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This study aims to assess the pitting resistance of austenitic stainless steel welded joints fusion zone (FZ) with high density of inclusions before and after surface treatment, including potentiostatic pulse technique (PPT) and pickling.

The potentiodynamic polarization tests and critical pitting temperature tests were carried out for estimating pitting resistance. The PPT and pickling were performed as surface treatment. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer were used for characterize the microstructure and elemental distribution. Electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) was used to assess the portion of phases and morphology of grains.

The weld metal exhibits a higher degree of alloying compared to the base metal, and it contains d-phase and sulfur-containing inclusions. Sulfur-containing inclusions serve as initiation sites for pitting, and they diminish the pitting resistance of weld metal. Both PPT and pickling can remove sulfur-containing inclusions, but PPT causes localized dissolution of the weld metal matrix around the inclusions, while pickling does not. Because of the high density of inclusions, certain pits initiated by PPT are significantly deeper, which makes the formation of stable pitting easier. Because of the high density of inclusions, certain pits initiated by the PPT are deeper. This characteristic facilitates the progression of these initial defects into fully developed, stable pits.

Analysis of pitting initiation in shielded metal arc welding FZ with PPT and ex situ SEM tracking observation. Explanation of why the PPT surface treatment is not able to enhance the pitting resistance of stainless steel with a high inclusion density.

Previous studies demonstrate that market-oriented reform has contributed significantly to China's economic growth from the efficiency-based economic view. But some argue that state-owned firms have access to policy information, scarce resources, and government support, and thus state-owned firms might foster innovation. This study tries to find out either market force or state ownership helps improve firms' R&D efficiency.

Using data from China's high-tech industry, we employed the fixed-effect stochastic frontier model and the spatial panel Han-Philips linear dynamic regression model to investigate the relationship between market-oriented reform and the dynamic evolution of R&D efficiency in both temporal and spatial dimensions. Moreover, we examined whether the relationship is affected in a state-owned economy and an industry protection environment.

The results indicate the following: (1) the R&D efficiency of China's high-tech industry has improved steadily and has converged gradually across its regions during the market-oriented reform; (2) the marketization degree is positively correlated with R&D efficiency and its regional convergence; (3) the state-owned economy and industry protection have significantly weakened the ability of market forces to shape R&D efficiency — i.e. they reduce, rather than enhance, R&D efficiency.

This investigation helps understand the drivers of R&D efficiency in transition economies, and the findings are also helpful in defining the boundaries and constraints of market forces.

Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) harms organizations’ long-term development; hence, all sectors of society view it as highly concerning. Optimizing leadership and curbing this behavior is a key managerial challenge. This study takes the relationship between temporal leadership and UPB as its object and examines the direct and indirect paths of temporal leadership’s influence on UPB based on the conservation of resources theory. It further dissects the mediating mechanism of emotional exhaustion and the regulating mechanism of job complexity and constructs the mechanism through which temporal leadership affects UPB.

Data gathered from a sample of 380 employees in 24 provinces and cities were employed for empirical testing using validated factor analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, and a bootstrap method.

The results show that temporal leadership inhibits UPB, while emotional exhaustion partially mediates the relationship between temporal leadership and UPB. That is, temporal leadership inhibits pro-organizational unethical behavior by alleviating emotional exhaustion. In addition, job complexity negatively moderates the relationship between emotional exhaustion and UPB and positively moderates the mediating role of emotional exhaustion between temporal leadership and UPB.

First, although the data used in the study were collected at two different times, they were obtained through self-assessment; therefore, the subjective component and the potential problem of common method bias is evident. Second, the study’s sample size and types of respondents are limited.

1. This study found that temporal leadership can inhibit UPB by reducing employee emotional exhaustion. Therefore, organizations should place greater emphasis on the time factor. 2. In terms of emotional factors, organizations should actively focus on the impact of emotional exhaustion on employees' UPBs. 3. In management practice, managers should adjust their leadership modeling behaviors according to the different degrees of job complexity to replace UPBs with conscious and rational behaviors.

The study reveals how temporal leadership affects UPB and provides a theoretical basis for organizations to mitigate employees' UPB by optimizing their leadership style.

