Search results for "Fuzzy"
showing 10 items of 747 documents
A novel application of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to GEM data
2016
Abstract This study constitutes a novel application of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data. This study seeks to demonstrate that fsQCA enriches previous conclusions from linear regression analyses that state that a relationship exists between the GEM's Total Entrepreneurial Activity rate (TEA) and variables representing entrepreneurial attitudes and social values of adult populations toward entrepreneurship. FsQCA allows researchers to estimate which of these attitudes and social values are necessary, sufficient, or both for full membership in the set of most entrepreneurial active countries within the set of GEM innovation-driven countri…
Alternative paths to high performance of independent financial advisors: A fuzzy-set analysis
2016
Abstract This study performs a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to determine the conditions that lead to high performance of independent financial advisors. The study examines the performance of these companies in terms of their involvement in innovation activities, participation in business networks, and open innovation as a strategy to cope with difficult market conditions resulting from the recent economic downturn. This approach clarifies the relationship between combinations of conditions and high performance. The results suggest that involvement in innovation activities is the most relevant factor in financial advisors performance. Independent financial advisors may …
Does size matter? Entrepreneurial orientation and performance in Spanish sports firms
2016
The entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of firms is the subject of current research in the fields of management and business. However, analyses on this subject in sport companies are lacking. This study analyzes the relationship among EO, firm size, and business performance of Spanish sports service firms. The study analyzes EO as a multidimensional construct (with proactiveness, innovation, and risk-taking dimensions), and business performance considering self-perception (perceived customer satisfaction, perceived market effectiveness, and perceived financial performance) and financial indicators (ROI). The firm size follows the EU's directive for the classification of micro, small, medium, a…
Can a magic recipe foster university spin-off creation?
2015
This study examines factors that explain the creation of university spin-offs. The study focuses on mechanisms that technology transfer offices (TTOs) and universities employ to foster spin-offs. These mechanisms include technology transfer activities that support spin-offs, normative frameworks, support infrastructures (i.e., business incubators and science parks), and TTO staff's specialist technical skills. The analysis also differentiates between public and private universities. Spin-offs belong to one or more of the following groups: spin-offs with support from the university's TTO, spin-offs operating under a license agreement, and spin-offs in which the TTO or university holds equity…
Innovation at universities: A fuzzy-set approach for MOOC-intensiveness
2016
Abstract Typologies can be an adequate tool for analyzing the complex cause–effect relationships between innovation and the supply of university courses. This study presents a new theoretical perspective on causal core and periphery factors for MOOC-intensiveness in universities using fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The findings show how this new theoretical perspective allows for two different typologies. Different configurations lead to an outcome combination of different core and peripheral conditions building on internal, strategic, and external factors. However, the two configurations leading to the absence of the outcome simply refer to the absence of a strategic f…
Qualitative comparative analysis: Crisp and fuzzy sets in business and management
2016
Abstract This special issue discusses qualitative comparative analysis (crisp and fuzzy set) in business and management blending contextual information and cognitive knowledge from the contributions of Global Innovation and Knowledge Academy (GIKA). The GIKA Annual Conference provides a platform for discussing challenges pertaining to contemporary issues in Innovation and Knowledge. The 5th GIKA Annual Conference, held in July 2015 at the University of Valencia, received submissions from more than 62 countries. Journal of Business Research (JBR) is the sponsor journal of the Academy. One of the aims of the GIKA Conference is to select high-quality conference papers for publication in a spec…
Fuzzy Distributed Genetic Approaches for Image Segmentation
2010
This paper presents a new image segmentation algorithm (called FDGA-Seg) based on a combination of fuzzy logic, multiagent systems and genetic algorithms. We propose to use a fuzzy representation of the image site labels by introducing some imprecision in the gray tones values. The distributivity of FDGA-Seg comes from the fact that it is designed around a MultiAgent System (MAS) working with two different architectures based on the master-slave and island models. A rich set of experimental segmentation results given by FDGA-Seg is discussed and compared to the ICM results in the last section.
Studies regarding the use of a neuro-fuzzy mathematical model in order to determine the technological parameters of the polyethylene pipes butt weldi…
2017
The paper analyzes the possibility to use a neuro-fuzzy type mathematical model, with the final goal of establishing the welding parameters for new types and dimensions of pipes and fittings. Anticipating the developing dynamic of polyethylene-made elements, especially pipes and fittings, starting from the current situation when already a wide range of pipes and fittings with different wall thicknesses and nominal working pressures is produced and commercialized, and taking into account also new development, it was considered necessary to find out the welding parameters for any new pipe type and dimension. The usage of existing welding equipment for new pipe dimensions is impossible without…
A Computer Control System for the Hydraulic Stand MZPK 100 for Biaxial Fatigue Testing
2006
This paper presents a two-channel digital control system for the hydraulic stand MZPK 100 designed for fatigue tests of cruciform specimens under biaxial tension-compression. In the past, the fatigue test stand MZPK 100 was provided with unreliable analog control power cubicles. Application of the computer with an analog and digital input-output signal path board, Matlab/Simulink software and a new control box equipped with the necessary electronic subassemblies (responsible for proper switching of the hydraulic supplier, command electrovalves, conditioning of signals from sensors and so on) enables replacement of the old analog system by a new two-channel digital control system. Nowadays, …
Back to “Reasoning”
2016
Is rigor always strictly related to precision and accuracy? This is a fundamental question in the realm of Fuzzy Logic; the first instinct would be to answer in the positive, but the question is much more complex than it appears, as true rigor is obtained also by a careful examination of the context, and limiting to a mechanical transfer of techniques, procedures and conceptual attitudes from one domain to another, such as from the pure engineering feats or the ones of mathematical logic to the study of human reasoning, does not guarantee optimal results. Starting from this question, we discuss some implications of going back to the very concept of reasoning as it is used in natural languag…