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.

The impact on supply chain networks of shifting demand and supply dynamics

The supply chain networks that support a business have usually evolved over time, shaped by various market and supply forces and by the expectations and strategic intent of a series of leaders. Recent shocks and higher awareness of risk and shifts on both the demand and supply side are expected to require global networks to be reassessed. This chapter reviews some of the key changes impacting global chains and considers the implications for future supply chain networks and the people who will manage them. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023. All rights reserved.

Insularity in a Connected World? The COVID-19 Pandemic in Iceland

This chapter explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has played out in Iceland. Due to its specificities (insularity, remoteness, small population), the country has featured prominently in the history of health studies. From Cliff and Haggett's pioneering work on the modelling of the diffusion of diseases to deCODE Genetics' research projects, Iceland has been used as laboratory to forge new theories and experiment with new methods. In the chapter, this special status is reconsidered in the light of the pandemic. Using fine-grained data, it analyses the spatio-temporal spread of the disease from March 2020 to April 2021 and describes how health authorities constantly adjusted their responses to the virus, managing rather successfully to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The increasing entanglement of Iceland with processes of global mobilities is stressed. The chapter concludes by suggesting that concepts such as remoteness and insularity do not capture the reality of connectedness that is so important in understanding the still-ongoing COVID-19 saga. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Technology transfer in e-communication for small and medium enterprises as promoters of innovation and competitiveness

Globalization, technological innovations, and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have promoted disruptive changes in buying and selling negotiation models through e-communication. As a result, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been forced to adapt to online channels. Considering market relevance, this article describes the survey results with 11 SMEs regarding their adherence to digital media. Moreover, a case study of a selected company demonstrated barriers and propulsions to digital adequacy. The aim was to promote SMEs' competitiveness through technology transfer, focusing on e-communication and strategic digital planning. The results show that the insertion of technology through digital media depends on the knowledge of the tools used in this medium. Therefore, despite being ready to use, SMEs have not yet fully leveraged digital media. Organizational barriers, such as lack of time for those responsible, lack of training and knowledge, and strategic planning, were observed. However, environmental factors such as competitive pressure and innovation-related policies are positive for insertion. Thus, there is room for companies to invest in digital strategic planning focused on improving sales, customer relations, and competitiveness. © 2022 IEEE.

The importance of social policy and economic context for social work: a Latin American dialogue

This article delineates the importance of critical social work understanding and engagement in social policy analysis and practice. Using a Marxist lens, we initially explore the context of globalisation and its challenges, and locate the contradictions inherent in capitalism for social policy, especially in a Latin American context. Our analysis considers the current capitalist and COVID-19 crisis, before reviewing the withdrawal of social policy in the reproduction of the workforce. We use Brazil as an example because, along with other Latin American countries, it has never witnessed the consolidation of government-supported, universal and comprehensive social policies to meet the needs of the entire population. We conclude that we continue to face a clash between capital and labour, which sets most global workers, especially those of underdeveloped countries, in a precarious, if not life-threatening, situation, and we highlight the importance for social work to engage critically with social policy.

A brief history of now: The past and present of global power

Exploring the rise and fall of global power from the mid-nineteenth century, this book tracks the long and interrelated trajectories of the most serious challenges facing the world today. Although at first the urgency of the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 seemed to take precedence over other global problems such as socioeconomic inequality and climate change, it has ultimately exacerbated these issues and created opportunities to address them boldly and innovatively. A Brief History of Now provides a bird's-eye view of world hegemony, economic globalization and political regimes as they have evolved and developed over the last two hundred years, providing context and insights into the forces which have shaped the Western world. Presented in an accessible and engaging narrative, the book addresses key contemporary challenges and explores the repercussions of a technological revolution, the potential instability of democracy over the coming years, and the urgent struggle to tackle climate change. With his book, Diego Olstein helps to answer pressing questions about our world today and provides a roadmap for analysing future trajectories. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.

