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PurposeThe pervasive impact of the COVID-19 virus on the food services sector in India has created conditions for fundamentally altering the structure of the industry. This paper offers a nuanced evaluation of the transfiguration of the market, explaining descriptive views supported by numerous secondary data sources.Design/methodology/approachThis is a self-driven study grounded in secondary data. Qualitative and quantitative assessments are assimilated from credible market research reports of multiple agencies in the Indian context, as well as news developments during the pandemic period.FindingsDigitally pivoted platforms such as cloud kitchens and delivery aggregators will eclipse all other formats due to the potential long-term prevalence of the COVID-19 virus. These formats would rise to a dominant position in the Indian food services sector in the coming decade.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is entirely driven by secondary data due to the inherent difficulties of collecting sizeable and good quality primary data as a result of the lengthy and stringent lockdowns imposed across India. Future studies should consider collecting consumer responses to get a better picture of changing dining habits in the post-pandemic scenario.Practical implicationsThe dynamic and evolving food services in India, catalyzed by the Internet and digital technologies will help academicians study the long-term implications of this change, and how it would impact society at large. The paper provides a rich body of contemporary data and analysis in the food services sphere.Social implicationsThe COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term persistence would dramatically alter food service consumption across India. This will not only change how the industry is structured, but will reshape how food is consumed into the future.Originality/valueThe study is a holistic examination of the relationship between the coronavirus pandemic and the food services industry in India. The macro perspectives aided by news coverage and industry research would help generate potential research questions on its own merits.
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The purpose of this paper is to capture the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 emerging risks on construction projects' success in developing countries from the contractors' perspective. To achieve this, we collected data from Iraqi construction industry and conducted the following multistage research methodology: (1) preliminary investigation with four construction contractors to identify the success indicators of construction projects;(2) focus group session with 11 experts to identify the COVID-19 emerging risks for the construction industry;(3) semistructured interviews with seven construction experts to develop several hypotheses on the effect of COVID-19 emerging risks on project success;(4) survey data collection from 99 construction contractors;and (5) development of a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the effects of COVID-19 emerging risks on project success. The results of the SEM analysis show that financial market (FM)-related risks, supply chain operations (SCO)-related risks, health and safety of construction workforce (HSCW)-related risks, organizational implications (OI)-related risks, and contractual implications (CI)-related risks have a significant impact on construction projects success. CI-related risks have the strongest total effects on project success, followed by OI-related risks, FM-related risks, HSCW-related risks, and SCO-related risks, respectively. The results also emphasis the significant mediation role of CI between COVID-19 emerging risks and project success. This study contributes to the body of knowledge and contracting companies by helping researchers and construction contractors to better understand how the key risk factors emerging from extreme conditions like the COVID-19 pandemic affect construction projects' success and may serve as a guideline for developing effective response strategies. © 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Purpose: Firms in the architectural, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) sector continue undertaking projects in a disruptive environment due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to explore environmental turbulence in the AECO project delivery space and suggest mechanisms for enhancing resilience against future pandemics. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts the quantitative approach by administering 110 survey questionnaires to participants comprising project managers, site engineers, quantity surveyors, contractors and subcontractors. Findings: The study identifies 24 COVID-19 disruptions linked to environmental turbulence categorised as scheduling, performance and productivity, project budget, supply chain, resource allocation and technological and regulatory. The study suggested resilient mechanisms for surviving in future pandemics. Originality/value: This study enhances the understanding of environmental turbulence from the perspective of COVID-19 disruptions in AECO project delivery, while the implementation of the resilient mechanisms improves capability of AECO firms against future pandemics. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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The integrated, safety-net healthcare system for the City and County of San Francisco includes the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, San Francisco's only Level 1 trauma center, and the Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center. [...]even when folks can't get out of their home, we at the San Francisco Health Network know we can still reach out to them with access to substance abuse and mental health support as well as other critical preventive screenings. Dr. Ford: A few years ago, San Francisco enacted a law directing firms that employ 20 or more employees, most notably food service workers, to contribute a minimum amount to health benefits per employee hour. [...]many of them are doing two or three jobs to support their families, so it is impossible for them to get healthcare during periods that may be "normal” for the rest of us.
