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This study aims to address the challenge of reducing the build time of a fused deposition modeling (FDM) system while maintaining part strength, proposing a hybrid technique combining photopolymerization and FDM.

For developing the hybrid system, a standard FDM machine was modified to incorporate necessary components so that the whole system can be operated with a single interface; further, the samples were fabricated with conventional and modified process to evaluate the efficacy of the developed system, to determine the extent of time reduction that the proposed methodology can obtain, additionally different sort of 3D models were selected and their build time was compared.

The modified hybrid mechanism can successfully fabricate parts with a modified G-code. The simulation of the technique shows that a reduction of 34%–87% can be achieved for simpler models such as cube while a reduction ranging from 30.6%–87.8% was observed for complex models. An increase in strength of 6.58%, 11.51% and 37.32% was observed in X, Y and Z directions, along with a significant increase in toughness as compared with FDM parts for parts fabricated with the developed mechanism.

The modified mechanism could be used for fast fabrication purposes, which could be very useful for serving situations such as emergency health care, rapid tooling.

This research contributes a novel hybrid technique for additive manufacturing, offering a substantial reduction in build time without compromising mechanical properties, even increasing them.

Servitization of products is becoming increasingly prevalent among manufacturing enterprises. Existing research has primarily focused on exploring whether the direct impact of servitization on manufacturer performance follows a linear or a curvilinear relationship. However, the understanding of the underlying mechanisms between servitization and manufacturer financial performance remains limited. This paper aims to examine the non-linear relationship between servitization and manufacturer performance as well as the mediating process and boundary condition associated with this relationship.

Drawing on resource-advantage theory, this paper proposes a theoretical model of the U-shaped relationship between servitization and the financial performance of equipment manufacturers. Panel data of 248 listed equipment manufacturers in China during the period of 2010–2020 are used to test each hypothesis through the ordinary least square method.

The empirical results indicate that servitization follows a U-shaped relationship with service business focus and the financial performance of equipment manufacturers. Service business focus mediates this U-shaped relationship between servitization and financial performance, and digital technology application moderates this relationship.

This paper pioneers the unraveling of the potential mechanism that can explain the curvilinear relationship between servitization of manufacturers and financial performance. This mechanism is the focus of the service business, which is theoretically delineated and empirically tested. Furthermore, digital technology application enables manufacturers to achieve service business focus more effectively in the process of servitization. Thus, this study addresses the call for research on digital servitization.

The surface characteristics of thermally and chemically modified wood, such as surface roughness, surface free energy (SFE) and wettability, are important properties that influence further manufacturing processes such as gluing and coating. The aim of this paper was to determine the influence of the surface roughness of thermally and chemically modified teak wood on their SFE, wettability and bonding quality for water-based acrylic and solvent-based alkyd varnishes. In addition, durability against subterranean termites in the field of these modified teak woods was also investigated to give a valuable information for their further application.

The woods tested in this study were fast-growing teak woods that were prepared in untreated and treated with furfuryl alcohol (FA), glycerol maleic anhydride (GMA) and thermal. SFE values were calculated using the Rabel method. The wettability values were measured based on the contact angle between varnish liquids and wood surfaces using the sessile drop method, and the Shi and Gardner model model was used to evaluate the wettability of the varnishes on the wood surface. The bonding quality of the varnishes was measured using a cross-cut test based on ASTM 3359-17 standard. In addition, durability against subterranean termites in the field of these modified teak woods was also investigated according to ASTM D 1758-06.

The results showed that furfurylated and GMA-thermal 220°C improved the durability of teak wood against termites. The furfurylated teak wood had the roughest surface with an arithmetic average roughness (Ra) value of 15.65 µm before aging and 27.11 µm after aging. The GMA-thermal 220°C treated teak wood was the smoothest surface with Ra value of 6.44 µm before aging and 13.75 µm after aging. Untreated teak wood had the highest SFE value of 46.90 and 57.37 mJ/m² before and after aging, respectively. The K values of untreated and treated teak wood increased owing to the aging treatment. The K values for the water-based acrylic varnish were lower than that of the solvent-based alkyd varnish. The untreated teak wood with the highest SFE produced the highest bonding quality (grades 4–5) for both acrylic and alkyd varnishes. The solvent-based alkyd varnish was more wettable and generated better bonding quality than the water-based acrylic varnish.

The originality of this research work is that it provides evaluation values of the durability and SFE. The SFE value can be used to quantitatively determine the wettability of paint liquids on the surface of wood and its varnish bonding quality.

Evaluating project success within the construction industry presents challenges due to the unique characteristics of the sector, the complexity of projects, and the involvement of diverse stakeholders. Conducting a bibliometric analysis, this paper aims to unravel the major research themes and methodologies utilised by researchers in studying the critical success criteria for construction projects, as well as extracting these success criteria.