Novel viruses and pregnancy

Lately pandemics have been related to viral infections instead of bacterial infections. Human immunodeficiency virus, HIN1influenza A virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have already afflicted humanity. The world is currently ravaged by a new coronavirus—the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Second generation diaspora: pandemic, development and connection

The new millennium has seen a proliferation of scholarship and research addressing the relationship between diaspora and development. Conventionally, it is assumed that the second generation in the diaspora experiences a diminishing attachment to their countries of origin. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, diasporas have been at the forefront of supporting their communities at home and abroad. In this article, we examine the contribution of the second-generation diaspora to the country of origin in South Asia to provide comparative insights across time, countries, and types of crises. We examine the transnational framework in the context of ‘diaspora' and ‘engagement during the pandemic,' drawing on transnational scholarship. This provides an opportunity to examine the means, motivations, and agency of diaspora members – and their descendants – in transnational activities with a clear development objective. The study offers actionable recommendations for better-leveraging diaspora contributions in times of crisis. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of South Asian Diaspora is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The effect of globalisation, foreign direct investment, and natural resource rent on economic recovery: Evidence from G7 economies

Economic and natural resources are key indicators that significantly contribute to reducing environmental degradation and promoting economic progress in the present age of globalisation. Therefore, this study analyses the relationship between globalisation, foreign direct investment, and natural resource rent on economic recovery for the G7 nations between 2000 and 2020. We have the applied GMM model to analyse linkages among the variables. According to the empirical results of our model, higher natural resource rent impedes the economic development of G7 countries. Foreign direct investment, financial development, technological innovation, and involvement in trade openness are combined to produce economic growth. Another intriguing conclusion from this study is the synergistic effect of natural resources and foreign direct investment on economic development. Therefore, it can be claimed that in the case of the G7 nations, human capital development helps offset the effects of the resource curse. In contrast, economic globalisation impedes the growth of the financial sector. The empirical data offers policymakers a fresh perspective on exploiting natural resources as a tool for long-term financial growth.

Eco-Environment friendly cost-effective synthesis for sustainable human development in context of globalization

Nanotechnology is nowadays very much successful in producing specifically functionalized nano-sized particles. In this work, copper nanoparticles were prepared by reduction method which is greener and environmentally suitable, cheap and best as compared to other conventional methods, particularly in the context of COVID in globalized world. The formation and size of copper nanoparticles was evidenced by the X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The very high surface area of 35-50 m2/gm and very small crystallite sizes of 5-15 nm of these metal nanoparticles is mainly responsible for their effective involvement in removal of carbon dioxide gas as one of major hazardous pollutants from the environment. This chapter, as its main objective, mainly focuses on utility of nano technology and its beneficiary in creating a sustainable environment in economic world. Apart from laboratory experimental procedure and characterizations for preparation of copper nanoparticles, appropriate research methods such as simple statistical, econometric tools and mathematical tools have been used for economic analysis. However, as major findings of the results, developed countries have been successful in maintaining a sustainable human development, in spite of having higher per capita income (PCI) growth as compared to the role of developing countries with lower PCI in this global world. © 2022 by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the top seven Mexican exporting companies

The purpose of this research is to reveal the behaviour of the main Mexican exporting companies during the 2018-2020 period, which covers part of the COVID-19 pandemic phase. The results indicate that it is not viable to invest in this type of companies for the time being, and this is shown empirically through the traditional Markowitz investment portfolio selection methodology and its extension through the Sharpe model. © 2022 Emerald Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

Indianist sumak kawsay, an alternative to global capitalism

The indianist sumak kawsay had a special political and intellectual relevance in Ecuador (and Bolivia) in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Since then, the influence of its approaches —and those of the different branches of good living— has grown and formed synergies with other heterodox trends such as degrowth, feminist economics and deep ecology, among others. The global pandemic of COVID-19 has highlighted the incompatibility of the capitalist system and the paradigms that sustain it with the life of the planet and of people. This article reflects on the proposals that are emerging around the construction of a global sumak kawsay as an alternative to development and capitalism, showing the potentialities and weaknesses of this philosophy, worldview and way of life from a postmodern perspective. © 2023 Universitat Jaume I. All rights reserved.

