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Traditional standard bone substitutes cannot realize the individualized matching for the bones of different patients. In order to make a bone substitute match the shape of a patient's bone easily, a technology based on reverse engineering (RE) and rapid prototyping (RP) is put forward to design and fabricate a customized bone substitute. By RE, the customized bone substitute is designed according to the CT sectional pictures, and the customized localizer is designed to locate the customized bone substitute in the patient's body at the right position. A customized mandible substitute designed and fabricated by RE and RP has been put into clinical use and is discussed in detail. The results confirm that the advantage of RP in the field of bone restoration is that it can fabricate the customized bone substitute rapidly and accurately.

The rapid innovation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology promotes the prosperity of the AI product market. However, consumers seem to have negative attitudes (e.g. prejudice, aversion) toward AI products and services. Those negative attitudes are rooted in the fear that AI might replace humans. The authors thus propose that turning the image of AI from substitutes to facilitators can alleviate identity threat perception. This paper aims to examine how the image of AI products (facilitators vs substitutes) influences consumer evaluation and explores the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions.

This study uses four experiments with between-subjects designs to investigate whether the image of AI products (facilitators vs substitutes) will affect consumer evaluation in specific consumption and service scenarios. The same products (or services) were manipulated as “substitute” or “facilitator” through advertisement slogans. Participants were randomly assigned to a condition and read the advertisement, then they reported their evaluation. The mediator perceived identity threat and the moderator preconceived perceptions of AI risks were measured by scales. The moderator, self-affirmation, was manipulated through the instruction of the experiment.

This study demonstrates that consumers give higher evaluation of AI products in the image of the facilitator than in the image of the substitute (Study 1). The underlying mechanism is that the perceived identity threat caused by “facilitator” products is lower than “substitute” products (Study 2). The effect of AI image is moderated by consumers’ preconceived perceptions of AI risks (Study 3) and self-affirmation (Study 4). Specifically, for consumers who have a strong AI risk-perception, this effect exists, but it disappears for consumers who have a weak AI risk perception. When consumers are given a strong self-affirmation, the negative impact of the “substitute” image disappears.

This paper analyzes the psychological root of consumers’ negative evaluation of AI technology from the perspective of AI’s image. The proposed typology of “substitutes” and “facilitators” helps expand the vision on brand/product image and enriches the research on consumer self-identity in today’s highly informatized market. The findings shed light on how to choose appropriate image for AI products, which will be crucial for increasing consumers’ acceptance of AI products.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is experiencing growth and prosperity worldwide because of its convenience and other benefits. However, AI faces challenges related to consumer resistance. Thus, drawing on the user resistance theory, this study explores factors that influence consumers’ resistance to AI and suggests ways to mitigate this negative influence.

This study tested four hypotheses across four studies by conducting lab experiments. Study 1 used a questionnaire to verify the hypothesis that AI’s “substitute” image leads to consumer resistance to AI; Study 2 focused on the role of perceived threat as an underlying driver of resistance to AI. Studies 3–4 provided process evidence by the way of a measured moderator, testing whether AI with servant communication style and literal language style is resisted less.

This study showed that AI’s “substitute” image increased users' resistance to AI. This occurs because the substitute image increases consumers’ perceived threat. The study also found that using servant communication and literal language styles in the interaction between AI and consumers can mitigate the negative effects of AI-substituted images.

This study reveals the mechanism of action between AI image and consumers’ resistance and sheds light on how to choose appropriate image and expression styles for AI products, which is important for lowering consumer resistance to AI.

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

Meat substitutes can be environmentally more sustainable alternatives to meat. However, the image of these products in The Netherlands is still low. The purpose of this paper is to explore consumers' experiences and sensory expectations of meat substitutes and the appropriateness of the use of meat substitutes in meals.

In total, 46 consumers took part in seven focus group discussions. These discussions consisted of three steps, starting with a general discussion on meat substitutes, followed by a discussion on the appropriateness of the use of meat substitutes as ingredients (minced, in pieces or slices) by using photographs of six different dishes (soup, pasta, rice, wrap, meal salad, and pizza). The discussions were concluded with a taste session of two dishes with meat substitutes.

Consumers in this study regarded health aspects and easy preparation as positive aspects of meat substitutes. Lack of information on the package, and high price were reported as negative. Sensory aspects such as neutral taste or tastiness, crispiness, chicken‐like texture, or granular texture were seen as positive attributes. Negative sensory aspects that were mentioned were uniform taste, compactness, dryness and softness. Most consumers found the use of meat substitutes appropriate in the dishes we presented.

The paper's findings can, together with quantitative consumer and sensory research, be a start towards consumer‐oriented product development of environmentally more sustainable meat substitutes. The central role of meal context and appropriateness is an aspect that has not yet received much attention in food science.

The purpose of this study is to explore alternative models of substitutes for leadership. These alternative models are a leadership-only model, substitutes for the leadership-only model and substitutes for the leadership-mediated-effects model.

Four occupational groups were targeted, namely, PhD faculty of institutions of higher education, medical doctors who work in district headquarters’ hospitals, licensed pharmacists and certified engineers. Also, a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data, and 523 usable responses were received.

Partial least square path modeling was used for data analysis, and the results of structural models revealed that: the dimensions of transformational leadership significantly affected the followers’ outcomes; a few substitutes for leadership also significantly affected the followers’ outcomes; and, in some cases, substitutes for leadership significantly mediated the relationship between dimensions of transformational leadership and followers’ outcomes.

