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This research aims to propose a comparative environmental analysis of conventional and prefabricated construction techniques utilizing a building information modelling (BIM) technique.

A set of indicators are selected to assess the environmental emissions throughout the construction life cycle, based on BIM platform. An existing project involving ten apartment buildings in Shanghai is selected as a case study.

The results reveal that prefabricated construction demonstrates environment-friendly performance with some exceptions of acidification and mineral resource consumption. Environmental impacts can also be further reduced by increasing the projected area ratio and percentage of project prefabrication.

Overall, the proposed method can be used to identify relevant environmental merits and for decision-making of appropriate construction techniques in building construction projects.

Frontline employees (FLEs) play a pivotal role in service delivery. Beyond their expected in-role behaviors, FLEs often have to perform extra-role behaviors such as providing additional help to customers. The purpose of this study is to investigate how customers’ power distance belief (PDB) influences their perceptions of FLEs’ warmth and competence when FLEs perform extra-role helping behaviors.

Four experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. The first three experiments used a one factor two-level (PDB: low vs high) between-participants design. The fourth one used a 2 (PDB: low vs high) × 2 (firm reputation: low vs high) between-participants design.

The results indicate that, compared to high-PDB customers, low-PDB customers perceive greater warmth in FLEs’ extra-role helping behaviors but no significant difference in FLEs’ perceived competence. Importantly, these effects are mediated by customer gratitude. Moreover, these effects are moderated by firm reputation such that customers’ perceptions of FLEs’ warmth and competence are both enhanced when the firm has a favorable reputation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first to identify the differential effects of PDB on customer perceptions of FLEs’ warmth and competence in the context of FLEs’ extra-role helping behaviors and to reveal the mediating role of gratitude. These findings contribute to the literatures on FLEs’ extra-role behaviors and social perceptions of both warmth and competence.

There is considerable research examining the consequences and contingency factors of customer participation in the service encounter. In comparison, there is disproportionately less research examining the antecedents of customer participation. This paper aims to propose and test an appraisal-emotive framework of the effects of front-line employees’ in-role and extra-role behaviours on customer participation.

A survey on 583 customers of retail banks in China has been conducted to test the framework. Structural equation modelling and dominance analysis have been used for hypotheses testing.

Employees’ extra-role behaviour (i.e. organisational citizenship behaviour or OCB) has a stronger effect than their in-role behaviour (i.e. role-prescribed behaviour) in inducing customer participation. These effects are mediated by customer emotions. Specifically, the effect of employees’ in-role behaviour on customer participation was mediated by customers’ positive and negative emotions, whereas the effect of employees’ OCB was mediated by customers’ positive emotions but not by their negative emotions.

The findings reveal that strategic management of employee behaviours can influence customer participation. While organisations often provide training to enhance employees’ in-role behaviour to deliver service performance, they should also recognise and encourage employees’ OCB as a means of increasing customer participation. In particular, employees who display positive emotions tend to evoke positive emotions in customers, which increase customer participation in the service encounter.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few studies in marketing to examine the differential effects of employees’ in-role and extra-role behaviours on customer participation. Importantly, the findings show that employees’ OCB is not only more effective than employees’ in-role behaviour in influencing customer participation but also these two behaviours have varying effects on customer emotions. These findings are new and contribute to the literatures on customer participation, value co-creation and human resource management.

This paper aims to investigate the inhibition effect of sodium silicate (SS), sodium alginate (SA) and sodium tungstate (ST) on the corrosion behavior of AZ91D magnesium alloy in 3.5 per cent NaCl solution through polarization curve test at room temperature, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and weight loss measurement.

The influence of SA concentration on the inhibition efficiency of the corrosion inhibitor was mainly analyzed. The corrosion morphology and inhibition mechanism of the samples were also analyzed with scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy.

The results show that with the increase of SA concentration, the corrosion inhibition first increases and then decreases. When SA concentration is 0.03 mol/L, the inhibition efficiency is the highest, reaching 98 per cent. The adsorption film formed by SA and other deposition films produce a synergistic effect on the improvement of corrosion resistance of AZ91D magnesium alloy.

The adsorption film formed by SA with other deposition films produces a synergistic effect on the improvement of corrosion resistance of AZ91D magnesium alloy. With the increase of SA concentration, the corrosion inhibition first increases and then decreases. When the concentrations of SA, SS and ST are 0.03 mol/L, 0.015 mol/L and 0.02 mol/L, respectively, the inhibition efficiency of the inhibitor is the highest, reaching 98 per cent.

Recently, electric vehicles have been widely used in the cold chain logistics sector to reduce the effects of excessive energy consumption and to support environmental friendliness. Considering the limited battery capacity of electric vehicles, it is vital to optimize battery charging during the distribution process.

This study establishes an electric vehicle routing model for cold chain logistics with charging stations, which will integrate multiple distribution centers to achieve sustainable logistics. The suggested optimization model aimed at minimizing the overall cost of cold chain logistics, which incorporates fixed, damage, refrigeration, penalty, queuing, energy and carbon emission costs. In addition, the proposed model takes into accounts factors such as time-varying speed, time-varying electricity price, energy consumption and queuing at the charging station. In the proposed model, a hybrid crow search algorithm (CSA), which combines opposition-based learning (OBL) and taboo search (TS), is developed for optimization purposes. To evaluate the model, algorithms and model experiments are conducted based on a real case in Chongqing, China.

