The Saudi Arabian insurance sector has two distinctive features. First, major revenue for this sector comes from the mandatory medical and motor insurance. Second, this sector is dominated by a few companies which generally provide the same products in the sector. Therefore, a company may focus on providing better service quality in order to attain future growth and stability. High-quality service is essential to gain a competitive advantage in the insurance sector. In this context, the present study identifies a gap in assessing the quality of service in the insurance sector of Saudi Arabia, using the SERVPERF scale in particular. Structural Equation Modeling is used to assess the quality of service. The results indicate that SERVPERF is not adequate to measure service quality in the context of Saudi Arabia. In the process, this study opens a debate on, whether a universally acknowledged SERVPERF scale is suitable to apply in an environment where service is of mandatory nature.

This study aims to examine the effects of electronic word of mouth communication (eWOM) among consumers on purchase intention and brand image, specifically, Generation Y and Z groups in relation to smartphone brands. The study utilizes an empirical research model using data collected from 402 valid respondents among consumers who use smartphone brands in North Cyprus. The study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore and conduct the analysis. The results confirm the significant effects of eWOM on purchase intention through brand image and the moderating role of product type among eWOM, purchase intentions and brand image. The study also recommends that firms and marketers must concentrate on online communication channels to affect consumers’ intention toward purchasing brands and brand image. Moreover, the current study model suggests that future study can be extended in different context, countries (i.e. developed, emerging, developing), industries (i.e. banks, e-commerce, tourism) and different social me-dia platforms sites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter).

The present study reports on the application of accelerated cooling environment (ACE) in hard turning of AISI D2 steel (55 ± 1HRC) using mixed ceramic insert (Al2O3 + TiCN) which is rarely being investigated and to address the major problems of brittle fracture of tool tip that arises through cutting forces and friction at tool-work and chip-tool interface. In spraying process, some portion of spraying coolant vaporize due to heat when it reaches to cutting zone where as remaining portion of coolant easily penetrate in cutting zone through capillary action and reduces friction as well as heat in cutting zone. Abrasion and chipping are noticed to be dominant wear mechanism. Cutting speed and depth of cut are significant for flank wear as well as cutting temperature whereas feed is significant for average surface roughness. Serrated chips have been identified at higher cutting speed and higher feeds. Optimal parametric combination is found to be d1-f1-v2 (0.1mm-0.04 m/min-108 m/min) and tool life and machining cost per part are 70 minutes and Rs 76.76 respectively. Investigation shows the worthy of application of ACE in hard turning in industrial sectors ecologically and economically. Empirical models reveal statistically significance due to higher coefficient of correlations.

The objective of this research was to examine the relationships of the five key foreign tourist markets in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Quarterly data of tourist numbers from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and the USA who traveled to the countries in GMS during the period 2001-2017 were used. Vector Autoregressive (VARs) was used to test Granger Causality to explain the relationships among tourist markets in the region. The findings revealed that tourist markets in Cambodia had forward relations with Laos and Vietnam. Those in Laos had forward relationship with Myanmar and Thailand. Tourist markets in Myanmar had forward relationship with Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Tourist markets in Thailand had forward relationship with Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar whereas those of Vietnam had forward relationship with Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. The overview shows that the key tourist markets in each country supported each other.

Present research is aimed to analyze the performance factors of flexible manufacturing systems by combined decision-making methodologies like analytical hierarchy process (AHP), combinatorial mathematics-based approach (CMBA) and improved ELECTRE. Six variables affecting the three factors of performance of flexible manufacturing systems viz. productivity, flexibility and quality are considered for the evaluation of performance factors. The weights of the attributes are calculated with AHP and the index score is calculated with CMBA methodology. CMBA methodology is the fusion of AHP and GTMA. ELECTRE approach has been used for the outranking of factors. The results show that productivity had the maximum impact on the performance of manufacturing systems. A high Spearman’s rank correlation also exists among the methods used.

Evaluation of the software usability as concerns software alternatives represents a typical Multi-Criteria Decision-Analysis (MCDA) problem. Such a kind of problem can be successfully faced via structured models and approaches which validity have been widely shown in literature. In this work, a methodological framework based on a MCDA model integrating the DEMATEL method along with the ANP technique is proposed and explained with more detail to address the relevant issue of the software usability evaluation. The applicability of the considered DEMATEL-ANP (DANP) based model in the under analysis contest is demonstrated via a preliminary investigation, where the usability of the two major Mobile Operating Systems (MOSs) is compared and quantitatively prioritized. Results of both performed comparison method and sensitivity analysis confirm the validity of the proposed MCDA model as well robustness of its outcomes. Moreover, results obtained point out about the influenced, independent and core factors for the MOSs usability, as well as strengths, weaknesses and discrepancies in the usability as concerns the two investigated alternatives. Representing these outcomes crucial aspects for driving focused MOSs usability improvement processes and strategies, they give also evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed methodological framework.

In this paper, we introduce an inventory routing problem with network disruptions. In this problem, not only decisions on inventory levels and vehicle routing are made simultaneously, but also, we consider disruptions over the networks in which a number of arcs are vulnerable to these disruptions, leading to an increase in travel times. We develop a dynamic programming approach to deal with this situation, and we also evaluate some policies adapting well-known instances from the literature.

Researching on the concept of work life balance (WLB) becomes imperative for any organization in order to enhance performance efficiency especially the sector concerned. This empirical research is focused on investigating the effect of work-life balance on the performance of money deposit banks in south-south region of Nigeria. In reviewing literature, the study explores alternative work ar-rangement and managerial support as dimensions of work like balance (the predicting variable), and performance as a criterion variable used for goal attainment as measure. 2562 staff of 12 banks spanning through six states was used as population size. Cochran sample size determination statistical technique was used to determine 485 sample size for the study. Questionnaire was used to col-late data and was analyzed with Simple Linear Regression and Pearson product moment correlation with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 17.0 windows). The result shows that work life balance demonstrated a great significant effect on the performance of money deposit banks as the dimensions alternative work arrangement such as compress work weeks, telecommut-ing, flexi time, job sharing and managerial supports predict employee goal attainment. Based on the findings, the study recommends that management should judiciously adopt and implement alternative work arrangement in order to offer a family-friendly atmosphere to attract and retain qualified employees to increase productivity.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) represent a significant option that contributes to improve the mobility and reduce the pollution, leaving a future expectation in the merchandise transportation sector, which has been demonstrated with pilot projects of companies operating EVs for products delivering. In this work a new approach of EVs for merchandise transportation considering the location of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCSs) and the impact on the Power Distribution System (PDS) is addressed. This integrated planning is formulated through a mixed integer non-linear mathematical model. Test systems of different sizes are designed to evaluate the model performance, considering the transportation network and PDS. The results show a trade-off between EVs routing, PDS energy losses and EVCSs location.

Agri-food supply chains have received the attention of many researchers in recent years for various reasons, including food security and health-related issues. Wheat, as a staple food in many countries, is the most cultivated crop in the world. Due to the importance of wheat, this paper proposes a mixed-integer linear mathematical model for redesigning and planning of the wheat supply chain. The proposed model determines the location and capacity of new storage facilities while addressing supplier selection, ordering, storing, transportation, and distribution problems. This model considers the differences between long-term and short-term storage facilities and the quality of wheat. Moreover, the proposed model addresses the uncertainties associated with the quantity of domestic supply and demand through a stochastic scenario-based programming approach. Applicability of this model is investigated using real data from the wheat supply chain of Iran. Results show that seven new long-term storage facilities should be opened, which decreases total costs by 3.45 percent.