Neda Barqawi, Kamran Syed and Lars Mathiassen
Fierce competition drives software vendors to rely on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) strategies and to continuously match new releases with customers’ needs and competitors’ moves…
Abstract
Purpose
Fierce competition drives software vendors to rely on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) strategies and to continuously match new releases with customers’ needs and competitors’ moves. Such recurrent release practices pose specific challenges for software vendors which shape how they service customers. To address these challenges, this paper aims to apply service science to innovate strategies for SaaS release management.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on action research methodology, the authors collaborated closely with Software Inc., an alias for a large multinational software provider, to apply service-dominant logic systematically, to analyze and improve its SaaS release management process and to support ongoing value co-creation with its customers.
Findings
The authors provide a detailed account of how Software Inc. improved its SaaS release management practices; they extend current understanding of service innovation dynamics in SaaS environments and offer a model of value co-creation in SaaS release management grounded in the findings from Software Inc.
Research limitations/implications
The research draws on a single case study with particular characteristics. Still, it allows for analytical generalizations with both theoretical and practical implications for how SaaS managers can improve recurrent release practices based on foundational service-dominant logic principles.
Practical implications
The authors suggest that SaaS managers concentrate on knowledge-sharing with customers, ensure continuous communication among teams supporting the service, re-organize release management to enhance the value co-creation process, use technology to improve customer service experiences and use service mapping to improve release management and service quality.
Originality/value
The authors bridge service-dominant logic principles and SaaS knowledge by demonstrating how service-dominant logic can be used to improve SaaS release practices and by offering conceptual and practical knowledge about value co-creation between customers and suppliers in SaaS contexts.
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Alhamzah Alnoor, Gül Erkol Bayram, Chew XinYing and Syed Haider Ali Shah
This book is essential for anyone in artificial intelligence (AI) and destination management in the tourism industry or government. The book includes both theoretical and…
Abstract
This book is essential for anyone in artificial intelligence (AI) and destination management in the tourism industry or government. The book includes both theoretical and practical writings for stakeholders. In all chapters, we provide titles including AI, regenerative and green destinations, sustainable tourism, tourist motivations and expectations, good examples of smart destinations and regions, the regeneration of the tourism industry via AI, rethinking tourism activities and products, current issues in robots, self-service technology, effect of pandemic on smart destinations, sustainable gastronomy and regenerative tourism and tourism issues are discussed in the management plans of the centralisation. This book provides cases and empirical studies that deal in depth with the current situation, challenges, solutions and future strategies after technological development of tourism and increasing interest on smart destinations from a responsible perspective, for readers with an equitable interest or involvement with the organizations in inquiry.
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Kamran Jamshed, Syed Haider Ali Shah, Fedwa Jebli and Basheer M. Al-Ghazali
The development of ‘smart destinations’ has fundamentally altered the travel and tourism sector by making trips more individualised and enhancing overall operational…
Abstract
The development of ‘smart destinations’ has fundamentally altered the travel and tourism sector by making trips more individualised and enhancing overall operational effectiveness. Using (AI) technology in the creation of smart destinations has provided the tourism industry with the opportunity to reimagine and redevelop tourism in a way that is both environmentally responsible and technologically advanced. This chapter investigates the use of AI and smart destinations in China and Hong Kong with the goals of enhancing tourist experiences, boosting environmental sustainability, and propelling economic expansion. AI and smart destinations have greatly impacted China and Hong Kong tourism. AI has improved tourism, customer service, and trip recommendations while intelligent destinations reduce carbon emissions and promote ecotourism to sustain tourism. AI and intelligent locations boost visitor satisfaction and economic growth. As the tourism industry faces future challenges, AI technology and smart destinations will be crucial to creatively and sustainably rebuild tourism. Smart locations and AI have transformed tourism by offering customised, efficient, and environmentally responsible travel experiences.
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Heping Chen, Ning Xi, Syed Kamran Masood, Yifan Chen and Jeffrey Dahl
Automated chopper gun trajectory planning (CGTP) for spray forming is highly desirable for today's automotive manufacturing. Generating chopper gun trajectories for free‐form…
Abstract
Automated chopper gun trajectory planning (CGTP) for spray forming is highly desirable for today's automotive manufacturing. Generating chopper gun trajectories for free‐form surfaces to satisfy material distribution requirements is still highly challenging due to the complexity of the problems. In this paper, a user‐friendly software for automated CGTP has been developed. The CGTP software can take different formats of the CAD models of parts. A chopper gun trajectory is generated based on the CAD model of a part, chopper gun model, and constraints. A part is partitioned into patches to satisfy the given constraints. A trajectory integration algorithm is developed to integrate the trajectories of the patches to form a trajectory for the part. The CGTP software has been tested by Ford Motor Company and achieved satisfactory results.