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PurposeThis study aims to draw attention to consumers' behaviours which are changing on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, provide an understanding of the factors influencing these behaviours and emphasise their importance in building contemporary business models for the restaurant industry. The article is a case study of the Polish restaurant sector based on a comparison with the worldwide literature.Design/methodology/approachA study of the current literature on the subject pertaining to the issues discussed, an analysis of them, mainly by examining trade reports, with a special focus on the following databases (BDL GUS, CBOS, IGGP PKD) and foreign references, as well as Internet sources, using the systematic (structured) literature review (SLR) method. The authors searched the databases between May 2020 and May 2022, paying attention to the following keywords: COVID-19, consumer behaviours, food services, market segmentation, Poland.FindingsThe analysis allowed the authors to identify the most important factors influencing consumer behaviour under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This in turn enabled them to verify a hypothesis concerning the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers' behaviours on the food service market. Results from an analysis of trade reports and from a literature review confirm the hypothesis proposed, leading to the conclusion that the contemporary reality in Poland currently requires businesses to continuously monitor consumers' behaviours in a turbulent and uncertain environment.Research limitations/implicationsThe systematic identification of changes taking place in consumers' behaviours will make it possible to adapt a portfolio of services to changes observed in this regard.Practical implicationsThe analysis conducted by the authors in 2021 to examine trends in consumer behaviours proved that changes affecting their thinking were undoubtedly accelerated by the pandemic of a contagious disease – COVID-19.Originality/valueSome consumer trends that appear to be a response to limits and restrictions may be observed for a longer period of time. Therefore, those restaurant owners who want to successfully go through the stage of adaptation to the new reality will have to focus, in the short term, on actions designed to identify their customers' needs and expectations anew and tailor their business models and offer accordingly.
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Food waste is a global concern today. Increasing the level of food security requires a better use of food systems, including reducing food waste and losses. Food crisis and the increase in the price of food, in the context of the climate changes, the Covid pandemic or the war in Ukraine, have sharpened the approach to food waste, including in Romania. National legislation on reducing food waste was adopted relatively late, and data on food waste in Romania are limited. According to international statistics, Romania wastes 2.5 million tons of food annually, with an average of about 70 kilograms/inhabitant, placing it in the middle of the European ranking of food waste. Research has shown that almost half of waste comes from households and a third from industrial food processing. The large commercial food chains in Romania already have programs to combat food waste. Educating the population, starting from primary education, adopting national strategies and applying good practices in reducing food waste from other European countries can represent potential solutions for Romania.
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The development of COVID-19 into a global epidemic has made it necessary to regulate foodservice practices to minimize the risk of transmission. The main purpose of this study is to determine the effects of awareness, perception, and anxiety levels of kitchen staff on attitudes toward the implementation of new practices regarding novel COVID-19 regulations. Empirical data were collected from 721 kitchen staff working at certified food and beverage establishments, hotels, and restaurants in Turkey. The study results indicated a negative correlation between attitude toward application and anxiety and a positive correlation between awareness and attitude. Significant differences were also detected in the dimensions of awareness, perception, anxiety, and attitude regarding the demographic features of the participants. Kitchens are the nerve center of the foodservice industry. The study extends the value of the in-house (kitchen) responses to improve the food handling practices in commercial kitchens regarding the implementation of new COVID-19 regulations.
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[...]there is apparel for sale that has a limited lifespan and is deemed disposable (Gözet, B., and Wilts, H., 2022). [...]the sector has faced challenges such as increased production costs, energy tariffs, pricing, a lack of raw materials, obsolete technology, and a lack of investment. The country is shifting from exporting raw materials to value-added products, with significant increases in exports of readymade garments, knitwear, bedwear, towels, and cotton textiles. [...]global input cost increases and currency rate changes have increased the export sector's working capital needs (Goheer, 2022).
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Identifying factors influencing the viability of medium, small, and micro scale construction firms (MSMSCFs) is a crucial precursor in positioning such firms to aid economic and infrastructural development, especially in developing countries. This article assesses viability factors that are influenced by building information modeling (BIM) in MSMSCFs amidst construction firms' viability factors. Out of a total of 177 workers surveyed from 59 MSMSCFs that were awarded construction project contracts in sampled institutions in Nigeria, 65 staff members from 31 MSMSCFs were accessed. The factors were ranked and reduced to significant ones through principal component analysis. Ten significant factors influence the viability of MSMSCFs and six of them are enhanced by BIM implementations. All eight component factors and 18 of the 27 variables with high factor loadings can be influenced by BIM implementation. BIM can potentially curb corruption in construction projects and enhance MSMSCFs' quality of service, clients' satisfaction, construction management and technology, professional performance, procurement practices, and prompt payment of work certificates. All stakeholders need to pay prompt attention to factors that can be influenced by BIM to improve the viability of MSMSCFs, thereby hastening BIM adoption and utilization, especially in developing countries.
