Staff publications (SoM)
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Open Access Machine learning application to disaster damage repair cost modelling of residential buildings(Taylor and Francis, 2025) Wanigarathna, Nadeeshani; Xie, Ying; Henjewele, Christian; Morga, Mariantonietta; Jones, KeithRestoring residential buildings following earthquake damage requires a significant level of resources. Being able to predict these resource requirements in advance and accurately improves the effectiveness of disaster preparedness and subsequent recovery activities. This research explored how the latest ML algorithms could be used for antecedent earthquake loss modelling. A cost database for repairing residential buildings damaged by the Emilia Romagna earthquake in Italy was analysed using six state-of-the-art ML models to explore their ability to predict repair cost rates(cost per floor area) for a domestic building damaged by earthquakes. A Gradient Boost Regression model outperformed five other models in predicting earthquake damage repair cost rate. The performance of this model was significantly accurate and covers about 76% of the cases. A further SHAP analysis revealed that operational level, damage level and non-housing area of the buildings as top 3 important features when predicting the resultant damage repair cost rate. Overall this research advanced antecedent earthquake loss modelling approaches to increase the accuracy of estimates by incorporating more variables than the widely used damage level based simple methodology.Item Open Access Inheritance expectations and social isolation: evidence from South Korea(2024-11-30) Saade, Ahmed; Alexiou, Constantinos; Belghitar, YacineLittle is known about the economic causes of social isolation among elders in spite of the phenomenon becoming a growing policy concern in many developed countries with ageing populations. This paper fills this gap by assessing the role of inheritance as a novel determinant of social isolation among elders. Drawing on bequest motive theory as well as aspirations theory, we utilize a granular dataset from South Korea spanning the period 2008 – 2020. The nascent evidence suggests that adult children having high inheritance expectations is beneficial to parents. In particular, having higher inheritance expectations is found to increase the frequency of parent-child meetings, thus lowering the risk of parents’ isolation. Additionally, mothers who report a higher likelihood of leaving an inheritance to their children are less isolated and disclose better well-being. Lastly, we find that the split of inheritance following a father’s death has consequences on the subsequent isolation of mothers. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study that investigates the direct role of inheritance in the creation of elderly social isolation, hence providing useful insights to policymakers of countries facing this problem.Item Open Access Improving the likelihood of positive outcomes for survivors of sexual violence, considering intersections between justice, gender, and trauma(Wiley, 2024) Bond, Kim; Davis, KateThis paper explores the complex impacts of childhood abuse on survivors, emphasising how these experiences shape both individual and societal outcomes. It acknowledges the extensive and enduring effects of abuse, which extend beyond immediate physical and psychological harm to broader social and economic repercussions. The paper critically examines the difficulties of holding perpetrators accountable within the criminal justice system, where low reporting rates, high attrition, and re‐traumatization are significant challenges. Using a gendered lens, the analysis situates these issues within a broader social, cultural, and historical context, highlighting how abuse, particularly sexual abuse, is perceived and managed. A key focus is on the issue of disclosure, essential for survivors to access support and justice. However, disclosure is often hindered by fears of disbelief, stigma, and retaliation, which are exacerbated by socioeconomic factors. Even when support systems are available, low conviction rates and ongoing re‐victimisation significantly impede justice and healing, undermining the criminal justice system and support structures. The paper also discusses the wider implications of childhood abuse for public health, social services, and education. The trauma affects not only survivors' mental and physical health but also their ability to engage fully in society, impacting relationships, employment, and educational outcomes. These personal challenges lead to broader societal costs, including increased demand for healthcare and lost productivity. The paper advocates for an integrated approach that improves prevention, enhances safeguarding, and develops effective support systems, addressing both the immediate needs of survivors and systemic barriers to recovery and justice.Item Embargo Supply Chain Disruptions and Stock Prices: Chapter 6 - Conclusions(Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024) Schelp, Priscilla; Skipworth, Heather; Aktas, Emel; Vieth, BeateThis chapter concludes the book, summarising key takeaways for both practitioners and academics on managing Hurricane-Related Risks based on our research findings. The summary encapsulates the critical outcomes of our research, shedding light on the intricate relationship between hurricanes, supply chain disruptions, and firm performance. Our study draws from a diverse range of academic sources, offering profound insights into the imperative of proactive management and transparent communication during hurricane-induced supply chain disruptions.Item Open