Bulent Sezen and Cengiz Yilmaz
The extent of relational behaviors displayed by independent partners in channels of distribution is a critical determinant of the efficiency and effectiveness of distribution…
Abstract
Purpose
The extent of relational behaviors displayed by independent partners in channels of distribution is a critical determinant of the efficiency and effectiveness of distribution operations. The purpose of this study is to focus on the two key antecedents of relational behaviors in channel dyads, dependence on and trust in the exchange partner, and to explore the relative effects of dependence and trust on each of the three major relational behavior forms of flexibility, information exchange, and solidarity.
Design/methodology/approach
Formal hypotheses are developed in the study regarding the joint and relative effects of dependence and trust on each relational behavior. Data collected from 192 automobile dealerships in Turkey are used for testing the hypotheses through separate regression analyses.
Findings
In line with the main study thesis, the results suggest that the relative effects of dependence on and trust in the supplier differ across dealer flexibility, information exchange, and solidarity displayed toward the supplier firms. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Practical implications
Findings of the study provide guidelines to channel firms in regard to the policies and programs that need to be developed to evoke desired forms of behaviors within their distribution networks.
Originality/value
Considering each relational behavior separately, this study provides support for the view that the emergences of different forms of behaviors in channel relationships occur through different motivational mechanisms.
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H.S. Takhar, P. Ganesan, K. Ekambavanan and V.M. Soundalgekar
Presents a finite‐difference solution to transient free convection flow past a semi‐infinite vertical plate in which the plate temperature T¢w(x) varies as the power of the axial…
Abstract
Presents a finite‐difference solution to transient free convection flow past a semi‐infinite vertical plate in which the plate temperature T¢w(x) varies as the power of the axial co‐ordinate in the form T¢• + axn. Gives numerical results for fluids with Prandtl numbers Pr = 0.7 (air) and Pr = 7 (water) for three representative exponent values under non‐uniform surface heating conditions. Finds that the time to reach the steady‐state increases as the value of n or Pr increases. The steady‐state local skin‐friction falls by increasing the exponent n and Pr; however, the steady‐state local Nusselt number increases with n at a distance along the plate far away from the leading edge but decreases with increasing n near the leading edge of the plate. Also, the average Nusselt number increases and the average skin‐friction decreases as n increases because of enhanced heating of the plate.
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Amsalu K. Addis, Simplice Asongu, Zhu Zuping, Hailu Kendie Addis and Eshetu Shifaw
The aim of this study is to examine the motive of China's and India's engagement in African countries particularly in Ethiopia and to address the land grabbing and debt-trap…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine the motive of China's and India's engagement in African countries particularly in Ethiopia and to address the land grabbing and debt-trap diplomacy between Ethiopia and the Asian drivers, which creates challenges across the diverse social, political, economic and ecological contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilises both primary and secondary data. The available literature is also reviewed. The primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and discussions from (1) several authority offices in Ethiopia, sources close to authorities, information-rich informants, employees and (2) perspectives, perceptions and prospects from individual members of society.
Findings
The study unmasks the win-win cooperation strategy from the perspective of the members of society in Ethiopia, evaluates whether China and India have strings attached or land grabbing motives. The study also shows that whether China's and India's move was deliberate, the implications of debt-trap diplomacy and exploitation in Ethiopia are apparent. Additionally, this study investigated several considerable potential threats to Ethiopia that will persist unless significant measures are taken to control the relations with Asian drivers.
Research limitations/implications
Some of the limitations of this paper pertain to the primary data collection process from the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) and other authorities, which was very challenging because people can be punished for talking to journalists or researchers. Furthermore, some investors were not willing to participate in discussions because they were engaged in areas that are not related to their licenses. Many interviewees were also not willing to disclose their names, and the data are not exhaustive in the number of investment projects covered.
Originality/value
This study provides new evidence on the influence of Chinese and Indian investment, aid and trade on Ethiopia's social, political and economic spheres. Additionally, this study contributes to the ongoing debate on land grabbing and debt-trap diplomacy in Ethiopia.
