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The energy policy of the European Union stresses the need for sustainable energy consumption, improvements in energy efficiency and lower fossil fuel dependence in a decoupling strategy from unstable democracies. Transportation still represents a sector largely dependent on fossil fuels, which come with several negative impacts. Measuring and assessing the sustainability of the transport sector becomes necessary. This study aims to assess the sustainability performance of the transport sector across 28 European countries over a four-year period, aligned with the policy agenda outlined in strategic documents. The methodological approach involves applying Benefit-of-the-Doubt (BoD) models, comparing a version that uses transformation methods for anti-isotonic sub-indicators with a variant that directly incorporates these sub-indicators as reverse indicators. In general, the European countries have improved the sustainability performance of their transport sector during the time span analyzed according to the results of both models. For the inefficient units, two improvement strategies are presented based on the profiles identified on the benchmarks from both models, which can be alternative stages to achieve the robust best practices of the benchmarks.

This research aims to construct a sustainable performance index for small brick businesses using both objective (emissions measurement) and subjective data (opinions and perceptions of business performance) throughout the brick manufacturing process. The proposed sustainable performance index, which includes both subjective and objective data, generates a more comprehensive index by integrating diverse types of data. To collect information, a structured questionnaire was developed and applied face-to-face to 142 brick-making business owners located in five metropolitan municipalities of Oaxaca (ZMO), Mexico. The measurement of polluting emissions was carried out on-site using Temptop 2000 and Testo 340 equipment. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted with the collected data and the reliability and validity of the scales were tested. The results present a sustainable performance index that integrates the economic dimension, covering commercial and financial phases; the environmental dimension, subdivided into process emissions and production inputs, and the social performance dimension. The component that scored lowest was production inputs, while the component that scored highest was financial performance. The municipality with the worst ranking position is Santa Cruz Amilpas, and the best-positioned municipality is San Andrés Huayapam. These results are significant for the government, producers, and authorities as they provide a basis for defining strategies aimed at sustainable brick production. This includes incorporating technology to enhance economic returns, mitigating negative environmental and human health impacts, and ensuring appropriate social development for employees.

This study examines Socially Responsible Human Resource Management (SRHRM) for the common good through the connections between the psychological green climate (PGC) and employee green behavior (EGB). In doing so, it explores the influence of SRHRM and PGC on EGB and sustainable performance (SP) as well as the moderating effect of PGC on EGB for organizing sustainable dimensions of HRM for environmental common goods. Drawing on the notion of the common good, this study mobilizes the ability motivation opportunity theory to articulate the nexus of business ethics and the environment. This study is quantitative in nature, following the deducting reason approach. Data were collected from 307 manufacturing companies using a survey. To ensure robustness, structural equation modeling using the AMOS software was used to analyze the data. The study's results show that both SRHRM and PGC directly influence EGB, which proxies to affect the organizational SP precisely. However, the results also show that SRHRM has no significant direct repercussions on SP, and the analysis of the moderation effect revealed that PGC does not intervene in the relationship between SRHRM and EGB. This paper contributes to an interesting conjuncture of growing literature on the adoption and impact of SRHRM and SP, which we argue can become the epicenter of ethical business processes to ensure the common environmental good. This study shows that organizations can flourish sustainable behavioral aspects, values, norms, and practices in business processes and among employees by nurturing the tenets of SRHRM, PGC, and EGB, which will increase the organizational capacity to transform the environmental common good.

Amid global climate challenges, loss of biodiversity and resource depletion firms must act for sustainable performance (SP) and future well-being. It is crucial to understand the underlying mechanisms that enhance SP. This study aims to examine the impact of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), and circular economy (CE), on SP in Bangladesh's green garment industry. Employing a quantitative research design, we tested the hypothesized structural model using data from 303 managers collected through surveys. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS SEM) statistical method was utilized to examine the hypotheses. The results indicate that SSCM positively impacts CE and SP, and CE mediates the SSCM-SP link. This study contributes to the literature by enhancing the Natural Resource-Based View theory, presenting SSCM-CE as resources that enhance SP. The findings hold valuable implications for Bangladesh's RMG policymaking practitioners.