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PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to synthesize the extant literature on augmented reality and virtual reality in the apparel industry using bibliometric and network visualization techniques. This paper also highlights the existing gaps in the literature and sets out the future research trajectory.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigated research articles in the domain of augmented and virtual reality in the apparel industry to assess global trends in research production in this area, and top contributors to research by way of authors, journals, countries and institutions. The study carried out an analysis of 239 research articles from the Scopus database during the period 1995 to 2021. The study used open-source bibliometric tools such as Biblioshiny and VOSviewer to analyze the research literature over the search period and also identify emerging research avenues.FindingsThe bibliometric analysis reveals that there is significant interest in this research domain. A total of 673 authors contributed to the 239 research articles analyzed and the number of multi-author documents exceeded those by single authors. Research in this domain is led by China with the maximum number of articles in the data set followed by the USA and France. However, the USA has received the highest number of citations. Donghua University from China is the largest contributor to research in this domain with 13 articles in the data set. The keyword co-occurrence analysis indicates that "virtual reality” has the most number of co-occurrences and linkages with other keywords. Other important keywords include "augmented reality,” "virtual try-on” and "cloth simulation.” The network visualization exercise also revealed significant collaboration between different countries in this research domain.Practical implicationsThe gaps highlighted in this study will act as a reference point for researchers to conduct future studies in the field of augmented and virtual reality in apparel industry. Practitioners will also gain a comprehensive understanding of this research domain.Originality/valueThis study, to the best of the authors' knowledge, is the first attempt to integrate the disjoint literature of augmented and virtual reality in apparel industry through a mapping of the intellectual structure of this research domain. The study also contributes by way of providing a snapshot of future research avenues in the knowledge domain of augmented and virtual reality in the apparel industry.
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PurposeThis study prioritizes the supply chain risks (SCRs) and determines risk mitigation strategies (RMSs) for the Indian apparel industry to mitigate the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic disruption.Design/methodology/approachInitially, 23 SCRs within the apparel industry are identified through an extant literature review. Further, a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) is utilized to prioritize the SCRs considering the epidemic situations to understand the criticality of SCRs and determine appropriate RMSs to mitigate the shock of SCRs during COVID-19.FindingsThis study prioritized and ranked the SCRs within the Indian apparel industry based on their severity during the COVID-19 disruption. Results indicate that the demand uncertainty and pandemic disruption risks are the most critical. Based on the SCRs, the present work evaluated and suggested the flexibility and postponement mitigation strategies for the case under study.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has novel implications to the existing literature on supply chain risk management in the form of the FAHP framework. Supply chain practitioners from the other industrial sectors can extend the proposed FAHP framework to assess the SCRs and identify suitable mitigation strategies. The results aid the practitioners working in an apparel industry to benchmark and deploy the proposed RMSs in their firm.Originality/valueThe present study is a unique and earlier attempt to develop a quantitative framework using FAHP to evaluate and determine the risk mitigation strategy for managing the SCRs during the coronavirus epidemic.
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The regulation over the expenditure of public funds for health is carried out by the only institution in the Republic of Bulgaria, which is responsible for the activities of the compulsory health insurance-the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). At present, research in the area of control related to the legal and effective expenditure of the statutory funds at the first level of medical care is not sufficiently covered. The aim is to clarify the degree of appropriateness in terms of control over the implementation of contracts for the provision of primary outpatient medical care (POMC) in the context of COVID-19, as well as to reveal gaps and bad practices in the control process, which will help to formulate recommendations for its optimization. The article presents the results of a survey conducted among 394 GPs across the country for the period from 23.06.2022 to 16.10.2022 using the online platform Google Forms. The results show that among two-thirds of the surveyed GPs (71.6%) there are suspicions of an unjustifiably high number of activities rejected for payment by the Fund. In one third of the surveyed GPs, another type of control by the NHIF was significantly more frequent in district centres (43.1%) compared to other localities (29.1%). Nearly half of the GPs (45.8%) were covered by inspections based on complaints from dissatisfied citizens. The main findings imply that appropriate action needs to be taken in the direction of optimizing control by the NHIF in order to raise the authority of the controlling institution perceived by POMC contractors.Copyright © 2022, Central Medical Library Medical University - Sofia. All rights reserved.