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V. Rajesh, A.J. Chamkha, Ch. Sridevi and A.F. Al-Mudhaf
The purpose of this paper is to study numerically the influence of a magnetic field on the transient free convective boundary layer flow of a nanofluid over a moving semi-infinite…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study numerically the influence of a magnetic field on the transient free convective boundary layer flow of a nanofluid over a moving semi-infinite vertical cylinder with heat transfer
Design/methodology/approach
The problem is governed by the coupled non-linear partial differential equations with appropriate boundary conditions. The fluid is a water-based nanofluid containing nanoparticles of copper. The Brinkman model for dynamic viscosity and Maxwell–Garnett model for thermal conductivity are used. The governing boundary layer equations are written according to The Tiwari–Das nanofluid model. A robust, well-tested, implicit finite difference method of Crank–Nicolson type, which is unconditionally stable and convergent, is used to find the numerical solutions of the problem. The velocity and temperature profiles are studied for significant physical parameters such as the magnetic parameter, nanoparticles volume fraction and the thermal Grashof number Gr. The local skin-friction coefficient and the Nusselt number are also analysed and presented graphically.
Findings
The present computations have shown that an increase in the values of either magnetic parameter M or nanoparticle volume fraction decreases the local skin-friction coefficient, whereas the opposite effect is observed for thermal Grashof number Gr. The local Nusselt number increases with a rise in Gr and ϕ values. But an increase in M reduces the local Nusselt number.
Originality/value
This paper is relatively original and presents numerical investigation of transient two-dimensional laminar boundary layer free convective flow of a nanofluid over a moving semi-infinite vertical cylinder in the presence of an applied magnetic field. The present study is of immediate application to all those processes which are highly affected by heat enhancement concept and a magnetic field. Further the present study is relevant to nanofluid materials processing, chemical engineering coating operations exploiting nanomaterials and others.
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Feten Ben Naoui and Imed Zaiem
The purpose of this paper is to study the theoretical foundation of the relationship quality concept and loyalty, and to study the relationship between relationship quality, its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the theoretical foundation of the relationship quality concept and loyalty, and to study the relationship between relationship quality, its antecedents and loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study was conducted in the parapharmaceutical sector. Data collection was carried out through the direct administration of a questionnaire to a sample of 300 pharmacists dealing with sales representatives of the parapharmaceutical products.
Findings
The results show that there is a significant relation between the antecedents of relationship quality, namely, interpersonal communication, relational contact, conflict resolution and client‐oriented behavior, and relationship quality itself. Relationship quality has also an impact on loyalty which is accounted for positively by satisfaction, and negatively by affective conflict.
Research limitations/implications
The authors limited the scope of the study to purifying measurement scales and testing the links between the various concepts.
Practical implications
The paper sheds light on the action leverages that suppliers have to work on so as to improve the quality of their relation with their clients.
Originality/value
Compared to most previous research works which did not go beyond the probing of antecedents of relationship quality separately, the most important contribution of the study lies in taking into account some important antecedents in the study of the influence of antecedents of relationship quality on each dimension of relationship quality.
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Rajesh Vemula, A J Chamkha and Mallesh M. P.
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the numerical modelling of transient natural convection flow of an incompressible viscous nanofluid past an impulsively started…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the numerical modelling of transient natural convection flow of an incompressible viscous nanofluid past an impulsively started semi-infinite vertical plate with variable surface temperature.
Design/methodology/approach
The problem is governed by the coupled non-linear partial differential equations with appropriate boundary conditions. A robust, well-tested, Crank-Nicolson type of implicit finite-difference method, which is unconditionally stable and convergent, is used to solve the governing non-linear set of partial differential equations.
Findings
The local and average values of the skin-friction coefficient (viscous drag) and the average Nusselt number (the rate of heat transfer) decreased, while the local Nusselt number increased for all nanofluids, namely, aluminium oxide-water, copper-water, titanium oxide-water and silver-water with an increase in the temperature exponent m. Selecting aluminium oxide as the dispersing nanoparticles leads to the maximum average Nusselt number (the rate of heat transfer), while choosing silver as the dispersing nanoparticles leads to the minimum local Nusselt number compared to the other nanofluids for all values of the temperature exponent m. Also, choosing silver as the dispersing nanoparticles leads to the minimum skin-friction coefficient (viscous drag), while selecting aluminium oxide as the dispersing nanoparticles leads to the maximum skin-friction coefficient (viscous drag) for all values of the temperature exponent m.
Research limitations/implications
The Brinkman model for dynamic viscosity and Maxwell-Garnett model for thermal conductivity are employed. The governing boundary layer equations are written according to The Tiwari-Das nanofluid model. A range of nanofluids containing nanoparticles of aluminium oxide, copper, titanium oxide and silver with nanoparticle volume fraction range less than or equal to 0.04 are considered.
