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Antitrust exemptions to shipping alliances in the liner shipping sector have prevailed for many years. This study aims to examine anti-competition of ocean shipping alliances from a legal perspective of the USA, the European Union (EU) and People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Adopting the standard “doctrinal approach to legal research and analysis” in legal literatures, this paper reviews landmark court cases and legislations in the USA relating to shipping conference system from its beginning to its erosion, followed by its latest transition to non-ratemaking agreements, with discussions on the EU and some PRC treatments on shipping conferences.

Although antitrust exemptions to shipping conferences in the liner shipping sector were eliminated in the trades to/from the USA and the EU, there is a lack of evidence of the deterioration found in the viability of liner shipping carriers in both parts of the world trades. For the USA, shipping alliances will shift the focus to sharing resources for improvement of collective operational efficiencies, whereas the shipper groups in the EU have worried that a protected system of sharing information may lead to price fixing conducts among the carriers.

Through the discussions on the legal treatments of shipping conferences from the USA, the EU and PRC perspectives, this paper provides legal researchers with not only a new research direction on raising collective operational efficiencies through resource sharing but also an insight into shifting their research focus from purely price determination to the area of merger.

This paper reviews landmark court cases and related legislations about the treatments of different regulatory regimes, including the USA, the EU and PRC, to explore the illegitimacy of anti-competition conducts in ocean shipping alliances.

This case describes the vulnerability of the Indian aviation sector by highlighting the fall of Jet Airways from one of the biggest airlines in India to bankruptcy. The present case discusses the role of Jet Airways' leadership in managing the external threats that affect aviation business in India.

The present case is built on data collected from secondary sources, including publicly available information about the company, journals, websites, newspapers and reports.

The case reports findings of how hubris-driven strategic decisions and insecurity of the leader in losing control of the company, led to the grounding of one of the major airline companies in the Indian aviation industry.

The present case study provides valuable insights into the aviation industry in India, focusing on the threats to the aviation business. The case is useful to other airline companies and the aviation business community in dealing with external threats to business and issues of leadership dysfunction.

In recent years, there has been significant interest in adopting XR (extended reality) technologies such as VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality), particularly in retail. However, extending activities through reality-mediation is still mostly believed to offer an inferior experience due to their shortcomings in usability, wearability, graphical fidelity, etc. This study aims to address the research gap by experimentally examining the acceptance of metaverse shopping.

This study conducts a 2 (VR: with vs. without) × 2 (AR: with vs. without) between-subjects laboratory experiment involving 157 participants in simulated daily shopping environments. This study builds a physical brick-and-mortar store at the campus and stocked it with approximately 600 products with accompanying product information and pricing. The XR devices and a 3D laser scanner were used in constructing the three XR shopping conditions.

Results indicate that XR can offer an experience comparable to, or even surpassing, traditional shopping in terms of its instrumental and hedonic aspects, regardless of a slightly reduced perception of usability. AR negatively affected perceived ease of use, while VR significantly increased perceived enjoyment. It is surprising that the lower perceived ease of use appeared to be disconnected from the attitude toward metaverse shopping.

This study provides important experimental evidence on the acceptance of XR shopping, and the finding that low perceived ease of use may not always be detrimental adds to the theory of technology adoption as a whole. Additionally, it provides an important reference point for future randomized controlled studies exploring the effects of technology on adoption.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how learning solely via an assistance system influences work performance compared with learning with a combination of an assistance system and additional training. While the training literature has widely emphasised the positive role of on-the-job training, particularly for groups that are often underrepresented in formalised learning situations, organisational studies have stressed the risks that emerge when holistic process knowledge is lacking and how this negatively affects work performance. This study aims at testing these negative effects within an experimental design.

