Value co-creation and donation in non-profits: a social analysis through the service-dominant logic.

This research explores the value proposition of Brazilian non-profits (NPOs) to society, how donors and NPOs perceive value co-creation, and the elements required for value co-creation to occur in a donation context. This study includes case studies with managers and donors from three distinct non-profit organizations in the same sector. We conducted semi-structured interviews, report analysis, and direct observations. The interviews were recorded and typed up for content analysis using the MAXQDA software. The triangulation approach and multilevel data collection contributed to the research's reliability and validity. NPOs propose value through marketing strategies, primarily by humanizing "sales techniques". Donors perceive value co-creation as a beneficial collaborative result. Value co-creation is a way for non-profit organizations to achieve their missions of assisting patients or families in need. Although there is strong evidence of dialogue and transparency elements in the donor-NPO relationship, other factors, such as the individual's background or empathy, stood out more in this context. Academically, this study contributes to the literature by elucidating the phenomena under multiple actor interaction regimes. Furthermore, most studies on value co-creation focus on customer participation and interaction in private organizational processes (i.e., innovation or feedback), leaving gaps for determining and exploring alternative forms of value co-creation. This gap was filled in this study.

Analysis of ESAFORM 2021 cup drawing benchmark of an Al alloy, critical factors for accuracy and efficiency of FE simulations.

This article details the ESAFORM Benchmark 2021. The deep drawing cup of a 1 mm thick, AA 6016-T4 sheet with a strong cube texture was simulated by 11 teams relying on phenomenological or crystal plasticity approaches, using commercial or self-developed Finite Element (FE) codes, with solid, continuum or classical shell elements and different contact models. The material characterization (tensile tests, biaxial tensile tests, monotonic and reverse shear tests, EBSD measurements) and the cup forming steps were performed with care (redundancy of measurements). The Benchmark organizers identified some constitutive laws but each team could perform its own identification. The methodology to reach material data is systematically described as well as the final data set. The ability of the constitutive law and of the FE model to predict Lankford and yield stress in different directions is verified. Then, the simulation results such as the earing (number and average height and amplitude), the punch force evolution and thickness in the cup wall are evaluated and analysed. The CPU time, the manpower for each step as well as the required tests versus the final prediction accuracy of more than 20 FE simulations are commented. The article aims to guide students and engineers in their choice of a constitutive law (yield locus, hardening law or plasticity approach) and data set used in the identification, without neglecting the other FE features, such as software, explicit or implicit strategy, element type and contact model.