The researchers systematically searched and screened 95 papers from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases. This study conducted research focus parallelship network (RFPN) analysis and keywords co-occurrence network (KCON) analysis using BibExcel and Gephi to cluster the papers, illuminate the relationships among keywords within each cluster, and identify the primary research directions.

Using the RFPN analysis, this study classified the papers into three distinct clusters: infrastructure and public projects success, risk and knowledge management, and contractors and procurement management. Statistical techniques such as structural equation modelling (SEM) and multi-criteria decision-making methods such as analytic hierarchy process (AHP) have been used to analyse project success in the construction industry.

Considering the intensified demand for streamlined digital interactions and the increasing emphasis on sustainability and safety performance, construction companies are recommended to allocate greater investments toward the automation and digitisation of their products and processes. Prioritising modular construction and embracing transformative technologies alongside data science is crucial for enabling well-informed decision-making, and enhancing project success.

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by conducting a quantitative and systematic evaluation of the literature on project success criteria in the construction industry and uncovering key research areas. It addresses the pressing need to understand the complexities of construction projects amidst evolving industry dynamics and emerging disruptions. Moreover, by highlighting the implications of digital innovations and modular construction, this study urges deeper exploration into their impact on project performance and stakeholder satisfaction. This research sets a comprehensive framework for investigating the interplay between project complexity, technological advancements, and sustainable practices in the construction sector, paving the way for strategic advancements in the field.

Social media is booming in the digital age, and its rich availability provides many opportunities for companies to innovate across borders. In reality, how enterprises use social media to achieve cross-border innovation also faces important challenges such as breaking path dependency.

This paper explores how social media can facilitate cross-border innovation from the perspective of strategic capability, combined with the path dependency theory and attention-based view. Hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrap method are adopted to test the hypotheses based on survey data provided by 173 firms in China.

The findings show a positive relationship between social media strategic capability and cross-border innovation, with path dependency playing a mediating role. In addition, two internal and external contextual factors, namely customer embeddedness and competitive pressure, play moderating roles, with customer embeddedness negatively moderating the negative relationship between social media strategic capability and path dependency and competitive pressure negatively moderating the negative relationship between path dependency and cross-border innovation.

These findings provide not only new insights into social media and cross-border innovation but also theoretical guidance on how companies can effectively use social media in practice.

The constant population growth and inappropriate consumption patterns have led to abnormal use of the earth's capacities, destruction of natural resources, enormous spread of diseases, and increased waste materials. Thus, these issues should be highlighted to avoid serious problems for the earth. Accordingly, this study examines the effect of environmental knowledge (EK), environmental responsibility (ER), and environmental concern (EC) on sustainable consumption behavior (SCB), with the mediating role of customer attitude (CA).

The present applied study is descriptive-correlational. The statistical population includes customers of Hyperstar stores located in Tehran. Overall, a sample size of 384 people was selected based on Cochran's formula. The data were collected using standard questionnaires and analyzed using structural equation modeling and Smart PLS version 3 software.

The fit of the proposed model was confirmed at measurement, structural, and general levels. Thus, it indicates that the structural model has an acceptable fit. Furthermore, the findings emphasize that ER and EC have a positive effect on CA, and ER and EC have a positive impact on SCB. ER and EC have a positive effect on SCB through the mediation of CA, while EK does not have any significant effect on SCB but EK has an effect on SCB through the mediation of CA.

Given the growth of environmental destruction, it is necessary to consider the change of CA toward buying sustainable products. Therefore, this study pays attention to the mediating role of attitude and examines the effects of EK, EC, and ER that cause SCB among customers of Hyperstars.

Female smallholder farmers in low-income countries face barriers to accessing capital and commodity markets. While agricultural cooperatives provide services that contribute to the income and productivity of small-scale producers, evidence of cooperatives' social and economic empowerment of female smallholders remains limited. We apply Sen's capability approach to female entrepreneurs' socioeconomic empowerment to examine whether women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative from rural western Uganda benefits their social and economic position within their household. First, we study the relationship between women's cooperative participation and their household coffee sales and savings. Second, we investigate the link between women's cooperative participation and their intra-household decision-making and whether the inclusion of the husband in his wife's cooperative strengthens or lowers women's decision-making power.

We carry out a case study of a hybrid coffee and microfinance cooperative that promotes social innovation through the integration and empowerment of female smallholders in rural Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey of 411 married female cooperative members from 26 randomly selected self-help groups of Bukonzo Joint Cooperative and 196 female non-members from the identical area, employing propensity score matching, this paper investigates the benefits of women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda. We present and discuss the results of our case study within an extensive literature on the role of institutions in collective action for women's empowerment.

