Purpose This study explored the effect of power-based behaviours on pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) resilience. Design/methodology/approach This study used a mixed-method approach to explore the role of power-based behaviours in PSC resilience. Qualitative interviews from 23 key PSC stakeholders, followed by thematic analysis, revealed the underlying perceptions regarding PSC resilience. Quantitative propositions were then developed based on the themes adopted from PSC resilience literature and the qualitative findings. These were tested via a survey questionnaire administered to 106 key stakeholders across the various levels in the PSC. Structural equation modelling with partial least squares was used to analyse the data. Findings The data analysed identified proactive and reactive strategies as resilience strategies in the PSC. However, power-based behaviours represented by quota systems, information and price control influenced these resilience strategies. From a complex adaptive system (CAS) perspective, we found that when power-based behaviours were exhibited, the interactions between PSC actors were mixed. There was a negative influence on reactive strategies and a positive influence on proactive strategies. Our analysis also showed that PSC complexities measured by (stringent regulations, long lead times and complex production) moderated the effect of power-based behaviour on reactive strategies. Thus, the negative impact of power-based behaviours on reactive strategies stemmed from PSC complexities. Research implications Our research particularly reveals the role of power-based behaviours in building PSC resilience. By evaluating the nexus from a CAS perspective, the analysis considered powerbased behaviours and the moderating role of PSC complexities in developing resilience strategies. The study considers the interactions of PSC actors. It shows that power asymmetry is a relational concept that inhibits the efficacy of reactive strategies. This study thus advocates the importance of power in achieving a more resilient PSC from a holistic perspective by highlighting the importance of the decision-making process among supply chain partners. Our findings are particularly relevant if PSC resilience is viewed as a complex adaptive system (CAS). All the interactions and decision-making processes affect outcomes due to their inherent complexities. Although this study focused on the PSC, its implications could be extended to other SCs (supply chains). Practical implications We identified that power-based behaviours influenced resilience strategies. It was detrimental to reactive strategies due to the complexities of the PSC but beneficial to proactive strategies through resource-sharing. PSC actors are therefore encouraged to pursue proactive strategies as this may aid in mitigating the impact of disruptions. However, power-based behaviours bred partner dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction may occur even within strategic alliances indicating that power could be detrimental to proactive strategies. Therefore, it is pertinent to identify conditions that lead to dissatisfaction when pursuing strategic partnerships. This study provides insight into actual behaviours influencing resilience and quantifies their effects on the PSC. These insights will be valuable for all supply chain partners wanting to improve their resilience strategies. Originality/value Previous PSC management and resilience studies have not examined the role of power in building resilience in the PSC. This paper thus provides a unique contribution by identifying the role of power in PSC resilience, offers empirical evidence and a novel theoretical perspective for future practice and research in building PSC resilience strategies.

Privacy is an emerging issue for home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb. Home-sharing providers (business customers) are subject to both digital privacy risks (e.g., data breaches and unauthorized data access) and physical privacy risks (e.g., property damage and invasion of their personal space). Therefore, platforms need to strengthen their institutions of privacy management to protect the interests of providers and maintain their commitment. By applying the micro-level psychological aspect of institutional theory, our research investigates how providers decide their level of commitment to a platform by evaluating the institutions of the platform’s privacy management. Our survey recruited 380 Airbnb providers from the Prolific panel. Structural equation modeling analysis shows that both physical and digital privacy practices strengthen providers’ legitimacy judgment of the platform’s privacy management and subsequently increase their commitment to the platform. Our theoretical contribution lies in revealing the effects of physical and digital privacy practices on B2B relationships from an institutional perspective. Our research is among the first to provide an integrative framework illustrating providers’ psychological process of legitimacy judgement. It also has practical implications for sharing economy platforms to manage privacy.

