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11 – 20 of 171
Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Li Lin, Zhou Zhen‐Gong and Wu Lin‐Zhi

In this paper, the problem of two parallel symmetry permeable cracks in functionally graded piezoelectric/piezomagnetic materials subjected to an anti‐plane shear loading is…

Abstract

In this paper, the problem of two parallel symmetry permeable cracks in functionally graded piezoelectric/piezomagnetic materials subjected to an anti‐plane shear loading is investigated by use the Schmidt method. To make the analysis tractable, it is assumed that the material properties varied exponentially with coordinate vertical to the crack. Through the Fourier transform, the problem can be solved with the help of two pairs of dual integral equations, in which the unknown variables were the jumps of the displacements across the crack surfaces. To solve the dual integral equations, the jumps of the displacements across the crack surfaces were expanded in a series of Jacobi polynomials. Numerical examples are provided to show the effect of the geometry of the interacting crack and the functionally graded parameter upon the stress intensity factors. The relations among the electric filed, the magnetic flux field and the stress field are obtained. The shielding effect of two parallel cracks has been discussed.

Details

Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1573-6105

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 February 2024

Jianping Hu, Xinjiang Ye and Shengyu Gu

The study advances an enhanced model encompassing psychological involvement, denoted as the psychological continuum model (PCM) and perceived customer service quality as…

Abstract

Purpose

The study advances an enhanced model encompassing psychological involvement, denoted as the psychological continuum model (PCM) and perceived customer service quality as intermediaries in the association between subjective customer knowledge (SCK) and behavioral loyalty. The purpose of this study is to assess the mediating role of psychological engagement and consumers' perceived service quality in the relationship between SCK and behavioral loyalty among members of nonprofit sports service organizations. Additionally, the study aims to examine the impact of membership duration on the relationship between consumer knowledge and behavioral loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a quantitative research design, and primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 527 members of nonprofit Chinese sports clubs who were selected using a simple random sampling technique. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was developed to measure all constructs in the intended research model. The suitability of the measurement model was analyzed by performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data using AMOS-24.

Findings

The results of the overall direct effect indicate a significant influence of subjective knowledge on perceived service quality, perceived service quality significantly and positively influences psychological engagement; psychological engagement was found to be an important predictor of consumer behavioral loyalty.

Originality/value

The results offer information for nonprofit sports club (NPSC) managers who seek to increase the attractiveness and retention of their clubs' members by establishing the importance of subjective consumer knowledge.

Article
Publication date: 28 May 2021

Zhenning Zhu, Lingcheng Kong, Gulizhaer Aisaiti, Mingzhen Song and Zefeng Mi

In the hybrid electricity market consisting of renewable and conventional energy, the generation output of renewable power is uncertain because of its intermittency, and the power…

Abstract

Purpose

In the hybrid electricity market consisting of renewable and conventional energy, the generation output of renewable power is uncertain because of its intermittency, and the power market demand is also fluctuant. Meanwhile, there is fierce competition among power producers in the power supply market and retailers in the demand market after deregulation, which increases the difficulty of renewable energy power grid-connection. To promote grid-connection of renewable energy power in the hybrid electricity market, the authors construct different contract decision-making models in the “many-to-many” hybrid power supply chain to explore the pricing strategy of renewable energy power grid-connecting.

Design/methodology/approach

Considering the dual-uncertainty of renewable energy power output and electricity market demand, the authors construct different decision-making models of wholesale price contract and revenue-sharing contract to compare and optimize grid-connecting pricing, respectively, to maximize the profits of different participants in the hybrid power supply chain. Besides, the authors set different parameters in the models to explore the influence of competition intensity, government subsidies, etc. on power pricing. Then, a numerical simulation is carried out, they verify the existence of the equilibrium solutions satisfying the supply chain coordination, compare the differences of pricing contracts and further analyze the variation characteristics of optimal contract parameters and their interaction relations.

Findings

Revenue-sharing contract can increase the quantity of green power grid-connection and realize benefits Pareto improvement of all parties in hybrid power supply chain. The competition intensity both of power supply and demand market will have an impact on the sharing ratio, and the increase of competition intensity results in a reduction of power supply chain coordination pressure. The power contract price, spot price and selling price have all been reduced with the increase of the sharing ratio, and the price of renewable power is more sensitive to the ratio change. The sharing ratio shows a downward trend with the increase of government green power subsidies.

