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This study aims to shed new light on the effect of gift packaging shape, specifically the distinction between horizontal and vertical orientations, on the face consciousness of both gift givers and recipients. The underlying mechanism of the main effect is examined, focusing on the perception of social status symbols. In addition, downstream outcome variables were included in the study to explore the effects of gift package shape on willingness to buy (WTB) and word-of-mouth (WOM) in the giver and receiver contexts, respectively. Furthermore, these effects were repeatedly verified in both China and the USA, revealing the significance of cultural differences. The study also investigated the moderating effects of an individual’s power state (low or high power) on the giver’s face consciousness.

Six studies were conducted to address the research objectives. Study 1 compared the gift givers’ face consciousness of a gift when presented with vertical package shapes versus horizontal. Subsequently, Study 2 investigated whether consumers’ perception of social status symbols mediates the effect of gift package shape on gift givers’ face consciousness. Study 3a expanded the conceptual model to include the downstream outcome variable of WTB in the context of gift-giving. Study 3b was validated with American participants, revealing the influence of cultural background differences on face consciousness. Study 4 introduced a gift-receiving context to investigate the chain-mediated effects of gift package shapes on consumer WOM. Lastly, Study 5 critically examined the boundary effect of personal power states on the interaction between the gift givers’ face consciousness and WTB.

The results indicate that gift givers and recipients attribute higher face consciousness to gifts with vertical package shapes compared to horizontal ones. In addition, consumers’ perception of gifts as status symbols was the underlying mechanism driving the impact of gift packaging shape on face consciousness. Furthermore, the face consciousness for gift packages of vertical shape was enhanced when people were in lower-power states as opposed to higher-power states, subsequently leading to an increase in the WTB.

The research is limited to an online virtual brand study; future field studies could be conducted to enhance the authenticity of the participants’ gift-giving experience and the overall external validity of the studies. In addition, gender-based stereotypes and the relationship between the giver and the receiver (transactional or intimate) may also influence the relationship between gift package shapes and face consciousness.

The practical implications of this research focus on three points. First, gift brand managers should strategically employ vertical package shapes to signal high-end attributes and evoke face consciousness among consumers, aligning with the psychology of both givers and recipients. Second, managers must consider consumers’ power states in gift-giving scenarios, tailoring packaging recommendations to the dynamics between givers and recipients to maximize market share. Last, cultural differences in face consciousness, particularly between Asian and Western cultures, necessitate that managers adapt packaging designs to respect and enhance the social status of both givers and recipients in culturally sensitive ways. These findings underscore the importance of understanding and integrating consumer psychology, power dynamics, and cultural nuances into gift packaging strategies to boost market share.

The research contributes to understanding the impact of gift packaging shape on the perception of face consciousness among both gift givers and recipients. It highlights the mediating role of social status symbols and extends its scope by examining downstream effects such as WTB and WOM. It explores individual power states as a moderating factor, revealing how personal dynamics influence perceptions of face-saving consciousness. Also, the cross-cultural validation of these effects in China and the USA underscores the importance of considering cultural differences.

The emerging economies of Asia have made remarkable economic progress over the past few decades, primarily driven by rapid structural transformation towards industrialization and manufacturing in particular. The share of informal manufacturing sector value added to GDP and of employment in the informal sector in total employment has increased considerably in these countries. Although this shift from agricultural to industrial/manufacturing may be seen as positive for the goals of poverty reduction, increased standard of living, formation of human capital, etc., its impact on the environment is often not free from contention. The aim of the paper is to examine the impact of informal manufacturing sector growth on environmental degradation in emerging Asian economies. Here, we have used CO₂ emissions as an indicator of environmental degradation. The impact of other exogenous variables, such as population growth, energy consumption, trade openness and foreign direct investment, has also been studied. We have employed the fixed effect model and the random effect model on the data spanning from 2000 to 2022. We have also used the Hausman test to check the suitability of the models. The results of the analysis indicate the presence of a U-shaped relationship between CO₂ emissions and informal manufacturing growth, thus refuting the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis.

This paper aims to propose an active disturbance rejection control (ADRC)-based visual servoing strategy for regulating a wheeled mobile robot from varying initial poses to a desired pose at an exponential rate. It addresses challenges associated with non-holonomic constraints, uncertain depth information and unknown translational parameters in monocular vision systems.

The uncertain depth information in monocular vision and unknown camera-to-robot translational parameters are modeled as internal uncertainties of the visual servo system. An input-state scaling technique is used to decouple the system into two subsystems, controlled by angular and linear velocities, respectively. The angular velocity controller is designed to ensure strict exponential convergence, while the internal parametric and bounded uncertainties of the system are estimated and compensated for by an extended state observer and a switching linear velocity controller.

