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1 – 10 of 23Robert Johnston and Xiangyu Kong
This paper aims to respond to the call to help organisations to systematically engineer their customer experiences. Its objective is to investigate how organisations actually go…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to respond to the call to help organisations to systematically engineer their customer experiences. Its objective is to investigate how organisations actually go about designing and improving their customer experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of four organisations were chosen for this exploratory study; one business‐to‐business company, one business‐to‐consumer company, one utility, and one public sector organisation. This longitudinal study over a period of four years collected data from participant observation, discussions, internal reports and from secondary data.
Findings
Despite the differences between the four organisations they appear to have taken, independently, the same approach to bring about improvements to their customer experiences. This paper proposes a ten‐stage “road‐map” to improvement which develops the existing models.
Research limitations/implications
Main limitations were that the in‐depth, longitudinal study covered just four organisations and from a mix of sectors. Additional work is needed to further test the findings in more organisations.
Practical implications
This study identifies the critical importance of mindset change in the design of customer experience improvement programmes and the ways in which customers can be directly engaged in the design and improvement process. Importantly, it provides a road‐map that organisations can use as a base for improving their customer experiences. It also suggests that it is useful to have clear objectives in three areas: customer; staff; and cost‐efficiency; and use them to assess the benefits of improving the customer experience.
Originality/value
The study organises the current literature on the customer experience, distinguishes between “service” and “experience”, and provides a research‐based road‐map for improving the customer experience.
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Jochen Wirtz, Robert Johnston and Christopher Khoe Sin Seow
Qiang Li, Sifeng Liu and Changhai Lin
The purpose of this paper is to solve the problem of quality prediction in the equipment production process and provide a method to deal with abnormal data and solve the problem…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to solve the problem of quality prediction in the equipment production process and provide a method to deal with abnormal data and solve the problem of data fluctuation.
Design/methodology/approach
The analytic hierarchy process-process failure mode and effect analysis (AHP-PFMEA) structure tree is established based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and process failure mode and effect analysis (PFMEA). Through the failure mode analysis table of the production process, the weight of the failure process and stations is determined, and the ranking of risk failure stations is obtained so as to find out the serious failure process and stations. The spectrum analysis method is used to identify the fault data and judge the “abnormal” value in the fault data. Based on the analysis of the impact, an “offset operator” is designed to eliminate the impact. A new moving average denoise operator is constructed to eliminate the “noise” in the original random fluctuation data. Then, DGM (1,1) model is constructed to predict the production process quality.
Findings
It is discovered the “offset operator” can eliminate the impact of specific shocks effectively, moving average denoise operator can eliminate the “noise” in the original random fluctuation data and the practical application of the shown model is very effective for quality predicting in the equipment production process.
Practical implications
The proposed approach can help provide a good guidance and reference for enterprises to strengthen onsite equipment management and product quality management. The application on a real-world case showed that the DGM (1,1) grey discrete model is very effective for quality predicting in the equipment production process.
Originality/value
The offset operators, including an offset operator for a multiplicative effect and an offset operator for an additive effect, are proposed to eliminate the impact of specific shocks, and a new moving average denoise operator is constructed to eliminate the “noise” in the original random fluctuation data. Both the concepts of offset operator and denoise operator with their calculation formulas were first proposed in this paper.
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A. Prakash, A. Shyam Joseph, R. Shanmugasundaram and C.S. Ravichandran
This paper aims to propose a machine learning approach-based power theft detection using Garra Rufa Fish (GRF) optimization. Here, the analyzing of power theft is an important…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a machine learning approach-based power theft detection using Garra Rufa Fish (GRF) optimization. Here, the analyzing of power theft is an important part to reduce the financial loss and protect the electricity from fraudulent users.
Design/methodology/approach
In this section, a new method is implemented to reduce the power theft in transmission lines and utility grids. The detection of power theft using smart meter with reliable manner can be achieved by the help of GRF algorithm.