This study examines the complex interplay among corporate social responsibility (CSR), green dynamic capabilities, green innovation capabilities, and organizations' economic, environmental, and social performance in the current era of innovation and sustainability. The proposed framework was tested using data from 634 medium- and large-sized Chinese manufacturing firms. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data. The findings demonstrate that CSR to external and internal stakeholders positively influences green dynamic capabilities. Meanwhile, CSR to external stakeholders and green dynamic capabilities are positively associated with green innovation capabilities, subsequently influencing the economic, environmental, and social performance of manufacturing firms. Moreover, the results reveal the mediating effect of green dynamic capabilities on the association between CSR and green innovation capabilities. Green innovation capabilities also mediate the association between CSR to external stakeholders and green dynamic capabilities on manufacturing organizations’ economic, environmental, and social performance. This study offers a novel exploration of the intricate interplay among CSR, green dynamic capabilities, green innovation capabilities, and organizational performance within manufacturing organizations. These findings provide valuable insights for managers and offer opportunities for further research that will ultimately contribute to a deeper understanding of the roles of sustainability and innovation in modern corporations.

Many entrepreneurs across the US are the key players in building a greener economy. Their agility and innovative spirit offer a source of potential solutions. This is especially true for small businesses, which can quickly adapt to sustainable practices. Therefore, this research investigated the direct and indirect (mediating) roles of waste management and green innovations in green supply chain management and enviropreneurship performance, which is a transition from environmental to enviropreneurship advocacy. This study used a deductive approach with a quantitative research method. A study of a survey for 835 supply chain professionals in US small and medium enterprises used a Structural Equation Modeling technique to test specific research hypotheses. The findings of this study unveiled a positive and significant effect of exogenous variables on endogenous variables. Besides waste management and green innovation, a significant mediation was found between the relationships between green supply chain management and entrepreneurship performance. This research highlights key strategies to boost entrepreneurial performance. Green practices enhance environmental outcomes, minimize waste, bolster stakeholder relationships, lead to cost savings, and improve brand reputation and regulatory compliance. The study identifies areas needing improvement and supports sustainable development. Adhering to environmental regulations shows a commitment to sustainability and helps avoid legal issues. By following these recommendations, managers can foster a greener future for their organizations. This research presented ''enviropreneurship performance'' as a key factor for businesses implementing green supply chains and practices. It proposes an innovative model that connects green practices to this performance, providing important insights for future studies. The study validated this concept by employing a Resource-based View and testing the hypotheses using structural equation modeling, which enhanced the understanding of enviropreneurship within a developed economy.

In sports, teamwork plays an vital role in improving performance. It makes the individuals nurture an environment of team dynamics, acquaintance, and instructor support. It collaboratively synergizes a team's satisfaction and performance, and thereby its ability to achieve global success. This study examines how charismatic leadership affects team performance in the context of digitalization, focusing on employee satisfaction and team engagement. A survey of 409 participants from the sports industry was conducted to assess their perceptions of leadership style, satisfaction, and engagement. Using a Likert scale, the survey identified correlations between charismatic leadership and key team outcomes. The analysis demonstrates the significant impact of charismatic leadership on enhancing satisfaction and driving team engagement, offering valuable insights for leaders aiming to boost team performance in a digitally transformed workplace.

Despite extensive research on occupational health and safety, the role of safety intervention on performance remains underexplored. Understanding how different integrated safety intervention practices influence sustainable performance could unlock new avenues. This study aimed to investigate the influence of integrated safety intervention practices on economic, social and environmental performance. A survey was conducted in the Zimbabwe service industry and 242 useable responses were obtained. By means of structural equation modelling, we analyzed the effect of management safety intervention, human safety intervention and technical safety intervention on the three dimensions of sustainability. Our findings suggest that safety intervention practices lead to improved sustainable performance. However, the relationship between management safety intervention and sustainable performance is indirect and mediated by human and technical safety intervention. These insights could inform organizations that adopting safety intervention practices is more than compliance with regulations and further shed light on those who are not sure what other benefits besides improving workplace safety can be attained through adopting safety intervention practices.

