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1 – 10 of over 1000Pathiranage Padmali Manesha Peiris, Ahu Tatli and Mustafa Bilgehan Ozturk
The aim of this study is to explore how women in Sri Lanka cultivate entrepreneurial personae to navigate the various gendered roles they situationally enact, as they attempt to…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to explore how women in Sri Lanka cultivate entrepreneurial personae to navigate the various gendered roles they situationally enact, as they attempt to secure legitimacy and acceptance and overcome their otherness. Drawing on Goffman's theorisation of symbolic interaction, this study investigates how gender informs the performance of entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. In this way, the study engages with the challenges women in the Global South navigate while undertaking entrepreneurship, and it contributes to the critical entrepreneurship literature on the intertwined nature of gender and entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Following feminist standpoint epistemology (FSE), this qualitative study focuses on women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka by examining the performance of entrepreneurship through 44 life history interviews (LHIs) and 40 Field Observations conducted over a seven-month period.
Findings
The findings reveal that women carefully cultivate entrepreneurial personae by striking a balance between entrepreneurial ideals and patriarchal social expectations around womanhood. The findings of the study present how the entrepreneurial personae are constructed by way of appearance, mannerism and setting, which presents opportunities for future research to explore the dramaturgical aspect of gender and entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the growing body of feminist research surrounding women entrepreneurs, by drawing on insights from the lived experiences of women entrepreneurs in the Global South. This study also expands Goffman's theorisation of audience segregation and shows that a subject's understanding of the audience shapes their personae. A further contribution of this research is how space becomes an extension of the personae at play.
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Shekhar Mondal and Abdulla Al-Towfiq Hasan
The purpose of this paper is to explore factors and their impacts influencing online grocery shopping intentions among customers in the post COVID-19 situation. Moreover, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore factors and their impacts influencing online grocery shopping intentions among customers in the post COVID-19 situation. Moreover, the study aims at evaluating the mediating roles of shopping habits during COVID-19 between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and post COVID-19 online grocery shopping intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a review of the literature and collection of 401 useable valid responses, the study was conducted through structured questionnaires applying personal interview technique. The subsequent analysis was conducted through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using Smart PLS 3.3.3.
Findings
The study findings revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and shopping habits during COVID-19 have a significant influence on post COVID-19 online grocery shopping intentions. Also, the study has uncovered that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use significantly influence shopping habits during COVID-19 among customers. Furthermore, the current study has revealed that hopping habit during COVID-19 significantly mediates the relationship between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and post COVID-19 online grocery shopping intentions.
Practical implications
The study findings have provided practical suggestions of developing and improving technological platforms to attract new customers for online grocery shopping. Further, the study suggests that online grocery retailers should apply adjusted pricing strategies using coupons and discount offers.
Originality/value
This paper investigates factors and its impacts on online grocery shopping intentions in post COVID-19 context. Therefore, the study uncovers the factors that add value to understanding customers' post COVID-19 online grocery shopping intentions by integrating perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and shopping habits during COVID-19.
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Guijian Xiao, Tangming Zhang, Yi He, Zihan Zheng and Jingzhe Wang
The purpose of this review is to comprehensively consider the material properties and processing of additive titanium alloy and provide a new perspective for the robotic grinding…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this review is to comprehensively consider the material properties and processing of additive titanium alloy and provide a new perspective for the robotic grinding and polishing of additive titanium alloy blades to ensure the surface integrity and machining accuracy of the blades.
Design/methodology/approach
At present, robot grinding and polishing are mainstream processing methods in blade automatic processing. This review systematically summarizes the processing characteristics and processing methods of additive manufacturing (AM) titanium alloy blades. On the one hand, the unique manufacturing process and thermal effect of AM have created the unique processing characteristics of additive titanium alloy blades. On the other hand, the robot grinding and polishing process needs to incorporate the material removal model into the traditional processing flow according to the processing characteristics of the additive titanium alloy.
Findings
Robot belt grinding can solve the processing problem of additive titanium alloy blades. The complex surface of the blade generates a robot grinding trajectory through trajectory planning. The trajectory planning of the robot profoundly affects the machining accuracy and surface quality of the blade. Subsequent research is needed to solve the problems of high machining accuracy of blade profiles, complex surface material removal models and uneven distribution of blade machining allowance. In the process parameters of the robot, the grinding parameters, trajectory planning and error compensation affect the surface quality of the blade through the material removal method, grinding force and grinding temperature. The machining accuracy of the blade surface is affected by robot vibration and stiffness.