Findings
The loss of power due to non-technical loss is small by using this proposed algorithm. It provides some benefits like increased predicting capacity, less complexity, high speed and high reliable output. The result is analyzed using MATLAB/Simulink platform. The result is compared with an existing method. According to the comparison result, the proposed method provides the good performance than existing method.
Originality/value
The proposed method gives good results of comparison than those of the other techniques and has an ability to overcome the associated problems.
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Abdullahi Babatunde Saka and Daniel W.M. Chan
This paper aims to review the status of development of building information modelling (BIM), its trends and themes across the six continents of the world.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the status of development of building information modelling (BIM), its trends and themes across the six continents of the world.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 914 journal articles sought from the search engine of Web of Science (WOS) based on the country/region option of the WOS to group them into continents. A best-fit approach was then applied in selecting the suitable software programmes for the scientometric analysis and comparisons and deductions were made.
Findings
The findings revealed that there are differences in the development of BIM across the six continents of the world. South America and Africa are lagging in the BIM research and Australia and Asia are growing, whilst Europe and North America are ahead. In addition, there exist differences in the research themes and trends in these continents as against the single view presented in extant studies.
Originality/value
This study introduced a new approach to carry out a comparative and taxonomic review and has provided both academic researchers and industrial practitioners with a clear status of development of BIM research and the trend across the six continents of the world.
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Xiang Yu, Degao Zou, Xianjing Kong and Long Yu
A large, uneven settlement that is unfavourable to dam safety can occur between a concrete cut-off wall and the high-plasticity clay of earth core dam built on alluviums. This…
Abstract
Purpose
A large, uneven settlement that is unfavourable to dam safety can occur between a concrete cut-off wall and the high-plasticity clay of earth core dam built on alluviums. This issue has been often studied using the small-strain finite element (FE) method in previous research. This paper aims to research the interaction behaviour between a concrete cut-off wall and high-plasticity clay using large-deformation FE analyses.
Design/methodology/approach
The re-meshing and interpolation technique with a small-strain (RITSS) method was performed using an independently developed program and adopted for large-deformation FE analyses, and a suitable element size for the high-plasticity clay region was suggested. The layered construction process of an earth core dam built on thick alluviums was simulated using the RITSS method incorporating a hyperbolic model for soil.
Findings
The RITSS method is an effective technique for simulating the soil–structure interaction during dam construction. The RITSS analysis predicted a higher maximum principle stress of the concrete cut-off wall and higher stress levels in the high-plasticity clay region than small-strain FE analysis.
Originality/value
A practical method for large-deformation FE analysis was advised and was used for the first time to study the interaction between a concrete cut-off wall and high-plasticity clay in dam engineering. Large deformation in the high-plasticity clay was handled using the RITSS method. Moreover, the penetration process of the concrete cut-off wall into the high-plasticity clay was captured using a favourable element shape and mesh density.
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Xiangyu Li and Ming Kong
This paper aims to address following three research questions: Are employees with high political skill willing to do extra-role behavior? Can leader–member exchange (LMX) affect…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address following three research questions: Are employees with high political skill willing to do extra-role behavior? Can leader–member exchange (LMX) affect organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)? Can perception of organizational politics (POP) influence LMX?
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a survey of 227 questionnaires. Multiple linear regression analysis was used.
Findings
Findings indicate that employees’ political skill not only are helpful for them in dealing with the relationship with their leaders, but also can stimulate their OCB. The paper also shows that the mediation effect of POP is not obvious when they handle LMX.
Originality/value
This paper’s main contributions are as follows: When studying new generation employees, many managers find that their accumulated experience of management is ineffective in applying to this group of new generation employees. In Chinese culture, new organizational and new employee environment relationship can be regarded normal, positive and beneficial to the development of new generation employees. New generation employees use their own political skills to handle LMX; they are not well aware of POP.