This study investigates the factors of Computerized Accounting Information Systems (CAIS) and the application of Task Technology Fit (TTF) in 190 decision-makers at accredited microfinance in Indonesia that apply technology adoption in decision-making processes. The results of analysis with SEM AMOS highlighted some findings: (1) The system quality of the computerized accounting information system and task analyzability have a significant effect on Task Technology Fit (TTF), (2) Task Technology Fit (TTF) has a positive relationship with perceived usefulness and sustainable performance. Furthermore, this study contributes to the development of TTF theory in optimizing integrated technological capabilities, accounting information systems, and task characteristics toward Sustainable Performance. The prominent contribution of this research is the importance of technology (including CAIS and Core Micro Banking System). Finally, this study will enrich references in the field of Accounting and Finance, especially for the application of technology for Sustainable Performance in Microfinance.

In recent years, the ongoing environmental challenges have caused hotel firms to experience stress from stakeholders (i.e., customers and competitors). These stringent ecological changes have compelled hospitality firms to go green. This study investigates the influence of customer and competitive pressures on green innovation and sustainability in the hospitality industry. Utilizing a sample of 309 employees from multiple hospitality companies, the study rigorously tests a series of hypotheses using Smart PLS and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings supported all the hypotheses, indicating that customer and competitive pressures significantly foster green product and process innovations, enhance sustainable firm performance, and encourage green CSR initiatives in the Chinese hospitality sector. Furthermore, green product innovation, green process innovation, and green CSR were found to be critical mediators in enhancing firm performance under the influence of these pressures. These results have substantial implications for theory and practice, highlighting the importance of external pressures in promoting sustainable practices in the hospitality industry.

The emerging institutional concerns regarding the environmental crisis over the past decades have promoted the implementation of green initiatives within the supply chain, aiming to reduce environmental harm while maintaining efficiency. This study employed the BWM from a double perspective, aiming to identify and rank institutional pressures for GSCM practice implementation and the importance of these practices for sustainable performance in the Moroccan manufacturing industry. The study used purposive sampling to identify respondents with supply chain management expertise. A survey was distributed to 124 potential respondents, resulting in 55 responses. Data collection occurred between April and August 2022, with an effective response rate of approximately 38%. The results indicate that institutional pressure increases the likelihood of firms improving their GSCM activities. Normative pressures are found to be the main influencing factor for businesses to implement GSCM practices, while mimetic pressures are the least important. However, certain GSCM practices, such as GP, ECO-D, and IEM, remain among the top three most affected by isomorphic pressures. The study also highlights the importance of certain GSCM practices, such as IEM, GP, and ECO-D, for firms' sustainable performance. Economic outcomes are perceived as the experts' priority, followed by environmental and social performance. This research provides a theoretical and practical foundation for decision-makers seeking to identify the pressures affecting the implementation of GSCM practices along with the activities that most likely contribute to improving various aspects of sustainable performance.

This research investigates how green competencies and values associated with carbon footprint directly influence sustainable performance. Additionally, it seeks to assess the indirect influence of green competencies and values concerning carbon footprint on sustainable performance, mediated by the willingness to mitigate carbon emissions. The research model was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and data from 269 healthcare organizations were employed for this purpose. The findings reveal several significant relationships. Firstly, Green competencies were observed to positively and significantly influence the willingness to mitigate carbon footprint. Secondly, values related to carbon footprint were also found to positively influence the willingness to mitigate carbon footprint. Furthermore, the willingness to mitigate carbon footprint was identified as a positive enhancer of sustainable performance within healthcare organizations. In terms of indirect relationships and the mediation effect of willingness to mitigate carbon footprint, the results indicate that this willingness acts as a mediator. It mediates the connection between green competencies and sustainable performance, as well as between values related to carbon footprint and sustainable performance. As a result, this study contributes theoretically to four distinct areas. Additionally, it offers practical insights for healthcare managers and policymakers. Lastly, the study suggests possible directions for future research endeavours.

