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The developed plasto-elastohydrodynamic lubrication (PEHL) model is used to demonstrate the permanent change of macro morphology by critical high local stress at micro asperities in contact, which may further affect the fluid-film characteristics.

Geometric morphology is integrated into the PEHL model to elucidate the fluid-film properties governed by both macro- and micromorphologies.

Results show the model, accounting for combination of elastic and plastic deformations, realistically reveals fluid film distribution affected by the significant pressure highly concentrated within surface micro roughness interaction. The designed macroscopic textured surface mitigates the fluid film rupture phenomenon and prevents accumulated wear degradation from plastic deformation.

The PEHL model takes into account both elastic and plastic deformations and realistically reveals the fluid film distribution affected by large pressures that are highly concentrated in surface micro-roughness interactions. The macro-textured surfaces are designed to mitigate fluid film rupture phenomena and prevent cumulative wear caused by plastic deformation.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-05-2024-0170/

In developing countries, construction organizations are seeking to effectively implement green innovation strategies. Thus, this study aims to assess the importance of green innovation practices and develop a measurement model for quantifying the green innovation degrees of construction firms.

A mixed-methods research approach is adopted. First, an extensive literature review is performed to identify potential green innovation items, which are then used to design a preliminary questionnaire. Next, expert interviews are conducted to pilot-test this questionnaire. Subsequently, by using a convenience non-probability sampling method, 88 valid responses are collected from construction firms in Vietnam. Then, one-sample and independent-samples t tests are employed to assess the importance of green innovation practices. Fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) is also applied to quantitatively compare such practices. Finally, green innovation level (GIL) is proposed to measure the green innovation indexes and validated by a case study of seven construction firms.

This study identifies 13 green innovation variables, of which several key practices are highlighted for small/medium and large construction firms. The results of FSE analysis indicate that green process innovation is the most vital green category in construction firms, followed by green product and management innovations, respectively. As a quantitative measure, GIL could allow construction firms to frequently evaluate their green innovation indexes, thereby promoting green innovation practices comprehensively. Hence, construction firms would significantly enhance green competitive advantages and increasingly contribute to green and sustainable construction developments.

This research is one of the first attempts to integrate various green innovation practices into a comprehensive formulation. The established indexes offer detailed green innovation evaluations, which could be considered as valuable references for construction practitioners. Furthermore, a reliable and practical tool (i.e. GIL) is proposed to measure the GILs of construction firms in developing countries.

This paper examines the role of purchasing in facilitating early supplier involvement in new product development (NPD) in contexts of technological uncertainty (TU). Taking a purchasing perspective, it develops a moderate model to explain the effects of supplier involvement on NPD performance and whether and how knowledge orchestration capability (KOC) and TU affect these relationships. Additionally, KOC drivers are defined.

A total of 317 usable questionnaires from Chinese high-technology firms were collected. Moderated multiple regression (MMR) was used to test all hypotheses. Resource orchestration theory (ROT) was the adopted theoretical lens.

Two forms of supplier involvement (as knowledge source and co-creator) were found to distinctly affect NPD performance and have potential substitutive relationships. Purchasing KOC positively moderates the relationships between forms of supplier involvement on NPD performance. TU strengthens the moderating role of purchasing KOC. Furthermore, purchasing status and supply complexity are important antecedents for purchasing KOC.

These findings serve as a blueprint for involving purchasing in technologically uncertain NPD projects and improve supplier NPD integration. Additionally, management should recognize the purchasing function's role and empower it to identify ideas, knowledge and solutions within supply networks.

This research contributes to the ROT by examining the role of purchasing KOC on supplier involvement in NPD performance, especially under TU. Moreover, it demonstrates significant and positive relations between purchasing department status and external supply complexity on its KOC.

Using the multifunctional friction and wear testing machine independently developed by the research group, the friction and wear tests of different friction conditions (contact pressure and sliding speed) are conducted on the brake materials of high-speed trains with the ambient humidity of 95% and the initial temperature of the disk of 200°C.

