Search results for "modeling"
showing 10 items of 4489 documents
Absorptive capacity and its impact on innovation and performance: findings from SEM and fsQCA
2018
Innovation can provide sustainable competitive advantages to service companies that consider the absorption of external knowledge a key strategic issue. Using the four dimensions of absorptive capacity, this study examined the impact of absorptive capacity on innovation in service delivery processes and explored how this innovation influences business performance. Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were applied to a sample of 134 companies drawn from the Colombian tourism sector. The results of the SEM indicate that innovation in service delivery processes is positively influenced by two of the four dimensions of absorptive capacity…
From service quality in organisations to self-determination at home
2015
Background In our proposed model, family members' perceptions of service quality in organisations improve communication about self-determination. In turn, family perceptions of communication openness have a positive relationship with self-determination attitudes of family members. Finally, these attitudes predict self-determination behaviours of individuals with intellectual disability, as reported by family members. Method We tested this model with a sample of 625 family members (196 using ‘day care services’ and 429 using ‘occupational services’). Results Multi-sample structural equation modelling (SEM) supported the model. Communication and attitudes fully mediated the link from service …
The role of trust in cruise passenger behavioral intentions : The moderating effects of the cruise line brand
2014
Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a framework to investigate the relationship between perceived value, satisfaction, trust and behavioral intentions and the moderator effect of the cruise line on cruise passengers’ perceptions.Design/methodology/approach– A structural model was developed. In order to verify the hypotheses, a total of 729 cruise passengers were sampled. The study of the data used structural equation models by means of a multi-group analysis.Findings– The results of this study suggest significant paths to increase behavioral intentions: perceived service quality? satisfaction? trust?. In addition, it has been proved that the cruise line moderates the r…
The role of organizational facilitators in promoting job-related mental health and group service effectiveness: a two-wave analysis
2016
This study aimed to add to knowledge by providing a more systematic integration of work characteristics, workers’ health and performance. The two-wave multi-source study was conducted to test the relationship over time between the healthy states of groups of service-oriented workers and their service effectiveness when their organizations provide facilitators such as training, technical support and autonomy. The study takes healthy states to be a composite of affective-motivational and competent collective states (collective vigour and service competence) and service effectiveness. Service effectiveness was a combination of service quality as assessed by customers and their loyalty intentio…
The min-max close-enough arc routing problem
2022
Abstract Here we introduce the Min-Max Close-Enough Arc Routing Problem, where a fleet of vehicles must serve a set of customers while trying to balance the length of the routes. The vehicles do not need to visit the customers, since they can serve them from a distance by traversing arcs that are “close enough” to the customers. We present two formulations of the problem and propose a branch-and-cut and a branch-and-price algorithm based on the respective formulations. A heuristic algorithm used to provide good upper bounds to the exact procedures is also presented. Extensive computational experiments to compare the performance of the algorithms are carried out.
Producing Routing Systems Flexibly Using a VRP Metamodel and a Software Product Line
2012
Routing problems occur in a wide variety of situations. Due to the heterogeneity of cases we do not yet know how to manage the complexity of addressing all the relevant aspects in logistic planning and solving the variety of different problem types in a cost-efficient way. In the last decade, we have witnessed an emergence of systematic approach into managing variation within a set of related software systems. This paper presents an application of these advances from software engineering into vehicle routing: we suggest the construction of a higher-level (meta-) model of routing problems and the application of a software product line approach. The proposed approach results in a flexible pro…
Heuristics for the bi-objective path dissimilarity problem
2009
In this paper the path dissimilarity problem is considered. The problem has previously been studied within several contexts, the most popular of which is motivated by the need to select transportation routes for hazardous materials. The aim of this paper is to formally introduce the problem as a bi-objective optimization problem, in which a single solution consists of a set of p different paths, and two conflicting objectives arise, on one hand the average length of the paths must be kept low, and on the other hand the dissimilarity among the paths in the set should be kept high. Previous methods are reviewed and adapted to this bi-objective problem, thus we can compare the methods using th…
Comparing multicriteria methods in the context of environmental problems
1998
Abstract The present paper gives an analysis of the use of ELECTRE III, PROMETHEE I, II, and SMART decision-aids in the context of four different real applications to environmental problems in Finland. These methods are widely used decision-aids in the real planning processes. The purpose of this study is to define the differences of these methods and the results obtained with them, and in this way also to consider their applicability in aiding environmental decision-making. Furthermore, a comparison of the methods based on a set of randomly generated problems is carried out. The choice in practice will not be easy; PROMETHEE does not differ much from SMART with linear value functions, and …
Data-based modeling of vehicle collision by LPV-ARMAX model approach
2013
Vehicle crash are considered to be events with high complexity from the mathematical points of view. The high experiment cost and huge time-consumption make the establishment of a mathematical model of vehicle crash which can simplify the analysis process in great demand. In this work, we present the application of LPV-ARMAX model to simulate the car-to-pole collision with different initial impact velocities. The parameters of the LPV-ARMAX are assumed to be functions of the initial impact velocities. Instead of establishing a set of LTI models for vehicle crashes with various impact velocities, the LPV-ARMAX model is comparatively simple and applicable to predict the responses of new colli…
Modeling soil organic carbon stock after 10 years of cover crops in Mediterranean vineyards: improving ANN prediction by digital terrain analysis.
2018
Estimate changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock after Agro Environment Measures adoption are strategically for national and regional scale. Uncertainty in estimates also represents a very important parameter in terms of evaluation of the exact costs and agro environment payments to farmers. In this study we modeled the variation of SOC stock after 10-year cover crop adoption in a vine growing area of South-Eastern Sicily. A paired-site approach was chosen to study the difference in SOC stocks. A total 100 paired sites (i.e. two adjacent plots) were chosen and three soil samples (Ap soil horizons, circa 0-30 cm depth) were collected in each plot to obtain a mean value of organic carbon c…