundamental part of evaluation that focuses on either an individual or a system. Setting KPIs and their revisions is a continuous process that is often determined through either an agreeable or a heated discussion. This paper is the first to investigate the achievement of KPIs of different players in education using Bangladesh as a case study. Because of the nature of policy discourse research, secondary data are used from the designated agencies. Increasing enrolment with the assurance of high-quality education was determined as the prime KPI for primary/secondary provisions. Quantitative KPIs are achieved, which is unsustainable. Both public and private sectors are players in tertiary education; none of them accomplish the prime KPI setup, which consists of research. The need to supply 'job-ready graduates' is ignored. This study suggests that new policy must be formed to attain a sustainable achievement of KPIs.

Today's society consists of individuals who belong to different generations. Natural change will lead to the fact that a new generation of individuals will take up most of the society's structure, at the same time raising questions about behaviour in virtual space changes. Assimilation of new technologies in society greatly depends on consumer attitudes that are determined by the psychological characteristics of consumers. Purpose of the paper is to form a conceptual psychological profile of generation Z, which would create preconditions to adapt the electronic service solutions for the youngest generation of society. Features of the Theory of generations and psychological characteristics of the generation Z will be analysed in order to achieve this goal. Guidelines of information technologies (IT) solutions for adaptation for generation Z will be given due to established profile. This paper is based on analysis of scientific and practical literature, systematisation, comparison, graphical representation of information.