Search results

Telephone response system is the frontline of hospital operations. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a representative telephone response system of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, address the existing inefficiency issues such as long call waiting time, and improve system resilience to changes.

Resource sharing schemes are proposed to improve the system performance in answering calls related to appointment booking and medication renewal. Discrete event simulation is adopted to model the current system and the resource sharing schemes.

The resource sharing schemes dramatically improve system performance reflected by the decrease of call waiting time and queue, as well as the extreme high utilization of agents in a key unit. Compared with the less desired alternative of hiring additional employees to mitigate the performance issues, the resource sharing schemes perform at par or even better. Sharing more resource during the peak hours can further balance the agent workload.

The resource sharing schemes could alleviate staffing shortage, long waiting time, and high-abandonment rate in the bottle-beck unit of the system, and lead to better utilization of scarce resources on the hospital floor. The concept reflects localized centralization efforts in traditionally highly decentralized telephone operations in hospital systems.

This research provides a structured approach to analyze the operations of a VA telephone response system. The developed simulation model is validated, and this provides a valuable tool for management to analyze the complicated telephone operations of the telephone systems of other VA and non-VA hospitals. Resource sharing constitutes a cost-effective solution for improving system performance and resilience.

This paper aims to examine the consequences for innovative work behavior (IWB) of top-down knowledge hiding – that is, supervisors’ knowledge hiding from supervisees (SKHS). Drawing on social learning theory, the authors test the three-way moderated-mediation model in which the direct effect of SKHS on IWB is first mediated by self-efficacy and then further moderated by supervisor and supervisee nationality (locals versus foreigners).

The authors collected multi-sourced data from 446 matched supervisor-supervisee pairs working in a diverse range of organizations operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After initial data screening, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test for the factorial validity of the used measures with AMOS. The hypothesized relationships were tested in regression analysis with SPSS.

Results showed that SKHS had both direct and mediation effects, via the self-efficacy mediator, on supervisee IWB. The mediation effect was further moderated by supervisor and supervisee nationality (local versus foreigners), which highlighted that the effect was stronger for supervisor–supervisee pairs that were local-local or foreigner-foreigner than for pairs that were local-foreigner or foreigner-local.

This study contributes to both knowledge hiding and IWB literature and discusses the useful theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between ethical leadership and employee cross-team knowledge sharing via the differentiating mediating effects of cognitive and affective trust in colleagues.

Multi-source and multi-wave data were collected from 214 dyads of employees and their supervisors. Linear regression was employed to examine the hypotheses.

Ethical leadership positively predicts employee cross-team knowledge sharing. Affective trust in colleagues mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and employee cross-team knowledge sharing, whereas cognitive trust in colleagues does not. The hypothesis – the mediating effect of affective trust in colleagues between ethical leadership and cross-team knowledge sharing is greater than that of cognitive trust in colleagues – is not supported.

This study extends understanding of the influence of ethical leadership on cross-team knowledge sharing. It further differentiates cognitive and affective trust in colleagues between ethical leadership and cross-team knowledge sharing. These findings are valuable for improving the research of leadership practices and knowledge sharing.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of an employee’s personal creative identity on their innovation behaviour in knowledge-intensive information technology (IT) service provider firms. It further investigates the mediating role of an employee’s creative process engagement (CPE) and the moderating effects of the organizational creative climate on creative identity-innovative behaviour (IB) relationships.

This study follows a quantitative method. Using a multi-item survey instrument, a total of 316 questionnaires were collected from the employees of IT service provider firms in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling, factor analysis and path analysis to test the hypotheses and to assess the moderating and mediating effects of the variables.

The results revealed the significant influence of an employee’s creative personal identity (CPI) on their IB. The mediation analysis revealed that CPE mediates the association between a CPI and IB. The study also found a significant moderating effect of a creative organizational climate between a CPI and CPE.

Based on the premise of the interactionist approach of creativity and role identity theory, this study contributes to the creativity and innovation literature by providing empirical support for the relationship between a personal creative identity, organizational creative culture, CPE and IB in IT service organizations.

This study adopts a distinct model comprising four different variables to investigate an employee’s IB from a multi-level perspective, i.e., a creative identity and CPE at the individual level and a creative climate and IB at the organizational level. This integrated model using predictors from multiple levels supports the theoretical assumption that IB results from the interaction of individual and organizational level factors.

The purpose of this paper is to prove the self‐repairing Cu film of Cu‐DDP additive in base lubricating oil.

Cu nanoparticles coated with dialkydithiophosphate (Coded as Cu‐DDP) were synthesized in situ by redox method. The size and structure of Cu‐DDP were characterized using transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) and electronic diffraction (ED) analysis. The self‐repairing performance of Cu‐DDP as additive in base lubricating oil was evaluated by MRH‐3 stock‐on‐ring testing machine. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), UMT‐2 tribometer, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy‐dispersive spectrum (EDS) were used to study the self‐repairing Cu film on the stock.

The test results showed that the modified Cu‐DDP additive in base lubricating oil exhibited excellent anti‐wear and friction‐reducing properties, as well as good self‐repairing performance.

The thickness of the self‐repairing Cu film was unknown, and the relationship between thickness of the Cu film and load, time, rotation velocity was still necessary to investigate.

The Cu‐DDP additive was involved P and S elements, therefore, it is still promising to seek environment friendly additive without P and S elements.

