Issue #4 (Volume 20 2022)

Modern hiring practices based on qualification, gender discrimination, person-job fit, and life satisfaction can allow employees to perform effectively and significantly contribute to organizational commitment. Thus, the study aims to develop and test a structural model that integrates the relationships between overqualification, life satisfaction, person-job fit, employees’ job performance, and organizational commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic in the public organizations of Kuwait. The person-job fit theory was applied to obtain fair results. Thus, the data were collected from 275 employees working in healthcare institutions, the education sector, and the Ministry of Defense in Kuwait. Overall, the results show a significant and direct impact of overqualification and life satisfaction on employees’ job performance; accordingly, employees’ job performance also affects organizational commitment. Thus, results indicate that person-job fit negatively affects employees’ job performance. Surprisingly, employees’ job performance mediates the relationship between overqualification, life satisfaction, and organizational commitment. However, employees’ job performance does not mediate the relationship between person-job fit and organizational commitment. The current paper contributes to understanding the broad impact of overqualification, life satisfaction, and employees’ job performance on organizational commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly in public organizations.

This study aims to examine the impact of family ownership on the composition of the board of directors and the number of family-affiliated directors. In addition, it analyzes how it affects corporate governance. Big capital and middle capital companies among the top 50 IICD (Indonesia Institute for Corporate Directorship) awards issuers from 2017 to 2019 make up the study population. The sample consists of 57 middle capital companies and 72 big capital companies. The link between the variables is examined using multiple linear regression. Both the partial coefficient test and the model accuracy test were performed. First, the study findings indicate that family-owned businesses have a higher proportion of family-affiliated board members and commissioners on their boards in big capital and middle capital companies. Second, while family ownership has a favorable impact on middle capital companies, it has a negative and significant impact on the application of corporate governance in big capital firms. Third, since big capital companies exhibit different signals than middle capital companies, it can be inferred that the number of directors and commissioners who are members of the same family affects the adoption of good governance practices and, consequently, the development of sound policies to deal with challenging issues that may arise within a company. This study is innovative in that it divides the sample into big capital and middle capital companies.

Global digitalization has led to the formation of a new contour of the economic environment in tourism due to the inevitable and pervasive transformation of socio-economic systems. All this is happening against the background of the synergy of digital and service economies. Therefore, the study analyzes the genesis and world experience of digitalization to determine the areas and advantages of using digital technologies in the tourism business of Ukraine. Systematization, generalization, and surveying were used. Since the main players of the tourism business are tour operators and hotels, and digital technologies are used by entities located in big cities, a survey was conducted among 57 managers of leading tour operators and hotels in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Odesa. The survey was conducted in July 2020–2021 and concerned digital technologies in the business processes. The results showed a dynamic increase in digital technologies, in particular, by an average of 72.2% per year, which reflects their efficiency and dynamics. The leading digital technologies include contactless payments, chatbots, mobile applications, mobile registration, and VR technologies. The data on their 34.6% use as sources of information search, 78.7% as travel planning and organization instruments, and 59.5% as destination orientation instruments are evidence of the large-scale use of digital technologies by foreign tourists. The essence of marketing, economic, innovation, environmental, service, and configuration priorities of digitalization as interdependent drivers for the initiation of the innovation process in tourism has been determined considering the uneven development and fluctuating dynamics of digital technologies.

Acknowledgment
The paper shows the authors’ results within the frameworks of the study, performed in 2021−2022 at Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics at the request of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine “Digital transformation of trade, economic and tourist systems in Ukraine” (state registration number 0121U112231) and “Forecasting the impact of the tourism system on the country’s economy” (state registration number 0122U001559).

There is a growing concern about the lack of skilled municipal employees who can deliver essential services to under-resourced local communities in South Africa. However, coaching and mentoring appear underutilized to train municipal employees to improve service delivery to local communities. The study aims to investigate whether coaching and mentoring could capacitate municipal employees whose performance appraisal reveals a lack of skills to provide essential services. A cross-sectional research design was adopted to conduct a survey. The target population comprised 265 municipal employees, and a stratified random sample of 115 employees completed a questionnaire. The employees held positions of general managers, general assistants, and administrators, with varied years of experience. Cronbach’s Alpha indicated an overall high 0.8 questionnaire reliability score.
Using a quantitative method, responses from municipal employees were collected to examine their perceptions of the influence of training and development on employee performance and service delivery. Hypotheses were tested using the bivariant inferential statistical tests of correlation (r) and Chi-square (χ2). The results indicated that training and development were more likely to improve employee performance. Furthermore, the results showed that trained employees were more likely to improve service delivery. In particular, coaching and mentoring could be used to improve performance. Therefore, the study found that the municipality was not providing employees with relevant training and development to enable them to address poor service delivery. Finally, the study recommends that the municipality invests in training and development to enrich employees with new skills and knowledge to improve the quality of service delivery.

This paper experimentally examines the impact of oriented-organizational culture that could support big data analytics (BDA) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, this study analyzed the effect of oriented-organizational culture (OC) on big data tasks (BDTs) toward improving decision-making (DM) and organization performance (OP). The study hinged on the theory of socio-technical systems to investigate BDA elements in higher education decision-making in Saudi Arabia. The analysis was conducted using a quantitative survey research design where data were collected from 270 IT staff working in Saudi Arabian HEIs using Qualtrics. PLS-SEM was applied to validate the research data and explore the relationship between the proposed hypotheses. The findings show that oriented-organizational culture positively affected big data tasks, i.e., storing, analyzing, and visualizing. Similarly, oriented-organizational culture positively affects improving decision-making by top management in Saudi Arabian universities. OC also positively influences the performance of Saudi Arabian universities. Improving decision-making by top management has a positive impact on enhancing the overall university’s performance. However, big data tasks, i.e., storing, analyzing, and visualizing, negatively affect improving decision-making by top management in Saudi Arabian HEIs. One of the study limitations is the small sample size; future studies should include private and public universities to alter the expected outcomes. Additional technological elements, such as IT infrastructure at Saudi Arabia’s private and public HEIs, are recommended to be considered in future studies to establish the competence of respective IT infrastructure.

Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank the Problems and Perspectives in Management Journal editors for their valuable time and assistance in improving the manuscript.

Competent project managers are expected to be able to achieve project success in terms of time, quality, and costs specified in the contract. This study aims to determine the competence of project managers that has the most significant influence on the success of a construction project. The data used were questionnaires distributed to 43 respondents employed at contractor companies located in Aceh Province, Indonesia. The samples were selected using Stovin’s formula; data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. The results of the study showed that of ten project managers’ competence factors, the top five rankings were obtained by knowledge factor (X1) with a mean value of 4.773, problem-solving (X8) with a mean value of 4.659, technical skills (X5) with a mean value of 4.587, general skills factor (X2) with a mean value of 4.531, and attitude and behavior factor (X3) with a mean value of 4.521. The findings show that the knowledge factor was dominant among all project manager competencies necessary to implement construction projects in Aceh Province. This shows that the knowledge possessed by a project manager significantly affects the successful implementation of such projects.