Access Boundary objects at play in the world's greenest football club(Wiley, 2024) Samuel, Anthony; White, Gareth R. T.; Thomas, Robert; McGouran, Cathy; Bull, MichelIn the face of increasing environmental and societal pressures, organizations are gradually moving away from merely reducing their detrimental effects toward making positive impacts. One sizeable sector of economic activity, that is frequently overlooked, is that of sport, of which football is the largest in terms of economic value, fan base and global cultural influence. It is only relatively recently that outliers in the football industry have transitioned from being purely profit‐motivated to being both socially and environmentally aware. This transition is challenging since it is being undertaken within the often aggressively masculine environment, as well as the deep‐seated socio‐historical origins and contexts of the individual clubs and the sport as a whole. One such outlying football club is Forest Green Rovers which appears to have navigated this journey successfully. However, research has yet to understand “how” this has been achieved. This study addresses this gap through a 4‐year examination of the social and environmental initiatives of Forest Green Rovers. This lower‐league “club on the hill” is globally recognized for its novel approaches and solutions. Through examining the various Boundary Objects that aid in uniting disparate social groups in order to effect considerable changes to the “match day experience” and to stakeholders' consumption behaviors, it explains how their pragmatic, syntactic, and semantic functions combine to create an accepted suite of socially and environmentally beneficial initiatives.Item Open Access Impact of political and legal environments on international trade(Springer, 2024-11-07) Abugre, James Atambilla; Nellis, Joe; Ofosu-Dorte, David; Ocran, Matthew Kofi; Abor, Joshua YindenabaInternational trade has become increasingly important in the functioning of the global economy as a result of financial globalization and differences in resource endowments, prompting extensive economic research and increased demand for regional and global integration among nations and continents. International trade is one of the most salient changes in the world economy since 1980. However, many nations and other regional economic blocs have over the years instituted trade restrictions, tariffs, trade policies such as subsidies, and tax waivers among others to harness the potentials of economic comparative advantages in and within their jurisdictions. Political ideologies, instability, and insurgencies and risks are important factors that affect international trade across the globe. Legal regimes are equally important factors that determine the flow of free trade among nations. Civil and common law countries which have different focus of trade regulations and dividend policies are critical matters that affect trade decisions among MNCs and countries. This chapter examines the political and legal environments of international trade. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the emerging political and legal environments in Africa. We then discuss how the political as well as the legal environments and policy trends impact international trade of African countries.Item Open Access Beyond binary: exploring the interplay of China’s digital transformation and firm performance through dual mechanism analysis(Taylor and Francis, 2024-12-31) Chen, Shunru; Alexiou, Constantinos; Lee, SeungraeUtilizing data from Chinese A-share listed firms we explore the paradoxical effects of digital transformation on firms’ financial and operational performance. Through text mining, mechanism and heterogeneity analyses, the study’s findings indicate that digital transformation may inflate operational costs and compromise firm performance. When considering financial restrictions and R&D, the productivity gains emanating from digital transformation, underscores the symbiotic potential of concurrent technological and financial strategies. Heterogeneity analyses reveal a differentiated impact: larger firms and specific sectors, such as technology, witness a significant boost in productivity, whereas state-owned entities and joint ventures are less susceptible to performance downturns.Item Embargo The influence of neighbours’ supply network structure on firm’s environmental, social and governance controversies(Taylor and Francis, 2024-12-31) Qiu, Jilin; Alinaghian, Leila; Brintrup, AlexandraThis study investigates how the structural characteristics of a firm's supply network and its neighbouring firms affect their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) controversies. A secondary dataset comprising 18,943 firms and 103,632 contractual links from the global automotive industry was employed to test the hypotheses. Publicly available ESG controversies data for 268 firms were gathered from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database. The results indicated a negative relationship between the interconnectedness of neighbours’ networks and their ESG controversies. The results further revealed a positive association between the centrality of a firm’s neighbours and their ESG controversies. Furthermore, the study highlighted that a firm occupying a bridging position positively moderates the relationship between neighbours’ interconnectedness and ESG controversies. Drawing on a real-world large-scale supply network, our study extends the emerging debate on the criticality of broader supply networks in firms’ sustainability by investigating the role of neighbours’ structural properties in firms’ ESG controversies.Item