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1 – 10 of 37
Article
Publication date: 3 June 2021

Somayeh Najafi-Ghobadi, Jafar Bagherinejad and Ata Allah Taleizadeh

The effect of customers’ forward-looking behavior on firms’ profit has been highlighted by many researchers and practitioners. This study aims to develop a mathematical model for…

Abstract

Purpose

The effect of customers’ forward-looking behavior on firms’ profit has been highlighted by many researchers and practitioners. This study aims to develop a mathematical model for new generation products to analyze the optimal pricing and advertising policies in the presence of homogeneous forward-looking customers. A firm that produces and sells a new generation product was considered. This firm aimed to determine the optimal pricing and advertising expenditure by maximizing the total profit.

Design/methodology/approach

The demand was presented as a diffusion model inspired by the Bass diffusion model. This paper used Pontryagin’s maximum principle to analyze the proposed model. The presented model was implemented in some numerical examples by proposing a heuristic solution method. Numerical examples confirmed the theoretical results.

Findings

This paper found a threshold on the optimal advertising policy depends on customers’ forward-looking behavior, advertising coefficient (both direct and word-of-mouth advertising) and discount rate. The funding showed that the optimal pricing path of the first generation was monotonically decreasing or increasing and, then, decreasing. Results revealed that, by increasing the customers’ forward-looking behavior, the firm should reduce the price and advertising expenditure. Also, the price was shown to be negatively affected by the discount rate and word-of-mouth advertising. The profitability will improve if the firm spends more budget on advertising by increasing the discount rate and advertising effectiveness. Further, when the word-of-mouth advertising effect is high, the firm should increase the advertising expenditure first and, then, decrease it.

Originality/value

Nowadays, forward-looking customers’ anticipation for releasing a new generation can harm the firms’ profit. In this regard, this research analyzed optimal pricing and advertising policies for a new generation product in a market populated by homogeneous forward-looking customers. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study that investigated these two marketing policies jointly in the presence of forward-looking customers.

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2023

Yongchang Jiang, Hejie Zhu and E. Bai

The existence of the advertising delay effect and its impact on supply chain operations have been demonstrated in the current study. Therefore, this study develops a timely…

Abstract

Purpose

The existence of the advertising delay effect and its impact on supply chain operations have been demonstrated in the current study. Therefore, this study develops a timely inventory control strategy for the fresh produce supply chain to address the advertising delay effect in the fresh produce supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposes a game model based on the Nerlove-Arrow time delay differential equation and Pontryagin's maximum principle. Through comparative analyses of the optimal equilibrium strategies, the authors compare the optimal equilibrium strategies, product goodwill and optimal inventory trajectories for suppliers and retailers under secondary replenishment decisions and decentralized decisions.

Findings

The authors find that (1) Only when the sales cycle meets certain conditions can the overall profit of the supply chain under the secondary replenishment decision be greater than that under the decentralized decision. As the price markup coefficient increases, the total profit of the supply chain first increases and then decreases. (2) With the increase in the delay time, the replenishment quantity during the initial period gradually decreases. After the delay time elapses, the inventory depletion rate under secondary replenishment decisions is faster than that under decentralized decision-making. (3) Although there is a continuously increasing maximum value of product goodwill with the increase in delay time, it becomes difficult to achieve this value for longer delays.

Practical implications

The authors’ findings provide a theoretical basis for supply chain members of fresh agricultural products to select replenishment and inventory control strategies when adopting different levels of delay in advertising marketing.

Originality/value

Firstly, this paper explains the impact of advertising delay effect on fresh produce supply chain from a dynamic perspective, and secondly, it provides guidance on advertising formulation and inventory replenishment for fresh produce retailers under the influence of advertising delay effect.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2002

Hasan Allihalli and Mehmet İlyas Bayindir

A time‐energy optimal position control algorithm based on the Pontryagin's maximum principle is developed for a vector‐controlled induction motor system. The vector‐controlled…

Abstract

A time‐energy optimal position control algorithm based on the Pontryagin's maximum principle is developed for a vector‐controlled induction motor system. The vector‐controlled induction motor is modeled as a second‐order system. Bang‐off‐bang control profile, which operates on the torque current, is found as a minimum time‐energy filter, where the amplitude of the time‐delayed signals are constrained to satisfy the control bounds. The time‐energy objective function subject to the constraints, which satisfy boundary conditions, is solved as a parameter optimization problem by using MATLAB optimization‐toolbox. To corroborate the validity of the results of the parameter optimization problem, an experimental test is performed with a dSPACE control card and 2.2 kW induction motor. Furthermore, the simulation results are verified by the switching function obtained from solving the initial conditions. Finally, the theoretical and experimental results are graphically presented and it is seen that the results are in very close agreement.

