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1 – 10 of 106Miguel Ángel Caminero, Ana Romero Gutiérrez, Jesús Miguel Chacón, Eustaquio García-Plaza and Pedro José Núñez
The extrusion-based additive manufacturing method followed by debinding and sintering steps can produce metal parts efficiently at a relatively low cost and material wastage. In…
Abstract
Purpose
The extrusion-based additive manufacturing method followed by debinding and sintering steps can produce metal parts efficiently at a relatively low cost and material wastage. In this study, 316L stainless-steel metal filled filaments were used to print metal parts using the extrusion-based fused filament fabrication (FFF) approach. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of common FFF printing parameters on the geometric and mechanical performance of FFF manufactured 316L stainless-steel components.
Design/methodology/approach
The microstructural characteristics of the metal filled filament, three-dimensional (3D) printed green parts and final sintered parts were analysed. In addition, the dimensional accuracy of the green parts was evaluated, as well as the hardness, tensile properties, relative density, part shrinkage and the porosity of the sintered samples. Moreover, surface quality in terms of surface roughness after sintering was assessed. Predictive models based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used for characterizing dimensional accuracy, shrinkage, surface roughness and density. Additionally, the response surface method based on ANNs was applied to represent the behaviour of these parameters and to identify the optimum 3D printing conditions.
Findings
The effects of the FFF process parameters such as build orientation and nozzle diameter were significant. The pore distribution was strongly linked to the build orientation and printing strategy. Furthermore, porosity decreased with increased nozzle diameter, which increased mechanical performance. In contrast, lower nozzle diameters achieved lower roughness values and average deviations. Thus, it should be noted that the modification of process parameters to achieve greater geometrical accuracy weakened mechanical performance.
Originality/value
Near-dense 316L austenitic stainless-steel components using FFF technology were successfully manufactured. This study provides print guidelines and further information regarding the impact of FFF process parameters on the mechanical, microstructural and geometric performance of 3D printed 316L components.
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Eric Ping Hung Li, Ajnesh Prasad, Cristalle Smith, Ana Gutierrez, Emily Lewis and Betty Brown
The purpose of this paper is to consider the potential of visual (i.e. non-textual) research methods in community-based participatory research.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the potential of visual (i.e. non-textual) research methods in community-based participatory research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on a case illustration of a photo- and video-voice campaign involving rural communities in British Columbia, Canada.
Findings
The authors find that visual research methods, in the form of photo- and video-voice campaigns, allow participants to form ties between their community and the broader sociocultural, natural and political milieu in which their community is located. The authors highlight the benefits of using such methodological approaches to capture an emic perspective of community building.
Originality/value
The contribution of this study is twofold. First, this study uses a photo- and video-voice campaign to showcase the role of visuals in articulating community pride – that is, how locals construct identity – and a sense of belongingness. Second, by focusing its analytical gaze on the idea of “community,” this paper revisits the importance of active involvement of research participants in the execution of empirical studies. Ultimately, the authors urge organization and management studies scholars, as well as those working in the social sciences more broadly, to further explore the value of innovative community-based research approaches in future work.
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Alba Gómez-Ortega, Ana Licerán-Gutiérrez and Maria de la Paz Horno-Bueno
The “public interest” of financial institutions was used as an argument to intervene in accounting practices. The Bank of Spain's standard was not compatible with International…
Abstract
Purpose
The “public interest” of financial institutions was used as an argument to intervene in accounting practices. The Bank of Spain's standard was not compatible with International Accounting Standard (henceforth IAS) 39 and the Spanish banking sector had become one of the most provisioned in Europe. This makes it an interesting case study of the relationship between provisioning and income smoothing. The 2008 financial crisis revealed that provisions were insufficient and a reinforcement regulation process began in 2012. This paper aims to examine whether, since 2012, the Bank of Spain's regulatory effort on impairment accounting standards has induced less income smoothing, correcting its countercyclical effect.
Design/methodology/approach
A regression model is applied during the period 2005–2020, to test whether there is a trend change in the correlation between the level of provisions and annual earnings in 2012.
Findings
The results show that from 2012 onwards (when the Bank of Spain reinforced the regulation on provisioning), there was a correction in income smoothing behaviour.
Originality/value
This study provides empirical evidence that reinforces the claim that accounting policy can affect decision-making accounting practices, in this particular case, at the Bank of Spain.
