The aim of this study is to develop a multidimensional assessment tool based on findings from the AGE-IT comprehensive study conducted from April to June 2025. AGE-IT aimed to explore differences in quality-of-life perceptions among older Italians, drawing on data from 1,631 participants across three diverse Italian regions (Emilia-Romagna, Abruzzo, and Puglia), and collected with a range of standardized tools. Given the lack of evidence-based data on the comprehensive evaluation of objective and subjective quality-of-life perceptions among older people, this study proposes an index that explicitly accounts for a review of these dimensions, including both objective and subjective QoL. Thus, for this present study, the Quality-of-Life Perception Index was developed using data from the AGE-IT study to provide a more holistic and nuanced understanding of quality of life by assigning greater specific weight to a set of territorial variables. The objective Quality-of-Life Perception Index demonstrated acceptable reliability and showed significant variations across regions, sex, age, and mobility status. Women reported significantly higher objective quality of life than men, and transport autonomy emerged as a critical determinant of well-being. The index showed moderate positive correlations with subjective quality-of-life measures, supporting its criterion validity. These findings provide a foundation for comprehensive quality-of-life assessment in older populations and demonstrate that digital skills are strongly linked to advanced forms of e-health engagement, while similar skill levels translate into different uptake levels across countries. For practitioners, this implies that improving ehealth adoption requires not only digital skills training but also user-centred service design and system integration, while for researchers it highlights the need to move beyond single indicators and treat laterlife digital health inclusion as a context-dependent, hierarchical process rather than a binary divide.
In the context of accelerating technological change, family business succession increasingly depends not only on ownership and management transfer but also on intergenerational negotiation of attitudes toward digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI), and technological innovation. This study explores how differing perspectives between successors and predecessors influence the succession process within Hungarian family firms undergoing intra-family transition. Building on two in-depth case studies, the research adopts a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with both predecessors and successors in each firm exploring how different perspectives can foster change in management takeover. Findings reveal generational tension between successors’ openness and innovative orientation toward digital transformation and predecessors’ moderate, often cautious, stance shaped by tradition, proven practices, and perceived risks of rapid technological adoption. Despite these divergences, the study identifies mechanisms of reconciliation, such as innovation, shared learning, and mutual trust, which enable smoother digital improvement during succession. The analysis contributes to the understanding of how family firms can balance continuity and renewal by integrating differing digitalisation mindsets across generations. The study offers theoretical and practical insights into the interplay between technological attitudes and succession dynamics, emphasising the need for intergenerational dialogue and adaptive leadership to ensure long-term competitiveness in the era of digital transformation challenges.
The paper seeks to explore senior cohousing as an emerging legal phenomenon standing at the crossroads between private autonomy and social solidarity. Demographic ageing and the erosion of traditional family structures have raised new issues for European legal systems to cope with, challenging conventional frameworks governing housing, care, and interpersonal relationships. Drawing on comparative analysis, the study explores how Spain, France, Germany, and Italy articulate legal solutions to solidarity-based cohabitations among older people, revealing divergent models that variously rely on contractual autonomy, statutory protection, or hybrid regulatory schemes. Foreign experiences – from Catalonia’s mutual-aid cohabitations and Valencian collaborative housing to France’s Housing, Development, and Digital Law and Germany’s ‘community of responsibility’ – highlight the growing tendency to connect occupancy rights not merely to property titles but to the social function and status of cohabitants. The paper argues that senior cohousing requires recognition as a distinct legal formation grounded in voluntary, non-familial solidarity, demanding regulatory solutions capable of stabilizing housing arrangements while preserving individual autonomy. Ultimately, the research aims to show that contemporary legal systems are gradually shifting from family-centred notions of solidarity toward more flexible, community-based models, offering a framework for rethinking the governance of ageing, housing, and care in contemporary societies.
The funeral service industry represents an essential but underexplored entrepreneurial sector, particularly in contexts where cultural and religious traditions shape death-care practices. This study examines entrepreneurial intention and funeral business establishment among anatomy students and graduates in Nigeria. It extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by investigating the effects of attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on entrepreneurial intention, as well as the moderating role of religio-cultural norms. A quantitative research design was employed, with 520 valid responses collected from anatomy students and graduates using a structured questionnaire. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) via AMOS was employed to assess the measurement model, evaluate the structural model, and test the hypothesized relationships. Attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control significantly predicted entrepreneurial intention, which also had a significant direct effect on funeral business establishment. Although religio-cultural norms had a significant negative direct effect on funeral business establishment, they did not significantly moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and funeral business establishment. The findings validate the applicability of the Theory of Planned Behaviour in professional and regulated contexts and highlight the importance of fostering positive attitudes toward entrepreneurship, enhancing perceived behavioural control, and strengthening supportive subjective norms to encourage entrepreneurial intentions and funeral business establishment.
