Abstract

It is imperative for residents to have access to safe facilities after an earthquake. This ensures the safety and well-being of individuals while minimizing the risks posed by aftershocks. This research has used multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) and network-based analysis to select and allocate emergency shelters (ESs). Several ESs are initially chosen as potential candidates. A weighting process is then used to evaluate various criteria, including proximity to the fault, fire stations, hospitals, main roads, the area of the ESs, and the population’s vulnerability. The centers are evaluated and ranked using the CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods. The Maximized Weighted Capacitated Coverage with a Radius (MWCCR) problem is used to address location and allocation issues for varying ESs using option rankings. The findings showed that increasing the number of centers does not always lead to a higher level of service delivery, assuming a consistent service delivery radius. The distribution of the centers is more crucial. Additionally, line density analysis is used to evaluate traffic conditions in the study area, assisting in finding areas with heavy traffic flow. When the radius of access for ESs is assumed to be small, the main roads bear less additional traffic, and with the increase of the radius, the amount of traffic on the main roads gradually increases. This is valuable information for emergency services following an earthquake.

Introduction

Earthquakes, as natural disasters, can cause extensive damage. Due to their potential to cause widespread damage to critical urban infrastructure, they are a significant challenge for large cities. Therefore, organizing crisis planning, including implementing policies that govern urban decisions, is very important to respond effectively to earthquakes [1], [2]. After an earthquake, one of the priorities is to quickly and safely evacuate citizens to protect them from potential hazards such as earthquakes, fires, and the spread of infectious diseases [3]. Emergency shelters (ESs) are safe places with necessary services for evacuating citizens during earthquakes [4]. Therefore, it is crucial to construct secure and appropriately located emergency evacuation facilities to mitigate risks following an earthquake. These facilities should have sufficient resources to support affected citizens [5]. Researchers face challenges in selecting the appropriate location for emergency evacuation due to multiple criteria. The city officials should allocate a budget to adapt the facilities and create a wide range of services in these centers. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the optimal location and quantity of ESs to minimize costs. Selecting these centers’ locations involves a location–allocation problem with two components. A positioning component determines the placement of ESs and outlines how these centers serve the population in the allocation section [6], [7]. Therefore, to determine appropriate locations for ESs, a solution must be selected to address the location allocation problem.

Various approaches have been used in studies on location allocation for ES planning. Some approaches have focused on allocating ESs to citizens in a single-objective manner, considering only one criterion, such as time or distance. Many studies commonly use single-objective techniques such as p-median, p-center, and maximum coverage. Multi-objective and hierarchical models have been used in some studies. Additionally, geographic information systems (GIS) methods, such as the Voronoi diagram, can be used [8], [9].

Conclusion

ESs are essential for promoting peace and ensuring the safety of individuals during earthquakes and potential aftershocks. These centers’ locating and coverage areas should be optimized to prioritize citizen safety and maximize accessibility. This study aimed to identify and allocate ESs in a part of Tehran’s 12th district. Potential ESs were initially selected based on specific criteria, including their proximity to fault lines, fire stations, hospitals, main roads, ES areas, and population vulnerability. The criteria were weighted, and the centers were ranked using the CRITIC and TOPSIS methods.

According to the results obtained using the CRITIC method, the criteria of distance from the hospital and fire department had the highest weight (0.19). In contrast, the area criteria had the lowest weight (0.12). The TOPSIS method has been used to rank the ESs by assigning weights to the criteria. The ranked centers were utilized to address the issue of location and allocation. In the location problem, priority was given to centers with higher ratings. The location and allocation issues have been resolved for different numbers of ESs. Based on the results, the service delivery radius is assumed to remain constant. Simply increasing the number of centers does not guarantee better service delivery. The distribution is crucial. When the coverage radius was set to 500 m, increasing the number of ESs decreased the occupancy percentage of the centers. This indicates that the centers were not fully utilized because they were more than 500 meters away from the residents. If the coverage radius is small, the distribution of centers becomes more significant. This requires considering multiple centers in different locations. In cases where the radius was set at 1000 and 1500 m, there was an increase in the percentage of service delivery and occupancy of ESs. The service coverage percentage within a 1500-meter radius was only about 60%, well below the desired value of 80%. It is possible to expand the distance to increase this case’s coverage. It is important to note that as the distance from centers increases, quick and easy access becomes more complex, which is crucial during times of crisis.

