Paul Sawhney, Hiram Allen, Michael Reynolds, Ryan Slopek, Brian Condon, David Hui and Suhad Wojkowski
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of two popular web-forming technologies, viz., the Rando air-laid technology and the traditional carding and cross-laying…
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of two popular web-forming technologies, viz., the Rando air-laid technology and the traditional carding and cross-laying technology, on properties of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics made therewith. A mill-like fiber processing study was conducted in a commercial-grade pilot plant using a variety of short staple fibers and their blends. The fibers used in the study were greige cotton, bleached cotton, cotton derivatives, and cut-staple polyester. The hydroentangled fabrics produced with the two systems were mainly evaluated for their physical and mechanical properties, absorbency, absorbency capacity, and whiteness. The study has shown that, with the exception of greige cotton linters, the greige cotton lint, greige cotton gin motes, and even greige cotton comber noils, either alone or in blend with the other fibers mentioned, can be mechanically processed into hydroentangled nonwoven fabric structures without any insurmountable difficulties. The drop test and sink time followed each other pretty closely, as the drop test time increased so did the sink times. The "whiteness" of fabric, which is significantly more dependent on the fabric's constituent fiber content than on the fabric's surface-based light reflection, obviously varied considerably. However, the whiteness index within the same fiber types and their blends shows no trend of significant difference between the fabric produced with carded fiber web and the fabric produced with random Rando fiber web. Incidentally, the Rando sample of bleached cotton was not available. Since the nonwoven fabrics of this discussion generally are disposable, the optional use of ‘brighteners’ to improve whiteness of certain whiteness-deficient fabrics may be considered as long as the brighteners do not easily bleed from the fabrics.
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Paul Sawhney, Chuck Allen, Michael Reynolds, Ryan Slopek and Brian Condon
The aim of this research is to develop greige (raw/non-bleached) cotton-containing nonwoven fabrics that likely would be competitive in quality, cost and performance to existing…
Abstract
The aim of this research is to develop greige (raw/non-bleached) cotton-containing nonwoven fabrics that likely would be competitive in quality, cost and performance to existing products that presently and predominantly use man-made fibers and some bleached cotton for wipes and other similar end-use nonwoven products. Since the whiteness and absorbency of these end-use products generally are the most desired and perhaps even critical attributes, the research was mainly focused on attaining these attributes by exploring various choices and optimum use of a variety of cost-effective cotton fibers and the blends thereof with other fibers. Nonwoven fabrics were produced, via a modern hydroentanglement system, with possible choices of using several types of cotton fibers, including the greige cotton lint and certain of its co-products such as gin motes and comber noils, and their various blends with polyester and nylon staple fibers. Bleached cotton was also used to produce an equivalent fabric for comparison. The research has shown that although the desired and perhaps critical properties of whiteness and absorbency of the selected fibers vary considerably among the various fabrics produced, the blends of greige cotton lint with man-made fibers can provide the fabric whiteness and absorbency comparable to those of say, a, bleached cotton fabric. The research results suggest that the greige cotton lint and/or its co-products in blend with polyester fiber may be sensible approaches to the development of functionally acceptable nonwoven wiping products that are also environment friendly.
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Lydia Garmon-Jones, Paul Hanna and Mary John
Concerns have been raised regarding the mental health of firefighters. In response to this, existing literature reviews have highlighted the significant role of trauma in…
Abstract
Purpose
Concerns have been raised regarding the mental health of firefighters. In response to this, existing literature reviews have highlighted the significant role of trauma in influencing mental health and the experience of post-traumatic stress within firefighters.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper builds on the existing reviews and makes an original contribution to knowledge by systematically reviewing research exploring additional factors that contribute to poor mental health in firefighters.
Findings
This review finds that factors such as sleep, occupational stress, length of service, coping style and social support all influence negative mental health within firefighters. However, this paper also suggests there are challenges to distinguishing the nature of these relationships, due to the possible bidirectional nature of the relationships and study limitations.
Originality/value
Finally, we conclude by suggesting a clear need for further research to explore the biological, psychological and social factors influencing mental health outcomes in firefighters and the direction of these relationships, in order to inform effective intervention and support.
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Sylvaine Castellano, Insaf Khelladi, Justine Charlemagne and Jean-Paul Susini
The purpose of this paper is to understand the roles of virtual agents in a virtual co-creation context by exploring their influence on online trust. An empirical study is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the roles of virtual agents in a virtual co-creation context by exploring their influence on online trust. An empirical study is conducted in the French online wine business to analyse the impacts of different dimensions of virtual agents on generating online trust.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data were collected through a questionnaire targeting French online wine shoppers.
