Search results

The p‐median problem involves the locating of a fixed number of facilities to serve a set of customers such that the aggregate distance travelled is minimized. Considers the p‐median problem with and without distance constraints. Solves the two versions of the p‐median problems utilizing the heuristic proposed by Teitz and Bart using three different data sets. Also provides optimal solutions to these problems using the Lagrangian relaxation and subgradient methods in the branch‐and‐bound procedure. Shows that the heuristic performs quite well except for the cases where the constraints are tight (few facilities and/or small maximum distance).

Information technology (IT), in its myriad forms, is having a profound and palpable impact on IT users and their environments. Proposes and expounds on a framework of the roles of IT as an initiator, a facilitator, or an enabler. Illustrates the utilization of this framework by a review of the impacts of IT. Examines briefly the growth of IT’s impact on business processes through specific forms of technology – particularly the computing, telecommunication, and imaging technologies. Reviews IT’s influences on organizations and management. Suggests that a full and thorough understanding of the roles of IT will also enable systematic identification and assessment of the risks and costs relationships involved with implementing IT in business processes in an organization.

This study aims to investigate the effects of sick-, well- and healed-baby appeals used in fashion products on purchase intentions through anticipated emotions. Consumers' perceived saliency of the environmental issues in the fashion industry was examined as an influencing factor that further explains the persuasion of the advertising appeals.

Two sets of experimental studies were conducted with 201 participants in Study 1 and 186 participants in Study 2.

The results demonstrated that well- and healed-baby appeals increased purchase intentions fully mediated by anticipated positive emotions. In particular, the mediation effect was conditionally significant when individuals' saliency of environmental issues was low. The three types of advertising appeals did not differ in consumers with high saliency for environmental issues. A sick-baby appeal did not induce purchase intentions through anticipated negative emotions. The mediation effect of anticipated negative emotions did not work with any appeal type.

Retail marketers can use the findings to create commercial messages to persuade their fashion consumers. If the brand has consumers with low saliency, either educating consumers about the importance of environmental issues in the fashion industry or using a well- or healed-baby approach in their advertising can increase purchase intentions due to the increased anticipated positive emotions. Increasing the threat level of environmental problems by using a sick-baby appeal would not work, as consumers' anticipated negative emotions (e.g. feeling of guilt from not buying green products) would not convince them to purchase the green product.

The aim of this study is to explore how springboard subsidiaries affect the psychic distance between the headquarters (HQ) of multinational companies (MNCs) and a distant target region. The study applies a single case study methodology to analyse a springboard subsidiary located in Spain that helps its German HQ to pursue opportunities in a psychically distant Latin American region. The findings suggest that springboard subsidiaries help MNCs to reduce the perceived psychic distance between their HQ and a target region due to (1) their intermediate psychic proximity in both directions (i.e. to the HQ and the target region) and (2) their location outside the target region, which makes them somewhat ‘impartial’ and not involved in intra-regional conflicts; the study also shows that the sum of psychic distance stimuli between HQ’s home country –springboard subsidiary’s country and springboard subsidiary’s – Latin American countries is actually smaller than the direct psychic distance between HQ’s home country and Latin American countries. No previous studies have explored the effect of springboard subsidiaries on psychic distance.

The purpose of this paper is to present the current knowledge surrounding social value (SV) and show how lean approach supports SV realisation in the delivery of construction projects.

A critical literature review was adopted, to gather the current knowledge surrounding SV from mainstream management sciences, construction management and lean literature. A total of 70 studies were critically reviewed.

The study establishes that the current level of awareness on SV is still low and there is a dearth of scholarly publications on SV especially in the construction management literature. The investigation reveals the potentials of lean approach in supporting the delivery of SV on construction projects.

This study conceptualises the community and the physical environment around where the construction project is executed as customers using lean production approach. It shows that the transformation, flow and value view supports smooth workflow, which enhances the achievement of SV objectives. This creates a new insight into how SV can be realised in construction project delivery.

This study extends the on-going debate around the need for SV in construction project delivery and contributes to construction management and lean construction literature on SV. Future studies could build on this to obtain empirical data and develop an approach/method that would support the evidencing of SV delivery on construction projects.

This paper aims to present the result of an assessment of the challenges of sustainable construction (SC) in two developing countries (Nigeria and South Africa). This was done with a view to improving sustainable project delivery, which is a problem among most developing countries.

The study adopted a quantitative survey approach with questionnaire used as the instrument for data collection from quantity surveyors, construction and project managers from both countries. Data analysis was done using a four-step analysis approach and relevant descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted.

