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In recent days, friction stir processing (FSP) has emerged as a pioneering approach for the manufacture of composites with enhanced mechanical and tribological properties. The present study aims to examine the impact of process parameters such as tool rotation speed and number of FSP pass on the AZ61A/TiC magnesium metal composite for responses such as hardness and wear resistance.

To minimize number of experimental runs, design of experiment was configured according to the response surface methodology using central composite design. Analysis of variance has been conducted to develop mathematical and empirical model for studying relationship between tool rotation and number of pass for responses such as microhardness and wear resistance. Microhardness was checked on vickers microhardness testing machine, and tribological behavior were examined on pin-on-disc using tribotester. Wear morphology was analyzed via scanning electron microscopy.

The responses were predicted using validated mathematical model, and contour plots were generated to study the interaction and influence of process parameters. Wear observations suggest that for the base magnesium alloy adhesive wear mechanism was dominating and for the developed nanocomposites, abrasive wear mechanism is a prominent factor. It was also observed that both the selected parameters significantly influenced the responses.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior work has been conducted with this material and preparation of composites with TiC nanoparticles. Furthermore, no mathematical models have been developed to predict the response values.

This study aims to explore the moderating impact of governance structure, that is, board characteristics including board size, board independence, board committees and ownership structure like ownership concentration, on the underpricing of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) initial public offerings (IPOs) in the context of an emerging economy such as India.

Using a sample size of 403 SME IPOs listed on Bombay Stock Exchange SME platform and National Stock Exchange EMERGE, this study uses moderated hierarchical regression analysis to investigate these relationships.

The findings highlighted that board independence, board committees and ownership concentration negatively influence underpricing measured using market-adjusted excess returns. While analysing the moderating relationship, this study finds that ownership concentration positively moderates the relationship between board independence and underpricing, as well as the relationship between board committees and IPO underpricing.

This study is limited to a single country only. Although perfectly suitable for our research inquiry, it is imperative to check the validity of the findings by extending it to other emerging countries with similar socio-economic characteristics. Furthermore, this study tested the hypotheses concerning three board characteristics only. Hence, it could be extended to explore additional governance characteristics for a more comprehensive understanding.

This study provides a foundation for managers to adopt a fine-grained approach to effectively design the board structure ahead of an IPO event. Additionally, the findings may assist policymakers in formulating various policies and guide regulators in regulating the limit on ownership held by various shareholders to prevent their opportunism. The results of this study may further advise potential investors interested in SME IPO firms to critically consider the ownership concentration as a driving factor when scrutinizing their investment portfolios.

This study is unique as it advances the debate on the importance of a governance characteristic, that is, ownership concentration, as a moderating variable in the underexplored context of IPO underpricing of small- and medium-sized firms in India.

The study aims to explore how the monitoring and resource provision function of board of directors impact the association between ownership concentration and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) initial public offering (IPO) underpricing in the context of an emerging economy like India.

The sample comprises 390 SME IPOs listed on Bombay Stock Exchange SME platform and National Stock Exchange EMERGE (EMERGE is the NSE new initiative for SMEs to raise the funds from investors) in India. To test the moderating impact of the board monitoring role and resource provision role, the study employs hierarchical moderated regression subject to the fulfillment of assumptions.

The findings divulge that ownership concentration significantly reduces underpricing, hinting towards the operationalization of alignment of interest hypothesis. With regards to moderating relationship, the study found that while board resource providing role negatively moderates the relationship between ownership concentration and SME IPO underpricing, board monitoring function fails to cast any significant impact on the relationship between ownership concentration and SME IPO underpricing.

The present study ignores larger firms listed on the main platform which have complex decision-making than smaller firms. Besides, it is confined to only a single country, i.e. India. Extending the study to other countries with similar institutional characteristics would have validated the findings. Furthermore, the moderating impact of other organizational factors like firm age, lifecycle of firm and change in technology would form an interesting avenue for future research.

The findings of the study have practical implications for managers in designing the adequate board structure that significantly reduces underpricing. It thus further advices the issuers on focusing more on strengthening the resource provision role of board of directors for achieving higher rewards. The findings are helpful to policymakers in framing such policies that enhance the resource-oriented role of board of directors and resource accessibility for SMEs. Furthermore, the results advise the investors to be relatively assured about the SMEs whose board exercises its resource provision role emphatically. Accordingly, findings are helpful to investors in making investment decisions in alternative market settings characterized by the concentrated ownership structure.

The study furthers the debate on the importance of two prominent roles played by board as a moderating variable in the underexplored context of IPO underpricing of small and medium-sized firms in India.