Current research on temporal leadership primarily focuses on the positive predictive effects on individual behaviors and attitudes (Zhang and Ling, 2016), but neglects its effects on negative behaviors. This study’s results complement research on the relationship between temporal leadership and employees' negative behaviors and responds to the call by Zhang and Ling (2015) to conduct research related to temporal leadership in China. On the other hand, current research on employees’ UPB largely focuses on its causative factors, while less research has been conducted on the disincentives for UPB, which to some extent limits systematic and sound research on UPB.

Nested within institutional theory and the political economy perspective, this study aims to examine Chinese outward foreign direct investments (OFDI)-supporting organizations and fostering mechanisms for its SMEs in Europe’s largest economy, Germany.

The authors conduct a multiple-case study to present rich insights from elite interviews with representatives of Chinese and German governmental organizations, intermediary parties and specialized OFDI consultants. In addition, the authors analyze secondary data such as presentations, websites, brochures, social media and recent Chinese OFDI policies for SMEs. The findings are triangulated by interviewing business owners and senior executives of seven Chinese SMEs that have invested in Germany.

Cooperating with Germany’s federal government, China’s ministries implemented an effective OFDI support network in Germany, which connects and benefits both economies. This includes Chinese governmental organizations, privately-held national champions, German–Chinese business associations and linked intermediary parties. These organizations support SMEs through four main mechanisms: networking and information, mutually beneficial knowledge transfer between innovation partners, lobbying for potential cooperation and an objective picture of Chinese OFDI and facilitating investment services.

This study advances OFDI theory and contributes to the growing discussion on the internationalization of Chinese SMEs by shedding light on China’s OFDI support organizations and mechanisms in the German market. The study also offers practical contributions. Understanding better how governments can spur internationalization is vital, as it determines the effectiveness of policymaking and fosters international mutual understanding, cultural exchange and firm growth and innovation (Ahlstrom, 2010), and hence ultimately contributes positively to society. Moreover, knowing the specific OFDI support organizations and measures China is currently adopting can serve as a helpful orientation for Chinese entrepreneurs who plan to invest in Germany.

The paper aims to study the effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure, shear strength and ratcheting fatigue life of nanosilver sintered lap shear joint. In addition, the Gerber model is used to predict the ratcheting fatigue lives of nanosilver sintered lap shear joints at different sintering temperatures.

In this paper, the nanosilver sintered lap shear joints were prepared at three sintering temperatures of 250 °C, 280 °C and 310 °C. The bonding quality was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope and shear tests, and the long-term reliability was studied by conducting ratcheting fatigue tests. In addition, three modified models based on Basquin equation were used to predict the ratcheting fatigue life of nanosilver sintered lap shear joint and their accuracies were evaluated.

When the sintering temperature is 250°C, the nanosilver sintered lap shear joint shows the porosity of 22.9 ± 1.6 %, and the shear strength of 22.3 ± 2.4 MPa. Raising the sintering temperature enhances silver crystallite size, strengthens sintering necks, thus improves shear strength and ratcheting fatigue life in joints. In addition, the ratcheting fatigue lives of the joints sintered at different temperatures are effectively predicted by three equivalent force models, and the Gerber model shows the highest life prediction accuracy.

The sintered silver bondline is suffering a complex stress state. The study only takes the shear stress into consideration. The tensile stress and the combination of shear stress and tensile stress can to be considered in the future study.

The paper provides the experimental and theoretical support for robust bonding and long-term reliability of sintered silver structure.

The introduced model can predict the ratcheting fatigue lives of the joints sintered at different temperatures, which shows a potential in engineering applications.

The study revealed the relationship between the sintering temperature and the microstructure, the shear strength and the ratcheting fatigue life of the joint. In addition, the Gerber model can predict the ratcheting fatigue life accurately at different sintering temperatures.

Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, this study examines how live-streaming shopping influences purchase intentions in young consumers. The multigroup analysis is applied to understand the similarities and differences of factors that trigger purchase intentions among buyers and non-buyers in live-streaming shopping.

A snowball sampling was used to collect data from 507 Chinese consumers between June and September 2022 using Wenjuanxing, i.e., an online survey platform in China. The data was analyzed using the partial least squares method of structural equation modeling.