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Blanca García Gómez, Ana Gutiérrez Arranz and Jesús Gutiérrez Cillán
The aim of this paper is to analyze the behavioral and affective loyalty of retailer customers in order to establish the role played by loyalty programs in the development of…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to analyze the behavioral and affective loyalty of retailer customers in order to establish the role played by loyalty programs in the development of these variables.
Design/methodology/approach
Research data were taken from a survey carried out on 750 customers from a Spanish supermarket chain. Several ANOVAs are employed to compare the two loyalty dimensions among participants and non participants in loyalty programs.
Findings
The results show that participants in loyalty programs are more behavioral and affectively loyal than non participants. Nevertheless, most customers do not change purchase behavior after joining a loyalty program. The strategy is therefore to retain loyal customers and to achieve the reinforcement of affective bonds linking the customer to the retailer.
Practical implications
Companies should focus their efforts on developing a reward plan as adapted as possible to concrete needs of each participant in the program to achieve true loyalty.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this paper is the completion of an exhaustive analysis of customer loyalty. On the one hand, it is a pioneer in the study of the influence of loyalty programs on affective loyalty and, on the other hand, it confirms results from other researches on behavioral loyalty of program participants. In addition, this is one of the few papers developed in this field using the survey as a source of information.
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Rebeca San José‐Cabezudo, Jesús Gutiérrez‐Cillán and Ana M. Gutiérrez‐Arranz
The purpose of this paper is to present a proposal for the Hierarchy of Effects – a model that has been widely applied in the study of persuasion in traditional communications…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a proposal for the Hierarchy of Effects – a model that has been widely applied in the study of persuasion in traditional communications media – to evaluate Website effectiveness. In particular, this contribution seeks to consider a more complete model in order to evaluate the responses of the individuals to the Websites, incorporating new variables to the traditional sequence; and to study the moderating effect of the specific characteristics of the audience – the individual user's motivations in terms of Internet access in the basic structure of this model.
Design/methodology/approach
The multi‐equations methodology is used to test the sequence of responses that produce the visit to an experimental Website: the perceived informative value and the perceived entertainment value of a Website, the attitude toward the Website, the attitude toward the brand and the intention to buy the brand for two different individual groups: the “information seekers” and “entertainment seekers”.
Findings
The results reveal two well differentiated positive models of behavior in the online context.
Practical implications
In their Website strategies, the organizations should not neglect those aspects which may arouse emotional reactions in the Internet users, but they should pay more attention to generated informative value to obtain more favorable users' responses.
Originality/value
Previous studies had not tested empirically the moderating effects of the users' motivations in terms of Internet access (search for information versus entertainment) over this original and more complete structure of individuals' responses to the Website.
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M. José Garrido Samaniego, Ana M. Gutiérrez Arranz and Rebeca San José Cabezudo
Determinants of internet adoption in industrial purchase have rarely been paid attention in the literature. Considering this gap in the literature, the present study intends to…
Abstract
Purpose
Determinants of internet adoption in industrial purchase have rarely been paid attention in the literature. Considering this gap in the literature, the present study intends to approach the factors that determine the use of the internet as a source of information in procurement.
Design/methodology/approach
This research analyzes whether different internet tools are used throughout the phases in the purchasing process and, at the same time, whether the characteristics of the buying situation determine the use of the internet in that process. The survey is based on an e‐mailed questionnaire sent to a sample of 103 Spanish firms.
Findings
In general, different uses of the internet tools are not observed in the different stages of the buying process. However, the characteristics of purchasing situations (novelty, complexity, perceived risk, time pressure and personal stake) at each buying situation make possible an explanation of the use of different internet tools throughout the different phases in purchasing.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this paper show that there are implications for practitioners related to the core hypotheses of the research. The contingency approach employed in the study makes it easier to adapt the different internet tools (web pages, intranet development or adoption of videoconference technology) to the specific characteristics of the buying situation in which they are primarily used. On the other hand, the main limitation of this research lies in the composition of the sample, so that it could be considered suitable to extend the study to different product lines and to decisions on service contracts in the near future.
Originality/value
This research analyzes whether different internet tools are used throughout the phases in the purchasing process and, at the same time, whether the characteristics of the buying situation determine the use of the internet in that process.
