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This paper aims to investigate the responses of single piles and pile groups due to tunneling-induced ground movements in a two-layered soil system. The analyses mainly focus on the additional single pile responses in terms of bending moment, lateral deflection, axial force, shaft resistance and pile settlement. Subsequently, a series of parametric studies were carried out to better understand the responses of single piles induced by tunneling. To give further understanding regarding the pile groups, a 2 × 2 pile group with two different pile head conditions, namely, free and capped, was considered.

Using the PLAXIS three-dimensional (3D) software, a full 3D numerical modeling is performed to investigate the effects of ground movements caused by tunneling on adjacent pile foundations. The numerical model was validated using centrifuge test data found in the literature. The relevance of the 3D model is also judged by comparison with the 2D plane strain model using the PLAXIS 2D code.

The numerical test results reveal that tunneling induces significant displacements and internal forces in nearby piles. The magnitude and distribution of internal forces depend mainly on the position of the pile toe relative to the tunnel depth and the distance between the pile and the vertical axis of the tunnel. As the volume loss increases from 1% to 3%, the apparent loss of pile capacity increases from 11% to 20%. By increasing the pile length from 0.5 to 1.5 times, the tunnel depth, the maximum pile settlement and lateral deflection decrease by about 63% and 18%, respectively. On the other hand, the maximum bending moment and axial load increase by about 7 and 13 times, respectively. When the pile is located at a distance of 2.5 times the tunnel diameter (Dt), the additional pile responses become insignificant. It was found that an increase in tunnel depth from 1.5Dt to 2.5Dt (with a pile length of 3Dt) increases the maximum lateral deflection by about 420%. Regarding the interaction between tunneling and group of piles, a positive group effect was observed with a significant reduction of the internal forces in rear piles. The maximum bending moment of the front piles was found to be higher than that of the rear piles by about 47%.

Soil is a complex material that shows differently in primary loading, unloading and reloading with stress-dependent stiffness. This general behavior was not possibly being accounted for in simple elastic perfectly plastic Mohr–Coulomb model which is often used to predict the behavior of soils. Thus, in the present study, the more advanced hardening soil model with small-strain stiffness (HSsmall) is used to model the non-linear stress–strain soil behavior. Moreover, unlike previous studies THAT are usually based on the assumption that the soil is homogeneous and using numerical methods by decoupled loadings under plane strain conditions; in this study, the pile responses have been exhaustively investigated in a two-layered soil system using a fully coupled 3D numerical analysis that takes into account the real interactions between tunneling and pile foundations. The paper presents a distinctive set of findings and insights that provide valuable guidance for the design and construction of shield tunnels passing through pile foundations.

The shape of a product plays a crucial role in shaping consumer behavior. Despite the voluminous research on factors influencing consumers’ shape preferences, there remains a limited understanding of how the busy mindset, a mentality increasingly emphasized by marketing campaigns, works. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the relationship between a busy mindset and the preference for angular-shaped versus circular-shaped products and brand logos.

This research consists of seven experimental studies using various shape stimuli, distinct manipulations of busy mindset, different assessments of shape preference and samples drawn from multiple countries.

The findings reveal that a busy mindset leads to a preference for angular shapes over circular ones by amplifying the need for uniqueness. In addition, these effects are attenuated when products are scarce.

This research represents one of the pioneering efforts to study the role of a busy mindset on consumers’ aesthetic preferences. Beyond yielding insights for practitioners into visual marketing, this research contributes to the theories on the busy mindset and shape preference.

This study aims to discuss the influences of surface severe plastic deformation (S²PD) on the electrochemical corrosion, pitting corrosion, intergranular corrosion, stress corrosion cracking of aluminum (Al) alloys and attempt to correlate the microstructural/compositional changes with the performances.

This study provides a novel gradient design of structure/composition caused by S²PD for the purpose of enhancing Al alloys’ corrosion resistance.

S²PD has a significant effect on corrosion behavior of Al alloys through tuning the grain size, residual stress, composition, grain boundary phase and second phase particle distribution.

Although Al alloys are known to form a protective Al₂O₃ film, corrosion is a major challenge for the longevity of Al structures across numerous industries, especially for the infrastructures made of high-strength Al alloys. Traditional strategies of improving corrosion resistance of Al alloys heavily relied on alloying and coatings. In this review, gradient design of structure/composition caused by S²PD provides a novel strategy for corrosion protection of Al alloys, especially in the enhancement of localized corrosion resistance.