The Covid-19 Crisis: Global Competitive (Geo)Politics, Labour Regimes and the Case of Greece

The Covid-19 pandemic, seen in the form of a historical continuum of crises in the Euro-Atlantic core after the global financial crisis and the Eurozone crisis, has undermined the fundamentals of neo-ordo-liberal globalisation and the so-called "4th industrial revolution”. Whilst underlining the relative decline of the USA and, more broadly, the Euro-Atlantic economies, the measures undertaken by the states of the global North for dealing with the pandemic increase global (geo) political competition. Further, these measures only marginally protect labour conditions despite immense injections of cash into economy. As a result of these measures, public debt has increased, especially in Greece. This article outlines the implications of the pandemic upon global (geo)politics and labour regimes and pays particular attention to the case of Greece, the weakest economy in the Eurozone. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Crisscrossing scapes in the global flow of elite mainland Chinese students.

This paper applies Appadurai's notion of scapes in globalisation to study international student mobility. Thirty mainland Chinese students were interviewed; the majority of whom studied at prestigious institutions in the West before enrolling in their current PhD programmes at a research-intensive university in Hong Kong (HK) in the immediate aftermath of HK's large-scale social protests and amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. We seek to understand why these students relocated to HK to further their studies given these turbulent circumstances and how their mainlander identity and sojourns in the West influence their perceptions of HK's social movements from the perspectives of ethnoscape and ideoscape, respectively. Our findings reveal that HK represented the 'best' compromise for our participants, mitigating their nostalgia for home (i.e. mainland China) whilst offering a superior education to the Chinese mainland. Most participants perceived HK as a nationalistic ideoscape, wherein HK people's pursuit of autonomy is subordinated to the putative Chinese national interests. Moreover, ethnoscape and ideoscape dynamics were found to crisscross other scapes. Generous scholarships (i.e. financescape) provided additional incentives driving student relocations. The persistent consumption of Chinese social media (techno-mediascape) was found to have resulted in worldview conformity between our participants and the Chinese state.

Study of Zero Trust Architecture for Applications and Network Security

As a result of globalization, the COVID-19 pandemic and the migration of data to the cloud, the traditional security measures where an organization relies on a security perimeter and firewalls do not work. There is a shift to a concept whereby resources are not being trusted, and a zero-trust architecture (ZTA) based on a zero-trust principle is needed. Adapting zero trust principles to networks ensures that a single insecure Application Protocol Interface (API) does not become the weakest link comprising of Critical Data, Assets, Application and Services (DAAS). The purpose of this paper is to review the use of zero trust in the security of a network architecture instead of a traditional perimeter. Different software solutions for implementing secure access to applications and services for remote users using zero trust network access (ZTNA) is also summarized. A summary of the author's research on the qualitative study of 'Insecure Application Programming Interface in Zero Trust Networks' is also discussed. The study showed that there is an increased usage of zero trust in securing networks and protecting organizations from malicious cyber-attacks. The research also indicates that APIs are insecure in zero trust environments and most organization are not aware of their presence. © 2022 IEEE.

Systematization of Threats to Financial Security of Individual, Society, Business and the State in Terms of the Pandemic

The article highlights the need to monitor factors, risks and threats to financial security at different levels of the social hierarchy. The tools are examined for identifying threats to financial and socio-economic security. The study generalizes international experience of monitoring the financial security of the state and business in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic. Threats to Ukraine's financial security have been identified with the help of modern approaches adapted to the conditions of the pandemic. Reserves of digitalization of business are investigated. The identification of risks and threats to social security of Ukraine by its components has been carried out. The article analyzes the impact of the pandemic on rising unemployment. The number of households in crisis conditions caused by the pandemic and quarantine measures is estimated as an indicator of socio-economic security. The impact of the pandemic on financial and social security is summarized at different levels of the social hierarchy. It is proved that updating the list of indicators and qualitative enrichment of the analytical system of threat identification with dynamic indicators of digitalization of the economy will enable identifying additional threats to financial security at different levels of the social hierarchy. Additional risks for the national financial system related to globalization and digitalization of the state financial system are identified, which are not taken into account by the current methodological recommendations for calculating the level of economic security of Ukraine. Additional risks for the national social system connected with intrastate machinery, social and political changes are identified, which are not taken into account by the current methodological recommendations for calculating the level of economic security of Ukraine. It is proved that due to the slow implementation of reforms in the social and economic spheres of security activities, the existing socio-economic security system turned out to be vulnerable to an intense crisis event, i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a number of threats. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Blockchain Application Methodology for Improving Trust in the Collaborative Supply Chain

