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Team autonomy is thought to be important for team innovation performance. However, the theoretical basis of the relationship between team autonomy and team innovation performance is not well understood, and previous studies have found inconsistent relations between them. Based on motivated information processing in groups (MIP-G) theory, this paper aims to explain how and when team autonomy could influence team innovation performance from a new team-level perspective.

Using a two-wave, time-lagged survey design, the authors collected data from 340 members of 86 teams in China. PROCESS 3.0 for SPSS was used to test hypothesized relationships.

The results show that team autonomy is positively related to team information exchange. Team information exchange mediates the positive relationship between team autonomy and team innovation performance. Furthermore, the positive relationship between team autonomy and team information exchange is stronger with less task conflict, which runs contrary to the hypothesis. Additionally, relationship conflict does not adjust the impact of team autonomy on team information exchange.

This study provides a new perspective to explain the mechanism between team autonomy and team innovation performance at team level from the information processing approach, specifically, MIP-G theory. It also incorporates team conflicts as important contextual factors to answer the call for a wider study of boundary conditions in the team autonomy research.

This paper aims to classify the inductorless Chua’s circuits into two types from the topological structures and construct a chaotic circuit under this new classification framework.

In this paper, two types of inductorless Chua’s circuit models are presented from topological structure, among which the first type of inductorless Chua’s circuit (FTICC) model is much closer to the original Chua’s circuit. Under this classification framework, a new inductorless Chua’s circuit that belongs to the FTICC model is built by replacing LC parallel resonance of the original Chua’s circuit with a second order Sallen–Key band pass filter.

Compared with a paradigm of a reported inductorless Chua’s circuit that belongs to the second type of inductorless Chua’s circuit (STICC) model, the newly proposed circuit can present the attractors which are much more closely to the original Chua’s attractors. The dynamical behaviors of coexisting period-doubling bifurcation patterns and boundary crisis are discovered in the newly proposed circuit from both numerical simulations and experimental measurements. Moreover, a crisis scenario is observed that unmixed pairs of symmetric coexisting limit cycles with period-3 traverse through the entire parameter interval between coexisting single-scroll chaotic attractors and double-scroll chaotic attractor.

The newly constructed circuit enriches the family of inductorless Chua’s circuits, and its simple topology with small printed circuit board size facilitates the various types of engineering applications based on chaos.

Applying brand names to international markets remains a challenge to multinational corporations. Consumers’ sociolinguistic backgrounds shape their responses to brand names. This paper uses a sociolinguistic approach as a conceptual framework in understanding brand naming and translating in the Chinese market. The approach promotes that sociolinguistics a) recognizes linguistic competence, b) advances symbolic values imbedded in linguistic forms, and c) renders attached social valence to cultural scrutiny. Three brand‐naming cases in China are presented for discussion, which may benefit multinational corporations on brand decisions involving Chinese consumers.

This study's purpose is to examine ethical leadership's effect on followers' positive work behaviors, as mediated by prosocial motivation and moderated by job autonomy.

Two-wave survey data were collected from 200 Chinese employees working in various industries. A hierarchical regression and a bootstrapping test were used to test the hypotheses.

Ethical leadership is positively related to followers' positive work behaviors, and prosocial motivation partially mediates this relationship. Job autonomy moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and prosocial motivation, as well as the indirect effect of ethical leadership on positive work behaviors via prosocial motivation.

The findings' generalizability is limited because only Chinese employees were investigated and a snowball sampling method was used. Future research should utilize other sampling methods and explore other contexts to determine whether the results can be replicated.

Organizations should provide employees with greater behavioral discretion to benefit from the positive effects of ethical leadership. They should use selection and job design tools to boost their employees' prosocial motivation.

The extant literature has largely applied the cognitive process approach to link ethical leadership and positive behaviors, treating ethical leadership as a risk-reducing or reciprocity-inducing factor. This study introduces a responsive process approach whereby prosocial motivation is established as a mediator between ethical leadership and positive work behaviors. Also, job autonomy is identified as a boundary condition of ethical leadership's effect.

At present, the conventional method of preparing cationic fluorinated acrylic latex is to emulsify copolymerised monomers with cationic surfactants. However, there has been a wide concern about using Gemini surfactants to prepare cationic polymer latex to improve its properties. The purpose of this paper was to focus on the synthesis of novel self-crosslinked cationic fluorinated acrylic latex (SCFAL), during which the copolymerised monomers were initiated with a water soluble azo initiator and emulsified with mixed surfactants of Gemini emulsifier and alkyl polyglycoside (APG).

The novel SCFAL was prepared successfully by the semi-continuous seeded emulsion polymerisation of butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, hexafluorobutyl methacrylate (HFMA) and hydroxy propyl methacrylate (HPMA) in aqueous medium.

The conversion is the maximum and the coagulation percentage the minimum when the amounts of emulsifier and initiator are 8 and 0.6 per cent, respectively. The average particle size of the latex is significantly reduced with the increase of the amount of emulsifiers used. However, the average particle size of the latex is increased with the increase of the amount of HPMA. The particle size of the latex is of a unimodal distribution, which means that the particle size was reasonably uniform. Contact angle is increased with the increase of the amount of the HFMA.

The novel SCFAL can be widely used as significant components in the field of coatings, leather, textile, paper, adhesives and so on.

