MANFRED NATTER DIETER WELTE and WOLFGANG SCHMIDT
At present, intensive preliminary technological work is being carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany on the development of a new tactical combat aircraft (TKF). Among…
Abstract
At present, intensive preliminary technological work is being carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany on the development of a new tactical combat aircraft (TKF). Among others, a research project is being carried out on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Defense on the design of engine air intakes for supersonic aircraft, in which Dornier and the German Aerospace Research and Testing Establishment (DFVLR) are participating.
The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has announced the release of EIA‐364–71, Solder Wicking Test Procedure for Electrical Connectors/ Sockets (Wave Solder Technique)…
Abstract
The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has announced the release of EIA‐364–71, Solder Wicking Test Procedure for Electrical Connectors/ Sockets (Wave Solder Technique), formerly Standards Proposal No. 2185‐A. The object of this test is to determine whether a connector can be wave soldered to a printed wiring board without sustaining damage caused by solder wicking onto the contact surfaces or other areas that might alter its operating characteristics.
Hao Shi, Haijian Liu and Yixue Wu
This study aims to analyze the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and quality of accounting report, especially on earnings management (EM). In addition…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and quality of accounting report, especially on earnings management (EM). In addition, potential moderators of this relationship are examined.
Design/methodology/approach
After a comprehensive study of potential mechanisms, the authors obtain plenty of empirical results to open the black box of the link between CSR and EM. Meta-analysis is applied on 51 studies from 35 papers. Further analysis is also carried out to determine the moderating effects, such as the cultural and sample selection differences in these papers.
Findings
CSR is negatively associated with EM. In addition, this effect is moderated by cultural difference, CSR measurement, and year of sample selection.
Research limitations/implications
Two patterns of the hypothesis between CSR and EM are confirmed based on agency cost theory, a theoretical shift of corporate ethics based on organizational moral perspective. Several useful suggestions are also provided for future studies on the empirical model and sample selection. Further research is necessary to clarify the agency cost behind the two theoretical patterns.
Practical implications
CSR is not a tool for firms to market but rather a strategy to ensure their consistency with moral principles, indicating that management should pay more attention to the potential damage of the incongruence between CSR and accounting reporting quality. CSR reporting quality remains an important issue for legislature to guarantee continued firm operations.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze the CSR and EM link using a meta-analysis and to consider its underlying mechanism under the global environment. Previous method design and sample selection are reviewed to provide reference for future studies.
Details
Keywords
Juan Sebastian Gomez Bonilla, Maximilian Alexander Dechet, Jochen Schmidt, Wolfgang Peukert and Andreas Bück
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of different heating approaches during thermal rounding of polymer powders on powder bulk properties such as particle size…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of different heating approaches during thermal rounding of polymer powders on powder bulk properties such as particle size, shape and flowability, as well as on the yield of process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on the rounding of commercial high-density polyethylene polymer particles in two different downer reactor designs using heated walls (indirect heating) and preheated carrier gas (direct heating). Powder bulk properties of the product obtained from both designs are characterized and compared.
Findings
Particle rounding with direct heating leads to a considerable increase in process yield and a reduction in powder agglomeration compared to the design with indirect heating. This subsequently leads to higher powder flowability. In terms of shape, indirect heating yields not only particles with higher sphericity but also entails substantial agglomeration of the rounded particles.
Originality/value
Shape modification via thermal rounding is the decisive step for the success of a top-down process chain for selective laser sintering powders with excellent flowability, starting with polymer particles from comminution. This report provides new information on the influence of the heating mode (direct/indirect) on the performance of the rounding process and particle properties.
Details
Keywords
Johannes Wolfgang Veile, Marie-Christin Schmidt, Julian Marius Müller and Kai-Ingo Voigt
This study analyzes how technological changes in the context of Industry 4.0 influence buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs).
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes how technological changes in the context of Industry 4.0 influence buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs).
