bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Online PBL: a route to sustainability education?
Authors: Tomkinson Bland , Hutt Ian 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate online problem‐based learning (PBL) as a route to achieving sustainability education using sponsored projects.Design/methodology/approachThe Royal Academy of Engineering sponsored project at Manchester; to foster education in sustainability through inter‐disciplinary problem‐based approaches, has since been extended to other groups and to a broader array of issues. One of the limiting factors is the ease with which this approach can be taken in the case of large numbers of students and a commensurate requirement for large numbers of facilitators. The University of Keele, together with partners from the universities of Manchester and Staffordshire, was awarded National Teaching Fellowship Scheme funding to explore further the use of blended or online approaches, in order to overcome these limitations. The pilot unit already has a certain amount of support using the BlackBoard virtual learning environment (VLE) but this scenario is supposed to rely entirely on online working. At the time of writing, the evaluation of the pilot has not been completed but an online questionnaire was devised to monitor students’ reactions to the online working and to ascertain whether they did in fact work entirely online or whether they chose to meet informally face‐to‐face. Difficulties encountered were both organizational (mostly relating to enrolment) and technical (this was a new version of BlackBoard and had a few teething troubles).FindingsThis pilot project has demonstrated that a blended approach to PBL is feasible. There are some forms of resistance from students. The assessment was outcomes‐driven rather than process‐driven. This meant that it was not necessary for the academic staff to have access to all the discussions, thus acting as facilitators. There is a general theme that while learners found it possible to work effectively as a group online, they also found it more difficult. It is possible that the students were having to dedicate more time and effort to the use of the online system, which had an impact on their creativity and productivity.Research limitations/implicationsIn the case of the University of Manchester, the developments are being applied to a Masters‐level course unit in Managing Humanitarian Aid Projects. This unit proceeds on the basis of five scenarios that students try to resolve in small groups and in the first pilot year one of these scenarios is being delivered on‐line.Practical implicationsThe results of this pilot could be fed in to different stages of programme deployment to examine impact and explore possibilities with distance learning modules.Originality/valueThis paper has looked at the effectiveness of nationally run, problem‐based learning projects that are aimed at improving understanding, engagement and deployment on diverse learning environments to include VLEs.
Quality enhancement on e‐learning
Authors: Ossiannilsson E.S.I. 
Published: August 2012

PurposeBenchmarking, a method for quality assurance has not been very commonly used in higher education with regard to e‐learning. Today, e‐learning is an integral part of higher education, and so should also be an integral part of quality assurance systems. However, quality indicators, benchmarks and critical success factors on e‐learning have not been taken seriously into consideration, nor incorporated in ordinary national or international quality assurance systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe how The European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) initiated and developed E‐xcellence+, a quality benchmarking assessment method and tool.Design/methodology/approachThis paper, which is part of a larger research project on European benchmarking, focuses on experiences from universities taking part in the E‐xcellence+ valorization process.FindingsThe results showed that benchmarking is a powerful tool to support improved governance and management in higher education, in alignment with national and international quality agencies. The tool can serve for quality improvements in teaching and learning. Additionally, the results showed critical success issues for e‐learning.Originality/valueThis original paper reports on a Europe‐wide study examining benchmarking of e‐learning and presents suggestions for tackling quality issues.
Maintenance parameters based production policies optimization
Authors: Uzun Arzu , Ozdogan Ahmet 
Published: August 2012

PurposePlanning of manufacturing and maintenance activities together, creating a balance between maintenance and production parameters and developments on maintenance will prevent technical and economic losses and increase production efficiency. Optimizing production and maintenance scheduling enable us to see how maintenance parameters (β, η, tp, tr, a[o]) will affect production performance, completion time (Ec.) and maximum machine availability, and shows which maintenance parameters minimum completion time (Ecmin) will be provided. Difference between Ecmin and maximum completion time (Ecmak) effect to the production costs will be calculated. The purpose of this paper is to show how a genetic algorithm (GA) procedure is successfully applied to the integrated optimization model to determine optimum production policies based maintenance parameters.Design/methodology/approachGA is used for optimization and a computer program is prepared to make optimization for integrated preventive maintenance and production planning (IPMPP). Using the program, experimental studies are carried out with different number of jobs be done, to optimize production policy taking maintenance parameters into account.FindingsNumerous experiments have been conducted with developed GA computer program and see maintenance parameters (β, η, tp, tr, a[o]) effect to the production performance, Ec and maximum machine availability and at which maintenance parameters Ecmin will be provided, and also operating cost saving and maintenance parameters how affect Ec subjects are examined. Due to optimal preventive maintenance (PM) and production sequence arrangement and application of PM provided by GA, Ecmin is greatly decreased.Originality/valueIn this paper, GA procedure is successfully applied to the integrated optimization model to determine optimum production policies based maintenance parameters.
