Analyzing the research trends of COVID-19 using topic modeling approach

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has impacted 222 countries across the globe, with millions of people losing their lives. The threat from the virus may be assessed from the fact that most countries across the world have been forced to order partial or complete shutdown of their economies for a period of time to contain the spread of the virus. The fallout of this action manifested in loss of livelihood, migration of the labor force and severe impact on mental health due to the long duration of confinement to homes or residences.Design/methodology/approachThe current study identifies the focus areas of the research conducted on the COVID-19 pandemic. s of papers on the subject were collated from the SCOPUS database for the period December 2019 to June 2020. The collected sample data (after preprocessing) was analyzed using Topic Modeling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation.FindingsBased on the research papers published within the mentioned timeframe, the study identifies the 10 most prominent topics that formed the area of interest for the COVID-19 pandemic research.Originality/valueWhile similar studies exist, no other work has used topic modeling to comprehensively analyze the COVID-19 literature by considering diverse fields and domains.

Editorial: Post-COVID-19 global trade and business environment and maritime supply chain

Since January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread impacts on virtually every sector of the global economy, including world trade and global supply chains. [...]it has been argued that the existing globalised economies might require to be restructured in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic when governments and firms start to re-strategize their critical supply chains through various disruption and resilience management strategies. [...]other shipping intermediaries, i.e. freight forwarders and logistics service providers, who play crucial roles in connecting demand and supply of maritime supply chains also suffered due to reduced business transactions. [...]the focus of this special issue is on understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various players in the maritime supply chain, as well as possible trends of global trade and maritime supply chains and strategies and policies in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Supply chain analytics and post-pandemic performance: mediating role of triple-A supply chain strategies

PurposeThe abrupt outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hit every nation in 2020–2021, causing a worldwide pandemic. The worldwide COVID-19 epidemic, described as a "black swan”, has severely disrupted manufacturing firms' supply chain. The purpose of this study is to investigate how supply chain data analytics enable the effective deployment of agility, adaptability and alignment (3As) strategies, resulting in improving post-COVID disruption performance. It also analyses the indirect effect of supply chain data analytics on disruption performance through the 3As supply chain strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe hypothesis and theoretical framework were tested using a questionnaire survey. The authors employed structural equation modelling through the SMART PLS version 3.2.7 to analyse data from 163 textile firms located in Pakistan.FindingsThe results revealed that the supply chain data analytics contributed positively and significantly to the agility and adaptability, while all 3As supply chain strategies impacted the PPERF substantially. Further, the connection between supply chain data analytics (SCDA) and disruption performance has substantially been influenced through 3As supply chain strategies.Practical implicationsThe results imply that in the event of low likelihood, high effect disruptions, managers and decision-makers should focus their efforts on integrating data analytics capabilities with 3As supply chain policies to ensure long-term company success.Originality/valueThis research sheds fresh light on the importance of data analytics in effectively implementing 3As strategies for sustaining company performance amid COVID-19 disruptions.

Microbusinesses' challenges and perceptions in using social media during the COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19 struck the world by storm and has taken its victims along the way. It had also put the whole world on a temporary pause as people tried to manage the virus as best as possible. It has affected people all around the globe and had a huge impact on the global economy. This research will look into how microbusinesses have used social media in order to better face the challenges and changes that came due to the COVID-19 crisis while it will discuss how businesses' perceptions were altered along the way. In particular we are reviewing relevant academic literature surrounding microbusinesses and how they have been affected by COVID-19. The research methods used within this study, and the research results will be stated with reference to primary respondents. We have used a combination of secondary and primary research to develop further understanding of microbusinesses and the impact that COVID-19 has had on organizations in relation to the use of the internet and social media platforms. Limitations of the study will also be identified, and future research areas will be identified.

