Simona Cătălina Ştefan, Ion Popa, Ana Alexandra Olariu, Ştefan Cătălin Popa and Cătălina-Florentina Popa
The current study has a two-fold purpose. Firstly, it aims to analyze the extent to which knowledge management (KM) affects the performance of individuals (task and contextual) on…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study has a two-fold purpose. Firstly, it aims to analyze the extent to which knowledge management (KM) affects the performance of individuals (task and contextual) on the one hand and that of organizations (product or service, perceived and financial) on the other hand. Secondly, it proposes to investigate the mediating effect of motivation and innovation in the relationship between KM and individual and organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed in this study, with mediation analysis performed using advanced PLS-SEM techniques. A total of 1,284 respondents from organizations in both the public and private sectors were included in the sample.
Findings
The findings emphasize that KM has a more significant direct effect on individual performance compared to organizational performance. Concurrently, in terms of indirect influence, it is found that KM, through motivation and innovation, has a positive and significant effect on both individual and organizational performances, with a higher influence on the organizational one.
Originality/value
The originality of the work can be noted in designing two different structural models to represent the proposed relationships at the individual and organizational levels. These findings could provide organizational decision makers with empirical evidence, helping them (1) internalize the significance of the KM process in organizations as well as its subsequent effects on individual and organizational performance and (2) identify factors that mediate variable relationships.
Details
Keywords
Ştefan Cătălin Popa, Simona Cătălina Ştefan, Ana Alexandra Olariu, Cătălina-Florentina Popa and Marius Ioan Pantea
Organizational culture (OC) is not only a key factor in the development of organizational performance but also an important source of employee orientation toward a better…
Abstract
Purpose
Organizational culture (OC) is not only a key factor in the development of organizational performance but also an important source of employee orientation toward a better understanding of organizational goals. This study aims to analyze the influence of two individual factors on OC: (1) the competencies of employees and (2) perceived leadership behavior. The study also focuses on how the relationship between individual factors and OC differs between public and private organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, data were collected through a survey, and a structural equation modeling approach, partial least squares structural equation modeling, was used to highlight the proposed direct, mediated and moderated relationships. The sample comprises 1,284 respondents, representing both public and private sector organizations.
Findings
Based on the results, the employees' competencies positively and significantly influence the hierarchical and market orientation of OC. Additionally, the perceived leadership behavior positively and significantly influences the adoption of all four types of cultural characteristics (i.e. clan, adhocracy, market and hierarchy).
Practical implications
The results are of great benefit to organizations who may become more aware that employees' skills and how employees perceive leadership behavior can significantly influence OC.
Originality/value
These findings make an important contribution to understanding how the characteristics of each type of OC can be influenced by certain behaviors, skills and perceptions and how those relationships may be shaped by the organization's ownership.
Details
Keywords
Catalin Viorel Popa, Cong Tam Nguyen, Stéphane Fohanno and Guillaume Polidori
In the present work, a theoretical model based on the full Navier-Stokes and energy equations for transient mixed convection in a vertical tube is extended to nanofluids with…
Abstract
Purpose
In the present work, a theoretical model based on the full Navier-Stokes and energy equations for transient mixed convection in a vertical tube is extended to nanofluids with nanoparticle volume fraction up to 5 percent to ensure a Newtonian fluid behaviour. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The nanofluids considered, alumina/water and CuO/water, flow inside a vertical tube of circular cross-section, which is subjected to convective heat exchange at the outer surface. The transient regime is caused by a sudden change of nanofluid temperature at the tube inlet. The range of the Richardson number (1.6=Ri=2.5) investigated in this study corresponds to classic cases of mixed convection flow.
Findings
Results have shown a significant reduction in the size of the recirculation zone near the wall when the particle volume fraction increases. This may be attributed to the viscosity increase with the volume fraction. Moreover, the flow structure clearly changes when the convective heat transfer coefficient is modified. A decrease of the wall temperature along the tube was found when increasing the convective heat transfer coefficient imposed at the tube external surface.
Research limitations/implications
The problem formulation in 2D axisymmetric geometry includes the continuity, the Navier-Stokes and energy equations and is based on the stream function and vorticity; the numerical solution of equations is carried out using a finite difference method.
