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Numerical models of manufacturing processes are useful and provide insight for the practitioner; however, model verification and validation are a prerequisite for expedient application. This paper aims to detail the code-to-code verification of a thermal numerical model for the Bridgman solidification process of alloys in a two-dimensional axisymmetric domain, against an established commercial code (ANSYS Fluent); the work is considered a confidence building step in model development.

A grid sensitivity analysis is carried out to establish grid independence, and this is followed by simulations of two transient solidification scenarios: pulling rate step change and ramp input; the results of which are compared and discussed.

Good conformity of results is achieved; hence, the non-commercial model is code-to-code verified; in addition, the ability of the non-commercial model to deal with radial heat flow is demonstrated.

The ability of the home made model for Bridgman furnace solidification to deal with cases where significant radial heat transfer occurs in the sample was demonstrated. The introduction of front tracking to model the macroscopic growth of dendritic mush and the region of undercooled liquid is identified as the next step in model development.

While previous studies have primarily assumed dysfunctional effects of cultural distance in joint ventures and M&A, this paper elucidates from a positive organizational scholarship perspective how perceived cultural distance can advance firms’ new product development within non-equity alliances. The purpose of this paper is to explain how perceived cultural distance stimulates task discourse that supports alliance partners’ employees in recognizing and applying culture-related differences as complementary problem-solving potentials. Due to a lower integration level in non-equity alliances compared to joint ventures or M&A, this paper assumes that the positive effects outweigh the negative effects of cultural distance.

This study applies structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized effects on a sample of 246 international alliances in the manufacturing industry.

The analysis mainly supports the hypothesized model and unravels how positive effects can emerge from perceived cultural distance.

The findings provide managerial implications. Alliance managers should note that cultural distance can have positive and negative effects, and thus it is not a barrier per se in alliances. Firms can benefit from cultural distance if they are able to leverage culture-specific complementarities through task discourse among partners in alliances.

The manuscript uses a unique data set of 246 international alliances from the global manufacturing industry. The manuscript has not been published elsewhere.

Although the majority of research explores the direct relationship between family control and innovativeness, the purpose of this paper is to investigate mediators that explain how family control is related to innovativeness. Grounded in agency theory, resource dependence theory, and the resource-based view of the firm, the authors suggest that this relationship operates through board task performance, that is, the level of directors’ involvement in control and service tasks.

To test the hypotheses, structural equation modeling is applied to cross-sectional survey data collected from 329 private firms that are located in Belgium. Family control is defined as 50 percent family ownership in combination with at least one family member being involved in the management or board of directors of the firm.

Four key results emerge from the analysis. First, family control is negatively associated with control task performance but does not affect service task performance. Second, control and service task performance positively influence innovativeness. Third, the negative relationship between family control and innovativeness is partially mediated by control task performance. Fourth, the presence of a family CEO and the percentage of family directors address heterogeneity among family controlled firms (FCFs).

This paper complements and extends existing research on the relationship between family control and innovativeness by adopting a governance perspective. The authors contribute to a deeper understanding of why FCFs are more or less innovative than nonfamily controlled firms and reveal underlying mechanisms previously uncovered.

Interest in employee mindfulness has increased dramatically in recent years, fueled by several important conceptual articles, numerous studies documenting the benefits of mindfulness for employee outcomes, and the adoption of mindfulness-based practices in many Fortune 500 organizations. Despite this growing interest, the vast majority of research on employee mindfulness has taken an intrapersonal focus, failing to appreciate the ways in which mindfulness may enhance work-related relational processes and outcomes. The authors explore possible associations between mindfulness and relationally oriented workplace phenomena, drawing from interdisciplinary scholarship examining mindfulness in romantic relationships, child–parent relationships, patient–healthcare provider relationships, and student–teacher relationships. A framework is proposed that links mindfulness to three distinct relationally oriented processes, which are expected to have downstream effects on work-related relational outcomes. The authors then take the proposed framework and discuss possible extensions to a variety of unique workplace relationships and discuss critical next steps in advancing the relational science of mindfulness.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a practitioner perspective on the growing influence and impact of biometric technology on the hospitality industry.

The paper outlines the different types of biometric authentication and its uses in hospitality operations and explores current and future applications in providing secure and safe guest services.

The paper cites examples of technological innovation and discusses the implications of biometric authentication for hospitality operations, organization, and management.

The paper aligns technological advances with the experiences of a senior professional's personal experience in operating and managing restaurants.

The paper offers a strategic viewpoint on the potential range of applications for biometric verification and explores some of the complexities arising from its adoption and application to hospitality operations.

Bitcoin is difficult to categorize and indeed has been associated with 112 different labels in the British media (e.g., “private money,” “commodity”) – most of which poorly describe bitcoin. Specifically, our analyses of 674 media articles, focusing on the relationship between labeling and categorization, identify classification inconsistencies at three levels: within clusters of labels, between labels and categories, and between category attributes. These inconsistencies hamper categorization based on attribute similarity, audience goals, and causal models, respectively. We identify four factors that nurture this categorical anarchy and conclude with a call for research on the socioeconomic revolution heralded by blockchain technology.

Politics in human societies represents a variation, and elaboration, on a major evolutionary theme. Political processes have played an important functional role in goal-oriented, cooperative social systems in the natural world. This view of politics is also consistent with a causal theory – known as the Synergism Hypothesis – which explains the rise of complexity in evolution over time and, equally important, the frequent examples of devolution and dissolution. In addition to a brief discussion of this theory, the evolution of political systems in humankind will be described, from its possible origins among our remote australopithecine ancestors to the emergence of complex modern civilizations. Now, however, we confront an existential threat to our species, and to many others, due mainly to climate change. The future is very problematic. I will argue here that the only viable path going forward is a new social contract coupled with (democratic) global governance – a global “superorganism.”

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for creative information seeking drawing upon Weisberg's argument that creativity exists in everyone, and mapping the creative process described in the holistic model of creativity to the information seeking activities identified in the behavioural model of information seeking.

Using scenarios of information seeking behaviour, mappings between the creative process and information seeking activities were refined and six stages for creative information seeking were proposed. Scenarios were also used to provide theoretical justifications for stages in creative information seeking.

Evidence gathered from the scenarios seemed to indicate that the type of information seeking task may have an impact on the extent to which an information seeker exhibits all stages in the framework. This is on‐going research. Part II of this paper aims to conduct empirical studies and gather evidence to verify the framework and examine this observation in more detail.

Proposes a framework for creative information seeking.