This study examines digital health participation among adults aged 65–74 across European Union member states, focusing on the relationship between digital skills and multidimensional e-health use. The research addresses a key gap in the literature, as previous studies have typically analysed single dimensions of e-health use or treated older adults as a homogeneous group. Conceptually, the study builds on competence-based and digital divide frameworks, interpreting digital health use as the outcome of interactions between individual capabilities and structural conditions. Using harmonised Eurostat data, the analysis combines longitudinal trend analysis (2015–2024), a composite e-health indicator, correlation analysis, and cluster analysis. The results show a substantial increase in digital health use among older adults across the EU, particularly after 2019. A strong positive association is observed between digital skills and e-health use, especially for more advanced activities. Cluster analysis reveals persistent cross-national differences, indicating that similar skill levels may lead to different levels of e-health uptake. The findings highlight the need for combined policy approaches targeting both digital skills development and user-centred digital health services.
This study examines the leadership behaviours of Carlos Ghosn, Donald Trump, and Richard Fuld, focusing on the relationship between narcissism and hubristic leadership in periods of business turbulence. Existing scholarship, particularly Maccoby’s framework, distinguishes between productive and destructive narcissism but offers limited comparative insight into how these forms manifest across different leadership contexts. This paper addresses this gap, exploring the evolution of narcissistic traits into hubristic behaviour under conditions of power concentration and organisational stress. Using a qualitative, exploratory, comparative methodology, the study applies Maccoby’s typology to analyse leadership style, decision-making, and organisational outcomes. The findings indicate that narcissistic leadership exhibits distinct manifestations across different contexts, with varying implications for organisational outcomes. This differentiation highlights the importance of contextual factors in shaping the effects of narcissistic leadership within organisations. This study contributes to leadership research by refining the boundary between productive narcissism and hubris, offering a framework for understanding leadership risk in complex organisational environments. The results further highlight that the escalation from narcissism to hubristic leadership is facilitated by the concentration of power and weakened organisational feedback mechanisms.
Artificial intelligence and digital technologies are reshaping sustainable freight transport. As road freight transport remains a major source of global carbon dioxide emissions, the transition to green logistics is essential. This paper examines how artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technologies can improve the operational efficiency of electric and gas-powered truck fleets through energy optimisation, emission reduction and data-driven decision support. The study applies an integrative qualitative multi-source research design combining a structured literature review, policy document analysis and documentary corporate case analysis. The analysis further examines how European Union policy initiatives, including the European Green Deal, the Fit for 55 package and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, shape innovation in the logistics sector. The findings suggest that AI-supported logistics optimisation can improve fleet utilisation, reduce empty runs and support the operational integration of low-emission trucks. At the same time, organisational, technological and infrastructural barriers continue to constrain large-scale implementation. The study contributes an integrated analytical framework linking technological innovation, logistics operations and European transport policy within the concept of smart green logistics.
Sustainability has become one of the most important concepts for many SMEs, and one way to support it is through better knowledge sharing between older and younger employees, known as intergenerational knowledge transfer. This research aims to provide empirical evidence to determine how intergenerational knowledge transfer can enhance corporate sustainability within SMEs. Purposive sampling of nine Jordanian IT SMEs (n = 142) was used to conduct a quantitative cross-sectional survey. Descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA were employed to determine the age-group differences and the relationship between intergenerational knowledge transfer and sustainability objectives. A major contribution of this research lies in demonstrating statistically significant age‑based perceptual differences regarding the sustainability impact of knowledge sharing, offering a nuanced understanding of how generational learning attitudes shape organisational sustainability—an aspect rarely examined in previous studies. By establishing a strong positive correlation (r = 0.702) between intergenerational knowledge transfer and progress toward sustainability objectives, this study provides quantitative evidence supporting the theoretical assumption that cross generational learning is not merely beneficial but strategically essential for SMEs operating under resource constraints. The study’s contextual contribution is particularly relevant: it highlights that cultural and relational factors play a stronger role than technological ones in Jordanian SMEs, offering a culturally grounded perspective that complements and, in some cases, challenges Western-centric findings.
The need for urban, health, and transportation services is evolving as the population ages. It is becoming more widely acknowledged that mobility is necessary for later-life autonomy, health, and social engagement. In order to analyse senior mobility within a framework for sustainable mobility, this narrative study synthesizes data from recent research as well as Italian reforms and European initiatives. Digital exclusion, affordability, service coverage and dependability, and micro-access are the four recurring obstacles that have been found. This current study offers further insights into the importance of safety perceptions, psychological variables, and the necessity of hybrid digital/analogue information systems. Although the long‑term viability and equity of these options remain uncertain, the evidence points to companionship‑oriented services as a viable complement to traditional public transportation. Data show that user‑centric integrated mobility packages—those that weave together inclusion, affordability, reliable service, solid infrastructure and psychosocial support—outperform fragmented initiatives. While Italian and broader European policy frameworks are increasingly acknowledging these concerns, systematic intersectional evaluation is still needed to guarantee both effectiveness and equity. When mobility is seen as both a right and a competency, it generally takes its place as an element of inclusive sustainable ageing. Holistic, cross‑cutting approaches that go beyond single‑issue remedies can produce improvements in health, strengthen social cohesion and enhance independence.