Findings
The results demonstrate a positive effect of the utility and hedonic functions of virtual agents on online trust. The findings also confirm the moderating role of the perceived risk.
Research limitations/implications
The authors’ convenience sample shows a bias towards a lack of familiarity with virtual agents.
Practical implications
Wine business actors need to consider their customers’ profiles in order to better adapt virtual agents’ functionality and hence improve their customers’ level of online trust while reducing their risk perception. Additionally, understanding virtual agents’ roles can help identify the underlying mechanisms that emerge in a co-creation process.
Originality/value
The study contributes to a better understanding of the human dimension of co-creation by examining the different roles of virtual agents as sources of customers’ online trust.
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Socio-economic, health and environmental turbulences experienced during the past decades have caused major value chain disruptions, triggering multinational enterprises (MNEs) to…
Abstract
Socio-economic, health and environmental turbulences experienced during the past decades have caused major value chain disruptions, triggering multinational enterprises (MNEs) to rethink the footprints of their global operations and redesign for resilience. These developments have fueled a rapidly expanding scholarly literature on resilience. Yet, its conceptual understanding and practical utility remain highly fragmented, cross-disciplinarily disconnected and ambiguous. This study explores the intellectual structure of resilience research in business and management, relying on a systematic literature review approach based on bibliometric techniques and content analysis. A unique database consisting of 545 peer-reviewed articles published in 65 leading Academic Journal Guide (AJG) journals are analyzed. Based on the findings, three leading research communities dominate the resilience discussion in business and management. Moreover, the intellectual structure of the field through the most productive authors and top cited journal articles is discussed. Based on the results, five potential research avenues are suggested.
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James Jianxin Gong and S. Mark Young
We examine the role of financial and nonfinancial performance measures in managing revenues derived from life cycles of a type of intellectual property products − motion pictures.
Abstract
Purpose
We examine the role of financial and nonfinancial performance measures in managing revenues derived from life cycles of a type of intellectual property products − motion pictures.
Design/approach
Our study focuses on the first two markets in which audiences can watch a motion picture – the upstream theatrical market and the downstream home video market. We combine data collected from numerous public and proprietary sources and form a final sample of 654 motion pictures. Then we perform regression analysis on the data.
Findings
First, three measures of a movie’s performance in the theatrical market, opening box office revenue, peak rank, and weeks at the peak rank, have positive effects on subsequent revenues in the home video market. Second, the same set of performance measures also predicts the motion picture’s life span in the theatrical market. Third, when the actual life span of a motion picture in the theatrical market deviates from its predicted value, the total return on investment in the motion picture decreases.
Research limitations
We do not have data on other downstream markets related to motion pictures, such as pay-per-view and online video streaming.
Practical implications
This study suggests that the public and proprietary data can be used to inform managerial decisions regarding intellectual property product life cycles.
Originality/value
This is the first accounting study that directly examines life cycle revenues of intellectual property products. We also extend literature on revenue driver and revenue management research to the product level.
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Yuvika Gupta and Farheen Mujeeb Khan
The purpose of this study is to comprehend how AI aids marketers in engaging customers and generating value for the company by way of customer engagement (CE). CE is a popular…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to comprehend how AI aids marketers in engaging customers and generating value for the company by way of customer engagement (CE). CE is a popular area of research for scholars and practitioners. One area of research that could have far-reaching ramifications with regard to strengthening CE is artificial intelligence (AI). Consequently, it becomes extremely important to understand how AI is helping the marketer reach customers and create value for the firm via CE.
Design/methodology/approach
A detailed approach using both systematic review and bibliometric analysis was used. It involved identifying key research areas, the most influential authors, studies, journals, countries and organisations. Then, a comprehensive analysis of 50 papers was carried out in the four identified clusters through co-citation analysis. Furthermore, a content analysis of 42 articles for the past six years was also conducted.
Findings
Emerging themes explored through cluster analysis are CE concepts and value creation, social media strategies, big data innovation and significance of AI in tertiary industry. Identified themes for content analysis are CE conceptualisation, CE behaviour in social media, CE role in value co-creation and CE via AI.