This paper uses a laboratory experimental design to investigate how assistance-system-guided learning influences the individuals’ work performance and work satisfaction compared with assistance-system-guided learning combined with theoretical learning of holistic process knowledge. Subjects were divided into two groups and assigned to two different settings. In the first setting, the participants used the assistance systems as an orientation and support tool right at the beginning and learned the production steps exclusively in this way. In the second setting, subjects received an additional 10-min introduction (treatment) at the beginning of the experiment, including detailed information regarding the entire work process.

This study provides evidence that learners provided with prior process knowledge achieve a better understanding of the work process leading to higher levels of productivity, quality and work satisfaction. At the same time, the authors found evidence for differences among workers’ ability to process and apply this additional information. Subjects with lower productivity levels faced more difficulties processing and applying additional process information.

Methodologically, this study goes beyond existing research on assistance systems by using a laboratory experimental design. Though the external validity of this method is limited by the artificial setting, it is a solid way of studying the impact of different usages of digital assistance systems in terms of training. Further research is required, however, including laboratory experiments with larger case numbers, company-level case studies and analyses of survey data, to further confirm the external validity of the findings of this study for the workplace.

This study provides some first evidence that holistic process knowledge, even in low-skill tasks, has an added value for the production process. This study contributes to firms' training policies by exploring new, digitalised ways of guided on-the-job training and demonstrates possible training benefits for people with lower levels of (initial) abilities and motivation.

This study indicates the advantage for companies and societies to invest in additional skills and training and points at the limitations of assistance systems. This paper also contributes to training policies by exploring new, digitalised ways of guided on-the-job training and demonstrates possible training benefits for people with lower levels of (initial) abilities and motivation.

This study extends existing research on digital assistance systems by investigating their role in job-related-training. This paper contributes to labour sociology and organisational research by confirming the importance of holistic process knowledge as opposed to a solely task-oriented digital introduction.

The deployment of assistive technologies affects well-being and productivity at industrial workplaces. Augmented reality (AR) is one of these technologies that has become increasingly deployed in manufacturing facilities to assist employees on the shopfloor. This paper aims to shed light on users’ experiences with AR-based assistance systems, specifically on the sense of autonomy users experience during an AR-assisted assembly task. Based on that, this paper draws implications for the design of future industrial workplaces to improve workers’ health, well-being and productivity.

The authors conducted a laboratory experiment with 117 participants. Within semi-structured interviews, the authors asked the participants about their general experience, as well as their sense of autonomy and responsibility.

The study results indicate a limited perception of autonomy. Connected to this, the participants took over a passive working attitude and experienced a limited sense of responsibility concerning the output of the AR-assisted assembly task. At the same time, however, the participants still attributed assembly errors internally.

AR-assistance holds both benefits and risks for worker’s health, well-being and productivity. With this study, the author aims to increase the understanding about the perception of autonomy and control at industrial workplaces. Thus, the authors conclude with design implications for developing and implementing assistive technologies in a way that beneficial effects for employees can be achieved.

The present study conceptualizes and examines the interplay of transformational leadership, ambidexterity and wireless information technology (IT) competency for enhancing innovative capability.

Drawing primarily on the knowledge-based and dynamic capabilities view theory, the present study explored supply chains of a large global apparel company and their effect on innovative capability through a mixed methods approach.

The results show that transformational leaders strongly influence the development of ambidexterity and enhance radical innovative capability through wireless IT competency.

The results of this study suggest that supply chain integration through transformational leadership and wireless IT competency can promote simultaneous exploration and exploitation to enhance innovation.

The growth of cloud and/or virtual supply chains facilitated by digital wireless communications and Internet technology is advancing logistics and supply chain innovations. With increasing global competition, digitalized supply chains and ever-growing environmental uncertainty, leadership traits, especially transformational leadership and ambidextrous leaders, can be major contributing factors for successful development of wireless IT competency to support innovative capability.

