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Internal channels produced by selective laser melting (SLM) have rough surfaces that require post-processing. The purpose of this paper is to develop an empirical model for predicting the material removal and surface roughness (SR) of SLM-manufactured channels owing to abrasive flow machining (AFM).

A rheological model was developed to simulate the viscosity and power-law index of an AFM medium. To simulate the pressure distribution and velocity in the SLM channels, the fluid behavior and SR in the channels were simulated by using computational fluid dynamics. The results of this simulation were then applied to create an empirical model that can be used to predict the SR and material removal thickness. To verify this empirical model, it was applied to an actual part fabricated by SLM. The results were compared with the measurements of the SR and channel diameter subsequent to AFM.

The proposed model exhibits maximum deviation between the model and the measurement of −1.1% for the down-skin SR, −0.2% for the up-skin SR and −0.1% for material removal thickness.

The results of this study show that the proposed model can avoid expensive iterative tests to determine whether a given channel design leads to the desired SR after smoothing by AFM. Therefore, this model helps to design an AFM-ready channel geometry.

In this paper, a quantitatively validated AFM model was proposed for complex SLM channels with varying orientation angles.

Following the identified need for more explicit contextual studies in servitization research, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between and among economic context, service provision and service return, including the service paradox.

Firm-level and macroeconomic (country competitiveness) data are combined to operationalize the constructs considered in the study. Structural equation modeling and cluster analysis are used to investigate the direct relationships between economic context, service provision and service return, and the negative association between the development of economic context and the service paradox.

The analyses confirm the general assumption that service provision has a positive direct effect on service return. Economic context seems to have no direct effect on service return and, contrary to what was expected, it has a negative impact on the intensity of service provision. Thus, service provision fully mediates the negative impact of context on service return. Finally, the service paradox occurs more frequently in less-developed economic contexts, where the probability of a relatively low service return coupled with high service provision is significantly higher.

The study identifies five key elements of economic context that have to be incorporated into the strategic decision-making process regarding product-related services offered by manufacturers.

The paper contributes to the contextual research of services offered by manufacturers. Subject to future empirical testing, it is proposed that a more favorable economic context offers more possibilities for manufacturers to cooperate with other business actors to provide services.

This study investigates the mediating effect of perceived value in the relationship between team identification and purchase intention towards licensed apparel within two different price settings (market price and 40% above market price). Considering adaptation level theory, cognitive dissonance theory and dual information processing, it is hypothesised that team identification will directly influence purchase intention when the price of a product decreases. Two models (partial mediation and full mediation) were constructed in each price setting and tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The results indicate that the partial mediation model better fits the data for the 70,000 Won setting and the full mediation model was a better fit for the 90,000 Won setting.

This paper aims to present a way to make structural equation modelling (SEM) studies more accessible and impactful. This paper suggests that authors service readers by translating their work into an infographic that clearly and artfully illustrates the essence of a paper’s contribution.

Through the presentation of a worked example, this paper outlines four service components needed to create a visually striking, yet informative, infographic.

This paper contends that authors who follow this approach will improve the marketability of their research without oversimplifying or “dumbing down” its insights.

Until a journal editor insists that modellers undertake some translation of their results as a pre-requisite to publication, this paper is unlikely to herald a revolution in how quantitative work is communicated.

This fresh thinking can offer a way for practicing managers, and other marketing researchers unfamiliar with SEM’s peculiarities, to comprehend the findings of such studies.

This paper contributes to a nascent body of research on how to effectively disseminate research findings to a broader audience through adopting a service arts perspective and presents an interpretive view of quantitative research never seen before in the pages of this journal.

The purpose of this paper is to seek remedy to two major flaws of the production competence literature, which concern: the way the production competence construct is operationalized and the way its effects on performance are measured.

The paper proposes to measure production competence as the two-dimensional operational level construct it actually is, and to use Slack’s (1994) importance-performance matrix to study its business level performance effects. The three hypotheses developed are tested using a subsample of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey database, which includes 465 manufacturing companies from 21 countries.

The study offers additional empirical support for production competence theory. Going beyond supporting existing theory, the results give more detailed insight by indicating that low operational performance on even one important competitive factor leads to lower business performance (order-losing effect); excessive investment in increasing operational performance on any less important competitive factor does not necessarily lead to higher business performance.

Using a large empirical dataset, the study shows that the importance-performance matrix is a useful tool for decision makers to assess and improve their company’s manufacturing strategy: it indicates how to prioritize between improvement efforts to positively contribute to business performance.

The paper offers a novel approach to operationalize production competence. The importance-performance analysis approach adopted in this study avoids the two major drawbacks of previous production competence studies and offers an appropriate method to assess the impact of production competence on business performance.

Sustainability is seeking for a new approach to bolster organisational success as it is expected to be mobilised through collaborative efforts of employees and management. The present study aims to examine the moderating role of sustainability practices between self-efficacy and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB).

A total of 527 full-time executives employed in Indian public and private manufacturing industries were surveyed. Harman’s single-factor test was carried out using analysis of moment structures (AMOS 20.0) to test the bias associated because of common method variance (CMV). Moderated regression analysis was used through hierarchical models to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results indicate a positive relationship between self-efficacy and OCB. The significant moderation effect was observed in the interaction graph, as the simple slope analysis indicated relatively high level of sustainability practices and self-efficacy and they were found to be positively associated with OCB.

The cross-sectional sample of executives employed in Indian manufacturing organisations limits the generalisation of the findings. The study has not figured the temporal effects and hence longitudinal studies have also been proposed for the assessment of causality.

Organisations are expected to foster inclusiveness and open channel of communication with their employees to execute best sustainable practices. HR department need to create awareness among their employees and establish an ongoing feedback mechanism to promote such psychological drives.

The proposed model and the subsequent findings of the study extend the literature on the relationship among self-efficacy, OCB and sustainability practices. The outcome of this work can be used by HR functionaries and senior management practitioners while formulating and implementing the sustainability strategies.

This paper aims to investigate how augmented reality (AR) technology is adopted in the library to transform it into an immersive and interactive platform and highlights the future possibilities of the application of AR in libraries.

The study examines the current applications of AR in the library by consulting related literature and analyzing different library websites covering diverse geographical areas.

The paper with examples summarizes the current library practices of using AR technology and focuses on the AR-supported major library initiatives – right from document tracking, inventory management, wayfinding, supporting innovation and research, developing information literacy skills, etc.

The paper explores the possibility of improving user experience in the library by introducing AR applications and engaging users in an interactive and captivating environment.