Research on the role of business diplomacy in enhancing organisational legitimacy among Vietnamese enterprises during the internationalisation process is limited, particularly in the context of emerging economies. This gap is essential because legitimacy determines the ability to enter fore in markets and survive in them. Based on legitimacy and institutional theories, this study uses theoretically oriented inductive thematic analysis based on in-dept semi-structured interviews with 10 CEOs and senior managers of Vietnamese SMEs. The results identify two primary mechanisms: the creation of domestic institutional linkages and international multilateral dialogue, both of which contribute to legitimacy enhancement. Regarding practical implications, the article emphasises how SMEs can establish legitimacy through business diplomacy and non-business risk management within the scope of internationalization. This can be achieved by utilising institutional channels, certifications, and engaging in multilateral dialogue to enhance trust and facilitate market entry. This paper contributes to the existing theoretical framework in business diplomacy by positioning it as a strategic capability of SMEs that helps transfer legitimacy from the host country to the receiving country, thereby expanding theories of legitimacy and internationalization. The research clarifies the role of business diplomacy in reducing nonbusiness risks and increasing the legitimacy of SMEs, while providing a new understanding of the mechanisms of business internationalization from emerging economies.
This study aims to explore the moderating role of gender in the effectiveness of social media marketing strategies on the performance of firms within the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sector in Zimbabwe. The central problem addressed is the lack of comprehensive understanding and implementation of gender dynamics in social media marketing, which diminishes campaign efficacy. The research is theoretically underpinned by the Uses and Gratifications Theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model to explain media engagement and information processing. A quantitative, crosssectional research design was employed, involving a sample of 360 managerial employees, and data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling and Hayes’ PROCESS macro. The key findings reveal that both ad content quality and ad frequency significantly enhance firm performance. Notably, gender plays a moderating role in the relationship between ad frequency and performance, which indicates that female managers exhibit greater sensitivity to advertising frequency compared to their male counterparts. This study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the nuanced role of gender in digital marketing strategies, thus providing empirical insights for practitioners to optimize their marketing approaches. Methodologically, the combined use of SEM and Hayes’ PROCESS macro provides a more granular examination of moderation effects than previous research, positioning the study as one of the first to empirically isolate which social media marketing dimensions require gendersensitive strategic adaptation.
This study explores how artificial intelligence (AI) impacts competencies in the HR generalist role. It addresses a critical gap in understanding the evolving nature of HR work in AI‐integrated environments. Adopting a qualitative design, 11 semi‐structured interviews analyzed with GIOIA methodology revealed how AI influences HR competencies through emergent concepts and themes. AI automates routine tasks and enhances strategic HR functions through analytics and decision support. It introduces new technical and ethical skills, yet human-centric competencies like empathy and negotiation remain essential to HR’s relational core. The study’s reliance on a small, purposively selected sample and its qualitative design limit the generalizability of findings across all organizational contexts, industries, and geographic regions. Implications. The results advocate for clear AI governance frameworks, ethical guidelines, and the cultivation of internal AI champions. They underscore the urgency of targeted reskilling programs that balance technological fluency with strategic and interpersonal capabilities, ensuring the human essence of HR endures amid accelerating automation. This research contributes a novel five-dimension conceptual framework that captures AI’s multifaceted impact on HR generalist competencies, advancing the discourse on hybrid HR professionalism that integrates emotional intelligence, strategic acumen, and technological fluency.
Religion is an individual and spiritual phenomenon, but it is not without collective, even economic implications. The effects of religion exert their impact on economy primarily through the link between individual religiosity and social capital, which encompasses both trust in others and a propensity for associations and volunteering. By nourishing social capital, religiosity therefore contributes to economic development and substitute for roles that the vast world of the third sector and the voluntary sector play in the declining welfare state. Through considering different levels of this relationship (individual, regional, and country level), this paper describes some implications for firm governance. Using data from 2014 to 2022 from the National Italian Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), this paper investigates the link between the degree of participation in religious life, on the one hand, and trust in others, active participation, or financial support for associations, on the other hand. The positive link between religious involvement and the aforementioned dimensions of social capital is confirmed, even when various areas of a country are considered, which are characterized by different levels of religious participation and social capital, as well as varying economic conditions, education, civil status, age, and gender.