The findings revealed that amongst the three relational bonds, social and structural bonds were positively associated with trust, whereas financial bonds had no significant relationship with trust. This implies that while price discount might not have any significant relationship with trust, the social interactions that college students have with the live-streamers and their products build trust, which in turn translates to purchasing decisions. Comparing buyers and non-buyers, the results support that buyers have a higher level of trust in live-streaming shopping than non-buyers. This is indicative of the authentic and immersive experiences enjoyed by consumers in live streaming that generate structural bonds and foster stronger connections (relational bonds), thereby establishing trust.

This study is one of the first empirical studies targeting college students as participants in live streaming. These findings are expected to provide actionable insights to streamers especially in converting non-buyers to buyers in live-streaming broadcast.

This study investigates the impact of Chinese senior leaders’ diplomatic visits on outward and inward foreign direct investment (OFDI and IFDI, respectively). Additionally, it aims to discern the differential impacts of diplomatic visits on FDI across different Chinese administrations.

We utilize data about the diplomatic visits of Chinese senior leaders to 146 host countries. The dataset was divided into two leadership eras: the tenure of President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao from 2003 to 2012 and the period from 2013 to 2021 under President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang. We employ generalized least squares, lagged effect, and two-stage least squares methods to estimate the econometric model. This analytical framework assesses the influence of high-level diplomatic visits on FDI flows, addressing potential time-serial and endogeneity concerns.

The findings reveal that senior leaders’ diplomatic visits significantly boost Chinese OFDI. The effect on IFDI in China is not statistically significant. The administrations of Hu and Xi played positive roles in promoting OFDI. However, only Hu’s administration showed a statistically significant positive relationship with IFDI. The result suggests a potential increase in IFDI between China and host countries within two to three years following diplomatic visits.

This study contributes to the understanding of how Chinese senior leaders’ diplomatic activities affect foreign direct investment. It provides a deeper understanding of Chinese senior leaders’ diplomatic efforts to compensate for investment across two administration periods. It offers insights into the potential influence of diplomatic efforts on FDI, enriching the understanding of diplomacy’s role in international business contexts.

This study aims to investigate the key determinants predicting users’ behavioural intention (BI) in adopting mobile payment (m-payment) in the new normal era.

The mobile technology acceptance model (MTAM) was extended through attitudes, perceived trust, perceived risk and personal innovativeness (PI) with government support (GS) functioning as a moderator. A total of 245 valid responses were gathered from Malaysian m-payment users with purposive sampling and subsequently evaluated through partial least square-structural equation modelling.

Mobile usefulness and PI significantly predicted user BI to use m-payment. Based on the moderation analysis, GS strengthened attitude-based impacts on BI towards m-payment adoption.

The empirical outcomes provide stakeholders with pivotal implications to develop holistic policies and strategies that potentially catalyse m-payment usage in the new normal era.

This research expands the current body of knowledge by assessing the factors impacting m-payment usage intention in the new normal era. The four aforementioned MTAM elements and GS (moderator) were recommended to boost model workability and offer novel evidence from a distinct viewpoint.

El objetivo de este estudio es investigar los determinantes clave que predicen la intención de comportamiento de los usuarios a la hora de adoptar el pago por móvil (m-payment) en la nueva era normal.

El modelo de aceptación de la tecnología móvil (MTAM) se amplió a través de las actitudes, la confianza percibida, el riesgo percibido y la capacidad de innovación personal, con el apoyo gubernamental como moderador. Se recogió un total de 245 respuestas válidas de usuarios malasios de pago por móvil mediante muestreo intencionado y se evaluó posteriormente mediante modelización de ecuaciones estructurales por mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS-SEM).

La utilidad del móvil y la capacidad de innovación personal predijeron significativamente la intención de los usuarios de utilizar el pago por móvil. Según el análisis de moderación, el apoyo gubernamental reforzó los efectos basados en la actitud sobre la intención conductual de adoptar el pago por móvil.

Los resultados empíricos proporcionan a las partes interesadas implicaciones fundamentales para desarrollar políticas y estrategias holísticas que catalicen potencialmente el uso del pago móvil en la nueva era de la normalidad.