The formation of mass customization competencies is crucial for the increasing number of manufacturing companies in modern times. This study assessed the relationship between mass customization capability and its determinants on sustainable performance. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of mass customization capability and sustainable performance, while also examining the moderating effects of firm size and cross-border eCommerce in these associations. The study used online survey data from 339 manufacturing small-to-medium-sized enterprises in China to test the hypothesized relationships. The collected data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling and necessary condition analysis. The results indicated that flexible manufacturing competencies, modular product architecture, and customer relationship management are significantly and positively connected to mass customization capability. Moreover, the study observed that mass customization capability and competitive pressure have a significant positive influence on the sustainable performance of Chinese manufacturing SMEs. The findings also revealed that firm size and cross-border e-commerce engagement have a negative and positive moderating effect, respectively, between mass customization capability on sustainable performance, which confirms a relatively higher effect of customization capability on sustainable performance among smaller firms and firms engaged in cross-border eCommerce. Fundamentally, these findings can lead to the development of a comprehensive framework to promote mass customization capability, cross-border e-commerce, and sustainable development of manufacturing small-to-medium-sized enterprises China.

This research delved into the intricate causal relationships between Management Control Systems (MCS), Dynamic Capabilities (DC), Sustainable Performance (SP), and the pivotal Open Innovation Strategy (OIS) within the challenging context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing a rigorous statistical analysis and leveraging a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, the study meticulously examined the structural model and rigorously tested its hypotheses. The data harnessed for this investigation emanated from online surveys administered to executives and managers affiliated with 3-star and higher-rated hotels in southern Thailand, resulting in a sample size of 151 respondents. The outcome of the statistical analysis, conducted at a significance level of 0.01, conspicuously underlined the paramount role played by the Open Innovation Strategy (OIS) in influencing Sustainable Performance (SP), closely trailed by Dynamic Capabilities (DC) and Management Control Systems (MCS), in a distinct order. These statistically significant results unequivocally corroborated the acceptance of all six research hypotheses, which encapsulated the intricate interplay between MCS and DC, SP, and OIS, as well as the intricate relationships between DC, OIS, and SP. The research outcomes paint a compelling picture, underscoring that in the face of crises, the strategic adoption of open innovation strategies, complemented by an effective management control system and dynamic capabilities, empowers businesses to effectively navigate and endure crises while sustaining operational performance.

The primary objective of this research is to examine the effects of green knowledge management (GKM) on green technological innovation (GTI) and sustainable performance in construction firms. The study also investigates the role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a moderator of the relationship between GKM and green human capital (GHC). A survey questionnaire was used to obtain data from 309 construction firms in Pakistan, and the AMOS-24 and SPSS PROCESS macro software packages were used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that GKM had significant positive impacts on GTI and long-term performance. Aspects of GIC (e.g., green structural capital, green relational capital, and green human capital) were found to be significant mediators of GKM and GTI interactions and correlations between GKM and sustainable performance. Furthermore, the study showed that AI significantly influenced the relationship between GKM and GHC. The study's findings have important theoretical and practical implications for organizations and governments. The study theoretically contributes to the knowledge-based view of the firm by providing empirical evidence of the role of various GIC characteristics as mediators in the interactions between GKM, GTI, and sustainable performance. In practice, the findings suggest that firms can improve GTI and sustainable performance by investing in GKM and GIC.

This study investigated the combined effects of inventory, green, supply and lean manufacturing practices on the sustainable performance (environmental [EP], social [SP] and economic [EcP] performances) of food manufacturing enterprises in emerging economies like Ghana. The study adopted the quantitative approach and explanatory research design. Primary data was obtained from 247 owners and managers of food manufacturing enterprises in Ghana through structured questionnaires. Twelve hypotheses were developed and tested using the partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analytical tool. The study’s results revealed that inventory and green manufacturing practices directly influenced sustainable performance (SP, EP, and EcP), while lean manufacturing practices had an insignificant influence on economic performance. Supply management, on the other hand, significantly improved only economic performance. The outcome of the study provides valuable information for food manufacturers in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa. The outcome will provide more robust support for food manufacturers to invest heavily into sustainable supply chain management practices such as inventory, green and lean while establishing stronger relationships with key suppliers to guarantee a consistent supply of raw materials; thereby, promoting sustainable performance. This study contributes to the current literature on sustainable supply chain management and sustainable performance with concrete evidence from food manufacturing enterprises within an emerging economy.