This paper examines a new channel through which dividend policy can affect firm value. We find that firms that pay dividends exhibit lower systematic liquidity risk than those that do not. We also report a significant negative relationship between dividend payment and systematic liquidity risk. The liquidity improvement associated with dividend payments translates into an economically meaningful reduction in the cost of equity capital. Our results are robust to endogeneity concerns, to alternative measures of liquidity risk and dividend payouts, and to alternative model specifications. Further analysis suggests that the reduction in liquidity risk associated with dividend payouts is more pronounced for weakly governed firms and firms with opaque informational environment. Finally, we find that the recent financial crisis led to a greater increase in systematic liquidity risk for firms with no or low dividend payouts. Overall, our study implies that dividend policy can be used by corporate managers to shape liquidity risk and mitigate the adverse impact of economic downturns on the value of their firms.

Sharing economy is flourishing and increasingly customers are shifting towards “using instead of owning” products and services. The objective of our research is to empirically prove that low organizational trust can trigger strict organizational practices such as ethics training and audits but excessive use of both of these practices can negatively impact the relationship quality in sharing economy. In doing so, it has detrimental effects on co-creation and co-innovation particularly when the goals are related to emotional cognitive, material support and relationship building. This study, therefore, targets to scrutinize the dark side of B2B sharing economy platforms using the ethical theory of organizing. The unique contribution of this study is first, showcasing the relationships between ethical climate, ethical practices and consequences. Second, it highlights that B2B alliances that perceive strictness in ethics audits have a low level of willingness to enhance relationship quality. However, the effect of strictness in ethics training does not lead to the development of a low level of willingness to enhance relationship quality. This is an interesting finding and generates a theoretical debate. The findings of the study will promote the development of an ethical model that addresses the negative aspects of the B2B sharing economy.

Congruent with economic stability and environmental sustainability, the ninth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) plays a crucial role in undergirding the industrial revolution. Conversely, it is inevitably complex for underdeveloped and emerging economies to meet the ninth SDG's 2030 agenda due to a lack of sufficient financial resources and the slow adoption of technology. With China expanding its Belt and Road Initiatives (BRIs) globally, mainly few findings espouse the significant link between BRI and the ninth SDG, and its probable impact remains understudied. Hence, a considerable gap yet exists in contemporary understanding of the impact of BRI on sustainability. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory study on six different countries (Algeria, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and Palestine) to investigate the role of the BRI in achieving the ninth SDG. Face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions were applied. This qualitative data collection technique involved 26 participants representing industry experts and academic researchers. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated and thematically analysed. The result showed a significant progressive impact of BRI on the ninth SDG, and that the development of sustainable infrastructure is a key antecedent of the BRI policy enforcement in the six countries explored. The result also showed positive and negative spillover effects of BRI projects in the six countries. Government and Policymakers should design and enforce pro-growth and sustainable strategies to facilitate continuous implementation of policies that would align the execution of the BRI projects to bolster achievement of the ninth SDG.

Cost-saving and sanitation considerations and the challenge of labor shortages have catalyzed the application of service robots in restaurants. Although service robots can perform multiple roles and functions, more research attention is needed in hospitality contexts on how different combinations of using robots and humans at different product/service layers may influence customers’ experiences and behavioral intentions. Building on the literature of product level theory and authenticity, this study empirically investigated this issue with data collected from 364 customers in China. The results show that the use of robots in core and facilitating product levels is less effective in improving consumers’ perceived service and brand authenticity. Consumers’ perceived service authenticity positively influences their brand authenticity and repurchase intention. Consumers’ perceived brand authenticity only positively affects their repurchase intention. Both theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in this paper.

This study uses the quality of coverage decisions as a new metric to evaluate the performance of star and non-star analysts. We find that the coverage decisions of star analysts are better predictors of returns than those of non-star analysts. The return predictability of star analysts’ coverage decisions is stronger for informationally opaque stocks. We further exploit the staggered short selling deregulations, Google’s withdrawal, and the anti-corruption campaign as three quasi-natural experiments that create plausibly exogenous variations in the quality of information environment. These experiments show that the predictive power of star analysts’ coverage decisions strengthens (weakens) following a sharp deterioration (improvement) in firms’ information environment, consistent with the notion that star analysts possess superior ability to identify mispriced stocks. Overall, star analysts make better coverage decisions and play a superior role as information intermediaries, especially in poor information environment.

