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The purpose of this paper is to analyze within the knowledge management (KM) stream the relationship between KM and intellectual capital (IC) and entrepreneurship (E). IC is a pivotal intangible resource to firms to generate knowledge. Knowledge and information are strategic for today’s company life. IC is generated and dynamically recombined by knowledge, produces knowledge and is feed by knowledge itself, both codified and tacit. For those reasons, the paper is motivated to understand how IC can represent valuable knowledge and how it can turn into innovation, through KM and practices. It is also voted to stimulate literature on understanding how innovation can serve E capabilities for firms’ business models, as innovation is not necessarily linked to a technological breakthrough. IC is functional to KM practices, as entrepreneurs can use IC and knowledge as a strategic management toolbox to innovate.

The main aim of the paper is to understand the state of the art on these central issues in KM literature. The paper uses a structure literature review (SLR) methodology, gathering papers by Scopus database for the period 2000–2019, on the relationship between KM and IC and E. The second aim is to understand for future research how do managers use IC as an opportunity to innovate and as a vehicle to transfer knowledge. The authors wondered about the qualification/quantification of “knowledge” as a crucial component of IC, which is in turn the riskier, but the more representative, a component of intangibles assets in the era of knowledge.

As for the first research question, the findings show that, actually, as the research has been started, IC, KM and E are still engaged separately by scholars, even if few efforts to match them together have been performed. The results depict a general fragmented and unsystematic vision of the relationship between the three topics. As for the future of the research about these topics, the authors found that scholars should catch the opportunity to go beyond the traditional theoretical mainstream on these issues. There is an urge to move the focus of KM and IC research toward new models of their interconnection, by including the social capital, namely, knowledge capabilities (explicit or not), etc., which are able to turn knowledge in innovation and competitive advantage, from an accounting perspective (recognizing IC’s components affecting the performance of firms, among which knowledge is the most important) and from a theoretical point of view (reducing the misalignment between the epistemological concept of KM requirements and the effective perception of organizational KM activities to extract value from KM initiatives).

The results, even if suffering from some limitations due to the performing of the methodology, offers several implications for academic research. The future of KM of the IC resources is clearly likely to lie on the recognition of the component of knowledge, as well as on the recognizing of new forms of social capital such as entrepreneurial capital, which is connected to innovation and creativity and firm value. An integrative framework of IC measurement should be built to link IC with KM and E. This is to guarantee that the measurement of IC does contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of KM.

Practical contribution to accounting perspective. In fact, the relations between these three topics could be highly beneficial to validate, in the dynamic societies and organizations, how it is important the entrepreneur’s learning process and its content is fundamental in the quest for new business opportunities/innovations, stated that learning is a crucial factor for entrepreneurial activity and has a structural impact on business models of industrial organizations. The difficulty to recognize in the balance sheet human capital relation could be limited by the introduction of the component of KM practices codification and E attitude and influence to operate this transformation of human capital in organized structural capital. The authors would not give the solution to that problem. The authors just want to address the discussion.

The inspiring conclusion from previous studies is to think in a new way at the role of knowledge-based IC in organizational E. Starting from the assertion that knowledge-based process of innovation and E are linked, it can be tested, also from case studies help or empirical application that organizations with a pleasant level of IC are more likely to be more innovative and in conclusion, have a higher market value.

The main contribution of this paper is to afford for the first time, to the best knowledge, an SLR on the interaction in literature among KM, IC and E, simultaneously, to understand where literature research actually is focusing and to lead future thoughts, at a managerial level, toward the interacting implications of KM and IC on value creation by innovation, which is one stream E literature. Although recently scholars have been concerning more empirically about the relationship between KM, IC and E, they are more focused on theoretical aspects than about new ways to look at IC. The future of KM and IC research is clearly likely to lie on the recognition of the component of knowledge, as well as recognizing new forms of social capital such as entrepreneurial capital, which is connected to innovation and creativity. An integrative framework of IC measurement through KM should be built to link IC measurement with KM. This is to guarantee that measurement of IC does contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of KM practices.

In this paper, the authors aim to examine and comparatively evaluate a recently-developed metaheuristic called crystal structure algorithm (CryStAl) – which is inspired by the symmetries in the internal structure of crystalline solids – in solving engineering mechanics and design problems.

A total number of 20 benchmark mathematical functions are employed as test functions to evaluate the overall performance of the proposed method in handling various functions. Moreover, different classical and modern metaheuristic algorithms are selected from the optimization literature for a comparative evaluation of the performance of the proposed approach. Furthermore, five well-known mechanical design examples are utilized to examine the capability of the proposed method in dealing with challenging optimization problems.

The results of this study indicated that, in most cases, CryStAl produced more accurate outputs when compared to the other metaheuristics examined as competitors.