This study aims to study Kazakhstan’s regions and identify places with the best potential for developing smart cities based on cluster analysis. To analyze the differentiation by the level of development, 17 regions of Kazakhstan are grouped according to 2020 data from the statistical bulletin of the National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The formation of groups of regions with different values of indicators was carried out based on agglomerative clustering using the single linkage, complete linkage, and Ward’s clustering methods. In agglomerative clustering, the algorithm groups regions based on observations into clusters, and indicators determine each area’s innovative development level. The instrument to build clustering is the “RStudio” software package. As a result, regions with their essential characteristics were identified, and an assessment of their prospects was obtained with the most significant potential for developing and managing “smart cities” – Atyrau region, Almaty city, and Astana city. The remaining clusters include regions where favorable conditions for the development of innovations have not yet been formed, which require more resources and efforts to build “smart cities.” Therefore, they should not be the first to implement this concept. They need a more balanced, integrated approach, ideally supported by experience in implementing the idea in more promising regions. In a sense, clustering also allowed for identifying potential (or even existing) innovation clusters in regions of Kazakhstan. The study results can be used in developing government programs to form smart cities and further study the potential of smart cities.

The pandemic and war in Ukraine have significantly transformed management processes. This has led to increased requirements for managers’ professional and general competencies. Hence, the higher education system should be reoriented, considering new challenges and needs of the labor market. This study aims to identify the demand for current management competencies in the labor market for the positions of state and corporate management specialists and develop a theoretical and methodological basis for updating the standards of higher education in Ukraine. This paper employed statistical analysis and grouping to identify the demand for management skills in the labor market of Ukraine by processing 4,500 job advertisements at job websites. In addition, sociological and expert methods were used to confirm their demand among Ukrainian employers with an expert pool of 101 experts with more than 3 years of management experience. As a result, current management competencies are highlighted. The demand for them is confirmed by the high frequency in job advertisements (expertise in professional activities – 100%, leadership skills – 71%, digital skills – 65%, organizational and communication skills – 59% each, strategic skills – 52%) and by the expert survey. This made it possible to develop a model of management competencies, which is a theoretical and methodological basis for updating the standards. Furthermore, this comparative analysis revealed that there are no specific skills in the standards for master’s training.

Domestic trade is an essential contributor to economic growth and an indicator of the people’s welfare. It is vulnerable to the COVID-19 crisis due to the pandemic itself and the government’s measures against it. An accurate estimation of the pandemic influence on domestic trade is needed for effective economic intervention in support of the economic recovery and improvement of the well-being of the population. The aim of this paper is to estimate the magnitude and timing of the COVID-19 impact on domestic trade in Bulgaria. The data used in the study covered the period 2000–2020 with monthly data for the indicator “Turnover for wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles in Bulgaria.” This paper employed unit root tests, autocorrelation function analysis, building, estimating, forecasting ARIMA and ARCH models, and intervention analysis. The results revealed that Bulgarian domestic trade followed the difference-stationary process as unit root tests failed to reject the random walk hypothesis. The COVID-19 impact on domestic trade proved to be long-lasting and has permanently decreased its level since March 2020. The timing of the impact coincided with the government’s measures against the pandemic. The drop in the volume of domestic trade was substantial and estimated at 19.3%. Following the nature of domestic trade, determined and decisive intervention is necessary if the Bulgarian government seeks to expand domestic demand and successfully procure economic recovery.

The role of entrepreneurial alertness has been increasing to cope with the current fiercely competitive market. Entrepreneurial alertness enables companies to benefit from unseized opportunities and gain a competitive advantage. Therefore, the study explores the role of proactive behavior in enhancing the entrepreneurial alertness of organizations through the mediating role of dynamic capabilities. The study focuses on the Iraqi telecommunication market because of the intense competition between three major telecom companies. Data were collected through a 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire distributed among employees of mobile telecommunications companies in Iraq. The sample aimed to cover different levels in the business hierarchy with a particular focus on the leading positions. Therefore, it included 299 members of boards of directors, branch managers, department heads, and chief supervisors (middle managers). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the responses. Results revealed the positive effect of adopting proactive behavior (e.g., problem prevention, innovation, and holding responsibilities) on entrepreneurial alertness (e.g., scanning, searching for, and evaluating opportunities). The results also approved the mediating role of dynamic capabilities in enhancing the relationship between proactive behavior and entrepreneurial alertness. Therefore, Iraqi governmental telecommunication enterprises are recommended to benefit from the dynamic capabilities of employees (e.g., sensing, learning, integrating, and coordinating capabilities) to maximize the positive influence of proactive behavior on entrepreneurial alertness and, accordingly, improve the prediction of production risks and threats.

With the continuous increase of requirements for P.E. talents’ qualities, there occurs higher disharmony between cultivation goals and modes for P.E. talents and social demands. Hence, it is necessary to review the evaluation index system of practical abilities for university students majoring in P.E. to enhance the betterment of cultivation goals and modes for P.E. professionals and its teaching quality. The goal of this study is to establish the evaluation index system of practical abilities for P.E. professionals. This paper uses document analysis and expert grading methods to construct the concrete indexes of the evaluation system and calculate the weight indexes of three levels of practical abilities employing the analytic hierarchy process. The results highlighted that the most significant weights have, respectively, moral education ability in the first-level indexes, teachers’ code of ethics in the second-level indexes, and role model leading ability in the third-level indexes. The institution process of the evaluation index system in the research is scientific and reliable, which provides a theoretical reference for the evaluations of the education cultivation and professional abilities of students majoring in P.E. at Chinese universities.

The relevance of corporate environmental, social, and governance performance (ESG) has increased significantly during the last few years. The airline industry is susceptible to such environmental, social, and governance practices, which explains its selection for the analysis purposes in this study. This paper analyzes the influence of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index and its constituent factors on environmental, social, and governance performance variables in a sample of leading airline companies worldwide with historical data available from 2013 to 2019. The study required analyzing panel data using a panel-corrected standard error model. The results suggest that airlines headquartered in countries with ideal conditions for operating businesses and outstanding information and communication technology readiness show excellent environmental, social, and governance performance. However, the findings also imply that airline companies headquartered in countries with heavy government influence on the airline industry sector measured by the government prioritization of the domestic travel and tourism sector have poor environmental, social, and governance performance. Similarly, the analysis provided evidence that countries well positioned to join national air service arrangements and subscribe to regional trade agreements have airline companies with excellent environmental, social, and governance performance metrics. The reported results can be priceless for policymakers designing national travel and tourism policies to enhance domestic airline firms’ environmental, social, and governance performance.

