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When can B2B firms improve product innovation capability (PIC) through customer participation (CP)? The purpose of this paper is to shed light on this interesting question by providing a framework to interpret how interorganizational relationships (IORs), including customer relationship commitments, firm’s relational capability and bilateral dependence structure moderate the relationship between CP and PIC.

A questionnaire survey is conducted among 376 business to business (B2B) firms located in mainland China. Six hypotheses on how IORs moderate the CP–PIC relationship are examined using hierarchical regression analysis technique.

The empirical research reveals that CP positively impacts PIC of B2B firms, which will be strengthened when either customer affective commitment, supplier’s relational capability or total interdependence is high. In addition, the relationship between CP and PIC weakens as customer’s calculative commitment or interdependence asymmetry strengthens.

This study enriches customer participation literature by highlighting the PIC outcomes of CP and examining the complex and contingent roles of the buyer–supplier relationship in moderating CP’s impact upon PIC.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences of relationship among perceived environmental turbulence, strategic orientations and new product success in export market by company size.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among 281 small and medium-sized and 222 large manufacturing exporters in mainland China. Research hypotheses were examined by structural equation modeling technique.

The research results show that: market orientation (MO) and innovation orientation (IO) are not significantly different between large exporters and SMEs, while new product performance of SMEs is significantly less satisfactory; for large exporters, perceived environmental uncertainties in terms of technology and customer demands are critical driving factors of strategic orientations, while environmental dynamics in terms of technology and competition have significant impacts upon strategic orientations among SMEs; while MO plays a stronger effect in product innovation performance for large exporters, IO has equally important impact upon new product success across SMEs and large exporters.

The authors extend the established theory about industry environment, strategic orientations and product innovation performance from companies in developed countries and domestic market to firms from developing countries who are operating in export markets. Furthermore, it is first kind of study that comparatively examines the relationship among environmental turbulence, strategic orientations and product innovation performance by company size.

The purpose of this paper is to study a woodworking machine, in which a linear induction motor (LIM) is applied to feed the wood to be processed into the cutting saw. The LIM is optimally designed and the whole drive system is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC) to meet the industrial demands.

Since the operation range is short, the LIM mainly works at the transient state of quick start and quick brake. Hence, the thrust force with a large slip ratio (hereafter called the starting thrust) is one of the most important issues in the LIM design. Finite element method is used to optimize the starting thrust while taking a specific variable voltage variable frequency (VVVF) drive into account.

The LIM system directly drives the machine workbench where the wood is placed, eliminating the requirement of manpower to push the wood through the cutting saw, hence, greatly reduces the operation hazard. It has a higher reliability and longer service life than the conventional drive system employing a rotary motor with a ball screw mechanism.

The LIM is an attractive candidate for the woodworking machine application, which can replace the complicated and relatively low-efficiency mechanism of rotary motor and ball screw. High starting thrust can be achieved by optimizing the LIM design, whilst the specific VVVF control is essential to ensure a good drive performance. The PLC is competent for both human-machine interface (HMI) and control of the inverter-fed LIM system, and is of high reliability in industrial environment.

The paper aims to explore how brand orientation impacts brand equity via internal branding, presented brand, word-of-mouth and customer experience from stakeholder interaction perspective in industrial services context. Brand orientation has emerged as an attractive business philosophy for industrial service companies who believe that brand plays an influential role in delivering customer value and improving firm’s performance. However, the impact of brand orientation upon brand equity is not clear yet, and the active roles of multiple stakeholders in co-creating brand equity are largely neglected in business-to-business (B2B) branding literature.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among 258 pairs of firms located in mainland China. A total of nine research hypotheses related to how brand orientation impacts B2B service brand equity were examined by structural equation modeling technique.

The research findings indicate: a company with high level of brand orientation will both actively communicate its brand to customers and implement internal branding among employees; internal branding enhances willingness and skills of service employees so that they can provide customers with excellent service experience, which will lead to positive word-of-mouth; effective brand communication, pleasant customer experience and favorable word-of-mouth can result in positive brand association in the mind of customers and finally build up corporate brand equity.