Embargo Managing sudden unexpected disruptions in complex projects: the antifragility hierarchy(Taylor and Francis, 2024-12-31) Usher, Greg; Cantarelli, Chantal C; Davis, Kate; Pinto, Jeffrey K; Turner, NeilProjects are prone to a variety of sudden unexpected disruptions across their development cycle, requiring that effective organizations develop strategies for proactively recognizing disruption likelihood and swiftly responding to these events. This paper explores a hierarchy of responses to disruption, based on Taleb’s theory of antifragile system behavior. Following this reasoning, we suggest that when faced with project disruptions, organizations need to investigate the means to trigger a ‘convex’ response that increases value through antifragile thinking. We propose an ‘antifragility hierarchy’ in which three key responses to project disruption are demonstrated, with a range of strategies available for addressing these disruptions. This hierarchy offers a novel conceptualization of responses to project disruption events, suggesting that the options available to organizations range from robust (the least effective) to antifragile (the most constructive). Finally, we offer a set of strategies for effectively responding to disruptions to promote antifragility in projects.Item Open Access Common institutional ownership and corporate carbon emissions(Wiley, 2024) Qiang, Ji; Lei, Lei; Wood, Geoffrey; Zhang, DayongThere has been a growing interest in comparative work exploring when and why firms embark on green paths. It has been concluded that in national contexts where inter‐firm ties are stronger, progress has been stronger. In turn, this raises questions about the impact of inter‐firm ties within, rather than between, national contexts, and in settings where progress towards renewables has been uneven and contested. Accordingly, we explore how common institutional ownership may foster collaboration among firms within the same industry against climate change. Using a sample of US‐listed firms from 2006 to 2019, we obtain robust evidence that firms with industrial peers that are owned by the same institutional investors have lower carbon emissions. In addition, we find that a threshold exists for which the impact on carbon emissions holds only when firms are commonly connected with a substantial number of peers. The existence of this threshold suggests potential free‐riding issues and highlights the beneficial role of investors in promoting cross‐industry collaboration. Overall, our results highlight the role played by institutional investors in tackling climate issues, with important implications for both climate‐ and antitrust‐related regulations.Item Open Access ‘E’ of ESG and firm performance: evidence from China(Elsevier, 2024-11) Qian, Binsheng; Poshakwale, Sunil; Tan, YusenFollowing the ESG rating divergence reported in the previous research studies, we develop a novel firm-level Green Commitment (GC) index by incorporating new dimensions of environmental management and governance. We construct GC scores for all A-share listed companies in China from 2015 to 2021 and analyze whether firms with greater environmental commitment exhibit improvements in their future performance. Our results show that firms with high GC scores achieve higher stock returns without incurring extra risk. Additionally, a strong environmental commitment can enhance operating performance by mitigating financial constraints. The evidence supports the view that environmental investing contributes to the creation of positive shareholder value. Our GC index can be applied more widely to resolve the mixed evidence on the value implications of corporate environmental commitments.Item Open Access Environmental sustainability performance of US airlines: implications of financial performance and technical efficiency(Taylor and Francis, 2024-12-31) Kaffash, Sepideh; Chomachaei, Fahimeh; Aktas, EmelAir transportation significantly contributes to global CO2 emissions. The US Aviation Climate Action Plan introduced in November 2021 aims to decarbonize the aviation sector by 2050. Aligned with this initiative, our study applies Data Envelopment Analysis and fixed-effect panel regression to empirically explore how financial performance and technical efficiency impact Environmental Sustainability Performance (ESP) in the airline industry. We curated panel data of nine US passenger airlines from 2010 to 2019 to examine three key areas: the impact of financial performance on environmental sustainability performance, the influence of efficiency on environmental sustainability performance, and the relationship between flight stage length and environmental sustainability performance. Our findings indicate that improved Financial Performance, higher technical efficiency, and longer stage lengths positively contribute to enhanced environmental sustainability performance. Our study provides valuable insights for managers and policymakers, emphasizing the pivotal role of financial stability in achieving environmental goals within the airline industry. It underscores the intricate connection between economic viability and sustainability, offering guidance for policymakers seeking to balance financial success with environmental goals.Item Open Access Navigating the intersection between postponement strategies and additive manufacturing: insights and research agenda(Taylor and Francis, 2024) Prataviera, Lorenzo Bruno; Jazairy, Amer; Abushaikha, IsmailPostponement is a popular principle used to improve supply chain responsiveness and increase customisation by delaying manufacturing and logistics operations until more accurate market demand information is