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Internet-based business-to-business electronic procurement (B2B e-procurement) systems are rapidly becoming the primary platform for interorganizational transactions and the delivery of products and services in the travel and tourism industries. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the critical success factors (CSFs) and implementation strategies for B2B e-procurement systems in travel agency supply chains.

This study developed a multifaceted evaluation framework that draws on the relevant literature and the technology–organization–environment framework. The CSFs underlying B2B e-procurement adoption were identified using hybrid criteria decision-making methods. Purposive sampling was used, and 49 valid questionnaires were obtained from retail travel agencies in Taiwan.

The results reveal that the top four CSFs are system stability, system reliability, sales dynamics and product line availability. By focusing on these CSFs, travel wholesalers can most effectively allocate their limited resources to provide an extensive range of products and services to their clients, improve e-procurement services and enhance interorganizational collaboration in travel agency supply chains.

This study developed a multifaceted evaluation framework and identified four CSFs to assist in the adoption of B2B e-procurement systems in travel agency supply chains.

基于 Internet 的企业对企业电子采购（B2B 电子采购）系统正迅速成为旅行和旅游业中组织间交易以及产品和服务交付的主要平台。 因此, 本研究的目的是调查旅行社供应链中 B2B 电子采购系统的关键成功因素 (CSF) 和实施策略。

本研究开发了一个多方面的评估框架, 该框架借鉴了相关文献和技术-组织-环境框架。 采用混合标准决策 (MCDM) 方法确定了采用 B2B 电子采购的 CSF。 采用有目的的抽样方式, 共从台湾零售旅行社获得49份有效问卷。

结果显示, 排名前四的 CSF 是系统稳定性、系统可靠性、销售动态和产品线可用性。 通过关注这些 CSF, 旅游批发商可以最有效地分配其有限资源, 为其客户提供范围广泛的产品和服务, 改善电子采购服务, 并加强旅行社供应链中的组织间协作。

本研究开发了一个多方面的评估框架, 并确定了四个 CSF, 以协助在旅行社供应链中采用 B2B 电子采购系统。

Keeping both employees and customers highly engaged has become a critical issue for service firms, especially for high-contact and highly customized services. Therefore, it is essential to engage employees and customers during service interactions for better service outcomes. However, past research on employee and customer engagement has primarily focused on brands and organizations. Little research has concentrated on service interactions as the objects of engagement. To fill this research gap, this study aims to clarify and define service engagement behaviors (SEBs), identify various employee and customer SEBs and develop a model to investigate the relationships between these behaviors.

A theoretical framework was developed based on social contagion theory and service-dominant (S-D) logic to explore the effects of employee SEBs on customer SEBs through customer perceptions of relational energy and interaction cohesion. Dyadic survey data collected from 293 customer-employee pairs in various high-contact and highly customized service industries were examined through structural equation modeling.

Results show that employee SEBs (service role involvement, customer orientation behavior and customer empowerment behavior) positively influence relational energy and interaction cohesion, which in turn affect customer SEBs (service exploration behavior and service coordination behavior).

This study represents pioneering research to conceptualize SEBs. Different from the extant literature on engagement, SEBs capture the proactive and collaborative engagement behaviors of employees and customers in service interactions. Various employee and customer SEBs were identified and an empirical model was proposed and tested to investigate the effect of employee SEBs on customer SEBs through relational energy and interaction cohesion.

This study aims to present an optical alignment and compensation control of die bonder for chips containing through-silicon vias and develop three-dimensional integrated circuit stacked packaging for compact size and multifunction.

The machine vision, optical alignment method and sub-pixel technology in dynamic imaging condition are used. Through a comparison of reference image, the chip alignment calibration can improve machine accuracy and stability.

According to the experimental data and preliminary results of the analysis, accuracy can be achieved within the desired range, and the accuracy is much better than traditional die bonder equipment. The results help further research in die bonder for chips containing through-silicon vias.

In subsequent testing of the chip, the machine can simultaneously test multiple chips to save test time and increase productivity.

