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From regulation to crime control: Preventative justice in the governance of global markets
No full textThe file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This essay analyzes the “criminal turn” in economic governance, where national security priorities embed preventive justice rationales into global market, trade, investment, and technology regulation. Drawing on the frameworks of preventive justice and securitization theory, it illustrates how systems in China, the United States, and the United Kingdom employ anticipatory coercion, strict liability sanctions, definitional vagueness, and procedural opacity, discarding traditional criminal safeguards such as mens rea and proportionality.
Comparative evaluation exposes converging preventive architectures across divergent constitutional models, producing chilling effects, delegated enforcement, multilateral fragmentation, and threats to economic openness. It advocates limited consequentialist reforms to reconcile security imperatives with rule‑of‑law integrity
Product innovation strategy and firm performance: Novelty and internationalization as mediators
No full textThe file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in innovation often face resource constraints that limit their ability to perform effectively. This study investigates the strategies SMEs in low resource environments employ to overcome these constraints in their pursuit of product innovation. It further examines how these strategies influence firm performance, using novelty and internationalization as mediators. We categorize the product innovation strategies into four distinct groups: internal investment in R&D (make), acquiring innovations from other enterprises (buy), collaboration (ally), and imitating existing products (imitate). Drawing on the resource and knowledge-based views, we assess how the firms’ internal and external innovation activities influence their outcomes. Utilizing the National Innovation Survey (NIS) dataset for Uganda, comprising 589 manufacturing SMEs, we applied a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to test the hypothesis. The results reveal no direct effect of innovation strategy on performance. However, the make and buy strategies indicate direct positive effects on performance. Novelty mediates the relationship between product innovation strategy and performance, while internationalization shows no effect. The ally and imitate strategies enhance performance indirectly via novelty. We conclude that product novelty is the dominant pathway through which product innovation strategies yield performance benefits, without which strategies exert little or no effect. By disaggregating the innovation strategies, we show that their value-creation pathways are heterogeneous. The results suggest the need for supportive policies to enhance firm capacities for generating novel products
Extraction of wool polypeptides using L-cysteine and protease: a study of the successive hydrolysis of the fibres’ regions
No full textThe file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Wool is a natural fibre with a diversity of applications in the textile industry. Its nature as a protein-rich fibre constituted of several distinct but interrelated regions, confers its unique mechanical properties. Due to the competition with superfine wools and the emergence of synthetic alternatives, coarser wools from the Northern hemisphere have suffered from a lack of valorising paths. Recently, studies successfully extracted wool polypeptides using sulphur-based reducing agents, such as sodium sulphite. These methods can separate fibres from textile blends for recycling purposes. In addition, the different wool protein types could be isolated to explore their post-consumer valorisation into new applications. In this study, the effectiveness of the amino acid, L-cysteine, as a sustainable reducing agent, combined with the activity of a protease on wool hydrolysis and proteins’ extraction was assessed, under different concentrations of L-cysteine and enzyme and duration of the reaction. Understanding the chronological order of the wool regions’ lysis during the extraction process is crucial for the control of specific parameters to selectively recover microfibrils or matrix proteins – which exhibit different protein structures. This selective recovery of the different wool proteins could support their regeneration into innovative materials, for applications in composites, packaging or construction
Man is the measure of all things: Evaluability and overpackaging
No full textThe file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Despite the fact that overpackaging can signal better product protection and higher quality, it may also trigger perceptions of waste and diminish perceived value. With such a persistent tension, it remains unclear when and why overpackaging can be beneficial or harmful. To tackle this issue, this research leverages cue utilization theory and general evaluability theory to propose product evaluability as a boundary condition to explain consumer responses to overpackaging. A series of five studies, using a variety of operationalizations of evaluability and packaging, different research designs, and secondary data from both Eastern and Western cultural contexts, consistently show that consumers prefer overpackaging only when product evaluability is low, whereas they prefer non-overpackaging when product evaluability is high. Our research also reveals two asymmetric pathways through perceived value: when product evaluability is low, overpackaging increases purchase intention via boosting quality value, whereas when product evaluability is high, overpackaging decreases purchase intention via reducing price value. These findings reframe overpackaging from a universally wasteful practice to a context-dependent retail strategy, implying that packaging decisions should be matched to product evaluability rather than standardized across different product assortments