The central aim of this research study is to investigate the interconnections and dynamics within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by examining Fintech adoption, competitiveness, circular economy practices, transformational leadership, and sustainable performance. The study's theoretical framework is grounded in the Practice-Based View, integrating Fintech adoption, competitiveness, circular economy practices, transformational leadership, and sustainable performance into the proposed model. To validate this model, the research employs the SEM-ANN analysis method. The study focuses on workers within SMEs in Pakistan, with a sample of 473 participants collected using a simple random sampling technique and 442 samples were deemed suitable for analysis. Preliminary data examination and hypothesis testing were conducted using Smart-PLS 4.0 and SPSS-23. A two-fold SEM-ANN approach was employed to validate the study's proposed model. The research findings indicate a direct and significant impact of Fintech adoption and transformational leadership on the sustainable performance of SMEs. Circular economy practices and competitiveness play vital intermediary roles, connecting Fintech adoption and sustainable performance. Furthermore, transformational leadership acts to moderate the relationships between Fintech adoption and both circular economy practices and competitiveness. The ANN approach complements the SEM analysis, providing additional insights and expanding our understanding of the subject. This study illuminates the interplay between Fintech, circular economy practices, and transformational leadership in enhancing SMEs' competitiveness and sustainable performance. It underscores the pivotal role of integrating Fintech and sustainable practices for SMEs and provides insightful directives for policymakers and scholars aiming to bolster SMEs in a competitive business environment.

A systematic literature review is conducted to analyze and synthesize studies on supply chain collaboration in Industry 4.0 between 2010 and 2023. 152 documents were selected from various databases. The meta-synthesis method categorizes 8 Initiators, 8 Barriers, 7 dimensions, and 4 Outcomes of collaboration. The findings show that collaboration in supply chain 4.0, with the activation of drivers and enablers such as Industry 4.0 technologies, Information and communication technology infrastructure, and with the control of barriers such as Personal benefits and Operational and structural issues can utilize information and communication technologies to highlight sustainable performance and trust throughout the supply chain. The study develops the existing literature and persuades businesses and the scientific community to investigate the power of collaboration in supply chain partner activities. The analytical model in this study focusing on four main sections, can serve as a basis for conducting new research in the development of collaboration.

Renewable energy has attained enormous attention in recent years due to the exhaustion of many energy resources, and the pollution caused by fossil fuels. However, the adoption of renewable energy sources (RESs) is a complicated process influenced by multifarious factors. This study aims to investigate factors influencing the adoption of RESs by the Palestinian industrial and commercial sectors and their effect of this adoption on sustainable performance, besides examining if the government plays a role in moderating the relationship between the adoption of RESs and such sustainable performance. To this end, a quantitative method was used to collect data through questionnaires from 100 top managers in the Palestinian commercial and industrial sectors. The data analysis was conducted using the Smart PLS software to test the formulated hypotheses. The findings support the positive relationship between the adoption of RESs and sustainable performance. There is also a positive relationship between the adoption of RESs and the government's role. However, the relationship between the government's role and sustainable performance is not established, but the government's role is found to be a moderator between adopting RESs and sustainable performance.

The attachment of more than one glass layer through the polymeric interlayer results in the formation of laminated glass. In contrast to other glass types, laminated glass offers better breakage resistance, post-breakage safety, and protection against noise. The breakage resistance and post-breakage safety of laminated glass in residential and commercial buildings hold critical prominence and laminated glass sustainability is being investigated in academia and industry. This study conducts a survey of the literature to identify and discuss various materials and design approaches incorporated to augment the sustainability of laminated glass. The mechanical properties augmentation of the laminated glass through material incorporation has been studied. Similarly, the safety and sustainability augmentation through Finite Element (FE) analysis has also been reviewed. This study considers various simulations of the impact and blast loading on laminated glass through FE models. The material and FE design revelations of this study will impart practical insights into laminated glass sustainability augmentation approaches.