Our findings provide new empirical evidence on female smallholders' participation in mixed cooperatives. Our results indicate that women's participation in microfinance-producer cooperatives appears to be a conditional blessing: even though membership is linked to increased women's intra-household decision-making and raised household savings and income from coffee sales, a wife with a husband in the same cooperative self-help group is associated with diminished women's household decision-making power.

The focus of this study is on female coffee smallholders in an agricultural cooperative in rural western Uganda. In particular, we focus on a case study of one major coffee cooperative. Our cross-sectional survey does not allow us to infer causal interpretations. Also, the survey does not include variables that allow us to measure other dimensions of women's empowerment beyond decision-making over household expenditures and women's financial performance related to savings and income from coffee cultivation.

Our empirical results indicate that female smallholders' cooperative membership is associated with higher incomes and coffee sales. However, husband co-participation in their wives' cooperative group diminishes wives' decision-making, which suggests that including husbands and other family members in the same cooperative group may not be perceived as an attractive route to empowerment for female smallholders. For these reasons, an intervention that encourages the cooperation of both spouses and that is sensitive to context-specific gender inequalities, may be more successful at stimulating social change toward household gender equality than interventions that focus on women's autonomous spheres only.

While the literature thus far has focused on microfinance's potential for women's empowerment, evidence on agricultural cooperatives' affecting women's social and economic position is limited. First, our findings provide novel empirical evidence on the empowering effects of women's participation in a self-help group-based coffee cooperative in rural Uganda. Second, our data allows us to explore the role of husbands' participation in their wives' cooperative and SGH. We embed our hypotheses and empirical results in a rich discussion of female entrepreneurship, microfinance and cooperative literature.

This study aims to explore the advantage of foreignness in a digital world.

Usage data for 251 days of 32 travel mobile applications installed on a major mobile phone brand in China are examined. Results support the author’s arguments.

Foreign mobile apps enjoy higher daily usage time than local apps. Next, the author consider how foreign apps can maximize their advantage, that is, increase daily usage time. The author argue that a multinational enterprise (MNE) can digitally enter a country that has numerous immigrants from its home country because of the high number of potential long tail users. A high level of diversity of international experience of MNEs increases the ability to understand and satisfy the specific needs of long tail users, thereby increasing daily usage time of foreign mobile apps. To maximize the advantage of foreignness in a digital world, MNEs can also carefully select business models that do not heavily rely on network effect, given the difficulty of generating network effect by long tail users.

Previous studies focus on the liability of foreignness or outsidership that MNEs encounter in the digital world, whereas this study argues that foreignness brings certain benefits, such as the capability to satisfy the specific needs of long tail users.

The game strategies differ when different regions participate in the oil game. Under what circumstances will different participants choose cooperation or sanction strategies? This is the core issue of this paper.

Regarding the current and future game behavior between different regions in the oil trade, this paper constructs an evolutionary game model between two regions to explore the possibility of sanctions strategies between the two sides in different situations.

The research finds: (1) When the benefits of in-depth cooperation between the two regions are greater, both sides tend to adopt cooperative strategies. (2) When the trade conflict losses between the two regions are smaller, both sides adopt sanctions strategies. (3) When a strong region trades with a weak region, if the former adopts a sanctions strategy, the net profits are greater than the benefits of in-depth cooperation between the two regions. If the latter adopts a sanctions strategy, the net profits are less than the trade conflict losses between the two regions. There will be the strong region adopting a sanctions strategy and the weak region adopting a non-sanctions strategy. At this time, the latter should reasonably balance the immediate and future interests and give up some current interests in exchange for in-depth cooperation between the two regions. Otherwise, it will fall into the situation of unilateral sanctions by the strong against the weak.

There is no paper in the existing literature that uses the evolutionary game method to analyze the oil game problem between the two regions. This paper constructs a two-party evolutionary game model composed of crude oil importers and crude oil exporters and, based on this, analyzes the evolutionary stability between the two regions under sanctions and cooperation strategies, which enriches the energy research field.

This study aims to examine a comprehensive model for the concurrent effects of tourists’ sustainability concerns, social norms, frugality and awareness of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) on sustainable travel behavior (STB), with sustainability in this case extending beyond the environmental to include economic and socio-cultural aspects as well.

The model is tested using a structural equation modeling technique based on data collected from 200 US respondents who traveled internationally in the past year.

Results reveal that all aforementioned variables, namely, sustainability concerns, social norms, frugality and SDG awareness, when considered together each positively influenced STB. However, SDG awareness did not accentuate tourists’ sustainability concerns associated with travel and tourism, as initially hypothesized.

Unlike previous studies that have mainly focused on the pro-environmental aspects of sustainability and failed to consider the aforementioned variables concurrently, the results from this study advance our understanding of the determinants of STB (more generally) while accounting specifically for the expected role of the UN SDG agenda.