This study analyzes the status of integration services for foreign highly skilled staff at higher education and scientific institutions in the Czech Republic. This paper is relevant as it is essential to obtain data and information about services and possible barriers affecting the quality of life and professional experience with work migration to another country. The study conducted a survey and obtained feedback from 221 respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed in SASD 1.4.10. and SPSS. Moreover, the paper employed qualitative research in the form of open-ended questions processed by open coding in Atlas.ti 7.
The analysis described the quality of the employer’s services, their offer, and frequency, as well as satisfaction with the work and social environment in the Czech Republic. Barriers to integration were identified; they include complicated administration, the need to learn the Czech language, and cultural and mental differences. Deficiencies in services for common life necessities were highlighted, e.g., provision of suitable accommodation, adequate school facilities for children, dual-career jobs, or medical treatment.
The study resulted in the idea of the introduction of a service system, based on coordinated social services, for the reception of experts from abroad and better conditions for their integration. This system will increase the attractiveness of Czech institutions to the influx of brains from abroad.

Acknowledgment
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this paper.

In balancing the mission of state security forces and bodies, private security guards are expected to provide partial fulfillment to society’s sturdy desire for safety and security. They exert responsibility for protecting housing and commercial communities, as well as institutions and critical infrastructure systems, including manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and health and educational facilities. Acknowledging that these individuals must possess specific capabilities for a satisfactory level of performance, this study aims to empirically explore how those capabilities interact to obtain a good fit for their job. In order to accomplish this objective, the paper scrutinizes the insights of 94 Colombian security guards. It examines the potential associations (through a partial least squares-structural equation modeling) and configurations (through a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis) between the personality trait of conscientiousness and two relevant cognitive skills: mental agility and visual memory. The findings revealed coincidences and contradictions between techniques and addressed constructs’ arrangements to understand how individual capabilities are associated with work outcomes. Even though conscientious individuals tend to perceive strong compatibility with the security job, the skills under study display signs of being contingent on obtaining the same work attachment effect. This study concludes that a security guard’s job specification must privilege the possession of a conscientiousness trait and, if possible, self-perception of proficiency in cognitive skills, such as mental agility and visual memory, to obtain a correct fitting for the job.

The overwhelming complexity of achieving sustainable development globally, including in South Africa, requires the networking and partnerships of all stakeholders. This paper reports networking challenges affecting social entrepreneurship’s contribution to sustainable development. The study aimed to investigate and analyze the impact of networking challenges on social entrepreneurship contribution to sustainable development in the townships in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province. The study is quantitative and was conducted in three KZN township communities. The sample consisted of 90 social entrepreneurs selected using a snowball sampling technique. The respondents completed a self-administered close-ended questionnaire (employing a five-point Likert scale). The data were analyzed using SPSS (27.0 version). Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.808 indicated the reliability of the questionnaire as a measuring instrument for this study. The study revealed that lack of partnerships and networking with other social entrepreneurs, insufficient networking and partnership with corporate organizations, absence of networking and partnerships with government, and lack of platform use for social networking, affect social entrepreneurs’ activities. A chi-square test also revealed that all the tested variables were statistically significant, with a p-value = .000.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers played a significant role in minimizing the maximum spread of the virus. This study aims to investigate the relationship between healthcare workers’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, perceived effectiveness of the pandemic, risk perception of the COVID-19 pandemic, and willingness to treat COVID-19 patients in Lahore, Pakistan. However, the extended theory of planned behavior was applied and included two key constructs (perceived effectiveness and risk perception of the COVID-19 pandemic). Data were collected from 253 male and female respondents working in public, private, and semi-government hospitals. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test the proposed hypotheses. Overall, the findings show that healthcare workers’ attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control significantly impact healthcare workers’ willingness to treat COVID-19 patients. In contrast, perceived effectiveness and risk perception of the pandemic showed a negative effect. The results suggested that healthcare workers showed positive attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control to COVID-19 patients. On the other hand, due to the virus novelty, effectiveness and risk perception of the pandemic was very high, which shows that healthcare workers feel stressed and scared to treat COVID-19 patients.

The study investigates the impact of corruption, market capitalization, exports, and foreign direct investment on the wealth of 178 countries worldwide. Thus, the paper uses univariate and multivariate regressions to observe the nexus among exports, foreign direct investment, market capitalization, corruption, and wealth of nations. The findings indicate that corruption poses a significant hindrance to prosperity and development, as evaluated with respect to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Additionally, the results showed that the world’s poorest nations are becoming less corrupt while the wealthiest ones are growing more corrupt. The paper also concludes that exports and market capitalization are critical for prosperity and development when combined with lower corruption levels. Furthermore, the analysis also suggests that inbound foreign direct investment favors the development of emerging countries. Surprisingly, market capitalization and exports had little impact on wealth of countries before the crisis period. Moreover, integrity also fosters economic growth. Overall, the study concludes that the causes of wealth are country-specific.

Acknowledgments
I thank the editor and the reviewers for the helpful comments and suggestions that significantly enhanced this work. The usual disclaimer applies.

The primary use of financial-based performance metrics to assess an organization’s success might be misleading. The application of non-financial performance metrics could improve organizational success and longevity. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of learning and growth performance metrics for organizational success in the Nepalese telecommunication industry. The quantitative research approach was utilized for collecting, presenting, and analyzing data obtained during a survey. The two major telecommunications service providers in Nepal, Ncell and Nepal Telecom, were taken as sample organizations, and their employees were the study’s respondents. The study revealed that two latent learning and growth performance metrics, namely ‘organizational culture and alignment’ having seven observable variables (β = 0.229, t = 3.419, p < .05) and ‘information capital’ having four observable variables (β = 0.079, t = 1.193, p < .05) were significant for organizational success. In contrast, one latent metric, ‘human resources’ having seven observable variables (β = 0.047, t = 0.708, p > .05), was insignificant. The overall explanation of the observed non-financial performance metrics to the organizational success of the Nepalese telecommunication industry was approximately 6%. A better learning and growth environment helps an organization generate, acquire, share, and integrate information to build resources and capabilities. In addition, non-financial performance metrics help organizations connect business performance with strategy, allowing them to be competitive.

The increasing complexity of transaction processes in every organization, both private and public, has led auditors to develop computer-assisted audit techniques (CAATs). However, potential risks, difficulties, and challenges can hinder the effective implementation of CAATs. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence the effectiveness of the implementation of CAATs in the auditor public sector. The study collected the data by distributing questionnaires to respondents. The sample comprised 225 government auditors in Indonesia, namely the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK). The data were analyzed using the least squares structural equation modeling and importance performance matrix analysis (IPMA). The results show that auditor competence and system quality support the effectiveness of using CAATs. In addition, policies and audit evidence do not affect the effectiveness of CAATs’ use. Other test results using IPMA show that the most critical variable influencing performance is competence in support of increasing the effectiveness of CAATs. These findings indicate that the effectiveness of CAATs use in BPK as a government audit agency requires the support of auditor competence and system quality.

