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This study aims to propose a facilitating methodology for the application of Fuzzy FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis), comparing the traditional approach with fuzzy variations, supported by a case application in the aeronautical sector.

Based on experts' opinions in risk analysis within the aeronautical sector, rules governing the relationship between severity, occurrence, detection and risk factor were defined. This served as input for developing a fuzzyfied FMEA tool using the Matlab Fuzzy Logic Toolbox. The tool was applied to the sealing process in a company within the aeronautical sector, using triangular and trapezoidal membership functions, and the results were compared with the traditional FMEA approach.

The results of the comparative application of traditional FMEA and fuzzyfied FMEA using triangular and trapezoidal functions have yielded valuable insights into risk analysis. The findings indicated that fuzzyfied FMEA maintained coherence with the traditional analysis in identifying higher-risk effects, aligning with the prioritization of critical failure modes. Additionally, fuzzyfied FMEA allowed for a more refined prioritization by accounting for variations in each variable through fuzzy rules, thereby improving the accuracy of risk analysis and providing a more realistic representation of potential hazards. The application of the developed fuzzyfied FMEA approach showed promise in enhancing risk assessment in the aeronautical sector by considering uncertainties and offering a more detailed and context-specific analysis compared to conventional FMEA.

This study emphasizes the potential of fuzzyfied FMEA in enhancing risk assessment by accurately identifying critical failure modes and providing a more realistic representation of potential hazards. The application case reveals that the proposed tool can be integrated with expert knowledge to improve decision-making processes and risk mitigation strategies within the aeronautical industry. Due to its straightforward approach, this facilitating methodology could also prove beneficial in other industrial sectors.

This paper presents the development and application of a facilitating methodology for implementing Fuzzy FMEA, comparing it with the traditional approach and incorporating variations using triangular and trapezoidal functions. This proposed methodology uses the Toolbox Fuzzy Logic of Matlab to create a fuzzyfied FMEA tool, enabling a more nuanced and context-specific risk analysis by considering uncertainties.

Prior research examining cultural effects on customer service expectations has primarily used more generic Western cultural theory on an aggregate scale or with only a single variable to draw conclusions on a customer’s underlying reasoning for buying a service. This study aims to focus on culturally distinct clusters within non-Western nations, specifically exploring within-cluster differences in service expectations within the Confucian Asia cluster.

This study developed a measurement model of Chinese cultural values and service expectations, consisting of a three and five-factor structure, respectively. Data from a sample of 351 diners were analysed using SmartPLS software. The data was compared with similar studies within the Confucian Asia cluster to understand the culture effect on service expectations and within-cluster variations.

The findings underscore the varying importance of cultural values in shaping customer service expectations, emphasizing their relative, rather than equal, significance. The study provides insights into potential within-group differences in customer service expectations within the same cultural cluster – without losing sight of the fundamental cultural heterogeneity of the Confucian culture.

Managers should leverage the distinct cultural values of their operating country to gain insights into diverse customer groups, predict their behaviours and meet their needs and expectations.

This study offers valuable insights to both service management scholars and practitioners by focusing on culturally distinct clusters of non-Western nations and exploring their effects on variation in service expectations within these clusters.

This study aims to explain why low social conduct in corporate social responsibility (SC-CSR), especially employee exploitation, has a stronger negative impact on consumer reactions for service firms than for manufacturing firms.

Five experiments compared consumer reactions to service and manufacturing firms with low SC-CSR. Study 1 used a choice-based conjoint design to examine the relative importance of various shared attributes when consumers chose services versus goods. Study 2 revealed that low SC-CSR led to more pronounced negative consumers reactions toward service firms. Studies 3A and 3B explained this difference through a serial mediation analysis. Study 4 ruled out an alternative explanation regarding the differentiated effects.

The results reveal that consumer reactions to employee exploitation in service firms are more negative compared to manufacturing firms. This is because consumers’ sense of presence (i.e. feeling of being there) is stronger in a service setting, leading to more intense empathetic emotions toward service employees.

