Innovation-Driven Business and Sustainability in the Tropics by Eijdenberg, Emiel L.; Mukherjee, Malobi; Wood, Jacob;

This edited volume places the highly dynamic, but also, jeopardized climatological – geographical region of the Tropics centre stage. The region is developing rapidly, with significant progress being made through the development of innovative technologies. The Tropics represent a region in which people live amid the greatest level of biodiversity anywhere on the planet. Nonetheless, propelled by rapid population growth, the Tropics is a region on the rise, with higher living standards and increased levels of international trade and investment. Densely populated emerging countries like India, Indonesia and Nigeria will be among the largest economies of the world by the end of the century. These upward socioeconomic trends are compromised by the impact of climate change on the Tropics’ biodiversity. Such developments have forced policymakers, businesses, and local communities to search for more sustainable and creative ways to live and work. For these reasons, this edited volume presents theory-driven conceptual, qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies on the impact of innovation-driven businesses on the complex interplay of socio-cultural, economic, and environmental factors in the Tropics.

Foreword.- 1. Putting the Tropics on the academic map: The Raison d’être of the SEIGOP Conference (Manisha Agarwal, Thomas Chong, Emiel L. Eijdenberg, Janice Lim, Maxwell Low, Malobi Mukherjee, Erica Nee, May Tan-Mullins, Jacob Wood).- 2. Seeking a sustainable technology of governance to support small and medium enterprises: a study from the ASEAN countries (Harun Harun, David Carter and Habib Khan).- 3. An empirical study on the impact of trade facilitation on Chinese exports to South American countries: The case of commodities and electronic products (Xinru Luan, Jungsuk Kim, Sook Rei Tan, Jacob Wood).- 4. The Use of Blockchain in Vietnam’s Global Fishery Supply Chain Management (Hoang Tuan Linh Nguyen, Jungsuk Kim, Benedict Atkinson, Jacob Wood, Haejin Jang).- 5. Power Up Sustainability: A Lean-Agile Perspective for the Tropics (Christine Wing Kit Yip).- 6. Exploring the Role of Trust, Competence, and Likability in Fostering Workplace Relations (Smita Singh and Patrick K. F. Lin).- 7. Detecting Public Speaking Stress via Real-time Voice Analysis in Virtual Reality: A Review (Arushi, Roberto Dillon, Ai Ni Teoh, and Denise Dillon).- 8. Understanding Bias in Recruitment Decision Making: The Impact of Work/Life Experiences in Responding to Diverse Job Candidates (Shane Whitfield and Jacob Wood).- 9. Spiritual Tourism: A Review and Synthesis (Eva Lang, Alexander Josiassen, Florian Kock).- 10. Gender-Inclusive, Sustainable, Frugal and Innovative Methods in Succession Planning for Indian Small and Medium Enterprises Family-Owned Businesses (Pooja Alfred Arambhan, Dr Jireh Hooi Inn Seow and Dr Bhanu Ranjan).- 11. Market Power Analysis on Shrimp Import from Tropical Asia: The Korean Case (Dae Eui Kim and Song Soo Lim).- 12. Coastal Tourism and Sustainability: A Case Study of East Midnapur District, West Bengal, India (Dr. Priyanka Ghosh and Dr. Tania Chakravarty).- 13. An Internet of Things Conceptual Modeland User Experience Design for Forest Hiking Systems in the Tropics Tourism (Jusak Jusak and Randy Zhu).- 14. Spatial characteristics and driving mechanism of Hainan tourism development under the COVID-19 epidemic (Fenggui Chen, Jinglong Jiang, Yuhuan Jiang, Chao Zhang, Qingsheng Li,Jianwei Wu).- 15. A conceptual framework for supporting high-value innovation in the large medical technology industry (Hemant Vilas Belsare, Dr Jireh Hooi Inn Seow and Dr. CJ Meadows).- 16. Small businesses beyond resilience: a functional structure approach to the growth of small businesses in India (Vijay Bijlani, Dr. Jireh H.I. Seow and Dr. Muniza Askari).- 17. A conceptual framework for impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AIML) in drug development within pharmaceutical industry (Mugdha H. Belsare and Josip Burusic).- 18. Exploring Employee Engagement in the New Zealand Healthcare Industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Erlita Cabal-Roberts and Jacob Wood).- 19. Contemporary Employability Norms for Guest-Facing Hospitality Workers: Some Empirical Evidence during Covid-19 (Nicolas Hepp, Riley Lynn Starling, Greta Elbracht, Miriam Sneha Rajkumar, Win Khant, Pengji Wang).- 20. Impact of Students’ Village Residence on the Students Performance and The Host Community: A Study of Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, Nigeria (Usman Yusuf Dutse).- 21. E-Marketing, Technological Capabilities, and Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in North East Nigeria (Mohammed Lawal Inuwa and Friday Igbadumhe).- 22. Last-Mile Delivery Innovations for Parcels Collection in Singapore (Maria Cecilia Rojas Lopez and Hui Shan Loh).- 23. Scoping the conveniences of mobile money for micro-entrepreneurs in Kenya (Rael A. Onyango, Emiel L. Eijdenberg, Nelson Obange and Enno Masurel).- 23. Evaluating financial literacy among working women in Pune: a gender-sensitive approach (Vineeta Agrawal and Manisha Agarwal).- 25. Kicking the proverbial can down the road, across the border: Sustainability at Others’ Expense (Dr Thomas Chong).- 26. Artificial Intelligence in Information Technology Infrastructure Management and Support in Singapore (Dr Jireh H.I. Seow and Naveen K. Rajaharia).- 27. RFID Technology for sustainable fashion and Textile manufacturing (Majo George, Rajkishore Nayak, Irfan UlHaq, Hiep Pham, Tarun Panwar and Duc-Anh Nguyen).