SCFAL, which was emulsified with novel mixed surfactants of Gemini surfactant and APG, has been prepared successfully. Influences of amount of initiator, emulsifier, HPMA and HFMA on emulsion polymerisation and/or properties of novel latex are investigated in detail.

When explicit integral analysis is performed on a numerical model with viscoelastic artificial boundary elements, an instability phenomenon is likely to occur in the boundary area, reducing the computational efficiency of the numerical calculation and limiting the use of viscoelastic artificial boundary elements in the explicit dynamic analysis of large-scale engineering sites. The main purpose of this study is to improve the stability condition of viscoelastic artificial boundary elements.

A stability analysis method based on local subsystems was adopted to analyze and improve the stability conditions of three-dimensional (3D) viscoelastic artificial boundary elements. Typical boundary subsystems that can represent the localized characteristics of the overall model were established, and their analytical stability conditions were derived with an analysis based on the spectral radius of the transfer matrix. Then, after analyzing the influence of each physical parameter on the analytical-stability conditions, a method for improving the stability condition of the explicit algorithm by increasing the mass density of the artificial boundary elements was proposed.

Numerical wave propagation simulations in uniform and layered half-space models show that, on the premise of ensuring the accuracy of the viscoelastic artificial boundary, the proposed method can effectively improve the numerical stability and the efficiency of the explicit dynamic calculations for the overall system.

The stability improvement method proposed in this study are significant for improving the applicability of viscoelastic artificial boundary elements in explicit dynamic calculations and the calculation efficiency of wave analysis at large-scale engineering sites.

The friction between brake pair causes an intense temperature rise on interface during braking, which affects the braking performance seriously. Therefore, building an accurate testing method for frictional temperature rise (FTR) is a prerequisite.

Facing braking conditions of automobiles, an experimental system for testing of FTR based on preset thermometry method (PTM) was established. The FTR was collected by the PTM and the variation laws as well as the cause of errors were analyzed by experiments. The deviations between tested and real temperature were corrected based on tribology and heat theories. Finally, an online prediction method for FTR was pointed out.

After correction, the temperature curve accords well with the laws of tribology and thermal theories. The corrected FTR at braking end point is approximately equal to the authentic temperature test by hand thermometer.

This study eliminated the hysteresis phenomenon of temperature rise sequence and lays a foundation for online accurate monitoring and warning of brake friction temperature rise. It has important theoretical and practical value for expanding the monitoring and improvement of brake performance.

Retaining customers is very important for the survival of e-commerce sellers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools, interactivity, trust and perceived effectiveness of e-commerce institutional mechanisms (PEEIM) in influencing customer’s repurchase intention in the Chinese online e-commerce marketplace.

The research model is empirically tested using survey data analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling.

This study confirms the positive relation between customer satisfaction and trust in the seller, which further contributes to repurchase intention. Results also support the positive influences of effective use of an instant messenger and feedback system on customer perceived interactivity, which helps enhance trust in the seller. PEEIM demonstrates interesting results regarding its moderating effects.

In the future, researchers can extend the study to other e-commerce platforms and take trust transfer effects and product categories into consideration.

This study highlights the importance to manage trust, PEEIM, interactivity and CMC tools in e-commerce platforms, assisting practitioners to develop appropriate business strategies and processes to retain customers.

This study extends previous investigations by integrating trust and PEEIM with interactivity and testing the model in the context of the Chinese online marketplace.

The purpose of this study is to examine how formal contracts affect alliance innovation performance. To understand the mechanism underlying the impact, this study tests whether relationship learning mediates the impact of formal contracts on alliance innovation performance and how guanxi moderates the mediating effect.

This study is conducted with a sample of 225 manufacturers in China. This paper used hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses and used the PROCESS method to test the mediating effect of relationship learning.

Formal contracts positively affect relationship learning, which facilitates alliance innovation performance. Guanxi positively moderates the effect of formal contracts on alliance innovation performance. Relationship learning mediates the relationship between formal contracts and alliance innovation performance. Moreover, guanxi positively moderates the mediating effect.

Future research could investigate factors moderating the effect of guanxi on alliance innovation performance and moderating the effect of relationship learning on alliance innovation performance. Future research can also use secondary data to measure alliance innovation performance. Future researchers can examine how guanxi as a relational mechanism governance affects relationship learning.

Managers should conduct relationship learning in the process of alliance innovation and realize that reducing opportunism does not mean improving innovation performance. Moreover, managers should know that guanxi could contribute to alliance innovation performance with the help of formal contracts.

Prior studies have mainly focused on the fundamental requirement of governing knowledge exchange in alliances. Little is known about the mediating effect of relationship learning on the relationship between formal contracts and outcomes of innovation alliances. This study contributes to the literature by filling the gap.

The purpose of this study is to propose the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) framework in supply chain by providing an actual case study of how to reduce the logistics cost.

In this paper, it is shown how LSS approach, basic tools and Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control methodology can significantly improve a company by enhancing the supply chain and reducing the logistics expenditures.

Root causes to the main problem of this study were analyzed to identify appropriate solutions. After the implementation of solutions, the company’s product quality and internal communication were improved. Correspondingly, the percentage of customer orders that have to be transported by road instead of maritime reduced to 5% from 13% and the percentage of the road transportation cost paid unnecessarily by the company decreased to 1% from 5%.

This case study provides a roadmap and step-by-step implementation of LSS framework for especially companies in plastics industry.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first example of a LSS case study conducted in Turkey to improve the supply chain of a company by targeting primarily a reduction on logistics costs.