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The regulation over the expenditure of public funds for health is carried out by the only institution in the Republic of Bulgaria, which is responsible for the activities of the compulsory health insurance-the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). At present, research in the area of control related to the legal and effective expenditure of the statutory funds at the first level of medical care is not sufficiently covered. The aim is to clarify the degree of appropriateness in terms of control over the implementation of contracts for the provision of primary outpatient medical care (POMC) in the context of COVID-19, as well as to reveal gaps and bad practices in the control process, which will help to formulate recommendations for its optimization. The article presents the results of a survey conducted among 394 GPs across the country for the period from 23.06.2022 to 16.10.2022 using the online platform Google Forms. The results show that among two-thirds of the surveyed GPs (71.6%) there are suspicions of an unjustifiably high number of activities rejected for payment by the Fund. In one third of the surveyed GPs, another type of control by the NHIF was significantly more frequent in district centres (43.1%) compared to other localities (29.1%). Nearly half of the GPs (45.8%) were covered by inspections based on complaints from dissatisfied citizens. The main findings imply that appropriate action needs to be taken in the direction of optimizing control by the NHIF in order to raise the authority of the controlling institution perceived by POMC contractors.Copyright © 2022, Central Medical Library Medical University - Sofia. All rights reserved.
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Foodservice firms have been among the most affected business units during the COVID-19 pandemic. The slew of lockdowns and resulting apprehensions of contracting virus infections have largely deterred customers from patronizing various food outlets. However, with internet assistance consumers have increasingly found perceived refuge from unsafe dining experiences. As a result, the paper makes attempt to identify the determinants of customers' dining experience in restaurants. A total of 1,545 customer reviews from 97 foodservice outlets of 14 Indian cities were collected. R programming was used to perform qualitative analysis on the reviews to identify the features. Bigram analysis was applied to calculate the repeated phrases. Based on the repeated phrases, researchers measured the factors that contribute toward the customers' dining experience. The findings suggest that food quality and taste, food variety, staff behavior, restaurant ambience, along with social distance and safety norms mainly determine guest satisfaction. The findings also reveal that hotels need to apply recovery strategies such as training staff to adapt to the new-normal strategies and provide a safe environment to improve restaurant businesses. This study uses novel dataset and the findings essentially contribute to the food service literature. Further study can be done using big data in varied settings.
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This paper aims to detail key success factors in understanding the effective principles of managing the health and well-being of the contractor workforce during and post pandemics, specifically for organizations in the oil, gas and energy industry. Furthermore, it shall provide insights and guidance on how to maintain and enhance contractor workforce experience, particularly during and post the COVID-19 pandemic;detailing the benefits of having well-established health management programs designed specifically for the contractor workforce. The social determinants of health (SDH) can be defined as the social and economic conditions in which people are born, grow, live, learn, work and age. They are nonmedical factors that influence a vast range of health conditions;affecting individuals' overall quality-of-life. Economic policies, social norms and political systems are all examples of forces and factors that shape daily life conditions and affect human health (ODPHP, n.d.;WHO, n.d.a). SDH also encompasses education, employment, socioeconomic status, access to health care, social support as well as neighborhood and physical environment (Artiga and Hinton, 2018). SDH have a crucial influence on health disparities and inequities - "the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries" (CDC, 2020). A well-known key factor in the emergence and perpetuation of health disparities is housing. Several researchers from a diverse array of disciplines explored the various aspects of the association between housing, health and well-being. They endeavored to comprehensively elucidate the major pathways through which housing conditions can negatively impact health equity, with a focus on the broad spectrum of hazardous exposures, their accumulated impact and their historical production. As reported by Rolfe et al. (2020), there is compelling evidence of poor physical health consequences of toxins within homes, damp and mold, cold indoor temperatures, overcrowding, and safety factors. Beyond the aforementioned impacts of physical aspects of housing on physical health, poor housing conditions have also been linked with high risks of poor mental health and well-being (Pevalin et al., 2017). Copyright © 2022, International Petroleum Technology Conference.