This research contributes to the CSR literature by challenging the conventional notion that sweatshops are more problematic for manufacturing firms. By contrast, the results indicate a stronger negative effect on service firms. It contributes to the services marketing literature by conceptualizing a novel cognitive mechanism. Traditionally, consumers’ negative reactions are driven by anger. However, the authors show that empathetic feelings toward mistreated employees play a predominant role. While it is imperative for all firms to ensure fair treatment of their employees, the findings underscore the heightened significance of this aspect for service firms, given their susceptibility to more pronounced negative effects.

The purpose of this paper is to try to reach the main factors that could put national security at risk as a result of government cloud computing programs.

The paper adopts the analytical approach to first lay foundations of the relation between national security, cybersecurity and cloud computing, then it moves to analyze the main vulnerabilities that could affect national security in cases of government cloud computing usage.

The paper reached several findings such as the relation between cybersecurity and national security as well as a group of factors that may affect national security when governments shift to cloud computing mainly pertaining to storing data over the internet, the involvement of a third party, the lack of clear regulatory frameworks inside and between countries.

Governments are continuously working on developing their digital capacities to meet citizens’ demands. One of the most trending technologies adopted by governments is “cloud computing”, because of the tremendous advantages that the technology provides; such as huge cost-cutting, huge storage and computing capabilities. However, shifting to cloud computing raises a lot of security concerns.

The value of the paper resides in the novelty of the topic, which is a new contribution to the theoretical literature on relations between new technologies and national security. It is empirically important as well to help governments stay safe while enjoying the advantages of cloud computing.

Although the sharing economy improves comfort and convenience, it is yet unclear how it affects subjective well-being. This study aims to offer a conceptual model for understanding the linkages between the antecedents and consequences of subjective well-being in ridehailing services.

Using a non-probabilistic sampling method and a pre-tested survey instrument, 450 responses were collected from January to March 2020. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Experience quality and perceived convenience are correlated with subjective well-being. Perceived value and personal innovativeness were not correlated with subjective well-being, as the former does not contribute to the latter’s development. Continuous usage intention significantly correlated with subjective well-being, followed by customer relationship proneness and advocacy. Regarding gender and age differences, men place higher value on customer relationship proneness than women, while women place higher value on subjective well-being than men. Older users value perceived convenience and customer relationship proneness in ridehailing services more than younger users.

Understanding key factors contributing to user well-being in ridehailing would promote a more affordable mobility sector globally. This understanding would enable ridehailing businesses to create more effective business and marketing plans while prioritising user well-being, thus enhancing user happiness and reducing turnover rates.

This research demonstrates how crucial it is for users’ well-being to have a positive experience and find the service convenient. It also highlights the importance of building strong customer relationships and examines how gender and age influence people’s adoption and use of these services.

Aunque la economía colaborativa mejora la comodidad y conveniencia, aún no está claro cómo afecta al bienestar subjetivo. Ofrecemos un modelo conceptual para comprender las conexiones entre los antecedentes y consecuencias del bienestar subjetivo en los servicios de transporte compartido.

Utilizando un método de muestreo no probabilístico y un instrumento de encuesta previamente probado, se recopilaron 450 respuestas entre enero y marzo de 2020. Los datos fueron analizados utilizando un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales.

La calidad de la experiencia y la percepción de conveniencia están correlacionadas con el bienestar subjetivo. El valor percibido y la innovación personal no se correlacionaron con el bienestar subjetivo, ya que el primero no contribuye al desarrollo del último. La intención de uso continuo se correlacionó significativamente con el bienestar subjetivo, seguida por la propensión a las relaciones con los clientes y la defensa de estos servicios. En cuanto a las diferencias de género y edad, los hombres valoran más la propensión a las relaciones con los clientes que las mujeres, mientras que las mujeres valoran más el bienestar subjetivo que los hombres. Los usuarios mayores valoran más la percepción de conveniencia y la propensión a las relaciones con los clientes en los servicios de transporte compartido que los usuarios más jóvenes.

