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This paper introduces a Bayesian two-sided group chain sampling plan (BT-SGChSP) by using binomial distribution to estimate the average proportion of defectives. In this Bayesian approach, beta distribution is used as a suitable prior of binomial distribution. The proposed plan considers both consumer's and producer's risks. Currently, group chain sampling plans only consider the consumer's risk and do not account for the producer's risk. All existing plans are used to estimate only a single point, but this plan gives a quality region for the pre-specified values of different design parameters. In other words, instead of point wise description for the designing of sampling plan based on a range of quality by involving a novel approach called quality region.

The methodology is based on five phases, which are (1) operating procedure, (2) derivation of the probability of lot acceptance, (3) constructing plans for given acceptable quality level (AQL) and limiting quality level (LQL), (4) construction of quality intervals for BT-SGChSP and (5) selection of the sampling plans.

The findings show that the operating characteristic (OC) curve of BT-SGChSP is more ideal than the existing Bayesian group chain sampling plan because the quality regions for BT-SGChSP give less proportion of defectives for same consumer's and producer's risks.

There are four limitations in this study: first is the use of binomial distribution when deriving the probability of lot acceptance. Alternatively, it can be derived by using distributions such as Poisson, weighted Poisson and weighted binomial. The second is that beta distribution is used as prior distribution. Otherwise, different prior distributions can be used like: Rayleigh, exponential and generalized exponential. The third is that we adopt mean as a quality parameter, whereas median and other quintiles can be used. Forth, this paper considers probabilistic quality region (PQR) and indifference quality region (IQR).

The proposed plan is an alternative of traditional group chain sampling plans that are based on only current lot information. This plan considers current lot information with preceding and succeeding lot and also considers prior information of the product.

This paper first time uses a tight (three acceptance criteria) and introduces a BT-SGChSP to find quality regions for both producer's and consumer's risk.

This paper introduces group chain acceptance sampling plans (GChSP) for a truncated life test at preassumed time by using the minimum angle method. The proposed method is an approach, where both risks associated with acceptance sampling, namely consumers’ and producer’s risks, are considered. Currently, the GChSP only considers the consumer's risk (CR), which means the current plan only protects the consumer not the producer since it does not take into account the producer's risk (PR) at all.

There are six phases involved when designing the GChSP, which are (1) identifying the design parameters, (2) implementing the operating procedures, (3) deriving the probability of lot acceptance, (4) deriving the probability of zero or one defective, (5) deriving the proportion defective and (6) measuring the performance.

The findings show that the optimal number of groups obtained satisfies both parties, i.e. consumer and producer, compared to the established GChSP, where the number of group calculated only satisfies the consumer not the producer.

There are three limitations identified for this paper. The first limitation is the distribution, in which this paper only proposes the GChSP for generalized exponential distribution. It can be extended to different distribution available in the literature. The second limitation is that the paper uses binomial distribution when deriving the probability of lot acceptance. Also, it can be derived by using different distributions such as weighted binomial distribution, Poisson distribution and weighted Poisson distribution. The final limitation is that the paper adopts the mean as a quality parameter. For the quality parameter, researchers have other options such as the median and the percentile.

The proposed GChSP should provide an alternative for the industrial practitioners and for the inspection activity, as they have more options of the sampling plans before they finally decide to select one.

This is the first paper to propose the minimum angle method for the GChSP, where both risks, CR and PR, are considered. The GChSP has been developed since 2015, but all the researchers only considered the CR in their papers.

The purpose of this paper is to design a modified chain sampling plan for assuring the product percentile life where the lifetime follows Weibull or generalized exponential distributions (GEDs). In order to reduce the cost of inspection when implementing the proposed modified chain sampling plan, it is also considered the economic aspect of designing of proposed plan in this paper.

The authors have designed the proposed plan on the basis of two points on the operating characteristic (OC) curve approach. The optimization problem is used to determine the plan parameters of the proposed plan so that the specified values of producer’s risk and consumer’s risk are satisfied simultaneously.

The results we have obtained, confirm that the proposed plan will be very effective in reducing the sample size rather than other existing sampling plans. The OC curves of proposed plan, chain sampling plan and zero acceptance number single sampling plan show that the performance of proposed plan in discriminating the good and poor quality lots is better than other two plans. In this paper, it is proved that the value of number of preceding lots required for current lot disposition plays an important role.