Competition among seaports is rapidly increasing due to various factors such as the global recession, resurgence of COVID-19, tight environmental regulations of IMO, sharp rise in ocean freight charges, increasing global uncertainties and growth in ship sizes. It is essential to have precise knowledge of shipping companies' port selection factors to secure the competitive advantage of seaports. This study aims to empirically analyze recent changes in the importance of port selection factors.

By employing a longitudinal study, this study conducted the t-test analysis. The first survey was conducted from January 2005 to April 2005. Then, the second survey was conducted in May 2021.

First, the importance of port facilities (berth length and the number of berths, shed and terminal areas, possession of adequate equipment and maximum berth size) increased significantly. Second, while ship and cargo safety were the critical port service factors in previous studies, speed, flexibility and reliability for handling cargo and berthing schedule were found to be crucial in this study. Third, the importance of ship arrival/departure frequency, route diversity and ship arrival/departure information systems increased when shipping companies selected the port.

This study has academic significance in that it reveals the changing importance of port selection factors in the 2020s and has taken the form of a longitudinal study on the importance of port selection factors from 2005 to 2021, moving beyond the cross-sectional approach. This study can provide valuable insights into and implications for port policymakers and managers when developing and formulating port policies and strategies.

This study aims to investigate the cognitive factors and e-social interactions that influence the green purchase intention of Vietnamese consumers.

This study conducted the survey with 453 samples of young consumers in Vietnam, using the partial least squares structural equation modeling approach to evaluate the measurement quality to deal with research objectives.

The findings of this study demonstrate that cognitive factors positively impact green purchase intentions in Vietnam. Moreover, the analysis revealed that the attitude variable played a mediating role in this model, whereas the social norms factor did not.

This study presents several valuable findings on the green purchase intentions of young Vietnamese consumers. Therefore, the results can potentially advance and strengthen green purchasing theories in the Vietnamese market. Moreover, the recommendations indicate that cognitive factors and e-social interactions are crucial in shaping green purchasing intentions among Vietnamese consumers. Thus, it is suggested that the firms in the Vietnamese market focus on green marketing based on leveraging these factors.

This work provides a valuable contribution to the knowledge related to cognitive and e-social interactions among young Vietnamese consumers. It demonstrates the significant impact of these elements on green purchase intentions through e-commerce.

Aiming to resolve cross-cultural paradoxes in combining artificial intelligence (AI) with human intelligence (HI) for international humanitarian logistics, this paper aims to adopt an unorthodox Yin–Yang dialectic approach to address how AI–HI interactions can be interpreted as a sophisticated cross-cultural knowledge creation (KC) system that enables more effective decision-making for providing humanitarian relief across borders.

This paper is conceptual and pragmatic in nature, whereas its structure design follows the requirements of a real impact study.

Based on experimental information and logical reasoning, the authors first identify three critical cross-cultural challenges in AI–HI collaboration: paradoxes of building a cross-cultural KC system, paradoxes of integrative AI and HI in moral judgement and paradoxes of processing moral-related information with emotions in AI–HI collaboration. Then applying the Yin–Yang dialectic to interpret Klir’s epistemological frame (1993), the authors propose an unconventional stratified system of cross-cultural KC for understanding integrative AI–HI decision-making for humanitarian logistics across cultures.

This paper aids not only in deeply understanding complex issues stemming from human emotions and cultural cognitions in the context of cross-border humanitarian logistics, but also equips culturally-diverse stakeholders to effectively navigate these challenges and their potential ramifications. It enhances the decision-making process and optimizes the synergy between AI and HI for cross-cultural humanitarian logistics.

The originality lies in the use of a cognitive methodology of the Yin–Yang dialectic to metaphorize the dynamic genesis of integrative AI-HI KC for international humanitarian logistics. Based on system science and knowledge management, this paper applies game theory, multi-objective optimization and Markov decision process to operationalize the conceptual framework in the context of cross-cultural humanitarian logistics.

To examine the role of supply chain integration (SCI – i.e. supplier integration, customer integration and internal integration) between integrated information technology (IIT) and financial performance (FP).

