4,873 research outputs found

    Developing A Road Freight Transport Performance Measurement System To Drive Sustainability:An Empirical Study Of Egyptian Road Freight Transport Companies

    Get PDF
    While several road freight performance measurement systems have been developed, only a limited number of quantified performance measurement frameworks encompassing diverse sets of performance metrics from multiple sustainable perspectives are available on a technological platform. These sets of metrics could be integrated as crucial performance indicators for assessing the operational performance of various road freight transport companies. These indicators include fuel efficiency, trip duration, vehicle loading, and cargo capacity. The objective of this research is to construct a conceptual road freight performance measurement framework that comprehensively incorporates performance elements from sustainable viewpoints (economic, environmental, and social), leveraging technology to measure the performance of road freight transport companies. This proposed framework aims to aid these companies in gauging their performance using technology, thus enhancing their operations towards sustainability.Within the road freight transport sector, several challenges exist, with congestion, road infrastructure maintenance, and driver training and qualifications being particularly pressing issues. The developed performance measurement framework offers the means for companies to evaluate the effects of technology integration on vehicles and overall performance. This allows companies to measure their performance from an operational standpoint rather than solely a strategic one, thereby identifying areas requiring improvement. Egypt was chosen as the empirical study location due to its relatively low level of technological integration within its road freight sector.This thesis employs an explanatory mixed methods approach, encompassing four distinct phases. The first phase entails a review to formulate the proposed theoretical performance measurement framework. Subsequently, the second phase involves conducting semi-structured interviews using a Delphi method to both develop a conceptual performance measurement framework and explore the present state of Egypt's road freight transport sector. Following this, the third phase encompasses surveys based on the results derived from Delphi analysis, involving diverse participants from the road freight transport industry. The aim is to validate the developed performance measurement framework through an empirical study conducted in Egypt. Lastly, the fourth phase centres around organizing focus groups involving stakeholders within road freight transport companies. The goal here is to propose a roadmap for implementing the developed road freight transport performance measurement framework within the Egyptian context.The primary theoretical contribution of this research is the development of a road freight transport performance measurement framework that integrates the three sustainability dimensions with technology. Additionally, this study offers practical guidance for the application of the developed framework in various countries and contexts. From a practical standpoint, this research aids road freight transport managers in evaluating their operational performance, thereby identifying challenges, devising action plans, and making informed decisions to mitigate these issues and enhance sustainability-oriented performance. Ultimately, the developed road freight transport performance measurement framework is poised to promote performance measurement aligned with technology, fostering progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030

    Exploring Campus through Web-Based Immersive Adventures Using Virtual Reality Photography: A Low-Cost Virtual Tour Experience

    Get PDF
    This study aims to assess the incorporation of virtual reality (VR) photography into the web-based immersive application “virtual interactive campus tour (VICT).” This application offers users an immersive experience, allowing them to virtually explore university campuses and access information about the facilities and services available. The VICT application offers a cost-effective, attractive, and sustainable alternative for universities to display their resources and interact with potential students. Through black box testing, we conducted user acceptance testing (UAT) and functionality testing, confirming the application’s readiness for deployment and its capability to meet institutional and end-user requirements. This study also examined the potential for universities to use VR to meet the expectations of prospective students. The application is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. The results indicated that the overall average validity score was 0.88, suggesting that the measure is valid. The validation results were thoroughly tested and reliable. This study emphasizes the potential of immersive web-based tours in higher education and aims to bridge the divide between virtual exploration and physical visits. By offering an immersive virtual campus experience, this innovative tool has the potential to revolutionize university marketing strategies, increase student engagement, and transform campus visit approaches

    IMPACT OF TRADE UNIONS’ PRESENCE ON THE ENHANCEMENT OF SAFETY PERFORMANCE OF WORKERS IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY IN LAGOS STATE