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Syed Tauseef Mohyud-Din, Muhammad Usman, Kamran Afaq, Muhammad Hamid and Wei Wang
The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the Marangoni convection boundary layer viscous fluid flow. The analysis and formulation for both…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the Marangoni convection boundary layer viscous fluid flow. The analysis and formulation for both types of CNTs, namely, single-walled (SWCNTs) and multi-walled (MWCNTs), are described. The influence of thermal radiation effect assumed in the form of energy expression.
Design/methodology/approach
Appropriate transformations reduced the partial differential systems to a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The obtained nonlinear ODE set is solved via the least squares method. A detailed comparison between outcomes obtained by the least squares method, RK-4 and already published work is available.
Findings
Nusselt number was analyzed and found to be more effective for nanoparticle volume fraction and larger radiation parameters. Additionally, the error and convergence analysis for the least squares method was presented to show the efficiency of the said algorithm.
Originality/value
The results reveal that velocity is a decreasing function of suction for both CNTs. While enhancing the nanoparticle volume fraction, an increase for both thermal boundary layer thickness and temperature was attained. The radiation parameter has an increasing function as temperature. Velocity behavior is the same for nanoparticle volume fraction and suction. It was observed that velocity is less in SWCNTs as compared to MWCNTs.
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Muhammad Shakeel Sadiq Jajja, Muhammad Asif, Syed Aamir Ali Shah and Kamran Ali Chatha
The purpose of this paper is to analyze research methodologies and publication trends across geographical regions in the field of supply chain innovation (SCI) and provide a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze research methodologies and publication trends across geographical regions in the field of supply chain innovation (SCI) and provide a discussion of future research in the SCI.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a content analysis approach, this paper investigates 26 years of SCI research based on a sample of 473 journal articles published in 77 peer-reviewed international journals.
Findings
There has been an increasing focus on empirical quantitative research design as compared to empirical qualitative, conceptual quantitative and conceptual qualitative designs in the field of SCI. Continued research interest in SCI from all parts of the world including North America, Europe and Asia illustrates the importance of SCI in the broader field of management.
Research limitations/implications
The inclusion of a large number of journals provides greater confidence in the identified trends. However, as the top-tier journals publish only the most rigorous studies, considering all journals as equally weighted will give rise to a mixed pool of studies. Identifying trends from this mixed pool may provide more comprehensiveness at the cost of inclusion of non-core journals of the field.
Originality/value
The current study builds a holistic view of the methodological progress made so far in the field of SCI.
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Syed Aamir Ali Shah, Muhammad Shakeel Sadiq Jajja and Kamran Ali Chatha
Using multiple theoretical lenses, the paper develops and empirically tests a service design-based framework of effective customer participation (CP) in service delivery…
Abstract
Purpose
Using multiple theoretical lenses, the paper develops and empirically tests a service design-based framework of effective customer participation (CP) in service delivery. Particularly, the paper examines the impact of customer education on effective CP, besides the latter's effect on service quality. The direct and moderating effect of service modularity on the association between customer education and effective CP is also studied.
Design/methodology/approach
Covariance-based structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses using the survey data collected from the healthcare industry within Pakistan.
Findings
The results lend support for the presence of individual and mutually reinforcing effects of customer education and service modularity on effective CP in service delivery, ultimately affecting service quality.
Research limitations/implications
Building on the CP and customer learning literature, this research extends the work on antecedents and consequences of effective CP in the larger domain of the service design and service delivery literature.
Practical implications
The findings reveal that service managers should design services such that by design, CP is ingrained within service delivery processes so that it is effectively managed during service delivery for superior service quality.
Originality/value
Given the already scant research that has either taken a narrower view of CP (mostly in pre- or post-service delivery), the current research makes one of the initial attempts to identify, theorize and empirically test the service design level antecedents for holistic CP spanning over the physical, behavioral and informational participation during the service delivery.
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Habibullah Khan, Syed Karamatullah Hussainy, Kamran Khan and Abdullah Khan
The purpose of this paper is to find the applications, advantages and challenges of human resource information system (HRIS) from different sectors of Pakistan. It also finds the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find the applications, advantages and challenges of human resource information system (HRIS) from different sectors of Pakistan. It also finds the demographic perspective of HRIS.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire was adopted from previous studies. Responses were gathered through social websites and physically. The questionnaire was sent to 491 respondents from which only 99 responded. Reliability, t-testing and chi-square were used for the analysis.