A position paper on the Quest for Education Quality and Inclusivity in Low Resource Environments such as Zimbabwe through Social Media

Social media has revolutionised human interaction globally especially on the informal front. This paper proposes that the social media facility could be ‘tamed' to help bridge the educational divide that is apparent especially in developing countries such as Zimbabwe and that was magnified by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic split education provision along income lines with those from the higher income bracket accessing educational instruction virtually even during such an ‘emergency' while those from the low income group were literally on sabbatical, virtually excluded. The obtaining scenario threatens realisation of Sustainable Development Goal Number 4 by 2030 as planned by the United Nations. The particular goal is aimed at ensuring "inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all”. In some instances, some candidates get to the examination room so inadequately prepared that the situation can be described as de facto exclusion. In order to assist Covid-19 pandemic affected learners and to uplift education quality in low income communities, this paper recommends the provision of a tablet per class/grade that should be viewed as a learning/teaching tool. The class teacher can use the tablet to download material, show educational videos to the class, audio/video record learners for educational ends, receive educational materials from the Ministry and its partners and avail these in an interesting multimodal manner to the learners.

Areas within the United States at the Highest Risk for African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, and Foot-and-Mouth Disease Introduction

Domestic livestock production is a major component of the agricultural sector, contributing to food security and human health and nutrition and serving as the economic livelihood for millions worldwide. The impact of disease on global systems and processes cannot be understated, as illustrated by the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic through economic and social system shocks and food system disruptions. This study outlines a method to identify the most likely sites of introduction into the United States for three of the most concerning foreign animal diseases: African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF), and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). We first created an index measuring the amount of potentially contaminated meat products entering the regions of interest using the most recently available Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Monitoring (AQIM) air passenger inspection dataset, the AQIM USPS/foreign mail, and the targeted USPS/foreign mail interception datasets. The risk of introduction of a given virus was then estimated using this index, as well as the density of operations of the livestock species and the likelihood of infected material contaminating the local herds. Using the most recently available version of the datasets, the most likely places of introduction for ASF and CSF were identified to be in central Florida, while FMD was estimated to have been most likely introduced to swine in western California and to cattle in northeastern Texas. The method illustrated in this study is important as it may provide insights on risk and can be used to guide surveillance activities and optimize the use of limited resources to combat the establishment of these diseases in the U.S.

The Theory and Application of Multinational Corporate Governance

Multinational enterprises have become a main engine of the global economy, technical advancement, and product innovation, playing a pivotal role in the world economy and the global technological revolution. However, MNEs are also often embroiled in financial fraud and corporate scandal which show that MNEs should improve their corporate governance. Meanwhile, as COVID- 19 runs rampant across the world, populism and deglobalisation have resurged, and protectionism and unilateralism are exerting negative impacts on the world economy. Achieving sustainable development in this context is a test of a company's management and governance abilities. How should they be governed? This book will be a useful tool for university research-led teaching and fundamental research in corporate governance theories of MNEs in general, as well as using Chinese case studies as evidence to support our theoretical arguments. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

Economic policy uncertainty, governance institutions and economic performance in Africa: are there regional differences?

In recent years, the global economy has witnessed several uncertainty-inducing events. However, empirical evidence in Africa on the effects of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on economic activities remains scanty. Besides, the moderating effect of governance institutions on the uncertainty-economic performance relationship in Africa and the likelihood of regional differences in the response of economic activities to EPU on the continent are yet to be investigated. To address these gaps, we applied system GMM and quantile regressions on a panel of forty-seven African countries from 2010 to 2019. We find that while global EPU and EPUs from China, USA and Canada exert considerable influence on economic performance in Africa, the effects of domestic EPU and EPUs from Europe, UK, Japan, and Russia were negligible, suggesting that African economies are resilient to these sources of uncertainty shocks. We also find that governance institutions in Africa are not significantly moderating the uncertainty-economic performance relationship. However, our results highlighted regional differences in the response of economic activities to uncertainty, such that when compared to East and West Africa, economic performance in Central, North and Southern Africa is generally more resilient to global EPU and EPUs from China, USA, Europe and UK. We highlighted the policy implications of these findings.

