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1 – 4 of 4Almina Bešić, Christian Hirt and Zijada Rahimić
This study focuses on HR practices that foster employee engagement during Covid-19. Companies in transition economies are particularly vulnerable to crisis and downsizing and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study focuses on HR practices that foster employee engagement during Covid-19. Companies in transition economies are particularly vulnerable to crisis and downsizing and other recessionary practices are frequently used.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the model of caring human resource management, we utilise interviews with human resource representatives of 10 banks in the transition economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We analyse the banks at two different times to demonstrate how and why companies adapt their HR practices.
Findings
Our findings show a changing mindset in the deployment of highly context-specific HR practices. Strengthening company culture through a sense of community and communication ensure stability and continuity in work. Rather than layoffs, flexible work has become standard.
Practical implications
By highlighting the interplay between HR practices and employee engagement, we contribute to the discussion on engagement in exceptional circumstances and challenging settings and demonstrate how caring responsibilities “migrate” into HR practices in the professional context of a transition economy.
Originality/value
We propose a context-specific “protective caring approach” to foster employee engagement during crises.
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Rainald Löhner, Lingquan Li, Orlando Antonio Soto and Joseph David Baum
This study aims to evaluate blast loads on and the response of submerged structures.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate blast loads on and the response of submerged structures.
Design/methodology/approach
An arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method is developed to model fluid–structure interaction (FSI) problems of close-in underwater explosions (UNDEX). The “fluid” part provides the loads for the structure considers air, water and high explosive materials. The spatial discretization for the fluid domain is performed with a second-order vertex-based finite volume scheme with a tangent of hyperbola interface capturing technique. The temporal discretization is based on explicit Runge–Kutta methods. The structure is described by a large-deformation Lagrangian formulation and discretized via finite elements. First, one-dimensional test cases are given to show that the numerical method is free of mesh movement effects. Thereafter, three-dimensional FSI problems of close-in UNDEX are studied. Finally, the computation of UNDEX near a ship compartment is performed.
Findings
The difference in the flow mechanisms between rigid targets and deforming targets is quantified and evaluated.
Research limitations/implications
Cavitation is modeled only approximately and may require further refinement/modeling.
Practical implications
The results demonstrate that the proposed numerical method is accurate, robust and versatile for practical use.
Social implications
Better design of naval infrastructure [such as bridges, ports, etc.].
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study has been conducted for the first time.
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Christian Orgeldinger, Tobias Rosnitscheck and Stephan Tremmel
Microtextured surfaces can reduce friction in tribological systems under certain contact conditions. Because it is very time-consuming to determine suitable texture patterns…
Abstract
Purpose
Microtextured surfaces can reduce friction in tribological systems under certain contact conditions. Because it is very time-consuming to determine suitable texture patterns experimentally, numerical approaches to the design of microtextures are increasingly gaining acceptance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the selected modeling approach affects optimized texturing.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the cam/tappet contact as an application-oriented example, a simplified 2D and a full 3D model are developed for determining the best possible texturing via a design study. The study explores elongated Gaussian-shaped texture elements for this purpose. The optima of the simplified 2D simulation model and the full 3D model are compared with each other to draw conclusions about the influence of the modeling strategy. The target value here is the solid body friction in contact.
Findings
For the elongated texture elements used, both the simplified 2D model and the full model result in very similar optimal texture patterns. In the selected application, the simplified simulation model can significantly reduce the computational effort without affecting the optimization result.
Originality/value
Depending on the selected use case, the simulation effort required for microtexture optimization can be significantly reduced by comparing different models first. Therefore, an exact physical replica of the real contact is not necessarily the primary goal when it comes to texture selection based on numerical simulations.
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Youssef Chetioui, Hind Lebdaoui and Nisrine Hafid
The COVID-19 crisis has sped up digital transformation and technologies by several years. Customers have dramatically shifted to online channels, and businesses have quickly…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 crisis has sped up digital transformation and technologies by several years. Customers have dramatically shifted to online channels, and businesses have quickly responded by offering additional canals for online shopping and payment. Customers have also been exhibiting greater preferences for contactless payments, and mobile banking has therefore become a norm in both developed and developing countries. This study aims to understand the antecedents of mobile banking actual usage in an early adoption stage setting (i.e. Morocco) through a comprehensive conceptual model combining the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, the DeLone and McLean IS success model and additional constructs extracted from extent literature. The moderating effects of age, gender and education are also examined and analyzed using multigroup analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on data collected from 616 Moroccan users, the authors empirically tested the proposed conceptual model using structural equation modeling.
Findings
First, consumer M-banking actual usage has a significant effect on customer satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty; at the same time, attitudinal loyalty was significantly influenced by customer satisfaction. Second, while M-banking actual usage was significantly influenced by effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value, habit, service quality, trust, attitude and perceived security, the results show no significant impact of system quality and information quality. Third, the relationship between M-banking actual usage and its antecedents was significantly moderated by age, gender and education.
Practical implications
The findings help bank practitioners to understand the importance of meeting customers’ needs and expectations as a prerequisite in enhancing actual usage, satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty. More importantly, the authors emphasize the need for demographically oriented strategies to target different demographic segments of customers.
Originality/value
The study bridges a gap in M-banking literature by offering a thorough understanding of consumers’ mobile banking use during the pandemic. The findings provide evidence of the applicability of the conceptual model proposed in this research. Furthermore, the reflection of the moderating effects of gender, age and education emphasizes the mobile banking usage disparities among dissimilar demographic segments.
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