How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

Authors:	
Oskar Bill, Alexander Jondell

Supervisors:	
Carl-Henric Nilsson
Associate Professor
Lund University ¬ School of Economics and Management Department of Business Administration

Charlotta Johansson
Associate Professor
Lund University ¬ Faculty of Engineering Department of Automatic Control

Purpose:	
The purpose is to predict customer loyalty by utilising big data. This will be done by combining two models: The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and the Net Promoter Score (NPS) using the benefits of each model, the cause and effect relationship in ACSI and the simple survey methodology in NPS. 

The findings are aimed to facilitate a work method enabling companies to use big data in order to predict customer loyalty to be able to pro-actively work with detracting customers and to grow future profits. 

Method:	
The methodology had both a quantitative and qualitative approach. By deducting a model from a theoretical analysis a linear relationship was derived between ACSI and NPS. The drivers of loyalty was then developed from a qualitative analysis and tested through a quantitative analysis of the relationships in the model. 

Findings:	
A relationship between the NPS and the ACSI was possible to prove. However, it was not possible to predict customer loyalty since the drivers of loyalty could not be explained with the available data and further research is therefore needed.

The loyalty effect

A systematic multicriteria decision analysis technique is described for contractor selection and bid evaluation based on utility theory and which permits different types of contractor capabilities to be evaluated A UK case study is used to illustrate the technique The theoretical basis and the advantages of the technique are also presented

Contractor selection using multicriteria utility theory: an additive model

Social media for knowledge-sharing: A systematic literature review

Biodiesel is an alternative to petroleum-based fuels derived from a variety of feedstocks, including vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste cooking oil. At present, biodiesel is mainly produced from conventionally grown edible oils such as soybean, rapeseed, sunflower, and palm. The cost of biodiesel is the main obstacle to commercialization of the product. Biodiesel produced from edible oils is currently not economically feasible. On the other hand, extensive use of edible oils for biodiesel production may lead to food crisis. These problems can be solved by using low-cost feedstocks such as non-edible oils and waste cooking oils for biodiesel production. This paper reviews numerous options of non-edible oils as the substantial feedstocks, biodiesel processing, and effect of different parameters on production of biodiesel.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0144598716630166

Biodiesel production from non-edible plant oils:

In this review, strategies for crude oil desulfurization are evaluated by reviewing desulfurization literature. The most important characteristics of crude oil that affect the market price are its sulfur content and gravity. Low sulfur content of crude oil is particularly preferred. Petroleum includes crude oil, natural gas, and heavy oil. Petroleum refineries convert crude oils and other input streams into dozens of refined (co)products. Two properties are especially useful for quickly classifying and comparing crude oils: API gravity (a measure of density) and sulfur content. Sulfur is naturally present as an impurity in fossil fuels. The removal of organosulfur compounds from crude oil is an important aspect of all countries to reduce air pollution. The sulfur compounds from gasoline are generally removed by treatment with an alkaline solution sodium plumbite. At large scales, the most economical technology for converting hydrogen sulfide into sulfur is the Claus process. This well-established process ...

API Gravity, Sulfur Content, and Desulfurization of Crude Oil

In this research paper, the free vibrational behavior of the simply supported FG nano-plate is studied using the nonlocal two variables integral refined plate theory. The present model takes into account the small scale effect. The effective\'s properties of the plate change according to the power law variation (P-FGM). The equations of motion of the system are determined and resolved via Hamilton\'s principle and Navier procedure, respectively. The validity and efficiency of the current model are confirmed by comparing the results with those given in the literature. At the last section, several numerical results are presented to show the various parameters influencing the vibrational behavior such as the small-scale effect, geometry ratio, material index and aspect ratio.

Free vibration investigation of FG nanoscale plate using nonlocal two variables integral refined plate theory

Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in internal combustion engines (ICE), particularly spark ignition Otto Engine. Gasoline is a blend of hydrocarbons with some contaminants, including sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and certain metals. The four major constituent groups of gasoline are olefins, aromatics, paraffins, and napthenes. Octane number (ON) is measure of the ignition quality or flammability of gasoline. The ONs are Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON). RON is measured relative to a mixture of isooctane and n-heptane. Antiknock Index (AKI) is a measure of a fuel's ability to resist engine knock or octane quality. The AKI is an arithmetic average of RON and MON. The ON decreases with an increase chain length in the hydrocarbon molecule. The ONs increase with carbon chain branching. Another way of increasing the ON is used gasoline octane boosters as additives, such as tetraethyl lead (TEL), methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), and ferrocene. Aromat...

Octane Rating of Gasoline and Octane Booster Additives

One of the key activities of any client is contractor selection. Without a suitable and precise method for selecting the best contractor, the completion of a project will likely be affected. In this study, we examine the use of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as a decision-support model for contractor selection. This model can assist project management teams in identifying contractors who are most likely to deliver satisfactory outcomes in a selection process that is not based simply on the lowest bid. In this study, an AHP-based model is tested using a hypothetical scenario in which candidate contractors are evaluated. Six criteria for the primary objective are evaluated. The criteria used for contractor selection in the model are identified, and the significance of each criterion is determined using a questionnaire. Comparisons are made by ranking the aggregate score of each candidate based on each criterion, and the candidate with the highest score is deemed the best. This study contributes to the construction sector in two ways: first, it extends the understanding of selection criteria to include degrees of importance, and second, it implements a multi-criteria AHP approach, which is a new method for analyzing and selecting the best contractor.

/pdf/application-of-the-analytical-hierarchy-process-ahp-to-multi-38a0qa0i2m.pdf

Application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to Multi-Criteria Analysis for Contractor Selection

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the difficulties associated with quality costing and propose a solution based upon the use of knowledge management techniques.Design/methodology/approach – A widely available software tool is used to create a quality costing ontology based upon the prevention appraisal failure classification of quality costs. This ontology is used for the collection, processing, sharing and use of quality cost‐related knowledge. The ontology was evaluated using case study data and compared with conventional approaches to quality costing.Findings – The quality costing ontology is easier and more efficient than conventional quality costing methods. It has greater capability in terms of the analysis and use of quality costing knowledge and overcomes the barriers to quality costing due to poor understanding and awareness.Research limitations/implications – The quality costing ontology provides a platform for researchers to investigate quality cost behaviour within a well‐str...

Mohammed Balubaid

Papers

API Gravity, Sulfur Content, and Desulfurization of Crude Oil

Free vibration investigation of FG nanoscale plate using nonlocal two variables integral refined plate theory

Octane Rating of Gasoline and Octane Booster Additives

Application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to Multi-Criteria Analysis for Contractor Selection

Using a knowledge management approach to support quality costing