Abstract

Objective
To examine the prevalence and trend of experimental research on the effectiveness of ICT use in supporting the management of mass casualty incidents.

Methods
A systematic review was conducted in five electronic databases between February and March 2022 following the PRISMA guidelines. The analysis included studies published since 2012.

Results
A total of fifteen studies were included in the final analysis. Three themes were identified: 1) the response of medical teams to mass casualty incidents, 2) the simulation of mass casualty incidents, and 3) the digitisation of mass casualty incident workflows.

Conclusion
The available evidence is limited due to the relatively small number of studies on the use of information and communication technology and the response of emergency rescue teams to mass casualty incidents. Therefore, further research is needed on the impact of information and communication technology on the efficiency, work, and decision-making of incident commanders during mass casualty incidents. Furthermore, more dynamism is needed to accumulate knowledge and methodological expertise to explore experimental ideas in the European Union, where such research is lacking.

Introduction

To ensure that Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) are always prepared for Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs), it is crucial to anticipate and plan for such situations, even though they may be rare. Although there have been several attempts to define an MCI quantitively, the best definition is that the number of casualties exceeds the resources generally available at the scene [1]. In this article, we refer to MCIs not caused by terrorist attacks. The rationale for excluding them is rooted in the significant differences in managing such MCIs, which stem from the deliberate intention behind these events and the often disproportionate number of casualties they cause [[2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]]. Between 1982 and 2012, 290 mass casualty incidents (MCIs) were analysed in the study conducted by Turris, Lund, and Bowles [9]. Out of these MCIs, 71 (24 %) occurred in Asia, 69 (24 %) in Europe, 48 (17 %) in Africa, 48 (27 %) in North America, 27 (9 %) in South America, 25 (9 %) in the Middle East, and 2 (1 %) in Australasia. In Slovenia, an MCI occurs on average once a year [10].

Efficient and rapid deployment of rescue services is critical. In such circumstances, the approach and execution of rescue service operations are very specific. Through the proper use of available resources, every effort must be made to save the lives and health of as many people as possible. Such an event regularly exceeds the depleted capacities of local services and the nearest hospitals. It requires rapid reorganisation of work and support from additional rescue teams and other hospitals. The main goal of the disaster response organisation is to fulfil the necessary tasks and reduce the number of fatalities in the first hours after a disaster. To manage MCIs safely and effectively, EMTs need the appropriate knowledge and skills. The prehospital phase of an MCI is typically chaotic, dynamic and evolving in nature, requiring prehospital management decisions to be made under extreme time pressure. In an MCI, evacuating severely injured patients to an appropriate medical facility is critical.

Conclusions

ICT has the potential to improve crisis management, particularly in the context of EMTs actions during MCI. Further research is needed to determine if digital transformation optimises medical teamwork through advanced ICT, leading to more effective management decisions and increased chances of survival in MCIs. This study provides evidence for future researchers to conduct experimental research, especially within Europe.

In summary, these studies collectively unveil the multifaceted applications of ICT in mitigating the complex challenges inherent in MCI. From innovative triage protocols and aerial surveillance using drones to telehealth systems, advanced training methodologies such as AR/VR, AI, and machine learning for data analysis, and ethical considerations surrounding high-fidelity simulations and game-based training, these findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of how ICT can augment preparedness, response, and training for MCI. As the academic community continues to delve into this domain, the integration of ICT remains pivotal in reshaping disaster response emergency response and management paradigms, ultimately bolstering societal resilience in the face of unforeseen calamities.

Abstract

     The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of frontline employee (FLEs) to infections and other hazards and highlighted the importance of workplace safety practices (WSP) for service organizations. In response to the critical issue of service safety, we developed and empirically tested a model proposing that WSPs negatively influence FLE perceptions of pandemic related threats and positively influence their perceptions of organizational supportiveness (POS). In turn, these perceptions have time-lagged effects on two aspects of FLE wellbeing—reduced emotional exhaustion and increased work engagement. Utilizing data from a two-wave (separated by a month) survey panel consisting of 310 FLEs across the United States, we found evidence for all hypothesized relationships. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of our findings and provide suggestions for future research on service safety on the organizational frontlines.