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Olugbenga Timo Oladinrin, Mohamed Arif, Muhammad Qasim Rana and Louis Gyoh
Many companies invest in innovations because of the inherent benefits, and research on innovation has increased over the year. However, the vast majority of research papers deals…
Abstract
Purpose
Many companies invest in innovations because of the inherent benefits, and research on innovation has increased over the year. However, the vast majority of research papers deals with purely technical matters. There seem to be growing concerns over ethical issues in adopting innovations in the construction industry. This extant review of literature aims to analyse the interrelations between the concepts of ethics and innovations in construction research to understand the advances of current scientific production and future lines of research.
Design/methodology/approach
Thus, this work presents a bibliometric analysis covering articles obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection Database published between 1995 and May 2021. A sample size of 5,786 research papers relevant to the study was evaluated using VOSviewer software.
Findings
The results of the analysis shed light on the evolution of the connection between the two concepts. The study highlighted Heng Li as the most productive author. The country with the most publications and citations is China. The most productive institution is the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The results revealed a limited intellectual exchange and lack of cohesion characterising the two concepts (ethics and innovation), resulting in a situation whereby innovation-related researchers tend to follow personal trajectories in isolation from ethics-related researchers in the construction field.
Originality/value
This is probably the most comprehensive scientometric analysis ever conducted to examine the theoretical relationship between ethics and innovation in construction. This study adds to the so far limited knowledge in the field and provides insights for future research. Overall, this review may spur future research on dyad investigation of ethics and innovative related themes in construction such as ethics and sustainability, ethics and sensor-based technology and ethics and innovative safety approach.
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Xiangyu Liu, Chunyan Zhang, Cong Ni and Chenhui Lu
The purpose of this paper is to put forward a nvew reconfigurable multi-mode walking-rolling robot based on the single-loop closed-chain four-bar mechanism, and the robot can be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to put forward a nvew reconfigurable multi-mode walking-rolling robot based on the single-loop closed-chain four-bar mechanism, and the robot can be changed to different modes according to the terrain.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the topological analysis, singularity analysis, feasibility analysis, gait analysis and the motion strategy based on motor time-sharing control, the paper theoretically verified that the robot can switch between the four motion modes.
Findings
The robot integrates four-bar walking, self-deforming and four-bar and six-bar rolling modes. A series of simulation and prototype experiment results are presented to verify the feasibility of multiple motion modes of the robot.
Originality/value
The work presented in this paper provides a good theoretical basis for further exploration of multiple mode mobile robots. It is an attempt to design the multi-mode mobile robot based on single loop kinematotropic mechanisms. It is also a kind of exploration of the new unknown movement law.
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Jianbo Zhu, Qianqian Shi, Ce Zhang, Jingfeng Yuan, Qiming Li and Xiangyu Wang
Promoting low-carbon in the construction industry is important for achieving the overall low-carbon goals. Public–private partnership is very popular in public infrastructure…
Abstract
Purpose
Promoting low-carbon in the construction industry is important for achieving the overall low-carbon goals. Public–private partnership is very popular in public infrastructure projects. However, different perceptions of low-carbon and behaviors of public and private sectors can hinder the realization of low-carbon in these projects. In order to analyze the willingness of each stakeholder to cooperate towards low-carbon goals, an evolutionary game model is constructed.
Design/methodology/approach
An evolutionary game model that considers the opportunistic behavior of the participants is developed. The evolutionary stable strategies (ESSs) under different scenarios are examined, and the factors that influence the willingness to cooperate between the government and private investors are investigated.
Findings
The results illustrate that a well-designed system of profit distribution and subsidies can enhance collaboration. Excessive subsidies have negative impact on cooperation between the two sides, because these two sides can weaken income distribution and lead to the free-riding behavior of the government. Under the situation of two ESSs, there is also an optimal revenue distribution coefficient that maximizes the probability of cooperation. With the introduction of supervision and punishment mechanism, the opportunistic behavior of private investors is effectively constrained.
Originality/value
An evolutionary game model is developed to explore the cooperation between the public sector and the private sector in the field of low-carbon construction. Based on the analysis of the model, this paper summarizes the conditions and strategies that can enable the two sectors to cooperate.
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