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1 – 10 of over 2000Jibing Chen, Shisen Huang, Nan Chen, Chengze Yu, Shanji Yu, Bowen Liu, Maohui Hu and Ruidi Li
This paper aims to identify the optimal forming angle for the selective laser melting (SLM) process and evaluate the mechanical properties of the SLM-formed GH3536 alloy in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the optimal forming angle for the selective laser melting (SLM) process and evaluate the mechanical properties of the SLM-formed GH3536 alloy in the aero-engine field.
Design/methodology/approach
Forming the samples with optimized parameters and analyzing the microstructure and properties of the block samples in different forming angles with scanning electron microscope, XRD, etc. so as to analyze and reveal the laws and mechanism of the block samples in different forming angles by SLM.
Findings
There are few cracks on the construction surface of SLM formed samples, and the microstructure shows columnar subgrains and cellular subgrains. The segregation of metal elements was not observed in the microstructure. The pattern shows strong texture strength on the (111) crystal plane. In the sample, the tensile strength of 60° sample is the highest, the plasticity of 90° forming sample is the best, the comprehensive property of 45° sample is the best and the fracture mode is plastic fracture. The comprehensive performance of the part is the best under the forming angle of 45°. To ensure the part size, performance and support structure processing, additional dimensions are added to the part structure.
Originality/value
In this paper, how to make samples with different forming angles is described. Combined with the standard of forged GH3536 alloy, the microstructure and properties of the samples are analyzed, and the optimal forming angle is obtained.
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Mieke Beth Thomeer, Corinne Reczek and Allen J. LeBlanc
Purpose: In this chapter, we develop a concept of social biographies which draws on social network and life course theories to examine how a diverse set of social relationships…
Abstract
Purpose: In this chapter, we develop a concept of social biographies which draws on social network and life course theories to examine how a diverse set of social relationships impacts health of sexual and gender minority (SGM) people over time.
Design/methodology/approach: We provide an overview of several decades of research on SGM people's social relationships, organizing this research within a social biographies framework.
Findings: We theorize about the importance of both the structure and content of SGM people's social networks for health, how these social relationships interact with each other, how these social biographies and their impacts shift across SGM cohorts and over the life course, and how they further are shaped by the intersection of a range of factors (e.g., race/ethnicity, social class).
Social biographies can remain constant or change over time, and relationships of all types and durations have the power to significantly improve or undermine health. This is in part because social ties both buffer and exacerbate the inimical effects of stress on health.
Originality/value: Traditional conceptualizations of relationships fail to reflect the diversity of relationships in SGM lives. Studying this diversity deepens our view of how social biographies influence health and how health inequities between SGM and cisgender and heterosexual (cishet) populations emerge. Studying social biographies of SGM people using theoretical and methodological tools from life course and social network perspectives reveals existing voids in the current literature, enabling researchers to better understand the shifting nature of social relationships in the twenty-first century.
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Brian L. Bourdeau, J. Joseph Cronin, Daniel T. Padgett, Clay M. Voorhees and Kimberley White
All hypothesized relationships were significant. Specifically, H1 was supported as disconfirmation and surprising consumption were significantly correlated. Moreover, arousal (H2…
Abstract
Purpose
All hypothesized relationships were significant. Specifically, H1 was supported as disconfirmation and surprising consumption were significantly correlated. Moreover, arousal (H2) and outrage (H4a) were functions of surprising consumption and negative affect (H3) and outrage (H4b) were functions of arousal. H4c was also supported as negative affect had a significant direct effect on consumer outrage. In addition, disconfirmation had negative direct effects on both negative affect (H5) and dissatisfaction (H6a) and dissatisfaction was a function of negative affect. Finally, both outrage (H7a) and dissatisfaction (H7b) had significant negative effects on behavioral intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Respondents were recruited to participate in the data collection in a “college town” in the Southeastern United States. Respondents were provided a paper and pencil data collection instrument that include complete survey instructions and the balance of the research design. To adequately test all hypotheses, the researchers developed a unique scenario that described an extreme service failure that takes place during a hotel check-in. Each respondent was asked to read the scenario and then reflect upon it as they responded to items that assessed their feelings toward the hotel check-in experience.
