The equity effect of congestion pricing has been advocated to be given enough concern for its acceptability. This thesis aimed to explore the mixed effects in travel behaviour changing caused by congestion charging in demography factors (social economic status) and context factors (location, flexibility, access to car and possession of long-term public transport card). In order to understand by what mechanisms congestion pricing affects the equity, structural equation modelling was applied to model the causal networks in the case study of Stockholm congestion charge. Results revealed a more complicated influence from different combination of factors. The location relative to charging cordon mattered for the trip-making both directly and indirectly through the transport mode preference. The work schedule flexibility should be also taken into consideration when considering the time-based scheme. The mixed effects between two groups of factors suggested that more factors should be considered when justifying the privileged group and disadvantaged group to implement the policy. The method used in this thesis could be very constructive for equity effect evaluation in other cities with different conditions.

The objective of this study is to investigate the strategic factors that influence the overall performance of manufacturing organisations in different industries. Strategic groups were identified using cluster analysis and their overall performance was evaluated. Structural equation modelling was used to verify the existence of significant linkages between competitive factors and firms' overall performance within the identified strategic groups. The results of this study pointed out to the existence of a relationship between strategic group membership and firm's overall performance. Overall, the results tend to emphasise the importance of viewing manufacturing performance from a system-wide perspective.

The rapid rate of increase in competition among the manufacturing industries has caused many organizations to continuously seek improvement in the quality of the products they manufacture to meet and exceed customer expectations. Organizations are under pressure to minimize the production costs to offer competitive prices for their products. The success story of Toyota Motor Company in implementing Lean Manufacturing (LM) has inspired many organizations around the world to adopt LM in order to improve their operational performance. There are, however, mixed results on the impact of LM on operational performance. Some studies have shown that its implementation increases operational performance while others have shown little to no improvement or even negative results. Institutional and contingency theories may provide insight into some of these contradictions and give a perception of why the implementation of LM has yielded different results on operational performance. The institutional theory states that organizations mimic the actions and practices of other organizations because of the pressure to remain competitive. Organizations in the developing countries also seem to have been imitating the Toyota Motor company that has been successful in implementing LM. On the other hand, the contingency theory states that corporations are organized according to external situations. Related to the contingency theory is the effect of Industry Clockspeed (IC). Some industries are transforming at a high speed while others are transforming at a low speed. The high IC industries are characterized by the quick development and release of new products, shorter development time and frequent changes in organizational structures. Low IC industries, however, manufacture products with a long life cycle, thus the products, processes and organizational structures for these industries change only after a long period. This study opines that the environment under which an organisation operates may affect the results of LM implementation process. The research was conducted in three parts and each of these parts is presented as chapters in this thesis. The first part (Chapter 4) gives a review and classifies the impact measurement models that have been used by various researchers to measure the success of implementing LM. These models can be classified as quantitative, qualitative, simulation-based and graphical measurement models. Pareto analysis is used to select the type of measurement model and Lean practices that are frequently used by researchers to develop Lean measurement models. The qualitative measurement model was preferred for evaluating the effect of implementing LM on operational performance because of its ability to use question structures that allow qualitative data collection for a rich analysis of opinion. With a proper structure, the questionnaire items can also be parsed and analyzed quantitatively with modern statistical techniques like Structural Equation Modelling. The Lean practices selected were Just In Time (JIT), Jidoka, People integration and Stability and standardization for building the model. This part concludes by developing a structural model that can be used to measure the impact of Lean implementation in industry, using Zimbabwean industry data. The second part (Chapter 5) evaluates the effect of implementing LM tools on operational performance across various industries in Zimbabwe. The major goal of this chapter was to develop an operational model (based on the lead from chapter 4) and test it in manufacturing organizations across various industries. A structured survey questionnaire was used for the collection of data in identified companies and 214 useful responses were obtained. The results of the study indicated that operational performance was improved by implementing the selected LM tools. The performance improvement variables that were significantly influenced were speed, flexibility and dependability. The third part (Chapter 6) analyzed the moderation effect of IC on the relationship between LM tools and operational performance. The industries grouped under low IC were pharmaceutical, agrochemicals, steel, automobile, timber production, battery, chemical and plastics. The high IC industries were food, beverage, electronics and garment. A structural equation model was proposed and investigated across the two groups. A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from manufacturing companies. The data obtained from the responses was analysed using Smart PLS 3 and SPSS version 25. The results of the study showed that IC had a moderating effect on the relationship between LM practices and operational performance for both low and high IC industries. The last chapter summarises the findings, made recommendations and proposes directions for further research. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) / Industrial and Systems Engineering / PhD / Unrestricted

