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Today humanity is facing a time period, in which the speed and rate of change in different fields are faced. The rapid and effective change in the technological, economic, military, social and cultural fields all over the world in recent years has had important results in many topics such as informatics, interactive communication, production, data production and sharing and forms of consumption and perception. Changes and developments at very high speeds and rates affect the personal life, social life and work life in a deep manner, especially after the 1980s, paving the way for many concepts such as globalization, Industry 4.0, digitalization, new economy, new world order and digital transformation age to be the leading variables in every field of social sciences.

Production, consumption and communication forms at the global level are becoming more and more in depth and predicting the future is becoming more and more difficult and valuable. Understanding, analyzing and predicting the future for national and international companies and organizations directly and indirectly affect all economic, military and political variables. At this point, competition stands out as one of the most critical concepts for survival and growth for profit-oriented companies.

Based on this, the topics and contents selected in this study were created to cover the field of management and strategy. Indeed, in this study, the concept of organizational agility is explored theoretically from a historical perspective on the concept of Industry 4.0 and especially emphasized the dimensions and components of agility used in today’s world.

Within the scope of this study, the aim is to define and present the general framework of the Industry 4.0 and agile firms, which aim to combine the conceptual and theoretical infrastructure with the implementation of the agile firms within the field. In this respect, the study defines the situation coming from the past together with the world of today in the relationship of the technological and economical dimensions of globalization with the digitalization and latest theoretical view for the agile firm’s structure and management. On the other hand; in this study, the possible effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis on the management of organizations are interpreted in the context of Industry 4.0 and agile companies. This aim will provide a foresight for the future periods, with the conclusions added with the theory of senism, which present the dominant value of the study.

This paper investigates the relationship between remittances, institutional quality and investment in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries using data from 2004 to 2018.

The two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimator is the main methodology used, while the system generalized method of moments (Sys-GMM) technique is employed to test the robustness of the results.

The results show a positive and significant impact of remittances on investment in SSA. The findings further reveal a substitutional linkage between remittances and institutions in promoting investment. In essence, remittances serve as investment capital in countries with poor institutions. The results also show that the marginal significance of remittances as a source of funds for investment decreases in countries with well-developed institutions.

The sample excludes some of the SSA countries due to the unavailability of data.

In the face of current institutional weaknesses, there is a need for SSA countries to prioritize policies that encourage the effective use of remittances for business activities. Furthermore, SSA countries must improve their economic freedom and democratic practices by reducing government size, protecting property rights, and promoting respect for political and civil rights.

This is the first study to analyze the relationship between remittances, institutional quality and investment in SSA. It also provides a novel framework for future research on the remittance–investment nexus.

In this paper, the author comments on the influence of political structures on public mental health. Using psychoanalytic theory and a Kleinian framework, the author suggests that current political systems and culture can be inhibiting of mental development and health. The paper explores the concept of democracy as an ideal and the effects it has on public mental health. The paper raises the question of political restructuring as a means of promoting mental health and suggests that there is a role for further interdisciplinary work in this area.

Internationalization is of high relevance and has been discussed intensively. However, different internationalization paths have been proposed by theoretical models and have been observed in reality. In this study, we examine the internationalization path of 52 German firms over a period of ten years using comprehensive and rich data on all new ventures established by these companies within this period. We find four distinct patterns of internationalization and propose a stage model of internationalization based on these findings. Our results show different challenges for managers depending on the stage of internationalization and render interesting starting points for further research.

This paper aims to examine the effect of face consciousness on purchase intention of organic food, to test whether this relationship would be moderated by purchase situation (group vs individual) and advertising appeal (altruistic vs egoistic), and to explain the mediating role of perceived social value in these moderating effects.

Four between-subjects experiments were carried out (N = 123, N = 126, N = 130, N = 123) by using online questionnaires. Measured variables were introduced to assess participants' face consciousness, perceived social value and purchase intention. Two manipulated between-subjects variable were introduced to test how purchase situation (group vs individual) and advertising appeal (altruistic vs egoistic) moderates the relationship between face consciousness and purchase intention of organic food. SPSS Statistics 24 was used for the analysis of all experimental data.

Consumers with high face consciousness were more willing to buy organic food. Compared with the individual situation, face consciousness had a stronger impact on the purchase intention when the individual was in a group situation. Compared with egoistic appeals, face consciousness had a stronger impact on the purchase intention when the advertising appeal was altruistic. Perceived social value partly mediated the moderating effect of purchase situation and advertising appeal.

