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With an increasingly fierce competition of the shipbuilding industry, advanced technologies and excellent management philosophies in the manufacturing industry are gradually introduced to domestic shipyards. The purpose of this study is to promote the lean management of Chinese ship outfitting plants by lean production strategy.

To promote the lean implementation of Chinese shipyards, the lean practice of ship-pipe part production is highlighted by lot-sizing optimization and strategic CONWIP (constant work-in-process) control. A nonlinear programming model is formulated to minimize the total cost of ship-pipe part manufacturing and the particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based algorithm is designed to resolve the established model. Besides, the pull-from-the-bottleneck (PFB) strategy is used to control ship-pipe part production, verified by Simulink simulation.

Results show that the proposed lean strategy of the programming model and strategic PFB control could assist Chinese ship outfitting plants to leverage competitive advantage by waste reduction and lean achievement. Specifically, the PFB double-loop control strategy shows better performance when there is high productivity and the PFB single-loop control outperforms at lower productivity scenarios.

To verify the effectiveness of the proposed lean strategy, a case study is performed to validate the formulated model. Also, simulation experiments realized by FlexSim software are conducted to testify results obtained by the constructed programming model.

Lean production management practice of the shipyard building industry is performed by the proposed lean production strategy through lot-sizing optimization and strategic PFB control in terms of ship-pipe part manufacturing.

This paper examines the influence of financial leverage on the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the moderating role of the percentage of female borrowers (PFB).

The study uses a global sample of 646 MFIs drawn from the World Bank Mix Market and panel data for 2010–2018. The study employs ordinary least squares (OLS) and the one-step system generalized method of moments (SGMM) as regression estimation methods.

The findings of this study reveal that financial leverage and the PFB have a negative and significant effect on financial sustainability. The findings further show that the interaction between financial leverage and the PFB positively affects the financial sustainability of MFIs.

The findings inform MFIs' managers on the adverse effect of financial leverage and the PFB in their quest for financial sustainability. The findings also demonstrate that MFIs can leverage female borrowers to reverse the adverse effect of financial leverage on financial sustainability of MFIs.

Previous studies examined the direct effect of financial leverage and reported incongruent results. Because female borrowers are at the epicenter of MFI lending, this study fills the gap in the literature by examining whether the proportion of female borrowers moderates the relationship between financial leverage and MFIs' financial sustainability using a global dataset.

The purpose of this study is to present an overview of the existing knowledge on the combined application of lean, off-site and simulation (LOS) in housing delivery.

A systematic literature review approach was adopted. Based on a comprehensive search using Scopus, Web of Science and the International Group for Lean Construction databases, 66 relevant journal articles were identified and analysed.

This study found that the most significant impacts of the combined application of LOS in housing delivery are the capacity to visualise the production processes as a whole in real time, exposure and removal of non-value-adding activities from the production and faster delivery. However, the combined application of LOS is low compared to a single application of each technique in housing delivery.

The results provide relevant stakeholders and actors in the housing sector (private and public housing developers, off-site housing manufacturers and constructors, housing associations and government housing agencies, among others) with the information needed to improve the outcomes of housing delivery through the application of LOS.

This study contributes to the ongoing debate on addressing the global housing shortage by presenting an integrated overview of the existing knowledge on the impact of the nexus of LOS and providing compelling evidence for its usage in housing delivery. It also demonstrates how the combined application of LOS supports the achievement of the flow and value view in the transformation flow value model, which was not previously reported.

The purpose of the current study is to examine a social network site (SNS) users' overall satisfaction with SNS use in conjunction with their fan page visiting activities. We examined overall satisfaction with SNS usage from the lens of people's perceptions acquired from the use of sub-components of SNS.

The current study employed uncertainty reduction theory (URT) and general systems theory (GST) to examine antecedents affecting overall satisfaction with SNS use. Five constructs were adopted: interactive and passive uncertainty reduction strategies, perceived usefulness and continuance visiting behavior, satisfaction, and perceived functional benefits. Using a web-based survey, we analyzed 200 SNS users who follow at least one company's fan page, utilizing seemingly unrelated regression models to test hypotheses empirically.