Originality/value
This review systematically summarizes the processing characteristics and processing methods of aviation titanium alloy blades manufactured by AM. Combined with the material properties of additive titanium alloy, it provides a new idea for robot grinding and polishing of aviation titanium alloy blades manufactured by AM.
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Flora Bougiatioti, Eleni Alexandrou and Miltiadis Katsaros
Residential buildings in Greece constitute an important portion of the existing building stock. Furthermore, most of these buildings were built prior to the first Thermal…
Abstract
Purpose
Residential buildings in Greece constitute an important portion of the existing building stock. Furthermore, most of these buildings were built prior to the first Thermal Insulation Code of 1981. The article focuses on existing, typical residences built after 1920, which are found mostly in suburban areas and settlements all around Greece. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the effect of simple bioclimatic interventions focused on the improvement of their diurnal, inter-seasonal and annual thermal performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The applied strategies include application of thermal insulation in the building shell and openings, passive solar systems for the heating period and shading and natural ventilation for the summer period. The effect of the strategies is analysed with the use of building energy analysis. The simulation method was selected because it provides the possibility of parametric analysis and comparisons for different proposals in different orientations.
Findings
The results show that the increased thermal mass of the construction is the most decisive parameter of the thermal behaviour throughout the year.
Research limitations/implications
The typical residences under investigation are often found in urban and/or suburban surroundings. These mostly refer to free-standing buildings situated, which, in many cases, do not have the disadvantages and limitations that the geometrical characteristics of densely built urban locations impose on incident solar radiation (e.g. overshadowing during the winter) and air circulation (e.g. reduce natural ventilation during the summer). Nevertheless, even in these cases, the surrounding built environment may also have relevant negative effects, which were not taken under consideration and could be included in further, future research that will include the effect of various orientations, as well as of neighbouring buildings.
Practical implications
Existing residences built prior to the first Thermal Insulation Code (1981) form an important part of the building stock. Consequently their energy upgrade could contribute to significant conventional energy savings for heating and cooling, along with the inter-seasonal improvement of interior thermal comfort conditions.
Social implications
The proposed interventions can improve thermal comfort conditions and lead to a reduction of energy consumption for heating and cooling, which is an important step against energy poverty and the on-going energy crisis.
Originality/value
The proposed interventions only involve the building envelope and are simple with relatively low cost.
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Diego Rorato Fogaça, Mercedes Grijalvo, Alberto Oliveros Iglesias and Mario Sacomano Neto
This paper aims to propose and assess a framework to analyse the institutionalization of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) through a framing analysis.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose and assess a framework to analyse the institutionalization of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) through a framing analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework was developed by combining the institutional approach with orders of worth, drawing insights from a comprehensive literature review. To assess it, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis of annual reports from companies with the largest market capitalization over a six-year period and interviewed union representatives in Spain and Sweden.
Findings
The framework comprises five dimensions (industrial, market, civic, green and connectionist). The empirical results reveal that companies consistently frame I4.0 with an emphasis on industrial and market perspectives. In contrast, unions place a stronger emphasis on civic issues, with Spanish unions holding a more negative view of I4.0, expressing concerns about working conditions and unemployment.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed framework brings interesting insights into the dispute over the meaning of I4.0. Although this empirical study was limited to companies and unions in Sweden and Spain, the framework can be expanded for broader investigations, involving additional stakeholders in one or more countries. The discussion outlined using the varieties of capitalism approach is relevant for understanding the connection between the meso and macro levels of this phenomenon.
Practical implications
In navigating the landscape of I4.0, managers should remain flexible, and ready to tailor their strategies and operations to align with the distinct demands and expectations of stakeholders and their specific institutional environments. Similarly, policymakers are urged to acknowledge these contextual intricacies when crafting strategies for implementing I4.0 initiatives across national settings.
Social implications
Based on the empirical findings, this study underscores the importance of fostering social dialogue and involving stakeholders in the implementation of I4.0. Policymakers and other stakeholders should take proactive measures, tailored to each country’s context, to mitigate potential adverse effects on labour and workers.