    Get PDF
    Trade unions plays a pivotal role in championing the rights and well-being of workers, including the enhancement of job safety performance. The study investigated the impact of trade unions’ presence in the enhancement of job safety performance of workers in the Maritime industry in Lagos state. Proportionate random sampling technique was employed to select two hundred (200) workers. The data collection instrument consisted of a researcher-designed questionnaire. The data analysis involved pie charts and multiple regression analysis. The findings reveal that trade unions’ presence significantly enhance workers’ adherence to safety regulations and standards to perform their job safely (R=.783, P<0.05); trade unions’ presence significantly enhance safety knowledge and skills of workers to perform their job safely (R=.590, P<0.05); trade unions’ presence significantly improve the provision of proper safety equipment to enhance workers' job safely (R=.671, P<0.05); trade unions’ presence significantly enhance workers with hazard identification and control to perform their job safely (R=.592, P<0.05); trade unions’ presence significantly enhance support to workers who experience injuries or accidents to perform their job safely (R=.671, P<0.05) in the Maritime industry in Lagos state. Considering the findings, it was therefore suggested that trade unions should continue to actively engage with workers and employers to promote adherence to safety regulations and standards; prioritize the provision of safety knowledge and skills to workers through ongoing training programs; actively support employers in ensuring the provision of appropriate safety equipment to workers; work closely with employers to strengthen hazard identification and control processes in the workplace; focus on establishing support systems for workers who experience injuries or accidents

    Leadership and succession in Trinidadian family businesses

    Get PDF
    This research examines the qualities required for establishing effective leadership succession in private Family Businesses (pFB) in Trinidad, private meaning those still wholly-owned by family members. Trinidad’s pFB are major employers and contributors to economies globally and, yet, prior research shows that only around a quarter to a third survive to a second generation and only one-in-ten to a third. Therefore, identifying and developing the factors that support pFB continuity and transition are important both locally and internationally. This study identifies the key leadership and related elements for successful pFB continuity and succession in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad. The research is based on a qualitative approach, using in-depth, semi-structured, and open-ended interviews with eleven purposively-selected local pFB leaders. Interviewees comprised first- and second-generation leaders with ten existing pFB’s and one now-dormant pFB. The results show that none had established formal succession plans, but achieved success principally through effective face-to-face conversations between the leader, typically the parent, and the successor, typically one of the parents’ children. The research provides a valuable insight into the critical qualities deemed necessary for leaders to achieve continuity in their family business. The eight qualities identified for pFB success emanated from the data gathered (capability; honesty; and integrity), from the conceptual framework developed based on prior literature (vision; and effective communication), and from the discussions held (industry knowledge; a sound knowledge of the pFB organisational structures; and the support of the incumbent leader). These, alongside some measures of financial performance, lead to long-term success, and therefore generational continuity. This research extends current knowledge on how pFB continuity in Trinidad may be achieved, based on identifying the leadership qualities required. Further research is recommended on refining such knowledge across the Caribbean and into different territories, sectors, markets and industries

    The importance of digitalization of services in hotels in the function of improving customer satisfaction

