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A new point creation scheme is presented for generating unstructured uniform size two‐dimensional triangular meshes using the Delaunay triangulation method. The scheme is shown to be suitable for generating meshes with strict limits on element size, such as that used in acoustic and electromagnetic simulations. In this approach for generating meshes of an exact element size a grid made of regular triangles is used to cover most of the mesh domain. An advanced boundary refinement and alignment procedure is presented for optimal connection of the regular grid with the boundary. A new refinement scheme treats the reconnection triangles, between the regular grid and boundary elements, until all are judged satisfactory. Element quality statistics and edge length distribution graphs compare the new scheme with other triangular mesh generation algorithms.

Modern CAD systems facilitate the creation of any surface geometry imaginable, and complex surfaces for free-form grid shells are often represented by a set of Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines surface patches. But it remains an intractable issue how to generate high-quality grids on complex surfaces efficiently. To solve this issue, an automatic triangular mesh generation method is presented, based on bubble dynamics simulation and a modified Delaunay method.

A moderate amount of points are first distributed on a given surface. Next, by regarding the points as elastic bubbles with the same size and introducing the forces acting on bubbles, the motion control equations of bubbles are established. The equilibrium state of the bubble system is found by Verlet algorithm. Then, the Voronoi diagram on the surface is obtained by calculating the intersection between the surface and the three-dimensional (3D) Voronoi diagram of the centers of bubbles. Finally, a triangular mesh, Delaunay triangulation on the surface, is determined based on the dual change of the Voronoi diagram.

This method generates meshes on the surface directly, unlike mapping-based methods, avoiding the mapping distortion. Examples are given to demonstrate the successful execution of this method. The result also illustrates that this method is applicable to various surfaces in high automation level and resultant meshes are highly uniform and well-shaped.

Thus, this method provides the convenience for the geometry design of complex free-form grid structure.

Companies increasingly exchange information to work more closely with supply chain partners. Although information exchange is a critical element for up- and downstream partnerships, the purpose of this paper is to indicate that it is not a guarantee for improved performance and should be combined with other integration tactics to fully capture its benefits.

Using a global sample in the industrial sector, a moderated mediation framework for both upstream and downstream integration, which links integration tactics to operational performance, was empirically tested.

This research shows that operational integration is indispensable to capture the benefits of information exchange. In addition, it points out that the impact of the use of information technology (IT) is stronger for upstream integration.

While the data show that the use of IT significantly improves the delivery performance in the supply chain, it also signals to managers how and when to invest in supply chain integration tactics.

This paper contributes to a better understanding of the supply chain integration-performance link, by clarifying some of the inconsistencies in previous literature and by simultaneously analyzing upstream and downstream implications.

This study aims to investigate the role of three customer equity drivers on customer repurchase intent in business-to-business (B2B) markets. It also explores the interconnected nature of equity drivers, specifically, the effects of brand equity and value equity on relationship equity. Further, it investigates how perceived switching costs moderates the interrelationships between customer equity drivers. The authors explore the interrelationships between the customer equity drivers in a B2B context involving commodity products in a developing market.

Data collection was done from a pool of 184 institutional customers of a lubricant brand in a developing market. The sample had representations of buyer organizations across sectors, namely, automobile, cement, metal, fertilizer, railway, defence and mining, etc. The final data were subjected to partial least squares-based structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized model.

The study found a direct effect of brand equity, and value equity on relationship equity and an indirect effect on repurchase intent, namely, relationship equity. Perceived switching cost was found to moderate the interaction between brand equity and relationship equity as well as between value equity and relationship equity. The direct effect of relationship equity on repurchase intent was also significant.

The study implies that B2B firms should ground their marketing program on these customer equity drivers, especially when dealing with commodity products. The absence of any of these drivers would be detrimental in customer retention. The study also establishes the relevance of switching cost(s) and its impact on the underlying dynamics between the different equity drivers in the context of commodity products. The customer equity drivers along with switching costs, if managed well, may become switching barriers for customers and eventually would ensure recurring revenue through repeat purchases.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies that focuses on the disaggregated effect of customer equity on customer outcomes in the B2B context. Furthermore, this study investigates how perceived switching costs moderates the interrelationships between customer equity drivers in the industrial sales context in an emerging market.

The evaluation of website usability is the precondition and a critical step for website design and optimization. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and provide empirical evidence of the interrelationships between human physiological metrics and website usability. This study examines how eye-movement metrics and heart rate variability (HRV) evaluate website usability, and then affect users’ online surfing behavior.

A physiological measurement experiment is designed to collect participants’ physiological metrics. This paper proposes an objective measurement model for website usability, and partial least squares is used to analyze the measurement and structural models, based on data collected from 200 participants who had experienced online surfing at least four times.

The analysis supports partially or fully 28 of the 31 hypotheses formulated. The study reveals that human physiological metrics (i.e. fixation duration, fixation count, blink count, HRV) have a strong explanatory ability for website usability.

Data for this study were collected only from mainland China. Therefore, participants may have been influenced by Chinese cultures. The generalizability of this study may be enhanced by collecting data from more diverse samples and validating the model on different cultures.

This study contributes significantly to the industry by providing empirical evidence of the interrelationship between human physiological metrics and website usability. The findings also provide managers with valuable insight into better understanding of the nature of these interrelationships.

This paper seeks to report the results of a study examining the importance of information quality for the efficacy of collaborative supply chain practices.