Esta investigación amplía el corpus actual de conocimientos al evaluar los factores que influyen en la intención de uso del pago por móvil en la nueva era normal. Se recomiendan los cuatro elementos MTAM mencionados y el apoyo gubernamental (moderador) para impulsar la viabilidad del modelo y ofrecer pruebas novedosas desde un punto de vista distinto.

本研究旨在探讨新常态时代用户使用移动支付（m-payment）行为意向的主要决定因素。

通过态度、感知信任、感知风险和个人创新能力, 并以政府支持作为调节因素, 对移动技术接受模型（MTAM）进行了扩展。通过有目的的抽样, 从马来西亚移动支付用户中收集了 245 份有效回复, 随后通过偏最小二乘法结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）进行了评估。

移动实用性和个人创新性可显著预测用户使用移动支付的行为意向。根据调节分析, 政府支持加强了态度对采用移动支付的行为意向的影响。

实证研究的结果为利益相关者提供了重要的启示, 有助于他们制定全面的政策和战略, 在新常态时代促进移动支付的使用。

本研究通过评估新常态时代影响移动支付使用意向的因素, 拓展了现有的知识体系。研究推荐了上述四个 MTAM 要素和政府支持（调节器）, 以提高模型的可操作性, 并从一个独特的视角提供了新的证据。

Innovation quality is a critical component of enterprise innovation. Prior research primarily focuses on company-level and external policy-level factors that affect innovation quality, while ignoring social-level factors. Based on institutional isomorphism theory, this study examines how the innovation quality of three-dimensional institutional equivalence, which is an important and unique reference group for firms to follow the “law of imitation of close preference”, affects the likelihood of firms' innovation quality.

This study conducts firm random effects and industry/year fixed effects models using China's listed companies from 2002 to 2021.

This study finds that compared with the innovation quality of its other industry, community, or network peers, the innovation quality of three-dimensional institutional equivalence has a greater impact on firm innovation quality. Furthermore, technological intensity significantly increases the effect of three-dimensional institutional equivalence on focal company innovation quality, while financing constraints significantly attenuate this effect. Additionally, when there is no institutional equivalent, the innovation quality of network, industry, and community peers has significant positive effects on enterprise innovation quality. Heterogeneity analysis also indicates that, under the conditions of non-state-owned enterprises, a low regional legal environment, or low regional factor market development, three-dimensional institutional equivalence contributes significantly to firm innovation quality.

This study focuses on the effect of three-dimensional institutional equivalence on Chinese enterprises' innovation quality. Nonetheless, research samples from other countries are not considered in this study.

This study explores the impact of three-dimensional institutional equivalence on firm innovation quality within a systematic theoretical framework and incorporates firm attributes into this framework.

The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to identify the categories of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot service failures in frontline, and second, to examine the effect of the intensity of AI emotion exhibited on the effectiveness of the chatbots’ autonomous service recovery process.

We adopt a mixed-methods research approach, starting with a qualitative research, the purpose of which is to identify specific categories of AI chatbot service failures. In the second stage, we conduct experiments to investigate the impact of AI chatbot service failures on consumers’ psychological perceptions, with a focus on the moderating influence of chatbot’s emotional expression. This sequential approach enabled us to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects for a comprehensive research perspective.

The results suggest that, from the analysis of interview data, AI chatbot service failures mainly include four categories: failure to understand, failure to personalize, lack of competence, and lack of assurance. The results also reveal that AI chatbot service failures positively affect dehumanization and increase customers’ perceptions of service failure severity. However, AI chatbots can autonomously remedy service failures through moderate AI emotion. An interesting golden zone of AI’s emotional expression in chatbot service failures was discovered, indicating that extremely weak or strong intensity of AI’s emotional expression can be counterproductive.

This study contributes to the burgeoning AI literature by identifying four types of AI service failure, developing dehumanization theory in the context of smart services, and demonstrating the nonlinear effects of AI emotion. The findings also offer valuable insights for organizations that rely on AI chatbots in terms of designing chatbots that effectively address and remediate service failures.