Search results

This study provides an up-to-date review of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and guidance for selecting the most appropriate ones for specific applications, taking into account the main features, strengths, and limitations of the existing options.

A literature review on AM technologies was conducted to assess the current state-of-the-art. This was followed by a closer examination of different AM machines to gain a deeper insight into their main features and operational characteristics. The conclusions and data gathered were used to formulate a classification and decision-support framework.

The findings indicate the building blocks of the selection process for AM technologies. Furthermore, this work shows the suitability of the existing AM technologies for specific cases and points to opportunities for technological and decision-support improvements. Lastly, more standardization in AM would be beneficial for future research.

The proposed framework offers valuable support for decision-makers to select the most suitable AM technologies, as demonstrated through practical examples of its utilization. In addition, it can help researchers identify the limitations of AM by pinpointing applications where existing technologies fail to meet the requirements.

The study offers a novel classification and decision-support framework for selecting AM technologies, incorporating machine characteristics, process features, physical properties of printed parts, and costs as key features to evaluate the potential of AM. Additionally, it provides a deeper understanding of these features as well as the potential opportunities for AM and its impact on various industries.

This paper aims to study a circular economy business model that offers services with embedded information exchange capabilities to extend product life through maintenance and repair. Information exchange has been identified as a critical factor in advancing the principles of a circular economy, and this research was conducted to illustrate how information exchange can facilitate maintenance and repair.

The study has a case study approach of collecting data through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires.

Information exchange on what and when to do something engages end-users in maintenance and facilitates learning. For repair, the problem description and possible solutions are information that must be exchanged. Both types of information exchange are facilitated by simple tech solutions relying on known and inexpensive technology (e.g. e-mail service, video call and text messaging).

The study contributes to the organisational development and knowledge management fields with novel insights on how information exchange and circular economy are related and can be facilitated.

The study provides insights for companies looking for solutions on how to generate revenue from services and reduce resource consumption. The findings of the study suggest that the development of circular business models does not always require expensive high-tech solutions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is unique as it is empirically based on insights into how information exchange can extend product life through the use of simple digital tools.

The use of digital technologies in the financial service industry has brought new complexities to the corporate governance in banks. Relying on the agency perspective of the shareholder, debtholder and societal governance in banks, this research examines the impact of financial technology innovation (FinTech) on banks' performance by enlightening the monitoring role of female independent directors.

Relying on a sample of Italian banks observed during the period 2016–2020, the authors hand-collected data on the use of FinTech by considering (1) the in-house provisions of FinTech solutions, (2) the collaboration with external FinTech firms and (3) a combination of both measures. The authors run a panel data regression analysis with fixed effects, measuring bank performance through bank competitiveness and bank riskiness.

The authors find that FinTech increases bank competitiveness in gathering money from depositors and that independent women on board mitigate the negative relationship between FinTech and the riskiness of banks' assets, ameliorating the conflicting interests among shareholders, debtholder and societal governance.

This study emphasizes the complexities of bank governance when dealing with FinTech in the wider perspective of equity governance, debt governance and the societal governance spotlighting the importance of appointing female directors in independent positions to enhance the bright sides of financial innovation. The authors enrich the literature on FinTech with a finer understanding of the drivers and implications of in-house provisions of FinTech solutions versus the collaboration with external FinTech firms.

Although governments have used social media platforms to interact with the public in an attempt to minimize anxiety and provide a forum for public discussion during the pandemic, governments require sufficient crisis communication skills to engage citizens in taking appropriate action effectively. This study aims to examine how the National Health Commission of China (NHCC) has used TikTok, the leading short video–based platform, to facilitate public engagement during COVID-19.

Building upon dual process theories, this study integrates the activation of information exposure, prosocial interaction theory and social sharing of emotion theory to explore how public engagement is related to message sensation value (MSV), media character, content theme and emotional valence. A total of 354 TikTok videos posted by NHCC were collected during the pandemic to explore the determinants of public engagement in crises.

