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Blockchain technology (BCT) has emerged as a powerful tool for enhancing transparency and trust. However, the relationship between the benefits of BCT and agri-food supply chain performance (AFSCperf) remains underexplored. Therefore, the current study investigates the influence of BCT on AFSCperf and sustainability issues.

Through a comprehensive literature review, various benefits of BCT are identified. Subsequently, a research framework is proposed based on data collected from questionnaire surveys and personal visits to professionals in the agri-food industry. The proposed framework is validated using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The findings reveal that BCT positively impacts AFSCperf by improving traceability, transparency, food safety and quality, immutability and trust. Additionally, BCT adoption enhances stakeholder collaboration, provides a decentralised network, improves data accessibility and yields a better return on investment, resulting in the overall improvement in AFSCperf and socio-economic sustainability.

This study offers valuable practical insights for practitioners and academicians, establishing empirical links between the benefits of BCT and AFSCperf and providing a deeper understanding of BCT adoption.

Stakeholders, managers, policymakers and technology providers can leverage these findings to optimise the benefits of BCT in enhancing AFSCperf. Moreover, it utilises rigorous theoretical and empirical approaches, drawing on a multidisciplinary perspective encompassing food operations and supply chain literature, public policy, information technology, strategy, organisational theory and sustainability.

With the rise in demand and adoption of smart city initiatives, it is imperative to plan the railway infrastructure, as it will have a huge positive impact if adequately integrated into the planning process. Given the complexities involved, a whole systems thinking framework provides a useful platform for rail transport planners.

This paper proposes a simple, adoptable framework utilising systems thinking concepts and techniques taking into cognisance the key stakeholders. Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom is the adopted case study.

Selected systems thinking tools and techniques are adopted to develop a framework for mapping stakeholders and attributes when developing sustainable rail transport systems, taking note of their core functionalities and the complex systems wherein they exist.

The desire to build future (smart) cities is to effectively match infrastructural resources with a rapidly growing population, and the railway sector can play a strategic role in building a much more competitive low-carbon-emission transport system, which is a driving force for sustainable development.

The urban rail service has become vital to urban development as railway stations serve as hubs for sustainable mobility to meet local requirements. Moreover, it takes extra effort to input railway development into smart city plans, as it is a herculean task to get governments to focus on it with clarity of purpose in passing legislation.

The developed framework reduces complexities when planning and designing rail transport systems compared to many of the existing reductionist planning approaches. The simplicity of the framework would also make it easily adoptable by a wide range of users.

A Digital Twin (DT) is a digital replica of an artefact which is updated on real-time or semi–real-time basis. In 2017, Gartner listed DT as one of the top 10 emerging technologies of the year. Since then, there have been numerous attempts to develop architecture and reference models for DTs, and in some studies, DT construction for real-world case studies is reported. This chapter attempts to provide a contextualised background on DT for smart cities. It also discusses various stakeholders involved in devising and/or employing DTs in a smart city. The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations for the training requirements of final DT users.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Building a railway transport system can make a significant contribution to sustainable development goals. Promise of low-carbon emissions can help enable the project to succeed, providing that planners understand the needs of different stakeholders and maps them to the infrastructure design accordingly.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The purpose of this study aims to examine the effect of fintech on pre- and post-financing credit risks faced by the Islamic banks.

This research uses primary data for fintech awareness and adoption and secondary data of various financial and economic variables from 2009 to 2021. It uses baseline regression to identify moderation of fintech controlling gross domestic products, size, return on assets and leverage. The findings are confirmed using robustness against key variable bias. It also uses a dynamic panel two-stage generalized method of moments for endogeneity.

The study finds that the fintech awareness and adoption are not the same across all Islamic countries. The Asia Pacific region is far ahead of the other two regions where Indonesia is ahead in terms of fintech awareness and adoption, and Malaysia is ahead in terms of reaping its benefits in credit risk management. Fintech affects prefinancing credit risk significantly more than postfinancing credit risk. Also, the study finds that Islamic banks suffer from the problem of “Adverse selection under Shariah compliance.”

This research invites regulators to introduce fintech in Islamic banks on war footing. Similar studies can be conducted on the role of other risks such as operational and market risks. Fintech will also help in improving the risk profile and stability of Islamic banks against systemic risks and financial crises.

This research has variety of originalities. First, it is the pioneering study that addresses the effect of fintech pre- and post-financing credit risks in Islamic banks. Second, it identifies “Adverse selection under Shariah compliance” for Islamic banks. Third, it helps identify how fintech can be useful in reducing credit risk that will help in reducing capital charge for regulatory capital.