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A numerical analysis tool has been developed to study electromagnetic characteristics of high‐temperature superconducting thin film used for a resistive‐type fault current limiter (FCL) and coated conductor. It adopts the finite element method based on current vector potentials with thin‐plate approximation. Transport current, temperature dependence and strong non‐linearity of electromagnetic properties, and state transition of superconductor are taken into account by solving a three‐dimensional coupled problem of electromagnetic field, an electric circuit and thermal field. Then using this numerical analysis tool the current imbalance and current limiting characteristics of a FCL device, the influence of inhomogeneity of superconducting properties on them, and AC losses in YBCO coated conductor are studied.

This study investigates the pricing and inventory control decisions of a company that owns a coffeehouse chain providing drip coffee and a coffee manufacturing factory producing ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee. To determine a way to maximize profit, optimal pricing and inventory control strategies are studied for both the RTD coffee as well as the coffeehouse chain network.

It is assumed that the company sells only drip coffee through its coffeehouse chain and would like to launch RTD coffee via other channels such as convenience stores, supermarkets and so on to maximize its total profit. A mathematical model–based optimization is adopted to address the decision-making for the given problem situation, where the demand for both drip and RTD coffee are dependent on the values of decision variables. To solve the proposed mathematical model, particle swarm optimization (PSO) is applied due to nonlinearity of the developed model.

It is confirmed that a company can earn more profit by launching RTD coffee, even though the profit from drip coffee would reduce. In addition, the scenario analysis shows that by launching RTD coffee under various conditions, the total profits would also improve.

The value of this study is the proposed basic framework for the industry. In addition to the modeling framework and cost structure, realistic cost figures and technical details can be considered when applying the model to a practical setting.

This paper aims to analyze the requirements for stakeholder integration in sustainability project partnerships in times of sustainability crisis. Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic as a sustainability crisis that has sensitized consumers and other stakeholders to corporate responsibility for social and sustainability issues, a conceptual framework for stakeholder integration is developed from which implications for designing the potential, process and result quality are derived.

In this conceptual paper, design options for stakeholder integration are derived from open innovation and service management research. Specific crisis-related determinants of stakeholder integration are derived from current corporate social responsibility (CSR) and crisis research taking into account the opportunities and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design options and crisis-related determinants are then combined to a conceptual framework for stakeholder integration in sustainability project partnerships in times of crisis. Based on this framework, research propositions are derived that provide insights into the design of the potential, process and result quality of stakeholder integration.

This paper shows that the COVID-19 pandemic can be viewed as a sustainability crisis, which places special entrepreneurial demands on stakeholder integration in sustainability project partnerships. The pandemic offers potential for integrating a large number of stakeholders and has emphasized the need for integrating a broad range of stakeholders. Higher skepticism of stakeholders toward companies' CSR engagement in the pandemic has raised stakeholder demands for early integration. Higher skepticism and CSR involvement have rendered active forms of integration even more relevant, which, however, should still be adapted to the respective stakeholder prerequisites. The pandemic has increased the need for constant and comprehensive exchange of data on project results between stakeholders and the project leading organization. Measurement of target achievement can be promoted by establishing stakeholder commitment with regard to the target measures on the collective and relationship levels of the partnership. Finally, the pandemic has reinforced the need for more dialogical forms of communicating sustainability project results.

Solving problems and exploiting opportunities in times of crisis require a high degree of entrepreneurship and creative leadership in order to gain new ideas and overcome resource deficits. Sustainability project partnerships in which various stakeholders contribute resources and knowledge to collaborate on idea development and finding solutions to sustainability issues are suitable for this. However, previous approaches to stakeholder integration in open innovation and service management research largely neglect the crisis context and only a few are related to sustainability. In CSR and crisis research, stakeholder-related approaches to coping with crises tend to be underrepresented, and the comprehensive concept of stakeholder integration has so far hardly been considered as an approach to crisis management. By taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic as a sustainability crisis, this paper provides new impulses for the integration of stakeholders in sustainability project partnerships in times of crisis. Recommendations for the design of the potential, process and result quality are derived, which provide insights for project leaders and stakeholders alike. In addition, implications for public policymakers are derived, who are assigned an increasingly active role in the pandemic and who can contribute to the success of sustainability project partnerships by setting suitable framework conditions. The developed concept can be expanded to include further company-related determinants and offers a starting point for empirical analysis in the still underexplored research fields of sustainability-oriented relationship marketing and sustainability crises.

Educational institutions are facing a growing number of challenges, which impair their ability to provide high quality and effective educational services. The involvement of pupils in co-creating learning experiences is a fundamental ingredient of the recipe for increased educational quality. Inter alia, the implementation of citizen science initiatives at schools allows pupils to be active co-producers of educational services. The purpose of this paper to shed light on the attributes of citizen science projects targeted at pupils (aged between six and ten) attending primary schools, in order to identify their potential implications in terms of educational services’ quality improvement.

Secondary data were collected from the Scistarter® web platform. Projects addressed to primary schools and provided with specific classroom materials were taken into consideration (n=65). A qualitative, comparative and bird’s eye analysis was performed: first, looking at the role and the tasks assigned to pupils, the projects were grouped in four categories; second, the potential implications of citizen science on educational services’ quality were investigated.

Citizen science at school paves the way for pupils’ empowerment and for their direct involvement in the co-production of educational services. Moreover, it enhances the relationship between teachers and pupils, engaging them in a co-creating partnership intended at addressing real scientific issues at school. However, citizen science is still poorly integrated into conventional educational curricula in primary schools.

From a management point of view, citizen science is thought to contribute to the improvement of educational services’ quality, stimulating pupils to partner with their peers and with teachers for the purpose of knowledge co-production; in addition, it allows for the enrichment of educational activities in primary schools. From a policy perspective, citizen science at school harmonizes with the democratization of scientific knowledge.

This is one of the first research papers to demonstrate the potential implications of citizen science on educational services’ quality and effectiveness in primary schools.