For the first time, MRH‐3 stock‐on‐ring testing machine, Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), UMT‐2 tribometer, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy‐dispersive spectrum (EDS) were widely used to study the self‐repairing Cu film on the stock.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between servant leadership and life satisfaction through the mediating role of workplace positive affect (WPA), and the moderating roles of collectivistic orientation and general self-efficacy.

Using a sample of 304 employees in a two-wave survey, the hypotheses were demonstrated with hierarchical regression analyses.

The results revealed that servant leadership was positively related to employee life satisfaction, and WPA served as a mediator between them. Moreover, collectivistic orientation and general self-efficacy moderated the relationship between servant leadership and WPA, and the indirect effect of servant leadership on life satisfaction via WPA.

The time-lagged research design of this study may limit the ability to draw causal conclusions. Moreover, as this research was conducted in a Chinese context, the question of the generalizability of our findings calls for more attention.

Leaders are encouraged to adopt the servant leadership style to facilitate employee life satisfaction and organizations should select and recruit managers with servant leadership qualities. Furthermore, because employees’ collectivistic orientation and general self-efficacy moderate the effects of servant leadership on followers’ outcomes, managers need to take individual differences into consideration when they implement managerial strategy.

This research contributed to a burgeoning stream of servant leadership literature by investigating the functions of servant leadership in promoting life satisfaction, and exploring the affective mechanism linking servant leadership and life satisfaction as well as the boundary conditions of collectivistic orientation and general self-efficacy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tribological properties of novel phosphorous-nitrogen (P-N) type additives in water.

The tribological properties of the novel P-N additives in water are compared with a commercial lubricant additive of the P-N type using a four-ball machine. The tribological mechanism was investigated by X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy.

The experimental results indicate that the phosphoramidate derivatives possess good anti-wear and friction-reducing properties. The XANES analysis shows that the prepared compounds can form a protective film containing phosphate and/or polyphosphate that affects the tribological behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tribological properties of the novel P-N type additives in water.

The aim of this paper is to study the tribological performance and self-repairing performance of surface-modified nanoscale serpentine powders as lubricant additives in the mineral base oil (5-CST).

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra and thermo-gravimetric analysis of both modified and unmodified serpentine were performed to analyse their grafting ratio and suspension after modified using a long-chain naphthene aliphatic acid. The tribological properties of surface-modified serpentine as lubricant additives in 5-CST were evaluated and the worn surfaces were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES).

The results show that the serpentine particles have high grafting ratio, improving the dispersity in 5-CST. When the serpentine concentration of 1.00 weight per cent is used as additives in 5-CST, friction coefficient reduces by 14.80 per cent under 294 N and wear scar diameter (WSD) decreases by 11.82 per cent. The results of X-ray absorption near edge structure and XANES show that the adsorption and tribochemical reactions occur to form self-repairing lubrication films.

The paper illustrates a tribofilm form on the rubbed surface, which is responsible for the decrease in friction and wear, mainly containing iron oxides, silicon oxides, magnesium oxides and organic compounds. The results are useful for further applications in advanced environmental friendly lubricating oils and additives.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of workplace bullying on innovative work behavior and neglect with defensive silence as a mediator. The study further examines if the presence of friendship networks in the workplace can weaken the negative impact of workplace bullying.

Data were collected through self-report questionnaires from 835 full-time Indian managerial employees working in different Indian organizations.

Results revealed that workplace bullying negatively related to innovative work behavior and positively related to neglect. Defensive silence mediated bullying–outcomes relationships and effects of workplace bullying on proposed outcomes were weaker in the presence of high workplace friendship.

A cross-sectional design and use of self-reported questionnaire data are few limitations of this study.

The study extended the current research stream of workplace bullying to one of the underrepresented developing Asian countries, India. The study also contributes in terms of its sample characteristics as it covers managerial employees working across different organizations.

This study attempts to explore how a cultural and creative firm's competitive advantages can be maintained through the accumulation of intellectual capital and entrepreneurial orientation. Another goal of this study is to identify the different mechanisms of network ties to explore the interrelationships between organizational capital and competitive advantage in the context of Taiwan and China.

Study 1 and study 2 settings are applied, and 786 samples (i.e., 418 samples from Taiwan and 368 samples from China) are used to examine the proposed model.

Study 1 reveals that entrepreneurial orientation may influence the organization capital through human capital and social capital, which discloses the mutual relationships of intellectual capital. Further, the results of study 2 confirm the mediating role of intellectual capital that links the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation and competitive advantage. Specifically, this study also discovered that firms with more network or political ties (e.g. the Chinese samples) and business ties (e.g. the Taiwanese samples) tend to amplify the effects of organizational capital on competitive advantage.

According to our empirical results, cultural and creative managers should build a learning mechanism to encourage and develop entrepreneurial orientation and intellectual capital capacities and to provide means of understanding of customers' changing expectations. Hence, in enhancing entrepreneurial orientation and intellectual capital cultural and creative firms can develop a competitive advantage over competitors. Our findings also offer new insight to support further studies of the benefits of managerial ties for firms operating in Guanxi cultural settings in Chinese contexts.

Most previous studies on tourism strategies have disregarded the impacts and different roles of government (e.g. political ties) and business (e.g. business ties) forces on cultural and creative firms' competitive advantages, suggesting a need to address social network issues in response to dynamic tourism environments. Therefore, this study examines differences in network ties and the differences observed between China and Taiwan in the context of Chinese cultural and creative firms.