Literature review and hypotheses

     We propose and empirically test a model of FLE workplace safety exploring the relationship between FLE perceptions of WSPs on two specific wellbeing outcomes – emotional exhaustion and work engagement, with these relationships fully mediated by job demands and resources, respectively. Our conceptual framework represented in Fig. 1 proposes that WSPs (both, essential and discretionary) negatively influence FLE perceptions of risks/hazards related to COVID-19 and positively influence their perceptions of organizational support. In other words, in workplaces where there is a focus on implementing both, essential and discretionary safety practices, FLEs perceive fewer risks/hazards and higher levels of organizational supportiveness. Consistent with JD-R theory, risks/hazards are experienced by FLEs as job demands that drain their psychological resources, while organizational support is experienced as a job resource that helps replenish this resource loss (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017). Further, job demands result in emotional exhaustion, while job resources translate into FLE work engagement. Our framework and the resultant hypotheses are described in the following section.

Results

     Descriptive statistics, reliability estimates, average variance explained (AVE), and inter-construct correlations are provided in Table 2. This data can be used to establish the integrity of the measurement model (Fornell & Bookstein, 1982). Further, Cronbach alpha statistics exceeded the 0.7 threshold recommended by Nunnally and Bernstein (1967), and AVEs associated with each latent construct (see Table 2) exceeded the recommended threshold of 0.5 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Discriminant validity was also observed as the bivariate correlations did not exceed the square root of the associated AVEs (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). These findings support the integrity of the measurement model.

Abstract

     This paper studies the US and global economic fundamentals that exacerbate emerging stock markets volatility and can be considered as systemic risk factors increasing financial stability vulnerabilities. We apply the bivariate HEAVY system of daily and intra-daily volatility equations enriched with powers, leverage, and macro-effects that improve its forecasting accuracy significantly. Our macro-augmented asymmetric power HEAVY model estimates the inflammatory effect of US uncertainty and infectious disease news impact on equities alongside global credit and commodity factors on emerging stock index realized volatility. Our study further demonstrates the power of the economic uncertainty channel, showing that higher US policy uncertainty levels increase the leverage effects and the impact from the common macro-financial proxies on emerging markets’ financial volatility. Lastly, we provide evidence on the crucial role of both financial and health crisis events (the 2008 global financial turmoil and the recent Covid-19 pandemic) in raising markets’ turbulence and amplifying the volatility macro-drivers impact, as well.

Introduction

     A common stylized fact about emerging economies is the high volatility of their stock markets (De Santis 1997; Aggarwal et al. 1999; Xu 1999; Cano-Berlanga and Giménez-Gómez 2018). The liberalization of the emerging world’s financial markets, which attracted a significant amount of capital flows by foreign institutional investors, has been the first step of an integration process with significant economies’ interdependence and asset markets’ synchronization. Given that emerging economies are characterized by critical vulnerabilities to external shocks, they exhibit higher equity market fluctuations than the developed markets and it is worth investigating how US and global common economic forces affect their intra-daily volatility. In general, modeling the volatility of financial returns has crucial implications for asset allocation, risk management practices, and financial stability oversight. Robust modeling and reliable forecasting of the volatility trajectory of financial instruments has been the main task and objective of financial economics applications for business operations, given that volatility constitutes one of the fundamental input variables in estimations and decision processes of any corporation on investing and funding choices. Financial volatility is also closely inspected by policymakers since it is perceived to constitute an early warning crisis signal, entailing critical destabilizing threats for the financial system (see, for example, Kürüm et al. 2018).

Conclusions

     Our study has examined the HEAVY model and its extension with leverage, power transformations, and macro-characteristics. For the realized measure, our empirical results favor the macro-augmented cross asymmetric power specification, where the lags of both powered variables—squared negative returns, and realized variance—move the dynamics of the power transformed conditional variance of the latter. Similarly, modeling the returns with a double asymmetric power process, we found that not only the powered realized measure asymmetry but the power transformed squared negative returns, as well, help to forecast the conditional variance of the latter. The macro-augmentation of the asymmetric power model ensures the superiority of our contribution, which can be implemented in several investment and risk management practices. We further demonstrated the forecasting dominance of the extended specifications over the benchmark HEAVY and standard volatility models through the out-of-sample forecasting across multiple short- and long-term horizons.