The globalization of the economy, the major disruptions due to the COVID-19 crisis, customer requirements as well as the current context of war, are straining global supply chains, which must demonstrate resilience and constantly seek to improve their performance. Performance. Among the essential approaches to achieve these objectives, collaboration between logistics partners through methods and tools that have proven themselves but also have shown limits, particularly in terms of trust. Blockchain technology, which appeared in 2008, now offers an opportunity to improve collaboration by providing answers to concerns about trust. However, its application is not generalized, indeed a large part of the companies do not apply the technology because of its shared database character because the companies have sensitive and confidential data. After an analysis of the literature to highlight the obstacles to the generalization of the use of the blockchain in the supply chain, a methodology of adoption and application of the Blockchain following eight steps is proposed with an emphasis on the smart contract. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

State of economic play: European Union and economic diplomacy

The paper presents the state of economic play in the post financial and economic crisis of 2009 and the economic consequences which the pandemic will leave on largest global economies. We present the state of play for these key actors in regard to developments in the fields of sustainability and digitalisation, which in our belief will be the key priority points in the years to come. We present the views from policy and business sector point of view. The notion of Economic Diplomacy, as a soft power, is introduced into this analysis from the point of view of the relevant strength of different economies in regard to the power of their most propulsive (digitalised) companies. Comparisons between the EU, USA and China are presented and policy proposals are suggested. Copyright © 2023 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Reading Kazuo Ishiguro in Times of Crisis

International crises are central to Kazuo Ishiguro's work. This introduction situates Ishiguro alongside contemporary global emergencies, including the COVD-19 pandemic, climate change, and reactions to emancipatory movements. It suggests that Ishiguro's work interrogates ‘crisis' by confronting his characters with both individual and collective crises, a theme explored in Catherine Charlwood's essay here. It shows how Ishiguro's work indirectly relates to the vast health crisis of COVID-19, which Sebastian Groes explores in his essay on empathy, (robot) ethics, digital well-being, and inequality. Connected to the pandemic, the introduction traces how Ishiguro's writing evidences growing concern for the climate crisis. The politics of migration are a key theme in Ishiguro: here Dominic Dean explores their longstanding and dangerous relationship with conspiracy theories, while Ivan Stacy, Melinda Dabis and Richard Robinson all connect Ishiguro to anxieties over resurgent nationalisms, cosmopolitan internationalisms, and complex transnationalisms. This introduction sets out how the essays in this Special Issue collectively explore the ethical difficulties in Ishiguro's crisis narratives, their refusals of easily satisfying resolutions, and their implicit critique of crisis frameworks for understanding political and historical problems. Sharply distinct from passivity or disinterest, Ishiguro's work elicits an attitude of humility against apparently perpetual, end-dominated crises. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Health Warnings: Reading Kazuo Ishiguro in Times of Crisis

This essay rereads Kazuo Ishiguro's depiction of the relationship between health, care and socio-economic inequality against the backdrop of our present time of crisis in which the COVID-19 pandemic features centrally. The pandemic has directly and indirectly laid bare and exacerbated various international crises and injustices that are shaping the structure of feeling of our times. Although Ishiguro's work does not (yet) address or represent the pandemic directly, the oeuvre is interesting for the ways it frames and responds to the many societal crises that characterise the early twenty-first century – and which the pandemic revealed and intensified. This essay explores specifically the ways in which Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005) thinks about health, well-being and care in contemporary society, and how it depicts our own troubled empathetic relationship to institutions like the NHS and its workers. It will proceed to explore how Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun (2021) considers a new kind of crisis, namely, the interrelation of digital inequality and digital well-being, a problem the COVID-19 crisis intensified and accelerated. It concludes with an analysis of Ishiguro's call for a new social contract that is rooted in a new attitude towards others and the world that is open and dialogic.