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Building on Walter Benjamin's philosophical reflections on aura and authenticity, this article aims to conceptualise and theorise brand aura.

This article extends understanding of brand aura within the management, marketing and tourism literature with reference to Benjamin's framing of aura and authenticity in time and space.

Within a Benjaminian framework this article theorises brand aura and offers a conceptualisation of the antecedents of brand aura. It explores the duality of what is termed here as artefactual authenticity and existential authenticity. It illustrates the central role of consumers' mémoire involontaire in the realisation of brand aura. Within this Benjaminian framework, the article explores how artefactual authenticity is preceded by brand essence, while existential authenticity precedes brand essence. Implications for the management of the service encounter are discussed with reference to territorial legitimacy and historical testimony in the context of the firm's role in supporting consumer experiential engagement.

This article advances theoretical understanding of how consumers engage experientially with brand aura and how firms curate brand aura.

Considers the interest shown by European retailers in the markets of South East Asia and places this interest within the wider context of East Asian markets. European retailers’ interest in the region has been a feature of recent developments in international retailing. Charts the growing interest in the region and the relative attractions of different markets and critically evaluates the assumptions that are made about East Asian markets and suggests that a far more rigorous set of criteria should be employed when evaluating markets in the region. Evaluates the implications of the recent financial and economic crises on European retail investment in the region.

This paper considers the development of emerging retail markets with particular reference to Brazil. The South American region has only relatively recently seen the level of international retail interest previously seen in other global regions such as East Asia. The paper considers the development of retailing in Brazil and the impact of internationally derived innovation and direct international retail activity in the market. It considers concepts of retail internationalisation in the light of the Brazilian experience. The paper highlights important issues with respect to South America’s place in the evolution of global retailing.

Franchising has become a major driving force in the globalisation of service businesses. Likewise, international retailing has become an important feature of global distribution systems. This has been brought about through changing socio‐economic patterns, favourable political and cultural environments, and a shift from manufacturing to service based economies. Both developments have contributed to the globalisation of marketing activity. However, there remain fundamental conceptual inconsistencies in the literatures that explain the development of international retailing and the internationalisation of franchise operations. This paper considers the use of franchising in the internationalisation of retail operations and places the experience of retail operations that use the market entry strategy within the context of other franchising activity. The paper evaluates the literature on the internationalisation of retailing alongside the literature on franchising. It identifies the different perspectives that have emerged within the two literatures and conceptually reconciles the contradictions that exist.

Understanding how material jetting process parameters affect material properties can inform design and print orientation when manufacturing end-use components. This study aims to explore the robustness of material properties in material jetted components to variations in processing environment and build orientation.

The authors characterized the properties of six different material gradients produced from preset “digital material” mixes of polypropylene-like (VeroWhitePlus) and elastomer-like (TangoBlackPlus) materials. Tensile stress, modulus of elasticity and elongation at break were analyzed for each material printed at three different build orientations. In a separate ten-week study, the authors investigated the effects of aging in different lighting conditions on material properties.

Specimens fabricated with their longest dimension along the direction of the print head travel (X-axis) tended to have the largest tensile strength, but trends in elastic modulus and elongation at break varied between the rigid and flexible photopolymers. The aging study showed that the ultimate tensile stress of VeroWhitePlus parts increased and the elongation decreased over time. Material properties were not significantly altered by lighting conditions.

Many tensile specimens failed at the neck region, especially for the more elastomeric parts. It is hypothesized that this is due to the material jetting process approximating curves with a pixelated droplet arrangement, instead of curved contour as seen in other additive manufacturing processes. A new tensile specimen design that performs more consistently with elastomer-like materials should be considered. The aging component of this study is focused solely on polypropylene-like (VeroWhitePlus) material; additional research into the effects of aging on multiple composite materials is needed.

The study provides the first known description of orientation effects on the mechanical behavior of photopolymers containing varied concentrations of elastomeric (TangoBlackPlus) material. The aging study presents the first findings on how time affects parts made via material jetting.