The study revealed a considerable level of awareness of SC and involvement in the use of the same among the assessed professionals. Also, it was discovered that SC materials are mostly used in the aspect of surface finishing and masonry construction. Further findings revealed that resistance to change, client’s preference, fear of the increased cost of investment and inadequate knowledge and understanding of the concept of sustainability are some of the major challenges of SC in these countries.

The strength of this study lies in the assessment of happenings from two developing countries and its recommendation can to a large extent promote improved SC in developing countries particularly in Africa were construction activities are similar.

This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of the safe working cycle (SWC) in improving existing site safety performance of construction projects in Hong Kong and to identify the perceived benefits, potential difficulties and insightful recommendations of implementing the SWC in the future.

The professional views on the effectiveness of implementing the SWC, the benefits and difficulties of the SWC, together with the effective recommendations for future execution of the SWC, were gleaned by ten in-depth interviews involving the representatives of senior professional staff members from major construction companies and related government works departments.

Responses from in-depth interviews indicated that the SWC is generally effective in improving site safety performance and preventing the occurrence of construction accidents. The implementation of the SWC is also found useful in facilitating safety-related communications, enhancing safety awareness of frontline workers and identifying potential hazards. However, the industrial practitioners encountered some difficulties associated with the SWC, including limited space on worksites, irregular working schedules for the different trades working on-site, a lack of motivation for participation by workers and an over-tight project schedule that causes time pressure to complete work resulting in a lack of priority.

The recommended measures include the establishment of a reward scheme, engagement of professional aerobic trainers, design of site-specific SWC, mandatory enforcement of the SWC through legislation, regular review of the SWC effectiveness, increased financial support from client organisations and creation of a more realistic project schedule.

This study has instigated a wider debate on the underlying benefits and potential difficulties of the SWC for reference by the construction industry at large. Although the SWC is being currently executed in those new-build construction projects only, it may likewise be applied to other projects within the wide spectrum of facilities management sector and large-scale building repair/maintenance services in both Hong Kong and overseas. Therefore, the contribution from this paper could be extended to the discipline of facilities management as well.

We examine the benefits for firms participating in collaborations funded via minority equity placements. Selling firms, on average, realize significant increases in share value – strongly correlated with the size of the equity stake, its beta, and the relatedness of the two firms (by industry). Shares of purchasing firms, though, show neutral responses on average (but positive response for R&D intensive alliances). Further, purchasing firms have better financial performance than their industry peers in the years surrounding the announcement (suggesting, unlike joint ventures, that poor performance is not their motivation). Selling firms, however, may be motivated by poor operating performance.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a contemporary look at the current state‐of‐the‐art in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for structure health monitoring (SHM) applications and discuss the still‐open research issues in this field and, hence, to make the decision‐making process more effective and direct.

This paper presents a comprehensive review of WSNs for SHM. It also introduces research challenges, opportunities, existing and potential applications. Network architecture and the state‐of‐the‐art wireless sensor communication technologies and standards are explained. Hardware and software of the existing systems are also clarified.

Existing applications and systems are presented along with their advantages and disadvantages. A comparison landscape and open research issues are also presented.

The paper presents a comprehensive and recent review of WSN systems for SHM applications along with open research issues.

The risk-return relationship of real estate equities is of particular interest for investors, practitioners and researchers. The purpose of this paper is to examine, in an asset pricing framework, whether the systematic risk factors play a significantly different role in explaining the returns of listed real estate companies, compared to general equities.

Running the difference test of the Fama-French three-factor and the liquidity-augmented asset pricing model, the authors analyze the effect of the systematic risk factors related to market, size, BE/ME and liquidity in a time-series setting over the period July 1992 to June 2012. By applying the propensity score matching (PSM) algorithm, the authors bypass the “curse of dimensionality” of traditional matching techniques and identify a comparable control sample of general equities, in terms of the relevant firm characteristics of size, BE/ME and liquidity.

The empirical results indicate that European real estate equity returns load significantly differently on the size, value and liquidity factor, while the influence of the market factor seems to be equivalent. In addition, the authors find an economically and statistically significant underperformance of European real estate equities, after accounting for the diverging role of systematic risk factors. Running the conditional time-series regression, the authors further reveal that these findings are predominately caused by the divergent risk-return behavior of real estate equities in economic downturns.

Due to the diverging role of the systematic risk factors in pricing real estate equities, the authors provide evidence of potential diversification benefits for investors and portfolio managers.

This is the first real estate asset pricing study to dissect the unique risk-return relationship of real estate equities by employing propensity score matching.