Findings
The results provide additional evidence in support of the existence of the satisfaction-dissatisfaction continuum, as well as specifically identifying the affective nature of levels of satisfaction that fall surprisingly well-below the zone of tolerance. The authors feel that the present study is a necessary step to provide a more comprehensive view of the satisfaction-dissatisfaction continuum. Likewise, the authors posit initial evidence of the antecedents and consequences of consumer outrage. This research supports the prior assumptions of Westbrook (1987) about the vast detrimental effects of negative affective responses to service or product failures.
Research limitations/implications
Future research needs to discover just how extremely deficient service has to be to elicit outrage. Is outrage a personal phenomenon with every consumer experiencing it to different degrees? As such, is outrage triggered at different points on the satisfaction-dissatisfaction continuum? The zone of tolerance seems to suggest this, but it would be interesting to discover if at some collective level of dissatisfaction consumers generally begin to show signs of outrage. Likewise, it would be interesting to understand how the level and pattern of outrage results in customers exiting the relationship but also results in loyal customers becoming enemies (e.g. Gregiore et al., 2009; Gregiore and Fisher, 2008).
Originality/value
The motivation for the current study is both pragmatic and theoretical. As alluded to above, it is evident that the level of service customers’ emotional responses to their service experiences are increasing in frequency and intensity. These negative emotions affect the efficacy of service workers and impede the financial performance of service providers. The popular mantra of “anti-woke” consumers, “Go Woke, Go Broke,” is indicative of the importance of negative emotion. Sometimes referred to as “brand activism” (Moorman, 2020; Sarkar and Kotlet, 2019), recent public stances on social and political issues have led to a boycott of Gillette razors, the burning of Nike shoes, and the canceling of Costco Memberships in what has been called “virtue signaling” (Vredenburg et al., 2020). While none of these actions are desirable, the importance of investigating the impact of strong negative emotions (i.e. outrage) is further demonstrated in reports that 65% of consumers expect companies to authentically support such issues (Barton et al., 2018; Edelman, 2018; Larcker and Tayan, 2018; Moorman, 2020).
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Muhammad Ali, Susan Freeman, Lei Shen, Lin Xiong and Muhammad Adnan Zahid Chudhery
This study clarifies how intra-organizational social capital (IOSC) and unit-organizational ambidexterity (UOA), using resource-based view and dynamic capability theory, together…
Abstract
Purpose
This study clarifies how intra-organizational social capital (IOSC) and unit-organizational ambidexterity (UOA), using resource-based view and dynamic capability theory, together support organizational value creation. While there is research in strategic human resource management (SHRM) exploring the role of resources and its uses, there remains limited understanding of how resources are linked and their effective utilization in the service sector. This study aims to examine the mediating process linking employee-experienced service-oriented high-performance work systems (SHPWS) experienced by employees and service performance by integrating IOSC and UOA.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses time lagged data from managers and employees of different branches of Chinese state-owned banks. To test the proposed hypotheses, path analysis was applied.
Findings
The path analysis results reveal that employee-experienced SHPWS is an important antecedent of service performance. Moreover, IOSC (as resources) and UOA (uses) strongly mediate the theorized relationship.
Originality/value
This study attempts to refine theory and practice with clearer, more insightful and coherent means to better understand and help unpack the ‘black box’ between SHPWS-performance relationships through a new linkage model.
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Nicholas Chileshe and Geraldine John Kikwasi
Despite the extensive research on critical success factors (CSFs), there is a paucity of studies that examine CSFs for the deployment of risk assessment and management processes…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the extensive research on critical success factors (CSFs), there is a paucity of studies that examine CSFs for the deployment of risk assessment and management processes in developing countries, particularly, Africa. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perception of construction professionals on CSFs appertaining to the deployment of risk assessment and management practices (RAMP) in Tanzania with the aim of filling the knowledge gap.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary data were collected from 67 construction professionals working with clients (private and public), consultants, and contractor organisations (foreign and local) within the Tanzanian construction. Response data was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics with one-way analysis of variance to examine the differences in the perception of the identified CSFs.