The ability of artificial neural network (ANN) models to predict future stock prices has been the focus of extensive recent research, particularly in comparison to other models. However, recent literature reviews have yet to comprehensively examine the current state of research on ANN models regarding hybrid model integration, feature engineering and selection strategies, uncertainty quantification and risk assessment, transfer learning for market adaptability, and the challenges they face in predicting stock prices. This paper aims to fill this gap by critically reviewing the efforts made to explore the ability of ANN models to predict future stock prices. Using a methodology based on variables analysis, method analysis, software context, and a conclusion, this paper synthesizes 21+ papers published between 2011 and 2023. The findings indicate that ANN models have a strong potential for predicting stock market prices although there is room for improvement in some areas. This paper's findings will be of interest and use to academics and practitioners interested in ANN models for stock price prediction, particularly in development initiatives related to financial technology.

The firms use training evaluation practices (TEPs) to determine the return of billions of dollars spent on employee training and development activities. The firms need to modernize the set of TEPs for evidence-based workforce management decisions. This study aims to examine a mediation mechanism to explain how human resource (HR) professionals’ design thinking (DT) mindset strengthens the set of TEPs using predictive workforce analytics (PWAs).

The authors used SPSS computational named MLMED to test the proposed relationships by collecting data from 180 management professionals serving in subsidiaries of multinational corporations in Pakistan.

The statistical results demonstrated that DT is not directly related to firms’ TEPs. However, the statistical results supported the mediating role of firms’ use of PWAs between DT and TEPs.

The findings offer a new perspective for firms to use HR professionals’ DT mindset for modernizing the set of existing HR practices.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating role of family involvement on the corporate social responsibility (CSR)-firm performance (FP) relationship in the US hospitality industry. Building on agency theory, this study examines how family ownership, management and board control influence the relationship between CSR and FP.

To examine the moderating effect of family ownership, family management and family board control, this study adopts the two-way fixed-effects model and performs a panel regression analysis with robust standard errors. The sample period spans 1994–2018 and 565 firm-year observations are included.

This study finds that the impact of CSR on FP is positively moderated by the extent of a firm’s family member involvement. In specific, all three aspects of corporate governance (i.e. ownership, management and board control) positively moderate the relationship between CSR and FP.

Findings of this study yield several recommendations for hospitality managers, including shaping strategic decisions for implementing CSR, by providing a unique perspective that the involvement of founding family members can be helpful in enhancing firm value through CSR activities.

This study sheds light on the further understanding of the CSR-FP link in the hospitality literature. In addition, this study provides practical guidelines for hospitality firms in the context of CSR by revealing possible advantages of strengthened founding family involvement.

Humanoid robot has similar shape and action characteristics as humans, and it can complete some basic tasks instead of humans without changing the human environment, which makes humanoid robot become the best structure and help form for robot to provide services for human beings.

The mobile operation control of humanoid robot is generated by the walking movement of humanoid robot's feet, and the robot's hand and arm complete grasping and other operations together.

On the basis of humanoid robot, the integrated system of software and hardware based on the KM34Z256 humanoid robot is described first, and a series of kinematics discussion on its mobile operation is carried out.

The research based on this project shows that the target recognition and positioning method is not only accurate and of high energy but also can realize the mobile operation of humanoid robot.

Today, corporate sustainability is at a tipping point. With average lifespan of organizations shrinking, striving for corporate longevity and sustainability has become indispensable in this fast-paced world. Despite the growing interest in this domain, companies are struggling to define sustainability in a way that is relevant to their business. This article attempts to synthesize the extant literature and provide a conceptual perspective on corporate sustainability and sustainable business models.

Thematic literature review was done to gain an understanding of the extant literature and the ongoing debates on organizational sustainability. As the literature in context of corporate sustainability was found to be in a fluid state, a thematic review was found suitable to systematize and disclose valuable insights that open avenues for addressing sustainability concerns.

The paper attempts to throw light on the journey of organizations towards sustainability and how the context of sustainability has changed for the organizations over time. The paper discusses how companies embarked on their sustainability revolution by shifting their focus from mere compliance and philanthropy to attaining a sustainability edge and also explicates the transformation from traditional business models to sustainable business models. Finally, the research gaps are identified to pave the way for future research in the domain of corporate sustainability.

The extant literature on corporate sustainability is in a shambolic state. This creates a need to investigate what has been done and how the context of corporate sustainability is being shaped. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on sustainability by providing a conceptual perspective and highlighting the research gaps which pave the way for future research on sustainability paradigm.