The proposed modified chain sampling plan for assuring the percentile lifetime of the products under Weibull or GEDs is not available in the literature. The proposed plan can be used in all the manufacturing industries to assure the product percentile lifetime with minimum sample size as well as minimum cost.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The purpose of the paper is set to minimize the total cost of a manufacturing system when an acceptance sampling plan (ASP) is carried out in a fuzzy environment.

A fuzzy acceptance sampling plan (FASP) is employed for the inspection of the batch of products and a fuzzy cost optimization problem is formulated.

The extent of uncertainty determines an interval for the total cost function with upper and lower bounds. The effect of variation in the ambiguity of the proportion of defectives in the probability of acceptance is determined.

The proposed model is specifically designed for production and supply units with ASP for attributes. Still, the proportion of defectives in the inspection process is fuzzy.

Fuzzy probability distribution is used to model an optimal inspection plan for a general supply chain. Economic design of supply chain under fuzzy proportion of defectives is discussed for the first time.

Acceptance sampling plans are a decision-making process on the basis of a randomly selected sampling from a party, where it is not possible to completely scan the products for reasons such as time and cost being limited or the formation of damaged products during the inspection. For some products, the life span (time from beginning to failure) may be an important quality characteristic. In this case, the quality control adequacy of the products can be checked with an acceptance sampling plan based on the truncated life test with a censored scheme for the lifetime of the products. In this study, group acceptance sampling plans (GASPs) based on life tests are studied under the Type-I censored scheme for the compound Weibull-exponential (CWE) distribution.

GASPs based on life tests under the Type-I censored scheme for the CWE distribution are developed by using both the producer's risk and the consumer's risk.

In this study, optimum sample size, optimum number of groups and acceptance number are obtained under the Type-I censored scheme for the CWE distribution. Real data set illustration is given to show GASPs how to be used for the industry applications.

Different from acceptance sampling plans with just considering the producer's risk, GASPs are constructed by using two-point approach included both the producer's risk and the consumer's risk for CWE distribution.

The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is especially relevant in the context of Indonesian Airline companies. Therefore, many airline customers in Indonesia are still in doubt about it, or even do not use it. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for e-services adoption and empirically examines the factors influencing the airlines customers in Indonesia in using e-services offered by the Indonesian airline companies. Taking six Indonesian airline companies as a case example, the study investigated the antecedents of e-services usage of Indonesian airlines. This study further examined the impacts of motivation on customers in using e-services in the Indonesian context. Another important aim of this study was to investigate how ages, experiences and geographical areas moderate effects of e-services usage.

The study adopts a positivist research paradigm with a two-phase sequential mixed method design involving qualitative and quantitative approaches. An initial research model was first developed based on an extensive literature review, by combining acceptance and use of information technology theories, expectancy theory and the inter-organizational system motivation models. A qualitative field study via semi-structured interviews was then conducted to explore the present state among 15 respondents. The results of the interviews were analysed using content analysis yielding the final model of e-services usage. Eighteen antecedent factors hypotheses and three moderating factors hypotheses and 52-item questionnaire were developed. A focus group discussion of five respondents and a pilot study of 59 respondents resulted in final version of the questionnaire.

In the second phase, the main survey was conducted nationally to collect the research data among Indonesian airline customers who had already used Indonesian airline e-services. A total of 819 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was then analysed using a partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to produce the contributions of links in the e-services model (22% of all the variances in e-services usage, 37.8% in intention to use, 46.6% in motivation, 39.2% in outcome expectancy, and 37.7% in effort expectancy). Meanwhile, path coefficients and t-values demonstrated various different influences of antecedent factors towards e-services usage. Additionally, a multi-group analysis based on PLS is employed with mixed results. In the final findings, 14 hypotheses were supported and 7 hypotheses were not supported.

The major findings of this study have confirmed that motivation has the strongest contribution in e-services usage. In addition, motivation affects e-services usage both directly and indirectly through intention-to-use. This study provides contributions to the existing knowledge of e-services models, and practical applications of IT usage. Most importantly, an understanding of antecedents of e-services adoption will provide guidelines for stakeholders in developing better e-services and strategies in order to promote and encourage more customers to use e-services. Finally, the accomplishment of this study can be expanded through possible adaptations in other industries and other geographical contexts.

