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The survival of companies today hinges on their adaptability and flexibility, with digital transformation (DT) and organizational slack (OS) playing crucial roles. Despite their recognized importance, these factors are often studied separately. This study aims to explore how OS facilitates DT and evaluate their synergies and trade-offs to improve performance.

Using data from the European Manufacturing Survey, structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we investigate causal relationships and possible combinations between different dimensions of OS and DT that contribute to business performance.

We confirmed the positive effect of OS and DT on business performance, highlighting the importance of organizational over technological factors. While not definitively establishing OS as a precursor to DT, our findings underscore the need for human and operational slack to improve performance, especially in less technology-intensive contexts.

Our findings evidence that decision-makers should integrate OS with DT initiatives to improve the firm’s competitiveness. However, it is worth noting that while OS seems essential in low-tech shopfloors, its importance is lower in high-tech environments. Furthermore, within the possible combinations, managers should promote operational slack and digitalization, as it seems fundamental to improve business performance.

This article contributes to the management field in three ways. First, it clarifies controversies by providing evidence of the positive roles of DT and OS as drivers of competitiveness for manufacturing firms. Second, we verify that OS is not directly linked to DT, challenging existing assumptions. Third, it investigates the combinations of OS and DT that drive business performance improvement, emphasizing their synergies and trade-offs.

The paper proposes a framework for the successful deployment of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) principles in the aerospace industry, based on identified success factors. The paper challenges the perception of I4.0 being aligned with de-skilling and personnel reduction and instead promotes a route to successful deployment centred on upskilling and retaining personnel for future role requirements.

The research methodology involved a literature review and industrial data collection via questionnaires to develop and validate the framework. The questionnaire was sent to a purposive sample of 50 respondents working in operations, and a response rate of 90% was achieved. Content analysis was used to identify patterns, themes, or biases, and the data were tabulated based on specific common attributes. The proposed framework consists of a series of gates and criteria that must be met before progressing to the next gate.

The proposed framework provides a feedback mechanism to review minimum standards for successful deployment, aligned with new developments in capability and technology, and ensures quality assessment at each gate. The paper highlights the potential benefits of I4.0 implementation in the aerospace industry, including reducing operational costs and improving competitiveness by eliminating variation in manufacturing processes. The identified success factors were used to define the framework, and the identified failure points were used to form mitigation actions or controls for inclusion in the framework.

The paper provides a framework for the successful deployment of I4.0 principles in the aerospace industry, based on identified success factors. The framework challenges the perception of I4.0 as being aligned with de-skilling and personnel reduction and instead promotes a route to successful deployment centred on upskilling and retaining personnel for future role requirements. The framework can be used as a guideline for organizations to deploy I4.0 principles successfully and improve competitiveness.

This study aims to explore the applications of natural language processing (NLP) and data analytics in understanding large-scale digital collections in oral history archives.

NLP and data analytics were used to analyse the oral interview transcripts of 904 survivors of the Japanese American incarceration camps collected from Densho Digital Repository, relying specifically on descriptive analysis, keyword extraction, topic modelling and sentiment analysis (SA).

The researchers found multiple geographic areas of large residential communities of ethnic Japanese people and the place names of the concentration camps. The keywords and topics extracted reflect the deplorable conditions and militaristic nature of the camps and the forced labour of the internees. When remembering history, the main focus for the narrators remains the redress and reparation movement to obtain the restitution of their civil rights. SA further found that the forcible removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during Second World War negatively impacted and brought deep trauma to the narrators.

This case study demonstrated how NLP and data analytics could be applied to analyse oral history archives and open avenues for discovery. Archival researchers and the general public may benefit from this type of analysis in making connections between temporal, spatial and emotional elements, which will contribute to a holistic understanding of individuals and communities in terms of their collective memory.

Arthroscopic osteochondroplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that has been used to treat femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, leading to significant improvements in patients’ clinical outcomes and quality of life. However, some studies suggest that inadequate bone resection can substantially alter hip biomechanics. These modifications may generate different contact profiles and higher contact forces, increasing the risk of developing premature joint degeneration. To improve control over bone resection and biomechanical outcomes during arthroscopic osteochondroplasty surgery, this study aims to present a novel system for measuring femoroacetabular contact forces.

Following a structured design process for the development of medical devices, the steps required for its production using additive manufacturing with material extrusion and easily accessible sensors are described. The system comprises two main devices, one for measuring femoroacetabular contact forces and the other for quantifying the force applied by the assistant surgeon during lower limb manipulation. The hip device was designed for use within an arthroscopic environment, eliminating the need for additional portals.

To evaluate its performance, the system was first tested in a laboratory setup and later under in-service conditions. The 3D printing parameters were tuned to ensure the watertighness of the device and sustain the intraoperative fluid pressures. The final prototype allowed for the controlled measurement of the hip contact forces in real-time.

Using additive manufacturing and readily available sensors, the present work presents the first device to quantify joint contact forces during arthroscopic surgeries, serving as an additional tool to support the surgeon’s decision-making process regarding bone resection.

This research intends to investigate the determinants that affect consumers’ purchase intention of electric vehicles (EVs) in Malaysia using an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB).

Survey data were collected with a sample size of 306. The research used SmartPLS 4.0 structural equation modelling tool to analyse the data. Reliability and validity tests (discriminant and convergent validity) were used and subsequently assessed the measurement and structural models. Mediation analysis was conducted to identify the role of the latent constructs.

The findings indicated that a green purchase attitude plays a complete mediation role in the effect of environmental knowledge on the purchase intention of EVs. In the same notion, the effect of price perception and availability of charging facilities on the purchase intention of EVs passes completely through perceived behavioural control. However, the subjective norm was an insignificant mediator of the impact between government support and EV purchase intention.

This paper helps to examine the latent constructs that impact purchase intention using environmental knowledge, government support, price perception and the availability of charging facilities. Successful green marketing and a sustainable consumerism framework are seen as a booster to promote the usage of EVs in Malaysia.

An extended TPB model has been employed in this research to study the effects of the above-mentioned constructs. The results show that most of the extended constructs are significant in explaining the purchase intention. The empirical results address the gap in the consumer green attitude and provide insight into this area of study.