Two Major Economic Crises in the Early Twenty-First Century and their Impact on Central Bank Independence

Two major economic crises in the early twenty-first century have had a serious impact on monetary policy and CB independence. Disruption in financial intermediation and associated deflationary pressures caused by the global financial crisis of 2007–2009 and European financial crisis of 2010–2015 pushed central banks (CBs) in major currency areas towards adoption of unconventional monetary policy measures, including large-scale purchase of government bonds (quantitative easing). The same approach has been taken by CBs in response to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 even if the characteristics of this crisis differ from the previous one. As a result of both crises, CBs have become major holders of government bonds and de facto – main creditors of governments. Against rapidly deteriorating fiscal balances, CBs have become hostages of fiscal policies, which compromises their independence. Risks to the CB independence also come from their additional mandates (beyond price stability) and populist political pressures.

Tourist Behavior in the Cruise Industry Post-COVID-19: An Examination of Service Quality, Corporate Image, and Intentions to Pay and Revisit

The COVID-19 outbreak has had detrimental consequences on the cruise industry due to the suspension of commercial cruise trips, and these effects remain apparent in Saudi Arabia. The offered service quality (SQ) in the post-COVID-19 era seems to be a critical element for improving customer experiences and satisfaction, enhancing destination attractiveness, increasing revenue, and maintaining repeat business. The current study aimed to assess the impact of service quality on tourists' satisfaction and corporate image as well as the intention to pay for cruise trips and revisit the destination among 315 tourists in Saudi Arabia. Service quality was measured using five subscales of the SERVQUAL scale, including reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Tourists' satisfaction was significantly influenced by four domains of SQ, whereas the intention to pay more, intention to revisit the destination, and corporate image were significantly predicted by ≤3 domains of SQ. The study's findings can help the cruise industry to improve its offerings and create more personalized and engaging experiences that meet the changing needs of customers in the recovery period after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Identifying and analysis of key flexible sustainable supply chain management strategies toward overcoming the post-COVID-19 impacts

PurposeThe emerging markets are facing a lot of risks and disruptions across their supply chains (SCs) due to the deadly coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To mitigate the significant post-COVID-19 consequences, organizations should modify their existing strategies and focus more on the key flexible sustainable SC (SSC) strategies. Still now, a limited number of studies have highlighted about the flexible strategies what firms should adopt to reduce the rampant effects in the context of emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachThis study presents an integrated approach including Delphi method, Bayesian, and the Best-Worst-Method (BWM) to identify, assess and evaluate the importance of the key flexible SSC strategies for the footwear industry in the emerging market context.FindingsThe results found the manufacturing flexibility through automation integration as the most important flexible SSC strategy to improve the flexibility and sustainability of modern SCs. Also, developing omni-channel distribution and retailing strategies and increasing the level of preparedness by using artificial intelligent are crucial strategies for overcoming the post-COVID-19 impacts.Originality/valueThe novelty of this research is that the research connects a link among flexible strategies, SCs sustainability, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the research proposes a novel and intelligent framework based on Delphi and Bayesian-BWM to identify and analyze the key flexible SSC strategies to build up sustainable and robust SCs which can withstand in the post-COVID-19 world.

Insights about the Effects of COVID-19 on International Trade during the Main Pandemic Years in Romania and Poland

The COVID-19 crisis disrupted the economic life of the entire world and caused various disturbances at different levels in economies and societies. Consequently, the study of the economic impact of the health crisis became necessary to identify the influences that the health crisis had on numerous activities, including economic ones. There are calls for more studies to be conducted about the effects of COVID-19 at different levels so that lessons can be learned. The present paper answers these calls and focuses on the analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on international trade at the country level by investigating two European countries, Romania and Poland. First, it analyzes the macro-level context of the two countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, a regression methodology is employed to measure the impact of the COVID-19 burden (which includes the number of cases and the number of deaths related to COVID-19) on the export and import flows in Romania and Poland. The investigation refers to the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020–2021, which were the most significant. The results of the regression analysis showed that international trade was affected by the COVID-19 burden in the two countries, but the influences were different in the two countries. Exports and imports in Poland were more affected by COVID-19 than exports and imports in Romania. COVID-19 also had a higher impact on the import than the export flows in both countries during the period considered. The negative assumed relationships between COVID-19 burden and international trade flows were not verified in these specific country cases. This paper provides more evidence about the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, contributing to a better understanding of the economic effects of health crises in general.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Quality of Financial Reports

