Sensory Profiling and External Preference Mapping of Pre-Thickened Water Products for Dysphagia

Dysphagia is a dysfunction of the swallowing system and thickened beverages are widely prescribed as a treatment. The objective of this study was to determine the sensory characteristics of pre-thickened water products and determine sensory drivers of liking for those types of products. Pre-thickened water products (two starch-based and two gum-based) were tested in both nectar and honey thick versions. Based on product availability, one product was neutral water, and the others were water with lemon flavoring added. The sensory characteristics of the products were evaluated with a highly trained descriptive panel, and the viscosity of the products was evaluated with both the Bostwick consistometer and the line spread test. Previously published consumer data was used to determine preference maps with the descriptive data. All lemon-flavored products had similar flavor characteristics, except the Thick & Easy Clear that had a less lemon-related flavor than the others. After excluding the lemon-related flavor characteristics, all pre-thickened products had similar “base flavor” notes, no matter whether the products were starch-based or gum-based. This contrasts with literature, which reports differences in flavor of thickened beverages prepared using thickening agents. The thickness of the products varied between nectar and honey thickness, but also varied among products that were stated to be at the same level of thickness. External preference mapping showed that both lemon-related flavor and a thinner beverage texture are potential drivers of consumers acceptance of the product, which was expected based on other studies. In conclusion, pre-thickened beverages are good alternatives for self-mixed thickening agents but a standard for thickness should be agreed on and used by manufacturers.

Investigating the Critical Success Factors of Artificial Intelligence-Driven CRM in J. K. Tyres

AI-powered technologies allow online B2B companies to serve their customers with accurate and relevant information, 24/7. For example, they experience an increase in requests for information from customers on such aspects as product availability, features, or other services. The chapter aims to explore artificial intelligence in B2B business. The study employed qualitative research, and the data was collected through a focus group for data collection. An AI-powered chatbot enhanced with natural language processing and understanding conversationally-worded requests could instantaneously provide this information without a human representative. This is vital as the added uncertainty around the pandemic means business customers seek real answers and ways to adapt and fast. The findings suggest the critical success factors of AI-driven CRM in B2B markets. The limitations of the study include the data collection being restricted to one B2B company. The implications are that further study can be extended for exploring AI-based CRM in B2B markets.

Meat Analogues in the Perspective of Recent Scientific Research: A Review

There are many reasons why consumers and food producers are looking for alternatives to meat and meat products, which includes the following: health, environmental or ethical aspects. This study reviews recent scientific reports on meat analogues. The scope of the review includes the following: formulation and nutritional value; health safety and legal regulations; manufacturing and processing technologies including the latest developments in this area; product availability on the food market; and consumer attitudes towards meat analogues. The analysis of the literature data identified technological challenges, particularly in improving consumer acceptability of meat analogues. Among the risks and limitations associated with the production of meat analogues, the following were identified: contamination from raw materials and the risk of harmful by-products due to intensive processing; legal issues of product nomenclature; and consumer attitudes towards substituting meat with plant-based alternatives. The need for further research in this area, particularly on the nutritional value and food safety of meat analogues, was demonstrated.

Inflation and Hyperinflation Countries in 2018–2020: Risks of Different Assets and Foreign Trade

Since the global financial crisis (2008–2009), central banks and governments in developed countries have relied upon loose monetary and financial policy. In the coronavirus pandemic era, these policies were taken even more to the extreme. In 2021, countries around the world started to experience product availability issues, and inflation in some cases was extremely high. There has been debate about the possibility of persistent high inflation. However, risks to assets and foreign trade in this new situation are unknown as all important hyperinflation cases are from decades to century-old. It is important to know what kind of implications high inflation has on modern economies. Therefore, in this study, 10 countries with the highest inflation were selected to be examined in the period of 2018–2020. In these countries, currencies lost a considerable amount of their value against US dollar in 2018–2020. Stock market indexes in many cases provided very high returns in local currency terms; however, against the US dollar, the index yield changed for the substantially negative. Apartment prices in general declined as well. In foreign trade, imports generally declined, while exports were mixed or even increased. However, it should be noted that all of these observations are influenced by the pandemic era and special circumstances of a particular country.

