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1 – 10 of 443Kai-Chieh Hu, Kai-Chieh Chia, Mingying Lu and Ya-Lan Liang
The purpose of the study is to clarify the quality of home delivery logistics services from the perspectives of customers and provide insight to aid the prioritization of service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to clarify the quality of home delivery logistics services from the perspectives of customers and provide insight to aid the prioritization of service quality improvements and guide managerial strategic planning.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a three-dimensional model that integrated Kano model, goal difficulty (GD) and importance–performance analysis (IPA) for investigating service quality aspects emphasized by customers and determine which attributes should be prioritized according to an enterprise's resource and capability constraints. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to the customers and managers of five primary home delivery logistics service enterprises and six small to medium-sized enterprises in Taiwan. Improving the quality of home delivery logistics services has become of increased interest for enterprises.
Findings
The three most important attributes, ranked in order of priority for improvement, were the protection of customers' personal information, delivery of products without damage and reasonable compensation standards for product damage. The study concludes that enterprises should prioritize the improvement of these attributes. Implications, detailed explanations and directions for further investigations are also proposed.
Originality/value
The study discusses the importance and relevant satisfaction levels of service quality attributes from the perspective of customers while also considering the limitations of companies' resources and capabilities. The results indicate that the method can be used to identify service quality attributes of home delivery logistics and formulate strategies for enhancing customer satisfaction.
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Paul Tae-Woo Lee, Jasmine Siu Lee Lam, Cheng-Wei Lin, Kai-Chieh Hu and Inkyo Cheong
The purpose of this paper is to test the 5GP concept with measurement of the performance of Busan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai ports, employing a hybrid method of consistent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the 5GP concept with measurement of the performance of Busan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai ports, employing a hybrid method of consistent fuzzy preference relation (CFPR), VIsekriterijumska Optimizacija i KOmpromisno Resenje (VIKOR) and PROMETHEE.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors developed the concept of the fifth generation ports (5GPs), and apply CFPR, VIKOR and preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) to evaluate the 5GPs.
Findings
The performance of the ports of Hong Kong and Singapore is close to meet the definition of 5GP criteria. On the contrary, ports of Busan and Shanghai are still behind the 5GP stage in light of the majority of the evaluation criteria’s performance.
Research limitations/implications
This paper studies four ports. More empirical tests are needed to verify the applicability of the 5GP concept toward other ports.
Practical implications
The findings provided port managers with the insight of how to improve their port to meet the criteria of 5GP.
Social implications
New criteria and higher expectations of existing requirements present challenges to port managers for a need to raise the bar of service standards and develop new competencies.
Originality/value
The authors developed the concept of the 5GPs. Newly developed 5GP contributes to expanding the concepts of first to fourth generation ports developed by UNCTAD.
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Liping Wu, Xingchen Yi, Kai Hu, Oleksii Lyulyov and Tetyana Pimonenko
The transition to green growth goals requires the concerted efforts of the whole society. Enterprises, as important players in the market, play a key role in promoting green and…
Abstract
Purpose
The transition to green growth goals requires the concerted efforts of the whole society. Enterprises, as important players in the market, play a key role in promoting green and sustainable development. The rise of the concept of sustainable development has enabled more enterprises to disclose environmental, social and governance (ESG) information, and ESG behaviour is regarded as a positive strategic behaviour to implement the new development concept. This paper aims to explore the influence of ESG performance on enterprise green innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies a fixed effect model and the regulation effect of empirical analysis to explore the influence of ESG performance on enterprise green innovation. The object of investigation is 2014–2021 Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies.
Findings
The results of an empirical analysis outline the following conclusions: (1) ESG performance has a significant effect on enterprise green innovation, mainly by easing the pressure of the financing enterprise, fitting stakeholders’ environmental protection concept and obtaining employee organizational identity that influences enterprise green innovation. (2) Government regulation positively regulates the role of ESG performance in promoting the green innovation of enterprises. (3) Heterogeneity analysis found that the strengthening role of ESG performance on the green innovation of enterprises is stronger in green invention patents, state-owned enterprises and nonheavily polluting industries.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the valuable findings, this study has a few limitations. Thus, it is necessary to extend the object of investigation by adding other Asian countries, which allows for comparison analysis and allocating best practices for promoting green innovation. Besides, innovation and ESG performance depend on the quality of institutions. In this case, the future study should incorporate the indicators that reveal the quality of institutions (corruption, transparency, digitalisation, voice, accountability, etc.).