Findings of the study provide useful implications to improve the managerial practices of organizational leaders, work design strategies in organizations and overall organizational policies for effective functioning. Other developing countries with similar socio-economic status may use these findings to improve organizational functioning.

This study makes important contributions to the leadership literature. It tests three alternative models in the domain of substitutes for the leadership theory and tests the separate effects of dimensions of transformational leadership and substitutes for leadership on followers’ work outcomes. Further, it specifies the mediating effects of substitutes for leadership on the dimensions of transformational leadership and followers’ work outcomes. Most important, this study for the first time tests transformational leadership and substitutes for leadership concepts in Pakistani work settings and advances the theoretical and empirical literature in this local context.

The aim of this paper is to address teams as substitutes for leadership. The article makes use of juridical foundations as a normative basis for addressing substitutes for leadership. Together with the means of management and leadership, the juridical foundations constitute the background for defining sufficient and good supervisory work, which is used as an assistant instrument in addressing the research question: can teams act as substitutes for leadership?

In this article, substitutes for leadership theories are used to analyze the status of teams. The article includes a preliminary empirical study in a timber procurement organization and ideas for further investigations are provided.

Teams often do not act as internal supervisors or as sources of feedback and incentives, even though they are expected to do so. Some team members experience feelings of abandonment. Although planned as substitutes or supplements, teams can instead become neutralizers.

This paper contributes to recognizing the status of teams and to research questions concerned with explanations for the problems of teams.

This paper aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of substitutes for leadership on performance outcomes.

A self‐report questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 177 Australian local council employees. The responses were analysed using ICLUST analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis.

The results indicated significant positive effects of some substitutes for leadership on performance outcomes. Furthermore, some substitutes for leadership moderated the effects of transactional leadership behaviours on performance outcomes, whereas another sub‐component of substitutes for leadership moderated the effects of social processes of leadership on performance outcomes. In addition, some substitutes for leadership partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and performance outcomes.

The cross‐sectional design of the study reduces the capacity to draw definitive causal inferences.

The current study supports the view that council leaders could have influenced the employees' attitudes, perceptions, and performance by indirectly shaping the environment in which the subordinates worked (i.e. shaping task and organisational characteristics). The study implies the need for leaders in the local councils to understand those substitutes for leadership that mediate the influence of transformational leadership (such as group and work design capacities) and how they can be managed to enhance employee performance outcomes.

This is one of the first Australian studies to comprehensively examine the influence of substitutes for leadership on performance outcomes.

The Dutch market for meat substitutes has grown steadily, however, their market share is still low, and meat consumption in the Netherlands is not decreasing. For a transition towards a more plant-based diet, understanding consumer motives regarding meat substitutes is important. The purpose of this study was to explore what motives lay behind the appropriateness of the use of meat substitutes in different usage situations.

In total, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed to discover Dutch consumers’ associations with the terms “eating vegetarian” and “meat substitutes”, as well as motives regarding the situational appropriateness of meat substitutes.

The most mentioned motives for eating vegetarian were “environmental impact”, “health” and “animal welfare”, while meat substitutes were mainly eaten to replace meat in the meal. Most participants perceived vegetarian stir-fry pieces appropriate for almost all situations; the appropriateness of other meat substitutes was more situation-specific. The thematic content analysis yielded seven categories for the motives given for the (in)appropriateness of the four meat substitutes in six usage situations: “Functionality”, “Convenience”, “Properties”, “Preferences”, “Association with meat”, “Association with meals” and “Nutrition”. Mainly motives in the categories convenience and functionality (function of the meat substitute in a meal) were mentioned for all situations and other motives were situation-specific.

The focus in the development of plant-based foods is mostly on the product properties. The situational appropriateness and the underlying motives regarding meat substitutes have not yet been studied. This exploratory study suggests that these should be taken into consideration in the design of new meat substitutes.

Previous research about online recommendation systems has focused largely on their impact on customers' purchase decisions regarding the products being recommended, but it has mostly ignored how they may affect focal product evaluation. This research aimed to examine the influence of recommendation type (i.e. substitute-based vs complement-based) on focal product evaluation dependent on the brand image (i.e. warm vs competent).

Four laboratory experiments were conducted. Study 1 adopted an implicit association task. Studies 2 and 3 used a 2 (image: warmth vs competence) × 2 (product display: complements vs substitutes) between-subjects experimental design. Study 4 used a 2 (decision stage) × 2 (image) × 2 (product display) × continuous (need for cognition) between-subjects design.

Study 1 demonstrated a general “complementation (competition)—warmth (competence)” association. Studies 2 and 3 found that when a focal product had a warm (competent) image, complement-based (substitute-based) recommendations led customers to evaluate it more favorably than substitute-based (complement-based) recommendations. Study 3 further demonstrated that processing fluency mediates the above effect. Study 4 showed that this effect relies on heuristic processing and disappears for those who are in the screening stage or have a high need for cognition.

Theoretically, this research extends the understanding of the stereotype content model of focal product brand image, the feelings-as-information process, and moderating roles of processing stage and need for cognition in e-commerce contexts. Practically, the findings provide online retailers a guideline for customizing their recommendation systems.