This paper aims to create a new decision-making procedure that uses “Lot-by-Lot Acceptance Sampling Plan by Attributes” methodology in the production processes when any production interruption is observed in tobacco industry, which is a significant example of batch production.

Based on the fish bone diagram, the reasons of the production interruptions are categorized, then Lot-by-Lot Acceptance Sampling Plan by Attributes is studied to overcome the reasons of the production interruptions. Furthermore, managerial aspects of decision making are not ignored and hence, acceptance sampling models are determined by an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) among the alternative acceptance sampling models.

A three-phased acceptance sampling model is generated for determination of the reasons of production interruptions. Hence, the necessary actions are provided according to the results of the proposed acceptance sampling model. Initially, 729 alternative acceptance sampling models are found and 38 of them are chosen by relaxation. Then, five acceptance sampling models are determined by AHP.

The current experience dependent decision mechanism is suggested to be replaced by the proposed acceptance sampling model which is based on both statistical and managerial decision-making procedure.

Acceptance sampling plans are considered as a decision-making procedure for various cases in production processes. However, to the best of our knowledge Lot-by-Lot Acceptance Sampling Plan by Attributes has not been considered as a decision-making procedure for batch production when any production interruption is investigated.

Presents a repetitive group sampling plan for three‐attribute classes where items are classified into three categories, namely good, marginal and bad. Derives various performance characteristics of interest to quality control engineers and plan designers through the approach of the Graphic Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT). In order to facilitate the operation and construction of the plan, tabulates Poisson unity values for a useful subset of the proposed plan.

Smart card-based E-payment systems are receiving increasing attention as the number of implementations is witnessed on the rise globally. Understanding of user adoption behavior of E-payment systems that employ smart card technology becomes a research area that is of particular value and interest to both IS researchers and professionals. However, research interest focuses mostly on why a smart card-based E-payment system results in a failure or how the system could have grown into a success. This signals the fact that researchers have not had much opportunity to critically review a smart card-based E-payment system that has gained wide support and overcome the hurdle of critical mass adoption. The Octopus in Hong Kong has provided a rare opportunity for investigating smart card-based E-payment system because of its unprecedented success. This research seeks to thoroughly analyze the Octopus from technology adoption behavior perspectives.

Cultural impacts on adoption behavior are one of the key areas that this research posits to investigate. Since the present research is conducted in Hong Kong where a majority of population is Chinese ethnicity and yet is westernized in a number of aspects, assuming that users in Hong Kong are characterized by eastern or western culture is less useful. Explicit cultural characteristics at individual level are tapped into here instead of applying generalization of cultural beliefs to users to more accurately reflect cultural bias. In this vein, the technology acceptance model (TAM) is adapted, extended, and tested for its applicability cross-culturally in Hong Kong on the Octopus. Four cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede are included in this study, namely uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and Confucian Dynamism (long-term orientation), to explore their influence on usage behavior through the mediation of perceived usefulness.

TAM is also integrated with the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) to borrow two constructs in relation to innovative characteristics, namely relative advantage and compatibility, in order to enhance the explanatory power of the proposed research model. Besides, the normative accountability of the research model is strengthened by embracing two social influences, namely subjective norm and image. As the last antecedent to perceived usefulness, prior experience serves to bring in the time variation factor to allow level of prior experience to exert both direct and moderating effects on perceived usefulness.

The resulting research model is analyzed by partial least squares (PLS)-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The research findings reveal that all cultural dimensions demonstrate direct effect on perceived usefulness though the influence of uncertainty avoidance is found marginally significant. Other constructs on innovative characteristics and social influences are validated to be significant as hypothesized. Prior experience does indeed significantly moderate the two influences that perceived usefulness receives from relative advantage and compatibility, respectively. The research model has demonstrated convincing explanatory power and so may be employed for further studies in other contexts. In particular, cultural effects play a key role in contributing to the uniqueness of the model, enabling it to be an effective tool to help critically understand increasingly internationalized IS system development and implementation efforts. This research also suggests several practical implications in view of the findings that could better inform managerial decisions for designing, implementing, or promoting smart card-based E-payment system.