Although extant literature has thoroughly investigated the incorporation of cloud computing services, examining their influence on sustainable performance, particularly at the organizational level, is insufficient. Consequently, the present research aims to assess the factors that impact the integration of cloud computing within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and its subsequent effects on environmental, financial, and social performance. The data were collected from 415 SMEs and were analyzed using a hybrid SEM-ANN approach. PLS-SEM results indicate that relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, top management support, cost reduction, and government support significantly affect cloud computing integration. This study also empirically demonstrated that SMEs could improve their financial, environmental, and social performance by integrating cloud computing services. ANN results show that complexity, with a normalized importance (NI) of 89.14%, is ranked the first among other factors affecting cloud computing integration in SMEs. This is followed by cost reduction (NI = 82.67%), government support (NI = 73.37%), compatibility (NI = 70.02%), top management support (NI = 52.43%), and relative advantage (NI = 48.72%). Theoretically, this study goes beyond examining the determinants affecting cloud computing integration by examining their impact on SMEs’ environmental, financial, and social performance in a comprehensive manner. The study also provides several practical implications for policymakers, SME managers, and cloud computing service providers.

Due to rapid industrialization and economic growth, sustainability and environmental concerns are becoming the most prominent for preserving natural resources, and biodiversity. The sustainable manufacturing system is receiving significant attention in manufacturing organizations to improve organizational sustainability performance. Policymakers, organizations, and Government are continuously making efforts to drive organizations toward a sustainable manufacturing system. Various work has been done the sustainable manufacturing drivers. It has been observed that there is still a research gap between the sustainable manufacturing drivers and motives from the organization's perspective. The objective of this study is to identify the various drivers and motives for the sustainable manufacturing system. A systematic literature review of Web of Science and Google Scholar database is carried out. A total of 181 papers and 101 papers respectively, from the timeframe 1987 to 2021, were reviewed to identify the drivers and motives for the sustainable manufacturing system. The study also suggests a performance evaluation model for evaluating the sustainability performance of the organization, and a performance evaluation framework to strategically benchmark the sustainable manufacturing practices with the other organizations, and continuously improve the organization's sustainability gain through the incremental change opportunities identified through the holistic system thinking.

The scarcity of resources and ecological imbalance has attracted the government and manufacturing organizations to go for sustainable development of the manufacturing industries. Sustainable manufacturing uses ecologically sound, socially sustainable products, processes, system, and supply chain. Sustainable manufacturing improves the firm's social, market, environmental, ecological, economic, and financial performance. However, various studies have taken place on sustainable manufacturing barriers, enablers, and drivers; still, many organizations do not opt for a sustainable manufacturing system either due to the multi-objectives of the business or various internal or external barriers. The main objective of this paper is the identification of various barriers and their sub-causes so that a more strategic approach can be planned by the policymakers to overcome the sustainable manufacturing barriers. The study contributes to the detailed understanding of sustainable manufacturing barriers and their causes. The paper also (i) highlights the research directions associated with (a) sustainable manufacturing barriers, (b) sustainable manufacturing system, and (ii) contributes to a better understanding of sustainable manufacturing.

Although the significance of green supply chain management activities on corporation sustainable development has been highlighted in the literature, the potential inter-dependencies between these activities and corporation performance have not been investigated by considering cooperation moderation. The purpose of this research is to examine internal and external Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) activity on automobile performance: Environmental performance, operational performance, positive economic performance, and negative economic performance. Using survey data from foreign-owned company A with 117 manufacturing firms and domestic company B with 94 manufacturing firms, a significant relationship between GSCM and corporation performance has been found. For foreign-owned automobile companies, internal organizational activity has the greatest influence on operational performance, and promotes corporate value and corporation with outside. However, for domestic automobile companies with the advanced green concept, Eco-design exerts the biggest effect on environmental performance, and also brought a negative economic impact on corporate performance. Moreover, although both corporate social responsibility (CSR) and creating shared value (CSV) promotion could influence the corporation with consumers and suppliers, CSV promotion has a more positive influence on cooperation with consumers than that CSR. These findings have important implications for designing GSCM strategic plans for the automotive industry in developing countries.