This paper can provide motivation and justification for the application of CryStAl to solve more complex problems in engineering design and mechanics, as well as in other branches of engineering.

CryStAl is one of the newest metaheuristic algorithms, the mathematical details of which were recently introduced and published. This is the first time that this algorithm is applied to solving engineering mechanics and design problems.

This paper aims to evaluate the mechanical behaviour of polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC/ABS) filaments for fusion filament fabrication (FFF). PC/ABS have emerged as a promising material for FFF due to their excellent mechanical properties. However, the optimal processing conditions and the effect of the blending ratio on the mechanical properties of the resulting workpieces are still unclear.

A statistical factorial matrix was designed, including infill pattern, printing speed, nozzle size, layer height and printing temperature as factors (with three levels). A total of 810 workpieces were printed using PC/ABS blends filament with the FFF. The workpieces’ finishing and mass were evaluated. Tensile tests were performed. Analysis of variance was performed to determine the main effects of the processing conditions on the mechanical properties.

The results showed that the PC/ABS (70/30) exhibited higher tensile. Tensile rupture corresponded to 30% of the tensile strength. The infill pattern showed the highest contribution to the responses. The concentric pattern showed higher tensile strength. Tensile strength and mass ratio demonstrated the influence of mass on tensile strength. The influence of printing parameters on deformation depended on the blend proportions. Higher printing speed and lower layer height provided better quality workpieces.

This study has implications for the design and manufacturing of three-dimensional printed parts using PC/ABS filaments. An extensive experimental matrix was applied, aiming at a complete understanding of mechanical behavior, considering the main printing parameters and combinations not explored by literature.

Despite the extant literature on purchasing behaviour, little is known about why and how consumers purchase and use pharmaceutical products in Malaysia. This paper aims to develop a holistic model that articulates the factors underlying pharmaceutical product purchase and use and their relationships.

Drawing upon the grounded theory approach, in-depth interviews and analysis on the basis of theoretical saturation were conducted. Enumerators, trained to perform interviews, the transcription and content analysis, sampled 120 Malaysian consumers in the first phase and 40 in the second. ATLAS.ti was used to assist the coding and analytical process.

The findings largely support extant literature on purchasing decisions. Particularly, the evaluation of product attributes was found to be an immediate determinant of purchase and use. The effect, in turn, was moderated by personal factors and facilitating conditions. The need for healthcare products and the knowledge about them were constructed as antecedents in the model. The study also highlights that consumers’ purchase and use of pharmaceutical products could be better understood and managed with a holistic view of the decision-making process.

This study proposes the conbe-hepro model to explicate the antecedents and determinants of consumers’ purchase and use of pharmaceutical products in the Malaysian context. It provides a theoretical grounding that enriches our knowledge of the changing behaviour of consumers in healthcare literature. It also yields practical insights to the government bodies and the healthcare providers in Malaysia and other developing countries.

This study aims to investigate additive manufacturing of nickel-based superalloy IN718 made by powder bed fusion processes: powder bed fusion laser beam (PBF-LB) and powder bed fusion electron beam (PBF-EB).

This work has focused on the influence of building methods and post-fabrication processes on the final part properties, including microstructure, surface quality, residual stresses and mechanical properties.

PBF-LB produced a much smoother surface. Blasting and shot peening (SP) reduced the roughness even more but did not affect the PBF-EB surface finish as much. As-printed PBF-EB parts have low residual stresses in all directions, whereas it was much higher for PBF-LB. However, heat treatment removed the stresses and SP created compressive stresses for samples from both PBF processes. The standard Arcam process parameter for PBF-EB for IN718 is not fully optimized, which leads to porosity and inferior mechanical properties. However, impact toughness after hot isostatic pressing was surprisingly high.

The two processes gave different results and also responses to post-treatments, which could be of advantage or disadvantage for different applications. Suggestions for improving the properties of parts produced by each method are presented.

Supplier segmentation provides companies with suitable policies to control each segment, thereby saving time and resources. Sustainability has become a mandatory requirement in competitive business environments. This study aims to develop a clustering-based approach to sustainable supplier segmentation.

The characteristics of the suppliers and the aspects of the purchased items were considered simultaneously. The weights of the sub-criteria were determined using the best-worst method. Then, the K-means clustering algorithm was applied to all company suppliers based on four criteria. The proposed model is applied to a real case study to test the performance of the proposed approach.

The results prove that supplier segmentation is more efficient when using clustering algorithms, and the best criteria are selected for sustainable supplier segmentation and managing supplier relationships.

This study integrates sustainability considerations into the supplier segmentation problem using a hybrid approach. The proposed sustainable supplier segmentation is a practical tool that eliminates complexity and presents the possibility of convenient execution. The proposed method helps business owners to elevate their sustainable insights.