Practical implications
According to the above conclusions, this paper proposes suggestions at the level of enterprises, government and investors. At the enterprise level, ESG responsibility should be strengthened, ESG information should be consciously disclosed and the quality of ESG disclosure should be improved. Government departments should play the role of supervisors, improve the construction of ESG information disclosure systems and promote the formation of ESG systems. At the social level, investors should improve the ESG information status and pay more attention to the ESG performance of enterprises.
Originality/value
This study fills the scientific gaps in the analysis impact of ESG performance on the green innovation of enterprises. This paper contributes to the theoretical landscape of ESG efficiency by developing approaches based on two empirical models: testing the impact of enterprise ESG performance on green innovation and testing whether government regulation plays a regulatory role in the relationship between ESG performance and green innovation. Besides, this study analysed the ESG performance and green innovation within the following categories: heavy and nonheavy polluter industries; state and nonstate-owned enterprise groups.
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Pascalin Tiam Kapen, Cédric Gervais Njingang Ketchate, DIdier Fokwa and Ghislain Tchuen
This paper aims to investigate a linear and temporal stability analysis of hybrid nanofluid flow between two parallel plates filled with a porous medium and whose lower plate is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate a linear and temporal stability analysis of hybrid nanofluid flow between two parallel plates filled with a porous medium and whose lower plate is fixed and the upper plate animated by a uniform rectilinear motion.
Design/methodology/approach
The nanofluid is composed of water as a regular fluid, silver (Ag) and alumina (Al2O3) as nanoparticles. The mathematical model takes into account other effects such as the magnetic field and the aspiration (injection/suction). Under the assumption of a low magnetic Reynolds number, a modified Orr–Sommerfeld-type eigenvalue differential equation governing flow stability was derived and solved numerically by Chebyshev’s spectral collocation method. The effects of parameters such as volume fraction, Darcy number, injection/suction Reynolds number, Hartmann number were analyzed.
Findings
It was found the following: the Darcy number affects the stability of the flow, the injection/suction Reynolds number has a negligible effect, the volume fraction damped disturbances and the magnetic field plays a very important role in enlarging the area of flow stability.
Originality/value
The originality of this work resides in the linear and temporal stability analysis of hydromagnetic Couette flow for hybrid nanofluid through porous media with small suction and injection effects.
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Abstract
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Modupeola Dada, Patricia Popoola and Ntombi Mathe
This study aims to review the recent advancements in high entropy alloys (HEAs) called high entropy materials, including high entropy superalloys which are current potential…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to review the recent advancements in high entropy alloys (HEAs) called high entropy materials, including high entropy superalloys which are current potential alternatives to nickel superalloys for gas turbine applications. Understandings of the laser surface modification techniques of the HEA are discussed whilst future recommendations and remedies to manufacturing challenges via laser are outlined.
Design/methodology/approach
Materials used for high-pressure gas turbine engine applications must be able to withstand severe environmentally induced degradation, mechanical, thermal loads and general extreme conditions caused by hot corrosive gases, high-temperature oxidation and stress. Over the years, Nickel-based superalloys with elevated temperature rupture and creep resistance, excellent lifetime expectancy and solution strengthening L12 and γ´ precipitate used for turbine engine applications. However, the superalloy’s density, low creep strength, poor thermal conductivity, difficulty in machining and low fatigue resistance demands the innovation of new advanced materials.
Findings
HEAs is one of the most frequently investigated advanced materials, attributed to their configurational complexity and properties reported to exceed conventional materials. Thus, owing to their characteristic feature of the high entropy effect, several other materials have emerged to become potential solutions for several functional and structural applications in the aerospace industry. In a previous study, research contributions show that defects are associated with conventional manufacturing processes of HEAs; therefore, this study investigates new advances in the laser-based manufacturing and surface modification techniques of HEA.
Research limitations/implications
The AlxCoCrCuFeNi HEA system, particularly the Al0.5CoCrCuFeNi HEA has been extensively studied, attributed to its mechanical and physical properties exceeding that of pure metals for aerospace turbine engine applications and the advances in the fabrication and surface modification processes of the alloy was outlined to show the latest developments focusing only on laser-based manufacturing processing due to its many advantages.
Originality/value
It is evident that high entropy materials are a potential innovative alternative to conventional superalloys for turbine engine applications via laser additive manufacturing.