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In this, the second part of a two‐part paper (Part I, Personnel Review, Summer 1977, pp 21–34) a survey of instances of work system design (WSD) experiments will be continued. As…
Abstract
In this, the second part of a two‐part paper (Part I, Personnel Review, Summer 1977, pp 21–34) a survey of instances of work system design (WSD) experiments will be continued. As described in the Introduction to Part I, cases chosen for inclusion report the economic and human results of actual physical or structural innovations in a set or series of human tasks which, taken together, form some meaningful technical whole. The term ‘experiment’ is used in both Part I and II to refer loosely to change or manipulation of actual work activities, and not necessarily to well controlled laboratory experiments. In fact, most cases reported here are ‘natural’ and very few are carefully controlled.
Núria Riera-Oliver, Carmen Jiménez, Joan Rey, Ana Belén Calvo and Teresa Sanchez-Gutierrez
The use and abuse of alcohol is problematic for a person’s social and individual development. Maintenance of abstinence after detoxification programs is difficult for patients who…
Abstract
Purpose
The use and abuse of alcohol is problematic for a person’s social and individual development. Maintenance of abstinence after detoxification programs is difficult for patients who experience a craving, and relapses during the course of the disorder are common. The purpose of this paper is to describe the socio-demographic and clinical features of alcohol-dependent patients by sex and alcohol use status and to analyze the percentage of patients who remained abstinent after 10 months of psychological treatment.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 50 alcohol-dependent patients were enrolled (34 men and 16 women). The patients attended a psychological treatment program at a therapeutic community, Projecte Home Balears, Spain. This paper used the European Addiction Severity Index to collect socio-demographic data and data on alcohol and other drugs and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 to measure emotional management.
Findings
Significant differences were observed in occupation (χ² = 9.9; p = 0.007) and duration of alcohol use (U = 137.000; p = 0.005) by sex and hospitalizations during the previous months (χ² = 15.477; p = 0.009) and type of chronic disorder (χ² = 7.6; p = 0.022) and duration (in months) of the longest period of abstinence after treatment in facilities (U = 219.500; p = 0.097) by alcohol use status. The survival analysis showed that 25% of relapses happened after 4.5 months of treatment; at 7.3 months, 50% of the sample remained abstinent.
Originality/value
Women had used alcohol for longer since age at onset than men. Furthermore, after 7.3 months of intensive therapy, 50% of alcohol-dependent patients were abstinent.
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Marta Fernández Barcala, Ana Ma Díaz Martín and Juan A. Trespalacios Gutiérrez
Aims to provide the entities and institutions that train retailers with a series of recommendations to improve the quality of the courses they organise and give, especially…
Abstract
Aims to provide the entities and institutions that train retailers with a series of recommendations to improve the quality of the courses they organise and give, especially concerning the aspects where those actually receiving training detect the greatest shortcomings. Hence, the perceptions of the individuals attending the courses as well as the importance they give to each of the aspects considered to be relevant for evaluating the quality of training received have been analysed. To this end, a measurement instrument based on the SERVPERF scale has been developed and, according to the quality evaluations obtained, the retailers have been classified into homogeneous groups. Evaluating the quality of the training received, grouping the retailers, and detecting significant differences among the groups will enable the bodies organising and/or giving courses to diversify their offerings in terms of the characteristics of those receiving training. They will also be able to determine the strengths and weaknesses of these courses at an overall level as well as for each of the groups. Likewise, clues can be found to improve aspects of the training courses to which due attention may not be being paid at the present time.
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Ana María Barrera-Rodríguez, Paola Andrea Echeverri-Gutiérrez, Isabel Redondo-Ramírez and Leidy Hernández-Ramírez
This article develops a review of the university social responsibility literature to identify the most influential countries, authors, journals, and institutions, their structure…
Abstract
Purpose
This article develops a review of the university social responsibility literature to identify the most influential countries, authors, journals, and institutions, their structure, and research lines.
Design/methodology/approach
The review was carried out from a bibliometric and network analysis of documents published in the Web of Science database.
Findings
In total, 192 documents were found that were scientifically mapped in this field. From the network analysis, four research perspectives were identified: strategic impact management policy, user and its stakeholders, service-learning and its contribution to user, and theories, approaches, and strategies of University Social Responsibility (USR). Finally, the agenda for future research are presented.
Originality/value
The present work carries out a bibliometric and network analysis that seeks to contribute to the literature on USR, identifying its current perspectives and future lines of research.
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