Friction and wear.

The test results show that changing the friction conditions has a significant effect on the braking performance of high-speed trains.

YES.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-05-2024-0171/

This work makes a case for legitimacy as a framework with which to examine how educators made decisions about implementing entrepreneurship education (EE) in higher education institutions (HEIs) to better understand the educator within the educational ecosystem. It then uses a new legitimacy framework that includes self-legitimacy to examine the issues a group of educators in China encountered when implementing new constructivist entrepreneurship modules in their non-entrepreneurship curricula.

The researchers utilized focus groups to collect data from 24 groups of educators at HEIs in 4 regions of China. The researchers used a bottom-up thematic analysis process to identify themes and used legitimacy as a lens to analyze the data.

The results are presented in three main categories: theorization, or how the practice aligns with existing practice; diffusion, or how the practice is perceived by stakeholders; and self-legitimacy, or how the practice impacts the educator’s image of the self. The data show that legitimization of their constructivist EE practice has not occurred at each of these stages, leaving educators struggling to rationalize how the new practice fits into their existing ecosystem.

Using legitimacy as an approach, the research adds to an understanding of how and why entrepreneurship educators adopt practice and how they are empowered to change practice within their existing institutional structures. It brings different legitimacy theories into one framework to examine changes to EE practice and it applies self-legitimacy to education, an area previously only examined in high power distance situations like law enforcement, but which is appropriate for high power distance educational cultures like China.

Machine learning (ML) technologies are increasingly being applied in building cost estimation as an advanced method to overcome the challenge of insufficient data and subjective effects of experts. To address the gap of lacking a review of ML applications in building cost estimation, this research aimed to conduct a systematic literature review to provide a robust reference and suggest development pathways for creating novel ML-based building cost prediction models, ultimately enhancing construction project management capabilities.

A systematic literature review according to preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) was adopted using quantitative bibliographic analysis and qualitative narrative synthesis based on the 70 screened publications from Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases. The VOSviewer software was used to prepare the thematic focus from the bibliographic data garnered.

Based on the results of a bibliographic analysis, current research hotspots and future trends in the application of ML to building cost estimation have been identified. Additionally, the mechanisms behind existing ML models and other key points were analyzed using narrative synthesis. Importantly, the weaknesses of current applications were highlighted and recommendations for future development were made. These recommendations included defining the availability of building attributes, increasing the application of emerging ML algorithms and models to various aspects of building cost estimation and addressing the lack of public databases.

The findings are instrumental in aiding project management professionals in grasping current trends in ML for cost estimation and in promoting its adoption in real-world industries. The insights and recommendations can be utilized by researchers to refine ML-based cost estimation models, thereby enhancing construction project management. Additionally, policymakers can leverage the findings to advocate for industry standards, which will elevate technical proficiency and ensure consistency.

Compared to previous research, the findings revealed research hotspots and future trends in the application of ML cost estimation models in only building projects. Additionally, the analysis of the establishment mechanisms of existing ML models and other key points, along with the developed recommendations, were more beneficial for developing improved ML-based cost estimation models, thereby enhancing project management capabilities.

This study aims to investigate the most effective approach for governments and enterprises to combat desertification by considering the governance cycle. The focus is on understanding how the government can incentivize enterprises to actively engage in desertification combat efforts.

Both the government and the enterprise are treated as rational entities, making strategic choices for joint participation in combating desertification. Recognizing the dynamic nature of the desertification combat area, differential game models are employed to identify the optimal mode for combating desertification.

The findings underscore the significant influence of the governance cycle duration on the selection of desertification combat modes for government and enterprise. A cooperative mode is best suited to a short governance cycle, while an ecological subsidy mode is optimal for a longer cycle. Enhancing governance technology and shortening the governance cycle are conducive to combating desertification. Reducing taxes alone may not be an effective control strategy; rather, the government can better motivate enterprises by adopting tax rate policies aligned with the chosen governance mode.

