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The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of high-temperature inlet oil on the comprehensive performance of tilting-pad bearing.

Taking a tilting-pad bearing under high temperature of inlet oil in a natural gas compressor as an example, the experimental system was developed for the tilting-pad bearing applied in a real machine, and the experiment was performed. The bearing lubricating properties under different high temperatures of inlet oil were obtained, including oil film thickness on the pivot, temperature rise and the shaft vibration values at the bearing positions.

The experimental results showed that the vibration, the oil film thickness on the pivot and the pad temperature were not sensitive to the change in temperature of the inlet oil, but vibrations were observed under the specific speed. At the same speed, when oil temperature changed by 1°C, the bearing temperature rise did not exceed 0.2°C and change in oil film thickness on the pivot was 1 µm. The test results of the actual unit are in good agreement with the experimental results.

The vibration measurement scheme was presented, and an indirect measurement method of fulcrum thickness was proposed. The practicability of the measurement method and the accuracy of test results were verified by the comparison of the test results of the shaft vibration, the bearing pad temperature, the fulcrum oil film thickness and the theoretical calculation results. This study will provide an important reference for designing a tilting-pad bearing with high-temperature inlet oil.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible mediating role of switching cost (SC) in influencing customer loyalty (CL).

The authors derive a model containing the relationships between customer satisfaction (CS), brand image (BI), and CL through mediating effects of SC. Data collected from 200 subscribers of China Mobile was analysed using structural equation modelling technique.

The authors find that SC does not mediate the relationship between CS and CL, nor that between BI and CL. While both CS and BI have a direct and positive relationship with CL, only CS is positively associated with the SC. SC in itself has no direct relationship with CL, necessitating further understanding of its role.

Prior findings have suggested the mediating role of SC, this study, however, show that SC does not have any mediating role in influencing CL. In fact, the direct role of SC is also questioned, as the authors do not find any direct relationship between SC and CL.

While managers should retain a balanced strategy for implementing SC, developing a strong BI and achieving CS is more important, and could help avoid any negative implications that may ensue from the implementation of SC.

This paper offers empirical evidence of the importance of SC – or rather lack of it – in enhancing CL. It also helps explain how SC interacts with CS and BI.

This paper aims to investigate the antecedents to attitudinal and behavioural loyalty of customers of Internet service providers (ISPs). In addition, this study endeavours to identify the relationship between overall service quality and cognitive as well as affective evaluations of customers. An assessment of service quality dimensions is also included to fill the void of research on modelling service quality in high tech services.

The paper reviews the most cited articles on the topic published in academic journals with a view to identify dimensions that customers use to evaluate the quality of a service providers, and to determine loyalty formation through customer cognitive and affective evaluations in Internet industry.

The exogenous constructs of the conceptual model include influential factors such as network quality, customer service, information support and security which make up the perception of overall service quality. The endogenous constructs include cognitive and affective determinants such as customers’ trust, satisfaction, commitment, value and resultants – attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty.

The study proposes that by enhancing service quality, firms can influence customers’ satisfaction, trust, commitment and value, and ultimately loyalty, which are critical for an ISP’s success and long-term sustainability. Moreover, applying the findings of this study, ISPs can strategise in making customers more central in their day to day operations, which would create competitive advantage for the companies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of quality perception on customers’ repurchase behaviour in home internet services. Specifically, it was found that information quality, and privacy affected customers’ commitment and perceived value which were directly related to customer behavioural loyalty.

In order to achieve the research objectives, a model is proposed. The literature review and formulation of hypotheses related to each construct are then discussed. An online survey was conducted. The final usable sample size was 2,059.

Information quality was a stronger determinant of commitment and value when compared with privacy. The positive indirect effects of information quality and privacy on behavioural loyalty were also confirmed.

The research provides practical implications which can be used to design effective marketing strategies to retain customers in the residential internet market. Moreover, current issues of high-customer churn rate can be resolved. In general, the study confirms that putting customers’ privacy in the heart of company operations is critical for an internet service provider’s success and long-term sustainability.

Telecommunication has a decisive role in the development of technology in the current era. The number of mobile users with multiple SIM cards is increasing every second. Hence, telecommunication is a significant area in which big data technologies are needed. Competition among the telecommunication companies is high due to customer churn. Customer retention in telecom companies is one of the major problems. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The authors recommend an Intersection-Randomized Algorithm (IRA) using MapReduce functions to avoid data duplication in the mobile user call data of telecommunication service providers. The authors use the agent-based model (ABM) to predict the complex mobile user behaviour to prevent customer churn with a particular telecommunication service provider.

The agent-based model increases the prediction accuracy due to the dynamic nature of agents. ABM suggests rules based on mobile user variable features using multiple agents.

The authors have not considered the microscopic behaviour of the customer churn based on complex user behaviour.

This paper shows the effectiveness of the IRA along with the agent-based model to predict the mobile user churn behaviour. The advantage of this proposed model is as follows: the user churn prediction system is straightforward, cost-effective, flexible and distributed with good business profit.

This paper shows the customer churn prediction of complex human behaviour in an effective and flexible manner in a distributed environment using Intersection-Randomized MapReduce Algorithm using agent-based model.

This study aims to investigate the antecedents to service quality and their relationship with affective evaluations of customers of internet service providers (ISPs) in Thailand.

In order to achieve the research objectives, a model is proposed. The literature review and formulation of hypotheses related to each construct are then discussed.

The findings reveal that service quality is influenced by network quality, customer service, information support, privacy and security. Service quality in turn also impacts customer loyalty attributes, including satisfaction, value, trust and commitment. Satisfaction is a determinant of customer trust, whereas the direct relationship between value and customer commitment is not supported.

The model in this study was tested in the Thai ISP context which may be different in other service industries as well as in other countries.

By enhancing service quality, firms can influence customers' satisfaction, value, trust and commitment, which are critical for an ISP's success and long-term sustainability.

By applying the findings of this study, ISPs can strategise in making customers more central in their day-to-day operations, which would create competitive advantage for them.