Estimating Substitution and Basket Effects in Retail Stores: Implications for Assortment Planning

Many retailers are reducing store footprint and downsizing their assortments accordingly to improve store productivity. Some of the revenue for items removed from the assortment may be recouped by substitution, but also some of the revenue for items kept in the assortment may be lost due to basket abandonment. For a practical setting where baskets may contain any subset of items from thousands of products, estimating both substitution and basket effects is a challenge. To address this, we develop a demand model that combines a multinomial logit (MNL) model to estimate substitution within a subcategory and a purchase-incidence model to estimate basket retention. Using transaction and product availability data from 12 stores of an office supplies retail chain that were dramatically downsized from large- to small-format stores, we show that (i) storewide basket effects are substantial (our model with basket effects predicts out-of-sample transactions with mean absolute percent error (MAPE) of only 7% compared with 22% for a model with only substitution effects), (ii) poor service level can significantly exacerbate lost profit due to abandoned baskets at these stores, and (iii) consideration of the basket effect in assortment selection for the small stores can significantly improve basket retention and increase profits (by up to 16%) at these stores. This paper was accepted by Vishal Gaur, operations management.

Business Strategy of Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper Perawang Mill, Riau, Indonesia using PESTLE, Porter’s Five Forces, and SWOT Analysis under SOSTAC® Framework

According to the company annual report (INKP Annual Report, 2019), PT. Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper (INKP) experienced a decrease in net sales of 3.4% and net profit of 53.4% from the previous year. The decline was followed by the Covid-19 pandemic which could affect the company's sales and profits. The study was conducted using a descriptive approach in order to capture the phenomena that occur through analysis of current conditions both internal and external using PESTLE, Porter, and SWOT analysis. Afterwards, it formulates the company objective, strategy, tactics, action, and evaluation or control using the SOSTAC® framework based on the analysis result. Data are obtained from interviews, observations, documentation, and publication reports. The results of the research describe that the predominant internal strategy factors on the Strengths of INKP are the product quality and production process efficiency, and the Weaknesses are product distribution and its distribution channels. Meanwhile, the predominant external strategic factors on Opportunities are other needs in pulp derivative product, availability of raw materials and fiscal policy, and as for Threats are a decrease in fine paper demand and technology adaptation. Using the Cartesian SWOT diagram, it is found that the results of EFAS and IFAS are in the ST main strategy quadrant, which is Diversification. Based on the results of the analysis, it can be formulated that the objectives of the INKP strategy are to make diversification product such as rayon fiber with masks as the final product from pulp as the raw materials in 1 year and shifting production from 56% paper and 43% pulp to 45% paper, 34% pulp, and 20% rayon fiber in 3 years to maintain sales volume and gain increased profit. The corporate level strategy is a diversification product while the business level strategy is a differentiation product in accordance with Porter's Generic Matrix. This investment has a positive value of both CAPM and NPV while CAPM has 0.0708 value. As for the IRR, the rate of return is 39.87%. Planned tactics and actions using project management with Gantt Chart within a project period of 1 year in the main activities of building production lines and marketing. Control and evaluation are carried out through the implementation of targets or KPI in accordance with work functions. EBIT and EBITDA is used at the final level of overall production and marketing.

“It’s Cool, Modifying and All, but I Don’t Want Anything Blowing Up on Me:” A Focus Group Study of Motivations to Modify Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)

Introduction: Modifications to electronic nicoti ne delivery systems (ENDS) can pose health risks to users. This study explored users’ motivations for modifying ENDS devices and how perceived risks of modifications influenced modification behaviors as product availability and device characteristics changed over time. Method: We conducted nine focus groups (February–June 2020) with 32 current ENDS users (18+, used ENDS in the past 30 days, and had been using ENDS for more than 2 months). Results: Participants primarily modified ENDS devices to improve their experiences, such as experimenting with flavor, controlling nicotine levels, or using cannabis products with ENDS. Another reason for modifying was routine maintenance to ensure a satisfactory experience, including maintaining coils and keeping batteries charged. The broader availability of ENDS products shifted modification behaviors over time, with newer devices making some modifications (e.g., coil replacement) easier and making more intricate modifications (e.g., building coil from scratch) less common. Participants were aware of modification dangers and cited perceived risk as the reason for avoiding certain modifications, such as battery alterations. Conclusions: Modifications of ENDS are ongoing and evolving among users and should be considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory decision-makers as product authorization reviews are conducted and product standards are developed.