This research contributes by elucidating the impact mechanism of the government cycle’s length on the desertification combat process. The results may offer valuable insights for governments in formulating strategies to encourage corporate participation in combating desertification and provide theoretical support for selecting optimal desertification combat modes.

This study examines how leaders’ narcissistic rivalry (LNR) affects the in-role performance (IRP) and proactive customer service performance (PCSP) of employees in the hospitality industry. Specifically, this study investigates the mediating role of psychological distress and the moderating role of locus of control (LOC) in the aforementioned relationships.

This study administered a multi-wave, multi-source questionnaire survey with 323 employees working in 11 full-service hotels in China. Statistical analyses were performed using the PROCESS macro in SPSS 26 software and structural equation modeling using Mplus 8.3 software.

The authors' results suggest that LNR can negatively affect hospitality employees’ IRP and PCSP and that these relationships are mediated by psychological distress. Additionally, the impact of LNR on psychological distress can be lessened by internal LOC.

This study contributes to the literature on leader narcissism by investigating how LNR affects IRP and PCSP among hospitality employees. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this study also identifies a novel mediating mechanism (psychological distress) connecting LNR to hospitality employees’ service outcomes. Furthermore, this study reveals the moderating role of LOC in the relationship between LNR and psychological distress.

Limited use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology on construction sites has restricted its value in the construction industry. To propel its widespread application, this paper explores the influencing factors and action paths of construction companies' IoT technology adoption behavior.

First, literature research, technology adoption theories, and semi-structured expert interviews were employed to build the adoption model. Second, a questionnaire survey was conducted among Chinese construction contractors to collect empirical data. Third, the structural equation model method and regression analysis were used to test the adoption model. Finally, the findings were further validated with interviews, case studies, and field observations.

External environmental pressure (EEP), perceived benefit (PB), top management support (TMS), company resource readiness (CRR), adoption intention (AI), and perceived compatibility (PCA) have a direct positive impact on adoption behavior (AB). In contrast, perceived cost (PC) and perceived complexity (PCL) exert a direct negative impact on AB. The EEP, PB, and PC are critical factors affecting AB, whereas AI is strongly affected by CRR and TMS. Besides, AI plays a part mediating role in the relationship between seven factors and AB. Company size and nature positively moderate AI's positive effect on AB.

This paper contributes to the knowledge of IoT technology adoption behavior in the construction sector by applying the technology adoption theories. Exploring the implementation barriers and drivers of IoT technology in construction sites from the perspective of organizational technology adoption behavior and introducing moderating variables to explain adoption behavior are innovations of this paper. The findings can help professionals better understand the IoT technology adoption barriers and enhance construction companies' adoption awareness, demand, and ability. This work also provides a reference for understanding the impact mechanism of the adoption behavior of other innovative technologies in construction.

Cloud computing originated in central data centers that are connected to the backbone of the Internet. The network transport to and from a distant data center incurs long latencies that hinder modern low-latency applications. In order to flexibly support the computing demands of users, cloud computing is evolving toward a continuum of cloud computing resources that are distributed between the end users and a distant data center. The purpose of this review paper is to concisely summarize the state-of-the-art in the evolving cloud computing field and to outline research imperatives.

The authors identify two main dimensions (or axes) of development of cloud computing: the trend toward flexibility of scaling computing resources, which the authors denote as Flex-Cloud, and the trend toward ubiquitous cloud computing, which the authors denote as Ubi-Cloud. Along these two axes of Flex-Cloud and Ubi-Cloud, the authors review the existing research and development and identify pressing open problems.

The authors find that extensive research and development efforts have addressed some Ubi-Cloud and Flex-Cloud challenges resulting in exciting advances to date. However, a wide array of research challenges remains open, thus providing a fertile field for future research and development.

This review paper is the first to define the concept of the Ubi-Flex-Cloud as the two-dimensional research and design space for cloud computing research and development. The Ubi-Flex-Cloud concept can serve as a foundation and reference framework for planning and positioning future cloud computing research and development efforts.