Esta investigación demuestra lo crucial que es para el bienestar de los usuarios tener una experiencia positiva y encontrar el servicio conveniente. También resalta la importancia de construir relaciones sólidas con los clientes y examina cómo el género y la edad influyen en la adopción y uso de estos servicios.

Comprender los factores clave que contribuyen al bienestar de los usuarios en los servicios de transporte compartido promovería un sector de movilidad más asequible a nivel global. Esta comprensión permitiría a las empresas de transporte compartido crear planes de negocios y marketing más efectivos, priorizando el bienestar de los usuarios y mejorando así su felicidad y reduciendo las tasas de rotación.

尽管共享经济提高了舒适度和便利性, 但它如何影响主观幸福感尚不清楚。我们提供了一个概念模型, 用于理解乘车服务中主观幸福感的前因后果之间的联系。

采用非概率抽样方法和预先测试的调查工具, 在 2020 年 1 月至 3 月期间收集了 450 份回复。数据采用结构方程模型进行分析。

体验质量和感知便利性与主观幸福感相关。感知价值和个人创新性与主观幸福感不相关, 因为前者无助于后者的发展。持续使用意愿与主观幸福感密切相关, 其次是客户关系倾向和拥护。在性别和年龄差异方面, 男性比女性更重视客户关系倾向, 而女性比男性更重视主观幸福感。老年用户比年轻用户更重视乘车服务中的便利感和客户关系代言。

这项研究表明, 用户获得积极的体验和便捷的服务对他们的福祉至关重要。研究还强调了建立牢固的客户关系的重要性, 并探讨了性别和年龄如何影响人们采用和使用这些服务。

了解有助于提高乘车旅行用户幸福感的关键因素, 将在全球范围内推动建立一个更加经济实惠的移动出行行业。这种理解将使打车企业能够制定更有效的业务和营销计划, 同时优先考虑用户福祉, 从而提高用户幸福感并降低流失率。

Within the scope of the research, articles about service robots were examined by the systematic review method.

The research aims to evaluate the articles on service robots, an artificial intelligence (AI) application in restaurant businesses, using a systematic review method. In systematic reviews, the data obtained as a result of scanning databases to find an answer to a research question are synthesized and reported. The criterion sampling technique, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used for the sample of the research. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied within the scope of screening.

The articles on service robots were carried out between 2018 and 2023. In terms of research methods, most of the articles are quantitative, while there are studies on mixed and qualitative methods. In studies, data were generally collected by survey technique. The keywords of the studies on service robots are examined; the most commonly used words were service robot and AI, technology, restaurant, satisfaction, revisit intention, consumer behavior, intention, preference, hospitality and foods. The objectives of the articles pertinent to service robots are mostly to determine people's attitudes and acceptance toward these services focuses.

The studies seem to focus more on customer acceptance, trust, expectations, risks, adaptation, reasons for preference, impact on creative services, emotional and cognitive effects and human–robot interaction. Despite this, it is observed that there are fewer studies on topics such as the development of service robots in restaurant businesses, their reflections on the future, future opportunities and the quality of chef service robots. Based on this, it is recommended to consider studies that will serve as a reference for revealing innovative opportunities that can meet future expectations in order to increase the quality of service robots in restaurant businesses.

This study examines how professional service firms' communication effectiveness (affiliative communications style, social dialogue and information provision), social cognitive capital and rapport established between an auditor and SME client are instrumental in influencing the latter's evaluation of the technical quality of an audit.

The study combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies to create a cross-sectional survey covering four geographic regions in an emerging economy – Thailand. The authors examine the hypotheses by employing social interaction theory.

A study of 744 SME executives plus post-survey interviews with three audit partners revealed that an affiliative communications style and information provision are positively associated with the rapport developed between financial auditor and client, and that rapport, in turn, had a strong association with client perceptions of audit quality. In addition, affiliative communication style, information provision and social cognitive capital had a direct (positive) association with perceptions of audit quality. The effects of communication effectiveness and social cognitive capital varied, depending on whether or not the SME client possessed formal accounting qualifications.

