Purpose: The study examines the mediating effect of self-emotion appraisal and other-emotion appraisal on psychological safety, individual resilience, and organizational commitment at the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: This study generated 140 survey responses from workers in diverse occupations and industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-methods data analysis was conducted. Hierarchical regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses, and process macroanalysis was used to generate the mediation analysis. Qualitative data analysis through thematic coding was adopted to interpret the respondents’ written opinions and narratives. Findings: The results revealed that self-emotion appraisal strongly correlates to resilience, but evaluation of self-emotion has no effect on organizational commitment. Other-emotion appraisal and psychological safety are not significant predictors of resilience at the workplace. Rather, psychological safety is a significant predictor of organizational commitment. The qualitative analysis generated from the respondents’ narratives provides deeper insight into the quantitative results. Additional data that emerged from the qualitative interpretation revealed other factors that are related to emotional appraisal, psychological safety, resilience, and organizational commitment. Practical implications: The findings shed light on the need to understand an individual’s emotional appraisal when instilling workplace resilience. Further, promoting psychological safety, such as by involving employees in the change process, managing fairness perception, and eliciting trust, enhances organizational commitment in the workplace. Integrating open communication, management intervention, and coaching programmes should form part of the employee engagement and development functions to help build organizational resilience and commitment. Originality/value: This research is an original contribution conducted during the global health crisis that led to abrupt changes in the workers’ lives and the workplaces in Singapore. Research implications: This present study demonstrated constructive findings on emotion regulations and perceived psychological safety associated with resilience and commitment amid the disruptive changes in work practices at the workplace. Further, the outcome of the study shows the mediating effect of self-emotional appraisal on psychological safety and resilience. The result draws parallels with past literature that showed that individuals who appraised their emotions tended to recalibrate and recognize their subjective behaviour and take actions to modify it. Social implications: Emotion regulation connotes employees’ emotion coping strategies, and research showed that emotion reappraisal produces a positive effect on workplace relationship quality. 

The expanding blue economy, marked by its focus on sustainable use of ocean resources, offers enormous opportunity for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). However, for SMEs to properly integrate and succeed in this economy, they must first have a thorough awareness of the sector’s challenges and prospects. This research used a scoping review and a qualitative study to identify the challenges and opportunities facing SMEs operating in the blue economy. The study discovered recurring themes and gaps in the existing literature by conducting an extensive examination of scholarly publications. The key challenges identified include complicated regulatory frameworks, restricted access to funding, infrastructure restrictions, talent deficiencies, government support, and market outreach. In-depth interviews with Malaysian SME leaders, industry stakeholders, and policymakers were conducted to decipher these findings. The results of interviews confirmed the relevance of the regulatory framework, infrastructure restrictions, talent deficit, and market access challenges in the Malaysian context. In particular, the study revealed emerging opportunities for Malaysian blue SMEs in sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable fisheries, marine biotechnology, and ecotourism. The study emphasizes the importance of an encouraging policy framework, knowledge-sharing platforms, and capacity building activities. It finishes by underlining the ability of SMEs to drive a sustainable and thriving blue economy, if challenges are systematically handled, and opportunities are appropriately capitalized.

Digital humanists play a crucial role in the modern international business world by combining the principles of regular employees with the advancements of digital technologies to address a variety of challenges and opportunities. They are specific labour forces that are driving digital transformation and innovation in the modern international business world. This article presents some key impacts the digital humanists have on global business practices and strategies particularly in the area of international business. Using the advantages, the digital era in which we live provides, digital humanists are becoming part of the international workforce but in a different and non-standard way. The main purpose of this article is to highlight some of the main characteristics of this modern workforce, the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach. It should be noted that the article is part of a scientific research dedicated to the changes in the international human resource management due to the technology developments and digitalization of the international business. The main research methods used are literature summary and analysis, comparative analysis, focus group interviews.