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Lingyun Guo, Mingli Zhang, Kai Kang and Mu Hu
Drawing upon the social cognitive and customer engagement theories, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how individuals’ simple follow, purely aiming for information but…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon the social cognitive and customer engagement theories, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how individuals’ simple follow, purely aiming for information but with little contribution, could affect fans behavior and make them engage in company social network (CSN). The study identifies the impact of personal motivators (follower participation motivation), environmental antecedents (perception of information quality) and individual behavior (fan engagement behavior and stickiness) on CSNs and examines the interaction relationship between the follower participation motivation and perception of information quality.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collected from 392 valid questionnaires from WeChat Official Account users were analyzed by structural equation modeling.
Findings
Personal factor such as follower participation motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic motivator) was found to be significant predictor of fan engagement behavior. Environmental factor (perception of information quality: perceived usefulness as well as perceived entertainment) was a significant factor in determining followers’ proclivity to engage in CNSs. One significant interaction effect was found: the effect of perceived entertainment on fan engagement behavior was manifested to a greater extent when followers’ participation aimed for intrinsic motivator. The second interaction effect, between the extrinsic motivator and perceived usefulness, was also found to be statistically significant.
Originality/value
This study enriches and extends the studies on the theories of customer engagement and social cognitive theory. It applies the above theories to CSNs and advances CSNs research by taking into consideration both personal and environmental factors (follower participation motivation and perception of information quality), and the interaction effects of the two on individual behavior.
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Lei Pang, Qianran Hu and Kai Yang
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the harm to personnel and equipment caused by an external explosion during natural gas explosion venting. The external explosion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the harm to personnel and equipment caused by an external explosion during natural gas explosion venting. The external explosion characteristics induced by the indoor natural gas explosion are the focal points of the investigation.
Design/methodology/approach
Computational fluid dynamics technology was used to investigate the large-scale explosion venting process of natural gas in a 6 × 3 × 2.5 m room, and the characteristics of external explosion under different scaled vent size (Kv = Av/V2/3, 0.05, 0.08, 0.13, 0.18) were numerically analyzed.
Findings
When Kv = 0.08, the length and duration of the explosion fireball are 13.39 and 450 ms, respectively, which significantly expands the degree and range of high-temperature hazards. The suitable flow-field structure causes the external explosion overpressure to be more than twice that indoors, i.e. the natural gas explosion venting overpressure may be considerably more hazardous in an outdoor environment than inside a room. A specific range for the Kv can promote the superposition of outdoor rupture waves and explosion shock waves, thereby creating a new overpressure hazard.
Originality/value
Little attention has been devoted to investigating systematically the external explosion hazards. Based on the numerical simulation and the analysis, the external explosion characteristics induced by the indoor large-scale gas explosion were obtained. The research results are theoretically significant for mitigating the effects of external gas explosions on personnel and equipment.
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Xuanxi Li, A.Y.M. Atiquil Islam, Eddie W.L. Cheng, Xiao Hu and Samuel Kai Wah Chu
This study aimed to provide evidence to support the use of a wiki called PBworks as a learning tool to foster students' information literacy (IL) skills based on activity theory.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to provide evidence to support the use of a wiki called PBworks as a learning tool to foster students' information literacy (IL) skills based on activity theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants consisted of 421 students (i.e. form 1 to form 3) from Hong Kong taking a liberal studies course during the 2016–2017 academic year. This study mainly used a mixed methods design, proposing 11 hypotheses. Quantitative data from 374 questionnaires were analysed to test these research hypotheses, while a qualitative method (interviews) was used to explain the quantitative results. A structural equation modelling approach was used to analyse the data, and data triangulation was used to answer the same research questions.
Findings
The results showed that the model components PBworks affordances (PB) and rules and divisions (RD) had significant direct effects on individual activities (IA) and community activities (CA) and significant indirect effects on information literacy (IL). The results also revealed that CA had a significant effect on IA and had an even greater effect on IL.
Research limitations/implications
Using PBworks and the project-based learning (PjBL) approach, this study examined the determinants affecting the IL skills of Hong Kong junior secondary school students and proposed a wiki-based information literary activity (WILA) model.
Practical implications
As students' IL skills have become increasingly important, this study can shed light on related topics for future studies.
Social implications
And contribute to social stability and harmonious development.
Originality/value
This study eventually confirmed the validity of the WILA model with all hypotheses supported.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-03-2020-0092.
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