The study explores factors influencing research and development (R&D) costs in developing economies. The findings may inform the decision-making process for firms keen on innovation-related expenditures. The paper examines 164 Kenyan firms using the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data for 2018. These factors are classified into three broad categories. These are firm characteristics (age, size, and ownership), business competitiveness (export orientation, innovation strategies, and informal competition), and technology upgrade challenges (skills availability, financial constraint, and technology incompatibility). The findings reveal that approximately 11% of firms incurring R&D costs export their products (services). Exportation, skilled labor availability, and degree of informal competition correlate positively and significantly to R&D expenditure. The largest ownership (%) has a marginal effect on the outcome variable. Moreover, firm size substantially influences R&D costs, with small to medium firms incurring lower costs than their larger counterparts. However, firm age, innovation strategy, financial constraint, and technology incompatibility weakly influence the outcome variable. The product innovation strategy’s interaction effect with skills, firm age and informal competition substantially impacts R&D costs. Notably, firms’ R&D spending must be in tandem with the domestic informal competition intensity, skills availability, and foreign market targeted. The study employs the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression in examining the relationship between the predictors and the dependent variable.

This study aims to examine the employee intention to leave their organizations and discover how employee training could affect employee turnover intention. Furthermore, this paper intends to determine the relationship between the variables to present the idea of the impact of training on the ability of organizations to retain their employees. The research hypotheses were tested using the data obtained through a questionnaire. The sample included 160 employees working in 20 Jordanian five-star hotels in Amman, Jordan. The collected data were analyzed using the Smart-PLS software, where all necessary statistical techniques were applied. The results showed that training significantly affects the employees’ intention to leave their jobs. Moreover, the findings indicated that innovative behavior positively mediates the relationship between training and turnover intention. This requires human resource managers in this category of hotels to enhance investment in training and continue to hold training programs that meet the real needs of employees in addition to providing an environment that stimulates and enhances the innovative behavior of employees in the hospitality sector.

COVID-19 and Russia’s war against Ukraine have created many challenges for the business models of SMEs, stimulating them to develop alternative forms of business. Among the key alternatives, one should single out digitization. However, imperfections of Ukraine’s state support system for digital transformation necessitate adapting the positive practice of leading countries with excellent business digitalization. Therefore, this paper structures the practical experience of state support of European countries in the digitalization of SMEs. The study conducts a cluster analysis to identify countries whose experience in state support for business digitalization is the best for adoption. Clustering employed the criterion of using key digitization instruments: internet of things, integration of business processes into electronic processes, digital integration with customers/suppliers, cloud services, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence. Thus, 4 clusters were identified (the first cluster comprises 16 countries, the second – 2, the third – 5, and the fourth – 7). These findings contributed to the selection of some key measures. They included: expanding the financial capabilities of SMEs to adopt digital technologies in their processes; formation of digital hard skills among entrepreneurs and increasing the personnel potential of SME digitization; creation of a favorable business environment to stimulate the digital activity of SMEs; and popularization of business digitalization strategy as a component of digital transformation strategy in society.

Micro and small businesses financially suffered due to COVID-19 in India. This financial suffering created financial stress among them and deteriorated their financial well-being. However, micro and small business owners exhibit financial resilience by bouncing back to regular business activities through their hope, optimism, and self-efficacy, which are the components of positive psychological capital. This study analyzes the relationship between financial stress and financial well-being of micro and small firm owners keeping financial resilience as a mediator and positive psychological capital as a moderator in the mediation. This descriptive analysis employed a survey method to collect primary data using the interview method. The interview method was used as most micro and small business owners are comfortable with interaction rather than filling out the questionnaires due to the language barrier. The sample size is 384 respondents, as per Krejcie and Morgan’s formula. The mean scores indicate a moderate degree of financial stress (2.354), financial resilience (2.623), and financial well-being (2.637). The level of financial stress differs based on the respondents’ gender. Financial stress is more among female business owners (2.504) than their male counterparts (2.265).
Further, business owners who earn more have a higher level of financial resilience (2.985), psychological capital (2.951), and financial well-being (2.711). Financial stress significantly impacts financial well-being (28.4%). Financial resilience has a partial mediation effect (65%) on financial stress and financial well-being. Finally, psychological capital moderates indirect relationships among financial stress, financial resilience, and financial well-being.

Research on ridesharing platforms under the gig economy has focused much on the incentives and barriers of users, leaving many gaps in understanding drivers’ intention to provide ridesharing services. This paper aims to explore, from the perspective of driver-partners, motives that encourage them to continue being gig workers. Data for the study are based on a cross-sectional survey of ridesharing drivers in three metropolitan areas in three regions (North, Central, and South) of Vietnam, conducted from June to July 2022. The paper regresses behavioral intention to continue being a gig driver on their demographic characteristics and self-estimation of economic benefit, time preference, and enjoyment of being a gig driver via ordered probit models. For all three regions, the result suggests that economic benefit, time preference, and enjoyment are good predictors of drivers’ intention to provide the services. Specifically, the probability of remaining in gig work among drivers decreases with their educational and economic status. Higher economic benefit does not predict a higher intention of drivers to stay longer in gig work. Similarly, those with higher levels of enjoyment of traveling and vehicles have a lower intention to remain in this sphere. In the North, the interaction terms between time preference and enjoyment level are significant, suggesting that the effect of enjoyment levels becomes less damaging with an increase in time preference. In other words, time preference is vital in keeping gig drivers in this type of work.

Many studies have concluded that private sector development encourages economic growth due to many public enterprises’ poor performance and technological deficiencies. However, other studies have noted that private sector development would lead to the misuse of monopoly power. Since the advocacy is from two different perspectives, there is a need to investigate further the impact of private sector development on the country’s economy. The bounds cointegration test examined the long-term relationship between privatization and GDP growth. The long- and short-term connections between private sector development and GDP growth were studied using an Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. As a result, economic growth was found to be highly influenced by gross capital formation and market capitalization of domestic listed enterprises as a share of GDP, according to the ARDL estimates in the short term. In addition, the periods after privatization increase growth by about 0.23% in the short run and by 3.87% in the long run, at a 1% significance level. At a 1% significance level, gross capital formation and market capitalization of domestic listed enterprises as a share of GDP positively affected economic growth in the long term. This led to the conclusion that private sector development positively influences Nigerian economic growth in both the long- and short-term. This study recommends policy changes such as raising domestic investment and promoting privatization, capital market development, and financial institution development. This will stimulate private sector development and have a favorable impact on economic growth.

Acknowledgments
We appreciate the feedback from our unnamed reviewers, the Journal’s editor, and the authors whose works were referenced. In addition, we acknowledge the support of our colleagues from the Economics Department, Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti, for their helpful feedback to improve this study.