Research limitations/implications
CE has emerged as a topic of great interest for marketers in recent years. With the rapid growth of digital media and the spread of social media, firms are now embarking on new online strategies to promote CE (Javornik and Mandelli, 2012). In this review, the authors have thoroughly assessed multiple facets of prior research papers focused on the utilisation of AI in the context of CE. The existing research papers highlighted that AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants offer real-time interaction capabilities, swiftly addressing inquiries, delivering assistance and navigating customers through their experiences (Cheng and Jiang, 2022; Naqvi et al., 2023). This rapid and responsive engagement serves to enrich the customer’s overall interaction with the business. Consequently, this research can contribute to a comprehensive knowledge of how AI is assisting marketers to reach customers and create value for the firm via CE. This study also sheds light on both the attitudinal and behavioural aspects of CE on social media. While existing CE literature highlights the motivating factors driving engagement, the study underscores the significance of behavioural engagement in enhancing firm performance. It emphasises the need for researchers to understand the intricate dynamics of engagement in the context of hedonic products compared to utilitarian ones (Wongkitrungrueng and Assarut, 2020). CEs on social media assist firms in using their customers as advocates and value co-creators (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004; Sawhney et al., 2005). A few of the CE themes are conceptual in nature; hence, there is an opportunity for scholarly research in CE to examine the ways in which AI-driven platforms can effectively gather customer insights. As per the prior relationship marketing studies, it is evident that building relationships reduces customer uncertainty (Barari et al., 2020). Therefore, by using data analysis, businesses can extract valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviour, equipping them to engage with customers more effectively.
Practical implications
The rapid growth of social media has enabled individuals to articulate their thoughts, opinions and emotions related to a brand, which creates a large amount of data for VCC. Meanwhile, AI has emerged as a radical way of providing value content to users. It expands on a broader concept of how software and algorithms work like human beings. Data collected from customer interactions are a major prerequisite for efficiently using AI for enhancing CE. AI not only reduces error rates but, at the same time, helps human beings in decision-making during complex situations. Owing to built-in algorithms that analyse large amounts of data, companies can inspect areas that require improvement in real time. Time and resources can also be saved by automating tasks contingent on customer responses and insights. AI enables the analysis of customer data to create highly personalised experiences. It can also forecast customer behaviour and trends, helping businesses anticipate needs and preferences. This enables proactive CE strategies, such as targeted offers or timely outreach. Furthermore, AI tools can analyse customer feedback and sentiment across various channels. This feedback can be used to make necessary improvements and address concerns promptly, ultimately fostering stronger customer relationships. AI can facilitate seamless engagement across multiple digital channels, ensuring that customers can interact with a brand through their preferred means, be it social media, email, or chat. Consequently, this research proposes that practitioners and companies can use analysis performed by AI-enabled systems on CEB, which can assist companies in exploring the extent to which each product influences CE. Understanding the importance of these attributes would assist companies in developing more memorable CE features.
Originality/value
This study examines how prominent CE and AI are in academic research on social media by identifying research gaps and future developments. This research provides an overview of CE research and will assist academicians, regulators and policymakers in identifying the important topics that require investigation.
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Anil Sawhney, Raghav Agnihotri and Virendra Kumar Paul
Today, construction sector of most emerging economies, including India, is witnessing sharp growth prospects on the one hand and pressure to effectively and efficiently contribute…
Abstract
Purpose
Today, construction sector of most emerging economies, including India, is witnessing sharp growth prospects on the one hand and pressure to effectively and efficiently contribute to the national development on the other. The Indian construction industry is one of the major stimulants of the economic and social growth of the nation. However, the sector is confronted by numerous issues, thereby reducing its efficacy and unhindered growth prospects. The purpose of this paper is to extract various industry impediments and suggest a prioritized listing of challenges faced by the industry using the Grand Challenges Approach (GCA).
Design/methodology/approach
Motivated by the GCA this study uses the Delphi process for consensus building in the expert panel, comprising of 39 professionals from across various industry stakeholders. A qualitative round was first used to acquire views on the challenges. Consequently two quantitative Delphi rounds were conducted to extract Top-10 Challenges for the industry based on two aspects – priority and impact. A wider industry survey was also carried out, which served as an unscientific validation of the Delphi Study.
Findings
Grand Challenges facing the Indian construction sector were identified. Addressing these challenges at the national level has the potential of transforming the industry to highly efficient, quality cantered and bullish industry capable of delivering successfully.
Originality/value
The GCA, used extensively by the health sector internationally, is used for the Indian construction industry in a novel way to set an agenda for enhancing its operational efficiency.