The Corona Virus Disease pandemic has significant adverse effects on the economy, health, and society that have hampered global economic growth. Taiwan is one of the countries impacted by this pandemic. The pandemic had an enormous influence on the world economy, making the role of financial report quality an even more critical issue. This study aims to examine and evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of financial reports. Additionally, it intends to examine and evaluate the differences between the impact of audit opinion and audit quality on the quality of financial reports before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study adopts secondary data, i.e., annual financial reports and audit quality data of public listing firms on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE). Furthermore, this study selected data from 2016 to 2021. This study proves that the COVID-19 pandemic affects the quality of financial reports. Furthermore, this study suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic strengthens the negative impacts of audit opinion on the quality of financial reports using accrual earnings management proxies. However, it also shows that the audit quality did not impact the quality of financial reports proxied by accrual and real earnings management at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.

AI Applications in Health Sector: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Covid-19 Crisis and Impacts of Medical Robots on Global Economy

Opinions stating that artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technologies are digital technologies which would have important impacts on the development of humanity in the near future were actually recognized in the world, however, some basic problems about what can be done with such systems, what the systems are required to be perform by themselves and which risks they bear or how these system would be controlled, were being heavily discussed. These discussions generally contained some biases regarding that the era of human control would end with the use of such means. With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in our present day, it was faced with the problem where the artificial intelligence and robotic technologies have become compulsory due to the fact that the utilization requirements particularly in logistic or health sector have increased. In conclusion, the attention was drawn to the importance of the solutions proposed by the artificial intelligence and robotic technologies pertaining to reduce the risks onto covering the human life and basic needs of people. The aim of this research is to determine the future predictions with findings obtained from the analyses based on the requirement increase for using the robotic Technologies experienced pre and post Covid-19 since an effective pandemic process enough to lead to the ignorance of the problems likely to occur due to the utilization of AI systems is experienced. A comparative historical method is utilization as research method in the study. The utilization of artificial intelligence and robotic technology means in the world between 2009 and 2019, their utilization pre and post Covid-19 and analyses created with estimations for their utilization in the future years are included. Depending on the findings, while the need for the utilization of such Technologies with the impact of Covid-19 is evaluated, it is aimed to determine the impacts in new normal process. According to the results we obtained, it is attempted to determine the requirement of which models among the artificial intelligence and robotic technologies should be utilization in which areas. While societies many countries having different economic powers in the world have been primarily struggling for survival against a too severe epidemic due to Coronavirus epidemic which has started as from the early months of 2020 and spread to many countries, they are facing with slackening and globalizing economic crises due to restrictions. The epidemic was perceived as a problem only experienced in China in the early months since it was actually announced that it started in Wuhan City of China in the late months of 2019. For this reason, some solutions were initiated by other countries and companies for minimizing the risks to be cauterization by recession experienced in China depending on the fact that China is a highly effective country in the global markets. Once a few months later it was understood that a pandemic which affects many countries in the world is experienced, the Covid-19 pandemic has globalized in a very short time with the impact of the inadequacy problem created on health systems of the countries and lack of drug and vaccination to treat the disease. Within the scope of quarantine restrictions applied in the pandemic process, it was seen that the need felt for the utilization of artificial intelligence and robotic Technologies in the health sectors for covering the basic needs of people, notably health services or executing the economically necessary shopping, has increased. Thus, Covid-19 pandemic has facilitated the process of using robotic Technologies and Industrial Revolution 4.0 which has actually started long time ago. Today, it is observed that the artificial intelligence and digitalization have further entered into the life of people in any field ranging from health to education and they are found in the foundation of the process called as new normal. Researches related with this study validate that the utilization of medical robotic technology has significantly increased t e afety and quality of health management systems in the Covid-19 process compared with manual systems due to the digitalization of health services. Also, the utilization of robotic technologies provides important conveniences in the health sector. In the first part of this study, introductory information are given about artificial intelligence and robotic Technologies in a descriptive method. In the second part, analyses are performed for the change in utilization levels of robotic Technologies with the impact of Covid-19 by including indicators related with the subject. After the findings obtained from the research and illustrations in the literature are explained, finally the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic are determined. In the digitalization process facilitated with the globalization of pandemic, it is attempted to obtain the most correct provisions and predictions for the future depending on the importance of the utilization of artificial intelligence and robotic technology. According to these classifications, the utilization field ad functions of the medical robots are as follows (Momont 2020). Surgical robots provide surgical service with precision and accuracy compared with human surgeons. Many tele-operators have been designed for remote operations (Grespan et al. 2019). Radiologist robots are utilization in radiology, angio and 3D imaging due to high radiation level and safety problems for human operators (Twin 2020). Rehabilitation robots support the relieving of nerves by alleviating the muscular disorders in treatment of elderly people, disabled and patients under disturbing conditions and in rehabilitation of patients who underwent