A questionnaire was sent to procurement managers throughout the supply chain within the German automotive industry. Regression analyses illustrate the differences in performance of collaborative practices under high and low information quality scenarios.

The study illustrates that the impact of collaborative supply chain practices (i.e. information sharing, incentive alignment, joint‐decision making) on performance varies significantly depending on the quality of information that is exchanged throughout the supply chain. Specifically, whilst information sharing improves operational performance when low and high quality information is exchanged, incentive alignment and joint decision making only improve operational performance when the information is of high quality.

Although research on the performance impact of collaborative supply chain practices has advanced over the past decade, there is still a scarcity of research acknowledging the multidimensional nature of collaboration. Additionally, the importance of information quality for the success of collaborative practices has not been firmly established. The paper addresses this void in the literature by reporting results of an empirical study examining collaborative supply chains and practices within the German automotive industry. The paper will thus be beneficial to supply chain managers considering collaborative practices and will support further empirical research work in the collaborative supply chain research field.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of internal integration, external integration (EI), and supply chain risk management (SCRM) on manufacturing flexibility, and the moderating effect of SCRM on the relationships between internal and EI, respectively, and manufacturing flexibility.

Using hierarchical regression, data are analyzed from a sample of 343 manufacturing plants in Asia collected in 2013-2014 as part of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS VI).

Internal integration and SCRM have a direct effect on manufacturing flexibility. SCRM moderates the relationship between EI and flexibility.

Further research is needed to generalize beyond the flexibility performance of discrete manufacturing firms in Asia.

To benefit from EI and increase their flexibility performance, manufacturing firms need to implement different mechanisms of SCRM to prevent and deal with supply chain risks including those associated with supply chain integration.

This research contributes to the body of knowledge on the relationships between internal integration, EI, SCRM, and manufacturing flexibility.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of collaboration, capability and information sharing (IS) on logistic performance, the effect of collaboration and IS on capabilities, the effect of collaboration on logistic performance through capabilities, the influence of IS on logistic performance through capabilities and the effect of logistics capabilities on logistics performance.

This study uses a quantitative approach and is included in explanatory research. This research uses cross section research design. The research populations are all companies incorporated in GAFEKSI (Joint Forwarder and Expedition Indonesia) of East Java. Sampling in this research is by using a purposive sample. The sample of this study amounted to 47 forwarder and expedition companies. Data analysis method used is partial least square.

Collaboration has a positive impact on capabilities (CAP); capability (LOC) positive impact on logistic performance; collaboration does not directly affect the logistics performance; and construct capabilities (LOC) is the mediation of IS in building business logistics performance. Increasing the intensity of IS has no direct contribution to increased flexibility, and collaboration is driven by partnership and network, whereas CT (trust) can be ignored, as it is not proven to make a dominant contribution to collaboration.

The novelty of this research is found in the strategic role of capabilities as the dominant latent variable in building business performance of logistic companies. This study finds dual mediation, where both mediations are expressed as full mediation, because the direct effect of mediator latent variables is significant (Little et al., 2010; Hair et al., 1995).

The purpose of this paper is to help supply chain (SC) decision makers successfully penetrate through SC collaboration and strengthen their SC in the global market by understanding collaborative activities, and understand how these activities are related to each other in the SC.

This paper develops a set of collaborative activities from literature, and the developed model is helpful for SC decision makers to monitor their SC activities and take corrective actions to improve collaboration in their SC by using interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and MICMAC analysis.

This study reveals that collaborative activities increase the value of whole SC. The various activities are modeled on the basis of “an activity influencing other activities” and “an activity influenced by other activities,” which is useful for SC managers to take a decision.

The current study is literature based; therefore, there would be need of more explanation of the activities which lead to understand and implement SC collaboration in case of service and manufacturing industry.

The model of this study is helpful for decision makers to implement supply chain collaboration (SCC) and to understand various SCC activities on the basis of their driving and dependence power.

This research provided insight into skills needed for SC decision makers to implement collaboration in the SC using ISM. The results of the study could be adopted to monitor the existing SCC program or design new collaboration program to meet the global market requirements. To the best of knowledge, there is no reference that discusses SC collaborative activities on the basis of their driving and dependence powers.

E-fulfillment has a significant role to play within e-tailing, which provides products to a customer, comprising primarily of five components: website quality, customization strategy, distribution strategy, last mile delivery and return management. The purpose of this paper is to provide an e-fulfillment performance evaluation framework for an e-tailer, considering the different performance aspects of information systems (IS), marketing and operations for e-tailers.

Since quite a few performance aspects (i.e. IS, marketing system and operations) need to be factored in while evaluating the e-fulfillment performance, it may be considered as a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem. This study used decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) based analytic network process (DANP) to investigate the relationship between performance class and performance aspects, and calculated their weights. These designated weights of performance aspects help managers to find the important aspects needing improvement. The understanding of the interrelationship among the performance aspects enables managers to improve the efficiency of an e-tailing system.

This study provides the e-fulfillment performance evaluation framework to find the important aspects requiring improvement. The results of this study reveal that the important performance aspects of e-fulfillment performance are return policy, pickup method, innovativeness, assortment type, assortment width, trust (privacy and security) and promised delivery date.

This e-fulfillment performance evaluation could be used by an e-tailer to assess the e-fulfillment performance, and identify areas of improvement.

This study makes a contribution to the present body of knowledge by considering operations related performance aspects except the IS and marketing to evaluate the e-fulfillment performance.