Design/methodology/approach
The study is explorative in nature; hence, an empirical qualitative research design is applied. It bases on 45 expert interviews with managers from German and Austrian industrial companies as empirical data. A qualitative content analysis is conducted to inductively analyze the empirical material and to identify common patterns, themes and categories.
Findings
The paper finds that future transactions are mainly based on digitized, automated procedures, transferring various value creation processes to platforms. BSRs become more intense in nature. Companies consolidate their supplier base by focusing on important strategic suppliers.
Research limitations/implications
As the paper is of exploratory nature, it can only present first qualitative insights. Further studies can extend the results by analyzing and contrasting BSRs in various industries or value chain stages and map differences and similarities, respectively.
Practical implications
The paper's results provide implications for management and corporate practice alike. These help companies to raise Industry 4.0's full potential as for BSRs creating and securing long-term and sustainable competitive advantages.
Originality/value
This paper is among the first to empirically investigate BSRs in the context of Industry 4.0. Providing implications for research and corporate practice, it contributes to tapping Industry 4.0's full potential complementing an extra-organizational perspective.
Details
Keywords
Alexander von Selasinsky, Daniel Kurt Josef Schubert, Thomas Meyer and Dominik Möst
The paper aims to analyse whether experiencing a supply interruption affects the valuation of security of electricity supply.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to analyse whether experiencing a supply interruption affects the valuation of security of electricity supply.
Design/methodology/approach
A blackout in Munich, Germany, in November 2012 is utilised as a natural experiment by conducting a contingent valuation survey around two months after the event. The characteristics of the supply interruption allow for distinguishing between households that were affected by the blackout and those who were not. This provides the opportunity to compare the willingness to pay (WTP) for avoiding and the willingness to accept (WTA) for enduring a supply interruption between affected and non-affected Munich households.
Findings
The results show that households who were affected by the outage had a higher WTP for avoiding a hypothetical supply interruption. Although affected households also had a higher WTA for enduring an outage, the WTA-differences between the two groups are not statistically significant. Furthermore, the results indicate that experience with power outages can increase the perceived relevance of the policy objective “security” at the expense of the objective “environmental sustainability”.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature in three general respects. First, the assessment of the relationship between outage experience and the valuation of supply security is based on a natural experiment which avoids most of the shortcomings of previous studies. Second, the paper uses both the WTP and the WTA measure to approximate the valuation of supply security and discusses the differences in their outcomes. Third, these monetary valuations are complemented and compared with general attitudes towards a reliable electricity system.
Details
Keywords
Isabel Barbara Pfister, Nicola Jacobshagen, Wolfgang Kälin and Norbert Karl Semmer
Building on the “Stress-as-Offense-to-Self” theory, this study investigates appreciation as a predictor of job satisfaction over time, mediated by subjective success and feelings…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the “Stress-as-Offense-to-Self” theory, this study investigates appreciation as a predictor of job satisfaction over time, mediated by subjective success and feelings of resentment towards one's organization.
Design/methodology/approach
Analyses are based on a three-wave study with two-month time intervals, with a sample of 193 employees from six Swiss organizations.
Findings
Double mediation by subjective success and feelings of resentment was confirmed; no mediation was found in a reversed mediation model. Results highlight the importance of appreciation for employees' feelings of success and job satisfaction, but also for affect related to the organization as a whole.
Practical implications
Organizations should recognize the role of appreciation in satisfaction, affective reactions toward the organization, and information about one's standing. Appreciation can be expressed in multiple ways; it not only increases job satisfaction but also helps employees to validate their judgments about their own performance.
Originality/value
Appreciation is a promising resource for employee well-being. The present study is one of few focusing on appreciation as a resource in its own right, rather than as part of broader constructs, such as social support. Our results not only confirm the importance of appreciation but also shed light on mechanisms through which it may exert its influence. They complement a multilevel analysis based on the same data showing an association of appreciation with different indicators of well-being on the interpersonal as well as the intrapersonal level.