The study contributes to the literature on the business-to-business professional services, and accounting in particular, by explicating the important roles of communication effectiveness, rapport, and social cognitive capital in the relationship between an auditor and a client. Moreover, the paper reveals that the differences in educational background of clients result in differential impacts of communication effectiveness and social cognitive capital on rapport and perceptions of audit quality.

Virtual kitchens are a new business phenomenon, and how customers react to the new business model is still a largely unexplored topic. The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying mechanisms of consumers’ different responses to their reasoning of the new and disruptive business model of the virtual kitchen.

Based on the attribution theory and situated focus theory of power, this study conducts three online experiments to test the proposed framework. A total of 487 US residents who had prior experience with restaurant food delivery participated in the studies.

The results indicate that external attribution (vs internal attribution) and ethnic cuisine (vs mainstream cuisine) are more likely to elicit customers’ empathy and justice, leading to higher purchase intentions with virtual kitchens. A mainstream virtual kitchen is better off attributing itself to external factors. The significant effects of causal attribution and cuisine type on purchase intention only exist with powerful customers and those with high moral identity.

The results of this study provide valuable insight to virtual kitchen businesses to better position and market themselves to gain customers’ support. The findings also suggest that ethnic and mainstream restaurants should strategize their marketing communications about virtual kitchens differently.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to provide in-depth insight into the growing phenomenon of virtual kitchens. It also contributes to the extant literature on attribution theory and situated focus theory of power.

This study aims to investigate consumer decision-making styles (CDMS) in the context of street food. In addition to the original CDMS constructs, two additional constructs, namely food safety risks and environmental risks, were included based on relevant literature. Furthermore, the study explores the moderating role of social media celebrities (SMCs) in bridging the intention-behaviour gap in street food consumption behaviour.

The data were collected through an online survey, with 300 participants providing useable responses. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis was employed to analyse the data.

The findings indicate that out of the eight identified CDMS, six styles, specifically recreational (hedonistic shopping consciousness), price consciousness, novelty-seeking, impulsiveness, confusion due to over-choice and brand loyalty, significantly influence consumers' intention to consume street foods. Additionally, the results support the moderating role of SMCs. This suggests that the presence and influence of SMCs play a significant role in shaping consumers' intention and behaviours towards street food consumption.

This study contributes significantly to the literature by adding two additional constructs, namely safety risks and environmental risks in CDMS. Moreover, this study fulfils the intention-behaviour gap in street food literature by exploring the moderation effect of SMCs.

This study aims to investigate causes of sustainability failures of ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems in Botswana.

The research employed qualitative and quantitative methods, including literature review and secondary data analysis to understand trends relating to Botswana, and a survey to identify gaps leading to certification sustainability failures, focusing on; motives for certification, causes of decertification and issues in the certification process.

ISO 9001 adoption in Botswana is slow, with low acceptance rate in the public sector at 13% compared to the private sector at 87%. Termination rates have been high at 55% over two decades. Manufacturing dominates certification with 45% of total certification. While micro and small companies struggle to sustain certification, often failing within 2 years, medium-sized companies demonstrate better sustainability, lasting beyond 6 years. Product/service quality and process improvement drive certification while decertification is influenced by management factors, financial constraints, and process management. The study recommends a model for effective integration of ISO 9001.

Integrated systems are crucial for consistent process performance and continual improvement in all sectors for sustainable organizational success. Although the ISO 9001 Quality Management System has shown positive impacts globally, the impact of its adoption in Botswana remains questionable with high failure rates post implementation. There appears to exist a significant gap in development, implementation, and maintenance of the QMS. The public domain has no evidence of any past investigation on causes of sustainability failures of ISO 9001 post certification. The current study sought to close that knowledge gap.