Background: The consulting industry’s growth has continuously outpaced the gen- eral economy, leading to more new entrants and increased intra-industry competition. Thus, competitive practices must be revised to ensure existing consultancies’ market position. Since customer loyalty is today’s most prominent success factor for con- sultancies, this is what to increase. Customer loyalty’s most influential factor is the competitive practice of customer intimacy, which in turn consists of subgroups. The investigated subgroups are employee and business specific traits. Objectives: This master thesis aims to uncover what direct and underlying factors of customer intimacy increase customer loyalty and how they compare to each other. Methods: This paper will take a quantitative approach by utilizing the concept of Structural Equation Modeling. Surveys will gather primary data for the model and consist of a questionnaire aiming to retrieve valid and reliable answers from people with experience working with consultants. Results: The results show that most direct factors used in customer intimacy have a positive influence on customer loyalty while the underlying factors thin out. Busi- ness specific traits showed to have a significant impact on customer intimacy while employee specific traits did not. Conclusions: This study concludes that direct and underlying factors of customer intimacy help consultancies improve their competitive practices to increase customer loyalty.

The aim of this study is to contribute to the standardization of the new diagnostic tools assessing the motor manifestations of laterality in adults and children aged 8 to 10 years, both in terms of determining the theoretical concept and the selection of appropriate items, and the verification of structural hypotheses concerning the design of acceptable models, including the diagnostic quality of individual parts of the test battery. Moreover in this study we try to suggest new approach in assessing of motor laterality manifestation by means of relationship between cerebellar dominance and hand performance. The first part of this thesis deals with the concept of laterality, its manifestations and meaning in non-living systems and living organisms. As a human characteristic, laterality is manifested in a variety of functional and structural asymmetries. This part also discusses ways of diagnosing motor manifestations of laterality and the issue of cerebellar dominance, including its reflection in the form of asymmetry of the extinction physiological syndrome of upper limbs. The second part focuses on the process of the standardization study, the statistical method of structural equation modelling, and the actual design of test battery construction. The last part of this thesis presents the results...

The South African construction industry is experiencing challenging times, like its counterparts globally, which has led to the failure of known large contractors. While some studies have suggested different reasons for this, a stream of scholars argued that company leadership contributes significantly to the organisation's performance. Studies on leadership in construction have mainly been undertaken at project level, considering that construction organisations are project-based. This study examined the leadership of construction organisations and whether the traits, skills, role, style and strategic decisions of company leaders impacted on the long-term performance and sustainability of contracting firms in South Africa. The main question investigated in this study is: what combination of leadership traits, skills, style, role, and strategic decisions results in superior and sustainable construction organisation performance, when moderated by strategic decisions of CEO/company leadership? The study draws from theoretical perspectives, namely the ‘upper echelons' theory, strategic leadership theory, and the Full Range Leadership Model (FRLM), to develop a conceptual framework. A convergent mixed-method research design was used to advance the investigation. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected construction company leaders of large contracting firms in the Western Cape, in positions of Group Chairman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Managing Director in major building construction, civil engineering, or geo-technical companies of good repute. The survey instrument was pretested by construction company leaders before distribution to respondents and the Crobach Alpha test was used in testing the reliability of the study responses. The cidb provided the database of the construction leaders and a survey of contractors listed in Grades 7-9 of the cidb Register of Contractors was conducted. The responses of the samples on the survey question raised on their position also attests to this. At the end of the survey period between April and September 2020, 257 responses were received, representing 56.86% response rate. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), to validate the hypothesis developed that construction company leaders positively impact organisational performance through their strategic decisions on project management, change, and innovation and investment. In addition, the study also tested the hypothesis that strategic decisions mediate the relationship between construction companies' leadership components, characteristics, and construction organisation performance. The findings of this study reveal that decisions on change and innovation have the most impact to prevent business failure, and for construction organisation performance. Whilst there are other internal and external factors that may contribute to a firm's business outcomes, the findings of the study explain that the attributes of construction business leaders and their strategic decisions play a significant role in construction company leadership and construction organisation's outcomes. The leadership of construction companies is expected to be exhibit transformational qualities, cast visions, channel new opportunities, and reposition their companies according to the current and future economic situations. The gap between expectations and performance must thus be filled by leadership through their strategic decisions that are premeditated and calculated towards the expectations and visions of the construction companies. The study thus contributes to knowledge in leadership and construction research by demonstrating how the multi-dimensions of company leadership impact construction business organisation performance. The integration of leadership personality traits, skills, style, role, and strategic decisions provides a better measure of how leadership impacts organisational performance. The leadership framework developed from the study's findings made explicit the leadership traits, skills, style and strategic roles that would assist construction company leaders to operate their organisations sustainably and devise effective succession plans. The components of the leadership framework include the strategic leadership roles that construction organisational leaders must play, using catalytic leadership skills, transformational and transactional leadership approaches and inherent leadership traits, which could be developed through education, career experiences, mentoring and training. The study is limited to South Africa, which has implications for the generalisability of results.