Findings
The descriptive and empirical analysis demonstrated a disparity of the ranking of the ten CSFs among the groups; however, the differences were not significant. Based on the overall sample, the results of the mean score ranking indicate that “awareness of risk management processes”; “team work and communications”; and “management style” were the three highly ranked CSFs whereas “co-operative culture”; “customer requirement”; and “positive human dynamics” were considered to be the least important.
Research limitations/implications
The study did not differentiate the perceptions of the CSFs according to the ownership (local or foreign), and the sample consisted of organisations in one industry operating in Tanzania. Consequently, the findings may not generalise to other industries or to organisations operating in other countries.
Practical implications
For RAMP to be implemented effectively, Tanzanian constructional-related organisations should consider the identified CSFs as a vehicle for improving project success through reduction of risk uncertainty. Furthermore, regardless of the type of organisation, “management style”, “team work and communication” are necessary for the successful deployment of RAMP.
Originality/value
This study makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on the subject within a previously unexplored context. The study provides insights on the drivers and enablers (CSFs) of risk assessment implementation across the Tanzania construction sector.
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Ali Rostami, James Sommerville, Ing Liang Wong and Cynthia Lee
The competition and challenges facing construction firms during the recent recession have brought risk management (RM) to the fore in people’s minds. Examination of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The competition and challenges facing construction firms during the recent recession have brought risk management (RM) to the fore in people’s minds. Examination of the difficulties of implementing RM in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK construction industry has been relatively untouched. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
As part of on-going research to facilitate RM processing aimed at improving the competitiveness of SMEs, the difficulties in RM implementation were identified through a literature review of RM implementation in SMEs. Postal questionnaire were sent to SMEs who have experience of construction management.
Findings
Of the 153 of SMEs responding, most highlighted that the main difficulty experienced is how to scale RM process to meet their requirements. None of the available standards explain the fundamental principle of applying RM to the situations that SMEs find themselves in. This difficulty is further exacerbated by a lack of management skills and knowledge in the adoption of RM tools or techniques to identify and analyse the business’ risks.
Originality/value
The identified difficulties can be considered to develop a process to facilitate RM process within SMEs.
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Mara Franco and Raquel Meneses
The main purpose of this research is to understand if customers from countries with alleged similar culture expect services dimensions equally and to understand the level of…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this research is to understand if customers from countries with alleged similar culture expect services dimensions equally and to understand the level of proximity among those countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative methodology was used to test the level of proximity in customers' expectations about a service among different countries with alleged similar cultural patterns and if these customers share similar expectations about a set of service dimensions. This transnational research regarded the hotel service and data were collected from ten Latin countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Romania, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile. About 1262 customers answered a questionnaire about their expectations about service dimensions of the hotel service.
Findings
Findings show that Latin customers' expectations about services are not equal and that there is a low level of proximity or similarity of customers' expectations about service among Latin countries.
Research limitations/implications
Research was applied in one group of Latin countries that revealed a low level of proximity of customer's expectations about the hotel service. Further attempts should be made to expand research to additional Latin countries in order to allow understanding if the proximity level rises, decreases or maintains.
Originality/value
The major contribution was to use a cross-cultural approach to understand the level of proximity between the Latin countries in terms of customer's expectations about service dimensions, as these countries are frequently clustered into one group and customer's expectations are presumed to also be similar.