     Moreover, we demarcate our study from previous literature by estimating the significant US uncertainty effect on the power of leverage (Heavy and Arch), and the macro-determinants of emerging markets realized variance. The US-led uncertainty spillovers shed light on new evidence for volatility modeling and macro-financial linkages literature. Our findings’ novelty is twofold: Given higher (lower) daily US policy uncertainty levels, mostly associated with economic downturns (upturns), (i) heavy and leverage effects become more (less) acute in realized variance modeling, and (ii) US EPU volatility, financial uncertainty, credit conditions, commodity market benchmarks, and disease news impact on emerging financial volatility increases (decreases). Similarly, financial and health crisis events magnify further the Heavy, Arch, and Macro parameters of the bivariate system and the EPU indirect impact on the volatility drivers, as well.

Abstract

Keywords

JEL classification

1. Introduction

2. Data and methodology

3. Results

3.1. Main estimations

3.2. Interactions

3.3. Robustness checks

4. Conclusion

Appendix.

References

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) on wealth inequality. We investigate this question, using data for 143 countries for the period 2010–2018. We find no significant impact of the occurrence of the crisis on wealth inequality. We show limited evidence that the severity of the banking crisis affects the change in wealth inequality. Furthermore, the impact of the GFC on the change in wealth inequality is influenced by the country characteristics: the GFC has more enhanced wealth inequality in countries with higher levels of economic and financial development as well as lower initial levels of wealth inequality. We therefore contribute to a better understanding of the real effects of banking crises by providing evidence of the distributional effects of the GFC.

1. Introduction

Banking crises are common events in developed and developing countries with 151 episodes identified by Laeven and Valencia (2020) between 1970 and 2017. They have been shown to have detrimental effects on the economy by causing output losses (Kroszner et al., 2007; Dell’Ariccia et al., 2008; Devereux and Dwyer, 2016) and fiscal costs related to banking crisis resolution (Amaglobeli et al., 2015; Laeven and Valencia, 2018).

Banking crises can also exert distributional effects on the households and thus influence inequality within societies. Surprisingly, these effects have been widely ignored in the literature in spite of the widespread concerns about inequalities. We are only aware of two studies contributing to the analysis of the distributional effects of banking crises. Both these works investigate the influence of banking crises on income inequality: while Agnello and Sousa (2012) find a decline in income inequality following banking crisis episodes, De Haan and Sturm (2017) conclude that banking crises increase income inequality.

Our objective in this paper is to provide the first investigation of the impact of banking crises on wealth inequality by examining the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). According to the World Inequality Database, the GFC has been followed by a rise of the share of the richest 10% individuals in the largest economies: þ2.4 points for the US (from 68.4% to 70.8%), þ11.6 points for China (from 55.8% to 67.4%), and þ2.3 points for France (from 56.6% to 58.9%) between 2007 and 2018. It is not, however, a general worldwide trend since some G20 countries had a reduction over the same period (2.8 points for South Africa) or a stagnation (þ0.2 points for South Korea). While income inequality has come to the forefront of the public debate (e.g., Milanovic, 2016), wealth inequality is much more ignored and has been much less investigated in the literature.

Wealth inequality is, however, an issue of major economic concern. From a conceptual perspective, wealth appears to be more important than income since wealth generates income. As such, wealth inequality is a driving force of income inequality. From the perspective of the consequences, wealth inequality can have a major influence on the economy. On the one hand, higher wealth inequality may have beneficial economic effects by giving incentives to individuals to work hard and thus stimulating growth. On the other hand, it can reduce social mobility and lead to unequal opportunities (Pfeffer and Schoeni, 2016; Killewald et al., 2017). It would then be detrimental for the economy since it reduces the incentives for individuals to use at best their skills. Higher wealth inequality can furthermore favor the emergence of a plutocracy, a society ruled by the rich, with detrimental economic effects: wealthiest individuals may then exert a disproportionate political influence and shape society in line with their interests at the expense of the general welfare (Bartels, 2008; Page et al., 2013).

Abstract

Introduction

Theoretical background

Method

Results

Discussion

Limitations and future research

References

Abstract

Purpose
This study aims to examine how culture influences consumer attitudes toward the brands of products they own during a product-harm crisis. To this end, average consumers from two countries – the USA, representing a highly individualistic society and China, a less individualistic (i.e. collectivist) society – are compared.

Design/methodology/approach
The study conducts an invariance test of the measurement model for a more rigorous comparison of the two countries. Structural equation modeling is performed to identify how average consumers respond to a product-harm crisis (e.g. iPhone explosion) based on survey results of 188 American and 197 Chinese consumers.

