Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are especially vulnerable to technology issues, often because they lack the financial resources or the skills to properly exploit new technologies.This paper presents the results of a study that explores the link between Industry 4.0 and SMEs through a systematic literature review. The results show that this link is dominated by themes that can be grouped into the following categories: "Industrial revolutions", "Technology", "Management", "Operations Management/ Industrial Engineering", "Social issues/ Sustainability", and "Methodology". The study shows the relevance of the topics Management, Social Issues, and Sustainability, which is not then reflected in publications of articles on Industry 4.0 in journals in these areas. Eventually, the establishment of partnerships between research teams in these areas of knowledge and the teams studying Industry 4.0 could mitigate this insufficiency. The themes Social Issues and Sustainability are underrepresented and therefore an effort is needed to develop research on the impacts of these themes on Industry 4.0 and vice versa.

The Toyota Production System (TPS) was a revolutionary approach to automobile production that influenced companies all over the world. The fight against redundancy is at the core of this approach. The textile industry remains one of the most polluting sectors worldwide, which makes environmental sustainability a key concern. In line with national priorities, companies are striving to balance profitability with sustainability, minimizing defects and reducing waste. This study explores the evolution of textile production systems from TPS principles to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how they can be used from a sustainability perspective. Smartex, a textile start-up recognized as the winner of the Web Summit 2021 competition, was chosen as the focus of this case study. Employing qualitative research methods, including content analysis of interviews, management reports and website data, the study examines the parallels and distinctions between TPS and Smartex’s AI-driven system. The findings highlight how Smartex is revolutionizing the textile industry by leveraging AI to avoid defects and reduce waste, advancing both environmental and commercial objectives. Finally, the implications and limitations of the research are explained.

This study examines the role of agritourism in developing strategies to promote a circular economy by applying the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) and improving guests’ satisfaction. It contributes to filling the gap in the literature regarding the challenges posed, impact evidence, potential trade-offs, and socioeconomic considerations for the application of the 3Rs strategy in small tourism businesses. Interviews with hotel owners/hosts and guests were conducted through mainly qualitative methods, and the content was analyzed. This study reports on a case study conducted with a convenience sample of customers from a rural tourism company in Portugal to assess their position concerning the company’s 3Rs strategy. The case study reveals that common categories—hosts, breakfast, decoration, environment, and comfort—appreciated by guests align with the 3Rs practices. It was found that being environmentally responsible, taking part in the circular economy, and interacting with it can improve not only the satisfaction of guests but also hosts, thus creating memorable experiences for both. This study also shows that the position of customers regarding the 3Rs is not monolithic, with reusing and recycling emerging most prominently. This study shows that, in this context, a circular economy is feasible, provides tangible benefits, and successfully combines operational efficiency and guest convenience. This study also shows that it is possible to establish a successful tourism supply strategy based on a circular economy, particularly the 3Rs. Still, this strategy should not look at the 3Rs as if they were a uniform reality.

Using a 60-item questionnaire with an 8-point Likert scale, we conducted a survey (solely amongst insurers) to investigate possible determinants of regulatory effectiveness (RE) in the Nigerian microinsurance sector. This survey was further triangulated with key industry reports, coupled with respondent-provided qualitative validation and real scenario-based instances, to soundly justify the responses/opinions of survey participants. In this paper, RE was measured by the level of achievement on regulatory mandates (RM), as opined/justified by informed respondents. This research was conducted to re-sensitize/guide governments, regulators, researchers and other stakeholders on what fosters/impedes RE and the need to sustainably manage these determinants, in order to promote formal microinsurance development (FMID). Our result revealed that the severity of determinants’ impact (in their current/snapshot state) on five aggregated RM was in the following decreasing order: “level of corruption”, “clarity of mandate”, “national culture”, “technology”, “regulatory flexibility/innovation”, “organisational structure”, “participation/consultation”, “organisational culture”, “regulatory autonomy” and lastly, “resources” has the least negative impact. The “socio-political legitimacy” had no impact on the five RM, while “support-from-development-partners” in its current/snapshot state is the only recorded determinant exerting a positive impact on all the five RM (as aggregated). Consequently, the study guides relevant stakeholders to assiduously work towards managing these determinants (especially, the most severe ones such as “level-of-corruption”, “clarity-of-mandate”, etc.) in order to enhance RE and FMID.

This study aims at (re)focusing research attention on the improvement of welfare, achieving sustainable micro cyber-risk management, and the reduction of persistent insurance exclusion among retail e-payment agents (REAs) or branchless banking agents operating globally and in Lagos slums. With the active collaboration of REAs and micro-insurers, we designed and introduced the first hypothetical POS-related micro cyber-risk insurance (PRMCRI) to sustainably manage identified cyber-risks of REAs. Using a contingent valuation survey and logistic regression, this study also investigates REAs’ perceptions and factors having statistically significant effects on their willingness to pay (WTP) for PRMCRI. Our findings revealed that WTP for PRMCRI is only slightly sensitive to premium price. REAs’ perceptions of inflation, interest rates, deployment/administration of PRMCRI on mobile-technology platforms, and the effectiveness of regulatory consumer protection all positively affected their WTP for PRMCRI. Age, marital status, education, religion, and gender had no statistically significant effect on the WTP for PRMCRI. The practical value and actionable implication of the PRMCRI were further evinced, as 65.93 percent of the 455 surveyed REAs affirmed their WTP for the product. Ultimately, we hope that the introduced PRMCRI and its associated empirical/policy dynamics will champion a novel and seminal path for global micro cyber-insurance markets, future studies, and policies.