Findings
Result shows that HRIS is widely used in Pakistani organizations for the purpose of accessing employees’ information, absence monitoring and performance appraisal to get quick responses to information, reduction of error and paperwork. It helps standardizing the program and manpower requirement, but lack of commitment by the lower management is the most significant barrier for its implementation because of fear of change by them. It is also found that there is no association between gender and adoption of HRIS but different employment position perceives differently the adoption of HRIS.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to the Pakistani organizations. The research paper is useful for the Pakistani human resources professionals, as it gives the local perspective of HRIS.
Originality/value
The previous results are from the developed countries and there is merely any reliable paper found on the several aspects of HRIS in Pakistani context. The research has also focused on the demographic variables that are employment position and gender with respect to their perception on the adoption of HRIS.
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Muhammad Azam, Javed Akhtar, Syed Amir Ali and Kamran Mohy-Ud-Din
There is a debate between sound Shariah-compliant firms engaging in social good as a moral obligation and behaving ethically in terms of increasing corporate social responsibility…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a debate between sound Shariah-compliant firms engaging in social good as a moral obligation and behaving ethically in terms of increasing corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and those firms that are not Shariah-compliant. The purpose of the present study is to contribute to this debate by empirically investigating the effect of the profitability of firms on CSR activities and shareholders’ dividends and the interaction effect of a firm’s Shariah compliance with religious and ethical principles.
Design/methodology/approach
The data used in this study were collected from the annual financial reports of 74 Pakistani listed companies over 2012-2016 (N = 370). An epistemological model of the unity of knowledge was applied to determine the contribution of Shariah-compliant enterprises to community well-being. Furthermore, the Tawhidi string relation methodology was used to establish the circular causal model. To check the robustness of our findings, we also analysed the data using fixed and random effects regression models to test the effect of firm profitability on CSR activities and dividends, whereas moderation regression analysis was applied to test the moderating effect of Shariah-compliant firms.
Findings
The results show that the profitability of firms has a significant impact on shareholders’ dividends in both Shariah and non-Shariah firms. Furthermore, the relationship between firm profitability and CSR is stronger for non-Shariah-compliant firms than Shariah-compliant firms. This indicates that Shariah firms are less involved in doing CSR activities than non-Shariah firms. This implies that Shariah status does not play an important role in ensuring managers’ ethical behaviour.
Practical implications
The results suggest that the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan should attach more importance to Shariah compliance by firms in developing their CSR policies to improve social development and human well-being. These findings have important implications for many Islamic countries irrespective of whether they are developed or developing.
Originality/value
The present study provides a new addition to the prior literature by investigating the relationship between profits and CSR activities and the interaction effect of Shariah-compliant firms. From an Islamic ethical perspective, this study can also contribute to the growing discussion on Shariah compliance and CSR activities.
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Rafooneh Mokhtarshahi Sani and Payam Mahasti Shotorbani
In recent decades, Iranian vernacular architecture has defined the local architectural identity by demonstrating distinctive characteristics. Defining such a critical role for…
Abstract
In recent decades, Iranian vernacular architecture has defined the local architectural identity by demonstrating distinctive characteristics. Defining such a critical role for vernacular studies has led to different approaches in the design of the contemporary architecture of Iran. The first approach of integrating vernacular and contemporary designs has focused on local people, their needs, local construction, and building materials. The revival of vernacular architectural design and building elements has been at the forefront of this approach in Iran. However, recent use in Iran has concentrated on the symbolic/abstract reuse of vernacular building forms. Vernacular architecture is known to merely provide for the functional requirements of buildings, and not for aesthetic purposes. Conversely, in the second approach, vernacular building elements are considered to be symbols of local identity. This paper will argue that although the symbolic reuse of vernacular features may not uphold the functional expectations of the vernacular form, this reuse is useful in reviving architectural identity. In addition, underscoring such a different role for vernacular building features in contemporary architecture might help to expand the realm of vernacular studies. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the conversion of vernacular architecture in Iran by focusing on the instance of wind-catchers. Wind-catchers typically were used in residential buildings and are considered potent symbols of climate adaptation. In contemporary architecture, however, a form of wind-catcher has been used as a symbol for local architectural identity. Through this transformation, the essential nature of the wind-catcher has found new life in the contemporary architecture of Iran.