Findings
These results reveal that in both countries, an individual’s susceptibility to a normative interpersonal influence determines their brand consciousness, which, in turn, enhances consumer attachment to well-known brands, resulting in favorable brand attitudes. During a brand crisis, an owned brand’s buffering effect is observed among consumers high in brand consciousness in collectivistic but not in individualistic societies. The moderating role of feelings of betrayal on the brand attachment-consumer attitude relationship is also reported.

Originality/value
Culture shapes consumer behavioral patterns. In today’s global market, a company’s decisions are no longer limited by borders and many companies experience product failures. Thus, findings that show consumers’ distinguishable psychological experiences between different cultures contribute to crisis management literature.

Introduction

“I will be as loyal and supportive to Toyota as they have been to me (despite their massive recalls).” Gilbert Villanueva, a consumer who owned Toyotas for 32 years.

Product-harm crises such as product recall, are widely known to deteriorate a manufacturer’s brand reputation, reduce perceived product value and decrease sales (Cleeren et al., 2017; Hegner et al., 2018; Whelan and Dawar, 2016). However, it appears that this is not true at all times, particularly when the consumer-brand relationship is especially strong (Khamitov et al., 2020). For example, even though Toyota faced several massive recall crises over the past decade, the company was rated the most loved brand in the USA (PR Newswire, 2017). Another survey similarly revealed that, even after a massive recall, 33.2% of Toyota owners still perceived Toyota as better than other domestic automotive brands, while only 13.2% of non-Toyota owners did (Mora, 2010). This result was unexpected, given that these incidents directly impacted only Toyota owners, but did not impact non-owners.

Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Background

2.1. The importance of the integrity of Crisis Management Plans

2.2. Importance of risk assessment in CMP

3. Research method

4. Research findings

5. Discussion of findings

Funding

Declaration of competing interest

References

Abstract

This paper discusses the integrity of Crisis Management Plans (CMP) in Poland. Integrity is understood as the unified way of developing the CMP by different public administration entities. On the one hand, quantifying the scale of CMPs discrepancies is essential for estimating public administration readiness to assess threat risk on a national scale. On the other hand, recognizing the nature of the discrepancy may allow one to identify corrective actions to raise the level of CMPs effectiveness. However, there are no quantitative measurements of discrepancies of CMPs elements in Poland. Here, we fill this gap in the body of knowledge and quantify integrity and the scale of CMPs discrepancies. We analyze the scope of collected data and the form of their presentation in different CMP components. The study includes an analysis of CMPs developed at the district level in 2013–2015. To quantify integrity, we develop an evaluation template based on the formal and legal conditions in force. We use it to quantify the integrity in terms of the data presentation form and the completeness of the data set. The National Crisis Management Plan from the same period was used as a reference. We show that CMPs differ from the adopted benchmark in data presentation and the collected data set. It is worth emphasizing that the observed differences in data collection are mainly due to the lack of the element under consideration in CMPs. The observed differences may cause difficulties in the flow and aggregation of data and impede assessing the risk of threats.

1. Introduction

Ensuring public safety, defined as keeping the risk of threats affecting the public at an acceptable level, is a fundamental responsibility of the state. It means decreasing the impact of a crisis situation1 – to achieve a level of impact caused by the occurrence of a threat that businesses or households can cope with using the standard instruments available in the economic system. Ensuring public safety in this context relies on the constant readiness of state authorities to identify, monitor, and respond to potential threats. That helps to ensure the stability of the living conditions and development of society. An efficiently managed state can ensure public safety by implementing a proper system of prevention and response procedures. The system must effectively deal with a threat and work independently of the individual competence of those implementing the procedures.

Activities related to ensuring public safety are carried out, among other things, within the framework of the process of civil planning2 and crisis management3 by the emergency services (fire brigade, ambulance, gas, water supply, police, etc.), crisis management structures (province crisis management centers, district and commune crisis management teams, public administration entities, private enterprises classified as the so-called critical infrastructure operators4 and essential service operators5) and in exceptional cases by the military. One of the primary aims of the process of civil planning and crisis management is to coordinate the work of services, institutions, and organizations that do not usually cooperate and that have to proceed according to their emergency response procedures [ [1]; p. 28].

