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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tribological properties, antiwear mechanism and anticorrosion properties of two novel halogen-free borate ionic liquids (ILs) in 500 N base oil.

Different qualities of borate ILs were added to 500 N, and their tribological properties were tested on a four-ball machine. The tribological properties of the additives were evaluated by measuring the wear scar diameter (WSD) and average coefficient of friction. The antiwear and antifriction mechanism of ILs was analyzed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

The corrosion degrees of the two borate ILs 1-butyl-3-octyl-imidazole bis(mandelato)-borate ([OBIM][BMB]) and 1-butyl-3-(3-methoxypropyl)-imidazole bis(mandelato)-borate ([MPBIM][BMB]) are 1b and 1a, respectively, suggesting that they both possess significant corrosion resistance and can effectively protect the steel surface. When the concentration of [OBIM][BMB] and [MPBIM][BMB] is 2.5 Wt.%, the friction coefficient of 500 N is reduced by 37.3% and 26.2%, respectively. According to the analysis of the thermo gravimetric analyzer curves, [OBIM][BMB] and [MPBIM][BMB] decomposed at 369.7°C and 374.3°C, respectively, indicate that two additives both can be applied in higher temperature condition. The results of XPS and scanning electron microscope (SEM) reveal that [OBIM][BMB] and [MPBIM][BMB] both can react with the steel surface, thereby forming chemical films composed of iron oxide, B₂O₃ and organic N-containing compounds.

Two new environmentally friendly borate ILs were synthesized and their tribological properties in 500 N base oil were investigated for the first time.

The purpose of this paper is to test whether the policies of China’s financial restraint have an inhibitory effect on the consumption of residents.

This study used the principal component analysis for constructing a financial restraint index and also used empirical methodology.

The authors found that financial restraint policies create rent opportunities for banking sector and production sector, which further creates the rent opportunities for the household sector. Such transfer of rent and redistribution will have an inhibitory effect on residents’ consumption. The financial restraint policies directly and indirectly inhibit the growth of residents’ income; and in theory, the purpose of financial restraint policy is to promote economic growth, thus promoting residents’ consumption. Thus, the financial restraint policies impacting the residents’ consumption are non-linear and test the threshold effect of financial restraints on the residents’ consumption of China.

This paper’s theoretical contribution includes: increasing the connotation of financial restraint in the policies of stock market and foreign exchange controls, and further developing the financial restraint theory; and exploring the inhibitory effect on the consumption of residents from the perspective of financial restraints to enrich the connotation of the consumption theory.

The findings in this study can help the financial authorities to gradually relax the financial restraint policies to encourage residents’ consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and theorize the process of managerial feedback in relation to change in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This research embraces a qualitative methodology in the context of manufacturing SMEs. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews, and observations conducted with various managers in six SMEs operating in three countries, it is argued that managers benefit more by using daily, ongoing, feedback as a trigger of change in their organizations.

The findings suggest that there is an overall view that managers appear to be reluctant to change existing processes using formalized feedback mechanisms, which runs counter-intuitive to the literature. In contrast, informal methods of feedback work better in enhancing organizational change. Moreover, another two features of feedback enhance this process, namely, benefits oriented and confidence oriented. As such, this study contributes to existing knowledge and practice by proposing a three-fold form of feedback through which managers expand their perspectives of feedback from feeding-back to feeding-forward thereby enhancing the opportunities of triggering change.

Feedback should merely be considered as a dynamic and socially constructed managerial practice. A practice where actors not only exchange information and share knowledge, but also act, react and interact with each other as they constantly rethinking the change process. The proposed aspect of feedback emphasizes knowledge therapeutically and in combination with the dialogical discourse (practical illustration) that increases the odds for capturing change as a natural, rather than exceptional.

Practitioners, as such, may wish to consider the terminology used when it comes to studying change and its implementation in a crisis context. Using deformalized managerial feedback mechanisms to tackle a formal phenomenon like “change” could help avoid employees perceiving a negative connotation, causing resistance or confusion and feeling threatened. Therefore, the authors suggest that practitioners, during development initiatives on modernizing or altering organizational processes, consider replacing the term “change” as a formal concept.

It is an investigation from an exploratory perspective in studying and understanding the causes, factors and modalities that trigger managerial feedback toward organizational change in manufacturing SMEs.

With increasing managerial attention on the strategic promotion of brand-related sustainability initiatives (BSI), this study explores the psychological role of image congruence of the triad comprising brand, BSI and self-concept (brand–sustainability–self-congruence; BSSC). The study assesses the predictive effect of BSSC on consumers' brand evaluations and its variation according to the brand types and consumers' attributes. The purpose is to provide managerial suggestions as well as theoretical implications to build an effective BSI strategy from the perspective of consumer psychology.

The data from 409 respondents in Japan are assessed to discuss the relationships among BSSC based on actual/ideal self-concept (actual/ideal BSSC), brand trust, brand affect and purchase intention according to hypothetical BSI settings.

The results suggest a significant role of BSSC in consumers' brand evaluation mechanisms associated with BSI: mostly, actual BSSC affects non-luxury brand evaluation, while ideal BSSC affects luxury brand evaluation. Likewise, the effects of actual/ideal BSSC seem to vary according to consumers' income levels.

The results suggest that managers strategically consider consumer psychology of brand evaluation with actual/ideal BSSC, income levels and brand attributes such as luxury level in BSI planning. Thus, they may predict its contribution to brand equity, leading to companies' performance being compatible with environmental contribution.

This study uniquely extends the self-congruity theory and discusses the psychological brand evaluation mechanism comprising BSSC, presenting the switching role of actual/ideal self-concept according to brand types and consumers' attributes.