The separate design of the angular and linear velocity controllers effectively overcomes the non-holonomic constraints of the mobile robot, ensuring robust performance under diverse conditions. Furthermore, the ADRC-based strategy successfully handles uncertain depth information and unknown translational parameters. The convergence of the error system is rigorously proven using Lyapunov theory, and simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study introduces, for the first time, a novel approach that combines ADRC with visual servoing for non-holonomic mobile robots. This approach enhances the adaptability and accuracy of the robot’s navigation in environments characterized by unknown system uncertainties. The proposed method demonstrates enhanced practical performance over conventional techniques by effectively managing the inherent uncertainties of the system.

We adopt an information risk view and argue that higher levels of pledge risk incurred by insiders incentivize opportunistic financial disclosure and impair the quality of information available to analysts to forecast firm performance.

We sample Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2022. Following the literature, we apply established models to measure and test analysts’ forecasting accuracy/dispersion related to controlling shareholders pledging equity and the amount of margin call pressure. Analyst characteristics and nonfinancial disclosures proxied by CSR reports are also examined as factors likely to influence the relationship between pledge risk and analysts’ forecast quality.

We find that analysts’ earnings predictions are less accurate and more dispersed as the proportion of shares pledged (pledge ratio) increases and in combination with greater margin call pressure. Pledge ratios are significantly associated with several information risk proxies (i.e. earnings permanence, accruals quality, audit quality, financial restatements, related party transactions and internal control weaknesses), validating the channel through which equity pledges undermine analysts’ forecast quality. The results also demonstrate that forecast quality declines for a wide variety of analysts’ attributes, including high- and low-quality analysts and analysts from small and large brokerage firms. Importantly, nonfinancial disclosures, as proxied by CSR reporting, improve analysts’ forecasts.

We extend the literature by demonstrating that incremental pledge risk increases non-diversifiable information risk; all non-pledging shareholders pay a premium through more diverse and less accurate earnings forecasts. Our study provides important policy implications with economically significant costs to investors associated with insider equity pledges. Our results highlight the benefits of nonfinancial disclosures in China, which has implications for the current debate on the global convergence of CSR reporting.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a maturity evaluation model for the application of construction steel structure welding robotics suitable for the actual situation and specific characteristics of engineering projects in China and then to assess the maturity level of the technology in the application of domestic engineering projects more scientifically.

The research follows a qualitative and quantitative analysis method. In the first stage, the structure of the maturity model is constructed and the evaluation index system is designed by using the ideas of the capability maturity model and WSR methodology for reference. In the second stage, the design of the evaluation process and the selection of evaluation methods (analytic hierarchy process method, multi-level gray comprehensive evaluation method). In the third stage, the data are collected and organized (preparation of questionnaires, distribution of questionnaires, questionnaire collection). In the fourth stage, the established maturity evaluation model is used to analyze the data.

The evaluation model established by using multi-level gray theory can effectively transform various complex indicators into an intuitive maturity level or score status. The conclusion shows that the application maturity of building steel structure welding robot technology in this project is at the development level as a whole. The maturity levels of “WuLi – ShiLi – RenLi” are respectively: development level, development level, between starting level and development level. Comparison of maturity evaluation values of five important factors (from high to low): environmental factors, technical factors, management factors, benefit factors, personnel and group factors.

In this paper, based on the existing research related to construction steel structure welding robot technology, a quantitative and holistic evaluation of the application of construction steel structure welding robot technology in domestic engineering projects is conducted for the first time from a project perspective by designing a maturity evaluation index system and establishing a maturity evaluation model. This research will help the project team to evaluate the application level (maturity) of the welding robot in the actual project, identify the shortcomings and defects of the application of this technology, then improve the weak links pertinently, and finally realize the gradual improvement of the overall application level of welding robot technology for building steel structure.

This study addresses a gap in understanding consumer retention in omnichannel retailing. It explores the impact of omnichannel capabilities on consumer retention by examining the roles of consumer empowerment, cross-channel integration, retailer uncertainty and consumer satisfaction.

Utilising the stimulus-organism-response theory, data from 338 Indian omnichannel consumers were analysed using SmartPLS V3 and Process Macro for SPSS. A structured questionnaire guided the investigation into the interconnected dynamics of omnichannel capabilities, consumer empowerment, cross-channel integration, retailer uncertainty and consumer satisfaction.

Findings suggest that omnichannel capabilities significantly and positively influence consumer retention, with a significant mediation impact on consumer empowerment and cross-channel integration. The results indicate that retailer uncertainty negatively moderates, whereas consumer satisfaction positively moderates the association between omnichannel capabilities and consumer retention. Moreover, the study unravels the mechanisms driving consumer retention in the omnichannel landscape.