This paper highlights the complex relationship between entrepreneurship, sustainable development, and economic growth in 41 European countries, using a reliable K-Means cluster analysis. The research thoroughly evaluates three key factors: the SDG Index for sustainable development, GDP per capita for economic well-being, and the New Business Density Rate for entrepreneurial activity. Our methodology reveals three distinct narratives that embody varying degrees of economic vitality and sustainability. Cluster 1 comprises the financially stable and sustainability-oriented countries of Western and Northern Europe. Cluster 2 showcases the variegated economic and sustainability initiatives in Central and Southern Europe. Cluster 3 envelopes the economic titans with noteworthy business expansion but with the potential for better sustainable practices. The analysis reveals a favourable association between economic prosperity and sustainable development within clusters, although with nonlinear intricacies. The research concludes with a series of strategic imperatives specifically crafted for each cluster, promoting economic variation, increased sustainability, invention, and worldwide collaboration. The resulting findings highlight the crucial need for policy-making that considers the specific context and the potential for combined European resilience and sustainability.

Raising public awareness of maritime risk and disseminating information about disaster prevention and reduction are the most frequent ways that the government incorporates citizens in marine disaster risk management (DRM). However, these measures are deemed to be insufficient to drive the participation rate. This study aims to understand the participation trend of citizens in marine DRM. On the basis of the theory of citizen participation’s ladder, public participation within marine DRM is categorized into non-participation, tokenistic participation, and substantive participation. Using organization theory, the government’s strategies for encouraging participation are classified into common approach (raising awareness), structural approach (innovating instruments), and cultural approach (developing citizenship). Considering the vignette experiment of 403 citizens in a coastal city of China that has historically been subject to marine disasters, it was found that effectiveness of the strategies, from highest to lowest, are citizenship development, risk education, and instruments innovation. At the individual level, psychological characteristics such as trust in the government, past disaster experience, and knowledge of marine DRM did not significantly influence citizens’ participation preferences. At the government level, even when citizens are informed about new participatory mechanisms and tools, they still tend to be unwilling to share responsibilities. However, self-efficacy and understanding the beneficial outcomes of their participation in marine (DRM) can positively impact the willingness to participate. The results show that to encourage public participation substantively in the marine DRM, it is important to cultivate a sense of civic duty and enhance citizens’ sense of ownership, fostering a closer and more equitable partnership between the state and society.

Background: Bitcoin mining, an energy-intensive process, requires significant amounts of electricity, which results in a particularly high carbon footprint from mining operations. In the Republic of Kazakhstan, where a substantial portion of electricity is generated from coal-fired power plants, the carbon footprint of mining operations is particularly high. This article examines the scale of energy consumption by mining farms, assesses their share in the country’s total electricity consumption, and analyzes the carbon footprint associated with bitcoin mining. A comparative analysis with other sectors of the economy, including transportation and industry is provided, along with possible measures to reduce the environmental impact of mining operations. Materials and methods: To assess the impact of bitcoin mining on the carbon footprint in Kazakhstan, electricity consumption from 2016 to 2023, provided by the Bureau of National Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was used. Data on electricity production from various types of power plants was also analyzed. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to analyze the environmental performance of energy systems. CO₂ emissions were estimated based on emission factors for various energy sources. Results: The total electricity consumption in Kazakhstan increased from 74,502 GWh in 2016 to 115,067.6 GWh in 2023. The industrial sector’s electricity consumption remained relatively stable over this period. The consumption by mining farms amounted to 10,346 GWh in 2021. A comparative analysis of CO₂ emissions showed that bitcoin mining has a higher carbon footprint compared to electricity generation from renewable sources, as well as oil refining and car manufacturing. Conclusions: Bitcoin mining has a significant negative impact on the environment of the Republic of Kazakhstan due to high electricity consumption and resulting carbon dioxide emissions. Measures are needed to transition to sustainable energy sources and improve energy efficiency to reduce the environmental footprint of cryptocurrency mining activities.