The scheduling of maintenance service for a family of machines of multi‐branch firm
Authors: Huang Jia‐Yen 
Published: August 2012

PurposeIt is not uncommon that a multi‐branch firm has all its branches maintaining the same group of machines from a maintenance department. Clearly there are potential opportunities to reduce costs by coordinating the joint maintenance among the branches. The purpose of this paper is to optimally coordinate the maintenance schedule of machines of multi‐branch firms to save the maintenance cost incurred.Design/methodology/approachA search algorithm is proposed that proceeds the searching through the junction points within the lower and upper bounds of the search range. An example is given to illustrate the method.FindingsThe optimality structure of this problem is explored and it is asserted that the optimal cost is piece‐wise convex. Based on theoretical results, an effective search algorithm is derived that can efficiently determine the maintenance frequencies for a family of machines of multi‐branch firm.Practical implicationsA well‐planned maintenance schedule can not only bring down the cost but also raise the utilization rate of a family of machines. Numerical results show that the whole maintenance system can obtain significant cost savings from the coordination policy.Originality/valueIn response to branches adopting coordinated maintenances, the maintenance manager providing the maintenances to the branches faces a scheduling problem of how to minimize its total costs. This is an area that has received little attention in the literature. By utilizing the theoretical results, an efficient search algorithm that solves the optimal solution for this problem is proposed.
Exploring the relationship among affective loyalty, perceived benefits, attitude, and intention to use co‐branded products
Authors: Tingchi Liu Matthew , Chu Rongwei , Wong IpKin Anthony , Angel Zúñiga Miguel , Meng Yan , Pang Chuan 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship among affective loyalty, perceived benefits, attitude towards co‐branded products and the intention to use such products.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 433 valid responses were collected from active bank/department store co‐branded credit card holders, from four major Chinese cities. Regression and t‐test analyses were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings revealed that affective loyalty to the bank and the department store, as well as perceived credit card benefits, all positively influence consumers' attitude toward bank/department store co‐branded credit cards. Additionally, results showed a positive relationship between attitude and intention. Moreover, gender differences were also found to be significant in affective loyalty to the bank and the department store, as well as with the intention to use co‐branded credit cards.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the co‐branding literature by gaining a better understanding of co‐branded partners in symbiotic marketing collaboration.
Brand extension: using parent brand personality as leverage
Authors: Nhat Hanh Le Angelina , Ming Sung Cheng Julian , Hua Lee Yueh , Jain Megha 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the predicting roles of extension naming strategies and categorical fit on the transfer of brand personality from a parent brand to its extension brand. Extension naming strategies include direct and indirect naming, while categorical fit is the similarity between an extended product and its parent brand's cognitive category. Further, the interaction effect and the relative effectiveness of various combinations of the two predictors when determining brand personality transfer are also explored.Design/methodology/approachA 2×2 factorial between‐subject experimental design with one covariate is used to test the proposed hypotheses. The experiment involves 242 participants from a university in Taiwan.FindingsThe findings show that consumers perceive higher brand personality transfer when a direct naming strategy is applied or when the parent brand extends to a high perceived fit product. The former is the dominant predictor of brand personality transfer. There also exists an interaction effect between extension naming strategies and categorical fit. Specifically, consumers perceive the highest brand personality transfer when a direct naming strategy is applied for a high fit extended product. Moreover, the use of a direct naming strategy for an extended product with a low categorical fit still leads to a higher degree of parent brand personality than both the other cases in which an indirect naming strategy is applied for either high or low fit extended products. Furthermore, irrespective of the degree of categorical fit, the transfer of brand personality is low when an indirect naming strategy is applied.Originality/valueThe current research is pioneer work in identifying the determinants of brand personality transfer. It also notes the interaction effect and the relative effectiveness of the determinants.