The major limitation of this paper is that some other potential stakeholders and additional interactive processes among organization, employees and customers, which have potential to impact brand equity, are not included in the model.

This study makes theoretical contribution by addressing the gaps in the branding literature with respect to industrial services context and stakeholder interaction perspective. It also provides practical implications for B2B service firms as to how to develop a strong brand by implementing brand orientation within the network of core stakeholders.

Aim: This study aims to understand the effect of sustainable human resource management (SUHRM) practices on employee work wellbeing (WWB). By drawing on the self-determination theory and social identity theory, this study explores the sequential mediation effect of voice behaviour and trust in management in the association between SUHRM and employee WWB.

Method: The study, which is conducted in the context of the Indian information technology (IT) industry, is quantitative in nature and employs a descriptive research design. The data for the study are collected using a cross-sectional survey conducted among the managerial workforce of the top 10 IT companies in India. The study employs IBM SPSS 22 along with the Hayes’ PROCESS module to investigate the mediation effects.

Findings: The core findings support the theoretical claims that SUHRM positively influences employee WWB. The study also reveals that trust in management and voice behaviour acts as sequential mediators in the relationship between SUHRM and employee WWB.

Originality: This is one of the first studies to validate the individual consequences of SUHRM empirically. Besides, studying the effect of SUHRM on employees’ WWB contributes to the literature on wellbeing.

Implications: By explaining the relationship between SUHRM, trust in management, voice behaviour, and workplace wellbeing, the current study contributes to the literature on HRM, organisational behaviour, and environmental management. SUHRM can improve the employee workplace wellbeing, which might mitigate the turnover rate, a major problem daunting the IT industries. Thus, the study emphasises the importance of SUHRM in affecting employee behaviours and has important implications for HR practitioners and scholars.

Domain integrals, known as volume potentials in 3D elasticity problems, exist in many boundary-type methods, such as the boundary element method (BEM) for inhomogeneous partial differential equations. The purpose of this paper is to develop an accurate and reliable technique to effectively evaluate the volume potentials in 3D elasticity problems.

An adaptive background cell-based domain integration method is proposed for treatment of volume potentials in 3D elasticity problems. The background cells are constructed from the information of the boundary elements based on an oct-tree structure, and the domain integrals are evaluated over the cells rather than volume elements. The cells that contain the boundary elements can be subdivided into smaller sub-cells adaptively according to the sizes and levels of the boundary elements. The fast multipole method (FMM) is further applied in the proposed method to reduce the time complexity of large-scale computation.

The method is a boundary-only discretization method, and it can be applied in the BEM easily. Much computational time is saved by coupling with the FMM. Numerical examples demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method..

Boundary elements are used to create adaptive background cells, and domain integrals are evaluated over the cells rather than volume elements. Large-scale computation is made possible by coupling with the FMM.

Introduction: The idea of sustainability has become increasingly popular across many industries. To meet the demands of the present without compromising the capacity of future generations to meet their requirements, sustainable organisations prioritise integrating environmental, social, and economic aspects into their operations.

Purpose: To analyse the inter-relationship between sustainable organisations, high-potential employees (HPEs), and blended learning (BL) effectiveness. Organisations can gain a competitive edge, spur innovation, and contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future by incorporating sustainability into their operations and offering sustainable workspaces.

Design/methodology/approach: This research approach offers a thorough understanding of the connections between sustainable organisations, HPEs, and workspaces by combining a literature review of 77 research papers, case studies, and surveys.

Findings: The dedication to sustainability draws high-potential workers and environmentally aware customers who favour supporting socially conscientious businesses.

Practical implications: The study provides valuable implications and suggestions for businesses looking to improve their sustainability and recruit top talent. These proposals should include the techniques for integrating sustainability into organisational culture, employee engagement programmes, talent recruiting and retention tactics, and designing environmentally friendly workspaces.

Originality/value: This research approach offers a thorough understanding of the connections between sustainable organisations, HPEs, and workspaces by combining literature reviews, case studies, surveys, interviews, and data analysis.