Originality/value

On the basis of expanding the definition of hybrid power market and the theory of newsvendor model, considering the dual-uncertainty of green power generation output and electricity market demand, this paper builds and compares different contract decision-making models to study the grid-connection pricing strategy of renewable energy power. And as an extension of supply chain structure types and management, the authors build a “many-to-many” power supply chain structure model and analyze the impact of competition intensity among power enterprises and the government subsidy on the power grid-connecting pricing.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 121 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2023

Jiehong Zhou, Fei Han, Xiaoyu Han and Zhen Yan

The paper proposes a research method to verify the perception bias of consumers on the freshness preservation effects of vacuum packaging (VP) and modified atmosphere packaging…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper proposes a research method to verify the perception bias of consumers on the freshness preservation effects of vacuum packaging (VP) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) chilled pork packages, the influence of “sensory experience” on correcting consumers' perception bias of packaging performance and willingness-to-pay (WTP) enhancement channels.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from 458 and 188 participants who completed the contingent valuation method (CVM) and auction experiment, respectively, the study aimed to uncover consumers' packing quality perception bias and WTP, and investigated the societal factors that contribute to variations in WTP.

Findings

The CVM experiment revealed that although consumers' high perception bias rate toward MAP to maintain freshness, as compared to lab test results, came along with low WTP premium to cost rate with sensory experience in the auction experiment, the proportion of consumers with quality perception bias decreased from 49.85% to 34.46%, while the WTP premium to cost rate for MAP increased largely by 36.7%. Perceptive embedding has a positive effect on chilled pork packaging WTP, while normative embedding decreases WTP.

Originality/value

The findings emphasize the need of public policies to promote positive consumption attitudes, while whittling the negative consumption norms, to increase the WTP for packaged child pork and promote the chilled pork market formation.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 126 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2023

Zhen Yan, Zuraina Dato Mansor and Wei Chong Choo

This study aims to analyze the impact of family incivility (FI) on in-role performance (IRP) and proactive customer service performance (PCSP) via the mediating effect of…

1118

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the impact of family incivility (FI) on in-role performance (IRP) and proactive customer service performance (PCSP) via the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion (EE) and the moderating roles of emotional intelligence (EI) and mindfulness.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses were verified using multisource and multiwave data collected from 337 valid hotel employee–supervisor dyads in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0, AMOS 24.0 and PROCESS (version 3.4).

Findings

FI intensified frontline employees’ (FLEs) EE, which subsequently impeded their IRP and PCSP. EI and mindfulness moderated the direct influence of FI on EE, IRP and PCSP and moderated the indirect influence of FI on the two aforementioned outcomes through EE.

Practical implications

Managers should observe FLEs’ indicators of FI and deter its emergence by implementing care programs for FLEs suffering from FI. In addition, human resource managers should preferentially recruit employees with high EI through related tests. Hotels can invite reputable psychologists to provide psychotherapy interventions for FLEs, such as mindfulness-based psychological lectures and therapy.

Originality/value

The hospitality literature lacks an understanding of the underlying process through which FI affects FLEs’ job outcomes. This study incorporates EE as a mediator of the FI’s impact on IRP and PCSP, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to assess whether EI and mindfulness moderate the direct impact of FI on IRP and PCSP and the indirect impact of FI on two aforementioned outcomes via EE.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 35 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2016

Christopher Paul Furner, Robert Zinko and Zhen Zhu

Trust and purchase intent are established, dependent variables in electronic commerce research. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of online product reviews in the…

3539

Abstract

Purpose

Trust and purchase intent are established, dependent variables in electronic commerce research. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of online product reviews in the development of purchase intention, which has led to the development of a substantial research effort in the realm of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). The purpose of this paper is to incorporate e-WOM, information processing and decision-making theories to propose a model of the development of trust and purchase intention based on online product reviews, and incorporate information overload as a moderating factor.

Design/methodology/approach

This study tests the hypotheses using a scenario-based experiment. In total, 157 working adults were asked to read three hotel reviews of different information load. Upon completion, they were then asked to respond to Likert-based questions regarding their trust in the review and purchase intention.