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Why are contractors keen to develop, implement, and analyse International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs) when they appear to make no financial gains? What makes ILSA contracts so attractive? This paper takes as its starting point the fact that almost all ILSA contractors interviewed stated their ILSA work is an investment, either in the form of a breakeven or a loss contract. Applying policy borrowing and lending theory to non-state actors, and analysing 35 interviews with OECD and IEA staff and ILSA contractors, the paper discusses why contractors carry out ILSA contracts or donate to ILSAs. Rationales relate to interests in methodological developments and innovation;research;social responsibility;learning;exposure;prestige;credibility;networks;business opportunities;and individual rationales. The paper identifies parallels with the motives of corporate philanthropy in education. The paper concludes that ILSA contractors are using ILSAs to forward their political agendas, which include growing the learning assessment market.Alternate :¿Por qué los contratistas muestran interés por desarrollar, implementar, y analizar evaluaciones internacionales a gran escala (ILSA, por sus siglas en inglés) cuando éstas no parecen generar beneficios financieros? ¿Qué hace a los contratos de ILSA tan atractivos? Este artículo toma como punto de partida el hecho de que casi todos los contratistas de ILSA entrevistados manifestaron que su trabajo en ILSA es una inversión, en la forma de un contrato en el punto de equilibrio o con pérdidas. Aplicando la teoría del préstamo de políticas (policy borrowing and lending theory) a los actores no-estatales, y analizando 35 entrevistas con personal de la OCDE y la IEA y contratistas de ILSA, el artículo discute por qué los contratistas llevan a cabo contratos de ILSA o donan a ILSA. Las lógicas se relacionan con intereses en desarrollos metodológicos e innovación;investigación;responsabilidad social;aprendizaje;visibilidad;prestigio;credibilidad;redes;oportunidades de negocio;y lógicas individuales. El artículo identifica paralelismos con los propósitos de la filantropía empresarial en educación. El artículo concluye que los contratistas de ILSA están usando las ILSA para avanzar sus intenciones políticas, que incluyen hacer crecer el mercado de evaluación del aprendizaje.
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COVID-19 had a major impact on the Canadian foodservice sector. Like most countries, the pandemic in Canada resulted in various periods of lockdown. The pandemic placed great strain on many establishments and had a major impact on the pre-COVID-19 sustainability initiatives of the Canadian foodservice sector. The purpose of this study was to observe managerial decision-making in Canadian foodservice businesses during lockdown and reopening, focusing on the impact of those decisions on pre-COVID-19 sustainability initiatives. We linked the outcomes to the theory of decision-making by objection during times of crises. This study used semi-structured interviews over a two-month period in mid-2020 with three Canadian foodservice establishments. Our results showed that decision-making impacted the environmental sustainability initiatives in foodservice establishments by imposing a throwaway culture for food and personal protective equipment. The pandemic also impacted social and economic initiatives, created higher operation costs, a complexity of government intervention and the managing of mental health. This study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to develop theories of managerial decisions during crises and disasters that are natural, versus human-based crises, with pandemics situated between those two concepts. Future research could investigate the impact of decision-making on other initiatives within foodservice businesses.
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Purpose>According to the construction literature, the number of projects applying integrated project delivery (IPD) principles is expected to increase in the new-normal era. However, given that the pandemic is not yet fully over, accurate and measurable data are not yet available. Also, there is a lack of empirical studies that could provide guidelines as to the application of IPD principles at the various stages of construction projects. Thus, the goal of this paper is to address this knowledge gap through case studies.Design/methodology/approach>This paper follows a multi-step research methodology, namely, a literature review, case study and focus group discussions in the context of Canadian construction projects.Findings>Based on the conducted literature review and focus group discussions, the authors identified: (1) new challenges in the various stages of the construction projects' life cycle, (2) their related proximity aspects (technological, organizational, geographical and cognitive) and (3) IPD principles that can address the identified challenges within their associated proximities. The results show that IPD relational principles can improve a project's organizational and cognitive proximities, while IPD digital integrative principles can enhance a project's geographical and technological proximities.Originality/value>This study contributes to the theoretical checklists of challenges that the construction industry has experienced since the beginning of the pandemic, and to the practical guidelines of implementation of IPD principles to meet these challenges. The conducted case studies are timely and relevant, and their results provide new insights for key project stakeholders into the application of IPD to tackle new-normal challenges based on their proximity perspectives.