available. In business environments where responsiveness and customisation are increasingly important, additive manufacturing (AM) has recently emerged as a high-potential manufacturing technology. Due to changes in customer behaviours that affect product life cycles and variety, AM could disrupt traditional manufacturing and greatly impact postponement decisions. However, the intersection between postponement and AM is largely underexplored. This study aims to investigate the intersection between postponement and AM to meet the escalating demand for customised products. We conceptualise opportunities and challenges related to when customisation is introduced, concerning the positioning of the customer order decoupling point and to where customisation takes place, as operations could shift across supply chain tiers or even jurisdictions. By shedding light on the intersection of postponement and AM and its implications for customisation, this study formulates a research agenda focusing on five main postponement improvement dimensions: uncertainty, volume, lead time, supply chain design, and environmental sustainability. Moreover, it formalises a set of managerial implications to pragmatically foster the strategic implementation of AM across different postponement scenarios.Item Open Access Positive during COVID‐19: women academics' strategies for flourishing during a pandemic(Wiley, 2024-11-01) Lanka, Evelyn; Marsh‐Davies, Katy; Anderson, DeirdreThe COVID‐19 pandemic led to far‐reaching detrimental impacts, with challenges weighted toward women, who experience a double‐burden of paid work and care/domestic work. Professional lives were enacted in new spaces, as many were ordered to work from home. This was particularly testing for women, who found themselves servicing additional expectations each day, such as complex relational work and home‐schooling. For many, this caused stress, damage to career, and strained relationships. Yet, as women academics, we were surprised to see that some of our peers were reporting they had positive experiences during lockdowns. Drawing on interview data from 23 women academics based in the United Kingdom, we found that participants did not report damage to their professional identities; indeed, in some cases the pandemic provided new ways to expand academic identities, for example through skill development and international networking. Furthermore, participants reported the pandemic as a chance to choose how to focus their energies, withdrawing from relationships and activities that did not contribute to the achievement of the selves they sought to become and capitalising on those that did. This paper is therefore valuable in revealing the techniques and resources (narrative and otherwise) that can enable women to report positive experiences, even when facing adversity.Item Open Access Digital technology and innovation: the impact of blockchain application on enterprise innovation(Elsevier, 2025-01-01) Li, Zhaochen; Xu, ZimuBlockchain as a frontier digital technology provides new opportunities for innovation. This paper builds a theoretical framework utilizing the Resource-Based View (RBV), and empirically examines the impact of blockchain application on enterprise innovation, based on panel data from Chinese listed companies spanning from 2007 to 2020. This paper finds that the adoption of blockchain applications significantly promotes enterprise innovation, through mechanisms of improving operational efficiency and expanding operational scope. With regard to contextuality, the positive effect of blockchain applications on innovation is more pronounced in enterprises with higher levels of technological and capital accumulation. With regard to temporality, innovation at faster paces can better realise the benefits of blockchain applications. This paper provides robust empirical evidence derived from a large sample, thereby enhancing our understanding of this dynamic relationship and suggesting directions for future research.Item Open Access Research challenges for eco-efficient and circular industrial systems(Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024-09-07) Despeisse, Mélanie; Acerbi, Federica; Arioli, Veronica; Childe, Stephen; Colombo, Beatrice; Evans, Steve; González Chávez, Clarissa A.; Jones, Saul; Nujen, Bella B.; Pezzotta, Giuditta; Powell, Daryl; Toller Melén, Carl; Vasconcelos, Margarida; Yang, Miying; Wuest, Thorsten; Romero, DavidThe field of industrial sustainability is rapidly expanding with new concepts and frameworks emerging almost daily. At the same time, mature ones are being used in new applications and combined with new technologies and methodologies. While these developments are promising, the ambitions, scale, and speed of the change required to meet sustainability goals urgently need to increase. To accelerate industrial sustainability research and its impact, experts were invited to discuss research challenges in a webinar series focused on ten priority areas for eco-efficient and circular industrial systems. This paper presents the research challenges discussed to share sustainability practices, stimulate collaborations, and inspire change for more impactful applied research and knowledge transfer to industry.Item Open Access Probing into hinterland connectivity with a web of transport modes and logistics nodes: a case of Indian container ports(Elsevier BV, 2024-11-01) Deshmukh, Ajay; Song, Dong-WookThis article investigates the conceptual and empirical aspects of hinterland connectivity, focusing on container ports in India as a case study. It aims to clarify the complex and multidimensional nature of hinterland connectivity within the context