Despite considerable advances in missing data imputation methods over the last three decades, the problem of missing data remains largely unsolved. Many techniques have emerged in the literature as candidate solutions. These techniques can be categorised into two classes: statistical methods of data imputation and computational intelligence methods of data imputation. Due to the longstanding use of statistical methods in handling missing data problems, it takes quite some time for computational intelligence methods to gain profound attention even though these methods have analogous accuracy, in comparison to other approaches. The merits of both these classes have been discussed at length in the literature, but only limited studies make significant comparison to these classes. This thesis contributes to knowledge by firstly, conducting a comprehensive comparison of standard statistical methods of data imputation, namely, mean substitution (MS), regression imputation (RI), expectation maximization (EM), tree imputation (TI) and multiple imputation (MI) on missing completely at random (MCAR) data sets. Secondly, this study also compares the efficacy of these methods with a computational intelligence method of data imputation, ii namely, a neural network (NN) on missing not at random (MNAR) data sets. The significance difference in performance of the methods is presented. Thirdly, a novel procedure for handling missing data is presented. A hybrid combination of each of these statistical methods with a NN, known here as the post-processing procedure, was adopted to approximate MNAR data sets. Simulation studies for each of these imputation approaches have been conducted to assess the impact of missing values on partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) based on the estimated accuracy of both structural and measurement parameters. The best method to deal with particular missing data mechanisms is highly recognized. Several significant insights were deduced from the simulation results. It was figured that for the problem of MCAR by using statistical methods of data imputation, MI performs better than the other methods for all percentages of missing data. Another unique contribution is found when comparing the results before and after the NN post-processing procedure. This improvement in accuracy may be resulted from the neural network¿s ability to derive meaning from the imputed data set found by the statistical methods. Based on these results, the NN post-processing procedure is capable to assist MS in producing significant improvement in accuracy of the approximated values. This is a promising result, as MS is the weakest method in this study. This evidence is also informative as MS is often used as the default method available to users of PLS-SEM software. / Minister of Higher Education Malaysia and University Utara Malaysia

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第23864号 / 工博第4951号 / 新制||工||1773(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻 / (主査)教授 藤井 聡, 教授 宇野 伸宏, 准教授 松中 亮治 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Interest in third sector organisations (TSOs) is growing as their role in addressing social regeneration, especially in urban environments, is regarded as crucial by governmental and supra-governmental organisations. The challenge is increased in multicultural environments, where those from ethnic minorities may struggle to participate in the mainstream economy and society more broadly. There is an assumption that TSOs make a positive contribution to the social good of the diverse communities and client groups that they serve. However, although there have been many studies of ethicality in commercial and public sector organisations, few focus on TSOs. Furthermore, black and minority ethnic (BME) TSOs, in particular face specific pressures, caught between the high expectations of their capacity to engage with diverse communities where the public sector has failed and, in common with all TSOs, the struggle to secure the resources necessary to manage their organisations and deliver front-line services. In this article, we investigate how implicitly ethicality is constructed in TSOs, including those with a primary mission to provide support for and services to BME communities. Building on information obtained for 305 TSOs in a post-industrial city we develop a structural equation model (SEM) in order to evaluate the relationships between elements that we argue comprise ethicality. We then assess the manner in which TSOs generally, and BME TSOs specifically, vary in the manner in which they communicate their ethical purpose and the outcomes of their actions.

Yes / Based on a critical review of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study first formalized an alternative theoretical model for explaining the acceptance and use of information system (IS) and information technology (IT) innovations. The revised theoretical model was then empirically examined using a combination of meta-analysis and structural equation modelling (MASEM) techniques. The meta-analysis was based on 1600 observations on 21 relationships coded from 162 prior studies on IS/IT acceptance and use. The SEM analysis showed that attitude: was central to behavioural intentions and usage behaviours, partially mediated the effects of exogenous constructs on behavioural intentions, and had a direct influence on usage behaviours. A number of implications for theory and practice are derived based on the findings.