Details
Keywords
Christina Blümel, Marius Sachs, Tobias Laumer, Bettina Winzer, Jochen Schmidt, Michael Schmidt, Wolfgang Peukert and Karl-Ernst Wirth
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the processability of cohesive PE-HD particles in laser beam melting processes (LBM) of polymers. Furthermore, we present a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the processability of cohesive PE-HD particles in laser beam melting processes (LBM) of polymers. Furthermore, we present a characterization method for polymer particles, which can predict the quality of the powder deposition via LBM processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on the application of dry particle coating processes to increase flowability and bulk density of PE-HD particles. Both has been measured and afterwards validated via powder deposition of PE-HD particles in a LBM machine.
Findings
For efficient coating in a dry particle coating process, the PE-HD particles and the attached nanoparticles need to show similar surface chemistry, i.e. both need to behave either hydrophobic or hydrophilic. It is demonstrated that dry particle coating is appropriate to enhance flowability and bulk density of PE-HD particles and hence considerably improves LBM processes and the resulting product quality.
Originality/value
At present, in LBM processes mainly polyamide (PA), 12 particles are used, which are so far quite expensive in comparison to, for example, PE-HD particles. This work provides a unique and versatile method for nanoparticulate surface modification which may be applied to a wide variety of materials. After the coating, the particles are applicable for the LBM process. Our results provide a correlation between flowability and bulk density and the resulting product quality.
Details
Keywords
Erich Schmidt, Wolfgang Paradeiser, Fadi Dohnal and Horst Ecker
An overview is given on design features, numerical modelling and testing of a novel electromagnetic actuator to achieve a controllable stiffness to be used as a device for…
Abstract
Purpose
An overview is given on design features, numerical modelling and testing of a novel electromagnetic actuator to achieve a controllable stiffness to be used as a device for parametric stiffness excitation.
Design/methodology/approach
In principle, the actuator consists of a current driven coil placed between two permanent magnets. Repellent forces are generated between the coil and the magnets, centering the coil between the two magnets. The 2D finite element analyses are carried out to predict the forces generated by this arrangement depending on coil current and coil position. Force measurements are also made using the actual device.
Findings
Actuator forces as predicted by the finite element analyses are in excellent agreement with the measured data, confirming the validity of the numerical model. Stiffness of the actuator is defined as the increase of force per unit of coil displacement. Actuator stiffness depends linearly on the coil current but in a nonlinear manner on the coil displacement. The performance of the actuator is sufficient to demonstrate the effect of a so‐called parametric anti‐resonance on a test stand.
Research limitations/implications
Although the performance of the actuator is satisfactory, there is potential for further improvement of the actuator design.
Originality/value
This paper reports for the first time on an electromechanical device to create a time‐periodic stiffness variation to be used for research in the field of parametrically excited mechanical systems. The device is used to prove experimentally an effect to suppress mechanical vibrations which has been studied so far only in theoretical studies.
Details
Keywords
Kathrin Knautz and Wolfgang G. Stock
The object of this empirical research study is emotion, as depicted and aroused in videos. This paper seeks to answer the questions: Are users able to index such emotions…
Abstract
Purpose
The object of this empirical research study is emotion, as depicted and aroused in videos. This paper seeks to answer the questions: Are users able to index such emotions consistently? Are the users' votes usable for emotional video retrieval?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors worked with a controlled vocabulary for nine basic emotions (love, happiness, fun, surprise, desire, sadness, anger, disgust and fear), a slide control for adjusting the emotions' intensity, and the approach of broad folksonomies. Different users tagged the same videos. The test persons had the task of indexing the emotions of 20 videos (reprocessed clips from YouTube). The authors distinguished between emotions which were depicted in the video and those that were evoked in the user. Data were received from 776 participants and a total of 279,360 slide control values were analyzed.
Findings
The consistency of the users' votes is very high; the tag distributions for the particular videos' emotions are stable. The final shape of the distributions will be reached by the tagging activities of only very few users (less than 100). By applying the approach of power tags it is possible to separate the pivotal emotions of every document – if indeed there is any feeling at all.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first steps in the new research area of emotional information retrieval (EmIR). To the authors' knowledge, it is the first research project into the collective indexing of emotions in videos.