This research assesses the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-based batch order picking in a warehouse, focusing on benefits, challenges, and critical success factors. Using customer order data and simulation, the study employs a quantitative approach, combining mathematical and statistical estimations with qualitative examinations centered on interviews with the warehouse staff, its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) developer, and the AI developer. The findings of this mixed-method study reveal that the AI-based order-picking system (AI-based system) has improved order-picking efficiency by reducing travel distance and time. Nevertheless, challenges hinder maximum utilization of the system. In addition, the research highlights critical success factors and other benefits of adopting the system tailored to warehouse management. Understanding the lessons learned in this research is essential for businesses seeking to adopt AI to enhance their efficiency.

Various COVID-19 vaccines are available across the world. However, short phases of clinical trials for emergency use and myriad rumors about and misinformation on vaccines spread through different media sources, induce confusion and trigger vaccine hesitancy behavior. Although clinical trials demonstrated promising results in the ability of vaccines to protect, social endeavor is required for vaccines to succeed. Mitigation of the pandemic is only possible through widespread acceptance of the vaccine. Thus, identifying the factors that impact vaccine intake is crucial. This study determined factors that affect intentions toward vaccination using a mixed-method approach, in which qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted together. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used in the quantitative study, and content analysis is employed in the qualitative study. The final sample of this mixed-method study consists of 568 participants for the quantitative study and 237 for the qualitative study. They were selected using an online questionnaire. Findings suggest that social, psychological, attitudinal, perceptual, and informational factors play a crucial role in shaping people's intentions toward vaccines, ultimately influencing their decision to accept or reject vaccination. Results of both the qualitative and quantitative studies, in parallel with each other, indicated similar barriers against and drivers toward vaccine intake behavior, providing strong insights into the reasons behind vaccine acceptance and hesitancy. Based on the insights gained in this study, a set of recommendations were compiled for policymakers.

Counterfeit drugs have long been a major concern. In search of a solution, this study conducted a systematic literature review. Using an automated content analysis of pharmaceutical blockchains, this study identifies the (1) unique characteristics of smart contracts on blockchain platforms in the pharmaceutical supply chain, (2) role of smart contracts to combat counterfeit drugs, and (3) avenues for future studies. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed at the end of this paper. 

The price of a stock rises or falls in relation to a number of different factors, including changes to the economy brought about by pandemics. A few studies have already identified the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the stock market. However, empirical evidence is lacking on changes in stock price performance of blockchain-based companies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We use the event study approach to estimate stock expected returns by applying an asset pricing model over a thirty-day event window around the announcement on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as a global pandemic, using a sample of S&P Global 1200 companies. Overall, our results indicate more sensitivity in blockchain-based companies' stock prices to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to those of non-blockchain-based companies. Cumulative abnormal returns show that the stock price of blockchain-based companies recover losses slower than non-blockchain companies. Our findings are important for investors and shareholders for future pandemics and events.

Public procurement is increasingly being recognized as a tool to promote corporate social responsibility and a vehicle to help governments achieve their social development goals. Due to their power to intervene and their reliance on tax money, public sector organizations are focused on expanding the inclusion of social responsibility in their public procurement strategies. At the EU level, there is a strong focus on providing new opportunities for public authorities to promote socially responsible public procurement. Utilizing translation theory and following the travel of ideas framework in a Scandinavian institutionalism approach, this study maps the adoption, development, and implementation of social responsibility in public procurement through the five stages of materialization, categorization, transportation, institutionalization, and re-travel. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with public procurement authorities from municipalities, regional councils, and governmental organizations in Sweden. The findings show that the travel of social responsibility policies in public procurement follows a new Scandinavian institutionalism approach that has brought policy makers freedom in prioritizing social issues but leaves them confused about what to prioritize.

Furthermore, while the results show a positive relationship in organizations between their size, measured as full-time procurement employees, and their maturity level in terms of social responsibility, this maturity level is not associated with their procurement spending. The study findings have important implications for research on socially responsible public procurement. Additionally, the data collected from public organizations suggest several ways that policy makers can include, promote, and institutionalize social responsibility in their procurement strategies to reduce disparity and improve social welfare.

