Search results

This research attempts to understand why – or why not – customers resist switching service providers when a critical incident occurs. The paper examines how service relationship perceptions, such as perceived equity, trust (perceived reliability and benevolence) and relationship commitment (affective and calculative), enhance relationship maintenance and CSR in many critical situations.

A survey was conducted in the financial service industry on a sample of 1,999 consumers (retail banking) and then conceptualized and measured CSR in several critical situations.

The paper demonstrates that perceived equity, perceived reliability, perceived benevolence, affective commitment, and calculative commitment do not influence CSR the same way. CSR mainly depends on the type of critical incident which occurs. For instance, calculative commitment, which is an evaluation of the costs associated with leaving the service provider, enhances CSR in three critical situations (service encounter failures, employee responses to service failures, pricing problems), whereas it leads to relationship disengagement in two other critical situations (inconvenience, changes in the consumer or service provider situation).

This research highlights the need to better take into account the different types of critical incident discussed in the relationship marketing literature and to better consider the complementary roles of perceived equity, trust and relationship commitment in the service switching literature.

This research implies that service companies have to anticipate the critical incidents and to develop specific “shock absorbers” to continue doing business with their current customers.

The mobile human resource management application (mHRM app) has recently been seen as an innovative cloud-based solution to manage human resource management (HRM) within organisation. Despite its great potential, organisations have shown resistance towards the usage of the mHRM app. This study investigates the dark side of electronic HRM (eHRM) by examining factors affecting HR professionals' resistance to the mHRM app using status quo bias (SQB) theory. The study also examines the moderating effect of personal innovativeness.

Responses were collected from 239 HR professionals using an online survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and PROCESS macro were used to examine the hypotheses.

The results indicated that regret avoidance, inertia, switching costs and perceived threat significantly affect HR professionals' resistance towards mHRM app adoption. Results also indicated that high personal innovativeness negatively moderates the association between inhibitors and resistance to adopt the mHRM app.

The study's findings will help HR professionals reduce their resistance towards mHRM app adoption.

This study enriches eHRM, mobile applications and the SQB literature.

This study aims to investigate ways in which hotel loyalty programs can be designed to enhance customer’s identification with a hotel brand and develop a sustainable customer-brand relationship.

The study adopted a cross-sectional design survey questionnaire for data collection and used structural equation modeling data analysis to test the conceptual model.

The three loyalty program experiences proposed (member-to-member similarity, memorable loyalty program experience and loyalty program social benefits) exerted significant positive effects on customer-brand identification (CBI), which, in turn, influences customer-brand relationship elements, including trust, commitment and switching resistance.

This study expands the scope of CBI literature, which previously focused substantially on brand level experiences, by being the first to explore a new set of CBI antecedents with a focus on loyalty program experiences. Furthermore, the current study’s findings delineate specific strategies to uphold the social and experiential aspects of loyalty programs that can develop sustainable customer-brand relationships.

This paper presents a novel mesoscale RF (mRF) relay that integrates advanced high resolution stereolithography (SL) and micro wire electro discharge machining (μEDM) technologies. Methods and infrastructure for reliable batch assembly of electromechanical actuators and structural parts less than 5 mm³ in volume are described. Switches made using these techniques are expected to have greater power handling capability relative to current micro RF relay products.

The conjecture is that the integration of SL and similar rapid additive manufacturing with other mesofabrication technologies can yield innovative miniature products with novel capabilities. A series of mRF prototypes consisting of a contact mechanism and actuator with return spring were fabricated assembled, inspected, and characterized for electromechanical performance. Characterization results led to specific conclusions regarding capabilities of the mRF product, and the integrated manufacturing technique.

The microassembly apparatus and epoxy‐based fastening system led to durable prototypes within 4 h (excluding a 16‐24 h cure cycle). Relay stroke ranged from 560 to 1,650 μm indicating a relative assembly accuracy of 90 percent. Prototypes demonstrated insertion loss of 1.3 dB at 100 MHz and isolation of better than 30 dB through 300 MHz.