accident or stroke (Zhao et al. 2020). Tele-medicine robots are helpful in epidemics in distant regions where a remote medical doctor is provided by all information and diagnoses diseases, healthcare personnel is not available (Koceska et al. 2019). Receptionist robots are utilization in hospital reception for guiding the patients. Ambulance robots are helpful in providing urgent treatment to any remote patient as soon as possible. Nurse robots are intended for assistance to medical doctors just as human nurses and commonly utilization particularly in Japanese hospitals. Hospital service robots are utilization in duties such as displacement of heavy materials in hospitals or for distributing foods to patients (Mettler et al. 2017). Cleaning robots are utilization in hospital cleaning Works such as mopping or disinfecting in the hospitals (Prassler et al. 2000). Disinfection robots are utilization for drugs whose contact with human is dangerous in spraying of antiseptic mixtures to wide outdoor areas or wide settlement centers. Food robots are robot chief utilization in hospital kitchen for offering high-quality foods by the hygienic standards (Iqbal et al. 2017). Delivery robots are robots and drones utilization in transport of drugs and blood samples, operating on the ground or air and saving life by making urgent deliveries. Findings;The importance of opportunities provided by the artificial intelligence is increasing depending on the increase of online shopping preferences under the quarantine conditions in Covid-19 process.While demand for these technologies has existed since the previous years since some heavy works for human were performed by robots in the logistic sector all over the world, the increases of these utilizations were accepted as natural due to the necessity of using within the scope of contact-free trade in the Covid-19 process.As a result of robots are able to fulfill the necessary duties such as lifting heavy and providing consistency while providing cognitive skills of a capable individual, people and robots work on the same duty together.While the utilization of robots was started in the previous years in the healthcare sector, Covid-19 has accelerated this process. An increase trend was initiated in the utilization of artificial intelligence and robotic technologies used in diagnosis and treatment stages of Coronavirus contamination.During the outbreak, ele edicine even helped provide mental health support. The vision of rolling out systematic, accessible, and comprehensive mental health support for healthcare workers and general public was made possible by many popular online platforms. The 2020s may turn out to be the decade when digital technology reshapes the health system. COVID-19 has certainly driven many developments in the first three months of 2020, as the digital health community continues to navigate how best to bolster classic public health measures (WHO 2021).Telemedicine is being adopted for triage and treatment of outpatient, enabling protection for patients and medical practitioners to reduce exposure risk from unnecessary exposure. Telemedicine and virtual care can be integrated into the healthcare system as an approach to maximize the efficiency of healthcare delivery. It promotes social distancing measure and help medical centers in managing prolonged waiting times and risk of disease progression. By minimizing in-person visits and reducing face-to-face contact among physicians and patients, the use of virtual care solutions can help lessen the transmission of the virus and protect medical practitioners from infection (Bokolo 2020). Last of all;In this study, it is attempted to determine the changing utilization preferences due to Covid-19 pandemic about the impacts of the artificial intelligence and robotic technologies. For this purpose, the artificial intelligence and robotic technologies were defined and short historical development, types, classifications and utilization areas were described. Then, the analyses of the developments intended for transition of only industrial robots and medical robots into the daily life were performed since types of smart and moving robots but differentfrom people, that is, these devices designed for living and cooperating with people are numerous. At this point, it was targeted to determine the risk or challenges to be created by their utilization in the process of Covid-19 pandemic prevailing effectively in our present day. After all, robots are being used in any field that comes to our mind, for example, they take inventory in businesses or clean floors in stores. They rack up the goods to be sold or bring for being sent to warehouses. They cut vegetables, fruits and even they pick fruits. On the other hand, they assist in the care of autistic children or help paralyzed people to re-use their limb. They serve as patrol at national boundaries or attack to targets they see as enemies in case of war. On one hand, they organize flowers or support people in their personal services. In short, their utilization has started in any field of life with their features of helping from different point of views, however, the issue asking that which fields they can be more helpful in such a fatal pandemic process exercising control over the whole world, has really gained great importance. The meaning of the artificial intelligence and robot support has altered in such an environment where boundaries among all countries in the world were closed, people have to maintain their daily life under quarantine conditions, there is no therapeutic drug apart from mask, disinfectant and mask solutions, it is fighting against Coronavirus diseases for which there is no vaccination. For this purpose, indicators where utilization and sales of industrial robots in the pre-Covid-19 process were examined or utilization of logistic robots and medical robots in the pre and post Covid-19 process was examined, are included. A comparison between the impacts of Covid-19 and utilization of artificial intelligence and robotic technology was performed, findings obtained were explained and also, opinions obtained from the analyses performed in the related literature were included. As a result of analyses based on definitions made by descriptive method, their utilizations by years and impacts of Covid-19;it is understood that "The utilization of artificial intelligence and robotic technologies has been already preferred, but, this preference demand ha sho ed increase compulsorily with the impact of Covid-19”. Since any work is acknowledged as dangerous for people, the demand for mechanical changes has quickly increased. In conclusion, this pandemic has been useful mostly for workers;industrial and medical robots. However, a problem stating that medical robots will substitute the healthcare professions or healthcare professional army will be required to be diminished in professional sense, is never observed. On contrary, it is clearly understood that the utilization of artificial intelligence and robotic technologies will be the most important support factor in terms of both those working in health profession and those being under the risk of contamination in such an important subject for the human life like pandemic. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