Findings

An inverted U-shaped relationship exists between information load and both trust and purchase intention, where low-information load is ineffective at fostering trust and purchase intention, moderate information load is effective at fostering trust and purchase intention, and high-information load is less effective than moderate information load at fostering trust and purchase intention.

Research limitations/implications

Although the authors supported the inverted U-shaped relationship between information load and two outcomes, the authors only tested three different review lengths, resulting in limited precision, it is not clear where the inflection point is (i.e. exactly how many words results in information overload). Future studies might both seek more precision, and also consider more consumer characteristics, such as risk propensity.

Practical implications

Review platform operators with a stake in encouraging a sale should prioritize and highlight reviews of moderate length (which can be assessed automatically via word count), and consider restricting new reviews of products to minimum and maximum word counts.

Originality/value

This study enhances the relevant and growing body of online review research by: bringing uncertainty reduction theory to bear on the consumer’s information search efforts; using information overload, an important construct from classic information processing and decision-making literature to explain consumer behavior; and identifying a review characteristics (information load) which influences consumer attitudes about a review (trust) and the product (purchase intention). Finally, this study enhances research understanding of a specific experiential service: hospitality.

Details

Journal of Service Theory and Practice, vol. 26 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-6225

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2017

Weiwei Gao, Wanli Li and Zhen Huang

This paper aims to investigate whether family CEOs benefit investment efficiency under uncertainty with Chinese family firms and to test the moderating effect of ownership…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate whether family CEOs benefit investment efficiency under uncertainty with Chinese family firms and to test the moderating effect of ownership structure, including family ownership, the separation of family control from family ownership and the multiple large shareholder structure.

Design/methodology/approach

Fixed-effects models are designed for a sample of 5,734 firm-year observations for Chinese family firms from 2009 to 2014.

Findings

The results show that investment efficiency is low under uncertainty, and having family CEOs can reduce this negative relationship. Further analysis reveals that for firms with family CEOs, the negative effect of uncertainty on investment efficiency is weaker when the family has higher ownership, when family control is less separated from family ownership, or when family firms have multiple large shareholder structures.

Research limitations/implications

The authors do not distinguish founder-CEOs and descendant-CEOs. Most of Chinese family firms are still managed by founders, so the authors cannot explore the generation effect although different generations manage firms differently. Because family succession is becoming a more and more important problem in China, further research may be able to explore the generation effect.

Practical/implications

This paper suggests that in emerging economies with weak investor protection, outside minority shareholders can avoid expropriation from family owners by investing in firms with large family ownership, little separation of family control from ownership or multiple large shareholder structure. In addition, policymakers can encourage institutional investors to participate in family business to improve corporate governance.

Originality/value

Drawing on both Type I and Type II agency theory perspectives, the authors argue that although family CEOs can generally benefit firms’ investment efficiency, the benefits vary with firms’ ownership structure. In other words, family CEOs are not absolute agents or stewards but some extent of combination of both.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2017

Yingyu Zhao, Zhenbin Chen, Jie Li, Zhen Liu, Donglei Liu and Zhizong Li

The purpose of the paper is to separate and purify flavonoids existed in Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudo. by macroporous adsorption resin (MAR) mixed-bed technology.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to separate and purify flavonoids existed in Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudo. by macroporous adsorption resin (MAR) mixed-bed technology.

Design/methodology/approach

The adsorption and desorption parameters were characterized by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. The optimal MAR mixed bed was screened based on the adsorption experiments; the experiment process was investigated by the order of single, two and three MAR mixed bed separately; and the adsorption performance, which was composed by the authority of 80 per cent adsorption ratios and 20 per cent desorption ratios, was adopted to screen MAR mixed bed for flavonoids. The adsorption dynamic investigated the order of reaction first, and then the adsorption mechanism was researched further. The adsorption thermodynamic investigated the adsorption isotherm first, and then the adsorption feature was analyzed.

Findings

This research found that MAR mixed bed of LS-840 + LSD301 with mass ratio of mLS840:mLSD301 = 3:2 was the optimized combination, and the optimal conditions of the adsorption were volume V = 50 mL, time t = 6.5 h, T = 40°C. The desorption conditions were ethanol content = 70 per cent, desorption time t = 3.0 h, T = 40°C. The adsorption dynamic experimental data fitted better to the pseudo-second-order, and the intra-particle-diffusion model was more suitable for expression of the adsorption mechanism in mesopores process, whereas the homogeneous particle-diffusion model was more suitable in microspores. The adsorption was a physical and multilayer adsorption, and the adsorption driving force was disappeared as it transferred to the fourth layer.