The divestment of international retail operations is an under‐explored area of research. Conceptual and theoretical developments within retailing have tended to focus on those organisations that have sustained international development rather than on those organisations who have experienced market failure and strategic withdrawals from international markets. The paper discusses two prominent UK cases where market withdrawal has been a feature of international activity. A cross‐case analysis is then used to identify issues for further research activity. In particular, the cross‐case analysis uses the existing constructs that have emerged from the general literature to explain divestment activity while highlighting the limitations of using these constructs within the retail sector. The paper concludes by noting the limitations of existing frameworks that seek to explain the internationalisation process without due consideration of the divestment process.

Discusses the internationalization of retail operations within the European Union (EU) and the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Discusses the determining factors behind the internationalization process and the influence this has on the flow of international investment. Places the motivations behind internationalization indicated by the survey results presented within the debate on the internationalization process. Analyses and uses to illustrate these determining factors, the particular experiences and attitudes of UK retailers towards international expansion. As a group, large UK retailers provide an interesting indicator of changing perceptions and underlying factors that determine the nature of international organizational growth and development. The EU and NAFTA provide useful market comparisons when assessing this process. Presents and discusses observable trends and survey results. Considers current and future developments in the internationalization process.

This study aims to investigate the tensile strength and elastic modulus of custom-designed polymer composites developed using voxel-based design. This study also evaluates theoretical models, such as the rule of mixtures, Halpin–Tsai model, Cox–Krenchel model and the Young–Beaumont model and the ability to predict the mechanical properties of particle-reinforced composites based on changes in the design of rigid particles at the microscale within a flexible polymer matrix.

This study leverages the PolyJet process for voxel-printing capabilities and a design of experiments approach to define the microstructural design elements (i.e. aspect ratio, orientation, size and volume fraction) used to create custom-designed composites.

The comparison between the predictions and experimental results helps identify appropriate methods for determining the mechanical properties of custom-designed composites ensuring informed design decisions for improved mechanical properties.

This work centers on multimaterial additive manufacturing leveraging design freedom and material complexity to create a wide range of composite materials. This study highlights the importance of identifying the process, structure and property relationships in material design.

The purpose of this paper is to describe, reflect on, and problematize the curricula and student support created by the Writing Program at DePaul University’s School for New Learning. This case study discusses the challenges and considerations that the authors have used to develop writing classes and support for non-traditional adult students.

This qualitative case study emerges from the practical experience and theoretical knowledge of the three authors. The experience includes development, implementation, and revision of curricula and support services to fit the changing needs of the non-traditional student population.

The growing majority of students demonstrate at least one non-traditional characteristic: delayed postsecondary education enrollment, lack of high school diploma, part-time enrollment, full-time employment, multiple dependents besides a spouse, etc. In the face of institutional indifference, these populations frequently fail to receive the support that meets their particular needs.

Using their own experience of creating a Writing Program that meets the needs of adult non-traditional students, the authors discuss practical strategies for and possible pitfalls of providing writing support that can be adapted for similarly underserved student populations.

The paper does present interesting approaches for educating adult students. It covers the unique challenges in this population, and the the approaches that are specifically tailored toward meeting their needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous innovative engineering design solutions, several of which leverage the rapid prototyping and manufacturing capabilities of additive manufacturing. This paper aims to study a subset of these solutions for their utilization of design for AM (DfAM) techniques and investigate the effects of DfAM utilization on the creativity and manufacturing efficiency of these solutions.

This study compiled 26 COVID-19-related solutions designed for AM spanning three categories: (1) face shields (N = 6), (2) face masks (N = 12) and (3) hands-free door openers (N = 8). These solutions were assessed for (1) DfAM utilization, (2) manufacturing efficiency and (3) creativity. The relationships between these assessments were then computed using generalized linear models to investigate the influence of DfAM utilization on manufacturing efficiency and creativity.

It is observed that (1) unique and original designs scored lower in their AM suitability, (2) solutions with higher complexity scored higher on usefulness and overall creativity and (3) solutions with higher complexity had higher build cost, build time and material usage. These findings highlight the need to account for both opportunistic and restrictive DfAM when evaluating solutions designed for AM. Balancing the two DfAM perspectives can support the development of solutions that are creative and consume fewer build resources.

DfAM evaluation tools primarily focus on AM limitations to help designers avoid build failures. This paper proposes the need to assess designs for both, their opportunistic and restrictive DfAM utilization to appropriately assess the manufacturing efficiency of designs and to realize the creative potential of adopting AM.