The impact of fear of external threats on unethical pro-organizational behavior

Within the context of the current global economic crisis, employees generally have a high level of fear that may lead them to use unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) to increase their sense of control. We used self-control theory to explore the mechanisms and boundary conditions of employees' fear of external threats and how this affects their levels of UPB. We conducted a twowave survey of 544 finance personnel in China. The results indicated that fear of external threats was positively correlated with UPB and that sense of control mediated this relationship. Perceived ethical climate reinforced the negative relationship between sense of control and UPB, which, in turn, weakened the positive effect of participants' sense of control, whereas fear of external threats increased the incidence of UPB. Implications are discussed.

Family Business Adapting a New Digital-Based Economy: Opportunities and Challenges for Future Research

Firms need to transform dramatically to maintain their operations and survive. The pandemic has shown how family businesses (FBs) are solving complex problems faster than non-family. They have demonstrated the flexibility to transform and adapt because of their closeness to the firm's processes and management and their social network inside and outside organizations that allow them to respond quickly to market needs based on a fast-making decisions process. FBs' knowledge, which is embedded in their values, making decisions process, and remaining for generations, requires resilient and robust management. The relationship between family values and FB management differentiates by their complexity and generational aspect. These relations demonstrate that personal values can influence professionalization, succession, and innovation processes. In this regard, there is a lack of research to understand the findings, practices, and processes associated with managing the knowledge flows through which FBs execute innovation strategies and to build on professionalization and succession capabilities that could provide different avenues of innovation and adaptation for dealing with turbulent and uncertain times. This editorial intends to provoke discussion on what we know about family businesses and how they face different challenges in a complex world to survive. FBs must develop adaptive strategies and strengthen crucial processes to generate a competitive and sustainable advantage. Knowledge management provides models and tools to reinforce tacit knowledge management's relevance in the professionalization and succession processes. Knowledge management becomes critical in an era in which uncertainty seems to be permanent.