Practical implications
From an economic point of view, this research paper is innovative in the sense that it considers nanofluids as a new and more efficient way to transfer heat. This paper could find applications for heat exchange purposes of compact systems with high thermal loads.
Originality/value
Across the world, a still growing number of research teams are investigating nanofluids and their properties. Investigations concern several aspects such as the preparation of the nanofluids, as well as the applications of these nanofluids for convective heat transfer purposes. The dynamical study will consist in the instantaneous and spatial characterization of the dynamic flow field for different nanoparticle volume fractions.
Details
Keywords
Fabien Beaumont, Catalin Popa, Gérard Liger Belair and Guillaume Polidori
Very recently, driven by glassmakers and champagne houses, attention has been paid to the way to control effervescence and bubble nucleation. It was demonstrated that ascending…
Abstract
Purpose
Very recently, driven by glassmakers and champagne houses, attention has been paid to the way to control effervescence and bubble nucleation. It was demonstrated that ascending bubbles act like many swirling motion generators in champagne glasses. It is the reason why a numerical modeling of flow dynamics induced by the effervescence in a glass of champagne has been carried out for the first time using the finite volume method by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to define source terms for flow regime and to reproduce accurately the nucleation process at the origin of effervescence, specific subroutines for the gaseous phase have been added to the main numerical model. These subroutines allow the modeling of bubbles behavior based on semi-empirical formulas relating to bubble diameter and velocity or mass transfer evolutions.
Findings
Details and development of the steps of modeling are presented in this paper, showing a good agreement between the results obtained by CFD simulations in a reference case of those from laser tomography and Particle Image Velocimetry experiments, validating the present model.
Originality/value
A numerical modeling of flow dynamics induced by the effervescence in a glass of champagne has been carried out for the first time using the finite volume method by CFD.
Details
Keywords
Teodora Marcu, Cinzia Menapace, Luca Girardini, Dan Leordean and Catalin Popa
The purpose of this paper was to obtain by means of selective laser melting and then characterize biocomposites of medical-grade Ti6Al7Nb with hydroxyapatite (2 and 5 vol.%) and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to obtain by means of selective laser melting and then characterize biocomposites of medical-grade Ti6Al7Nb with hydroxyapatite (2 and 5 vol.%) and without hydroxyapatite, as reference.
Design/methodology/approach
Rectangular samples were manufactured with the same scanning strategy; the laser power was between 50 W and 200 W. Processed samples were analysed by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and microhardness.
Findings
The results showed that despite the very short processing times, hydroxyapatite decomposed and interacted with the base Ti6Al7Nb material. The decomposition degree was found to depend on the applied laser power. From the porosity and bulk microstructure point of view, the most appropriate materials for the purposed medical applications were Ti6Al7Nb with hydroxyapatite processed with a laser power of 50 W.
Originality/value
The originality of the present work consists in the study of the behaviour and interaction of hydroxyapatite additive with the Ti6Al7Nb base powder under selective laser melting conditions, as depending on the applied laser power.
Details
Keywords
Ton Hoang Mai, Catalin Viorel Popa and Omar Kholai
The aim of this study is to present numerical analyses for combined effects of the inlet temperature (ΔT+) and the wall‐to‐fluid thermal capacitance ratio (a*) on the laminar…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to present numerical analyses for combined effects of the inlet temperature (ΔT+) and the wall‐to‐fluid thermal capacitance ratio (a*) on the laminar mixed convection unsteady flows in a vertical pipe.
Design/methodology/approach
The full Navier‐Stokes and energy, coupled, unsteady state, two‐dimensional governing equations for ascending laminar mixed convection in a vertical pipe are solved numerically using a finite‐difference scheme.
Findings
The results show that the thermohydraulic flow behaviour is highly dependent on both parameters (ΔT+, a*). Moreover, the unsteady characteristics of the flow can involve oscillatory and reversed flow phenomena yielding the unstable flows. For the heating case, the reversed flow appears below the wave instability and the unsteady vortex is always significant in the vicinity of the wall, whatever ΔT+ and a*<100. For the cooling case, the reversed flow appears in the central region of the pipe; it develops on top of the wave instability.
Practical implications
This study should be very useful to improve heat transfer equipment.