Originality/value
The study presents a novel framework that facilitates the systematic comparison of I4.0 framing by different actors. This contribution is significant because the way actors frame I4.0 affects its interpretation and implementation. Additionally, the aggregate analysis of results enables cross-country comparisons, enhancing our understanding of regional disparities.
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Luca Pugi, Giulio Rosano, Riccardo Viviani, Leonardo Cabrucci and Luca Bocciolini
The purpose of this work is to optimize the monitoring of vibrations on dynamometric test rigs for railway brakes. This is a quite demanding application considering the continuous…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this work is to optimize the monitoring of vibrations on dynamometric test rigs for railway brakes. This is a quite demanding application considering the continuous increase of performances of high-speed trains that involve higher testing specifications for brake pads and disks.
Design/methodology/approach
In this work, authors propose a mixed approach in which relatively simple finite element models are used to support the optimization of a diagnostic system that is used to monitor vibration levels and rotor-dynamical behavior of the machine. The model is calibrated with experimental data recorded on the same rig that must be identified and monitored. The whole process is optimized to not interfere with normal operations of the rig, using common inertial sensor and tools and are available as standard instrumentation for this kind of applications. So at the end all the calibration activities can be performed normally without interrupting the activities of the rig introducing additional costs due to system unavailability.
Findings
Proposed approach was able to identify in a very simple and fast way the vibrational behavior of the investigated rig, also giving precious information concerning the anisotropic behavior of supports and their damping. All these data are quite difficult to be found in technical literature because they are quite sensitive to assembly tolerances and to many other factors. Dynamometric test rigs are an important application widely diffused for both road and rail vehicles. Also proposed procedure can be easily extended and generalized to a wide value of machine with horizontal rotors.
Originality/value
Most of the studies in literature are referred to electrical motors or turbomachines operating with relatively slow transients and constant inertial properties. For investigated machines both these conditions are not verified, making the proposed application quite unusual and original with respect to current application. At the same time, there is a wide variety of special machines that are usually marginally covered by standard testing methodologies to which the proposed approach can be successfully extended.
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Xiaowei Ma, Muhammad Shahbaz and Malin Song
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution against a background of big…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution against a background of big data using a differences-in-differences model.
Design/methodology/approach
This study constructs a differences-in-differences model to evaluate the policy effects of off-office audit based on panel data from 11 cities in Anhui Province, China, from 2011 to 2017, and analyzes the dynamic effect of the audit and intermediary effect of industrial structure.
Findings
The implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution. Dynamic effect analysis showed that the audit policy can not only improve the quality of water resources but can also have a cumulative effect over time. That is, the prevention and control effect on water pollution is getting stronger and stronger. The results of the robustness test verified the effectiveness of water pollution prevention and control. However, the results of the influence mechanism analysis showed that the mediating effect of the industrial structure was not obvious in the short term.
Practical implications
These findings shed light on the effect of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution, and provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant environmental policies. Furthermore, these findings show that the implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution, which has practical significance for the sustainable development of China's economy against the background of big data.
Originality/value
This study quantitatively analyzes the policy effect of off-office auditing from the perspective of water resources based on a big data background, which differs from the existing research that mainly focuses on basic theoretical analysis.
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Şeniz Özhan, Erkan Ozhan and Ozge Habiboglu
Brand reputation (BR) is one of the most important factors that affect the consumer–brand relationship and give businesses a competitive advantage. Businesses with a strong BR can…
Abstract
Purpose
Brand reputation (BR) is one of the most important factors that affect the consumer–brand relationship and give businesses a competitive advantage. Businesses with a strong BR can increase their market shares and product market prices, in addition to gaining a competitive advantage. In order for businesses to have these advantages, they need to know and analyze their consumers. This study aimed to develop an alternative analysis method by using classification algorithms and regression analysis to measure and evaluate the effect of consumers' BR perceptions on their willingness to pay premium prices (WPP).
Design/methodology/approach
The research data were collected from 483 participants by the online survey method due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were first analyzed with regression analysis, and the effect of BR on WPP was found to be significant. Then, using artificial intelligence (AI) methods that were not used in previous studies, consumers' perceptions of BR and WPP were clustered and classified.