We examine whether the financial strength of companies, in particular, small and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) is causally linked to the award of a public procurement contract (PP), especially inthe environmentally friendly “green” area (GPP). For this purpose, we build a combined procurementcompany data set from the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) and the SME database AMADEUS, whichincludes ten European countries. First, we apply probit models to investigate whether the probabilityof winning the public tender depends on the company's financial strength. We then use theFlexpanel DiD approach to investigate the question of whether the award has an impact on thefuture financial strength of the successful company. On the one hand, we find that a lower equityratio and a higher short-term debt ratio increase the probability of being successful in a publictender. On the other hand, the success means that the companies can continue to work after theaward with a lower equity ratio than comparable companies without an award, regardless ofwhether the company was successful in a traditional or a “green” public tender. We conclude fromthis that the success in a PP is a substitute for one's own financial strength and thus facilitates accessto external financing. The estimation results differ depending on whether public procurement ingeneral or the sub-group of “green” public procurement is examined. 

The environmental and social responsibility of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has become a significant issue in recent years. As a result, MNEs can generate favorable attitudes and gain legitimacy among their culturally and socially diverse stakeholders in international markets by disclosing information about their CSR activities using various tools. This study considers the content of one type of these communication tools: the CSR report. However, for CSR information to be communicated efficiently, it must first and foremost be understandable and readable for MNEs' global stakeholders with different language skills and comprehension abilities. Through a content analysis of CSR disclosure of ten of the most sustainable MNEs, we aim to answer the question of whether they are readable or not among their international stakeholders. By using 14 readability indices, the results show that these reports are not readable enough for the international audience of the enterprises and that the extent of their syntactic complexity makes them difficult to comprehend.

Being aware of the extent of the tourism industry and that it is ever growing, which is also encouraged in many individual countries by the national and regional governments, it is evident that the tourism industry is an essential target group for introducing circular concepts and implementing circular solutions. Yet, this sector has so far received little attention in the literature and initiatives on circularity.

Circular Economy (CE) goes beyond “green” or “environmental”, it includes all aspects of a community and challenges us to create solutions that are completely different from what we are used to. It also invites us to open up and interact with other stakeholders and the general public.

In your hands is the first training material in circular economy specifically developed for small to medium sized companies of the tourism industry in the South Baltic Region. It is a small but important step in the direction towards circularity and a wellbeing society. Through this work we have shown that despite cultural challenges and regional differences there is a shared, common interest in making tourism more sustainable and even to work together towards a transformation of the hospitality industry. This common vision has been stronger than the challenges we faced in making this work and this is what will ensure the continued growing awareness on circularity and its integration in different sectors in our communities. In this work we have featured some of the groundbreaking experts in this field, and some of the first good practices from our regions. They are all courageous pioneers in a field that with time will become the norm. In fact, in the 10th Annual Forum of the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (12-13/6/2019, Gdansk, Poland), CE was highlighted as the pathway to reach prosperity and wellbeing in the Baltic Sea Region.

This article examines the perspectives of immigrant entrepreneurs on the barriers they face regarding their inclusion in public procurement in Sweden through the so-called supplier diversity programs. Drawing upon modern stakeholder theory and transaction cost economics, this study aims to identify potential barriers such entrepreneurs face in succeeding as suppliers to the public sector. Data were collected through interviews with immigrant entrepreneurs who had experience with the public procurement tender process in Sweden. The results reveal that immigrant entrepreneurs doing business with public procurement face several barriers, ranging from economic to social ones such as information, advertising, human resources, and undercapitalization. The interviewees believe that such barriers weaken their performance and hinder their success in public procurement tenders. When it comes to supplier diversity programs, the entrepreneurs under study were either unaware of such programs in public procurement in Sweden or did not believe in their effectiveness.

Considering importance of consumers’ understanding of sustainability in shaping their attitude toward CSR and its successful implementation, this research uses the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET) to develop a deeper understanding of how consumers perceive sustainability in general and sustainable consumption in particular. Based on the premise that most human communication is nonverbal, we used pictures as the medium of data collection and asked the 52 participants in this study to collect pictures that visualize their perception and understanding of sustainable consumption.

Results show that overall understanding of sustainability exists among respondents; however, the majority of them have very little knowledge about actual and global meaning of sustainable consumption. Moreover, there existed a discrepancy between different age groups’ understanding of sustainable consumption. Hence, knowing the role of individual’s perception and personal values in the behavioral intention formation process, and given the fact that consumers play a vital role in the success CSR activities, this study suggests that knowing consumers and their perception of sustainability is essential to firms for using CSR as a marketing and branding tool.