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A lean management perspective on digital transformation: the role of culture in technology adoption
No full textPurpose
In the digital era, studying how employees interact with technology and what the role of management can be to foster this interaction are of the utmost strategic importance. In this sense, the purpose of this study is to measure the impact measure the impact of a lean-digital organisational culture, characterized by traits such as open communication and employee empowerment, on the intention to use Industry 4.0 technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
This research draws on socio-technical systems and technology acceptance theories to analyse and measure people's attitudes and behaviours towards digital transformation supported by lean principles. A comprehensive review of the literature led to the construction of a research model that highlights the intention to use digital technologies as a composite construct of effort expectancy, performance expectancy and social influence moderated by user resistance and anxiety. A three-month empirical survey of Greek organisations collected 452 useable responses from employees in various roles. The validity of the integrated measurement model was then tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results show a significant positive relationship between a lean-digital organizational culture and the intention to technology use. Importantly, this culture also has a significant negative effect on inhibitors such as anxiety and resistance. The study's findings may be influenced by the specific country context, so future research could test the model in other locations to increase generalisability.
Practical implications
From a practical viewpoint, the validated model provides decision-makers with a foundation for developing targeted action plans to facilitate technology adoption. Managers can use the findings to proactively address employee fears and empower them as problem-solvers, providing clear guidance on how to rectify cultural deficiencies.
Originality/value
This study is pioneering in its integration of a lean-digital culture into the technology acceptance framework. The proposed model is the first to integrate the lean and digital dimensions of organisational culture into a key factor affecting the intention to use I4.0 technologies. Furthermore, this intention is identified as having both positive (expectancy and influence) and negative (inhibiting) factors.12
Learning-assisted improvements in Adaptive Variable Neighborhood Search
No full textThis study presents the design and integration of novel adaptive components within the Double-Adaptive General Variable Neighborhood Search (DA-GVNS) algorithm, aimed at improving its overall efficiency. These adaptations utilize iteration-based data to refine the search process, with enhancements such as an adaptive reordering mechanism in the refinement phase and a knowledge-guided approach to adjust the search strategy. Additionally, an adaptive mechanism for dynamically controlling the shaking intensity was introduced. The proposed knowledge-guided adaptations demonstrated superior performance over the original DA-GVNS framework, with the most effective scheme selected for further evaluation. Initially, the symmetric Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) was used as a benchmark to quantify the impact of these mechanisms, showing significant improvements through rigorous statistical analysis. A comparative study was then conducted against six advanced heuristics from the literature. Finally, the most promising knowledge-guided GVNS (KG-GVNS) was tested against the original DA-GVNS on selected instances of the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP), where detailed statistical analysis highlighted its competitive advantage and robustness in addressing complex combinatorial optimization problems.9410188
Trust and Ethical Influence in Organizational Nudging: Insights from Human Resource and Marketing Practice
No full textThis study investigates how persuasion, trust, and empathy from Human Resources (HR) managers affect the acceptance of nudging practices in workplace, especially when these interventions are meant to be ethical and supportive. Based on the theory of advisory nudge, the research connects ideas from Human Resource Management and ethical marketing. A quantitative method was applied using a structured questionnaire answered by 733 HR professionals in European companies. The model was tested with PLS-SEM, and results confirmed strong influence of supervisor’s persuasion and empathy on HR professionals’ perception of nudges as ethical and autonomy-enhancing. The findings also showed that empathy plays important role in how HR professionals experience the intention behind soft interventions, with gender-based differences being significant. Additional analyses with IPMA and MGA confirmed the strategic importance of trust and emotional intelligence in organizational settings. The results help to understand when a persuasive act is seen as ethical guidance and when it is not, offering theoretical and practical insights both for HR leadership and marketing communication. The study suggests future research to explore different types of nudging and include variables such as organizational culture or HR professionals’ values, to better understand the ethical acceptance of influence at work.20317
Gamers’ gratifications and continuous intention to play eSports: the mediating role of gamers’ satisfaction-a PLS-SEM and NCA study
No full textActive tokens and crypto-asset valuation
No full textThis research investigates token dormancy as a fundamental metric for evaluating cryptocurrency assets and presents a methodology for its measurement. The valuation method involves 4 distinct parameters and utilizes a 3.5-year daily dataset for the “Chainlink” token. The results are used in optimized ARIMA-GARCH models to analyze the first differences between the variables; the out-of-sample forecasts were assessed with performance metrics. Furthermore, this study introduces a novel fundamental value derived from these approaches, the basis for generating selling signals in a backtested trading strategy. The trading strategy results are compared to a benchmark buy-and-hold strategy and a non-selling dollar-cost-averaging strategy for evaluation. Employing the dollar-cost averaging approach for purchase frequency and utilizing the “isolation forest” technique for identifying selling signals within the trading strategy yielded positive results.119
A Comparative Study of Solidity and Sui Move: Advancing Smart Contract Development
No full textThe emergence of blockchain technology has resulted in the creation of various blockchain
networks and their accompanying programming languages for creating smart contracts. Each smart contract
language, with its unique characteristics, advantages, and drawbacks, leverages blockchain technology to
create a secure, transparent, and efficient way to execute agreements without the need for intermediaries.