This study explores the relationship between organizational pride and corporate wear under remuneration conditions within institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe through investigating the influence of employee remuneration on corporate wear, examining the impact of employee remuneration on organizational pride, analysing the influence of organizational pride on corporate wear, and assessing the mediating role of organizational pride in the relationship between employee remuneration and corporate wear. A quantitative research design was employed, using a purposive cluster sampling method to select participants from teaching and non-teaching employees in public institutions of higher learning. Data were collected using a Likert scale questionnaire and were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Correlation and regression analysis tests were done to test the relationships among the variables of employee remuneration, organizational pride and corporate wear. The study has found a positive relationship between remuneration and corporate wear and has established that organizational pride partially offsets perceptions of low remuneration. The study also found that organizational pride has a mediating effect on the relationship between employee remuneration and corporate wear. The study recommends that institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe should develop strategies that enhance organizational pride and address remuneration disparities and inequities to ensure that remuneration becomes competitive and fair.
Mapping 282 publications from 2020 to March 2025, this study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of global literature related to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in the context of university students’ entrepreneurial intents. Through RStudio’s Biblioshiny, the analysis encompasses performance and intellectual evaluations, such as keyword co-occurrence, thematic mapping, thematic evolution, factorial analysis, and a three-field plot. The findings suggest a growing academic focus on entrepreneurial intentions, highlighted by a surge in publications during 2024. A regional examination underscores significant contributions from Asia and Europe, with India and Spain particularly noted for their leading productivity and citation impact. Thematic evolution reveals a transition from classic TPB constructs towards new areas like digital entrepreneurship, sustainability, and psychological factors, including self-efficacy and a proactive personality. Recent studies increasingly align TPB with contextual, educational, and psychological dimensions supporting its theoretical growth. The findings confirm TPB’s ongoing theoretical significance while highlighting its expanding range in current entrepreneurship studies. This study enhances the understanding of the field’s intellectual progression and provides insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers dedicated to enhancing entrepreneurship education and students’ entrepreneurial intentions.
This research advances supply chain management scholarship by exploring the individual-level cognitive drivers influencing blockchain adoption among upstream and downstream supply chain actors. Leveraging the Three Arenas Model and integrating Institutional Isomorphism with the mental model theory, we conducted 34 in-depth, semi-structured interviews complemented by Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) to capture detailed perceptual frameworks. Using thematic analysis via Atlas.ti, our findings indicate clear motivational distinctions: upstream actors (e.g., producers) predominantly seek enhanced transparency and traceability to optimize operational efficiency, while downstream actors (e.g., end users) emphasize trust and reputational capital to strengthen market confidence. Our study highlights that these contrasting cognitive schemas require differentiated strategic approaches for successful blockchain integration. By linking micro-level cognitive processes with institutional pressures, this research enriches theoretical perspectives on technology adoption within supply chain contexts and provides actionable insights for practitioners and policymakers to customize adoption strategies, regulatory frameworks, and stakeholder engagement practices for maximum effectiveness.
This study explores critical factors influencing digital transformation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on management support, employee skill development, and technology adoption. Drawing on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and Organizational Learning Theory, three hypotheses were tested using survey data from 303 SMEs across manufacturing, services, retail, and IT sectors in emerging industrial regions of central and western of China. Through correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis, results reveal that (1) digital leadership enhances technology adoption, (2) employee skill development is vital to transformation success, and (3) technology adoption improves financial performance. The study highlights challenges such as uneven digital infrastructure and policy disparities and offers region-specific strategies to address them. These insights serve as a practical roadmap for policymakers and SME leaders, stressing the need to align digital initiatives with local socio-economic conditions. The findings also have global relevance, as SMEs in developing regions like Southeast Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa face similar obstacles including limited infrastructure, skill shortages, uneven policy support, and resource constraints. This makes these findings widely applicable insights for international policymakers and business leaders.
The main purpose of this research is to examine the challenges facing displaced small-scale mining entrepreneurs once mineral resources are discovered in their area. A qualitative study was conducted on the affected populace of Chiyadzwa in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. Data were collected through interviews with 35 former small-scale mining entrepreneurs who are now employed in various sectors of the economy. Interviews were used to collect data from respondents, and the major theme approach was used to analyse and present the data. The study established that former smallscale mining entrepreneurs face various challenges such as loss of livelihoods and market disruptions, lack of access to resources, social and cultural displacement, legal and regulatory barriers, lack of support services, and psychological and social stigma. These challenges hinder the sustainability of their newfound small-scale entrepreneurial initiatives. The study highlights that there is a compelling need for integrated relocation policies, strengthened legal and regulatory frameworks, supportive business environment, capacity building and skills development, a comprehensive needs assessment, access to resources and finance, social support and integration to sustain small-scale entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe. The study points to the urgent need for gender-sensitive rural development strategies. Policy responses that target support for women’s businesses and cooperatives by accessing microfinance through institutions like Women’s Bank address the lived realities of those most affected by displacement and informality.