Originality/value
The paper shows clearly the combined effects of both parameters (ΔT+, a*) on the laminar mixed convection flow.
Details
Keywords
Catalin Nicolae Albu, Nadia Albu, Flavius Andrei Guinea and Mathew Tsamenyi
This paper investigates the process of translating a costing tool into operational use in the context of a transitional (post-communist) economy, where local institutions…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the process of translating a costing tool into operational use in the context of a transitional (post-communist) economy, where local institutions challenge the rationality of western methods.
Design/methodology/approach
By mobilizing Actor–Network Theory, in particular Callon's four moments of translation, and by drawing data from an interventionist research, the paper focuses on the process of change instilled by the implementation of a costing tool in 20 Romanian construction companies.
Findings
The costing system is initially problematized as a tool for rational decision making. However, the visibility over the accounting figures generated by the costing tool instilled new roles for the cost system to manage internal and external interdependencies. First, two costing datasets were created, one for decision making and one for tax purposes, to manage the relationship with the state taxation authorities. Second, since the costing tool generated visibility over the field practices as well, engineers convinced management to drop the decision-making set of costs. The costing tool ultimately only became used for tax optimization, an originally unintended use, reflecting its translation process.
Research limitations/implications
By taking an interventionist approach, the paper contributes to theorizing accounting in transitional economies by bringing their economic idiosyncrasies into the analysis.
Practical implications
The results inform managers about the intended and unintended consequences of management accounting tools and about actors' role in shaping their use.
Originality/value
Our research responds to recent calls to study how organizations configure their control systems in a rapidly changing environment and what is the role of management accounting in these arrangements.
Details
Keywords
Andreia de Bem Machado, Maria José Sousa and Gertrudes Aparecida Dandolini
Blockchain is an innovative and emerging technology that allows the structuring of open data in a secure and decentralized manner. This technology, coupled with artificial…
Abstract
Blockchain is an innovative and emerging technology that allows the structuring of open data in a secure and decentralized manner. This technology, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), is a driver of digital transformation that permeates all sectors of the economy. In this context, it becomes relevant to understand the applicability of AI and blockchain in education, more specifically their use in higher education. Thus, the following problem arises: how can blockchain technology and AI be applied to higher education? To answer this problem, the following objective was set: to map by means of a scoping review how AI and blockchain can be applied in education as a technology for higher education. To this end, a bibliometric search was conducted in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases, adopting the PRiSM methodology for scoping review. The results showed that blockchain and AI can be used in higher education through a smart contract that serves to motivate teamwork and student involvement in activities performed in the school context and also to increase machine reliability by establishing a chain of information. It is also concluded that these technologies will help form a generation ready to work in a more collaborative way, adopting attitudes of sustainability in its local and global context for solving complex problems of everyday life in the 21st century.
Details
Keywords
Nadia Albu, Cătălin Nicolae Albu, Oana Apostol and Charles H. Cho
Mobilizing a theoretical framework combining institutional logics and “imprinting” lenses, this paper provides an in-depth contextualized analysis of how historical imprints…
Abstract
Purpose
Mobilizing a theoretical framework combining institutional logics and “imprinting” lenses, this paper provides an in-depth contextualized analysis of how historical imprints affect social and environmental reporting (SER) practices in Romania, a post-communist country in Eastern Europe.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a qualitative field study with a diverse dataset including regulations, publicly available reports and interviews with multiple actors involved in the SER field in Romania. The authors follow a reflexive approach in constructing the narratives by mobilizing their personal experience and understanding of the field to analyze the rich empirical material.
Findings
The authors identify a blend of logics that combine local and Western conceptualizations of business responsibilities and explain how the transition from a communist ideology to the free market economy affected SER practices in Romania. The authors also highlight four major imprints and document their longitudinal development, evidencing three main patterns: persistence, transformation and decay. The authors find that the deep connections that form between logics and imprints explain the cohabitation of logics rather than their straight replacement.
Originality/value
The paper contributes by evidencing the role of imprints' dynamics in the institutionalization of SER logics. The authors claim that the persistence (decay) of imprints from a former regime such as communism hinders (facilitates) the institutionalization of Western SER logics. Transformation instead has more uncertain effects. The pattern that an imprint takes hinges upon its usefulness for business interests.