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The purpose of this paper is to unravel the specific service quality dimensions that significantly influence startup survival, providing actionable insights for service managers and entrepreneurs.

Empirical data were collected from 372 service startups over a period of seven years. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the data.

The results indicate that the tangible dimension of service quality emerges as the most critical determinant of startup survival. Additionally, the reliability and responsiveness of the service also significantly affect startup survival. Furthermore, the assurance and empathy dimensions have a positive, albeit modest, influence on the survival prospects of service startups.

This study contributes to the service literature by investigating the relative importance of each dimension of service quality in relation to the survival of service startups.

The empirical findings empower service startups to make informed decisions, allocate resources judiciously and prioritize aspects of service quality that have a significant impact on their survival and success.

The social implications indicate the significance of service quality dimensions not only for the success of service startups but also for the overall well-being of customers, local economies and the competitive landscape of the service sector.

This study contributes to service science by uniquely highlighting the critical role of tangibles in startup survival, challenging conventional beliefs about the primacy of service reliability.

The paper focuses on the issue of manual rebar-binding tasks in the construction industry, which are marked by high labor intensity, high costs and inefficient operations. The rebar-binding robots that are currently available are not fully mature. Most of them can only bind one or two nodes in one position, which leads to significant time wastage in movement. Based on a new type of rebar-binding robot, this paper aims to propose a new movement and binding control that reduces manpower and enhances efficiency.

The robot is combined with photoelectric sensors, travel switches and other sensors. It is supposed to move accurately and run in a limited area on the rebar mesh through logical judgment, speed control and position control. Machine vision is used by the robot to locate the rebar nodes and then adjusts the binding-gun position to ensure that multiple rebar nodes are bound sequentially.

By moving on the rebar mesh with accuracy, the robot meets the positioning accuracy requirements of the binding module, with experimental testing accuracy within 5 mm. Furthermore, its ability to bind four rebar nodes in one place results in a high efficiency and a binding effect that meets building standards.

The innovative design of the robot can adapt itself to the rebar mesh, move accurately to the target position and bind four nodes at that position, which reduces the number of movements on the mesh. Repetitive and heavy rebar-binding tasks can be efficiently completed by the robot, which saves human resources, reduces worker labor intensity and reduces construction overhead. It provides a more feasible and practical solution for using robots to bind rebar nodes.

The aim of this study is two-fold: (1) to promote a model of youth participatory research and offer a window of understanding into how it can be enacted and (2) to understand youth perspectives on youth empowerment. This study asks: “how can youth help us understand youth empowerment?”

The study applies youth participatory action research (YPAR) and interpretative phenomenological analysis. The study illustrates how to enact a model of YPAR by engaging youth in the process of research in a youth-serving community non-profit organization.

This study sets out to make two important contributions, one methodological and one theoretical: First, the study contributes to our understanding of the opportunities and benefits of youth-engaged, peer-to-peer research. Specifically, this study promotes a model of youth participatory action research and knowledge making processes, and the associated social and formal benefits for youth. By extension, this study illustrates an approach to engage youth in formal contexts which has implications for both management and organizational studies and education. Finally, the study extends our understanding and conceptualization of the phenomenon of youth empowerment (as informed by youth perspectives).

The study offers insight into how to conduct youth participatory action research and specifically how to address two limitations cited in the literature: (1) how to authentically engage youth including how to share power, and (2) how to perform youth participatory action research, often critiqued as a black box methodology.