M. Norén, S. Brunner, C. Hoffmann, W. Salz and K. Aichholzer
One of the major driving forces for the electronic industry is the consumer handheld units, where even more functions in a smaller volume and with longer battery time are…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the major driving forces for the electronic industry is the consumer handheld units, where even more functions in a smaller volume and with longer battery time are requested. This leads to a higher energy‐ and interconnect‐density. Two challenges related to this request, that the industry is facing, are thermal management and reliability. This paper aim to discuss some aspects of using flip chip (FC) technology on low temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) for this kind of products and to focus on the heat dissipation problem of an FC mounted die.
Design/methodology/approach
Test designs were developed and built to investigate SnAgCu bumps on LTCC, underfill and five different LTCC designs. The LTCC design parameters were thermal vias and heat spreaders. In the experimental part, the semiconductor junction temperature was measured over a diode in the semiconductor. Cross sections and infrared thermal imaging were used. The experiments were accompanied by FE‐modeling using ANSYS workbench.
Findings
The main reduction in temperature is related to the use of thermal vias and a via offset smaller than 60 μm. A 100 μm via diameter gives only a minor increase in the semiconductor junction temperature. Reducing the LTCC substrate thickness will decrease the junction temperature further.
Originality/value
This paper shows that FC on LTCC is a promising key technology for power amplifier modules.
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This study aims to investigate the factors from four dimensions that have an effect both on formal and informal knowledge sharing (FKS and IKS) and the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the factors from four dimensions that have an effect both on formal and informal knowledge sharing (FKS and IKS) and the relationship between knowledge sharing (KS) and task performance in Chinese manufacturing.
Design/methodology/approach
The structural equation modeling approach was applied to hypothesis testing according to the data collected from employees of manufacturing companies through the online questionnaire. A total of 530 valid responses were obtained.
Findings
The results indicate that level of knowledge structure, self-efficacy, leadership support and KS culture all have a significant positive effect on both FKS and IKS while trust only positively affects FKS and information technology support positively affects IKS. Both FKS and IKS positively contribute to the task performance of manufacturing companies.
Research limitations/implications
This study merely considered the impact of six factors on KS from four perspectives. Consequently, the relationship between some important other factors and KS is not revealed. In addition, the results of this study indicate that there might be a more complicated relationship between these factors and KS than the model constructed by this study. Therefore, in future research, more influencing factors could be considered in the research framework, and a multilevel model, such as a model considering the mediation effect, could be further explored.
Practical implications
According to the results, both FKS and IKS play a significant role in promoting organizational task performance, which is worthy of attention by the managers of manufacturing companies. In addition, the relationship between the different factors and the FKS and IKS found in this study provides specific guidance for improving the organizational KS practice.
Originality/value
First, previous studies considered the construction of explicit KS and tacit KS models based on the content of KS while this study considered FKS and IKS from the perspective of the process and approach of KS. Second, this research has clearly defined the level of knowledge structure from the perspective of knowledge ontology and verifies the positive effect of this factor on KS, providing a new theoretical perspective for exploring KS factors.
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Omar Hujran, Emad Abu-Shanab and Ali Aljaafreh
This study aims to explore the factors influencing the intention to use e-democracy. The literature depicted conflicting results regarding such domain and especially in the Middle…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the factors influencing the intention to use e-democracy. The literature depicted conflicting results regarding such domain and especially in the Middle East, where the authors aim at establishing a solid view of the discipline.
Design/methodology/approach
A research model was developed based on the theory of planned behavior, technology acceptance model and unified theory for acceptance and use of technology-2. The model hypothesized that perceived public value (PPV), ease of use and enjoyment are major antecedents of attitudes, and subjective norms (SNs), perceived behavioral control (PBC) and attitudes are significant predictors of behavioral intentions. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used. A questionnaire was used to explore Jordanian citizens’ perceptions regarding the research model constructs. A sample of 302 Jordanian citizens filled the surveys based on their awareness of e-democracy concepts and their willingness to participate in the study. This study uses the structural equation modeling approach with partial least square as an analysis method.