ABSTRACT

1. Introduction

3. Research methodology

4. Sample data, sources, and characteristics

5. Empirical results

6. Conclusions

Declarations

References

Abstract

This paper examines whether the 1997 Asian financial crisis affected the renewable energy/carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions relationship differently when compared to the 2008 global financial crises. Using the Dynamic Panel Data Model, we examine separately the impact of the 1997 crisis and the 2008 crises on the stated relationship for annual data between the 1987–2018 period for a group of high, upper-middle, and lower middle-income countries. Our findings suggest that the results were crisis and country specific. For the overall sample, the relationship between the two variables was positive (and significant post-1997 and pre-2008 crises) but negative post-2008 crisis. In contrast, the positive relationship remained unchanged for the lower middle-income subsample through the two crises. We also find evidence that the 1997 Asian crisis altered the relationship differently than the 2008 financial crisis especially for the upper and middle-income groups. Clearly, reduction of CO2 emissions may not be guaranteed even if host countries adopt renewable energy sources since country income levels and the nature of the crisis may matter. Future research may consider how the degree of pollution controls and differential costs of renewable energy adoption in countries may alter this relationship.

1. Introduction

Research examining the renewable energy consumption/carbon dioxide (CO2) emission links for developing countries are extensive and generally recommend policies to ratchet up the local renewable energy infrastructure to encourage renewable energy consumption (Pao and Tsai, 2011; Shahbaz et al., 2013; Zhu et al., 2016), particularly for lower income countries to allow them to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) aimed at inflows of technology transfer (Omri and Kahouli, 2014; Doytch and Narayan, 2016). Extant literature also documents links between global financial crises and the transmission of technological innovation to recipient countries. For instance, Colombo et al., 2016, Zouaghi and Sánchez, 2016, and Zouaghi et al., 2018 show the firms devise survival and growth strategies designed to overcome global financial crises by developing innovation products. Although there is extensive work on the factors that affect the renewable energy adoption/CO2 emissions relationship, there is scant work (with few recent exceptions) on how a crisis will alter this relationship. The exception includes recent work by Dong et al., 2020a who show that countries switching to renewable energy sources reduced CO2 emissions (but not statistically significantly) post-2008 crisis 1 versus pre-2008 crisis levels for a sample of 120 countries.

In this paper, we add to the emerging literature by examining whether the renewable energy/pollution links were also similarly altered during the 1997 crisis. We conjecture that the impact of the 2008 crisis affected global economies differently than the 1997 crisis. Hence, we conjecture that the differential effects on country macroeconomic variables can imply differences in the relationship between renewable energy adoption and CO2 emissions pre and post each crisis. If the pre/post link changes were different for the 1997 crisis versus the 2008 crisis, then policy prescriptions useful for one crisis may not work for other crises. We don’t believe that this issue has been investigated in the extant literature. Specifically, we conjecture that the renewable energy consumption – CO2 emission relationship was altered differently by the 1997 crisis than by the 2008 crisis and may also be a function of the level of economic development of host countries.

abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Literature review

3. Methodology

4. Results and discussion

5. Conclusion

Declaration of competing interest

References

abstract

The cruise industry is gravely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to rising public health concerns. This study combines and examines health crisis management and marketing theories to address public health concerns and improve the usage of cruise services. Combining social exchange theory, customers’ perceived value theory, and trust theory, a theoretical model is proposed. Survey data (n = 376) are then collected through an online survey that is conducted on the Chinese tourism market. The finding shows that quality management, health management, social and communication strategies, and financial strategies contribute to customers’ perceived value of cruise service. In addition, perceived value directly and indirectly influences customers’ intention to use cruise service through trust in cruise company’s pandemic management capability. This study expands the current literature on cruise crisis recovery and provides recommendations for policy and strategy formulation for the cruise industry to cope with the pandemic by focusing on public health concerns and psychology.

1. Introduction

In late December 2019, COVID-19 spread rapidly worldwide. People who are infected by the virus can be seriously sick or even lose their lives, especially the aged ones. Moreover, person-to-person transmission via droplets and human contact makes COVID-19 extremely hard to control [1]. Following the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which reported a large number of confirmed infected cases onboard and was quarantined in Japan in February, 25 other cruise ships reported more than 800 confirmed cases and 10 deaths in the next two months. In March 2020, the Cruise Lines International Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States recommended that all cruise trips worldwide should be deferred to avoid more infected cases, until the health of passengers and crew members onboard could be ensured. This was a huge strike on the cruise shipping industry [2].

