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1 – 10 of over 2000Investigating technical terms of vehicle spare parts used in the mechanics' jargon in Saudi Arabic (SA) and Yemeni Arabic (YA) has received scant attention. The current study…
Abstract
Purpose
Investigating technical terms of vehicle spare parts used in the mechanics' jargon in Saudi Arabic (SA) and Yemeni Arabic (YA) has received scant attention. The current study, therefore, is an attempt to shed some light on the topic. The aim is to identify the strategies used for creating equivalents in vehicle spare parts vocabulary and to pinpoint the most salient variations between the two dialects in this jargon.
Design/methodology/approach
More than 250 terms of vehicle spare parts were collected and analyzed qualitatively. Each list contains nearly 125 items. They were gathered from two main resources: semi-structured interviews with vehicle mechanics, and written lists from spare parts dealers in both countries.
Findings
Three main strategies are found at work: lexical borrowing (from English and French), metaphor and loan translation. Direct borrowing is the most influential strategy where loanwords represent nearly one-third of the data, the majority of which is from English. Metaphorical extensions and literal translations also have an important role to play in the process of spare part naming. While the two dialects share common practices in terms of literal translation, they are characterized by many differences with regard to lexical borrowing and metaphors.
Originality/value
The study approaches an under-researched topic that is related to the mechanic's jargon in Arabic and leaves the door open for further research. The findings of this study may be used as guidelines for Arabic academies and those who are concerned with translating and studying technical terms in the field of mechanical engineering.
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Abdallah Alalawin, Laith Mubarak Arabiyat, Wafa Alalaween, Ahmad Qamar and Adnan Mukattash
These days vehicles' spare parts (SPs) are a very big market, and there is a very high demand for these parts. Forecasting vehicles' SPs price and demand are difficult because of…
Abstract
Purpose
These days vehicles' spare parts (SPs) are a very big market, and there is a very high demand for these parts. Forecasting vehicles' SPs price and demand are difficult because of the lack of data and the pricing of the SPs is not following the normal value chain methods like normal products.
Design/methodology/approach
A proposed model using multiple linear regression was developed as a guide to forecasting demand and price for vehicles' SPs. A case study of selected hybrid vehicle is held to validate the results of the research. This research is an original study depending on quantitative and qualitative methods; some factors are generated from realistic data or are calculated using numerical equations and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method; online questionnaire and expert interview survey.
Findings
The price and demand for SPs have a linear relationship with some independent variables is the hypothesis that is tested. Even though the proposed models are generally recommended for predicting demand and price, in this research the linear relationship models are not significant enough to calculate the expected price and demand.
Originality/value
This research should concern both academics and practitioners since it provides new intuitions on the distinctions between scientific and industrial world regarding SPs for vehicles as it is the first study that investigates price and demand of vehicles' SPs.
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Tibor Mandják, Samy Belaid and James A. Narus
The purpose of this paper is to address the effects of deep environmental changes on business network actors’ behaviors. The consequences of political, institutional, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the effects of deep environmental changes on business network actors’ behaviors. The consequences of political, institutional, and socio-economic changes on Tunisian automotive spare-parts distribution networks during the past five years are examined. The authors chose the Tunisian automotive spare-parts distribution network for several important reasons. Most importantly, it gave us a unique platform to study the aftermath of deep political, socio-economic, and governance shocks caused by the Jasmin Revolution on a historically stable, simple, and productive business network within the import-dependent Tunisian spare-parts distribution system.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, exploratory research project was conducted in Tunisia to assess and interpret changes in actors’ behaviors and business relationships within the automobile parts aftermarket due to major social, economic, and political upheavals. Automobile parts jobbers served as principal source of data for investigations. Jobbers were selected as key respondents because of the middle and pivotal position they occupy in Tunisian automobile parts distribution channels. For this reason, they were able to provide insightful and compelling information about business relationships with upstream channel members such as manufacturers and wholesalers as well as with downstream channel members such as retailers, repair shop owners, and repair technicians.