This study aims to analyze the impact of logistics and information and communication technologies (ICT) on Kazakhstan’s economic growth, which requires rethinking search and management tools. The study used the methods of descriptive data statistics, checking the data for the normality of the distribution, and Spearman’s correlation analysis. The information database comprised the National Bank, the World Development Bank, and the national statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The paper determined the dynamics of GDP per capita and logistics, including export and import, for 2005–2020. The construction of the correlation model was carried out in SPSS. Interestingly, the most significant negative relationship was revealed between database-related services and the population and the volume of communication services (.761*).
On the other hand, the results show a positive impact of ICT’s strong relationship with Kazakhstan’s logistics system. A close relationship was revealed between the volume of postal and courier activities and GDP per capita (.946*), and foreign trade turnover and exports and imports (.897*). Furthermore, the correlation analysis showed that the cost of investments in developing data processing services decreases with an increase in GDP and the volume of communication services. The findings of this study are relevant for governmental bodies operating in the field of logistics and transportation. Moreover, they are valuable for the digitalization of existing and designing new logistics systems as a factor in the development of the economy.

Acknowledgment
The study was carried out within the framework of grant funding IRN AP14869297 by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Priorities and mechanisms against rural women of Kazakhstan unequal access to the resources”.

This study determines Oman’s most important macroeconomic factors between 1990 and 2019. The ARDL bound test findings for co-integration show that both long and short runs exist. The error-correcting mechanism further states that when the divergence from long-run equilibrium is rectified at an adaptation speed of 78.9%, it signals an inversion to a long-run stable state. In response to a change in the previous year’s economic growth, the final consumption expenditure indicates a rise of 0.472; the gross fixed capital formation and export indicate hikes of 0.149 and 0.358 at a 1% significance level. Additionally, the findings of co-integration regression using fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), and canonical co-integration regression (CCR) were used to strengthen and validate the results that export ranks first in Oman, followed by final consumption spending. Therefore, export, gross fixed capital formation, and final consumption expenditure are vital macroeconomic elements supporting Oman’s economic development.

Given rapid changes in global financial and economic processes caused by rapid transformations in the institutional environment and the onset of force majeure circumstances, there is a need to develop new approaches to assessing the level of bankruptcy. Most models that estimate the probability of enterprise bankruptcy are based on internal information, while external information is used to a limited extent. The growing threat of force majeure requires using not only the existing discrete models but also those that consider the external environment of enterprises when assessing the probability of bankruptcy. The purpose of this study is to develop a model for preventingbankruptcy of Ukrainian enterprises in force majeure conditions based on the use of artificial intelligence methods ‒ the theory of fuzzy logic– which allows for a comprehensive assessment of bankruptcy prevention. The paper uses analytical data from the World Bank. The model consists of interrelated groups of factors: organizational, informational and legal, and economic. As a result, a comprehensive indicator of prevention of corporate bankruptcies (D) was calculated on a neurolinguistic scale from 0 to 10; the indicator was estimated for Ukraine (5.644) and Romania (4.520) (as countries close in terms of economic and geopolitical development). The simulation results show that the level of prevention of enterprises’ bankruptcy in Ukraine falls into the average interval.

There are scarce results on burnout in such organizations as hostels and how it influences workers’ perceptions of their companies. Therefore, this study aims to analyze burnout of hostel workers and assess how it influences their perceptions of the type of leadership, the kind of support, the existence of feedback sessions, the organizational climate, and the quality of T&D programs. Data were collected from 96 employees of Portuguese hostels; existing validated measures were adapted from relevant literature. A pilot test was conducted to ensure the accuracy of the measures according to the target population. A PLS analysis of survey data provided the following results. Burnout plays a negative role in employees’ overall acknowledgment of the organization and their sense of satisfaction and loyalty toward it. Specifically, the most substantial negative effects of burnout were on feedback quality, manager support, and organizational climate (β = –0.557; –0.549; –0.542, p < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the indirect and negative effect of burnout on employee loyalty and employee satisfaction was also verified (β = –0.415; –0.418, p < 0.001, respectively). Therefore, managers can elaborate well-designed and applied practices based on these factors. Finally, this paper also discusses future research recommendations.

Acknowledgment
This study was financially supported by the research unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policy (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.

COVID-19 has put pressure on medical crews to respond rapidly and operate in real time, which could affect their job performance. However, adopting time management practices appear to mitigate adverse job outcomes and capitalize on positive ones. Therefore, by adopting the integrative time management model, this study analyzes the relationship between time management (setting goals and priorities and mechanics dimensions), job satisfaction, and job burnout (emotional exhaustion dimension) among Jordanian medical staff during COVID-19. The data were gathered via an electronic questionnaire. In total, 737 respondents participated in the survey. RStudio-2022.07.1 was utilized to code all statistical analyses, including a description of demographics and structural equation modeling. Results revealed that while the setting goals and priorities dimension (z = 4.641, p = 0.000) positively relates to job satisfaction, the mechanics dimension has the opposite effect (z = 1.887, p = 0.059). Moreover, while the setting goals and priorities dimension (z = 2.369, p = 0.018) is positively related to the emotional exhaustion dimension, the mechanics dimension (z = –2.086, p = 0.037) is negatively related. Finally, it was found that job burnout does not affect job satisfaction (z = –0.645, p = 0.519). The findings imply that medical institutions should support their staff in setting goals and priorities to accomplish their tasks and encourage time management. Finally, medical staff should have the training to help them overcome any stress they experience when they plan their work-related tasks.

The discussion on firms’ sustainability performance has resulted in business organizations becoming more conscious of sustainability issues and implementing strategies to ensure sustainable value propositions. The purpose of this study is to explore strategies that firms could use to develop sustainable value propositions. Through an extensive literature review, the study proposed a conceptual framework and further developed hypotheses suggesting that the strategies such as stakeholder involvement, flexible decision-making, and social and environmental values could influence sustainable value propositions. The hypotheses were tested through quantitative research analysis using data collected from owners/managers in 143 SMEs in the coastal areas of Ghana. The data supported almost all the hypotheses, namely H1, H2, and H5-H8 with T-values and P-values of > 1.96 and < 0.05, respectively. This finding indicates that all three core antecedents of sustainable value propositions contributed 78 percent of variations in the model. However, contrary to expectations, the result also showed that shareholder orientation and employee orientation with T-values and P-values of ˂ 1.96 and ˃ 0.05, respectively, did not support sustainable value propositions resulting in rejecting H3 and H4. Despite this outcome, the study concludes that all three strategies are relevant and valuable to firms in developing sustainable value propositions.

Acknowledgment
This paper was supported by IGA/FaME/2021/004: SME Innovation Performance, Firm Sustainability performance and Influence of Pandemic on Entrepreneurial wellbeing.