    Get PDF
    Дигиталне иновације и развој нових хотелских услуга су важне стратешке одреднице одрживог развоја хотелијерске привреде, пошто су тржишта засићена и клијенти бирају услуге из целог света на основу свог искуства и задовољства током целог животног циклуса корисника. Ова студија истражује задовољство корисника квалитетом дигиталних услуга хотела у Србији, очекивањима корисника и њиховим демографским утицајем на свеукупно задовољство. У истраживању су коришћени: преглед постојеће литературе о задовољству корисника и дигитализацији у хотелијерству, као и емпиријска истраживања, анкетирање 1036 корисника о њиховом задовољству дигиталним услугама у 41 хотелу (категорије 4 и 5 звездица) у Србији од септембра 2021. до средине априла 2022 године. Такође је спроведено истраживање у хотелима о њиховим улагањима у дигитализацију, као и процењени степен дигитализације који су достигли. Регресиона анализа и Ликертова скала од 5 нивоа су коришћени за валоризацију 91 индикатора истраживања. Према главним налазима може се закључити да на задовољство корисника највише утиче квалитет и ниво дигиталних хотелских услуга у време боравка гостију у хотелу. Истовремено, значајан утицај на свеукупно задовољство имају и очекивања корисника и демографске карактеристике: старост, пол, социјални статус, занимање и ниво образовања. Према резултатима, око 30% хотела у Србији је у последње три године инвестирало у дигитализацију, а већина њих је у фази делимичног коришћења дигиталних технологија у свом пословању, у дигитализацији услуга и маркетингу односа са корисницима. Може се закључити да постоји статистички значај дигитализације хотела у Србији. Овај рад има намеру да допринесе теорији маркетинга и сатисфакције и развоју хотелијерста. Резултати се такође могу користити као смерница за менаџмент хотела као провајдера услуга за унапређење квалитета услуга, комуникације на друштвеним мрежама и у развоју савременог маркетинг концепта за хотеле.Digitalne inovacije i razvoj novih hotelskih usluga su važne strateške odrednice održivog razvoja hotelijerske privrede, pošto su tržišta zasićena i klijenti biraju usluge iz celog sveta na osnovu svog iskustva i zadovoljstva tokom celog životnog ciklusa korisnika. Ova studija istražuje zadovoljstvo korisnika kvalitetom digitalnih usluga hotela u Srbiji, očekivanjima korisnika i njihovim demografskim uticajem na sveukupno zadovoljstvo. U istraživanju su korišćeni: pregled postojeće literature o zadovoljstvu korisnika i digitalizaciji u hotelijerstvu, kao i empirijska istraživanja, anketiranje 1036 korisnika o njihovom zadovoljstvu digitalnim uslugama u 41 hotelu (kategorije 4 i 5 zvezdica) u Srbiji od septembra 2021. do sredine aprila 2022 godine. Takođe je sprovedeno istraživanje u hotelima o njihovim ulaganjima u digitalizaciju, kao i procenjeni stepen digitalizacije koji su dostigli. Regresiona analiza i Likertova skala od 5 nivoa su korišćeni za valorizaciju 91 indikatora istraživanja. Prema glavnim nalazima može se zaključiti da na zadovoljstvo korisnika najviše utiče kvalitet i nivo digitalnih hotelskih usluga u vreme boravka gostiju u hotelu. Istovremeno, značajan uticaj na sveukupno zadovoljstvo imaju i očekivanja korisnika i demografske karakteristike: starost, pol, socijalni status, zanimanje i nivo obrazovanja. Prema rezultatima, oko 30% hotela u Srbiji je u poslednje tri godine investiralo u digitalizaciju, a većina njih je u fazi delimičnog korišćenja digitalnih tehnologija u svom poslovanju, u digitalizaciji usluga i marketingu odnosa sa korisnicima. Može se zaključiti da postoji statistički značaj digitalizacije hotela u Srbiji. Ovaj rad ima nameru da doprinese teoriji marketinga i satisfakcije i razvoju hotelijersta. Rezultati se takođe mogu koristiti kao smernica za menadžment hotela kao provajdera usluga za unapređenje kvaliteta usluga, komunikacije na društvenim mrežama i u razvoju savremenog marketing koncepta za hotele.Digital Innovation and new hotel services’ development are important strategic features to pledge sustainable growth for the hospitality industry, as markets are saturated and clients choose services from all over the world based on their experience and satisfaction during the whole customer life circle. This study attempts to investigate customer satisfaction associated with Serbian hotel digital services quality, customer expectations, and customers’ demographic impact. Methods used in the research, are a review of existing literature studies on tourist satisfaction, and digitalization in the hospitality industry, and empirical research. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire, among a total number of 1036 guests on their satisfaction with the digital services of the Serbian hotels (41 hotels of 4 and 5th-star categories) from the September of 2021 to April 2022. At the same time, another survey was provided on hotels on their investments in digitaization, as well as the assessed level of digitalization stage they have reached. Regression analysis, and Likert 5 level scale were used to valorize the survey results of indication. This study uses 91 indicators for measurement. The findings of this study concluded that the most influential on customer satisfaction is the quality and the level of digitalized hotel services at the time of guests' stay in the hotel. At the same time, the significant impact on overall customer satisfaction make also customers' expectations and demographic characteristics: age, gender, social and occupation status, and education level. According to results around 30% of hotels in Serbia have made investments in digitalization in the last three years, and most of them are at the phase of partly usage of digital technologies in their business operations, services digitalization, and customer relationship marketing. It can be concluded that there is a statistical significance of the digitalization of hotels in Serbia. This paper attempts to contribute to the theories of marketing and satisfaction and Serbian hospitality development. The results also can be used as a guideline for hotel management as service providers to improve their service quality, social networking, and in the development of a contemporary marketing concept for hotel