Findings
The authors found that seismic political, socio-economic, and interpersonal relationship shocks to institutions significantly impacted the behaviors of key actors in those networks, which, in turn, altered the nature and conduct of business within those networks. Profound changes in the companies’ external environment provoked changes in the companies’ proximate relationships and business dealings. In the short-run, these changes brought more conflictual and more short-term and selfish behaviors on the part of network actors in their ongoing business relationships. In long term, the increased volatility and uncertainty will likely bring wanted and unwanted institutional changes which, in turn, will likely create new forms of behaviors, relationships, and business networks. This new situation will cause a distrust between distribution actors and among notorious automotive brand names that are counterfeit and sold as genuine brand.
Research limitations/implications
As in the case of qualitative methodology, this research has several limitations. One of them is the focus on jobbers. Although the choice of jobbers as a key respondent is justified by their middle role between the importer wholesalers as their suppliers and the repair shops as their clients, the views of these other actors are not directly mirrored in the research. Another limit is that only the most important jobbers were asked who were generally threatened by the counterfeit products and who did not deal with those products. Thus, the view of the new actors is missing from the picture.
Practical implications
Managers must pay attention to potentially dangerous combinations of elements which, when taken together, may prompt self-serving and destructive behaviors that may threaten the continued prosperity of long-standing business relationships and networks. As in the Tunisian case, the lower the level of compliance combined with the availability of low price, counterfeit or imported goods dramatically increased the level of short-term, malevolent relationship-destroying behaviors. Perhaps the greatest danger to overall network prosperity comes when short-term opportunism replaces the pursuit of long-term mutual benefits. Research has long demonstrated that high-involvement long-term relationships are essential for distribution companies’ growth and sustained performance.
Originality/value
Given the immediacy of the revolution and the paucity of research on channels in developing North African nations, this work stands to make a timely contribution to the literature. The influence of weak institutions (including governments) is a unique and important contribution. Other unique contribution is the introduction of counterfeit goods into consideration showing their role in the changes of actors’ behavior and in the possible source of conflicts.
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Toni Luomaranta and Miia Martinsuo
Adopting additive manufacturing (AM) on a large-scale requires an adoption in company value chains. This may happen through product innovation and require interorganizational…
Abstract
Purpose
Adopting additive manufacturing (AM) on a large-scale requires an adoption in company value chains. This may happen through product innovation and require interorganizational cooperation, but the value-adding potential of cooperation and application recognition is still poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the progress of AM adoption in innovation projects featuring AM application recognition and interorganizational cooperation in the value chain.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple-case study was implemented in successful metallic AM adoption examples to increase the understanding of AM adoption in value chains. Primary data were collected through interviews and documents in three AM projects, and the data were analyzed qualitatively.
Findings
All three AM projects showed evidence of successful AM value chain adoption. Identifying the right application and the added value of AM within it were crucial starting points for finding new value chains. Interorganizational collaboration facilitated both value-based designs and experimentation with new supply chains. Thereby, the focal manufacturing company did not need to invest in AM machines. The key activities of the new value chain actors are mapped in the process of AM adoption.
Research limitations/implications
The cases are set in a business-to-business context, which narrows the transferability of the results. As a theoretical contribution, this paper introduces the concept of AM value chain adoption. The value-adding potential of AM is identified, and the required value-adding activities in collaborative innovation are reported. As a practical implication, the study reveals how companies can learn of AM and adopt AM value chains without investing in AM machines. They can instead leverage relationships with other companies that have the AM knowledge and infrastructure.
Originality/value
This paper introduces AM value chain adoption as a novel, highly interactive phase in the industry-wide adoption of metallic AM. AM value chain adoption is characterized in multi-company collaboration settings, which complements the single-company view dominant in previous research. Theory elaboration is offered through merging technology adoption with external integration from the information processing view, emphasizing the necessity of interorganizational cooperation in AM value chain adoption. Companies can benefit each other during AM adoption, starting with identifying the value-creating opportunities and applications for AM.