The aim of this study is to analyze the factors that increase loss concerns among entrepreneurs and the underlying mechanism for loss protection. An e-mail-based survey among 335 entrepreneurs from India is employed in this paper. Using a quantitative methodology and PLS-SEM approach, the study analyzed the relationship between loss concerns and loss protection behavior and the mediating role of startup accelerator programs. Thus, human capital increases loss concerns. Participating in the startup accelerator program is the underlying mechanism to carry out protection behavior when entrepreneurs deem their venture at risk of losing money. The theoretical model explicates 70% of variances in loss concerns and 42% of variances in protection behavior. Every one-unit increase in human capital and uncertainty increases the loss concern by 28% and 10%, respectively. Participating in the startup accelerator program increases the loss protection behavior of entrepreneurs by 36%. Perceived severity increases loss protection behavior by 17%. The present study extends the protection motivation theory in the entrepreneurship literature and provides evidence that startup accelerators influence entrepreneurs in increasing loss protection mechanisms in an emerging economy.

Acknowledgment
The authors appreciate the assistance provided by Arun Thottath in reaching out to survey participants.

The most significant problems in financing the public health system in Ukraine are the permanent deficit of public spending on medicine and the shallow development of the voluntary health insurance market. The aim of study is the search of optimal interactions between stakeholders in the system of relations “state – insurance companies – households” in the context of voluntary health insurance. The study hypothesizes that households can become more active participants in health insurance only if their average monthly income reaches a certain threshold level. It is calculated based on the results of simulation games using the Brown-Robinson iterative method. According to the simulation results, this threshold level is only 7% higher than the actual value of the average monthly income of Ukrainian households during the analysis. At the same time, under this condition, the state in Ukraine will be able to transfer part of the financial burden of compensating healthcare costs to insurance companies. According to the calculations made with the help of the game theory toolkit, with the maximization of insurance payments to the population under health insurance contracts, the burden on public health financing in Ukraine could be reduced by 67.7%. The paper was conducted on the data of the ten most potent insurance companies of Ukraine as of 2021 (it is they who accumulate the lion’s share of household insurance premiums), that is, before the start of a full-scale war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The obtained results can be used both by insurance companies during the management of insurance premiums and payments and at the level of state management of costs in the field of public health.

Acknowledgment
This study was undertaken as a part of the research projects granted by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine: “Socio-economic recovery after COVID-19: modeling the implications for macroeconomic stability, national security and local community resilience” (registration number 0122U000778); “The impact of COVID-19 on the transformation of the system of medical and social security of population: economic, financial-budgetary, institutional-political determinants” (0122U000781).

The share of crimes against human life and health on average is up to 10% worldwide, and losses are estimated from 0.3 to 3% of GDP. This study examines the dependence of the rate of violence and crime against human life and health on the state policy elements in the example of transitioning and developing countries. The crime index, the share of people reporting crime, the rate of violence or vandalism in the area, and the number of intentional homicide offenses in the largest cities were used as parameters characterizing the rate of violence and crime against human life and health. All parameters were divided into institutional, social, and economic. The dependence between the indicators was studied using fixed-effects and random-effects models; a grouping of countries according to the nature of this dependence employed the iterative separation method of k-means and tree clustering. Based on the results, it is justified that institutional and economic (highest GDP and real minimum wages) components significantly influence the level of violence and crime against human life and health. For example, the average value of the crime index for the fourth cluster is 29.98 compared to 54.09 for the first cluster. At the same time, strengthening responsibility for committed crimes has a more negligible impact on the crime level than increasing the material well-being of the population and supporting its vulnerable segments.

With the globalization and internationalization of markets, companies need to be more competitive and offer high-quality guarantees to consumers, suppliers, banking institutions, and shareholders. Thus, the objective of this paper is to measure the impacts that these guarantees, analyzed through quality management, environmental management, and management of occupational health and safety standards, will have on the return on assets (ROA) of companies classified by sector of activity, considering each of the certifications individually and as a whole. The panel data approach methodology was used for 10 years in Portuguese-certified companies between 2010 and 2019. The Chow test, the Breusch-Pagan, and the Hausman test were applied to identify a more feasible model between the pooled OLS and the random or fixed effects model. Furthermore, the cluster-robust standard errors model was applied.
The results show the existence of synergies when adopting more than one certification to improve firm performance. Moreover, the single certification estimate by sector results are significant and can be positive drivers of profitability, but only for companies in the manufacturing industries related to natural resources. However, they trigger negative results in the accommodation, catering, and information and communication sectors.

Acknowledgment
This paper is funded by National Funds through the FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the project Refª UIDB/05583/2020. Furthermore, we would like to thank the Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD) and the Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, for their support.

Women’s participation and the nature of assistance in the provision of social policies, especially in healthcare related to socially significant diseases, is becoming more prominent. The aim of this study is to develop proposals for streamlining the palliative care system in Kazakhstan based on the analysis of the influence of women volunteers on the process of public administration. The paper interviewed two groups of respondents: volunteers and workers (medical institutions and charity organizations employees). Atlas.ti software was used to analyze and construct specific feedback on the data received. The coding results revealed that women volunteers act as an intermediary between the state administration and the palliative care system. In addition, it was determined that the prominent participants in developing the palliative care system are hospitals and charitable foundations. In general, the contribution of women volunteers to financial assistance, organization of training and master classes for doctors in the field of oncology, and provision of additional beds for patients and consultations was revealed. Further, the state’s main shortcomings in organizing palliative care were identified: poor regional budgeting system, weak legislative system, and inadequate financing of hospitals. The findings imply that women volunteers should be given a higher status and included in the public administration structure, especially for different representations of the needs of minorities.

Acknowledgments
This study is funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of science and higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant “Priorities and mechanisms against rural women of Kazakhstan unequal access to the resources” No. AP14869297).

Jordanian telecommunications companies deal with many turbulent conditions characterized by a high degree of complexity, intense competition, and changes in customer needs. Therefore, they had to pay attention to achieving organizational excellence and making changes that could enhance their capabilities.
This study aims to reveal the role of organizational agility for Jordanian telecommunications companies in enhancing their organizational excellence by determining the impact of organizational agility. The paper chose some dimensions (organizational sensitivity, collective commitment, and resource development) to analyze how to achieve organizational excellence by applying the mediating role of strategic intelligence to the relationship between independent and dependent variables.
The study used the descriptive analytical approach. Three hundred questionnaires were distributed to collect data; two hundred and seventy-seven were retrieved and deemed valid. SPSS and AMOS 23 were used for data analysis and hypotheses testing. According to managers in Jordanian telecommunications companies, the results showed a positive and significant correlation between organizational agility and organizational excellence. The path coefficient is 0.63, which is significant at the level of 0.01, and R2 = 0.41, which means that 41% of the variance of competitive advantage can be explained by the variance in organizational agility. In addition, it was concluded that there is a significant, direct effect between strategic intelligence and organizational excellence and an indirect effect of strategic intelligence on the relationship between organizational agility and organizational excellence.