In this study, we compared the Solidity language used in the Ethereum blockchain network and Sui
Move, which is used for the Sui blockchain network, highlighting contrasting approaches to smart contract
development. In this paper, we explore the aspects of both languages, such as their structure, operational
models, and security components. By evaluating these factors, the study uncovers the strengths and
limitations of each language, highlighting their security and performance features that developers must take
into account when choosing a smart contract language to build robust, efficient, and scalable decentralized
applications that are addressed at a wide audience. Additionally, the work entails a framework that helps
developers transition existing applications built on Solidity to Sui Move and take advantage of Sui Move’s
unique characteristics without sacrificing functionality. It is a step-by-step approach to modify data forms,
refactor logic processes, and deploy modules as needed while ensuring that migration is smooth and the
maximum benefits of the Sui-based blockchain network are achieved. The knowledge and resources offered
are designed to enable developers to create more secure, scalable, and efficient decentralized systems.1511
The impact of policy uncertainty on shareholder wealth: Evidence from bank M&A
No full textWe investigate the impact of policy uncertainty (PU) on the economic impact of bank mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Using a sample of 3142 deals announced by US banks between 1986 and 2020, we find a significant positive effect of PU on acquirer short- and long-term market value. PU also positively affects acquirer post-merger accounting performance and increases the incentives for synergy-driven bank M&A. Amid PU, acquirers avoid stock-only financed deals, delay deal completion, and pay higher bid premiums. Our results are robust to model specifications that control for different proxies of PU, endogeneity, asset pricing models, and event windows surrounding deal announcements.7610136
Enhancing Credit Card Fraud Detection Using Knowledge Graphs and Centralities
No full textDetecting fraudulent activity in credit card transactions poses a serious challenge for financial institutions, which requires robust techniques that can accurately pinpoint fraudulent occurrences while minimizing false positives. In this study, we introduce an innovative strategy to enhance Credit Card Fraud Detection (CCFD) by utilizing Knowledge Graphs and Centrality measures. We propose creating a Knowledge Graph (KG) representing the credit card transaction network so as to capture connections and correlations between the transactions, and analyzing the KG to evaluate centrality measures that capture the importance of nodes and relationships within the graph. These centrality measures are utilized to enhance the input features that are used to train Machine Learning classifiers for fraud detection. Our experiments show that using the enhanced features significantly improved classification performance, providing better identification of fraudulent transactions, especially through the combination of HITS and degree centrality.2391 CCIS1429Advances in ICT Research in the Balkan
Leadership and Mediation Approaches for Social Cohesion in the Greek Public Sector
No full textThis study investigates how inclusive leadership, mentorship, and digital tools shape conflict prevention and social cohesion within the Greek public sector. Employing a cross-sectional quantitative design, data were collected from 203 employees across municipalities, ministries, regional, and decentralized administrations. The survey instrument captured four dimensions: leadership and mediation for social cohesion, mentorship for the empowerment of vulnerable groups, use of digital tools, and the perceived social impact of inadequate conflict management. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test direct and indirect effects, evaluate the explanatory and predictive power of the model, and explore the mediation mechanisms linking leadership, mentorship, and digital tools to social cohesion. The results demonstrate that both leadership and mentorship are positively perceived and significantly interrelated, jointly enhancing workplace cohesion and trust. Mentorship emerged as a critical predictor of digital tool adoption, highlighting its role as a bridge for digital inclusion and organizational innovation. In contrast, digital tools, despite their high importance in the model, remain underutilized and require further investment in training and integration. Poor conflict management is perceived as a major organizational risk, strongly linked to increased stress, diminished trust, and a deteriorated workplace climate. These findings highlight the value of integrating mentorship and inclusive leadership with mediation and digital technologies, supporting the development of hybrid strategies for conflict management. The study enriches theoretical debates on organizational resilience and social cohesion, while offering practical recommendations for modernizing public administration through participatory leadership, targeted mentoring programs, and the thoughtful adoption of digital solutions.15724
Highlighting Wine Labels: A Systematic Literature Review of Dominant Informational Parameters as Communicative Elements
No full textWine communication management is a continuous effort to deliver a communication framework that is built on many factors such as the terroir, the grape variety, the geographical indication, the geomorphological profile of each wine zone, the producer’s philosophy, the winemaking methods, and finally the general cultural and social contribution. This paper attempts to run a systematic literature review in the field of wine communication focused on wine labels. The research is based on the combined keywords, “wine label” and “wine label communication” on databases in a range between 2010 and 2024. The purpose of this paper is to provide useful insights to researchers, students, and interested parties in the wine industry about the way dominant label information is decoded by consumers. The contribution of this work is to set a specific conceptual framework for wine label information that could be useful in the field of wine communication strategies.1111