Findings
Findings indicated that PPV, perceived ease of use and enjoyment jointly determine the attitudes of citizens toward e-democracy. Results also suggest that attitudes, PBC and SNs have a significant effect on citizen’s intention to use e-democracy. Finally, this research supported the role of enjoyment as the most significant determinant of citizen’s attitude toward using e-democracy.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by its small sample size and newly developed Arabic instrument. Still, results imply that more research is needed to replicate and validate the instrument and support the role of the selected research constructs. Public institutions are required to make e-democracy applications enjoyable and easy to use. They also need to demonstrate its value to the public.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the few studies to explore e-democracy and the first to conduct an empirical study (survey-based) in Jordan. The foundation of the study depended on three robust theories in the technology adoption theories.
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This paper aims to describe the development of a tailorable framework of practices for maintenance delivery (MD) and present a range of examples to demonstrate the tailoring…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the development of a tailorable framework of practices for maintenance delivery (MD) and present a range of examples to demonstrate the tailoring process. The framework covers the entire scope of MD in detail, including several related subjects where significant business process interaction occurs. It offers a wide range of optional practices throughout, complete with expert guidance to enable tailoring based on the business context.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework was developed in two stages: firstly, via a review of existing MD processes from the literature to establish a preliminary version; this was then developed further via a Delphi study utilising the opinion of experts from industry to validate, critique and improve the initial framework design.
Findings
The completed framework was implemented and tested by the industrial sponsor of this research and was found to deliver significant improvement to their MD practices.
Practical implications
The tailorable nature of the framework means that it can be utilised by any business to design an MD process that is fully effective within their specific context. Alongside a tailored MD process, the framework will also generate a fully aligned implementation specification for the supporting computerised maintenance management system (CMMS), which is also tailored according to the same contextual requirements. This will enable the end user of the framework to procure, implement and configure a CMMS that has all of the functionality required to fully support their business requirements.
Originality/value
Innovation is delivered by combining a novel business process design tool with a software specification tool to solve a common industry problem (i.e. poor CMMS implementation).
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Ya-Ling Wu, Eldon Y. Li and Wei-Lun Chang
Creative performance relies on the capability of developing and presenting an original concept or idea, and the collaborative production of creative content which enhances feeling…
Abstract
Purpose
Creative performance relies on the capability of developing and presenting an original concept or idea, and the collaborative production of creative content which enhances feeling of connection with others and formation of strong community. The purpose of this paper is to apply the theory of work performance containing four dimensions (capacity, opportunities, willingness, and performance) to investigate how the capabilities of social network sites enhance user creative performance through collective social capital and information capital (opportunities) for and individual habit of use (willingness) of the user to engage in social learning process.
Design/methodology/approach
Many measurement items are adapted from the literature, except those measuring the constructs of social media capabilities (i.e. transmission velocity (TV), parallelism, symbol sets, rehearsability, and reprocessability) and user creative performance. The study uses survey method to collect data from social media network (SMN) users in Taiwan. Facebook is chosen as the source because it is the most prevalent and sophisticated social media platform that provides a home for users to interact and communicate. Structural equation modeling with partial least square is used to analyze the usable data collected from 533 Facebook users.
Findings
The results show that the constructs are significantly and positively correlated, meaning that social media capabilities enable social capital, information capital, and habit of use to improve user creative performance in SMNs. Three out of five social media capabilities (i.e. TV, parallelism, and rehearsability) are identified as the key enablers.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the sampled surveyed subjects and the single research method, there are some limitations in this study. The research results may lack generalizability that should be taken into account when they are interpreted. The authors encourage researchers to test the proposed theoretical model further with additional subjects, variables, and linkages.
