Diana Escandon-Barbosa, Andrea Hurtado-Ayala, Josep Rialp-Criado and Jairo A. Salas-Paramo
Societal changes and technological development have brought about drastic lifestyle change in the past decades. This drastic change is evident when comparing the lifestyle and…
Abstract
Purpose
Societal changes and technological development have brought about drastic lifestyle change in the past decades. This drastic change is evident when comparing the lifestyle and general characteristics of generations who have been born immersed in this technological context to those of other generations. The objective of this paper is to analyze brand image (BI) as determinant of brand attitude (AB), and the moderating effect of brand equity (BE), in the use of online information among millennial shoppers from Colombia. In general, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to existing literature related to the importance of generational membership in classifying individuals regarding brand perception (BI, AB and BE) and association with the use of shopping channels between different generations.
Design/methodology/approach
A hierarchical regression model is estimated with a sample of university students in Colombia who are considered potential coffee consumers, and who were classified as millennials based on their age.
Findings
The results support that BE effect has a greater impact on AB when consumers have a good BI. Millennials also use more online communication sources to create brand perceptions.
Originality/value
Nevertheless, few studies have concurrently analyzed the characteristics of brand building and types of sources of information (online vs offline). This paper attempts to analyze the behavior of millennial consumers and the use of information channels online vs offline to manage brand and analyze BI, AB and BE.
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Massimo Fabbri, Pier Luigi Ribani and Davide Zuffa
A conveyor device is studied with the aim to reduce the friction between the inner surface of the beam and the chain. The lower is the friction between the chain and the beam, the…
Abstract
Purpose
A conveyor device is studied with the aim to reduce the friction between the inner surface of the beam and the chain. The lower is the friction between the chain and the beam, the lower is the surface wear. The magnetic repulsion force among permanent magnets (PMs) placed on the beam and on the chain is utilized to reduce friction. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The considered magnetic suspension is realized with PMs in repulsive configuration; it is designed by solving a constrained optimization problem, with reference to the geometry of the 90° horizontal bend FlexLink WL322 conveyor. Flux density field and its gradient are evaluated using volume integral equation method, allowing to calculate the forces acting on the chain and the stiffness of the magnetic suspension.
Findings
The magnetic suspension prototype was manufactured and tested. The experimental and calculated values of the forces acting on the chain compares well. A stable horizontal equilibrium of the chain was obtained during both static and dynamical tests.
Research limitations/implications
The quasi-static model used neglects the dynamical interactions among the elements of the chain, the PMs and loads weight during motions and the eddy current losses in the aluminium beam. However the dynamical tests on the prototype show that the chain motion is regular up to the nominal velocity all along the conveyor with the exception of the trailing edge of the 90° curve.
Practical implications
The tests on the prototype show the possibility of a removal or at least a reduction of the friction force between the chain and the inner side of the beam by means of a passive magnetic suspension. As a consequence a reduction of noise and vibrations and an increase of the mean-time-to-failure is expected.
Originality/value
Prototype testing shows that the unavoidable vertical instability of the magnetic forces has no practical consequence since, reducing the allowed vertical gap, the chain is stabilized by the gravitational force.
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This paper aims to address the extant and arguable role of enterprise systems (ES) in relation to management accounting practices (MAPs) through an inclusion relative neglect…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address the extant and arguable role of enterprise systems (ES) in relation to management accounting practices (MAPs) through an inclusion relative neglect account of business process management (BPM). This is also extended to draw out an analytical framework to advance our understanding of how BPM mediate ES-MAPs interplay.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional case study was adopted as a research strategy with which to collect data about the ES-BPM-MAPs interplay as a unit of analysis. The latter, in the first stage, was examined across (89) mini-case studies operating in the UK context through reports and documentations collected from cases’ websites, vendors and consultants of information systems. Drawn insights from cross-sectional analysis and contributions made by prior studies are blended together to inform the second stage that outlines an analytical framework for ES-BPM-MAPs interplay.