Rapport between service employees and customers has been suggested to be an important determinant of customer relationship management, yet existing marketing literature still lacks a sufficient understanding of how service employees’ nonverbal communication affects customer-employee rapport development in service encounters. The purpose of this paper is to fill this research gap by proposing and testing a model that explores how service employees’ nonverbal communication (employee affective delivery and behavioral mimicry) influences customer positive emotions and customer-employee rapport. The mediating role of customer positive emotions and the moderating role of store atmosphere in the process of customer-employee rapport development were also assessed.

Using an observational methodology in conjunction with a customer survey, multi-source survey data collected from 303 customer-employee pairs in the apparel retailing industry was examined through structural equation modeling and regression analysis.

Results showed that employee nonverbal communication positively influenced customer positive emotions and customer-employee rapport. The partial mediating role of customer positive emotions and the moderating role of store atmosphere in the process of rapport development were also confirmed.

Service firms should train and motivate employees to use nonverbal communication to develop and strengthen customer-employee rapport. The importance of customer positive emotions in the service process should be addressed in the customer-employee rapport development process. Moreover, service managers should also allocate firm resources to create a well-designed store atmosphere for target customers.

This research represents one of the earliest studies to explore and empirically test the influence of employee nonverbal communication on customer-employee rapport development in service encounters. The partial mediating role of customer positive emotions and the moderating role of store atmosphere on the relationship between employee nonverbal communication and customer-employee rapport were also proposed and confirmed.

The design and implementation of a broadband quasi-monolithic microwave integrated circuit (q-MMIC) power amplifier (PA) is presented for 0.2 to 2.2 GHz applications.

To obtain an efficient, high-gain and high-power performance with in a compact and low-cost size, the prototype is based on Gallium nitride (GaN) on SiC 0.25-µm transistors, whereas the passive matching networks are realized on an AlN substrate as thin film circuit.

Measured results of the q-MMIC PA across the 0.2 to 2.2 GHz band show at least 32 ± 3 dB small-signal gains, an output power of 7 to 12 W and an average power add efficiency greater than 54%. The q-MMIC occupies an area of 12.8 × 14.5 mm².

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work reports the first full integrated PA which covers the frequency range of 0.2 to 2.2 GHz and achieves the combination of highest gain, about 10 W output power, together with the smallest component size among all published GaN PAs to date.

The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has had a substantial influence on the retail industry. However, AI adoption entails considerable responsibilities and risks for senior managers. In this study, the authors developed an evaluation and selection mechanism for successful AI technology adoption in the retail industry. The multifaceted measurement and identification of critical factors (CFs) can enable retailers to adopt AI technology effectively and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.

The evaluation and adoption of organisational AI technology involve multifaceted decision-making for management. Therefore, the authors used the analytic network process to develop an AI evaluation framework for calculating the weight and importance of each consideration. An expert questionnaire survey was distributed to senior retail managers and 17 valid responses were obtained. Finally, the Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method was used to identify CFs for AI adoption.

The results revealed five CFs for AI adoption in the retail industry. The findings indicated that after AI adoption, top retail management is most concerned with factors pertaining to business performance and minor concerned about the internal system's functional efficiency. Retailers pay more attention to technology and organisation context, which are matters under the retailers' control, than to external uncontrollable environmental factors.

The authors developed an evaluation framework and identified CFs for AI technology adoption in the retail industry. In terms of practical application, the results of this study can help AI service providers understand the CFs of retailers when adopting AI. Moreover, retailers can use the proposed multifaceted evaluation framework to guide their adoption of AI technology.

All countries are addressing the drastic climate changes as high priority issues. The impact of climate change on coastal land use in Taiwan has been especially severe due to the country's long coastline. As such, developing strategies to promote the protection of coastal land is critical for the sustainable development of the land. At present, even though the central government has developed the relevant adaptation strategies and implementation plans in response to climate change. Due to the limited resources, determining which protection strategy should be implemented as a top priority will require a strategic evaluation for planning and reference purposes.