Details

COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2018

Zhichao Zhang, Bengang Gong, Juan Tang, Zhi Liu and Xiaoxue Zheng

Under the carbon regulation mechanism, managing operational strategies is a challenging task. Green innovation is introduced into a hybrid system of manufacturing and…

Abstract

Purpose

Under the carbon regulation mechanism, managing operational strategies is a challenging task. Green innovation is introduced into a hybrid system of manufacturing and remanufacturing to handle the carbon emission constraints in a dynamic market environment. This paper aims to investigate the joint dynamic green innovation policy and pricing strategies in a hybrid manufacturing and remanufacturing system.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first considers a monopolistic manufacturer who offers brand-new products and remanufactured items at the same price to consumers. Subsequently, the authors extend their analyses to distinct pricing strategies for both newly manufactured products and refurnished ones in such a hybrid system. Two different cases are considered: a loose carbon emission constraint and a binding carbon emission constraint. By solving the dynamic optimization problem, the differential game and Pontryagin’s maximum principle are used to obtain the joint green innovation and pricing strategies.

Findings

The retail price first increases then declines over a single period. The green innovation diminishes in the same pricing decision model, while it first increases then declines in a distinct pricing decision model over a single planning horizon. The green innovation investment as well as the retail price are discouraged by an emission cap and recycling fraction. The distinct retail price fluctuates violently, and they are, in descending order of the highest peak price as follows: the newly manufactured product, the same pricing product and the repaired product. Carbon emission caps that are either too high or too low decrease the revenue of the manufacturer. A small emission constraint margin benefits the manufacturer. The recycling policy, as well as other parameters, affects whether the hybrid system attains the carbon emission constraint or not, which suggests that the recycling policy is complementary to the carbon emission constraint mechanism in the hybrid system.

Practical implications

These results offer managerial implications to the hybrid system in terms of green innovation, pricing strategies and recycling policy.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first papers to research the joint dynamic green innovation policy and pricing strategies with/without a carbon emission constraint in a hybrid manufacturing and remanufacturing system with a differential game. Moreover, this paper presents a potential way of investigating other common resource constraints by a differential game in a manufacturing/remanufacturing system or closed loop supply chain.

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1985

Y. CHERRUAULT and J. GALLEGO

Optimal Control theory is concerned with the problem of how to govern systems. Its purpose is to determine the best actions by which a given system can reach or maintain a…

Abstract

Optimal Control theory is concerned with the problem of how to govern systems. Its purpose is to determine the best actions by which a given system can reach or maintain a particular state, these control actions being submitted to particular conditions called “constraints”. Mathematical formulations of such a problem may be very general, and then, the analysis and the results of this mathematical problem may be applied to numerous and varied concrete situations, from industrial processes to biology and medicine.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2015

Kuan Yang, Ermei Wang, Yinggao Zhou and Kai Zhou

The purpose of this paper is to use analytical method and optimization tools to suggest time-optimal vaccination program for a basic SIR epidemic model with mass action contact…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use analytical method and optimization tools to suggest time-optimal vaccination program for a basic SIR epidemic model with mass action contact rate when supply is limited.

Design/methodology/approach

The Lagrange Multiplier Method and Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle are used to explore optimal control strategy and obtain analytical solution for the control system to minimize the total cost of disease with boundary constraint. The numerical simulation is done with Matlab using the sequential linear programming method to illustrate the impact of parameters.

Findings

The result highlighted that the optimal control strategy is Bang-Bang control – to vaccinate with maximal effort until either all of the resources are used up or epidemic is over, and the optimal strategies and total cost of vaccination are usually dependent on whether there is any constraint of resource, however, the optimal strategy is independent on the relative cost of vaccination when the supply is limited.

Practical implications

The research indicate a practical view that the enhancement of daily vaccination rate is critical to make effective initiatives to prevent epidemic from out breaking and reduce the costs of control.