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was conducted, collecting quantitative data first and then examining the quantitative results with in-depth qualitative data from a sample targeting manufacturing and services firms in Egypt.

This study indicates that IIT relates positively to SCI, which in turn relates positively to FP. Main enablers/mechanisms and disablers/barriers for those linkages are identified.

After establishing the linkages between ITT, SCI and FP in the quantitative phase of research, a qualitative phase based on follow-up interviews provide deeper understanding about mechanisms and contexts behind those linkages.

Offer firms guidance to assess IIT, SCI and FP.

With a disaggregated framework of IIT, SCI and FP, this study contributes by answering a need for development of a methodological toolbox of the field in supply chain management, with a rigorous use of mixed method research, as a way of departing from the normal approach to help researchers in providing a deeper and richer understanding of supply chain problems.

This paper examines the direct and indirect effects of CEO intellectual capital on sustainable growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China.

It adopts a quantitative approach based on 3,474 unbalanced panel data in 836 Chinese listed SMEs from 2008 to 2017.

The findings reveal a significant positive relationship between CEO intellectual capital and sustainable growth of SMEs. The findings also reveal that dual innovation (exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation) has a partial mediating effect on the relationship.

It further provides an original contribution to identifying and testing the mediating effect of dual innovation on the relationship between CEO intellectual capital and sustainable growth of SMEs.

In contrast to most of the extant literature, which considers intellectual capital as a whole at the organizational level or focuses on employee intellectual capital, this paper highlights the role of CEO intellectual capital for SMEs’ growth. It provides an original contribution to identifying and testing the mediating effect of dual innovation on the relationship between CEO intellectual capital and sustainable growth of SMEs.

This study aims to explore the mediating role of digital technologies-based supply chain integrating (SCI) strategies on the agri-supply chain performance (SCP) and firm performance (FP). This research has introduced recently emerged digital technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT). Further, based on theoretical support and an extensive literature review, this research has proposed some hypotheses, which have been quantitatively validated for their significance.

A conceptual model was formulated based on an extensive literature review. Data for this research were gathered from a survey completed by 119 respondents from different departments of agri-firms. Further, partial least square (PLS)-based structured equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypothetical model.

The results confirm that IoT-based digital technologies and supply chain processes (organization integration [OI], information sharing and customer integration [CI]) have a significant positive correlation. Furthermore, supply chain practices are positively associated with SCP. Finally, it has been found that FP is positively impacted by SCP.

This research is used to analyse the mediating impacts of digital supply chain processes as a linking strategy for SCP and FP. For practical purposes, this research provides investment decisions for implementing digital technologies in SC strategies. The findings have proposed implications for managers and practitioners in agri-firms based on existing theories: contingency theory (CT) and relational view theory. Also, this study suggests the deployment of smarter electronically based tags and readers, which improve the data analytics capabilities based on auto-captured data. Thus, the availability of quality information improves the data-driven decisional capabilities of managers at company level.

This is a unique and original study exploring the relationship between digitalization, resilient agri-food supply chain (AFSC) management practices and firm performance. This research may be extended to other industries in view of the results from SCP and impact of digitalization.

This study examines how informal business networks achieve marketing goals in socially uncertain contexts. Drawing from multiple historical sources, Shangbangs, a type of business network that thrived in pre-1949 China, are analyzed.

The Critical Historical Research Method (CHRM) undergirds a study of Shangbangs’ historicity (i.e. their socio-historically embedded multiplicity, including organizational forms, activities and connotations.

As informal regional, professional, project-based, special-product-based or mixed marketing networks, Shangbangs relied on “flexible specialization” and coupled multiple business needs to market goods and services, business organizations, specific social values and, when necessary, to debrand business rivals.

This analysis extends theories about marketing networks by probing their subtypes, diverse marketing activities, multipronged channels and relationship building with social entities (including underground societies, business associations and guilds) in response to pre-1949 China’s market uncertainties. Substantiating an alternative approach to “flexible specialization” and marketing innovations within the pre-1949 Chinese economy shows how a parallel theoretical framework can complement western-based marketing theories.

This first comprehensive analysis of Shangbangs, an innovative historical Chinese marketing network outside the conventional market-corporate dichotomy, can inform theory building for marketing strategy-making and management conditioned by social contexts.