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The purpose is to describe new business opportunities within the Swedish railway industry and to support the development of business models that corresponds with the needs and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to describe new business opportunities within the Swedish railway industry and to support the development of business models that corresponds with the needs and requirements of Industry 4.0, here denoted as Service Management 4.0.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is an in-depth and descriptive case study of the Swedish railway system with specific focus on a railway vehicle maintainer. Public reports, statistics, internal documents, interviews and dialogues forms the basis for the empirical findings.
Findings
The article describes the complex business environment of the deregulated Swedish railway industry. Main findings are in the form of identified business opportunities and new business model propositions for one of the key actors, a vehicle maintainer.
Originality/value
The article provides valuable understanding of business strategy development within complex business environments and how maintenance related business models could be developed for reaching Service Management 4.0.
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Sergei Chekurov, Mika Salmi, Victor Verboeket, Tuomas Puttonen, Tuomas Riipinen and Antti Vaajoki
Although additive manufacturing (AM) has been demonstrated to have significant potential in improving spare part delivery operations and has been adopted to a degree in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Although additive manufacturing (AM) has been demonstrated to have significant potential in improving spare part delivery operations and has been adopted to a degree in the aviation and automotive industries, its use in spare part production is still limited in other fields due to a variety of implementation barriers. The purpose of this article is to assess the significance of previously reported barriers in the context of the machine-building industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Adoption barriers are identified from the literature and formulated as hypotheses, which are verified with a set of focus group interviews consisting of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), AM service providers and quality inspection and insurance institutions. The results of the interviews are reported qualitatively, and the transcripts of the interviews are subjected to quantitative content analysis.
Findings
The article identifies distrust in quality, insufficient material and design knowledge among stakeholders and poor availability of design documentation on spare parts as the key barriers of adopting AM in the production of spare parts. The three key barriers are interconnected and training engineers to be proficient in design and material issues as well as producing high-quality design documentation will yield the highest increase in AM implementation in spare parts.
Originality/value
The article offers a unique approach as it investigates the subjective views of a cross-organizational group of industrial actors involved in the machine-building industry. The article contributes to the theory of digital spare parts by verifying and rejecting presented barriers of AM implementation and how they are interconnected.
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Nishant Kulshrestha, Saurabh Agrawal and Deep Shree
Spare Parts Management (SPM) and Industry 4.0 has proven their importance. However, employment of Industry 4.0 solutions for SPM is at emerging stage. To address the issue, this…
Abstract
Purpose
Spare Parts Management (SPM) and Industry 4.0 has proven their importance. However, employment of Industry 4.0 solutions for SPM is at emerging stage. To address the issue, this article is aimed toward a systematic literature review on SPM in Industry 4.0 era and identification of research gaps in the field with prospects.
Design/methodology/approach
Research articles were reviewed and analyzed through a content-based analysis using four step process model. The proposed framework consists of five categories such as Inventory Management, Types of Spares, Circularity based on 6Rs, Performance Indicators and Strategic and Operational. Based on these categories, a total of 118 research articles published between 1998 and 2022 were reviewed.
Findings
The technological solutions of Industry 4.0 concepts have provided numerous opportunities for SPM. Industry 4.0 hi-tech solutions can enhance agility, operational efficiency, quality of product and service, customer satisfaction, sustainability and profitability.
Research limitations/implications
The review of articles provides an integrated framework which recognizes implementation issues and challenges in the field. The proposed framework will support academia and practitioners toward implementation of technological solutions of Industry 4.0 in SPM. Implementation of Industry 4.0 in SPM may help in improving the triple bottom line aspect of sustainability which can make significant contribution to academia, practitioners and society.
Originality/value
The examination uncovered a scarcity of research in the intersection of SPM and Industry 4.0 concepts, suggesting a significant opportunity for additional investigative efforts.
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Ajith Tom James and Jasmin James
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the service quality automobile garages through development of a service quality index based on the factors influencing service quality.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the service quality automobile garages through development of a service quality index based on the factors influencing service quality.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural methodology of graph theory and matrix approach is applied for developing the service quality index.