The low-cost business model has thrived in the last decade, creating a more competitive atmosphere in some industries. The airline industry is the sector that has grown significantly with this business model. To maintain sustainability amidst the challenge, human resources can be an investment in the organization’s material resources. Hence, this study aims to determine the effect of job satisfaction and continuance of organizational commitment moderated by the tenure of employment on job performance. This study surveyed 41 flight attendants of a low-cost airline in Indonesia. The respondents were selected through convenience sampling. The data were then analyzed using Partial Least Squares (PLS), which is part of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The analysis results show that job satisfaction and continuance of organizational commitment have a significant effect on flight attendants’ performance. In contrast, the tenure of employment has a positive yet insignificant effect in moderating the relationship between job satisfaction and continuance of organizational commitment. The findings of this study can be a reference for airlines to manage the individual performance of flight attendants in the competitive aviation business world.

A high level of company bankruptcy in certain countries and a low level of profitability actualizes the need to find additional mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of their activities. One of such mechanisms is the growth of information transparency. The study deals with examining the effects of accounting information transparency on business performance on the example of construction companies in G7 countries. The transparency index was used as a parameter characterizing the level of accounting information transparency. The level of business performance was analyzed using the following indicators: value added of the construction industry, investment in the construction industry, number of construction firms, profitability of the construction industry, annual all-work construction output index, and total employees in construction firms. The dependence between the indicators was analyzed using the multiple regression analysis, Dickey-Fuller, Philips Perron, and Johansen tests. According to the results, the most vital link was between the level of accounting information transparency and the volume of investments (increased information transparency by 1 point leads to an increase in the volume of investments from 1.7% to 4.6%). At the same time, the level of accounting information transparency practically does not affect the number of employees (change by 0.1-0.2%) and added value (change by 0.1-0.3%). It was concluded that the policy of accounting information transparency should be an essential element of company strategy aimed to increase the level of its investment attractiveness and confidence of investors and consumers in its activities.

A broader community is currently paying a significant deal of attention to the existence of social enterprises. This is due to the belief that social enterprises can bring answers to community issues. Village-Owned Enterprises (VOEs), as one of the social enterprises that are expected to continue providing sustainable welfare for villages, must always strive for excellent organizational performance to fulfill their objectives. This study is based on the notion of participatory governance; it seeks to evaluate the effect of governance practices on value co-creation, as well as the effect these practices have on organizational performance. This paper collects data utilizing a structured questionnaire and a quantitative research approach. A cluster sampling methodology is used. The respondents are directors of VOEs in Riau Province, Indonesia. One hundred twenty-five data were analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) of the second order. The results reveal that good governance practices will boost value co-creation, enhancing organizational performance. The findings suggest that VOEs should pay particular attention to their process of managing, monitoring, and accountability to achieve value co-creation and fulfill their mission. The uniqueness of this study lies in its investigation of the governance practices of VOEs and the crucial role of value co-creation in enhancing their organizational performance.

Acknowledgment
We express our gratitude and appreciation to The Directorate of Resources, The Directorate General of Higher Education, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Ref. 1615/UN.19.5.1.3/PT.01.03/2022) for financial support for this study. We also express the same appreciation to LPPM Universitas Riau for facilitating this research project.

The reform of education personnel management policies has been carried out progressively to ensure the achievement of educational goals. A systematic analysis of the personnel management policy circle, including policy design, content, and implementation, is crucial to improving the accuracy and effectiveness of such policies. Through a comprehensive review of policy evolution, this study aims to systematize the design and content of policies on personnel management in educational institutions in China. It was determined that personnel management is increasingly concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of goal achievement, policy design, system reform, and mixed-used management methods. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 420 respondents in 25 preschool institutions in five cities of Henan province in China. A total of 362 questionnaires were deemed valid out of 397 retrieved, including 24 from principals and 338 from teachers. The statistical analysis results identified the problems in policy implementation, including the laxly enforced teacher qualification system, inadequate teacher professional development, poorly implemented training policies, unattractive salaries and benefits, and the undesirable assessment system. For example, 5.89% of the respondents still need teaching qualification certificates. Only 1.1% of the respondents had senior titles. 2.76% of the respondents are still paid less than the minimum standard. In response to the situation, this study suggests effective countermeasures for educational administrative authorities and institutions. The findings could provide a reference for further optimization and development of personnel management policies.

Acknowledgments
This study is supported by Sumy National Agrarian University in Ukraine and the Talent Special Support Program for Doctoral Studies of Henan Institute of Science and Technology in China.

Entrepreneurial leadership and innovation are needed for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to survive and grow. Entrepreneurial leaders must unlock and use their employees’ creativity to innovate. Moreover, they should foster creativity, risk-taking, and teamwork to secure business growth and success. Therefore, this study analyzes the link between entrepreneurial leadership, creativity, and innovation among SMEs. The aim is to identify the traits that lead to entrepreneurial leadership which helps in fostering creativity and innovation among SMEs in Saudi Arabia.
The study is based on primary data from employees, managers, and owners of SMEs in the capital region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Two hundred and eighty-one responses were collected. However, only two hundred and forty-eight responses were left for the final analysis. The results of the study indicate that entrepreneurial leadership positively influences organizational innovation and employee creativity among SMEs, where the coefficient was found to be significant. Next, no mediation relationships involving creativity were noted between entrepreneurial leadership and organizational innovation. However, entrepreneurial leadership has been identified as a critical driver of innovation and employee creativity in SMEs. Furthermore, the study suggests that SMEs need to foster a culture of innovation to unleash employee creativity. Finally, the study can have important implications for practitioners and academic scholars.

Acknowledgment
This project was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University under the research project (PSAU-2022/01/20421).

Digital tourism is an essential product of the digital economy, which is significant in promoting sustainable tourism. The study aims to analyze the current research status of digital tourism with the CiteSpace tool. One thousand thirteen documents related to digital tourism, AI tourism, and tourism digitization in the Web of Science (WOS) database from 1991–2022 were collected. This study conducts bibliometric analysis to portray the knowledge map. Furthermore, this paper explores the publication years, co-occurrence of authors, institutions, subjects, research hotspots, and evolution of digital tourism research. The analysis findings revealed that social and environmental sciences are the core disciplines in digital tourism research. Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the foremost institution, and Tussyadiah and Wirtz are the authors with the highest contribution rate. Moreover, the results emphasized the frontier studies of digital tourism referring to technology, consumption, tourists’ reviews, and the progress of the tourism industry. In addition, China, Europe, and the United States should strengthen their digital tourism cooperation with Africa and the South America to promote the sustainable development of global tourism. Finally, the results implicate the future development trends of digital tourism.

Acknowledgment
We acknowledge all the authors involved in the creation of this paper: Chen Luo for providing the opportunity for this research and collaborative creation, and Dr. Songyu Jiang, Dr. Ruihui Pu, and Dr. Lin Li for providing creative ideas and collaborative division for this paper, and for funding the research. Dr. Hongmei Yang further provides the research direction and future in the development process of digital tourism.