Findings
Different ES are mobilised to address different orientations of BPMs and being used for different managerial functions and purposes. Different patterns of ES-BPM-MAPs interplay are identified across (89) UK-case studies and the BPM is a fulcrum understanding. These patterns are centred around three key BPM including customer, logistics and control processes and all oriented by a continuum of an organisation intention focus on control, understanding and strategising. Both processes and orientations explain ES development and MAPs evolution processes. Standardisation, integration and intelligence are key characteristics sought through ES mobilisations. By complementary, information provision, analytics and simulation are three sophisticated ways of using MA information facilitated by ES characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
Dynamic processes of MAPs change over time and are beyond the reach of this study. Such approach requires full access to case studies. BPM is fulcrum understanding of MAPs change and/or stability in relation to ES implementation including other components.
Practical implications
Findings and analytical framework could be used as a base for establishing the best approach in adopting ES to fully exploit the potential of future ES applications as well as to avoid organisations pitfalls of implementations. Organisations are advised to understand their existing business processes, characteristics of MA information would be achieved first upon which decision of ES components selection and implementation could be outlined.
Originality/value
The indirect interplay between ES and MAPs through business processes is rarely examined. By the inclusion of BPM and using cross-sectional case studies, this research contributes to the existing shortcomings of ES-MAPs interplay by broadening the picture and proposing an analytical framework. The latter advances our understanding by focusing on attributes of ES-BPM-MAPs upon which informal changes in-the use of MAPs are recognised.
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ROBYN SCHINKE, MARK GREENGRASS, ALEXANDER M. ROBERTSON and PETER WILLETT
This paper describes the design of a stemming algorithm for searching databases of Latin text. The algorithm uses a simple longest‐match approach with some recoding but differs…
Abstract
This paper describes the design of a stemming algorithm for searching databases of Latin text. The algorithm uses a simple longest‐match approach with some recoding but differs from most stemmers in its use of two separate suffix dictionaries (one for nouns and adjectives and one for verbs) for processing query and database words. These dictionaries and the associated stemming rules are arranged in such a way that the stemmer does not need to know the grammatical category of the word that is being stemmed. It is very easy to overstem in Latin: the stemmer developed here tends, rather, towards understemming, leaving sufficient grammatical information attached to the stems resulting from its use to enable users to pursue very specific searches for single grammatical forms of individual words.
Reviews previous research on the effects of CEO compensation structure, outlines the criteria for relative performance evaluation (RPE) and notes the paucity of empirical evidence…
Abstract
Reviews previous research on the effects of CEO compensation structure, outlines the criteria for relative performance evaluation (RPE) and notes the paucity of empirical evidence to support it. Reports a study of the use of RPE for US bank CEO compensation 1976‐1988; and its relationship to shareholder, market and industry returns. Explains the methodology and presents the results, which suggest that CEO pay is positively linked to firm performance, but negatively linked to market/industry performance; and that performance is positively linked to CEO option wealth. Adds that both the pay/performance link and the use of RPE increased after bank deregulation in the early 1980s. Considers consistency with other research and concludes that the reduction in compensation risk offered by RPE should reduce compensation cost and thus provide a good reason for the banking industry to increase its use.
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Chunxia Yu, Zhiqin Zou, Yifan Shao and Fengli Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel integrated supplier selection approach incorporating decision maker’s risk attitude using the artificial neural network (ANN)…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel integrated supplier selection approach incorporating decision maker’s risk attitude using the artificial neural network (ANN), analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) methods.
Design/methodology/approach
In the proposed approach, the ANN model is used to classify decision maker’s risk attitude; the fuzzy AHP method is used to determine the relative weights of evaluation criteria; and the fuzzy TOPSIS method is used to evaluate ratings of suppliers. Finally, experiments are conducted to verify the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed integrated approach.
Findings
Experiments results show that the proposed integrated approach is effective and efficient to help decision makers to select suitable suppliers according to their risk attitudes.
Originality/value
The aim of this paper is to develop a novel integrated supplier selection approach incorporating decision maker’s risk attitude using the ANN, AHP and TOPSIS methods. The decision maker’s risk attitude toward procurement transaction is originally considered in supplier selection process.