While most of the existing literature on coastal land use has been focused on the establishment of a vulnerability index along with an analysis of adaptation strategies very little of the existing literature discusses research that has been conducted in relation to an in-depth analysis of climate change and coastal land use. Therefore, this study uses the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to conduct an exploration of coastal land use and protection strategy. The study compiled the literature and related data to establish five major assessment dimensions and 16 protection strategy evaluation indicators. After the empirical investigation and analysis, the findings demonstrated that the designation of coastal conservation areas is the most important aspect in terms of strategies to protect coastal land, followed by land subsidence control and the establishment of land disaster warning systems.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of minor addition of the rare earth (RE) element cerium, Ce, on the microstructures and creep properties of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys.

The pure Sn, Sn-Cu alloy, Sn-Ag alloy and Cu-Ce alloy were used as raw materials. Sn-Ag-Cu alloys with different contents of RE Ce were chosen to compare with Sn-Ag-Cu. The raw materials of Sn, Sn-Cu alloy, Sn-Ag alloy, Cu-Ce alloy were melted in a ceramic crucible, and were melted at 550°C ± 1°C for 40 minutes. To homogenize the solder alloy, mechanical stirring was performed every ten minutes using a glass rod. During the melting, KC1 + LiCI (1.3:1), were used over the surface of liquid solder to prevent oxidation. The melted solder was chill cast into a rod.

It is found that the microstructure exhibits smaller grains and the Ag₃Sn/Cu₆Sn₅ intermetallic compound (IMC) phases are modified in matrix with the addition of Ce. In particular, the addition of 0.03 wt.% Ce to the Sn-Ag-Cu solder can refine the microstructures and decrease the thickness of the IMC layers of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys. Meanwhile, thermodynamic analysis showed that these phenomena could be attributed to the reduction of the driving force for Cu-Sn IMC formation due to the addition of Ce. Results calculated using the thermodynamic method are close to the above experimental data. Thus, the optimum content of Ce in Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys should be about 0.030 percent. Additionally, the effect of Ce on the creep rupture life of Sn-Ag-Cu soldered joints was studied. It was found that the creep rupture life may be increased up to 7.5 times more than that of the original Sn-Ag-Cu alloy, when Ce accounts for 0.030 percent.

This paper usefully investigates the effects of the RE cerium (Ce), on the microstructures and creep properties of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys, optimizing the quantity of Ce in the Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloy through a thermodynamic method and by creep-rupture life testing.

This study proposes an objective assessment model to evaluate the performance of internal and external capabilities of firms. It facilitates firms to invest appropriate resources to cultivate the organizational capability necessary to meet the requirements of the performance indicators.

This study integrates the concepts of resource-based theory, the organizational capability concept, and conduct a performance analysis to the four perspectives of the BSC by implementing the fuzzy set theory and data employment analysis.

The findings show that the appropriate strategies help allocate available resources and capabilities during the different product life cycle, which provides practical guidelines for firms to achieve sustaining competitive advantage.

The selected factors were focused on four resources and capabilities rather than all possible factors.

An objective assessment model was created based on internal and external competitive performance efficiency in this research field. This model facilitates the ability of the top management to make decisions for resource allocation that will enhance firm's performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects that reference prices and associated information sources (websites that consumers use to explore and their friends who have similar perspectives on value) have on deal evaluation and intention to disseminate electronic word of mouth (eWOM).

A stratified survey is conducted to empirically test the relations between reference prices, associated information sources (the top five Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) websites and top five Facebook friends with similar perspectives and values on consumption), deal evaluation, and eWOM intention. The study uses a Facebook API to help participants pick five Facebook friends to act as their favorite sources for advice on shopping.

The results suggest that consumers’ deal evaluations (as shaped by the recency effects of previous exposure to prices and the influence of Facebook friends and C2C websites) have carry-over effects on their eWOM intentions. The influence of Facebook friends and C2C websites on deal evaluation is as powerful as that of reference price, especially concerning the mean and the lowest prices.

The findings encourage marketers to invest their resources in targeting online groups, and suggest that C2C website marketers should set their offer prices between the mean and the lowest prices.

This study extends prior research on the motives for eWOM dissemination and elaborates an approach to initiate eWOM intention through deal evaluation.