Climate Shifts, Corporate Drifts: How Climate Change Exposure Reshapes Multinational Offshoring
No full textThe file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This study examines the contextual conditions that influence how climate change exposure (CCE) affects the extent of firms’ offshoring activities. Using data from U.S.-based multinational corporations (MNCs), we show that CCE significantly influences the degree of firms’ offshoring. Additional analyses indicate that regulatory and opportunity exposures, rather than physical exposure, are the primary drivers of strategic and proactive, rather than defensive, offshoring. We also find that CCE exerts its strongest influence on downstream activities. The interaction between climate change and offshoring decisions plays a critical role in determining whether MNCs relocate activities to advanced, low-carbon economies rather than to emerging, developing, or high-carbon economies. Our study extends international business research by elucidating how climate change exposure reshapes multinational firms’ downstream and upstream activities. Taken together, the findings provide actionable insights for policymakers, corporate strategists, and scholars and underscore the importance of integrating climate resilience with low-carbon objectives in global operations
The Impact of Sociocultural Aspects on Energy Consumption in Residential Buildings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
No full textopen access articleThis study explores the intersection of sociocultural factors, particularly privacy, with energy consumption patterns in residential buildings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While cultural values around privacy have long been recognised as influential in residential design, the impact of these values on energy consumption is underexplored. This re-search aims to fill this gap by examining how privacy needs, residents' preferences, and open layouts affect energy efficiency, particularly in terms of natural light and ventilation. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including semi-structured interviews with engineers, data collected from 108 respondents via an online survey, a case study of a residential building in Riyadh, and building performance simulations using IES software. The study also assessed actual energy consumption data and in-door lighting as potential implications of privacy concerns, causing changes in behavioural control of systems (e.g., windows, blinds, lighting, etc.). It focuses on the relationship between privacy needs, energy use, and natural daylight distribution. The IES simulation results for the studied residential building show an annual energy consumption of 24,000 kWh, primarily due to cooling loads and artificial lighting caused by privacy measures applied by the residents. The findings reveal that privacy-driven design choices and occupant behaviours, such as the use of full window shutters, frosted glazing and limited window operation, significantly reduce daylight availability and natural ventilation, leading to increased reliance on artificial lighting and air conditioning. This study highlights the need for human-centric design approaches that address the interplay between sociocultural factors, particularly reinforcing cultural sensitivity, and building performance, offering insights for future sustainable housing developments in Riyadh and similar contexts
The Learner: Navigating the Senior Leader Apprenticeship Journey
No full textAlthough the Senior Leader Apprenticeship (SLA) will no longer be funded by the government from January 2026, prior studies have indicated that despite identified problems, it successfully develops future managers and business leaders. Public sector service employees, in contrast to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have shown the largest take-up for this level. This chapter explores the lived experiences of SME learners studying for an SLA at a post 92-UK university. A small sample of learners were interviewed. Thematic analysis highlighted four themes: perceptions of programme benefits, balancing work and study time, mixed sector cohorts and managing the tripartite relationship. Findings indicate that challenges are due to several factors: a lack of awareness of the apprenticeship for SMEs, including perceptions of the term ‘apprenticeship’, internal support constraints that have a negative impact on work/study time balance, mentoring practice and the bureaucracy associated with mandatory processes. Peer support and collaboration emerged as a key relationship. Whilst the long-term outlook for Higher and Degree Apprenticeships (HDAs) is changing, future research should explore collaboration between all stakeholders in the SME tripartite relationship, with a focus on support networks (internal and external) and peer collaboration for learning and reflective practice
Extending the TCQ Framework: Redesigning Digital Customer Experience in High-End Luxury Service Contexts
No full textThe file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Purpose
Amazon’s failed luxury stores initiative offers a critical case for examining the incompatibility between mass-market digital strategies and high-end service environments. This study extends the TCQ (touchpoints, context, qualities) framework by introducing a luxury-centric variant (L-TCQ), illuminating how symbolic, hedonic and prestige-driven value co-creation processes are undermined when convenience overtakes exclusivity.