Technologies can help strengthen the resilience of our economy against existential climate-risks. We investigate climate change adaptation technologies (CCATs) in US patents to understand (1) historical patterns and possible drivers of innovation; (2) scientific and technological requirements to develop and use CCATs; and (3) CCATs’ potential technological synergies with mitigation. First, in contrast to mitigation, innovation in CCATs only slowly takes off, indicating a relatively low awareness of investors for solutions to cope with climate risks. We discuss how historical trends in environmental regulation, energy prices, and public support may have contributed to patenting in CCATs. Second, CCATs form two main clusters: science-intensive ones in agriculture, health, and monitoring technologies; and engineering-intensive ones in coastal, water, and infrastructure technologies. Analyses of technology-specific scientific and technological knowledge bases inform directions for how to facilitate advancement, transfer and use of CCATs. Lastly, CCATs show strong technological complementarities with mitigation as more than 25% of CCATs bear mitigation benefits. While not judging about the complementarity of mitigation and adaptation in general, our results suggest how policymakers can harness these technological synergies to achieve both goals simultaneously.

Organizations adopt blockchain technologies to provide solutions that deliver transparency, traceability, trust, and security to their stakeholders. In a novel contribution to the literature, this study adopts the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework to examine the technological, organizational, and environmental dimensions for adopting blockchain technology in supply chains. This represents a departure from prior studies which have adopted the technology acceptance model (TAM), technology readiness index (TRI), theory of planned behavior (TPB), united theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) models. Data was collected through a survey of 525 supply chain management professionals in India. The research model was tested using structural equation modeling. The results show that all the eleven TOE constructs, including relative advantage, trust, compatibility, security, firm’s IT resources, higher authority support, firm size, monetary resources, rivalry pressure, business partner pressure, and regulatory pressure, had a significant influence on the decision of blockchain technology adoption in Indian supply chains. The findings of this study reveal that the role of blockchain technology adoption in supply chains may significantly improve firm performance improving transparency, trust and security for stakeholders within the supply chain. Further, this research framework contributes to the theoretical advancement of the existing body of knowledge in blockchain technology adoption studies.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use, applicability and relevance of strategic planning as a process and tool when applied to exploring food security challenges, in the context of existing research on food security and food waste in the food supply chain. The issues associated with robust and resilient food supply chains within a circular economy are increasingly being seen as supportive of creating enhanced levels of food security but the authors argue that this is only sustainable when strategically planned as part of a cross-enterprise, information-rich and complex supply chain. The relevance of the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) strategic planning tool is explored to establish whether it can play a role tacking the complexity of food insecurity (i.e. a lack of food security). Design/methodology/approach – This is a viewpoint piece therefore as a result, thought, normative literature and supposition are used as a means to ground and orientate the views of the authors. Findings – The authors identify and conclude that strategic planning tools like PESTLE across enterprises may not be relevant in supporting the reduction of food insecurity. This conclusion is predicated on the heightened level of complexity surrounding the pursuit of food security and the simplistic categorisation of PESTLE factors in a linear fashion that underpin this tool. Rather, the authors’ call for the use of strategic planning tools that are able to capture a large number of inter-related factors holistically. Practical implications – This insight to the inter-related factors that contribute to food insecurity will allow policy developers, decision makers and others to develop their understanding of how strategic planning can support increased levels of food security within a circular economy and across cross-enterprises. Originality/value – The authors contribute to the literature through a new insight of how normative strategic planning tools need to evolve in a complex, inter-connected world of international business and geo-politics. In doing so, it is expected that this research will motivate others to develop their line of enquiry around uncovering and exploring those inter-relationships connecting PESTLE factors.