Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of clients' trust, opportunism and adaptation on contractual (non)cooperation with a mediating role of coordination in the construction industry.

A questionnaire was used to collect data from employees of the Pakistani construction industry. Smart partial least square (SmartPLS) has been used for analyzing the data of 270 respondents from construction projects.

The results of the SmartPLS indicate that (1) Trust and contract coordination positively while opportunism negatively influence contractor's contractual cooperation. (2) Contract adaptation and contract coordination positively influence the noncontractual cooperation of the contractor. (3) Moreover, contract coordination positively mediates the relationship between trust and noncontractual cooperation, but negatively mediates the relationship between opportunism and contract adaptation and noncontractual cooperation.

The findings of this research suggest several policy implications for administrative authorities, project managers and policymakers. These authorities need to focus on clients' trust, opportunism and adaptation because these factors significantly influence contract coordination and cooperation in the construction industry. Emphasizing these factors will enable project managers to gain economies of scale and mitigate project failure.

To the best of the authors’ search and knowledge, they did not find any study examining the mediating role of coordination between trust, opportunism, adaptation and cooperation in the construction industry. Hence, the present study advances their understanding in the field of project management and construction business.

As China is on an inevitable march into the digital era, firms have accumulated abundant digital assets, such as algorithms and data. Facing the possibility of using digital assets as a new type input, besides traditional inputs such as capital and labor, would powerful managers perform better? Would managerial power help managers increase the efficiency of how a firm combines traditional and digital inputs and converts them into outputs? Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether powerful managers promotes corporate productivity by using digital assets as a new input.

Using data from listed Chinese firms between 2008 and 2020, the authors constructed panel regressions with three-way fixed effects to examine whether and how managerial power influences corporate productivity in the current digital context, particularly under market uncertainty.

The findings reveal no consistent relationship between managerial power and corporate productivity. The results explain this from two contrasting effects: while managerial power promotes technological change it hinders technical efficiency – two components of total productivity. Moreover, this study identifies market uncertainty as a significant external contingency. In uncertain markets, strong managerial power positively impacts corporate productivity.

The results extend extant theoretical insights in the literature on how managerial power might influence corporate productivity.

To investigate whether the actual effects of eight drape characteristics of virtual fabrics can be manifested in the Style 3D software.

Image analysis was conducted using MATLAB software to obtain the drape characteristics of virtual fabrics. Pair the drape characteristics of the real and virtual fabrics for difference. The S-W method was used to conduct a normality test to obtain the correlation of paired samples. A paired sample t-test was performed to obtain the significance values.

The simulation restoration performance of the drape coefficient, number of undulations, maximum undulation angle, minimum undulation angle and undulation angle uniformity was good. However, there are differences in the simulation performance of the other three indicators: maximum undulation amplitude, minimum undulation amplitude and undulation amplitude uniformity compared to the drape characteristics of real fabrics.

Provides reference value for the improvement of Style3D software in virtual fabric simulation and finds the main influential parameters and their impact levels that contribute to the realistic representation of virtual fabrics in software. It provides a theoretical basis for course teaching in digital fashion.

This paper aims to explore the factors influencing customers' attitudes and behaviours, specifically in terms of affective satisfaction, participation behaviour, and word-of-mouth, within the restaurant industry, with a focus on both tangible and intangible elements. Additionally, the study seeks to identify the dual mediating role of customer affective satisfaction in this relationship.

In this exploratory study, SEM-VB was utilized to examine data from 312 valid respondents who completed a face-to-face questionnaire using a quantitative methodology. The respondents were targeted at restaurants that serve comparable food and beverages for a similar socioeconomic class.

The findings reveal that perceived value, physical appearance, and standardization significantly contribute to customer affective satisfaction, which, in turn, positively influences their participation behaviour and word-of-mouth.

Practically, restaurant managers can enhance customer experiences and boost positive word-of-mouth by fostering affective satisfaction and encouraging interactive customer participation.

The novel concept of “affective satisfaction” contributes to restaurant management literature by identifying its tangible and intangible drivers and uncovering its outcomes in participation behaviour and word of mouth. By combining numerous factors and investigating the mediating function of affective satisfaction and based on the theory of Expectancy-Disconfirmation, this study adds to the theoretical understanding of what drives the affective satisfaction and word-of-mouth of casual dining restaurants’ customers.

Aqueous zinc-ion battery has broad application prospects in smart grid energy storage, power tools and other fields. Co₃O₄ is one of the ideal cathode materials for water zinc-ion batteries due to their high theoretical capacity, simple synthesis, low cost and environmental friendliness. Many studies were concentrated on the synthesis, design and doping of cathodes, but the effect of process parameters on morphology and performance was rarely reported.

Herein, Co₃O₄ cathode material based on carbon cloth (Co₃O₄/CC) was prepared by different temperatures hydrothermal synthesis method. The temperatures of hydrothermal reaction are 100°C, 120°C, 130°C and 140°C, respectively. The influence of temperatures on the microstructures of the cathodes and electrochemical performance of zinc ion batteries were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry curve, electrochemical charging and discharging behavior and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test.

The results show that the Co₃O₄/CC material synthesized at 120°C has good performance. Co₃O₄/CC nanowire has a uniform distribution, regular surface and small size on carbon cloth. The zinc-ion battery has excellent rate performance and low reaction resistance. In the voltage range of 0.01–2.2 V, when the current density is 1 A/g, the specific capacity of the battery is 108.2 mAh/g for the first discharge and the specific capacity of the battery is 142.6 mAh/g after 60 charge and discharge cycles.