Findings
The automobile maintenance can be considered as a service industry and in order to sustain in the competitive business environment, the service providers must ensure quality in their services. There are several factors that influence the service quality. Each factor is comprised of several sub-factors. Moreover, the factors are interrelated with each other. Modelling of these factors and their interrelations with due consideration of their structure is accomplished through the graph theory. The directed graph (digraph) of the service quality is defined; the nodes of this symbolize the quality influencing factors, while the edges represent their degrees of interrelationships. An equivalent matrix developed from the digraph establishes a service quality function which leads to evaluation of service quality index (SQI). A greater value of the service quality index displays that the organization and functioning of the garage is adequate.
Practical implications
The methodology can be applied for evaluating as well as comparing service quality of different garages. The observations would be helpful to the managers the garages to make strategies for improving their service quality.
Originality/value
The paper establishes the interrelations among various factors that influence the service quality at automobile garages and develop a numeric index for the evaluation of the same.
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To explore the factors affecting continuity of cooperative electronic supply chain relationships in Taiwanese motor industry.
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the factors affecting continuity of cooperative electronic supply chain relationships in Taiwanese motor industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study has developed a research framework that integrates the three perspectives of resource dependence, risk perception, and relationship marketing to identify the factors affecting the continuity of a cooperative electronic supply chain. After constructing a structural equation model, empirical testing on 851 raw material and spare parts suppliers for the Taiwanese motor industry was conducted.
Findings
All path coefficients in the proposed model were statistically significant, and were as hypothesized. Resource dependence, trust, and relationship commitment are positively related to the continuity of the cooperative electronic relationship. Risk perception is negatively related to the continuity of the cooperative electronic relationship.
Research limitations/implications
This paper has theoretically developed an extensive set of interrelationships among these variables (resource dependency, perceived risk, trust, relationship commitment, and continuity of cooperative electronic relationships), illustrating their comparative effects on supplier intention to use the internet for on‐line transactions.
Practical implications
This empirical study provides consistent support for the proposed business‐to‐business (B2B) e‐commerce acceptance model. Given the high explanatory power of the resulting model, it is likely to serve as the basic model for predicting supplier behavior, and the continuity of enhanced understanding of cooperative electronic relationships.
Originality/value
Previous studies did not fully address the relevant influential factors related to the continuity of cooperative electronic supply chain relationships or the causal relationships among these factors. The primary contribution of this research is the integration of constructs associated with resources, environmental uncertainty, and relationship marketing, into a coherent model that jointly predicts supplier acceptance of e‐commerce.
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It is of concern that several attempts at making Nigeria an automobile producing country have not yielded much success. This paper aims to re-examine the history of automobile…
Abstract
Purpose
It is of concern that several attempts at making Nigeria an automobile producing country have not yielded much success. This paper aims to re-examine the history of automobile manufacturing and the consequences of auto policies of successive governments towards having a viable automotive industry in Nigeria and the lessons therefrom.
Design/methodology/approach
Dispersed data were assembled from both primary and secondary sources on the automobile industry activities in Nigeria. The historic data cover Nigeria’s vehicles need, production levels, importations and local content developments. Time series data on Nigeria’s crude oil prices and the devaluation of the local currency were obtained and analyzed to elucidate effects and provide the trajectory. A comparative analysis of the policies of successful countries with initial status with Nigeria was carried out to elucidate the policy pitfalls in Nigeria’s industrial policies.
Findings
The automotive policies in Nigeria are not self-sustaining. It has been curiously observed that the automotive policy on import substitution and local content development approach did not include the key components in automobile manufacturing, making it a footloose industry. Nigeria’s crude petroleum mono-economy affects the manufacturing sector negatively. A fall in international crude oil price causes free fall of the country’s currency in the international market, the cost of imported new vehicles and parts become prohibitively high, consequently, individuals, as well as corporate organizations, resorted to imported fairly used vehicles and parts for their transportation needs. Capacity utilization dropped abysmally.
Originality/value
Nigeria’s experience has demonstrated the critical role the government can play in safeguarding the automobile industry in the developing economies. Apart from diversification of the economy, there is a need, therefore, for a more refined and pragmatic approach in the formulation of policies to enable only genuine investors to operate in the automobile industry which hitherto has been an all-comers affair with many taking advantage of unguarded and unguided government incentives.
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