Research findings reveal that uncertainty reduction strategies supported by URT are significantly associated with the perceived usefulness of a company's fan page. In turn, we found that perceived usefulness becomes a strong motivator to continuance visits to the fan page. The frequency of return visiting behaviors eventually accounts for overall satisfaction with SNS. Perceived functional benefits moderates the relationship between perceived usefulness and visiting behaviors significantly.

The current study contributes to information systems (IS), electronic communication, and their adjacent academic disciplines in providing evidence, including (1) the impact of uncertainty reduction strategies on continuance visiting behaviors in the SNS context, (2) SNS functionalities influencing the relationship between people's belief and behavior, and (3) theoretical significant perceptional link between a sub-component and a whole.

This paper aims to investigate and examines Sweden's overall entrepreneurship performance (ecosystem) by applying the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) while benchmarking the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Sweden with that of Finland and Norway.

In terms of subindices, pillars and component factors, this research analyzes the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Sweden using the GEI supplemented by the Penalty for Bottleneck (PFB) approach utile for identification of bottlenecks. In addition, the Swedish ecosystem is benchmarked against its Finnish and Norwegian counterparts drawing on data collected between 2015 and 2018.

Using data drawn from the GEI, Sweden manifests a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem with a GEI score of 72.7 out of 100. However, fledgling start-up skills, insufficient human capital, and slow and erratic growth undercut otherwise solid entrepreneurial aspirations drawing on well-developed institutional variables. On a macrolevel, Sweden evinces greater capacity for entrepreneurship and innovation than either Norway or Finland but, on a microlevel, several discontinuities manifest in terms of subindices, pillars and component factors to the advantage of Norway and/or Finland and, conversely, to the detriment of Sweden.

Policymakers should fund a mix of programs and institute regulatory reforms designed to promote entrepreneurial systemic development in Sweden by remediating entrepreneurial gaps depressing GEI scores. Crucial policy interventions are required to accrete start-up skills and human capital and engender high growth. Incremental funding of 47% over current levels budgeted to buoy entrepreneurial activity are mandated for Sweden to approach its GEI potential.

Insights are derived from extracting data drawn from a new methodology for gauging entrepreneurial activity incorporating individual and institutional variables into a single model that combines PFB and GEI analysis with a view to identifying, through the PFB approach and weak aspects of Sweden's entrepreneurial performance.

Agonistic antagonistic general system theory and praxis were born in the medical field, but may be defined now from an epistemological and biomathematical point of view, and are used in other fields. Reviews classical notions in General Systems Theory (GST), such as auto‐organization, hierarchy, the “middle way” etc. Discusses bilateral strategies, which are seemingly contradictory and the paradoxical unilateral strategy. Suggests that, if the efficient control of certain systems is at stake in such strategies, they ought to be scrutinized by the cybernetical community.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between the social power of apparel buyers from developed countries and the psychologically defensive workplace behavior (PDWB) of the suppliers from a developing country.

An online survey was used to collect 205 responses from the professionals who were working in the apparel exporting companies in Bangladesh. Data were analyzed quantitatively.

The results showed that the exercise of buyers' reward and coercive power was associated with the suppliers' perfectionistic workplace behavior. The exercise of buyers' coercive power was associated with the suppliers' arrogant-vindictive workplace behavior. The exercise of buyers' reward power was associated with the suppliers' narcissistic workplace behavior, and coercive power was found to be statistically suggestive.

This study purposely used convenient and snowball sampling techniques to collect data from Bangladesh only. Future researchers could focus on random sampling from different countries to improve the generalizability of the research.

This study will help apparel buyers to better negotiate with Bangladeshi suppliers regarding maintaining proper workplace conditions and compliances. It will also help industry professionals to better educate suppliers on how to deal with workplace pressure.