The restricted space and large mixture of people during cruise trips cause the initial reproduction rate of the virus onboard without countermeasures to be 4 times higher than the rate in Wuhan in early 2020, which was the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak at that time. Meanwhile, the transmission rate on cruise ships is the highest compared to any other transportation method [3]. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the cruise ship industry has been more severely affected than many other tourism and transportation industries and is unlikely to recover due to the travel restrictions and requirements onboard, such as physical distancing, which are difficult to be fulfilled [4]. In this situation, customers tend to avoid cruise service because of the health concerns on cruise ships during the journey [5]. From the short-term perspective, developing and implementing coronavirus-related health management is urgently required for resuming the cruise industry, protecting the health of passengers and crews, and attracting customers to choose cruise service again. From the long-term perspective, the health concerns onboard will have a permanent psychological impact on customers, and only a complete and effective health management system onboard can solve their long-term concerns and motivate them to choose cruise service again when traveling. Therefore, the importance of health management on cruise ships should be prioritized.

Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Review of literature

3. Methodology

4. Discussion

5. Conclusions and implications

Declarations of interest

Acknowledgements

Data Availability

References

Abstract

Contingency plans and crisis management strategies have been implemented by the short-term rental industry to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the strategies adopted by three key groups of stakeholders: short-term rental platforms (e.g. Airbnb, Booking.com), service providers (represented by property management companies and short-term rental associations) and policymakers/tourism experts. The professional service providers, in particular, constitute a significant share of the short-term rental industry, but have not received much scholarly attention. In this respect, our study fills this gap by bringing attention to unexplored segments of the short-term rental industry. By examining and comparing the responses from these key groups, the paper contributes to the ongoing research about the workings of the short-term rental industry and its responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

1. Introduction

The tourism industry has been affected by a plethora of crises in recent years, including natural disasters (Zhu et al., 2018, Min et al., 2020), terrorism attacks (Benítez-Aurioles, 2019, Chen et al., 2020), socio-political crisis (Benítez-Aurioles, 2019, Türkcan and Erkus-Öztürk, 2019), economic crisis (Alonso-Almeida and Bremser, 2013) and pandemic/disease threats (e.g. Kim et al., 2006; Jayawardena et al., 2008; Kuo et al., 2008). In terms of the short-term rental market sector, Benítez-Aurioles, 2019 study shows that the combined effect of terrorism (a terrorist attack) and political uncertainty (the consultation on independence in Catalonia) in 2017 harmed the demand for short-term rentals in Barcelona. Likewise, by analysing the case of Paris, Chen et al. (2020) confirmed the vulnerability of the short-term rental industry to terrorist attacks and urged those working in this market sector to employ risk assessments and crisis management plans.

Recent research has analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hospitality sector (Gursoy and Chi, 2020, Gössling et al., 2021, Hall et al., 2020, Jamal and Budke, 2020, Sigala, 2020), while other scholars have focused on crisis management strategies (Bagnera et al., 2020, Hao et al., 2020, Lai and Wong, 2020). The short-term rental market sector has suffered from abrupt cancellations and falls in reservations (Farmaki et al., 2020, DuBois, 2020), and the subsequent refunds to guests and cost-cutting measures, resulting in laying off the workforce (Carville, 2020, Evans, 2020). However, the short-term rental market sector showed strength and resilience throughout certain types of traditional accommodation (e.g. hotels, hostels) where maintaining social distance is more difficult (AllTheRooms, 2020, DuBois, 2020, Zoğal et al., 2020). Another reason for ‘recovery’ could be explained by the contingency plans and crisis management strategies which have been put in place by the short-term rental industry in order to deal with the crisis, including contacting the hosts, change to cancellation policies to provide full refunds, rescheduling of dates, travel vouchers, help schemes for hosts and providing accommodation for key workers (Airbnb, 2020a, Airbnb, 2020d, Booking.com, 2020, Evans, 2020, VRBO, 2020a, VRBO, 2020b).

Abstract

This study seeks to revalidate existing research insights on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance and to examine the role of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) as a potential moderator to this relationship. The research uses a longitudinal database of US-listed manufacturing companies over the period 2000-19. It employs a foreign market penetration-based construct as well as a foreign production-based construct of internationalization and uses a fixed effects linear regression model for the analysis.

