E-commerce plays an important role in many organizations and businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the body of scientific knowledge carries significant research in addressing the main drivers and challenges of e-commerce among SMEs, the Saudi market was untouched, especially after the official Saudi government classification of SMEs back in December of 2016. Therefore, this study aims to explore the most common factors and challenges of SMEs when utilizing e-commerce in Saudi Arabia. It focused on Jeddah City as the second-largest city and the main seaport of the country. This research is based on a quantitative survey carried out among 63 firms, due to the difficulty in reaching a larger number of participants who had dedicated time and budget. The examined factors were collected from the literature and classified using the Technology, Organization, and Environment Model (TOE). Out of 63 firms, only six were adopting e-commerce. This led us to focus more on the challenges that hindered the remaining 57 from utilizing e-commerce. The analysis results uncovered the status of e-commerce among a sample of Saudi SMEs and showed that the knowledge and awareness level of e-commerce potential for businesses play a significant factor in reaching this incredibly low number.

This study explores the impact of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and locally sourced reading materials on improving speaking proficiency in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The participants consist of college students aged 18 to 19 years. Forty-four participants from two groups—experimental and control—were evaluated using pre-and post-tests. The experimental group engaged with local cultural reading materials and followed a PBL framework, while the control group used standard commercial textbooks from Western publishers. The findings reveal that the experimental group demonstrated significantly improved fluency, vocabulary, and speaking confidence compared to the control group, with 37.04% showing improvement. PBL facilitated collaborative learning in real-life scenarios, reducing anxiety and fostering more significant participation in speaking tasks. In contrast, the control group showed minimal improvement, highlighting the limitations of traditional lecture-based methods. This study concludes that integrating PBL and locally relevant content into language instruction can enhance speaking proficiency, learner motivation, and engagement. The results suggest that PBL is a dynamic approach that supports developing linguistic and collaborative skills, providing a more holistic learning experience.

Over the past twenty years, service organizations have adopted total quality management to enhance their service quality, significantly impacting business performance, customer satisfaction, and profitability. This study delves into policy development of sustainable quality management theory, benefits, and various service components, while reviewing its implementation in services industries and policy innovation. The concept of Sustainable Quality Management 4.0 (SQM 4.0) integrates sustainable management, traditional quality management, and Quality 4.0 principles to optimize resources, reduce environmental impacts, and enhance decision-making through Industry 4.0, IoT, AI, and big data analytics. The findings offer valuable framework and policy insights for managers and practitioners on quality management and service systems, providing an implementation framework for Sustainable Quality Management in the service sector. The paper outlines comprehensive elements and strategies for implementation as a SQM framework for attaining sustainable quality management in the services industry.

This study aims to explore the mediating role of perceived organizational support(POS) in the relationship between university teachers' competence and job performance. Through a questionnaire survey of 968 undergraduate university teachers in China, 879 valid questionnaires were collected. The study employed quantitative methods, constructing a university teacher competence scale comprising foundational competence, teaching competence, research competence, and innovation competence, as well as a job performance scale encompassing task performance, relationship performance, and adaptive performance. Structural equation modeling and SOBEL tests were used for data analysis. The results showed that POS exhibited different mediating effect patterns between various competence dimensions and job performance dimensions: no significant mediating effect was found in task performance; partial mediating effects were observed in relational performance and adaptive performance; and a complete mediating effect was identified between foundational competence and adaptive performance. The study provides theoretical support and practical guidance for university teachers management, emphasizing the importance of establishing a competence-based human resources management system, strengthening teachers perceptions of organizational support, and establishing diverse evaluation standards. Future research could further explore the impact of different cultural backgrounds and organizational types on mediating effects.

We present an innovative enthalpy method for determining the thermal properties of phase change materials (PCM). The enthalpy-temperature relation in the “mushy” zone is modelled by means of a fifth order Obreshkov polynomial with continuous first and second order derivatives at the zone boundaries. The partial differential equation (PDE) for the conduction of heat is rewritten so that the enthalpy variable is not explicitly present, rendering the equation nonlinear. The thermal conductivity of the PCM is assumed to be temperature dependent and is modelled by a fifth order Obreshkov polynomial as well. The method has been applied to lauric acid, a standard prototype. The latent heat and the conductivity coefficient, being the model parameters, were retrieved by fitting the measurements obtained through a simple experimental procedure. Therefore, our proposal may be profitably used for the study of materials intended for heat-storage applications.