Implementing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals in international business

A Sustainable Multi-Objective Model for Capacitated-Electric-Vehicle-Routing-Problem Considering Hard and Soft Time Windows as Well as Partial Recharging

Due to the high pollution of the transportation sector, nowadays the role of electric vehicles has been noticed more and more by governments, organizations, and environmentally friendly people. On the other hand, the problem of electric vehicle routing (EVRP) has been widely studied in recent years. This paper deals with an extended version of EVRP, in which electric vehicles (EVs) deliver goods to customers. The limited battery capacity of EVs causes their operational domains to be less than those of gasoline vehicles. For this purpose, several charging stations are considered in this study for EVs. In addition, depending on the operational domain, a full charge may not be needed, which reduces the operation time. Therefore, partial recharging is also taken into account in the present research. This problem is formulated as a multi-objective integer linear programming model, whose objective functions include economic, environmental, and social aspects. Then, the preemptive fuzzy goal programming method (PFGP) is exploited as an exact method to solve small-sized problems. Also, two hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms inspired by nature, including MOSA, MOGWO, MOPSO, and NSGAII_TLBO, are utilized to solve large-sized problems. The results obtained from solving the numerous test problems demonstrate that the hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm can provide efficient solutions in terms of quality and non-dominated solutions in all test problems. In addition, the performance of the algorithms was compared in terms of four indexes: time, MID, MOCV, and HV. Moreover, statistical analysis is performed to investigate whether there is a significant difference between the performance of the algorithms. The results indicate that the MOSA algorithm performs better in terms of the time index. On the other hand, the NSGA-II-TLBO algorithm outperforms in terms of the MID, MOCV, and HV indexes.

Turning plastics/microplastics into valuable resources? Current and potential research for future applications

Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials, mainly consisting of polymers. The use of plastics has increased to over 300 million metric tonnes in recent years, and by 2050, it is expected to grow to 800 million. Presently, a mere 10% of plastic waste is recycled, with approximately 75% ended up in landfills. Inappropriate disposal of plastic waste into the environment poses a threat to human lives and marine species. Therefore, this review article highlights potential routes for converting plastic/microplastic waste into valuable resources to promote a greener and more sustainable environment. The literature review revealed that plastics/microplastics (P/MP) could be recycled or upcycled into various products or materials via several innovative processes. For example, P/MP are recycled and utilized as anodes in lithium-ion (Li-ion) and sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries. The anode in Na-ion batteries comprising PP carbon powder exhibits a high reversible capacity of ∼340 mAh/g at 0.01 A/g current state. In contrast, integrating Fe3O4 and PE into a Li-ion battery yielded an excellent capacity of 1123 mAh/g at 0.5 A/g current state. Additionally, recycled Nylon displayed high physical and mechanical properties necessary for excellent application as 3D printing material. Induction heating is considered a revolutionary pyrolysis technique with improved yield, efficiency, and lower energy utilization. Overall, P/MPs are highlighted as abundant resources for the sustainable production of valuable products and materials such as batteries, nanomaterials, graphene, and membranes for future applications.

Disasters and international business: Insights and recommendations from a systematic review

Disasters – natural or manmade – are on the rise with far-reaching implications for international business (IB) actors and transactions. While the Covid-19 pandemic has generated much academic interest for its impact on business in general, little effort has been made to consolidate the fragmented research on disasters more broadly in the field of international business. Therefore, it is important and urgent to consolidate the existing knowledge to provide a solid basis for future research. We systematically review 132 articles published between 1991 and 2022 and critically evaluate the nascent but rapidly growing literature at the intersection of disasters and IB. Our examination of the different types of disasters (natural and manmade) shows two separate streams: (1) a dominant MNE-centric stream of strategic IB research which regards disaster as an exogenous shock impacting MNE strategies, responses, and resilience, and (2) an emergent stream which places disaster as a more central, embedded phenomenon of investigation impacted by MNEs and other global actors. Our systematic review highlights the gaps in this literature and concludes with a discussion of the intersection of IB-disasters in relation to the 17 United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to suggest directions for future research.

A Dynamic Model of Internationalization and Innovation in Emerging Market Enterprises: Knowledge Exploration, Transformation, and Exploitation

Drawing on organizational learning theory and taking an institutional perspective, this study investigates (1) the dynamic relationship between internationalization and innovation in emerging market enterprises (EMEs), and (2) how state ownership moderates the focal relationships. Using a panel dataset of listed Chinese firms from 2007 to 2018, we find that internationalization encourages innovation input in EMEs, which in turn transforms into more innovation output. Higher innovation output leads to further international commitment, creating a dynamic upward spiral of internationalization and innovation. Interestingly, state ownership positively moderates the innovation input-innovation output link but negatively moderates the relationship between innovation output and internationalization. Our paper enriches and refines our understanding of the dynamic relationship between internationalization and innovation in EMEs by integrating the knowledge exploration, transformation, and exploitation perspectives, with the institutional perspective of state ownership.