Results indicated that fully functional and robust mesoscale relays are possible using integrated manufacturing with SL. However, prototypes exhibited high contact resistance and lacked assembly precision in the context of contact mechanism stroke. Opportunities exist to reduce contact resistance and switching time.

The research provides a practical new product application for integrated mesoscale rapid manufacturing.

This work represents one of the first examples of a mesoscale relay rapidly manufactured with a combination of μEDM and SL components.

An efficient and robust time discretization procedure of theta type is proposed in the frame of the finite element‐circuit equation coupling for electronic circuits with switches, i.e. the use of diodes, thyristors and transistors. This procedure enables the use of the Crank‐Nicolson scheme whatever the circuit and its working conditions by eliminating the undesirable oscillations of the solution peculiar to this scheme. It is based on the accurate determination of the switching instants and on a local modification of the theta parameter.

A two switches non-isolated DC-DC novel buck-boost converter for charging the battery of electric vehicle is projected in this paper. The performance of the converter is compared with conventional buck-boost and transformer-less P/O buck-boost converter by Shan and Faqiang. The detail operation and performance analysis of the proposed converter is described both in continuous conduction mode and discontinuous conduction mode. A state space model and simulation model is designed in MATLAB. The PID controller parameters are tuned using Single-objective Salp swarm optimization algorithm using MATLAB. The controller is implemented using DSP board. The hardware and simulation results are projected in the paper to validate the effectiveness of the proposed buck-boost converter. A comparison analysis is projected among conventional converter and Shan & Faqiang converter.

The converter state space model is designed and simulation model is also developed in MATALAB. The controller is implemented using DSP board. The parameters are obtained using optimization technique using SSA algorithm. The hardware design is also implemented, and the result is compared with the Shan and Faqiang converter. The efficiency of the converter is also tested.

The converter is providing a higher efficiency. The inductor current is also positive in both buck and boost mode. The robustness of the controller is better for a wide range of variation of input voltage because the output voltage remains almost constant. Therefore, this is very suitable for battery charging and PV module application.

For battery charging from PV module where voltage fluctuation is frequent.

The authors can use household applications to charge the battery using PV module.

The converter design concept is new. Optimization is used to find the parameters of the controllers and is implemented in hardware design. The parameters obtained provide robustness in the converter performance.

This study aims to develop and test a research model that explores the empirical relationship between consumer religiosity, brand love and consumer forgiveness. Its objective was to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms that can influence consumers to extend forgiveness to brands in the context of Islamic banking in Tanzania.

The study used a quantitative cross-sectional survey design to gather data from 399 respondents in the Dodoma and Dar-es-salaam regions of Tanzania. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data, which were subsequently analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS 21.

The study’s findings revealed that consumer forgiveness is influenced by the level of brand love at an individual level. Additionally, the findings indicate that in the context of Islamic banking, brand love is an emotional behavior that is influenced by the strength of religious beliefs, that is, consumer religiosity. Consequently, the findings highlighted the mediating role of brand love in the proposed relationship between consumer religiosity and consumer forgiveness.

The fact that Islamic banking is guided by Islamic laws (Sharia) and Islamic values means that competitiveness in this sector can be established by serving consumers who are well-versed in Islamic teachings and doctrines. Furthermore, customers who possess a strong understanding of Islamic teachings and doctrines can be an asset to Islamic banks, as they are less likely to switch banks due to service delivery issues.

This empirical study is one of the few attempts to explore the relationship between consumer religiosity, consumer forgiveness and brand love. It expands our understanding of consumer forgiveness by examining the influence of deontological norms (applying norms to assess Islamic banking practices) and teleological evaluation (evaluating Islamic banking practices based on the overall balance of right and wrong expected to occur).

The article provides a conceptual replication and enrichment of the status quo bias theory in the specific context of understanding IT department user resistance and user adoption. The findings can assist technology renewals and associated change management professionals to assess and plan the adoption and active usage of human resource systems.

The authors used survey method to gather data. All items were based on prior literature. They administrated the survey to employees of GOODTECH (name changed), information systems (IS) department members, situated in France. They obtained 103 valid responses along with usage data from the system to run their path model, in order to validate the proposed research model.