The findings demonstrate that MSV negatively predicts public engagement with government TikTok, but that instructional information increases engagement. The presence of celebrities and health-care professionals negatively affects public engagement with government TikTok accounts. In addition, emotional valence serves a moderating role between MSV, media characters and public engagement.

Government agencies must be fully aware of the different combinations of MSV and emotion use in the video title when releasing crisis-related videos. Government agencies can also leverage media characters – health professionals in particular – to enhance public engagement. Government agencies are encouraged to solicit public demand for the specific content of instructing information through data mining techniques.

The digitization of electronic document management (EDM) in the construction industry has become more common in nature with the evolution of technology. However, there are still some limitations in EDM in the common data environment which can be improved with the integration of blockchain technology. The purpose of this paper is to identify the limitations of the current EDM system in the construction industry, to determine the potential of blockchain in improving the EDM system in the construction industry and challenges towards blockchain-based EDM.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine (9) respondents with background from the construction industry and blockchain expertise. Content analysis was used to analyze the primary data.

Current EDM system in the construction industry possessed limitations such as system maturity, high cost, slow adoption of technology and security concerns. Blockchain is able to make improvements in the current EDM system in terms of data integrity, data tracking, data immutability, data security, data trustability, and data accountability. Several challenges such as costs, blockchain scalability and industry knowledge, industry culture and hardware need to overcome prior blockchain-based EDM systems can be widely applied in the construction industry.

The research findings provide insight on future EDM in the construction industry and aids future research in this field.

The current era of the fourth industrial revolution has attracted significant research on the use of digital technologies in improving construction project delivery. However, less emphasis has been placed on how these digital tools will influence the management of the construction workforce. To this end, using a review of existing works, this chapter explores the fourth industrial revolution and its associated technologies that can positively impact the management of the construction workforce when implemented. Also, the possible challenges that might truncate the successful deployment of digital technologies for effective workforce management were explored. The chapter submitted that implementing workforce management-specific digital platforms and other digital technologies designed for project delivery can aid effective workforce management within construction organisations. Technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, big data analytics, robotics and automation, and artificial intelligence, among others, offer significant benefits to the effective workforce management of construction organisations. However, several challenges, such as resistance to change due to fear of job loss, cost of investment in digital tools, organisational structure and culture, must be carefully considered as they might affect the successful use of digital tools and by extension, impact the success of workforce management in the organisations.

The main purpose of this paper is to explore whether the nature of innovation is accumulative or radical and to what extent past year accumulation of technology stock can predict future innovation. More importantly, the authors are concerned with whether a change of policy regime or a variance in the quality of technology will moderate the nature of innovation.

The authors examined a dataset of 3.6 million Chinese patents during 1985–2015 and constructed more than 5 million citation pairs across 8 sections and 128 classes to track knowledge spillover across technology fields. The authors used this citation dataset to calculate the technology innovation network. The authors constructed a measure of upstream invention, interacting the pre-existing technology innovation network with historical patent growth in each technology field, and estimated measure's impact on future innovation since 2005. The authors also constructed three sets of metrics – technology dependence, centrality and scientific value – to identify innovation quality and a policy dummy to consider the impact of policy on innovation.

Innovation growth is built upon past year accumulation and technology spillover. Innovation grows faster for technologies that are more central and grows more slowly for more valuable technologies. A pro-innovation and pro-intellectual property right (IPR) policy plays a positive and significant role in driving technical progress. The authors also found that for technologies that have faster access to new information or larger power to control knowledge flow, the upstream and downstream innovation linkage is stronger. However, this linkage is weaker for technologies that are more novel or general. On most occasions, the nature of innovation was less responsive to policy shock.

This paper contributes to the debate on the nature of innovation by determining whether upstream innovation has strong predictive power on future innovation. The authors develop the assumption used in the technology spillover literature by considering a time-variant, directional and asymmetric matrix to model technology diffusion. For the first time, the authors answer how the nature of innovation will vary depending on the technology network configurations and policy environment. In addition to contributing to the academic debate, the authors' study has important implications for economic growth and industrial or innovation management policies.

