Knowledge transfer, assimilation, transformation and exploitation significantly impact performing business activities, developing innovations and moving forward to new business models such as transferring to a circular economy. However, organizations’ decisions or willingness to transition to a circular economy are very often also influenced by the external environment. The study aims to determine the influence of the external environment on the transfer from a linear to a circular economy while mediating knowledge assimilation. The quantitative research involved 159 Nordic capital companies operating in Estonia and Lithuania. The survey has been performed by means of the CATI method. The analysis has been done also by applying structural equation modelling (SEM). In order to perform mediation analysis, IBM SPSS and a special PROCESS macro have been used. The study showed that knowledge assimilation partially mediates the relationship between the external environment and the transfer to the circular economy. Hence, the external environment’s direct effect is much more significant than the indirect. The added value of the study also consists in extending the concept of circular economy by including some aspects of absorptive capacity and the external environment.

Outsourcing logistics operations is a common trend as businesses prioritize core activities. Establishing a sustainable partnership between businesses and logistics service providers requires a systematic approach. This study is needed to develop a more effective and adaptive framework for logistics service provider selection by integrating diverse criteria and decision-making methodologies, ultimately enhancing the precision and sustainability of procurement processes. This study advocate for leveraging industry-based knowledge in procurement, emphasizing the need to define decision-making elements. The research analyzes nearly 300 logistics procurement projects, using a neural network-based methodology to propose a model that aids businesses in identifying optimal criteria for evaluating logistics service providers based on extensive industry knowledge. The goal of this study is to develop and test a practical model that would support businesses in choosing most suitable criteria for selection of logistics service providers based on cumulative market patterns. The results of this study are as follows. It introduces novel elements by gathering and systematizing unique market data using developed data processing methodology. It innovatively classifies decision-making elements, allocating them into distinct groups for use as features in a neural network. The study further contributes by developing and training a predictive model based on a prepared dataset, addressing pre-defined goals, expectations related to green logistics, and specific requirements in the tendering process for selecting logistics service providers. Study is concluded by summarizing suggestions for future research in area of adopting neural networks for selection of logistics service providers.

This study examines the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) and employee motivation on employee performance within the telecommunication industry in the Sultanate of Oman. The target population consisted of 4344 non-managerial employees across nine telecommunication companies, including Omantel, Ooredoo, Vodafone, Oman Broadband Company, Awasr Oman & Co, TEO, Oman Tower Company L.L.C, Helios Tower, and Connect Arabia International. Employing a deductive research approach, finally data were collected via an online survey from 354 respondents. The hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that all dimensions of EI self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills positively and significantly influence employee performance, with social skills having the strongest effect. Furthermore, both intrinsic motivation factors, such as work itself and career development, and extrinsic motivation factors, including wages, rewards, working environment, and co-worker relationships, significantly enhance employee performance. The interaction between EI and employee motivation was found to amplify these positive effects. Among control variables, age and education level showed significant impacts, while gender did not. These findings underscore the critical role of both emotional intelligence and motivation in driving employee performance. The study suggests that managers and policymakers should adopt integrated strategies that develop EI competencies and enhance motivational factors to optimize employee performance, thereby contributing to the success of organizations in the telecommunication sector.

The application of governance in recent years appears as a tool of entities that organize sport. Considering this aspect, it was observed that many sports entities present problems in following mechanisms to improve management, both in national and international contexts. Governance materializes with principles of transparency, accountability, equity, institutional integrity, and modernity, in order to aid sports entities. Thus, the development of sports entities could improve management, professionalization, and innovation. Based on the aforementioned, this article aims to demonstrate whether the principles of governance found in the literature are contemplated in Brazilian sports confederations, pointing to the possibility of finding distinct characteristics among the confederations, and the confederation with the highest index for Brazilian sports. The methodology is a longitudinal discursive analysis. The results use data from 2015 to 2022 from the Sou do Esporte Governance Awards and the analysis is based on five governance principles; transparency, equity, accountability, institutional integrity, and modernity. The confederations were found to have adopted the principles of governance to improve, professionalize, and optimize their sports management. The results suggest that the use of governance can enhance the confederations and improve the management, legitimacy, and development of sports in Brazil. The authors consider the nuances reported in the study as imperative to improve the progress of Brazilian sports, and the contribution made could generate other discussions in different contexts and countries.

In the 21st century, brand communication has been significantly transformed through the interaction of users and artificial intelligence (AI), who co-create and recreate texts in digital environments. This evolution challenges traditional disciplines and roles, opening new perspectives for textual production on multiple platforms. The study examines the current state and application of the textual component in brand communication, exploring its disciplinary foundations, rhetorical traces, and research methodologies. To this end, a content analysis of 97 relevant publications from 2000 to 2024 was conducted, selected for their impact on the field of brand communication and following the guidelines established in the PRISMA statement. The results identified three sources of textual creation: Organization, users and algorithms. In addition, persuasion and sentiment take precedence at the rhetorical level, while data mining stands out in message analysis. In conclusion, the advertising text, which previously prevailed in brand communication with corporate authorship, formal prefiguration and a closed entity, now expands in a media and networked context. This text originates from a multiplicity of human and automated sources, overlapping rhetorical phases and fluid textualities. The shift implies a transition from unidirectional communication, characterized by repeated impacts, to multidirectional communication with spiraling trajectories and iterative adjustments. This challenges the boundaries of genres and formats, merging the persuasiveness of rhetoric and the imagination of storytelling. This situation demands commercial policies that integrate new professionals and roles, in partnership with the educational sector, and that address copyright with AI and users.

This study explores the intricate relationship between family functioning, emotional bonding, parent-child contact, and academic success among students through a serial mediation analysis. The research, conducted on a sample of 200 participants, sheds light on the indirect pathways through which family dynamics influence academic achievements, emphasizing the significance of emotional connections and parent-child interactions. The findings affirm the positive association between family functioning and academic achievement, in alignment with prior research. Additionally, the study identifies parent-child bonds and contact as partial mediators in this relationship, reinforcing previous findings. A noteworthy discovery is the full complementary sequential mediation effect, revealing that family functioning’s influence on academic success becomes substantial when emotional bonds foster increased parent-child contact. In conclusion, this research underscores the importance of emotional bonds and parent-child contact as sequential mediators, emphasizing their role in translating family dynamics into academic achievements among students. While providing valuable insights, the study acknowledges limitations such as sample size, potential sampling bias, self-reported measures, and a cross-sectional design. Addressing these limitations and expanding the scope of outcomes in future research will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics within family and educational institutions relationships and their profound impacts on students’ academic success.