The study suggests that the relationship between foreign market penetration-based internationalization and firm performance shows a declining trend over the past two decades. This may not be a negation of the generally accepted relationship (inverted-U or S-shaped) but a reflection of the data set used and the economic conditions of the study period. The trend towards co-movement of global business cycles has eroded the benefits of internationalization while factors like protectionism and political and foreign currency risk continue to create challenges for diversified firms. Foreign Production based internationalization, on the other hand, does not have a significant relationship with firm performance.

Further, the GFC negatively moderated the relationship in the case of Foreign Market Penetration based internationalization. This could be due to heightened protectionism, increased complexity and cost pressures induced by the crisis. The moderation impact of the GFC in the case of Foreign Production was not significant. This can be attributed to the fact that the strong negative effects mentioned above were attenuated by the benefits of strong subsidiary linkages (i.e. financial support as well as internal markets in the case of vertical linkages.)

Finally, and drawing from these points, the study also suggested that the negative moderation impact of the GFC on firm performance was stronger in the case of foreign market penetration-based internationalization than in the case of foreign production -based internationalization.

Abstract

1 Background

2 COVID 19 and Businesses in the UAE

3 Literature Review

4 Hypotheses Development

5 Method and Measurements

6 Results

7 Conclusions

References

Abstract

     The current study aims at empirically investigating the impact of the business intelligence on the new start-up performance of UAE during Covid-19. The study also examines the mediating role of innovativeness in the relationship between business intelligence and new start-up performance in UAE. The sample size included distributing the questionnaires to 250 respondents to get the required information for further analyses. 210 questionnaires out of 250 were received, so the response rate of the study was 84%. The data analysis involved the path modeling technique because of the explorative nature of the study. The results indicated that all the paths are significant at a p-value of less than 0.05. The findings of the study will be helpful for policymakers and researchers in formulating the policy concerning the business intelligence, innovation, and start-up performance in UAE

Background

     No term has been widely accepted by scholars to refer to the external and internal intelligence, which are deemed as essential in business decision-making. The Business Intelligence (BI) is considered an umbrella term that covers processes and technologies required for handling information that may enhance the business decisionmaking [1]. Therefore, business intelligence is a product as well as a process, which comprises those methods that are used by organizations for intelligence and to generate useful information that may help firms thrive and survive in the marketplace. As a product, it serves as information that enables firms to anticipate the behavior of firms’ suppliers, customers, competitors, services, products, business environment. and technologies with greater certainty.

     The Business intelligence (BI) has gained considerable attention due to its increased accessibility to the information through electronic means. In this process, information is acquired, processed, and presented in a useful form and also forms the basis for organizations’ intelligence practices. In addition, the information usage is required to be improved, particularly in the context of the great social and political change taking place around the globe, the rapid technological change, and the increase in the cut-throat competition [2]. However, the increased uncertainty among firms has given rise to the information processing activities [3, 4], which may otherwise jeopardize the firms’ survival in the market. Generally, the startups strive to attain a certain position in the market, which is also essential for them to grow and survive. It is noteworthy that small firms are not exactly a smaller version of large firms since both have different structures, management practices, ran an source availability, the competition level and the environmental response in the market they compete [5]. Thus under a highly dynamic, volatile, and competitive business environment, the information must be gathered by firms for improved decision-making. Although it may seem challenging, particularly for the startup firms who are struggling to survive in the market, this information gathering process facilitates the firms’ managers to effectively align with their environment and improve the performance of their organization [6, 7]. In addition, firms can use business intelligence (BI) for information gathering and simultaneously contribute to expanding the available pool of knowledge for the managers. Thus, BI can be deemed as important assets for the organizations [8].

Conclusions

     The results of the study are in line with the Resource-Based View (RBV). According to the RBV Theory, organizations must utilize their human, organizational, and physical assets (intangible & tangible) to develop and sustain a competitive advantage. This theory postulates that firms that possess rare and valuable resources are capable of developing a competitive advantage [20], particularly if their resources cannot be easily substituted or imitated. Correspondingly, in terms of knowledge-based view (KBV), knowledge is viewed as a company’s most valuable resource [38]. The RBV theory provides a theoretical foundation for the Knowledge-based view (KBV) by asserting that a firm’s primary factor of production is its knowledge, which helps firms in gaining a competitive advantage. This study was based on the sample size of 250 respondents, whereby only 210 questionnaires out of 250 were received, so the response rate of this study was 84%. For the data analysis, the path modeling technique was required because of the explorative nature of the study. The results indicate that all the paths are significant at a p-value of less than 0.05.