Continuum manipulators are often used in complex and narrow space in recent years because of their flexibility and safety. Vision is considered to be one of the most direct methods to obtain its spatial shape. However, with the improvement of the cooperation requirements of multiple continuum manipulators and the increase of space limitation, it is impossible to obtain the complete spatial shape information of multiple continuum manipulators only by several cameras.

This paper proposes a fusion method using inertial navigation sensors and cameras to reconstruct the shape of continuum manipulators in the whole workspace. The camera is used to obtain the position information, and the inertial navigation sensor is used to obtain the attitude information. Based on the above two information, the shape of the continuum manipulator is reconstructed by fitting Bézier curve.

The experiment result of single continuum manipulator shows that the cubic Bézier curves is applicable to curve fitting of variable curvature, the maximum fitting error is about 2 mm. Meanwhile, the experiment result shows that this method is not affected by obstacles and can still reconstruct the shape of the continuum manipulators in 3-D space by detecting the position and attitude information of the end.

According to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on spatial shape reconstruction of multiple continuum manipulators and the first study to introduce inertial navigation sensors and cameras into the field of shape reconstruction of multiple continuum manipulators in narrow space. This method is suitable for shape reconstruction of manipulator with variable curvature continuum manipulator. When the vision of multiple continuum manipulators is blocked by obstacles, the spatial shape can still be reconstructed only by exposing the end point. The structure is simple, but it has certain accuracy within a certain range.

Soft robotics is a burgeoning field owing to its high adaptability and safety in human–machine interaction and unstructured environments. However, the feedback control of soft actuators with flexible sensors is still a challenge.

To address this issue, this study proposes an optical fibre-based sensing membrane for the posture measurement of soft pneumatic bending actuators. The major contribution is the development of a flexible sensing membrane with a high sensitivity and repeatability for the feedback control of soft actuators. The characteristics of sensing membrane were analysed. The relationship between wavelength shift and bending curvature was derived. The curvatures of soft actuator were measured at four bending status, and the postures were reconstructed.

The results indicate that the measurement error is less than 2.1% of the actual bending curvature. The sensitivity is up to 212.8 pm/m⁻¹, and the signal fluctuation in repeated measurements is negligible. This approach has broad application prospects in soft robotics, because it makes the optical fibre achieve more strength and compatible with soft actuators, thus improving the sensing accuracy, sensitivity and reliability of fibre sensors.

Different from previous approaches, an optical fibre with FBGs is embedded into a multilayered polyimide film to form a flexible sensing membrane, and the membrane is embedded into a soft pneumatic bending actuator as the smart strain limited layer which is able to measure the posture in real time. This approach makes the optical fibre stronger and compatible with the soft pneumatic bending actuator, and the sensing accuracy, sensitivity and reliability are improved. The proposed sensing configuration is effective for the feedback control of the soft pneumatic bending actuators.

The aim of this article is to obtain a stable tensegrity structure by using the minimum knowledge of the structure.

Three methods have been formulated based on the eigen value decomposition (EVD) and singular value decomposition theorems. These two theorems are being implemented on the matrices, which are computed from the minimal data of the structure. The required minimum data for the structure is the dimension of the structure, the connectivity matrix of the structure and the initial force density matrix computed from the type of elements. The stability of the structure is analyzed based on the rank deficiency of the force density matrix and equilibrium matrix.

The main purpose of this article is to use the defined methods to find (1) the nodal coordinates of the structure, (2) the final force density values of the structure, (3) single self-stress from multiple self-stresses and (4) the stable structure.

By using the defined approaches, one can understand the difference of each method, which includes, (1) the selection of eigenvalues, (2) the selection of nodal coordinates from the first decomposition theorem, (3) the selection of mechanism mode and force density values further and (4) the solution of single feasible self-stress from multiple self-stresses.

This paper aims to propose a study on the static behavior of prismatic tensegrity structures and an innovative form for determining the effect of mechanical properties and geometric parameters on the minimal mass design of these structures.

The minimal mass design in this paper considers a stable class-two tensegrity tower built through stable models. Using the proposed structures, comprehensive parametric studies are performed to examine the mass (in which the masses of joints are ignored), the mass ratio between a class-two tensegrity tower and a single element, both having the same diameter and length and afterward determine a reliable mass saving structure under various circumstances.

The simulations show that the mass ratio versus the number of units is a nonlinear regressive curve and predicts that the proposed model outperforms the standard model when the variation parameter considered is a vertical force. The difference in mass between these structures is visible when the gap gradually decreases while the number of units increases. On the geometrical aspect, the gap between the masses is not significant.

This paper helps to understand the influences of geometric parameters and the mechanical properties on the design of cylinder tensegrity structures dealing with a compressive force.