Practical implications
The findings of this research shed light for managers of SMN platforms on how to manage the platforms more effectively. A healthy SMN platform must implement at least these three media capabilities: the functions of news feed (i.e. TV), chat (i.e. parallelism), edit (i.e. rehearsability), in order to sustain its service.
Social implications
This study confirmed that user creative performance can be increased in various ways through social capital, information capital, and habit of use. Company management should use SMNs (e.g. Facebook or Twitter) to enable employees to interact and exchange ideas and promote “coopetition” among employees across the company. If the organizational culture supports free expression of ideas and sharing of opinions, the development and robustness of group creativity can be enhanced, leading to higher competitive advantage for a company against its competitors.
Originality/value
Past studies related to individual creativity have mostly discussed it as a personality trait or talent; yet, personality trait or talent is implicit until it is shown by one’s behavior. Thus, for the collective performance of user creativity on SMNs, the authors elicit individual creativity through the creative performance manifested by user behavior. Furthermore, the authors confirm that social capital, information capital, and habit of use are the critical antecedents of user creative performance, and that the five social media capabilities are the enablers of social capital, information capital, and habit of use on SMNs.
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Valentina Santolamazza, Giorgia Mattei and Fabio Giulio Grandis
In recent years, the public sector has faced the challenge of digitalisation. This has significantly impacted the relationships between citizens and public organisations and…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, the public sector has faced the challenge of digitalisation. This has significantly impacted the relationships between citizens and public organisations and, thus, it widely affects participatory processes, such as participatory budgeting (PB); in fact, digital tools (DTs) have emerged as a solution, increasing citizen engagement whilst improving efficiency, reducing costs and saving time. This contribution analyses PB in Rome, which is also implemented with DTs, seeking to understand how DTs impact citizens’ role in creating public value.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a qualitative approach, precisely by analysing a descriptive and exploratory single case study of PB’s first adoption in Rome in 2019. The information is obtained from multiple sources and examined through document analysis.
Findings
In the Roman context, DTs in PB primarily facilitated cost-effective information sharing, offering citizens basic participation. Unfortunately, the potential for more interactive DTs was overlooked, failing to enhance citizen engagement in critical phases like deliberation, evaluation or monitoring. Therefore, the tools did not fully support citizens becoming co-creators of public value instead of just users in governance.
Originality/value
The novelty of this study lies in exploring the difference between the use of DTs that assist citizens/users in improving service quality and those that support citizens in creating a public and shared value. It ventures further to assess various tiers of participation, meditating on the digital elements that stimulate active engagement and value creation instead of simply expanding the participant pool or process efficiency.
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To define and test an approach for the evaluation of the quality of e‐service provided in the LPS sector.
Abstract
Purpose
To define and test an approach for the evaluation of the quality of e‐service provided in the LPS sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The study hypothesises a correlation among e‐service content quality, technological complexity of web sites, and the application of criteria for assessing efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency through organisational re‐engineering induced by e‐service. A model for describing the e‐service quality in the local public service sector is then defined.
Findings
Provides a methodology for measuring the quality of e‐service in terms of functional quality. It is based on the relationship between benefits for customers and web site technological complexity, assumed to be represented by the level of organisational changes adopted by firms.
Research limitations/implications
It is necessary to analyse organisational changes actually applied. It would be important to discuss in detail the relevant dimensions of e‐service quality in the public sector.
Practical implications
The proposed approach should allow managers operating in public‐service organisations to develop useful operational frameworks for e‐service quality‐control systems – based on an analysis of the interactions and transactions made available to their stakeholders.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the increasing demand for transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness in e‐service provision in the local public service sector. It provides a framework for understanding how the e‐service is provided, how it can be evaluated, and how to assess e‐service quality in terms of the content of the developed web sites.
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Henrik Eriksson, Ida Gremyr, Bjarne Bergquist, Rickard Garvare, Anders Fundin, Håkan Wiklund, Michael Wester and Lars Sörqvist
The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore important quality-related challenges facing organizations, and investigate how current excellence models incorporate these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore important quality-related challenges facing organizations, and investigate how current excellence models incorporate these challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a Delphi study of Swedish organizations. Forty-nine challenges were generated and ranked according to importance and the ten top-ranked challenges were compared to the principles of four excellence models.