With the pressing need for environmental conservation, regulatory authorities are actively looking for measures to prevent global warming. In the proposed inventory model for deteriorating items, demand is dependent on the selling price and green technology investment (or carbon reduction investment) for the green product (GP), as well as an investment in price-based preservation technology to slow down the pace of deterioration. Furthermore, emission reduction measures are put in place to reduce carbon emissions (CEs).

The current study executed a thorough literature review to determine how to improve supply chain management performance. Furthermore, assumptions are made to fill research gaps, and a mathematical model is created to address the problem mentioned above. To collect the data, the available inventory literature was reviewed. Additionally, numerical illustrations and sensitivity analyses are presented to emphasize the model's robustness.

The research indicates that it is more prudent to invest in preservation technology based on its selling price in order to control the rate of deterioration. In addition, the proposed model facilitates the management of deteriorated waste through salvage trading and emission reduction investment. The findings validate sustainable practices with a 20.86% increase in profit and a 21.4% decrease in CEs, thereby signifying environmental and economic benefits.

The proposed model enhances understanding of the impact of investments in price-based preservation technology and carbon reduction efforts on consumer perceptions of their intention to purchase GPs. Moreover, the study provides valuable insights by identifying important recommendations for policymakers regarding areas that require further investigation. This guideline can help identify both current and unexplored gaps, enabling researchers to direct future research efforts toward producing new products.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of blockchain technology in reducing online fraud among Gen Y and Gen Z.

This study uses a two-phase approach. Firstly, a systematic literature review is conducted to examine various aspects of blockchain technology and cyber security. Secondly, the Technology Adoption Model is used to study the adoption dynamics of blockchain-based platforms for online data exchange among 415 Gen Y and Z users.

The results indicate that efficiency and security, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and trust have a positive effect on behavioral intention and attitude towards use. This is the first study to examine the role of blockchain technology to reduce fraud among Gen Y and Gen Z.

This study provides new insights into the adoption of blockchain-based platforms for online data exchange among Gen Y and Gen Z. The study highlights the critical areas of concern for the adoption of blockchain technology and provides managerial implications for fintech firms, banks, and e-commerce platforms. It is unique in its focus on the potential for blockchain technology to reduce fraud among Gen Y and Gen Z, which has not been previously explored in the literature.

Research at the interface of marketing and entrepreneurship has emphasized digital entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurs pursue business opportunities centered on new technologies. However, a different type of entrepreneurship focused on opportunities involving consumers’ (re)adoption of displaced analog technologies when digital alternatives are dominant – analog entrepreneurship – is a trend and counter phenomenon to digital entrepreneurship that is receiving intense practitioner interest but limited scholarly attention. The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical framework that explains the role of analog entrepreneurship in technology revitalization.

In this conceptual paper, the authors use the microfoundations perspective to develop a multilevel theory of analog entrepreneurship. The authors define and delineate the “analog entrepreneurship” concept and formulate a midrange theory explaining how entrepreneurs influence the reemergence of analog technologies.

The theory’s main insight is that the renewal of analog technologies is not confined to consumers. Entrepreneurs are creating businesses that stimulate demand for analog technologies. As a result of entrepreneurs’ activities, legacy analog technologies do not fade into nonexistence in the face of rival digital technologies.

The theory of analog entrepreneurship contributes to research at the intersection of entrepreneurship and marketing by expanding its focus to consider the entrepreneurs who revitalize displaced analog technologies when digital alternatives are dominant. The authors provide insight into the potential trajectories of technologies after their initial displacement and the role entrepreneurs play in shaping the late stages of technology lifecycles. The theory draws attention to an underexplored phenomenon made increasingly prevalent by recent technological disruptions and suggests an agenda for studying how entrepreneurs renew analog technologies.