Findings
The results revealed the highest and lowest customer groups with BR and WPP and empirically demonstrated that highly accurate practical classification models can be applied to determine strategies in line with these findings.
Originality/value
The model proposed in this study offers an integrated approach by using AI and regression analysis together and tries to fill the gap in the literature in this field. Therefore, the novelty of this study is to quantitatively reveal and evaluate the relationship between BR and WPP by using AI classification algorithms and regression analysis together.
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By combining manifold approaches from migrant entrepreneurship and family business studies, the purpose of the paper is to shed some light upon the contextual features of…
Abstract
Purpose
By combining manifold approaches from migrant entrepreneurship and family business studies, the purpose of the paper is to shed some light upon the contextual features of motivation, resources, generational pathways of Turkish migrant family entrepreneurs in Berlin – through the lens of a mixed and multiple embeddedness approach.
Design/methodology/approach
An explorative research design, based on an eclectic theoretical framework and on purposive sampling, combines qualitative in-depth interviews/content analysis and on-site observation resulting in an almost ethnographic assessment of selected case studies of Turkish migrant family entrepreneurs (concerning age (min. 20 years), size (15+ employees) and currently at a stage of succession).
Findings
The results show that despite specific strategies vary – four circumstances hold true for all cases: (1) firm trajectories were characterized by little strategic planning and mostly trail-and error processes in the past and business survival is highly dependent on owner families; (2) owner families heavily relied on personal, family and collective resources, not benefiting from promotion programmes or micro-funding measures for SMEs; (3) owner families have actively developed their (mixed) embeddings during the growth of their migrant business beyond the single ethnic group at various spatial scales; (4) succession adds another layer of context – what we call here multiple embeddedness – with ambivalent effects: emerging potentials and conflicts between the preceding and succeeding generation.
Practical implications
Results have shown that is it necessary to set up both: customized funding opportunities for migrant start-ups in general and succession consulting for migrant family entrepreneurs in particular. Given the magnitude of family migrant entrepreneurs and the accelerating migration patterns in most Western European countries, there is urgent need for such measures.
Originality/value
Family entrepreneurship has been often discussed without a migration perspective, neither taking a systematic look at pertinent motivation, resources, and future trajectories nor context. Migrant entrepreneurship studies barely take the family or family-specific issues (e.g. succession) into account, and mainly deal with the integration or economic aspects. Our mixed and multiple embeddedness approach allows for a holistic view on transgenerational migrant family entrepreneurship by integrating both socio-spatial (actor, family, network, micro, meso, macro) and multi-generational contexts (preceding, succeeding).
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Jasmine Banu, Rupashree Baral and Vijayalakshmi V
The study aims to understand why women-owned microenterprises (WOMEs) in India experience a lower growth rate, where growth can be represented in increments in the venture’s size…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to understand why women-owned microenterprises (WOMEs) in India experience a lower growth rate, where growth can be represented in increments in the venture’s size or scope. There is no conclusive understanding of the factors that affect the sustained growth of WOMEs in India.
Design/methodology/approach
What personal, social and economic factors support or hinder the choice, growth and sustainability of women-owned ventures? What role do institutional factors (government, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), self-help groups and microfinance institutions) play toward the sustainability of WOMEs? The answers to these questions were obtained through a qualitative design by interviewing 30 micro women entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu, a Southern state of India and one of the largest hubs for WOMEs and their responses were content analyzed using NVivo 12 software.
Findings
The findings capture and apply the fundamentals of two key theoretical perspectives, resource-based view (RBV) and self-determination theory (SDT), in identifying the links between the individual, social and economic factors and their combined effect on the sustained growth of women-owned micro businesses. The findings add value in identifying the ingrained cultural norms and traditions and several internal and external factors that support or challenge the growth of WOMEs. This study highlights that the interventions by the government need to be strengthened for the growth and sustainability of WOMEs.
Practical implications
The study’s findings provide suggestions to policymakers, banks, funding agencies, financial institutions and NGOs to design applicable policies and schemes toward the sustained growth of WOMEs.
Originality/value
This study contributes toward a better understanding of the trends in the context of WOMEs from an Indian context. This topic has received little attention in the academic literature. Second, the study’s conceptual contribution is an application of SDT and RBV to understand and categorize the enablers and deterrents in the path of growth of WOMEs, which is a novel pursuit.
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