Drawing on the agency and resource dependence theories, the paper assumes that the impact of corporate social responsibility on companies’ financial performance should be investigated not in a binary manner but against the backdrop of corporate governance. The analysis is based on testing the dataset retrieved from the Chinese Stock Market and Accounting Research database containing 28,200 company-year observations of 3,576 Chinese listed companies covering 2008–2019. The findings accentuate that corporate social responsibility, interacting with board size, equity concentration, and CEO duality, positively impacts a firm’s financial performance. In contrast, the study fails to substantiate the claim that board gender diversity and board independence moderate the bond between corporate social responsibility and financial performance. Thus, by exploring five elements of corporate governance, this study takes a step forward in understanding exactly which elements of corporate governance best suit corporate social responsibility to enhance financial performance in China’s institutional settings. This study assists in filling the gap in corporate social responsibility research by displaying and corroborating the moderating effects of corporate governance attributes on the nexus between corporate social responsibility and financial performance in China. Therefore, this paper presents valuable information and details for companies and regulators alike to improve the impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance by focusing on corporate governance quality.

Acknowledgment
This paper is co-funded by European Union through the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) within the project “EU Best Practice Of Life Cycle Assessment, Social, Environmental Accounting And Sustainability Reporting 101047667 – EULASTING – ERASMUS-JMO-2021-HEI-TCH-RSCH” (https://bit.ly/3Bbvquw).

The thorough appraisal of financial tools such as budgeting guides business leaders in effectively planning and controlling business activities for optimum productivity and profitability. Hence, proper budgeting can be used to motivate employees. This study seeks to investigate the functional association between budgetary approaches and employee motivation in the Nigerian hospitality industry. The descriptive research design was employed, and data were garnered via a structured questionnaire (using a five-point Likert) administered to 85 hospitality industry employees spanning accommodation, catering, tourism, and recreation spheres. The paper employed a purposeful sampling technique. Motivation, which is the dependent variable, was determined using the path-goal model. Both descriptive statistics and ordinary least square regression were conducted to gauge the magnitude and direction of the relationship between the variables under consideration. The outcome signposts a significant positive correlation between budgeting style and employee motivation up to 48.9%. Specifically, the participatory budgeting style was shown to boost the motivation of employees to work with set budgets and to pursue company objectives. However, budget standard and success rates were observed to be slightly higher with imposed budgeting. The paper recommends that, while participatory budgeting is good for maintaining a well-motivated workforce, it should be practiced with adequate supervision to avoid having low-performing budgets.

The pandemic has put a toll on businesses across the globe, especially power generation as an essential service. The role of leadership is exemplary in driving job engagement in the power sector. The study aims to explore the impact of a leader’s inspirational motivation and individualized consideration on employee job engagement in the Indian power sector.
This study is quantitative exploratory research. Using a validated questionnaire, 444 survey responses were taken from executives of major Indian electricity generation utilities. Inspirational motivation and individualized consideration were taken as independent variables, while employee engagement and its components were taken as dependent variables. Statistical methods of simple and multiple correlations were performed using SPSS version 25.
According to the findings, the components of transformational leadership have a positive and significant impact on employee engagement (r = 0.463) and its facets of vigor (r = 0.425), dedication (r = 0.455), and absorption (r = 0.267), respectively. In addition, the finding outlines that transformational leaders propagate their high power and enthusiasm to their workers through inspirational motivation to increase their job engagement. The paper also highlights the role of a leader as a coach and mentor through individualized consideration to cater to followers’ need for growth and achievement. These findings expand the literature on leadership and employee engagement in the Indian power sector.

Establishing institutional arrangements for regulating gas markets toward price convergence is one of the crucial integrational factors. The strategy of the firm and economic development management depends on it. The paper aims to assess the characteristics of price convergence on the natural gas markets of the Eastern European region. This region is relevant for Ukraine in a number of parameters. The assessment was made based on Eurostat data for different groups of consumers, excluding taxes, using the standard deviation detection method of price convergence for 15 countries in 2007–2020.
Despite the revealed generally positive price convergence on the natural gas markets in the considered countries after 2014, obtained results showed three points that highlight the heterogeneous structure of the process. First, an even movement toward a single price is detected in groups of large households (the standard price deviation of the price decreased in 2014–2020 from 2.7 to 1.9 euro per Giga Joule or 1.5 times) and medium industrial enterprises (the standard deviation decreased from 1.0-1.7 to 0.6-1.1 or 1.5-1.8 times). Second, the prices for the largest industrial enterprises in considered countries approached the fastest (the deviation decreased from 2.0 to 0.5). Third, in the segment of small enterprises, the deviation even increased from 2.1 to 2.2 (1.05 times). This result highlights the gap in the institutional mechanisms of European integration and sources of uncertainty for the small firms’ management.

Acknowledgment
The paper was funded as a part of the “Determination of institutional conditions for the development of the exchange segment of the gas market” research project (No. 0122U002205), conducted at the State Institution Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the NAS of Ukraine.

Personality traits are qualities that make a person distinctive and describe stable behavior patterns. Therefore, understanding the influence of personality traits on behavioral intention will help predict investors’ investment decisions. This study aims to assess the impact of personality traits, i.e., openness to experience, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion, on investors’ behavioral intentions. Moreover, it assesses the mediating effect of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control between investors’ personality traits and behavioral intention. The study employed a structured questionnaire on a sample of 413 retail investors. Further, obtained data were empirically examined on Smart-PLS 3.3 using the PLS-SEM method. The study found that perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and attitude positively affected behavioral intention. However, the personality traits did not influence the intention directly. Further, mediation analysis revealed that attitude and subjective norm fully mediated the relationship between extraversion, neuroticism, openness, and intention. In contrast, attitude and subjective norms did not exhibit a mediating relationship between agreeableness, conscientiousness, and intention. Finally, perceived behavioral control fully mediated the relationship between personality traits and intention, except for conscientiousness. The study contributes by extending the applicability of the theory of planned behavior by examining the impact of big-five personality traits on behavioral intention and mediating the role of the theory of planned behavior’s dimension between personality traits and intention.

There were many trials and obstacles on the way of the journal and publishing house. However, these were problems with growth, but on the morning of February 24, 2022, a terrible thing began. We woke up to cannon shots (in a European country in the 21st century!!!), and by evening the Russian monster was squeezing the streets of our cities with its tentacles from hundreds of pieces of equipment and thousands of soldiers. War!
How events developed further is another story. Or rather, tens of millions of stories of people who have suffered and are suffering from this absolutely illogical, surreal, and barbaric war. Here we will briefly recall the past year, as the twentieth year since the birth of the Publishing Company “Business Perspectives” and its first journal “Problems and Perspectives in Management.” About a year of work in a real and terrible war.