PeTroShare: Blockchain-Managed, Logistics-Aware, Privacy-Friendly, Comparative, and Efficient Petroleum Transportation

Crude oil is one of the critically needed resources. It is the main pillar supporting almost everything we rely on in daily life. Unfortunately, due to many factors, crude oil costs too much. Transportation is one of the critical factors that affect such costs. Due to many environmental risks attached to the transportation process, many countries added very high tariffs to cover any hazards during the transportation, loading, and unloading process. Logistics concerns and political conflicts are the other key factors that can massively impact the transportation cost. This paper presents an Industry 4.0-compliant PeTroShare (PTS), a blockchain-powered trustworthy, logistics-friendly, and cost-efficient crude oil trading platform. PTS is a novel ride-sharing platform that enables an anonymous exchange of crude oil between oil producers and customers, focusing mainly on the product quality, not the source of origin. In our scenario, floating crude oil tankers will hold the cargo to an intermediate position in the open ocean. PTS will match the product availability based on the location and the needed quality of the customer requests. Consequently, the time and distance travelled are minimized. Our simulation results show that enabling the anonymous sharing of crude oil products can significantly enhance system efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Developing and Implementing Machine Learning Software at Home Depot

This teaching case explores the problem of shelfouts and the use of technology adoption to minimize it. Shelfout, wherein a product is not on the shelf when it is supposed to be, has received renewed interest especially given the fact that many brick-and-mortar stores shut down due to their inability to compete with online vendors. The coronavirus pandemic worsened this problem and companies continue to struggle with the resulting supply chain disruptions. Increasingly consumers are searching for products on the website to confirm product availability before traveling to the store. In this case we show how The Home Depot, Inc., (Home Depot), is addressing shelfouts and the process they went through in solving this problem. Instructors can use this case to introduce students to the machine learning development lifecycle, marketing courses discussing shelfouts, and courses with lessons related to technology implementation.

Predicting locally grown food purchase intention of domestic and international undergraduate hospitality management students at a Canadian University

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how domestic and international undergraduate students from a university in Ontario, Canada, defined locally grown food and examined the factors behind their locally grown food purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaires were distributed in the School of Hospitality, Food, and Tourism Management undergraduate classes. A total of 196 complete surveys were returned. Using multiple regression analysis and theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework with an additional construct, moral norm, proposed hypotheses were tested.FindingsDomestic students narrowly defined locally grown food based on distance (e.g. food grown/raised within 100 km of where a person lives) compared to international students (e.g. food grown in Canada). The multiple regression analysis revealed that 36% of variance in purchase intention is explained by the four independent variables (i.e. student status, attitude, perceived product availability and moral norm), with perceived product availability as the strongest predictor of intention to purchase locally grown food.Research limitations/implicationsThe convenience sampling method limitations are as follows. First, the sample size was small for international students. Second, there was a possibility of underrepresentation of certain origins of international student populations. Third, the undergraduate respondents were from the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism. Finally, another limitation is that the four variables in this study (i.e. attitudes, subjective norms, perceived product availability, and moral norm) only explained 36% of the variance of this model.Practical implicationsPerceived product availability, moral norm and attitude constructs positively influenced the locally grown food purchase intention. A perceived product availability construct revealed the strongest influence in locally grown food purchase intention of students. Particularly, five key questions were created based on the major research findings of this study, which can be used as a guideline for locally grown food providers and farmers when promoting locally grown food to students. These questions include: Where can I find it? When can I find it? Who grows it? How can I benefit others? Why is it good for me?Social implicationsThe results of this study shown that which factors influence locally grown food purchase intention of students. Hence, local restaurateurs and university dining facilities may incorporate these factors in their marketing message to serve students population better who might be interested in buying food products using locally grown ingredients. Research results also allow local farmers to communicate and inform their current and potential student consumers about the advantages of locally grown food. Overall, findings can contribute to economy and business of local community.Originality/valueCurrent research findings verified that there is a significant use of a moral norm construct to predict locally grown food purchase intention of students. The moral norm construct positively influenced the locally grown food purchase intention in this study, and this construct seemed useful to predict locally grown food purchase intention of students. Additionally, the research discovered that there were differences in domestic and international undergraduate students' perception in the locally grown food definition.