Practical implications

Find an efficient way to separate flavonoids that useful for human’s health, which can not only utilize of plant resources effectively, but also make outstanding contributions to medical industry. It has very high economic and social value.

Originality/value

This contribution provided a new way to separate flavonoids from Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudo. Under the optimal conditions, the adsorption rate (F) of MAR mixed bed LS-840 + LSD301 to the flavonoids was 97.81 per cent, the desorption rate (D) was 90.02 per cent and the purity of flavonoids was dramatically increased about 2.08 fold of the crude extract from 28 to 58.4 per cent, and the recovery yield of flavonoids arrived at 91.6 per cent after a circle of adsorption/desorption operation.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. 46 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2019

Xiaoyi He, Liping Li, Xiaojian Liu, Yongsheng Wu, Shujiang Mei and Zhen Zhang

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common infectious disease in infants and children. HFMD has caused millions of cases and a large epidemic worldwide. A number of studies…

Abstract

Purpose

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common infectious disease in infants and children. HFMD has caused millions of cases and a large epidemic worldwide. A number of studies have shown that the incidence of HFMD is closely related to various factors such as meteorological factors, environmental air pollution factors and socio-economic factors. However, there are few studies that systematically consider the impact of various factors on the incidence of HFMD. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used grey correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) method to systematically analyse the impact of meteorological factors, health resource factors, socio-economic factors and environmental air pollution factors on the incidence of HFMD in Shenzhen.

Findings

The incidence of HFMD in Shenzhen was affected by multiple factors. Grey correlation analysis found eight influencing factors which are as follows: volume of industrial waste gas emission; the days of air quality equal to or above grade; the volume of industrial nitrogen oxide emission; precipitation; the mean air temperature; the gross domestic product; the expenditure for medical and health care; and the gross domestic product per capita. PCA found that the gross domestic product, the volume of industrial soot emission, the relative humidity, and the days of air quality equal to or above grade have a higher load value.

Originality/value

This study is the one of the first studies that apply the grey correlation analysis to analyse the influencing factors of HFMD in the English literature, which to some extent fills up the blank in this field.

Details

Grey Systems: Theory and Application, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-9377

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 March 2017

Xiuchen Wang, Yaping Li, Ying Su, Zhen Pan and Zhe Liu

The three-dimensional arrangement structure of the conductive fiber is an important factor of the shielding effectiveness of the electromagnetic shielding fabric (EMSF). However…

Abstract

Purpose

The three-dimensional arrangement structure of the conductive fiber is an important factor of the shielding effectiveness of the electromagnetic shielding fabric (EMSF). However, until now, the three-dimensional arrangement structure has not been described because of the complex structure, which leads to many difficulties for the subsequent analysis of the electromagnetic characteristics. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a feature extraction method to describe the arrangement structure of the conductive fiber based on the three-dimensional calibration and image processing technology, providing a new idea for the above problem.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the three-dimensional positions of the conductive fibers in the EMSF are calibrated using the VHX-600 3D digital microscope and the MATLAB7.5 software. The arrangement characteristics of the conductive fibers are analyzed, and equivalent twist, cross-sectional content, and average angle of a single fiber are proposed to describe the arrangement characteristic of the conductive fiber. Then, a digital description model of the conductive fiber is constructed according to the feature parameters and its three-dimensional structures are reproduced using CATIA. Finally, the reliability of the model is verified by an FDTD example, and the significance and application of the model are given.

Findings

The proposed method can provide the feature extraction and description for the complex spatial three-dimensional arrangement structure of conductive fibers. The feature parameters can reflect different micro arrangement features of the conductive fiber. The proposed idea and method can provide a solid foundation for subsequent studies of the electromagnetic properties of the EMSF.

Originality/value

The study in this paper is of great significance and academic value. This paper provides a new three-dimensional calibration method and constructs multiple feature parameters to describe the complex three-dimensional arrangement structure, providing a new effective method to overcome the problem of the conductive fiber description. The proposed method provides an important basis for the shielding mechanism, transmission characteristics, electromagnetic calculation and product design, and woven technology of the EMSF.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

11 – 20 of 171