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Bowen Yang, Liping Liu and Yanhui Yin
Legislation plays a vital role in solving carbon emissions reduction and climate change issues. China began to implement a low-carbon economic policy in 2010, but the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
Legislation plays a vital role in solving carbon emissions reduction and climate change issues. China began to implement a low-carbon economic policy in 2010, but the effect of the policy needs to be evaluated. Accordingly, this paper aims to discuss China’s low-carbon policy through exploring the following two questions, namely, whether the policy effect reaches the expected goal and whether the policy effects will balance economic development and emission reduction. Then, the paper puts forward suggestions for the improvement of China’s low-carbon policy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is organized around three distinct aspects of policy effect evaluation. This paper uses the synthetic control method to construct a policy effect evaluation model and conducts a quasi-natural experiment. The paper selects annual panel data from 2003 to 2015, which is selected from 33 provinces. A comparative analysis of carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and economic development between Hubei Province and Liaoning Province.
Findings
The results reveal that the implementation of the low-carbon pilot province policy in 2010 has a significant impact on the emission reduction effect of Liaoning Province, but the impact on the emission reduction effect of Hubei Province is not significant. The carbon emission trading system implemented in 2012 has reduced the emission reductions in Hubei Province and Liaoning Province has achieved better emission reduction effects after the implementation of this policy. After the implementation of the policy, the economic development of Hubei Province has been improved, but it has not brought help to the economic development of Liaoning Province. These findings provide new insights into the use of an emissions trading system for improving economic development and ultimately facilitate the attainment of the broader goal of sustainability.
Originality/value
This paper proposes an innovative policy effect evaluation method by considering the status of unit gross domestic product, fixed asset investment in the energy industry, energy consumption, emission reduction technology innovation and other evaluation indicators. This paper contributes to broadening current methods of policy effect evaluation in China.
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Mujahed Thneibat, Motasem Thneibat and Bader Al-Tamimi
This study aims to lay the groundwork for the potential application of value management (VM) in construction projects. This paper presents a critical review on the status of VM in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to lay the groundwork for the potential application of value management (VM) in construction projects. This paper presents a critical review on the status of VM in a developing country and highlights the role of perceptions on critical success factors (CSFs) for the phases of VM studies, as the participants in a VM study should consider CSFs tailored to the local context.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of interviews and a questionnaire were conducted to understand the drivers, perceptions, barriers, and CSFs of VM in the Jordanian construction industry. Although descriptive statistics were used to analyze the status of VM, a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was adopted to highlight the interrelationships between perceptions and the CSFs of the three phases of VM (i.e. pre-workshop, workshop, and implementation).
Findings
The descriptive analysis revealed conflicting viewpoints for perceptions and drivers. Most practitioners acknowledged little awareness of VM phases, and the SEM results indicated that perceptions of VM, in terms of its capacity in improving the scope and objectives of the project, and reducing overall costs, most strongly influenced the CSFs of the implementation phase in terms of support and clear plan for implementation, and had the least influence on the pre-workshop phase. Further, the perceptions had a moderate effect on the CSFs of the workshop phase and it tended to be positive, highlighting the importance of function analysis in this phase.
Originality/value
This is the first study to reveal the status of VM in Jordan in terms of adoption, drivers, perceptions, barriers and CSFs; no prior studies have investigated how perceptions can affect the CSFs of each phase of VM and the endorsement of VM by the construction industry. The contributions of this study include linking the perceptions of construction professionals with the CSFs of VM.
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Karin Sanders, Rebecca Hewett and Huadong Yang
Human resource (HR) process research emerged as a response to questions about how (bundles of) HR practices related to organizational outcomes. The goal of HR process research is…
Abstract
Human resource (HR) process research emerged as a response to questions about how (bundles of) HR practices related to organizational outcomes. The goal of HR process research is to explain variability in employee and organization outcomes by focusing on how HR practices are intended (adopted) by senior managers, the way that these HR practices are implemented and communicated by line managers, and how employees perceive, understand, and attribute these HR practices. In the first part of this chapter, we present a review of 20 years of HR process research from the start, to how it developed, and is now maturing. Within the body of HR process research, several different research theoretical streams have emerged, which are largely studied in isolation without benefiting from each other. Therefore, in the second part of this chapter, we draw on previous work to propose a staged process model in which we integrate the different research streams of HR process research, recognizing contingencies in the model. This leads us to an agenda for future research and practical implications in the final part of the chapter.
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