The negative impact of mining activities on mining communities has received increased calls for mining firms to engage in management practices that are deemed to be environmentally friendly. Using the ecological modernisation theory, the study sought to examine which of the environmentally accepted supply chain management practices should be encouraged to ensure that mining firms are able to sustain their performance economically, socially and environmentally. The current study, therefore, used the explanatory study design to gather primary data from 200 respondents. Data were analysed by means of PLS-SEM to model the relationship between green supply chain management practices and sustainable performance. The findings of the study indicated that all the four constructs of sustainable supply chain management practices predict the sustainable performance of mining firms. The study, therefore, recommends the adoption of green supply chain management practices by mining firms in order to sustain their performance. Details of the findings are discussed.

In this study, four different polymeric binders - polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), two-component epoxy (epoxy), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) - were used to fabricate a surface-modified stainless-steel electrode. The polymeric binders were used to bond highly conductive carbon-black to a stainless-steel support using a simple fabrication method. The performance of the electrodes in terms of sustainable power generation was tested in a soil microbial fuel cell (SMFC). PTFE showed the fastest and best initial response in no-load operation, reaching a voltage of 370 mV after 7 days, compared to epoxy, PVA, and PVDF, which had 163, 151.7, and -26.7 mV, respectively. Electrochemical measurements showed that epoxy and PVDF have similar redox potential when operated as anode and cathode in an SMFC. Electrochemical evaluation of the long-term performance of the binders showed that epoxy gave 2.2-, 3.4-, and 4.9-fold higher performance than PVDF, PTFE, and PVA, respectively, under intermittent polarization. Although PVDF did not perform well in open circuits, it produced the highest current density in continuous operation with external loads. The most sustained performance was obtained with epoxy. This study has shown that epoxy can be a suitable and eco-friendly substitute for other binders using a simple fabrication method to produce high-performance anodes and cathodes for sustainable bioelectricity generation with a SMFC.

In developing countries like Ethiopia, agriculture takes the leading role in the economy and enhancing the efficiency of agriculture resource decision making remains essential to eradicate extreme poverty through promoting sustainable agricultural production. Recent economic growth efforts in agriculture dependent economies are aggravating to further natural resource degradation, environmental pollution, and climate change. One of the main challenges is the use of inefficient conventional land use decision-making. Conventional land use decision making refers to the practice of traditional land use decision-making, which is inefficient to capture spatial and temporal land use decision dynamics and trade-offs. This paper reviewed existing literatures on decision-making models in agriculture targeting to document the potential of mathematical model-based decision making to enhance the sustainable performance of agriculture in developing countries compared to the existing conventional agricultural practice decision approach. From over 400 literatures collected from the Google Scholar search engine; 63 articles were selected for the synthesis. The literatures were screened through inclusion and exclusion criteria. Literatures that used any mathematical model as a decision support tool in agriculture and related sectors, included a clear description of the model type, aim of the study, the key attribute characterizing the application of the model, decision support system, and output were included in the review. The synthesis result uncovered that with varying degrees of impact, flexibility, and complexity, mathematical model-based land use decision making has greater potential to enhance sustainable performance of agriculture and resource use efficiency in developing countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought negative impacts to global supply chains, in particular to the agricultural sector. Although these companies have been developing programs to mitigate the impacts caused by COVID-19, researchers have been worried about a possible weakening of the adoption of sustainable initiatives due to a focus on dealing with the consequences of the pandemic. Grounded on the Resource Orchestration Theory, the goal of this study was to assess the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on sustainable (environmental, social, and economic) performance in the context of agri-food supply chains. To do so, a questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 349 different medium and large agri-food companies in Brazil. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares technique. This study has found out that, under the impacts arising from COVID-19 pandemic (1) supply management and transportation and logistics management had a positive impact on food supply chains' sustainable performance; (2) the effects of relationship management and supply chain wide impact management were found to be negative on sustainable performance; and (3) the effects of demand and production management on sustainable performance were not considered significant. We propose a framework that clearly represents the relationship between the disrupted supply chain areas and sustainable performance through the development of orchestration capabilities. By knowing which kinds of impacts produce the most significant effects on sustainable performance, policy makers and managers will be able to make decisions and take actions to avoid negative effects and to improve firms' sustainable performance., (© 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)