The study aims to investigate the effect of process parameters on the performance of zinc-ion batteries systematically and optimized applicable reaction temperature.

This study aims to investigate the different effects of physical and social servicescapes on brand love for internet-famous restaurants, focusing on their pathways and strengths of influence.

Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze data from 387 online questionnaires in China.

Results indicate that social servicescape directly influences brand love for internet-famous restaurants, while physical servicescape does not. The effect of physical servicescape on brand love for internet-famous restaurants is mediated by perceived coolness and perceived enjoyment, whereas social servicescape’s influence is mediated solely by perceived enjoyment. Overall, physical servicescape has a stronger impact on brand love for internet-famous restaurants compared to social servicescape.

The findings help internet-famous restaurants create effective physical and social servicescapes to enhance brand love, underscoring that physical servicescape is more crucial than social servicescape for cultivating this love.

This study contributes to the literature by analyzing the heterogeneous pathways and strengths of physical and social servicescapes influencing brand love for internet-famous restaurants, while highlighting the mediating role of perceived coolness and expanding the application scope of cognitive appraisal theory.

This paper examines the moderating effects of online reviews on the relationship between country image, product image, and purchase intention of products from two developed countries in Vietnam.

This current research used a cross-sectional design. Data was collected via questionnaires, and 305 responses were left after refining. The collected data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multi-group analysis methods.

Affective country images do not directly affect purchase intention when online review quality and positivity are high. Cognitive country images still directly affect purchase intention when online review positiveness is low. However, online review quantity does not moderate the effects of country images on product images and purchase intention.

Cognitive country image consistently affects purchase intention through the central route independent of online reviews. In contrast, the affective country image will likely affect purchase intention through the peripheral route when online reviews are insufficient for customers.

Firms can mitigate the adverse effects of country image, especially cognitive country image, in foreign markets by improving online review quality and positiveness.

Our study extended existing literature by providing a better understanding of the nature of country image and the roles of country image dimensions in shaping product image and purchase intention in the context of the increasing popularity of online reviews.

This study aims to streamline and enhance the assembly defect inspection process in diesel engine production. Traditional manual inspection methods are labor-intensive and time-consuming because of the complex structures of the engines and the noisy workshop environment. This study’s robotic system aims to alleviate these challenges by automating the inspection process and enabling easy remote inspection, thereby freeing workers from heavy fieldwork.

This study’s system uses a robotic arm to traverse and capture images of key components of the engine. This study uses anomaly detection algorithms to automatically identify defects in the captured images. Additionally, this system is enhanced by digital twin technology, which provides inspectors with various tools to designate components of interest in the engine and assist in defect checking and annotation. This integration facilitates smooth transitions from manual to automatic inspection within a short period.

Through evaluations and user studies conducted over a relatively long period, the authors found that the system accelerates and improves the accuracy of engine inspections. The results indicate that the system significantly enhances the efficiency of production processes for manufacturers.

The system represents a novel approach to engine inspection, leveraging robotic technology and digital twin enhancements to address the limitations of traditional manual inspection methods. By automating and enhancing the inspection process, the system offers manufacturers the opportunity to improve production efficiency and ensure the quality of diesel engines.

The purpose of this study is to examine Construction 4.0 trends, identify potential areas of growth, and explore the use of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies in the construction sector.

Research papers from referred international journals are reviewed to identify the use of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies in the construction sector. Then, Visualization of Similarities viewer software is used to analyze the keyword co-occurrence network, overlay and density visualization. Finally, the roadmap for the adoption of the Industry 4.0 concept in the construction sector is proposed.

Thirteen technologies of the Industry 4.0 concept have an impact on the construction sector. However, Digital Twins, the internet of things, Smart Sensors and 3D printing have the potential to support the Construction 4.0 concept, whereas applications of machine learning, autonomous robotics and augmented/virtual reality still offer plenty of opportunities for future applied research.

This research paper will help decision-makers in the construction sector to adopt the Industry 4.0 enabling technologies. Also, it will serve as a road map for future research in Construction 4.0.

The literature studied for the content analysis includes the years 2013 through 2023, which aids in the development of plans by policymakers for the adoption of the digital construction sector.

Capacitive six-axis force/torque (F/T) sensors require various configurations to fulfill diverse performance requirements; however, a systematic method to assess the feasibility of any new configuration is lacking. This study aims to propose three criteria for evaluating the rationality of these configurations, enabling a quick determination of the feasibility of the initial structure of the sensor.

This study used sensitivity isotropy as a performance metric. By examining the signal conversion process from F/T to displacement using the compliance transformation matrix, the authors identified Criterion 1: the symmetry condition. By analyzing the decoupling process of the sensor, the authors discovered Criterion 2: the capacitor arrangement condition. Through the optimization of analog sensors, this study derived Criterion 3: the range and structural parameters conditions. Ultimately, this study designed and fabricated a sensor that fulfills these criteria, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of the approach through its performance.

By analogy with capacitive six-axis F/T sensors that have demonstrated exceptional performance in recent years, the authors have found that they all meet the criteria proposed in this paper. Furthermore, the sensor designed and fabricated in this study achieves an accuracy of 0.64% FS, surpassing both the accuracy and sensitivity of the commercially available high-performance ATI industrial automation (Gamma) sensor. This underscores the feasibility of this study’s criteria.

By following the configuration guidelines presented in this paper, designers can quickly assess whether a new configuration will perform well at the early stages of the design process. This makes it easier to consider other requirements while meeting the basic performance needs, thereby significantly enhancing design efficiency.