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The establishment of disassembly plants and the creation of product designs which specifically facilitate disassembly are enabling manufacturers to carry out item segregation. Item segregation is defined as the separation from an assembly of a part or a group of parts by following a reverse assembly process. Once segregated, the items can be reused, recycled or discarded. However, there are operational problems associated with item segregation. Foremost among these are the lack of planning and scheduling mechanisms, difficulty in coping with reverse flow of materials and item explosion. Despite the economic and environmental benefits of disassembly, researchers and practitioners are lagging behind in developing methodologies to address the operations and production planning and control issues associated with item segregation. These issues are addressed.

This study develops and tests a model that explores how human capital impacts micro-business performance through the sequential mediation of new technology adoption and entrepreneurial bricolage.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 508 women entrepreneurs engaged in micro-businesses in Malaysia. This study used partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses.

This study demonstrates the significant impact of human capital on micro-business performance. It establishes a sequential mediation model in which technology adoption and entrepreneurial bricolage mediate the nexus of human capital–micro-business performance.

This study contributes to the theory by innovatively integrating human capital, new technology adoption, entrepreneurial bricolage, and microbusiness performance, drawing on the resource-based view and human capital theory. However, its cross-sectional nature limits causal inference, and focusing solely on women entrepreneurs in Malaysian micro-businesses may constrain novelty. Additionally, the reliance on self-reported data introduces bias, emphasizing the need for future research.

Fostering entrepreneurial bricolage and embracing technology adoption can enhance performance. Business managers can optimize strategies by promoting continuous learning, innovative problem-solving, and technological advancements.

This study highlights the potential social and economic impacts of supporting women-owned micro-businesses in Malaysia. Policymakers can promote economic growth, employment, and community well-being by emphasizing innovation, human capital development, and technology adoption in Malaysia’s diverse ethnic contexts.

This study introduces a distinctive serial mediation framework to understand the impact of human capital on micro-business performance. It explores mediation dynamics, extends the knowledge of serial mediation in the human capital-performance relationship of microbusinesses, and contributes to the unexplored roles of technology adoption and entrepreneurial bricolage in Malaysian micro-businesses.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the performance of the Chaboche model in relation to the database identification, tests with imposed deformations were conducted at room temperature on 304L stainless steel specimens.

The first two tests were performed in tension-compression between ±0.005 and ±0.01; in the third test, each cycle is composed of the combination of a compression tensile cycle between ±0.01 followed by a torsion cycle between ±0.01723 (non-proportional path), and the last, uniaxial ratcheting test with a mean stress between 250 MPa and −150 MPa. Several identifications of a Chaboche-type model were then performed by considering databases composed of one or more of the cited tests. On the basis of these identifications, the simulations of a large number of ratchet tests in particular were carried out.

The results present the effect of the optimized parameters on the prediction of the behavior of materials which is reported in the graphs, Optimizations 1 and 2 of first and second tests and Optimization 4 of the third test giving a good prediction of the increasing/decreasing pre-deformation amplitude.

The quality of the model's predictions strongly depends on the richness of the database used for the identification of the parameters.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which corporate board characteristics influence the level of dividend pay-out ratio using a sample of UK small- and medium-sized enterprises from 2010 to 2013 listed on the Alternative Investment Market.

The data are analysed by employing multivariate regression techniques, including estimating fixed effects, lagged effects and two-stage least squares regressions.

The results show that board size, the frequency of board meetings, board gender diversity and audit committee size have a significant relationship with the level of dividend pay-out. Audit committee size and board size have a positive association with the level of dividend pay-out, whilst the frequency of board meetings and board gender diversity have a significant negative relationship with the level of dividend pay-out. By contrast, the findings suggest that board independence and CEO role duality do not have any significant effect on the level of dividend pay-out.

This is one of the first attempts at examining the relationship between corporate governance and dividend policy in the UK’s Alternative Investment Market, with the analysis distinctively informed by agency theoretical insights drawn from the outcome and substitution hypotheses.

The income is attributed to PSIA^U holders after setting aside the reserves (PER and IRR) and deducting the bank's share of income called mudarib share.

This study aims to examine the effect of entrepreneurial resources on micro businesses and the mediating role of innovation capability in this relationship.

A structured questionnaire was used to gather data for this quantitative study, which adopted partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses on a sample of 455 women entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

The results reveal that entrepreneurial resources, particularly technical resources, positively and significantly affect innovation capability and enhance business performance. Furthermore, innovation capability mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial resources and microbusiness performance.

This study contributes theoretically by combining six entrepreneurial resources into a single framework in light of the resource-based view and finance-based theory. The results corroborate the effects of entrepreneurial resources on the performance of women’s micro businesses and the mediating role of innovation capability in this relationship. However, the cross-sectional design study limited this study’s ability to engage respondents in a more in-depth analysis of pertinent themes.

This research provides guidance and directions for business managers/owners and decision makers to adopt and improve entrepreneurial resources to achieve superior performance and competitive advantages. It presents evidence of innovation capability’s significant role in converting resources into innovative outcomes and creating value. Additionally, it is useful for policymakers to design development programmes for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging markets.

This study highlights the value of innovation with a variety of entrepreneurial resources for women business owners that significantly impact Malaysian employment and gross domestic product and may have a positive social impact by enhancing social life in local communities. The nation’s unique context of multiracial and ethnic groups reflects Malaysia’s truly Asian ethnic composition.

This study fills the research gap by offering empirical evidence of the mediating role of innovation capability in the link between entrepreneurial resources and microbusiness performance, thus significantly contributing to emerging markets worldwide, where women-owned micro businesses are increasingly generating value and employment.

This study aims to propose that, in business-to-business (B2B) industries, number of strategic alliances firms established before a “black swan” event enhances their chances to survive the black swan, and the enhancements take place through moderation effects. Changes in firms’ core structures – their stated goals, authority structure, core technologies and marketing strategies – to adapt to business jolts have adverse effects on firm performance. Firms’ existing B2B strategic alliances moderate the effects negatively by outsourcing different goals, authority structures, core technologies and marketing strategies to partners who fit the changed environment.

This study collected quantitative data and analyzed the data with the regression method.

Using data from Chinese firms in five technology industries during the 2007–2009 economic crisis, this study finds that firms’ internal adaptation is negatively correlated with their performance during economic crises, and B2B strategic alliances negatively moderate this relationship.

First, this study focuses on B2B strategic alliances, and it is not clear whether the findings apply to B2C industries, where strategic alliances may not be common. Perhaps firms can use other means of survival in addition to strategic alliances in B2C industries. Second, this study does not differentiate between fast-moving and slow-moving industries, and it is not clear whether strategic alliances play the same role in both industries. Third, this study does not differentiate firm ages and sizes. It remains unclear how large, established and small, young firms differ when facing crises. Finally, this study is based on the Chinese setting, and it is not clear whether the findings apply to other markets as well. These issues should be explored in future studies.

Changing firms’ core structures harms their performance during black swan crises because such crises are unpredictable, and planned changes may not adapt firms to crises. Managers should not attempt to change their core structures during crises. B2B strategic alliances provide an effective means for firms to survive crises.

This paper makes two contributions to the existing literature: First, this paper demonstrates that changes of one of the four core structures of a firm to cope with black swan events have negative impacts on firm performance. Second, this paper identifies the importance of holding a variety of strategic alliances previously to the black swan events to reduce the negative impacts of changing core structures.