The result of algorithm experiments illustrate that hybrid CSA is effective in terms of both solution quality and speed compared to genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). In addition, the model experiments highlight the benefits of joint distribution over individual distribution in reducing costs and carbon emissions.

The optimization model of cold chain logistics routes based on electric vehicles provides a reference for managers to develop distribution plans, which contributes to the development of sustainable logistics.

In prior studies, many scholars have conducted related research on the subject of cold chain logistics vehicle routing problems and electric vehicle routing problems separately, but few have merged the above two subjects. In response, this study innovatively designs an electric vehicle routing model for cold chain logistics with consideration of time-varying speeds, time-varying electricity prices, energy consumption and queues at charging stations to make it consistent with the real world.

A new reverse educing method (REM) is presented to estimate the vibrational stress on rotating aeroengine blades from the actual fracture section. This method does not conform to the traditional calculating method, but involves the reverse solution idea. The value of the crack propagation ratio da/dN can be obtained from the actual fracture section of the blade, and then the vibrational stress on rotating blades can be calculated through static computation, modal analysis and crack stress intensity factor calculation. The result is very significant for fault diagnosing and shooting of aeroengine blades.

This research focuses on the work–family facilitation process to theorize and examine the potential positive impact of perceived overqualification (POQ) on an individual’s work–family interface. Drawing on social cognitive theory of self-regulation, this research identifies work–family balance self-efficacy (WFBSE) as a motivational mechanism through which POQ affects work engagement. Additionally, it proposes flexibility human resource (HR) practices as a key moderator of this process.

This research collected multi-wave time-lagged data from 342 managers in the hospitality industry. The research focused on managers with the title of headwaiter and above, while front-line service personnel were not included.

The results showed that POQ had an indirect positive relationship with work engagement via WFBSE. The results also showed that employee-experienced flexibility HR practices moderated the effectiveness of WFBSE in translating POQ into work engagement.

This research provides guidance and insights into how HRM systems can be customized to sustain positive outcomes in situations of overqualification. It is crucial that hotels offer flexibility options or individualization of work arrangements for overqualified employees.

The potential positive impact of POQ on employees’ work–family interface has been neglected. In addition, prior research has devoted little attention to potential organizational factors that enhance the positive effects of POQ. By examining the mediating and moderating effects, this research aims to explain how and under what conditions POQ facilitates work engagement.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate dynamic characteristics of opposed-conical gas-dynamic bearings considering five degree-of-freedom motion, including translation and tilt.

The steady-state Reynolds equation and perturbed Reynolds equations are solved on the surface of conical bearings, and both stiffness and damping coefficients are calculated. A formula for quickly calculating critical mass is deduced to discriminate the stability of the rotor considering the five degree-of-freedom motion.

Results show that the stability of the rotor is mainly determined by translation rather than tilt. The formula of critical mass is validated by comparing the results with traditional Routh–Hurwitz criterion.

The formula proposed in this paper greatly simplifies the solution of critical mass, which facilitates the rotor stability design. It is applicable for opposed-conical bearings, opposed-hemispherical bearings and spherical bearings. The results provide theoretical guidance for the design of gas-dynamic bearings.

This paper presents a developed spatial-temporal analysis framework for the case of investigating the business performance of construction consultancy services (CCS) in China.

The spatial-temporal analysis is based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique. The spatial analysis follows the DEA results under a contemporaneous benchmark technology and a virtual decision-making unit, consisting of ranking analysis, cluster analysis and variation analysis. The temporal analysis is reliant on the DEA results under a global benchmark technology and the time value of money, including trend analysis and driving force analysis containing pure technical and scale efficiency factors.

Three CCS types in China are investigated, including engineering survey and design, construction supervision and procurement agency. The performance rank order and cluster classifications are mainly related to economic development levels. Engineering survey and design demonstrates the best performance and higher imbalances; however, construction supervision and procurement agency illustrate lower performance and imbalances. Scale efficiency significantly promotes business performance, whereas pure technical efficiency plays an inconspicuous role.

The CCS promote technical efficiency by developing their service and innovation levels. The service of engineering survey and design registered in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong is recommended for entering the service market in China.

The spatial-temporal analysis framework was developed, which is generic and provides a pathway to measure, compare and assess performance comprehensively. The CCS business performance is firstly measured.

By incorporating the resource-based view with the dynamic capability view, this study aims to examine the link between corporate political networking strategy and firm performance in transition economies by focusing on the mediating role of corporate entrepreneurship and the moderating role of dysfunctional competition.

A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among 1,300 senior managers from 650 enterprises in China, and valid survey data were obtained from 401 enterprises.

Empirical results demonstrate that political networking strategy is positively related to firm performance and that this relationship is fully mediated by corporate entrepreneurship. Moderated path analysis indicates that dysfunctional competition strengthens the direct effect of political networking strategy on corporate entrepreneurship and its indirect effect on firm performance via corporate entrepreneurship.

This research is among the first to examine the mediating mechanism underlying the relationship between political networking strategy and firm performance in the context of transition economies. In addition, existing research has seldom discussed the effects on corporate entrepreneurship of external resource acquisition from government sources. This research fills this important gap and identifies the condition under which political networking benefits corporate entrepreneurship.