This research pioneers unravelling the complexities of consumer retention in omnichannel retailing. It explores how consumer retention is enhanced through omnichannel capabilities. This study bridges a gap in existing research by examining the impact of omnichannel capabilities, consumer empowerment and cross-channel integration in omnichannel retailing. Therefore, this study provides innovative, unique and strategic adaptations in the retail industry.

This study explores the link between additional reviews, credibility, and consumers’ online purchasing behavior.

We employ a 2 × 2 between-subjects design to measure subjects’ purchasing behavior with versus without additional reviews and with important versus non-important attributes. A total of 529 valid questionnaires are collected from university students across 30 Chinese provinces.

The addition of negative reviews to a positive initial review enhances consumers’ perceived credibility of the reviewer and the overall review content. This effect is positively moderated by the attribute importance in additional reviews. Moreover, we find that as the time interval increases, consumers’ perceived credibility gradually increases but eventually decreases after reaching a certain threshold. In addition, the attribute importance in additional reviews negatively moderates the impact of perceived credibility on consumer purchasing behavior.

Existing studies on first and subsequent reviews mainly focus on the difference in perceived usefulness between the two. They do not examine how additional reviews affect potential customers’ perceived credibility and their purchase decision-making. This study bridges the gap between the word-of-mouth literature and marketing practices.

The purpose of this study is to address the challenge of task allocation in multi-robot systems by getting the minimum overall task completion time and task allocation scheme while also minimizing robot energy consumption. This study aims to move away from traditional centralized methods and validate a more scalable distributed approach.

This paper proposes a distributed algorithm for the multi-robot task allocation problem, aimed at getting the minimum task completion time along with the task allocation scheme. The algorithm operates based on local interaction information rather than global information. By using the Consensus-Based Auction Algorithm (CBAA), it seeks to effectively minimize energy consumption without affecting the minimum completion time required for overall task allocation.

The proposed distributed algorithm successfully reduces robot energy consumption while effectively obtaining the shortest overall task completion time and corresponding task allocation scheme. Numerical simulations conducted using MATLAB software demonstrated its superior performance, and empirical testing on the Turtlebot3-Burger robot platform further substantiated these findings.

The original contribution of this study lies in the development of an enhanced distributed task allocation strategy using CBAA to improve efficiency in multi-robot environments. Its value extends to applications that require rapid and resource-aware coordination, such as automated logistics or search-and-rescue operations.

This paper addresses the issue of internal spatial environmental pollution in non-blasting tunnel construction by proposing a comprehensive evaluation model. The model aims to provide a scientific basis for environmental pollution prevention in non-blasting tunnel construction, thereby facilitating green tunnel construction and sustainable development management.

The study firstly refines and constructs the evaluation index system from the perspective of pollution sources. A novel weight calculation method is introduced by integrating the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator, and a comprehensive evaluation model for internal environmental pollution in non-blasting tunnels is established by incorporating the grey clustering evaluation method. Finally, an empirical study is conducted using the Erbaoshan Tunnel as a case study to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the model.

The study develops an evaluation system for internal environmental pollution in non-blasting tunnels and applies it to the Erbaoshan Tunnel. The results classify the pollution level as “general pollution,” confirming the rationality and applicability of the evaluation system and model while also identifying the primary pollution factors.

This study first developed a comprehensive evaluation system for environmental pollution in non-blasting tunnel construction from the pollution source perspective, making the system more comprehensive. Additionally, it innovatively combined AHP–OWA and gray clustering methods to scientifically assess pollution levels, providing valuable scientific guidance for the evaluation and management of non-blasting tunnels and similar underground projects.

Online games are highly popular Internet applications. Some games enable players to save game progress and accumulate experiences or changes to avatars during gameplay, whereas some other games do not, requiring players to restart from the beginning each time. That is, games differ in avatar accumulability. However, we do not know whether games should be designed to permit avatar accumulability or not and how it affects players’ gameplay experience and therefore game outcomes, indicating gaps. Research addressing these gaps can inform game makers in designing games that effectively strengthen their players’ game loyalty.

We used social identity theory (SIT) to construct a theoretical model. To test this model, three waves of survey data were gathered from the same 778 participants.

These findings uniquely indicate that avatar accumulability fosters avatar identification and increases players’ focused immersion, thus increasing players’ loyalty.

Game providers could include game features that enable players to accumulate their avatars’ in-game skins, levels, items (weapons and equipment) and experience points. This accumulability can help strengthen players’ game loyalty.

Overall, our study extends SIT by adding a new trigger (avatar accumulability) and two novel consequences of avatar identification (image protection and focused immersion) in avatar-related systems (games or gamified systems). The new trigger offers an actionable means to apply SIT, while the novel consequences verify the value of applying SIT to study online games.