Wireless IT competency facilitates knowledge integration particularly for combining prior internal knowledge of exploitative innovation with new external knowledge to develop explorative innovation.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the role of various levels of modality richness [text-visual, audiovisual and augmented reality interactive technology (ARIT)] on vivid memories (visual sensory detailed, emotionally intense, first-person perspective and coherent) and exploratory behavior. To clarify which modality richness online retailers use is more appropriate to create a virtual reality simulation experience to fill a significant gap in the sensory interactive marketing paradigm.

A task-based laboratory study was conducted to provide users with private try-on space. A total of 429 valid questionnaires were collected, and partial least squares path modeling was adopted to test hypotheses.

The results indicate that various levels of modality richness (text-visual, audiovisual and ARIT) positively affect vivid memories (visual sensory detailed, emotionally intense, first-person perspective and coherent), and vivid memories successfully induce exploratory behavior.

The study results could also help retailers and brands with clear guidance in designing and creating simulation experience services and choosing the best way to present products. With the results of this research, retailers will also be able to grasp better the critical points of introducing innovative technology into the service experience and then create the benefits of digital economic growth.

Exploring which digital interactive technology online retailers use is more appropriate to create a virtual reality shopping experience to fill a significant gap in the sensory interactive marketing paradigm. Exploring the antecedents of vivid memories in a digital sensory interactive experience contributes to the body schema literature and the script theory. We draw from construal level theory (CLT) to clarify the impact of various levels of modality richness on driving the difference in sensory simulation schema to break through the limited findings of previous studies, namely using CLT to interpret psychological distance.

Augmented reality (AR) is transforming the business and interactive marketing landscape. This research aims to investigate consumers' degree of involvement and if a feeling of immersion and presence influences AR shopping satisfaction, comparing high- and low-immersive AR experiences.

This paper uses a quantitative approach. Two studies were carried out: a high-immersive AR experiment with 173 participants and a low-immersive AR experience with 222 participants. Findings were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling with SmartPLS.

Results indicate the antecedents of immersion and presence differ when it comes to different immersive AR levels. In a high-immersive AR experience, flow, information seeking and novelty are attributes related to immersion, while enjoyment and personalization are related to presence. Contrastingly, in a low-immersive AR experience, only flow is related to immersion, while information seeking, novelty and personalization are related to presence. These results highlight the role of immersion and presence as mediators for AR shopping satisfaction experience.

This study's originality lies in the use of a rival model for analysis. Findings suggest a contingent perspective of AR experience, depending on high- or low-immersion experience, so companies must pay attention for how to measure AR experiences to increase involvement and satisfaction.

Offering unskilled people training in engineering and vocational skills helps to decrease unemployment rate. The purpose of this paper is to augment actual hands-on conventional vocational training methods with virtual haptic simulations as part of computer-based vocational education and training.

This paper discusses the design of a bi-manual virtual multi-modal training interface for learning basic skills in surface mount device hand soldering. This research aims to analyze human hand dexterity of novices and experts at micro level skill knowledge capture by simulating and tracking the users’ actions in the manual soldering process through a multi-modal user interface.

Haptic feedback can enhance the experience of a virtual training environment for the end user and can provide a supplementary modality for imparting tangible principles to increase effectiveness. This will improve the teaching and learning of engineering and vocational skills with touch-based haptics technology, targeted toward teachers and students of various disciplines in engineering. Compared with the traditional training methods for learning soldering skills, the proposed method shows more efficiency in faster skill acquisition and skill learning.

In this study, the authors proposed a novel bi-manual virtual training simulator model for teaching soldering skills for surface mount technology and inspection. This research aims to investigate the acquisition of soldering skills through virtual environment, with and without haptic feedback. This acts as a basic-level training simulator that provides introductory training in soldering skills and can help initially unskilled people find educational opportunities and job offers in the electronics industry.

Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. The range of applications of FEMs in this area is wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore aims to give the reader an encyclopaedic view on the subject. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains 2,025 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with the analysis of beams, columns, rods, bars, cables, discs, blades, shafts, membranes, plates and shells that were published in 1992‐1995.