This study validates previous contributions on the effect of face consciousness on purchase intention of organic food and extends them by introducing two moderating variables. Additionally, it introduces perceived social value as a mediating variable to explain the mechanism of this effect.

The Social Enterprise Mark (SEM) is claimed to be the first award that guarantees to the public that an organisation is a social enterprise. To date, there has been limited discussion of its conceptual dimensions and legitimacy. This paper seeks to make a contribution to knowledge by critically discussing its conceptual dimensions and exploring its impact.

This exploratory study uses feedback from participants on open access co‐operative and social enterprise workshops. They were asked to study published SEM criteria then rank ideal types of social enterprise activity (a worker co‐operative, a trading charity and a self‐employed consultant) in order of likelihood of obtaining the SEM.

Workshop participants from different backgrounds drew the conclusion that SEM criteria favour trading charities and community interest companies with social and environmental objects, not enterprises that deliver social benefits through transforming labour relations and wealth sharing. Participants reacted to their own deliberations differently depending on their sectoral affiliation.

Attempts by the academic community to define the social enterprise sector have run into linguistic and practical problems. Definitions tend to privilege one group of social enterprises over another. The arrival of the SEM in the UK takes place amidst these conceptual and practical difficulties.

The SEM criteria contribute to social constructions of social enterprise that favour “social purpose” enterprises that explicitly target a beneficiary group or community, and not “socialised” enterprises that transform labour relations, promote participative democracy, and design new wealth sharing arrangements.

The paper suggests there has been a shift away from the co‐operative values advanced by the founders of the UK social enterprise movement. To secure legitimacy, the paper proposes changes to the SEM to re‐establish the conceptual alignment of social enterprise and the social economy.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt the buckling analysis of a laminated composite skew plate using the C₀ finite element (FE) model based on higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) in conjunction with minimax probability machine regression (MPMR) and multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS).

HSDT considers the third-order variation of in-plane displacements which eliminates the use of shear correction factor owing to realistic parabolic transverse shear stresses across the thickness coordinate. At the top and bottom of the plate, zero transverse shear stress condition is imposed. C₀ FE model based on HSDT is developed and coded in formula translation (FORTRAN). FE model is validated and found efficient to create new results. MPMR and MARS models are coded in MATLAB. Using skew angle (α), stacking sequence (Ai) and buckling strength (Y) as input parameters, a regression problem is formulated using MPMR and MARS to predict the buckling strength of laminated composite skew plates.

The results of the MPMR and MARS models are in good agreement with the FE model result. MPMR is a better tool than MARS to analyze the buckling problem.

The present work considers the linear behavior of the laminated composite skew plate.

To the authors’ best of knowledge, there is no work in the literature on the buckling analysis of a laminated composite skew plate using C₀ FE formulation based on third-order shear deformation theory in conjunction with MPMR and MARS. These machine-learning techniques increase efficiency, reduce the computational time and reduce the cost of analysis. Further, an equation is generated with the MARS model via which the buckling strength of the laminated composite skew plate can be predicted with ease and simplicity.

India’s historical fiscal performance has featured elevated deficit levels. Driven by the imperative need for fiscal stimulus measures in response to the crisis, efforts toward fiscal consolidation from 2003 to 2008 were reversed in 2008–2009 due to the financial crisis. These stimulus actions are believed to have wielded a notable influence on inflation dynamics. Presumably, a high inflation rate hinders growth and inflicts severe welfare costs. Accordingly, the principal objective of this paper is to scrutinise the threshold effects of fiscal deficit on inflation within the context of the Indian economy.

We employed the Smooth Transition Autoregressive (STAR) Model, a robust tool for capturing non-linear relationships, to discern the specific threshold level of fiscal deficit. Our analysis encompasses annual data spanning from 1971 to 2020. Additionally, we have leveraged the Toda-Yamamoto causality test to establish the existence and direction of a causal connection between fiscal deficit and inflation in the Indian economy.

Our analysis pinpointed a critical threshold level of 3.40% for fiscal deficit, a value beyond which inflation dynamics in India undergo a marked transition, signifying the presence of significant non-linear effects. Moreover, the results derived from the Toda-Yamamoto causality test offer substantiating evidence of a causal relationship originating from the fiscal deficit and leading to inflation within the Indian economic framework.

The findings of our study carry significant implications, particularly for the formulation and execution of both fiscal and monetary policies. Understanding the threshold effects of fiscal deficit on inflation in India provides policymakers with valuable insights into achieving a harmonious balance between these two critical economic variables.

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to empirically investigate threshold effects of fiscal deficit on inflation in India from a non-linear perspective using the Smooth Transition Autoregression (STAR) model.