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Sporting goods retailing is a significant sector within the sport industry with the total revenue of this sector reaching $52.2 billion in 2018. Beset with formidable competition, sporting goods stores are compelled to augment their merchandise with service and improve retail quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate retail quality of sporting goods stores (RQSGS).

Based on 27,793 online reviews of 1481 stores in the United States, this study used Leximancer 4.0, a text mining software, to identify critical retail quality dimensions associated with sporting goods stores, and further explored the most salient dimensions among different levels of ratings.

Customer service and store aspects are the two higher-order dimensions of RQSGS; holistic experience, manager and staff are three themes under customer service, and product, B&M store and online–offline integration are three themes under store aspects. Furthermore, extreme reviews focus more on customer service, whereas lukewarm reviews focus more on store aspects.

Knowledgeable staff, managers and online–offline integration are instrumental in creating superior retail quality. Sporting goods stores should enhance hedonic and social values for consumers in order to ward off online competitions.

This study explored retail quality dimensions that are pertinent to sporting goods retailing utilizing text mining methods. This study to certain extent cross-validated the existing retailing literature that is developed on alternative methods.

Resale price maintenance has been used as a management strategy for a long time. Even in the face of unfavorable court decisions, the concept, like a Phoenix, continues to rise from its ashes. Much evidence indicates a strong desire by some manufacturers to control their product's prices throughout a distribution channel. However, businesses must be careful not to overstep legal bounds in the implementation of an aggressive price policy. This article looks at resale price maintenance as a management technique and offers guidelines for the prospective marketer.

The grain, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd), like tomatoes, maize, Phaseolus beans and potatoes, was a staple food of the Inca peoples. Unlike these other crops, however, quinoa did not attain global importance following the Spanish conquest. One reason which has been advanced to explain this is the presence in the outer layers of the grain of bitter and toxic saponins (see below) which must be removed before processing or cooking. Traditionally this was done by washing or steeping in water and it is obvious this is much less practicable in cloudy, European climates where subsequent drying is difficult, if not impossible.

The factors which influence costs of production of food and the prices to the consumer have changed dramatically during this century, but especially since the establishment of trading systems all over the world. Gone are the days when the simple expedients of supply and demand alone governed the situation. The erosion of these principles began at the turn of the century, mainly as a result of the introduction by the rapidly developing industrial power of the USA to protect her own industries against the cheaper products of European countries. They introduced the system of tariffs on imported manufactured goods; it grew and eventually was made to apply to wide sectors of industry. European countries retaliated but the free trade policy of Britain's Liberal government was making the country a dumping ground for all other country's cheap products and surpluses.

Proactive risk assessment suggests that risk assessment should emphasize the consequences that it might cause and the opportunities it might create for firms. Hence, this study aims to validate risk impact on supply chain performance in the context of the Vietnamese construction sector. Also, a complex network, in which multiple risk factors mutually affect, impede or promote each other, is developed to assist managers in tackling unpredictable risks proactively. In particular, the authors investigate whether certain risks could be considered either challenges or opportunities for businesses in turbulent times to improve SC performance.

The construction industry is the focal study context as it is one of the most essential industries in charge of providing accommodations, infrastructures and employment for society. 289 valid responses used in this research are from a large-scale survey result, supported by a Japanese government project promoting sustainable socio-economic development in Vietnam.

From the study findings, the authors find that external risk brings opportunities for supply chain performance. Meanwhile, demand risk, when it occurs, can reduce the danger level of operational risk, which is an interesting finding of this research. It is evident that when multiple risk factors mutually affect, impede or promote each other, it provides a more meaningful examination of mutually interconnected supply chain risks.

Practitioners should perceive risks as an opportunity than a threat. This study contributes to preventing risks and guaranteeing an effective and efficient supply chain by tackling unpredictable risks in a disruptive period. Moreover, data on validating research models collected during the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine and Russia conflicts reflect the topicality of this study.

The division between town and country in most areas of the world is marked and shows little evidence of any closer association, but in this country recent history with its wide economic changes has made the division less deep than in times past, but still within living memory. Time was when country folk were almost a distinct breed, living under conditions for the most part primitive.

Johnstone's Paints was among the first group of manufacturers to be approved under the new British Standards Institution BS5750 quality assurance scheme. It also achieved Part I registration, which is the highest grade attainable and covers every aspect of paint development, production and supply.

The Report of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and the British Cardiac Society issued in April last was the product of a joint working party, whose aim was to formulate the best possible advice which can at present be given to medical practitioners towards the prevention of coronary heart disease. It caused quite a stir, particularly its dietary recommendations, and the mass media made the most of it, more from inferences drawn from the measures recommended than from the report itself. Now that the sensation of it has gone and the dust has begun to settle, we can see the Report contains nothing that is new; it tells us what we have long known. Like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, except that there are three of them, at least for the moment, the causative factors of the rising incidence of coronary heart disease, built into our affluent society, have been working their way at the heart of man for a good many years now.

There’s clear evidence that helping employees become more business literate makes a difference financially. But turning complex business plans into motivating ideas that connect with a cross‐section of employees is a challenge many organizations struggle with. This extract looks at the common principles that will help to engage your employees.

The purpose of this paper is to present optimally designed synchronous reluctance machine (SynRM) to demonstrate the feasibility of eliminating the use of rare earth permanent magnet (PM) in electric machine for vehicle traction applications.

A typical rare earth interior permanent magnet (IPM) machine is used as the benchmark to conduct the optimal design study. Based on the flux distribution, major changes are made to the rotor lamination design. Enhanced torque production and lower torque ripple are specifically targeted as the two main objectives of the proposed design approach.

As a result, the optimally designed SynRM can achieve performance very close to that of the benchmark PM machine with a potential for further improvement.

Discussions of IPM replacement by optimally designed SynRM in electrical and hybrid electrical vehicles are given in terms of performance and cost.