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Jia-Neng Cheng, Yan Liu, Hongwei Che, Guoping Yan, Xinghai Liu, Xiaojing Liu, Xiaoyan Wang and Bo Bi
The purpose of this investigation was to study a transparent coating based on organic silicone resins prepared by the hydrolysis and condensation of methyltriethoxysilane and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this investigation was to study a transparent coating based on organic silicone resins prepared by the hydrolysis and condensation of methyltriethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane.
Design/methodology/approach
The coating film was characterized by IR, UV, thermal gravity analysis, scanning electron microscope and an automatic contact angle meter. Some properties of the coating film, such as adhesion, impact resistance and wear-resistance also were evaluated.
Findings
These uniform, clear and smooth coating films possessed the high transparent and light transmittance, high density, high hydrophobicity, good adhesion, hardness and anti-corrosion.
Originality/value
The coating may be considered as a protective film for the surfaces of the metals and plastics.
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Christian Nedu Osakwe, Nikolina Palamidovska-Sterjadovska, Martin Mihajlov and Anita Ciunova-Shuleska
This study aims to facilitate the understanding of brand building among owners/managers of SMEs by highlighting the relationships among the multidimensionality of brand…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to facilitate the understanding of brand building among owners/managers of SMEs by highlighting the relationships among the multidimensionality of brand orientation, brand-building behavior and brand identity.
Design/methodology/approach
In addressing the research issue, the study uses responses from 158 domesticated SMEs in North Macedonia, afterwards relying on structural equation modeling to test the research propositions.
Findings
This study validates brand orientation as a multidimensional term that is underlined by brand artefacts, norms and values. This study also validates the assumptions that brand orientation, brand-building behavior and brand identity are significantly related.
Research limitations/implications
While it is possible that our evidence base is limited to the context studied, the research findings nevertheless contribute primarily to the emergent scholarship on SMEs' brand building.
Practical implications
This study has practical consequences for SMEs' brand building. More specifically, it enriches the understanding of the interrelationships between brand orientation, brand-building behavior and brand identity.
Originality/value
This study provides an advanced perspective of brand orientation as a complex phenomenon and further provides understanding of its relations to brand-building behavior and brand identity of the domesticated SMEs.
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Clifford F. Gray and Michael F. Herold
Warehouse managers need answers to such questions as: How many orders can we process in the next eight hours; How many people are needed to get this block of orders out in the…
Abstract
Warehouse managers need answers to such questions as: How many orders can we process in the next eight hours; How many people are needed to get this block of orders out in the next four hours; How can we schedule the arrival of our trucks and customer trucks to minimise waiting time; What quantity of output can we reasonably expect from our warehouse personnel? Answers to all of these questions depend on some form of work standards which define how long it takes to fill each order.
This study, carried out in the bilingual and bicultural border area of South Texas, is an exploration of bilingual preservice teachers’ identity formation and their experiences…
Abstract
This study, carried out in the bilingual and bicultural border area of South Texas, is an exploration of bilingual preservice teachers’ identity formation and their experiences and beliefs about literacy and biliteracy during an undergraduate class focused on learning about emergent literacy in the bilingual classroom. This study is based on a sociocultural approach to learning and identity development, and research that explores how bilingual teachers’ identity is shaped through their participation in cultural and linguistic practices. The purpose of this practitioner research is to provide insights into preservice teachers’ identities as they start to explore literacy and biliteracy practices. Two research questions guide the study: What experiences about literacy and biliteracy development do prospective teachers identify as meaningful? How do these experiences contribute to define bilingual preservice teachers’ identities? Findings indicate that bilingual preservice teachers’ identities are shaped by cultural and linguistic experiences that define the bilingual and bicultural dynamics of the region. Two predominant types of experiences impact bilingual preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching, learning, and literacy/biliteracy development. Particularly significant in defining their perceptions are the lessons learned from meaningful others – especially mothers and teachers – and certain relevant memories regarding effective practices they experienced when learning to read and write. Implications for teacher education preparation of bilingual teachers are identified.