Institutional Differences and the Choice of Outward Foreign Direct Investment Mode under the "Belt and Road” Initiative: Experience Analysis Based on China's Manufacturing Enterprises

Based on 1692 outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) events of 735 A-share listed companies in China's manufacturing industry from 2010 to 2019, this paper empirically examines the effect of investment motivation and the impact of institutional differences between China and the host country on the choice of OFDI entry mode;the paper also investigates the moderating effect of the "Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI) on Chinese manufacturing enterprises (CMEs) through use of the logit model. The empirical results show that, with greater institutional differences, CMEs become more inclined to choose cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Furthermore, a positive moderating effect of resource-seeking motivation on the choice of M&A OFDI by CMEs is observed. The signing of the "Belt and Road” cooperation document positively moderates institutional differences in promoting CMEs—especially state-owned CMEs—to choose the M&A mode. The "Belt and Road” Initiative provides an efficient supply system for OFDI by CMEs. This study enriches and extends existing institutional theories and provides suggestions for the promotion of the geopolitical pattern and international cooperation regarding the "Belt and Road” Initiative.

Impact of US-China trade war on Asian economies: neural network multilayer perceptron approach

PurposeThis study aims to find the impact of the trade war between the USA and China on Asian economies. Apart from macroeconomic variables associated with trade, this study explicitly creates a trade war scenario and trade war participant dummies. Using the neural network multilayer perceptron, this study checks for the causal linkages between the predictors and target output for the panel of Asian economies and the USA.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model of the after effects of trade war in a quadrant is developed. Variables related to trade and tariffs are included in the study for a panel of 19 Asian economies. The feedforward structure of neural network analysis is used to identify strong and weak predictors of trade war.FindingsThe hidden layers of the multilayer perceptron reveal the inconsistency in linkages for the predictors' services exports, tariff measures, anti-dumping measures, trade war scenario dummy with gross domestic product. The findings suggest that to curtail the impact of the trade war on Asian economies, predictors with neural evidence must be paid due weightage in policy determination and trade agreements.Originality/valueThe study applies a novel and little explored AI/ML technique of Neural Network analysis with training of 70% observations. The paper will provide opportunity for other researchers to explore techniques of AI/ML in trade studies.

Research and Development of a New Sustainable Functional Food under the Scope of Nutrivigilance

Background: The New Global Economy is represented by a series of major features, such as the use of green energy, the reduction of the carbon footprint in all industrial and civil fields, as well as finding alternative food resources. Our main objective was the research of a sustainable food product with a special nutritional purpose in the vision of nutrivigilance, developed in Romania, as an adjuvant in the repair of gastric mucosa. Methods: The materials used in the research and development of the new food are the following: inulin, lactoferrin, sericin, and sodium bicarbonate. The new adjuvant food product in the repair of the gastric mucosa was added to certain foods in order to prevent the patients from being satiated by a single food from a sensory point of view. The resulting food products were organoleptically and physico-chemically analyzed. Results: The new food is sustainable and has versatile uses. It can be hydrated with water, non-carbonated drinks, mixed with cottage cheese, or with fruit puree and oatmeal. It is stable under normal storage conditions and microbiologically safe. Conclusions: Through its versatile use, the new food product for special nutritional conditions represents a worldwide novelty. Through the development of forestry for the cultivation of white or black mulberry (Morus alba and Morus nigra), the raising of silkworms (Bombyx mori), the processing of fibroin to obtain natural silk and the processing of sericin resulting as a residue in the textile industry, the new food product developed actively contribute to the global economy II.