Originality/value

The analysis of the time-optimal application of outbreak control is of clear practical value and the introducing of resource constraint in epidemic control is of realistic sense, these are beneficial for epidemiologists and public health officials.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 44 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2003

Gianmarco Radice

The purpose of this paper is to present a new approach in the concept and implementation of autonomous micro‐spacecraft. The one true “artificial agent” approach to autonomy…

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present a new approach in the concept and implementation of autonomous micro‐spacecraft. The one true “artificial agent” approach to autonomy requires the micro‐spacecraft to interact in a direct manner with the environment through the use of sensors and actuators. As such, little computational effort is required to implement such an approach, which is clearly of great benefit for limited micro‐satellites. Rather than using complex world models, which have to be updated, the agent is allowed to exploit the dynamics of its environment for cues as to appropriate actions to achieve mission goals. The particular artificial agent implementation used here has been borrowed from studies of biological systems, where it has been used successfully to provide models of motivation and opportunistic behaviour. The so‐called “cue‐deficit” action selection algorithm considers the micro‐spacecraft to be a non‐linear dynamical system with a number of observable states. Using optimal control theory rules are derived which determine which of a finite repertoire of behaviours the satellite should select and perform. The principal benefits of this approach is that the micro‐spacecraft is endowed with self‐sufficiency, defined here to be the ability to achieve mission goals, while never placing itself in an irrecoverable position.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 32 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2021

Shila Monazam Ebrahimpour, Fariborz Rahimnia, Alireza Pooya and Morteza Pakdaman

Workforce planning must answer how many workforces, in which positions, and talents, and when each organization is needed. To find the requirements workforce, organizations need…

Abstract

Purpose

Workforce planning must answer how many workforces, in which positions, and talents, and when each organization is needed. To find the requirements workforce, organizations need to know the organizational position and talents pools. Clarifying the number of workforces required in each pool requires attention to workforce flows, including hiring, promotion, degradation, horizontal movement, and exiting the organization. It is a dynamic issue and must be addressed over several periods over a specific duration, which adds to the complexity. According to the talent management presented in this research, all the above complex questions are answered by applying the optimal control (OC) model according to talent management presented in this research.

Design/methodology/approach

This research presents a dynamic model by using a linear-quadratic optimal control model, which was solved by Pontryagin's maximum principle, to achieve an optimal number of workforce requirements for each of the positions of nursing services manager, supervisor, head nurses and nurses in the health sector according to the required talents in each position.

Findings

The results have shown that the target value of workforce numbers has been achieved in the planning period, and the validation test and sensitivity analysis justified the model by reaching the workforce planning targets.

Originality/value

This study provides a dynamic model for achieving quantitative workforce planning targets; the model presented in this manuscript has included an important qualitative factor, namely workforce talents. According to the authors' review, there is no comprehensive research devoted to workforce planning through optimal control models by attention to workforces skills.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 51 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Transportation and Traffic Theory in the 21st Century
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-080-43926-6

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2002

Amar Khoukhi

In this paper the problem of the dynamic optimal time‐energy Off‐Line programming of an autonomous mobile robot in a crowded environment is considered. First, kinematic model and…

Abstract

In this paper the problem of the dynamic optimal time‐energy Off‐Line programming of an autonomous mobile robot in a crowded environment is considered. First, kinematic model and planning are presented. Then a dynamic model based on Euler‐Lagrange formalism is developed and a mobility estimation function of the robot is considered. This dynamic estimation of the robot mobility takes into account of the velocity and the orientation of the robot. Then the scene structuration and a path finder algorithm are developed. After, the optimal dynamic off‐line programming is formulated as a nonlinear programming problem under nonlinear equality and inequality constraints. The Discrete Augmented Lagrangian (DAL) is used to obtain the optimal trajectograhy. We develop an extended DAL to DALAP, DALAdaptive Penalty. RoboSim 1.0 simulator is developed to perform kinematic and DALAP based algorithms on a large class of mobile robots optimal time‐energy off‐line programming. A comparative study with kinematic planning is considered. It is shown that the performance of the dynamic optimal time‐energy control and off‐line programming is much better than kinematic and heuristic based schemes. This strategy of trajectory planning was implemented on the case study of the SARA mobile robot model.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

1 – 10 of 37