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The purpose of this paper is to validate the strain-based failure assessment diagram (SB-FAD) approach for surface cracks in components subjected to displacement controlled boundary conditions.

Numerical analyses are performed for several crack geometries and materials representative for aerospace applications. The performance of the SB-FAD is judged by comparing numerically calculated J-integrals to respective analytical estimates, using both Options 1 and 2 approximations.

In the most cases, both Options 1 and 2 SB-FAD method results in reasonably conservative J-estimates. Exceptions are for surface cracks in a pressurized vessel made of a material with low-strain hardening, for which Option 2 assessment produces non-conservative results. In contrast, Option 1 assessment is conservative for all geometries considered. In general, Option 1 results in a considerable overestimation of the crack driving force, whereas Option 2 produces rather accurate results in many cases.

The results demonstrate both the potential of the SB-FAD method and needs for its further improvements.

Aims to illustrate the extent to which the concept of sustainable management can be grounded in a new appreciation of customer satisfaction, to set out the concept of sustainable management based on business ethical considerations on corporate social responsibility, and to distinguish it from similar concepts. Its rationale lies in the figure of the generalised customer.

The generalised customer stems from a combination of stakeholder theory and sociological role theory. The stakeholder theory discusses the different stakeholder roles from an organisational perspective, whereas the sociological role theory views essentially the same roles and relationships from the individual's perspective. Focus lies in the personal preferences and attitudes accompanying the different roles one person plays in society – as a consumer, father, or member of Amnesty International.

A first attempt to put these roles and relationships in a sustainability context – providing an impression of all possible needs, wants, and expectations a company can expect from its customers. This notion alters marketing's view of the customer and brings about a new understanding of customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction must be seen in a more holistic, multidimensional perspective in future. Companies succeeding in taking this step towards sustainable management will raise their profile among customers, differentiate themselves from the competition, and achieve legitimacy vis‐à‐vis society.

The combination of two, often opposing, theoretical genres related to consumer behaviour and the examination of the phenomenon “the customer” from both perspectives, offering a new species of customers in addition to homo economicus.

This paper explores how legacies of past logics spawn variation in the institutional landscapes of different geographic regions in China. Of particular interest is how this variation influences the ways that actors interpret and respond to broader societal and world society pressures. Employing a cross-level comparative research design, we examine the enduring legacies of previous state logics, which have given rise to distinctive material and symbolic resource environments in different regional communities across China. To the extent that institutional contexts direct the attention of actors toward particular environmental stimuli and provide the symbolic and material resources to respond, a better understanding of how contexts differ provides more accurate causal explanations of the variability of organizational behavior. We explore this phenomenon in the context of recent government-mandated corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in China. Our examination of public and private CSR initiatives, along with the CSR activities of a sample of 714 listed Chinese companies, suggests that legacies from past state logics become embedded in local institutional infrastructures and shape how abstract, multifaceted CSR initiatives are interpreted and implemented.

This article reports on a study around a further education, blended-learning program aiming to establish globally active professional learning networks (PLNs). The questions guiding the research were: (1) What levers and barriers to establishing viable networks are identified by its members? (2) What – if any – indications of knowledge transfer within the networks can be identified?

The networking aspect of the study program was analyzed using semi-structured interviews with its recent participants and graduates (n = 22), with the objective of gaining insights into elements that supported the creation and maintenance of a global, student-centered network and community in the program. Additionally, a document analysis of the master theses of all participants since the start of the program (n = 96) was undertaken to look for indications of knowledge transfers from one cultural and/or geographical setting to another.

Blending online exchanges with face-to-face exchanges was seen as helpful in establishing a sustainable network. Additionally, having a low-barrier communication platform where it was socially acceptable to not only communicate about professional but also informal matters was described by virtually all participants as a promoting exchange and cohesion. Furthermore, about a fifth of all analyzed master theses contained indications of knowledge transfer, with instances of incorporating models or concepts from other contexts being the most prominent occurrence.

The findings offer insights into establishing sustainable blended-learning networks. They elaborate on key elements that supported and hindered the creation and viability of such networks. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of formal but also informal spaces for exchange.

Since the publication of the report of the Lancet Commission on Brandy and the prosecutions that followed, much attention has been given to the subject, and although no great additions to our knowledge of the composition of this spirit have recently been made, practical use is now being made of information which has been at our disposal for five years or more, which has already had far‐reaching effects upon the trade.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the state of the art in social media and pharmaceutical marketing through empirical analysis of online consumer conversations. Proliferation of social media has significantly changed traditional one-way, marketing-controlled communications. Balance of power has shifted to consumers, who use social networking sites, blogs and forums to obtain extensive brand and product information, often from each other. This prompts companies towards more intimate, transparent and constant two-way consumer engagement. Pharmaceutical marketing and direct to consumer advertising (DTCA) are not immune to this pervasive, disruptive cultural/technological phenomenon, which poses particular challenges given regulatory, legal and ethical constraints on their marketing.

This research uses “netnographic” data collection of online conversations occurring in social media and develops an explanatory framework using grounded theory analytical methods.

This research shows that significantly impactful and pervasive bonding among consumers, bloggers and unofficial “experts” about pharmaceutical offerings is widespread, and occurs regardless (and perhaps in spite of) pharmaceutical companies’ involvement.

Considering the structure and nature of online consumer bonding, a way forward is proposed for pharmaceutical companies to implement social media strategies as part of their pharmaceutical marketing and DTCA efforts through an intermediary and interactive online presence arising from disease and health care education.