Design/methodology/approach
A thematic analysis was conducted on qualitative data from 35 international MBA students specializing in luxury brand management. Participants evaluated Amazon luxury stores in real-time, generating experiential feedback based on structured digital journey immersion.
Findings
The results reveal that Amazon failed to deliver critical luxury-specific experiential qualities, including immersion, personalization and brand legitimacy. The study introduces “nonlinear process sequence” as a luxury-specific construct describing the nonlinear and symbolic navigation of digital services by high-end consumers.
Practical implications
Luxury service providers should design digital platforms using the L-TCQ framework to foster symbolic engagement, emotional immersion and prestige signaling – key elements absent from mainstream customer experience (CX) design.
Originality/value
This research contributes to services marketing by proposing the L-TCQ model, a theoretical refinement that incorporates luxury-specific service dimensions into the TCQ framework. It advances the field by theorizing how experiential, contextual and symbolic co-creation failures explain Amazon’s shortcomings and offers an actionable roadmap for digital luxury CX design
Peri-dyeing: Laser dye fixation for efficient textile colouration and design
No full textopen access articleConventional textile dyeing remains one of the most resource-intensive stages of garment production, characterised by high water and energy use and the generation of chemically contaminated effluent. This study explores an alternative approach to conventional dyeing through the development and evaluation of a laser dyeing process termed peri-dyeing, a digitally driven, non-contact colouration technique in which dye fixation was initiated by targeted laser irradiation directly at the fibre surface.
Optimisation of laser parameters and dye application methods enabled controlled surface colouration of wool fabrics. Colour measurements, SEM imaging, and tensile strength analysis confirmed that high dye fixation efficiencies (82–96%) were achieved without compromising fibre integrity. Standardised testing demonstrated strong wash and rub colour fastness, indicating technical performance compatible with commercial textile applications. Design sampling validated the technique's ability to produce fine linear detail, smooth tonal gradients, and multicolour imagery on both flat and textured substrates.
The peri-dyeing process demonstrates the technical feasibility of a digitally controlled approach to textile colouration that avoids immersion dye baths and enables targeted dye application. The results indicate potential for reduced resource use and increased production flexibility. The paper highlights opportunities for integration into direct-to-garment and on-demand manufacturing contexts, supporting the development of more efficient and adaptable textile colouration workflows
Visible Food Systems: Hacking Labels as a Design Action for Food Citizenship
No full textHacking Labels is part of Visible Food Systems, a larger research project investigating how design processes and digital technologies can increase community participation in visualising information, shaping narratives, and imagining future visions about food systems and their transformation. Visible Food Systems is part of the Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training at the University of Nottingham and is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UKRI grant number EP/S023305/1.Hacking Labels is a design workshop study that addresses the urgent need for food systems transformation from a design and technology perspective. Responding to growing demand for greater community engagement in the transformation process, the study reimagines food labels as interactive tools for food citizenship. Combining Research through Design methodology, Participatory Design methods, and Design Justice principles, the workshop used the process of designing custom labels and hacking existing information and narratives to foster collective learning about food systems and make community values and priorities more visible. Participants were given agency to decide what information they wanted to access and share through food labels and were encouraged to prototype physical and digital interventions. A thematic analysis of workshop notes, sketches, prototypes, conversations, and anonymous feedback revealed limitations in current labelling practices, visions for alternative food labels, and insights into the role of design processes and digital technologies in resisting and transforming dominant food systems representations. The aim of this exploratory work was to test a novel participatory visualisation approach based on shared inquiry and creative interpretation, and its contribution is a shift from a consumer to a citizen mindset in food labelling practice and research
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