Purpose: Small businesses created as a subsistence activity (subsistence small businesses (SSBs)), often are oriented towards the short term. The environmental performance, by contrast, is an indicator of long-term strategies. The purpsoe of this paper is to analyse how intellectual capital (IC) dimensions affect environmental concern, preparing SSBs to have a proper environmental behaviour in the future. Design/methodology/approach: A method based on the partial least square technique is suggested to select the model and estimate the parameters. A sample of 113 small businesses in the timber industry in a region of Argentina was selected for this study. Findings: The results indicate that IC promotes environmental concern. Relational capital directly affects environmental concern, human capital and structural capital and these, in turn, indirectly affect the environmental concern through relational capital in SSBs. Research limitations/implications: The sample used is a cross-section. IC is subjectively measured. This paper only studies small businesses in the timber sector in a region of Latin America. Practical implications: This paper enables practitioners and scholars to understand and make legitimate decisions and conclusions that can foster SSB growth in environmental concern. The paper suggests a combination of strategies in order to achieve a sustained development. Originality/value: The authors tested the impact of dimensions of IC on environmental concern in SSB of developing countries, showing the importance of IC in sustained strategies in these companies.

The consumer profile has undergone evolutions and transformations over the years due to the evolution of new generations of individuals, such as Generation Y. Social media has revolutionized the way in which consumers can search and find information about products in general, which has impacted how brands relate to their consumers. In this context, this study tries to understand how digital influencers are being used to influence Generation Y in the consumption of banking services from fintechs in Brazil via social media platforms. The specific objectives include profiling these consumers, identifying the most relevant influencers, and measuring the impact of influencer marketing. The results pointed to Generation Y’s preference for mobile applications and personal recommendations when making decisions to purchase financial products. Fintechs stood out for the agility and autonomy they offered, as well as for being on the forefront in leading practices, innovations, and product offerings that drive sustainability forward. The study concluded that digital influencers play a crucial role in the awareness phase, but additional factors influence Millennial consumption decisions, highlighting the complexity of the decision process.

The performance of higher education institutions is significantly influenced by their academic human capital (AHC), which encompasses research competencies, dynamic capacity, working capacity, critical thinking, social capital, and external relations. This study aims to investigate the interrelationships among these dimensions and their collective impact on institutional performance. Utilizing a comprehensive literature review and empirical analysis, we identify key factors that enhance AHC and propose strategies for optimizing these dimensions to foster innovation, adaptability, and organizational effectiveness. The quantitative study with a descriptive design uses a questionnaire, collecting 302 responses from university professors and researchers in Egypt. The findings highlight the pivotal role of research competencies and dynamic capacity in driving academic excellence and institutional resilience. Additionally, the study underscores the importance of external relations and social capital in enriching academic environments and facilitating knowledge transfer. By providing a nuanced understanding of AHC, this research offers actionable insights for policymakers and educational leaders aiming to bolster the performance and sustainability of higher education institutions.

Tourism has grown exponentially in the 21st century and continues to be one of the rapidly growing industries in the world in terms of revenue generation and employment opportunities. It covers not only travel services and boarding-lodging activities but a wide range of independent but related sectors like transport, accommodation, food and beverage, and entertainment, among others. Modern tourism is diversified and includes several odd types of tourism, like slum tourism, dark tourism, and sex tourism. This paper analyzes the case of slum tourism to Dharavi, India’s commercial capital and largest city as well as the benefits and disadvantages that such kind of tourism has. It also attempts to understand the opinion of the common people and slum dwellers on slum tourism, while observing if the ten principles of the “Global Code of Ethics for Tourism” (GCET) have been fulfilled in the country. The results show that overall, the principles of GCET are fulfilled but much is still left to be done. On the other side, most of the slum residents accept slum tourism as a reality that brings more benefits than damage to their living environment and are of the opinion that tourism brings prosperity to them and to the country.

This study examines sustainable consumption intentions among university students in Portugal, a generation increasingly recognized for their ecological awareness but often constrained by structural and social barriers. Within this context, this study explores psychological and behavioral determinants of sustainable consumption and peer recommendation using an integrative framework based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Value–Belief–Norm theory (VBN), and the SHIFT model. Drawing on a survey of 324 students from diverse academic backgrounds, we analyzed how environmental beliefs, consumer habits, and activism influence sustainable consumption intention and recommendation. The analysis, conducted using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), reveals that environmental beliefs significantly predict both consumer intention and habitual behavior, which in turn affect activism and sustainable consumption. Notably, intention emerges as a key mediator between individual motivations and peer recommendation, while activism and habits do not exert direct influence on recommendation behavior. These findings underscore the importance of moral values, routine behavior, and motivational pathways in shaping sustainable practices, while highlighting the persistent gap between awareness and consistent advocacy. This study offers theoretical and practical insights into how structural and psychological factors can reinforce youth engagement with sustainability.

This paper examines the importance of marketing and relational capital in value addition. We studied the effect that relational capital has in the timber and related industries of Galicia (Spain) and Portugal for 2002–2018. The industry is characterized by a large number of SMEs, many of them operating in the subsistence and unorganized sectors. Direct marketing and personal contacts with clients are forms of enhancing the relational capital and to add value. The wood sector was divided into three major groups, namely: extraction, conversion and finished products, and using a panel data model, the value addition created by relational capital and the effect that direct marketing can have on the business were measured. While relational capital helps in creating value, its effect is not the same in every sector, implying that much has to be done by managers and CEOs to improve company relationships with stakeholders to develop business alliances. Keyword : intellectual capital, relational capital, wood sector, value addition, forestry, intangibles, SME, marketing, structural capital, modified ROA