Findings
The excellence models still seem to be relevant since their content matches many of the identified challenges. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the Swedish Institute for Quality models were found to have the most comprehensive coverage, while the International Organization for Standardization model had limited coverage.
Research limitations/implications
Three areas for further research were identified: first, how quality management (QM) can evolve in different contexts that have varying needs in terms of adaptive and explorative capabilities; second, the interfaces of QM and sustainability, and ways to understand how customers and stakeholders can be active contributors to improvements; and third, the roles of the owners and board of directors regarding QM, and how to organize and distribute responsibilities of the QM work.
Practical implications
There are three important challenges that future revisions of excellence models could address: first, making QM a strategic issue for company owners; second, involving customers in the improvement activities; and third, developing processes that are robust yet still easily adaptable.
Originality/value
The Delphi study identified upcoming challenges in the QM area based on input from 188 quality professionals.
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This article presents an introduction to the Delphi method and review of Delphi studies published in the literature of library and information science (LIS).
Abstract
Purpose
This article presents an introduction to the Delphi method and review of Delphi studies published in the literature of library and information science (LIS).
Design/methodology/approach
A review of Delphi studies published between the years of 1971 and 2019 is performed, using studies retrieved from the Library and Information Science Source database. A total of 122 articles were retrieved and evaluated based on the population studied, means of identifying experts, number of participants for each study round, type of Delphi, and type of findings.
Findings
General librarians (any type), academic librarians, and information science researchers are the most common populations in LIS Delphi studies. On average (middle 50 percent of studies), 14–36 experts are used in the first round of LIS Delphi studies (median n = 23). Employment in a specific role and publications in scholarly journals are the most common means of identifying experts. Variants of the e-Delphi (online survey/email) method are increasingly common, particularly in LIS Delphi studies that focus on general information science, rather than library, topics. Though LIS Delphi studies are relatively few in number, they have a consistent record of being published in some of the most prestigious LIS journals.
Originality/value
This paper provides an introduction to the Delphi method for LIS research and presents an overview of existing literature in LIS that utilizes the research method. No overview of this extent exists in the LIS literature, and, thus, this paper may serve as an important information source about the method for LIS researchers.
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Kuniko Urashima, Yoshiko Yokoo and Hiroshi Nagano
The 9th S&T Foresight for Japan has recently been completed. A key element of this Foresight is that S&T is now expected to indicate solutions for broad social issues and global…
Abstract
Purpose
The 9th S&T Foresight for Japan has recently been completed. A key element of this Foresight is that S&T is now expected to indicate solutions for broad social issues and global issues (climate change, etc.) including those that address Japan's most urgent challenges (e.g. energy, aging population). This mission‐oriented foresight is novel for the Japanese, since prior foresight exercises have been done with a technology focus. This paper aims to address how the new view of foresight – as more than mere technical potentials – has resulted in several types of foresight impacts, which are noted in the main text.
Design/methodology/approach
The 9th Delphi Survey involved two types of interdisciplinary perspectives related to Japan's social future (Safe, Secure, Cooperation and Collaboration) and 12 S&T fields. The committees discussed what could emerge within 30 years and involved 26 domains of social expertise and 140 specialists.
Findings
The 9th S&T Foresight investigation consists of an integration of three foresight methods – Delphi survey, scenario writing, and capability of local regions for green innovation – regarding sustainable development. Each method provides clear messages, and has unique impacts.
Originality/value
Overall, a major foresight impact has been to enable a broader view of innovation to prevail in this ninth foresight, where social‐scenario insights and more socially adaptive policies complement the traditional S&T focus developed by Delphi surveys 1‐8. This shifted the policy discourse toward societal innovation from technical innovation.