Impact of retailer personality on consumer‐based retailer equity
Authors: Das Gopal , Datta Biplab , Guin Kalyan Kumar 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of retailer personality on consumer‐based retailer equity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed a retailer personality scale and find its impact on consumer‐based retailer equity by adopting the scale developed by Pappu and Quester. A mall‐intercept survey was undertaken using a systematic sampling of department store shoppers of age 18 years and above in a metropolitan city, Kolkata, India. The questionnaire was used to collect data from seven department retail brands. The impact of each retailer personality dimension on each consumer‐based retailer equity dimension was explored, using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe study proposed a five‐dimensional scale to measure department store personality. Results indicated that the three dimensions of store personality, namely sophistication, dependability and empathy, have significant positive impact on each consumer‐based retailer equity dimension except one (empathy→retailer loyalty). The remaining two dimensions of retailer personality, namely authenticity and vibrancy, have no impact on each consumer‐based retailer dimension.Originality/valueThe paper is the first to propose a scale for measuring department store personality and to explore the link between retailer personality and consumer‐based retailer equity.
Do offline factors trigger customers' appetite for online continual usage?
Authors: Al‐hawari Mohammad Ahmad , Mouakket Samar 
Published: August 2012

PurposeAlthough many studies have analysed the impact of online factors on the online behaviour of customers', there is also a need to consider the influence of offline factors on customers' propensity for online services use. The purpose of this paper is to highlight how offline factors trigger online continual usage by customers' of airline e‐ticket booking services.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes a conceptual model of the relationship between offline factors and customers' online continual usage behaviour. A convenient sample consisting mainly of undergraduate students was selected. The primary data were collected through a pencil‐and‐paper survey, and AMOS 18 was used to test for the hypothesised relationships.FindingsThe results revealed that employee‐based service quality has a positive and direct relationship with pre‐existing offline trust and image, and no direct relationship with online continual usage. Surprisingly, and contrary to current literature, pre‐existing offline trust had no direct relationship with online continual usage. However, both pre‐existing offline image and subjective norms confirmed the literature and had a direct significant relationship with online continual usage.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used a sample of mainly university students to test the proposed conceptual model. Thus, it might not be possible to generalise the application of the outcomes of this study to different populations.Practical implicationsThe results of this study confirm the importance of offline factors as a vital tool that support organisations' attempts to encourage their customers to continue using online channels, which are both efficient and convenient. The paper also offers decision makers general guidelines on managing offline factors to stimulate customers' online continual usage behaviour.Originality/valueThe key contribution of this paper is a conceptualisation of predictors of customers' usage of online booking services, that takes into account the most researched offline factors cited in the literature.
What makes sales in Chinese shampoo industry?
Authors: Yang Chenchen , Yang Feng , Xia Qiong , Ang Sheng 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe paper aims to find the functional relationship among 14 shampoo brands' price, quality, marketing expense and sales in the Chinese shampoo industry. Also studied is which one, among these factors, is the more important.Design/methodology/approachBy using data envelopment analysis models, the authors propose to maximize the sale allocating efficiency scores to satisfy the hypothesis that the shampoo market is efficient, and then, the sales functions, linear and exponential, can be determined and specified.FindingsIt is found that an exponential sales function is more suitable to characterize the Chinese shampoo industry, and the price factor is a major influence on creating sales.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a method, from an original perspective, to analyze the sales function among the influence factors and to determine which one is more important. The method can be applied to other markets if the assumed conditions could be satisfied.
A study of supply chain partnerships based on the commitment‐trust theory
Authors: Wu Mei‐Ying , Weng Yung‐Chien , Huang I‐Chiao 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use high‐tech companies in Taiwan as research subjects to verify the fit of the commitment‐trust theory and explore the supply chain relationships among research variables.Design/methodology/approachThe key mediating variables model (KMV) proposed by Morgan and Hunt is applied to construct the research structure, hypotheses, and questionnaire. The research hypotheses are validated through structural equation modelling and confirmatory factor analysis.FindingsResearch results show that for two parties of an exchange relationship, higher levels of trust can lead to better interactions and trust is an important factor affecting their supply chain partnerships. It helps increase interests of both parties, facilitate constant co‐operation and communication, and reduce uncertainties. Higher levels of commitment can also help increase value benefits, reduce a partner's propensity to leave, and enhance supply chain co‐operation efficiency.Originality/valueEmpirical results indicate that relationship marketing is a strategy that promotes trust and commitment of partners in high‐tech industries. While information sharing and communication can increase partners' intention of long‐term co‐operation, functional conflicts can facilitate positive interactions and reduce uncertainties. Through relationship marketing, high‐tech companies can create win‐win strategic alliances to develop their competitive advantages in the market.