This study adds to the literature on social power and PDWB, specifically related to the apparel manufacturing industry, and will help illustrate the impact of workplace behavior in terms of corporate social responsibility beyond the usual measurement of the codes of conduct and compliance issues.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of income and geographic diversification on the double bottom line of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries where conventional and Islamic MFIs coexist. The idea is to explore whether diversification impacts MFIs' financial performance and outreach differ for Islamic microfinance.

The authors test the effect of diversification and business models of MFIs on their performance and poverty outreach. The authors’ data set is an unbalanced panel sample of 81 (Islamic and conventional) MFIs in MENA countries covering 1999–2018, comprising 743 MFI-year observations.

The authors find that increasing income diversification in microfinance and focusing on rural areas decreases the financial performance of MFIs in MENA countries. Islamic MFIs benefit from income diversification by increasing their financial performance. The results provide evidence of a nonlinear relationship between income diversification and the financial performance of MFIs. Although conventional MFIs improve their depth of outreach by diversifying their income, Islamic MFIs have a lower breadth of outreach because they show a higher degree of income diversification.

This research contributes to the ongoing debate of whether MFIs should focus on or diversify their services to Islamic microfinance. Therefore, the findings of this study are practically crucial for MFIs' stakeholders to understand the contribution of diversification strategies in improving the Islamic MFIs to achieve both financial and social objectives.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first research that addresses the impact of diversification strategies in Islamic microfinance. Additionally, using a panel data set of conventional and Islamic MFIs in MENA countries spanning 1999–2018, this study provides empirical evidence on the diversification versus focus issue from the microfinance industry and the subset of Islamic microfinance.

The low adoption of mobile banking (m-banking) in Indonesia and limited research on the adoption of m-banking motivate this research to understand the factors needed in developing m-banking to support the achievement of the national digital economy strategy in creating a digital ecosystem in Indonesia. This study aims to analyze the individual perspective factors that influence the adoption of m-banking applications in Indonesia.

This study used a quantitative approach using an online questionnaire to survey 444 respondents who used m-banking applications in Indonesia. The data obtained were processed using covariance-based structural equation modeling.

The results showed that health consciousness, the availability of resources, personal innovativeness and perceived information quality factors influenced the adoption of mobile banking applications in the static stage. In addition, this study found that one adoption stage could positively impact another adoption stage in adopting m-banking applications.

The development of m-banking can be promoted by considering the readiness of operational support infrastructure, regulations and application development, including functionality, security and user experience. Superior m-banking has implemented an end-to-end banking process with integrated customer relationship management (CRM) that supports cross-selling features according to user needs.

This study addresses the knowledge gap on individual perspectives that influence m-banking applications adoption. The authors integrate the e-government adoption model and CRM model in this study.

Despite recognizing the significance of risk-based frameworks in fire safety engineering, the usual approach in structural fire design is largely member/component level, wherein effect of uncertainties influencing the fire resistance of structures are not explicitly considered. In this context, a probabilistic framework is presented to investigate the vulnerability of a reinforced concrete (RC) members and structure under fire loading scenario.

The RC structures exposed to fire are modeled in a finite element (FE) platform incorporating material and geometric nonlinearity, in which the transient thermo-mechanical analysis is carried out by suitably incorporating the temperature variation of thermal and mechanical properties of both concrete and steel rebar. The stochasticity in the system is considered in structural resistance, thermal and fire model parameters, and the subsequent fragility curves are developed considering threshold limit state of deflection.

The fire resistance of RC structure is reported to be significantly lower in comparison to the RC members, thereby illustrating the current prescriptive design approaches based on studies of structural member behavior to be crucial from a safety and reliability point of view.

The framework developed for the vulnerability assessment of RC structures under fire hazard through FE analysis can be effectively used to estimate the structural fire resistance for other similar structure to enhance safety and reliability of structures under such extreme threats.

The paper proposes a novel methodology for vulnerability assessment of three-dimensional RC structures under fire hazard through FE analysis and provides comparison of the structural fragility with fragility developed for structural members. Moreover, the research emphasizes to assume 3D behavior of the structure rather than the approximate 2D behavior.