of container ports by addressing a key conceptual issue. The study proposes that port-hinterland connectivity goes beyond direct links and emphasises the strategic relationships with key logistics centres in the hinterland. By employing centrality measures from social network analysis, the study evaluates the overall connectivity of Indian container ports, considering both direct and indirect connections from 2009 to 2021, to identify which ports have robust connections to key logistics centres. The results obtain by using eigenvector centrality reveal that an extensive hinterland network does not necessarily guarantee better hinterland connectivity for container ports. Additionally, the quality of connections, particularly to hubs with high betweenness centrality, is crucial for achieving a high degree of hinterland connectivity. These findings provide valuable policy insights, highlighting the importance of ports fostering closer relationships with key logistics hubs to effectively enhance their connectivity. Based on these findings, the paper offers policy recommendations for India aimed at improving connectivity in alignment with corresponding market shares. This research will serve as a foundation for further exploration of the interplay between port-hinterland connectivity and port market shares from a hinterland perspective, especially in a country like India, where hinterlands significantly overlap.Item Embargo Work-life balance(Routledge, 2024-10-23) Xu, Mengyi; Kelliher, Clare; McDonough, Brian; Parry, JaneThis chapter provides an overview of work-life balance (WLB), concerned with the relationship between an individual’s work and non-work lives. It first introduces and discusses the complexity of work-life balance as a concept and then examines how national, organisational, and temporal contexts may shape how it is understood and enacted. In addition, the chapter critically reviews formal and informal approaches to managing work-life balance for both employees and the organisation. While interest in work-life balance has been widespread and received much attention in academia, institutional and organisational agendas, and public discourse, to date, there has been limited attention given to its meaning and implementation in non-western contexts. This chapter addresses this gap by including a case study in the Chinese context. Using ‘Beyond Management Consulting Ltd’., as a case study, the opportunities for and challenges of managing work-life balance are discussed in the Chinese context. The chapter concludes by emphasising the complexity and dynamic nature of the notion of work-life balance and the necessity of considering inclusivity in how work-life balance is managed.Item Open Access The impact of Blockchain adoption on supply chain performance: evidence from food industry(Informa UK Limited, 2024) Vu, Nam; Ghadge, Abhijeet; Bourlakis, MichaelThe food supply chain (FSC) constantly needs to address persistent challenges such as information asymmetry, low transparency, food quality and authenticity, and unnecessary waste. Blockchain is perceived as a promising solution to overcome these FSC challenges. Existing literature captures a conceptual understanding of various aspects of Blockchain for FSC, such as how the technology can enhance transparency, efficiency, and food authenticity. However, a quantitative assessment of the overall impact of Blockchain adoption on the FSC operational performance is still missing. This study combines empirical and analytical approaches to investigate the evident research gap. Under the lens of systems thinking and System Dynamics (SD) modelling perspective, the study collected questionnaire and interview data to develop different FSC models for evaluating the impact of Blockchain on key operational performance metrics. The findings indicated that Blockchain positively affects inventory level and lead time in the immediate term, and cost in the long term. The results also warn that forgoing inventory buffers can come with the cost-of-service level. This study provides quantitative evidence of the positive influence of Blockchain on the FSC. This research contributes by extending the understanding of Blockchain's implications on broader supply chain performance from a systems perspective.Item Open Access Re‐orienting leadership coaching for sustainable effectiveness(Wiley, 2024-09-09) Renshaw, Phil; Robinson, JennyThe authors note that their “personal experience, client conversations, and research has led us to identify and highlight two critical issues where we see organizations consistently making serious errors that hold back the development of their leaders, waste money, and restrict the potential for longer term and sustainable effectiveness.” They note that organizations spend a considerable amount of money on outside coaching, yet this may not always be beneficial or cost‐effective for those organizations: “The first step,” they write, “is to understand when “a coach” can and can’t help. The second is to understand the difference between “a coach” (in other words a professional coach, or someone following such an approach) and leaders‐who‐coach. As a result, organizations can make the most of their coaching dollars, and their people.” They further clarify that “to determine when to use a professional coach, we use a simple question to address whether such coaching is a worthwhile endeavor: Does the executive need to develop and challenge themselves or do they need tools to function within their organization?” They conclude that solutions involve “creating leaders‐who‐coach who, as a result, will gradually enable a change in the underlying systemic issues.”