    Essays on CEO Background and Corporate Performance

    Get PDF
    This dissertation is composed of three distinct chapters, all of which revolve around the core subject of how CEO background attributes impact a company’s investment decisions and the resulting corporate outcomes. The first chapter entitled, “CEO International Background and Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions” investigates whether having a CEO with an international background affects U.S. firms’ cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities. By defining international background as having either non-U.S. nationality, overseas education, or foreign work experience, this chapter provides robust evidence that when a CEO possesses these characteristics, the firm is more likely to acquire international targets, and these deals are more value-enhancing. Moreover, when the firm’s CEO has all of these international characteristics (compared to just one), both the likelihood of cross-border deals and announcement returns increase. The observed gains are related, at least in part, to CEOs with this background being associated with lower acquisition premia and mitigating the negative impact of paying these deals with equity. The second chapter entitled, “CEO Cultural Legacy and Corporate Investment Efficiency” examines the role of CEO cultural legacy on corporate investment efficiency. By associating nationalities with Hofstede cultural dimensions, this chapter assesses CEO risk propensity and explores the influence of uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, individualism, masculinity, indulgence, and power distance on over- and under-investment outcomes. The findings reveal that CEOs hailing from high levels of uncertainty-averse and long-term-oriented cultures exhibit a negative association with investment inefficiency and a reduction in overinvestment. Conversely, CEOs originating from high levels of individualistic, masculine, indulgent, and power-distant cultures demonstrate a positive association with investment inefficiency and a propensity to overinvest. The significance of CEO culture-related decisions is more pronounced under conditions of low external monitoring. The results provide empirical evidence supporting the inheritance of risk preferences and their ramifications on corporate decision-making. Furthermore, the findings remain robust after accounting for the firm and other CEO attributes, and alternative definitions of risk, and survive several robustness and endogeneity tests. The final chapter entitled, “Foreign Experience of Acquirer CEOs and Shareholder Returns” presents empirical evidence demonstrating the implications of diverse CEO backgrounds in the context of domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Findings suggest that U.S. firms led by CEOs possessing foreign experience realize significantly positive abnormal returns during the three-day window surrounding deal announcements. The market response is more favorable when CEOs possessing foreign experience pursue non-public targets, rather than their public counterparts, and when they pay particularly with stock. These executives tend to conduct larger deals, pay a lower premium, and the target firms experience a significant decline in cumulative abnormal returns. The findings demonstrate significant resistance to the “cream rises to the top” phenomenon and withstand several endogeneity and robustness tests. The combined evidence supports the hypothesis that foreign experience is associated with CEOs’ enhanced ability to identify high-synergy targets by mitigating potential home biases, and effectively negotiating and structuring domestic deals, resulting in an increase in bidder shareholder value

    La traduzione specializzata all’opera per una piccola impresa in espansione: la mia esperienza di internazionalizzazione in cinese di Bioretics© S.r.l.

    Get PDF
    Global markets are currently immersed in two all-encompassing and unstoppable processes: internationalization and globalization. While the former pushes companies to look beyond the borders of their country of origin to forge relationships with foreign trading partners, the latter fosters the standardization in all countries, by reducing spatiotemporal distances and breaking down geographical, political, economic and socio-cultural barriers. In recent decades, another domain has appeared to propel these unifying drives: Artificial Intelligence, together with its high technologies aiming to implement human cognitive abilities in machinery. The “Language Toolkit – Le lingue straniere al servizio dell’internazionalizzazione dell’impresa” project, promoted by the Department of Interpreting and Translation (Forlì Campus) in collaboration with the Romagna Chamber of Commerce (Forlì-Cesena and Rimini), seeks to help Italian SMEs make their way into the global market. It is precisely within this project that this dissertation has been conceived. Indeed, its purpose is to present the translation and localization project from English into Chinese of a series of texts produced by Bioretics© S.r.l.: an investor deck, the company website and part of the installation and use manual of the Aliquis© framework software, its flagship product. This dissertation is structured as follows: Chapter 1 presents the project and the company in detail; Chapter 2 outlines the internationalization and globalization processes and the Artificial Intelligence market both in Italy and in China; Chapter 3 provides the theoretical foundations for every aspect related to Specialized Translation, including website localization; Chapter 4 describes the resources and tools used to perform the translations; Chapter 5 proposes an analysis of the source texts; Chapter 6 is a commentary on translation strategies and choices

    Labour Shortage, Labour Retention and Robotisation : Problems and Solutions - Agricultural Organisations

    Get PDF

    Water Governance and Management Practices in the Republic of Ireland: Past, Present and the Future

    Get PDF
    Robust water governance and management practices are critical in safeguarding water resources against threats such as drought, water pollution, infrastructure deficits, population growth, and policy implementation challenges. Despite being susceptible to these challenges, the Republic of Ireland (RoI) has implemented reforms aimed at facilitating a more integrated national approach to water resource protection. Following a descriptive, concurrent mixed method approach and research lens, this study examines three key research questions, providing the first comprehensive evaluation of changes in water governance and practices in the water-rich RoI. The research highlights significant events and measures taken to prepare for future challenges
    corecore