Complexity and control: benchmarking of automobiles and electronic products
Authors: Fujimoto Takahiro , Won Park Young 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this exploratory paper is to analyze how complexity of an artifact affects designing processes of its mechanical, electric, and software sub‐systems.Design/methodology/approachBased on existing empirical research and frameworks of axiomatic design, product architecture, and product development process, the paper proposes a simple model of functional and structural design to examine how engineers' ways of thinking differ among mechanical, electric and software engineers.FindingsThis paper argues that products and artifacts tend to become complex (often with integral architecture) when customers' functional requirements become more demanding and societal/technological constraints become stricter, and that complex mechanical products are often accompanied by electronic control units with complex functions. This implies that designing complex mechanical products often requires intensive coordination among mechanical, electric and software engineers. This, however, is not easy, as engineers' way of thinking is often different among the three areas: mechanical engineers want to complete structural design information first to build prototypes; electrical and software engineers (the latter in particular) request complete functional information first.Research limitations/implicationsIn order to solve the above‐mentioned mechanical‐electrical‐software coordination problem, engineers need to share basic design concept of the product in question. Heavy‐weight product managers who infuse the product concept to the project members might be the key to this coordination. Companies may need to make sure that their product development processes are friendly to all of the three groups of engineers.Originality/valueAlthough designing complex artifacts has been a popular research theme since H. Simon's seminal work, issues of organizational coordination for developing complex products, with increasing managerial importance, need further research. With an empirical case of the automobile and electronic products, the present paper is unique in that it combines frameworks of product development processes, product architectures, and organizational capabilities.
Trust‐driven joint operational activities to achieve mass customization
Authors: Liao Kun , Sharkey Thomas W. , Ragu‐Nathan T.S. , Vonderembse Mark 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify relationships among buyer‐supplier trust, joint operational activities, and the degree of mass customization as well as the interactions between cultural factors (i.e. long‐term strategic alignment and autonomy) and trust in the context of supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachThe model of trust is based on joint operational activities and mass customization using theories of social capital and the resource‐based view of the firm. Also, culture‐related antecedents of trust are identified. Based on 208 responses from suppliers in the USA and China, this study uses structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses.FindingsThis study empirically supports the notion that trust positively drives manufacturer‐supplier activities in operations. It also supports the claim that joint operational activities contribute to mass customization capabilities in a significant way. Moreover, two culture‐related antecedents are found to be significantly related to trust.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is limited to the auto industry in North America and China. As in other supply chain studies, individual respondents may have somewhat limited information about different aspects of their company's supply chain.Practical implicationsIn general, it appears that trust is important in determining mass customization capabilities regardless of culture. For practitioners, long‐term strategic alignment is more important for firms to increase trust than autonomy although both can significantly increase the level of trust between buyer and supplier.Originality/valueLong‐term strategic alignment and autonomy are identified as antecedents of trust and empirically supported.
Benchmarking sustainability practices: evidence from manufacturing firms
Authors: Hong Paul , Jungbae Roh James , Rawski Greg 
Published: August 2012

PurposeWith increasing emphasis on the environment, firms are required to include sustainability practices at all levels – strategic, operational, and outcome measures. The purpose of this paper is to present a research model that defines sustainability practices in the context of the competitive business environment, strategic driver, operational and supply chain practices, and performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThis paper identifies research gaps in the areas of integration of sustainability practices across functional levels within firms and across networks. In total, 379 companies were analyzed in structural equation modeling.FindingsThis study has three important findings: First, firms striving for responsiveness to market and customers also improve environmental performance; second, this study confirms lean practices as an important mediator to achieve excellent environmental performance; third, the focal company takes the lead in achieving environmental performance, and suppliers are in the supportive circle of influence.Originality/valueThis study provides a research model based on rich theoretical support. It further provides reliable measures of sustainability practices as benchmark tools.