Carmen Y.M. Tan, Rahimi A. Rahman and Yong Siang Lee
The health, well-being and productivity (i.e. WELL) of office building occupants are vulnerable to poor office environments. Therefore, this study aims to identify new features…
Abstract
Purpose
The health, well-being and productivity (i.e. WELL) of office building occupants are vulnerable to poor office environments. Therefore, this study aims to identify new features and concepts of office buildings in supporting occupants’ WELL. To achieve that aim, this study: explores new WELL features for office buildings, develops new WELL concepts for office buildings and examines the influence of the newly developed WELL concepts on existing WELL building standard (WELL v2) concepts.
Design/methodology/approach
The first phase involved ten experts to assign weightage for health, well-being and productivity. In the second phase, 206 questionnaire survey data were collected from office building occupants throughout Malaysia. Exploratory factor analysis established new WELL concepts for office buildings. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling examined the influence of the newly developed WELL concepts on the existing WELL v2 concepts.
Findings
Two new WELL concepts were developed: “space and services”, consisting of sufficient space, workstation privacy, office layouts, building automation systems, cleanliness and information technology (IT) infrastructure, and “building security”, consisting of security systems and safety at parking lots. Here, “space and services” influences all existing WELL v2 concepts, and “building security” influences the water, nourishment, mind and community concepts of WELL v2.
Originality/value
This study uncovers holistic WELL building concepts to support occupants’ health, well-being and productivity with additional new features and concepts for construction industry policymakers to establish holistic building assessment tools.
Details
Keywords
Sandra Rodríguez-Alvarez, Laura del Río del Río-Fernández, Daniel del Río-Santos, Carmen de la Torre-Gamarra, Belen Levenfeld and Alejandro Varez
This study aims to develop a highly loaded filament with spherical metallic particles for fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology. The research focuses on optimizing powder…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a highly loaded filament with spherical metallic particles for fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology. The research focuses on optimizing powder loading, printing parameters and final processes, including debinding and sintering, to produce successful metal parts.
Design/methodology/approach
The optimal powder loading was identified by measuring mixing torque and viscosity at various temperatures. The filament was extruded, and printing parameters − particularly printing speed to ensure proper material flow − were optimized. Different filling patterns were also examined. After printing, the polymeric binder was removed and the parts were sintered to form the final metal components.
Findings
The optimal powder loading was determined to be 55 vol.%. The best surface quality was achieved with an optimized printing speed of 5 mm/s. Parts printed with various infill patterns were studied for differences in open, closed and total porosity, showing a strong link between porosity and infill pattern.
Originality/value
This comprehensive study provides new insights into manufacturing metal parts using FFF technology. It fills a gap in the literature regarding feedstock viscosity and shear rate in highly loaded metal filaments during FFF. Additionally, it uniquely examines the open, closed and total porosity of metal parts printed with different infill patterns.
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José Miguel Holgado-Herrero, F. Javier Rondan-Cataluña, Carmen Barroso-Castro and José Luís Galán-González
The purpose of this study is to explore brand customer erosion at both the category and brand levels while considering consumer socio-demographic characteristics and weight of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore brand customer erosion at both the category and brand levels while considering consumer socio-demographic characteristics and weight of purchase factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 3,563 buyers encompassing 20,601 purchases were collected from a prominent household data panel.
Findings
Brand customer erosion varies depending on socio-demographic factors (householder age, family size, life cycle and social class) and weight of purchase; variations are evident depending on the specific brand.
Originality/value
The paper makes a substantial contribution to the established fields of marketing and consumer behavior literature by opening a new line of research. It does so by demonstrating, the impact of socio-demographic factors on customer erosion. Simultaneously, it presents results that contradict the limited existing research on the influence of weight of purchase on brand customer erosion.
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Rattapong Lapyen and Chonlatis Darawong
The purpose of this article is to propose measurements for assessing various service quality dimensions in the field of automobile maintenance and repair businesses. The study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to propose measurements for assessing various service quality dimensions in the field of automobile maintenance and repair businesses. The study also examines the impact of service quality dimensions on continuance and recommendation intentions of electric vehicle (EV) users.
Design/methodology/approach
Samples comprised 397 EV users who experienced the services provided by automobile maintenance and repair centers. Convenience and snowball sampling methods were conducted to obtain suitable participants.
Findings
For continuance intention, the strongest dimension of service is reliability, followed by responsiveness, empathy, price fairness, queue and waiting management and physical environment. For recommendation intention, the strongest dimension of service quality is also reliability, followed by empathy, responsiveness, queue and waiting management, physical environment and price fairness.
Research limitations/implications
First, the samples of this study consisted of EV users only in Thailand. The findings may not be universally applicable to other nations due to varying levels of EV adoption. Second, the degree to which the six dimensions of service quality vary can be influenced by the demographic characteristics of customers.
Practical implications
Prioritize staff training in responsiveness, empathy and reliability to effectively meet customer needs. Enhance the physical environment for a comfortable experience. Promote transparent pricing aligned with service quality and explain the pricing rationale. Implement effective queueing and waiting management strategies for improved customer comfort during waits. These measures aim to enhance intention to reuse the service and positive recommendations.
Originality/value
This research undertakes an original survey comprising EV users who utilized services from automobile maintenance and repair centers in Thailand. The results sheds light on the influence of service quality on individual’s intentions.