Industry 4.0 in international business research

The advent of Industry 4.0 promises to transform the global business landscape, the nature of markets and industries, and the way multinationals organize their operations as well as how and where they compete. These changes will have important - indeed profound - implications for IB scholarship. In this article, we explain Industry 4.0 and its distinguishing characteristics; discuss its organizational and strategic implications for multinationals; and outline the fundamental questions it raises for future IB research. To spur future analysis, we also present a conceptual foundation that articulates the new features, processes, and capabilities that support MNEs' pursuit of Industry 4.0-related opportunities surrounding digitalization, intelligence, technology, and innovation. We also discuss what Industry 4.0 means for IB research concerning social engagement, environmental sustainability, and international entrepreneurship. We elucidate how this new landscape shapes the extant IB literature and how future research can push it further along.

Ecosystem social responsibility in international digital commerce

Despite the surge of interest in digital globalization, its social dimensions have received far less attention than deserved. The lack of conversation between the two prominent areas of IB research, digitalization, and corporate social responsibility, presents a valuable opportunity for extending the agenda Ioannou and Serafeim (J Int Bus Stud 43(9):834-864, 2012) pioneered a decade earlier. We briefly depict the organizational differences between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and multinational platforms (MNPs), followed by a closer look at how social responsibility of digital platforms might depart from our conventional understanding derived from MNEs. We then propose the notion of ecosystem social responsibility emphasizing social value co-creation before categorizing the main areas of social issues specific to MNPs. Based on these ideas, we derive several new insights into the social challenges faced by firms governing global platforms versus multidomestic platforms, respectively, as they serve international markets. Lastly, we discuss future research directions and, in particular, the implications for ecosystem sustainability.

Multi-stakeholder Engagement for the Sustainable Development Goals: Introduction to the Special Issue

The world is not on track to achieve Agenda 2030-the approach chosen in 2015 by all UN member states to engage multiple stakeholders for the common goal of sustainable development. The creation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) arguably offered a new take on sustainable development by adopting hybrid and principle-based governance approaches, where public, private, not for profit and knowledge-institutions were invited to engage around achieving common medium-term targets. Cross-sector partnerships and multi-stakeholder engagement for sustainability have consequently taken shape. But the call for collaboration has also come with fundamental challenges to meaningful engagement strategies-when private enterprises try to establish elaborate multi-stakeholder configurations. How can the purpose of businesses be mitigated through multi-stakeholder principle-based partnerships to effectively serve the purpose of a common sustainability agenda? In selecting nine scholarly contributions, this special issue aims at advancing this discourse. To stimulate further progress in business studies, this introductory essay, furthermore, identifies three pathways for research on multi-stakeholder engagement processes in support of the Decade of Action along three coupling lines: multi-sector alignment (relational coupling), operational perception alignment (cognitive coupling) and goal and strategic alignment (material coupling).

Rainbow Wash or Rainbow Revolution? Dynamic Stakeholder Engagement for SDG-Driven Responsible Innovation

The United Nations' increasing involvement in global sustainability culminated in 2015 with the release of the 2030 Agenda. This agenda puts businesses in the spotlight, and their innovation and stakeholder partnering activities are portrayed as essential strategies for achieving an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this study, we identify six distinct dynamic stakeholder engagement strategies-resilient specialists, opportunity explorers, uncommitted diversifiers, rainbow warriors, rainbow washers, and progressive learners-and distinguish two approaches to innovate, depending on the range of SDG targets aimed to achieve simultaneously. On the one hand, for firms that take a narrow approach intended to achieve a reduced set of SDG targets, we predict that successful dynamic stakeholder engagement strategies are those that end up with an intensive collaboration with a reduced number of stakeholder groups. On the other hand, for firms adopting a broad innovation approach to satisfy a wide set of SDG targets, we predict that successful dynamic stakeholder engagement strategies are those that end up interacting with a wide number of stakeholder groups. Longitudinal analysis of more than 3900 Spanish firms supports our predictions and suggests clear implications for responsible innovation research and the advancement of sustainable development through collaboration.

Tracing the connections between international business and communicable diseases

We posit that international business and the emergence and spread of communicable diseases are intrinsically connected. To support our arguments, we first start with a historical timeline that traces the connections between international business and communicable diseases back to the sixth century. Second, following the epidemiology of communicable diseases, we identify two crucial transitions related to international business: the emergence of epidemics within a host country and the shift from epidemics to global pandemics. Third, we highlight international business contextual factors (host country regulatory quality, urbanization, trade barriers, global migration) and multinationals' activities (foreign direct investment, corporate political activity, global supply chain management, international travel) that could accelerate each transition. Finally, building on public health insights, we suggest research implications for business scholars on how to integrate human health challenges into their studies and practical implications for global managers on how to help prevent the emergence and spread of communicable diseases.