Practical implications
The present simulations are relevant to nanomaterials thermal flow processing in the chemical engineering and metallurgy industries. This study also provides an important benchmark for further simulations of nanofluid dynamic transport phenomena of relevance to materials processing, with alternative computational algorithms (e.g. finite element methods).
Originality/value
This paper is relatively original and illustrates the influence of variable surface temperature on transient natural convection flow of a viscous incompressible nanofluid and heat transfer from an impulsively started semi-infinite vertical plate.
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Olivier Mesly, Jean-Pierre Lévy-Mangin, Normand Bourgault and Veronique Nabelsi
– The purpose of this paper is to look at human interdependence and its significance in project management.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look at human interdependence and its significance in project management.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper focuses solely on human interaction in the context of a short-term project consisting of preparing a small “international” fair in Gatineau, Québec (Canada). For this purpose, an established questionnaire was used which aimed to evaluate the predator-prey dynamic between team members (as described by Mesly in a recent paper).
Findings
Human interdependence indeed plays a key role in the functioning of short-lived projects (and, this paper assumes, of long-term projects as well).
Originality/value
The paper places emphasis on considering the human power-game factor (predator-prey) more strongly in future project endeavors.
Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the…
Abstract
Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. The range of applications of FEMs in this area is wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore aims to give the reader an encyclopaedic view on the subject. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains 2,025 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with the analysis of beams, columns, rods, bars, cables, discs, blades, shafts, membranes, plates and shells that were published in 1992‐1995.
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The purpose of this study was to identify the digital curation practices in institutional repositories (IRs) in South India.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to identify the digital curation practices in institutional repositories (IRs) in South India.
Design/methodology/approach
A voluntary survey was conducted among the IR managers of 23 South Indian IRs, and the response rate was 87%.
Findings
This study found that the active participation of South Indian IRs was only seen in a few digital curation activities. However, of the 33 digital curation activities analyzed, the active participation of repositories was only seen in ten digital curation activities. The performance of preservation activities was extremely low, and disagreements were recorded by the survey participants toward several digital curation activities. The most disagreed digital curation activities were emulation and cease data curation. All the participants had assigned metadata and allowed file downloads in their repositories. Raman Research Institute had provided a good number of digital curation services in their IR.
Originality/value
This is an in-depth study investigating the digital curation practice currently underway in South Indian IRs, and the researcher could not find similar studies in this niche.
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Hasmadi Bin Mamat, Yeoh Wan Chen, Mansoor Abdul Hamid, Jahurul Md Haque Akanda, Arif Kamisan Pusiran and Mohamad Khairi Zainol
This study aims to investigate the effects of incorporating seaweed composite flour on soft roll dough rheological characteristics and quality.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of incorporating seaweed composite flour on soft roll dough rheological characteristics and quality.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, wheat flour was substituted with seaweed powder obtained from red seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii) at varying proportions (100:0; 99:1; 98:2; 97:3; 96:4; 95:5, 94:6, 93:7 and 92:8) and applied in soft roll production. The effects of seaweed composite flour were evaluated in terms of rheological characteristics, proximate composition and physical properties. The sensory characteristics of the soft rolls was evaluated by 40 untrained panellists by using a hedonic scale.
Findings
Farinograph analysis of the soft roll doughs showed that the incorporation of seaweed powder promoted an increase in water absorption, development time and mixing tolerance index, whereas it decreased stability time. Analysis of the proximate composition of the soft rolls showed that protein and carbohydrate contents decreased, but moisture, ash and crude fibre contents substantially increased. Dietary fibre increased with the increase in the proportion of seaweed powder added. The specific volume, bulk density and firmness of the soft rolls ranged from 3.01 to 5.48 cm3/g, 0.18 to 0.33 g/cm3 and 1.86 to 20.63 N, respectively. Sensory evaluation results showed that the mean score of sensory attributes decreased as the proportion of seaweed powder added was increased in the formulations. With regard to the overall acceptability, the panellists preferred the soft rolls with the least amount of seaweed powder added. The results of hedonic tests revealed that the panellists' acceptance decreased as higher amounts seaweed powder were added in the formulations.
Originality/value
This study showed that the seaweed powder of K. alvarezii can be utilised as an ingredient to improve the nutrient composition of baked products.