The study offers an enriched user resistance model (URM) to understand why IT-savvy employees would resist or adopt new human resource tools. Apart from providing partial validity to status quo bias theory in the French context, the enriched model uses behavioral intention to use as an intermediate variable to explain the influence of two key constructs of the original theory: switching cost and switching benefits. This research provides a better explanatory power to understand the cause of user resistance and new IT use.

The sample size used in the study can be considered as a limitation, although power analysis reveals that the results are significant and valid. The context of the study is also limited to one country and to a specific type of IS implementation scenario. Since the purpose of the paper was to offer contextual theory enhancement, the findings are valid for this purpose.

Digital project managers are offered a framework to increase technology adoption of new human resource tools and evaluate how to reduce user resistance at times of technology renewals. Self-efficacy for change and colleagues’ opinion can indirectly impact behavioral intention to use via switching cost and switching benefit perceptions and thus reducing resistance perceptions as well as increasing adoption of new IT tools in post-implementation phases.

The paper enriches the well-established user resistance theory in IS domain in a context of human resource post-implementation phase by studying IT-savvy end user's perceptions. The paper demonstrates the need to integrate user adoption and user resistance variables in one parsimonious framework and extends support to emerging research on dual focus perspective.

This paper aims to present two hysteresis-control algorithms designed for medium-frequency, direct-current, resistance-spot-welding (MFDC RSW) systems. The first proposed control algorithm (MSCHC) eliminates the short switching cycles that can occur when using the existing hysteresis-control algorithms. This control minimises the number of switching cycles that are needed to generate the selected welding current. The welding-current ripple can be high when using this control algorithm. Therefore, a second algorithm (HCRR) is presented that reduces the welding-current ripple by half.

The proposed hysteresis controllers consist of the transformer’s magnetic-flux-density hysteresis regulator and a welding-current hysteresis regulator. Therefore, the welding current must be measured and the saturation of the iron core must be detected. The proposed hysteresis controller supplies the inverter with the signals needed to generate the supply voltage for the RSW transformer, which then generates the selected welding current.

The proposed MSCHC algorithm produces the smallest possible number of switching cycles needed to generate the selected welding current. The high welding-current ripple can be reduced if the number of switching cycles is increased. The observed number of switching cycles and the welding-current ripple change if the welding resistance and/or inductance change.

The number of switching cycles can be minimised when using the first proposed control algorithm (MSCHC), and so the switching power losses can be minimised. If the welding-current ripple produced by the first control algorithm is unacceptable, the second control algorithm (HCRR) can reduce it by increasing the number of switching cycles.

Shopping statistics indicate that online shoppers prefer purchasing products using the desktop website of the retailer, rather than using the mobile website on a mobile phone to purchase products (mobile website purchasing). Therefore, using status quo bias theory, this study aims to investigate mobile website purchasing resistance of those customers using only desktop website purchasing.

To test the conceptual model an online questionnaire was used to collect data from customers purchasing products using only the desktop website on a computer (n = 484) and not the retailer’s mobile website.

Due to cognitive dissonance, customers using only desktop purchasing trivialize mobile website purchasing perceived attractiveness while perceiving more cognitive effort in mobile website purchasing to maintain consonance with their inertia. Further, relative advantage perceptions of mobile website purchasing lead to more trivialization of mobile website purchasing attractiveness perceptions. Desktop purchasing inertia enhances resistance through alternative attractiveness and cognitive effort perceptions, respectively, and cognitive effort and alternative attractiveness perceptions in serial. Desktop purchasing habit has the strongest positive influence on desktop purchasing inertia.

This study was conducted in a high-involvement product context. Replication in a low-involvement product context is necessary to confirm the robustness of the results.

Retailers can use the findings to develop strategies to lower mobile website purchasing resistance in an online-mobile concurrent channel environment.

The study provides novel insights into mobile website purchasing resistance in an online-mobile concurrent channel environment. Further, the study addresses the gap in research on inertia and switching costs in the adoption of concurrent channels.