The contraction of manufacturing economic activity in Latin American countries has been affected by the health crisis in the last few years. This phenomenon has negatively impacted the Latin American countries’ economies. In order to evaluate the impact of the manufacturing economy, this research integrates the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the growth of the Ecuadorian manufacturing sector, from 1981 to 2019, considering the role of the state through public spending using cointegration. The results are not consistent considering the empirical framework used; thus, FDI has a negative and significant influence on the manufacturing sector. Also, the manufacturing sector has a strong relationship with FDI in the short run and a less significant one in the long run. The results presented in this research suggest promoting domestic and FDI in the manufacturing sector, not only towards overexploited and monopolized sectors such as mining and telecommunications.

The Urabá region, known for its banana production, faces significant challenges due to seasonal droughts that affect crop productivity. The implementation of innovative technologies, such as efficient irrigation systems, is presented as a potential solution to improve the sustainability and profitability of plantations. This study validates the implementation of an irrigation system in a banana (Musa spp.) plantation located in the region of Urabá, in order to meet the water needs of the crop during periods of drought. A case study was carried out in a banana plantation in the region of Urabá, considering the maximum and minimum monthly losses due to drought, and a random sample was used to measure the weight before and after the implementation of the irrigation system, in order to carry out an economic analysis. The study shows that the implementation of a sprinkler irrigation system increases the average weight of the harvested bunches by 20%, which is reflected in an annual increase of 30.3% of exported boxes, obtaining satisfactory results in terms of internal rate of return, cost-benefit ratio and return on investment. The implementation of irrigation systems makes it possible to increase competitiveness in international markets, especially in regions such as Urabá, where the use of these technologies is still incipient.

This study investigates how digital transformation influences visitor satisfaction at 12 World Heritage Sites (WHS) across eight coastal provinces in Eastern and Southern China. Utilizing 402 valid survey responses, it explores the impact of demographic factors—education, age, and income—on visitors’ perceptions of digital services, particularly focusing on usability, quality, and overall experience. The findings reveal that younger, higher-income, and STEM-educated visitors express significantly higher satisfaction with digital services, while older, lower-income visitors report lower levels of engagement and satisfaction. This research highlights the need for tailored digital strategies that cater to diverse demographic groups, ensuring the balance between technological innovation and the preservation of cultural authenticity at heritage sites. The originality of this study lies in its focus on non-Western contexts, particularly China’s rapidly developing coastal regions, which have been largely overlooked in the global discourse on digital tourism. By applying established theoretical frameworks—such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Expectation-Confirmation Theory (ECT)—to a non-Western setting, this research fills a crucial gap in the literature. The insights provided offer actionable recommendations for heritage site managers to enhance visitor engagement, adapt digital services to demographic variations, and promote sustainable tourism development.

In recent years, enological tourism, also known as wine tourism, has emerged as a globally popular tourism product. The role of wine tourism in Slovakia is similarly significant, given the country’s favourable conditions for the development of wine tourism products. The objective of this study is to analyze the current demand for wine-themed experiences among tourists in the Nitra region. This paper presents a characterization of wine tourism based on an analysis of secondary sources. Following the processing of the initial findings from a demand-oriented questionnaire survey, the authors endeavor to delineate the profile of the wine tourism visitor by examining the demand for wine tourism from the vantage point of domestic consumers. It is the authors’ contention that an understanding of the profile of the wine tourism visitor is beneficial in optimising the provision of wine tourism products and stimulating the development of tourism infrastructure.

This paper presents a quantitative exploration of the functionality of cost accounting systems and their determinants in social welfare organizations. We conducted a questionnaire survey of managers of social welfare organizations running special nursing homes for the elderly and conducted a cluster analysis based on the data collected. The questionnaire was created based on the scales used in previous studies, with some new scales developed. For data analysis, the statistical analysis environment R was used. The clValid package of R was used to assess the validity of the cluster analysis. Based on the results of the analysis in this paper, it is expected that social welfare organizations that pursue cost leadership strategies and have a strong public interest orientation will benefit greatly by being able to utilize a highly functional cost accounting system. Such organizations will be able to improve their business efficiency by utilizing cost information, and their social contribution activities based on the resulting resources will truly be a contribution to public welfare. The findings from this study are of practical significance because they can be used by business managers of social welfare organizations to review the functionality of their cost accounting systems. We also focus on the degree to which nonprofit organizations focus on social contribution activities (in this paper, we call this public interest orientation). The public interest orientation of an organization is thought to affect the functionality of the cost accounting system in the same way as the organization’s strategy, but there has not been enough quantitative research on this point. By focusing on the public interest orientation of social welfare organizations, this study contributes to deepening our knowledge in this area.

Over the past few years, there has been a consistent rise in the popularity of bodybuilding. This study did a bibliometric analysis to offer a systematic overview and facilitate researchers in obtaining comprehensive insights on the peculiarities of bodybuilding research. This study utilized the bibliometric analysis program Bibliometrix to identify 940 papers on bodybuilding from the Web of Science database. The publications were selected from the years 1976 to 2024 and were used for the analysis. This study provides a thorough and detailed analysis of bodybuilding research using visual representations. It includes information on the frequency of publications, the nations that have had the most impact on bodybuilding research (including institutions, sources, and authors), and notable areas of focus within the field. Furthermore, the research collaboration among nations (regions), organizations, and authors is depicted based on a set of collaboration studies. The bibliometric study of current literature offers useful and groundbreaking sources for academics and practitioners in the field of bodybuilding-related studies.