With the progress in technology and innovation in product development, the contribution of computer- aided design (CAD) software in the design and manufacture of parts/products is growing on significantly. Selection of an appropriate CAD software is not a trifling task as it involves analyzing the appositeness of the available software packages to the unique requirements of the organization. Existence of a large number of CAD software vendors, presence of discordance among different hardware and software systems, and dearth of technical knowledge and experience of the decision makers further complicate the selection procedure. Moreover, there are very few published research papers related to CAD software selection, and majority of them have either employed criteria weights computed utilizing subjective judgements of the end users or floundered to incorporate the voice of customers in the decision making process. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a well-known technique for determining the relative importance of customers’ defined criteria for selection of any product or service. Therefore, this paper deals with design and development of a QFD-based decision making model in Visual BASIC 6.0 for selection of CAD software for manufacturing organizations. In order to demonstrate the applicability and potentiality of the developed model in the form of a software prototype, two illustrative examples are also provided.

The paper examines the impact of corporate governance (CG), capital structure (CS) on firm value (FV) of firms in Vietnam. The study used different regression methods using the data collected at enterprises listed on the stock market in Vietnam over the period 2008 - 2018, with 2937 observations. The research results find that the size of the Board of Directors, the independence of the Board of Directors, the percentage of women participating in the Board of Directors had a positive influence on FV. Besides, in the case of the Chairman of the Board of Directors controlling the CEO, the frequency of the Board meeting had a negative effect on FV. The study has determined that CS has nonlinear influence on FV, in addition, the research results also prove that firm size had positive relationship to FV. The empirical research results are a useful basis to help businesses improve FV, thereby helping businesses need to consider the elements of the Board of Directors in each enterprise, determine the appropriate capital structure.

This paper considers a portfolio selection problem with normally distributed returns and different rates for borrowing and lending. The primary concern is to determine the amount of investment in different planning horizons when the rate of borrowing is greater than the rate of lending. Chance constrained programming as an appropriate tool for addressing intrinsic uncertainty in portfolio selection problem is used. To solve this nonlinear programming, Genetic Algorithm is utilized. Numerical experiments are performed and the results are analyzed to present the performance of the proposed methodology.

For decades, entrepreneurship has become a major concern to both scholars and policymakers because of its significant role in economic and social transformation. This paper modeled the direct effects of entrepreneurial skill, environmental factors and entrepreneurial orientation on entrepreneurial intention as well as the indirect (moderating) effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship of entrepreneurial skill and environmental factors with entrepreneurial intention. Quantitative research design was employed using students’ sample. It was found that entrepreneurial skill, environmental factors and entrepreneurial orientation have positive influence on entrepreneurial intention. It was also discovered that entrepreneurial orientation moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial skill and entrepreneurial intention. However, the moderation effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between environmental factors and entrepreneurial intention was not established in this study, thus, called for exploring this moderating effect in other contexts. As implication to policy, government should ensure not only enriching students with entrepreneurial skill and conducive entrepreneurial environment but also well-built entrepreneurial orientation among Nigeria teeming youths as it has a direct effect as well as strong interaction with other factors in explaining entrepreneurial intention.

In this paper, a smoothed weighted function with the compact support is suggested to improve the numerical accuracy of blending elements for the extended finite element method (XFEM) applied to the crack problem. Such a weight function consists of the shape functions used for the meshless method, reflecting the characteristics of the enriched bases inside the blending element. The effectiveness of this weight function is validated through the numerical examples.

Increasing in attentions to the environment, city legislative and social problems make companies change their prospects towards supply chain management and design sustainable transportation networks. In this paper, two-stage problem have been investigated in which the transportation stage is considered before Location-Routing Problem, so we call it Transportation-Location-Routing Problem (TLRP). It is an extension of the two-echelon Location-Routing Problem. In the first stage, there is a transportation problem with truck capacity limitation. Furthermore, customers’ time windows should be met in the second stage to make the mode more realistic. Minimization of distribution cost, fuel consumption, and carbon dioxide emission along with balancing the workloads for city drivers are considered as the objective functions of the mathematical model to design a sustainable distribution network. To tackle these conflicting objectives, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) and Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) are applied to solve the problem. A new customized chromosome based on a priority based technique is presented for the problem. Due to the three comparison metrics for multi-objective problems, with tolerating a little more computational time, MOPSO has the better performance in this problem than NSGA-II.

The present work aims to emphasize the impact of job satisfaction on the performance at work of accounting professionals in Tunisia. Here, a total of 240 accounting professionals have participated in this study through a questionnaire survey. The results show that the more we advance in the career stages, the stronger the relationship between job satisfaction and performance at work is, with the exception of the disengagement stage.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), and Entrepreneurial businesses (EB) play an important role in tourism since tourism has increasingly become the largest economic sector. Entrepreneurships known as a mean of economic development and policymakers are looking for creating a competitive and dynamic entrepreneurial economy. The aim of this study is to present a model for entrepreneurship tourism policy by using entrepreneurship development framework, which interacts with economic development. To this purpose, entrepreneurship policy dimensions are weighted and prioritized by tourism entrepreneurs, tourism policymakers and experts using decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique and Analytical Network Process (ANP) technique. First, DEMATEL technique is used to identify complex relationships, and to form a network relationship map. Then, ANP technique is used to calculate the influential weights of policy criteria. Results show that policymakers for entrepreneurship development in tourism need to consider basic requirements factors. In addition, they should improve efficiency enhancer criteria as well as innovation driver criteria. Also, the relationship among dimensions and their influences on each other are illustrated. Using the capabilities of this method, we can determine the casual relationships between dimensions and criteria and identify priorities for policy.

Emotional intelligence is very critical to the managerial effectiveness. The present study intends to explore the relationships between emotional intelligence and the three roles such as, interpersonal, informational, and decision of managerial effectiveness. Emotional intelligence is measured by using the Emotional Quotient Index (Rahim et al., 2002) [Rahim, M., Psenicka, C., Polychroniou, P., Zhao, J., Yu, C., Chan, K., Susana, K., Alves, M., Lee, C., Rahman, M.S., Ferdausy, S., & Wyk, R. (2002). A model of emotional intelligence and conflict management strategies: a study in seven countries. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 10(4), 302-326.] while managerial effectiveness is assessed by using Tsui’s (1984) scale [Tsui, A.S. (1984). A role set analysis of managerial reputation. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 34, 64-96.]. Data were collected by distributing self-administered questionnaires among the working MBA students using a convenience sampling technique. Respondents are asked to rate their emotional intelligence and managerial effectiveness scales. Finally 127 usable responses are received and, then, analyzed by using the descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and regression analysis. Analysis shows that emotional intelligence was positively related with interpersonal role, informational role, and decision role. The main implication is that emotional intelligence could enhance managerial effectiveness guiding the managers, academics, and professionals. The limitations are the sample size and the sampling technique which might limit the generalizability of the findings. Future directions are also discussed.

Local governments play a key role in attracting foreign investment and the operations of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Vietnam, yet limited research has focused on the emerging issues in this context. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach. Representatives of MNCs in Ho Chi Minh City and four provinces participated in this research. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyze the data and test the model. The results reveal both direct and indirect relationships between political ties, institutional support, opportunity recognition and firm performance. Recommendations for the local governments are discussed in detail.