Search results

Previous studies have rarely integrated the financing modes of a capital-constrained manufacturer with the choices of online sales strategies. To address this gap, the authors study how a manufacturer selects optimal financing modes under different sales strategies in three dual-channel supply chains.

This paper considers three sales strategies, namely, combining a traditional retailer channel with one of the direct selling, reselling and agency selling channels, and two common financing modes, namely, bank financing and retailer financing. The authors obtain equilibrium outcomes of the manufacturer and traditional retailer and then provide the conditions for them to select optimal financing modes under three sales strategies.

The results indicate that the manufacturer’s financing decisions rely on the initial capital and interest rates, and the manufacturer selects retailer financing only if the initial capital is relatively larger. In terms of financing mode options, the retailer financing mode is more beneficial for the manufacturer under the three sales strategies. From the perspective of sales strategies, the direct selling model is more beneficial. In addition, the higher the consumer acceptance of the online channel, the more profits the manufacturer obtains.

This paper provides suggestions on how the capital-constrained manufacturer chooses financing modes and sales strategies.

This paper integrates the financing mode and different sales strategies to investigate the manufacturer’s optimal operational decisions. These sales strategies allow us to investigate the manufacturer’s optimal financing modes in the presence of both different financing modes and sales strategies.

The advent of digital technologies has ushered in a new era of quality management (QM) known as Quality 4.0 (Q4.0). The successful implementation of Q4.0 requires the involvement of both leaders and employees. Leadership plays a critical role in motivating employees involved in quality practices. However, the mechanisms by which leadership inspires quality professionals to engage in continuous learning and remain vigorous in their roles are not well understood. This study aims to determine the impact of Q4.0 leadership on thriving at work (TAW) among quality professionals and to identify the underlying mechanisms.

Utilising the identity theory and social identity theory, a multilevel TAW model was developed. This study surveyed 63 team leaders and 243 subordinates, who are quality professionals working for companies implementing Q4.0. Multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) was applied to assess the hypotheses.

The study finds that Q4.0 leadership enhances TAW among quality professionals. The linkage between Q4.0 leadership and TAW is mediated by work group identification (WGI) at the group level and job identification (JI) at the individual level.

Insights from this study will enable organisations to make informed decisions regarding the leadership styles that best support TAW among quality professionals. By understanding the mechanisms linking Q4.0 leadership to TAW, organisations can foster both WGI and JI, ultimately enhancing engagement and performance in quality initiatives.

This study offers a novel contribution to the QM field by examining the role of Q4.0 leadership in motivating and sustaining the engagement of quality professionals. Exploring the relationships between Q4.0 leadership, WGI, JI and TAW helps to deepen our understanding of how Q4.0 leadership can enhance TAW among quality professionals.

Digitally driven virtual streamers are increasingly utilized in live-streaming commerce, possessing distinct advantages compared to human streamers. However, the applicable scenarios of virtual streamers are still unclear. Focusing on product attribute variances, this paper compares the livestreaming effects of virtual and human streamers to clarify the applicable scenarios for each and assist companies in strategically choosing suitable streamers.

We conducted four experiments utilizing both images and video as stimulus materials, and each experiment employed different products. To test the proposed model, a total of 1,068 valid participants were recruited, encompassing a diverse group of individuals, including undergraduates and employed workers.

The results indicate no significant difference between virtual and human streamers in increasing consumers’ purchase intention for utilitarian products. In contrast, human streamers are more effective in enhancing consumer purchase intention for hedonic products, with a mediating role of mental imagery quality. Consumers’ implicit personality variances also influence their willingness to accept virtual streamers.

This paper is the first to compare the effects of virtual and human streamers in promoting different products to enhance our comprehension of virtual streamers. Given the potential risks associated with human streamers, a comprehensive understanding of the role of virtual streamers is imperative for brands when deploying live-streaming commerce activities.

This study aims to explore the determinants of green electronics purchase intention in Malaysia by extending existing knowledge on green consumer behavior and contributing to the field of sustainable consumption.

A quantitative research approach was adopted, with data collected from 250 Malaysian consumers. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling to assess the relationships between various determinants and green purchase intention.

The results demonstrate that perceived consumer effectiveness, green advertising and monetary cost positively affect environmental attitudes, which subsequently influence green purchase intention. The study also identifies that brand image and information quality significantly enhance green brand trust (GBT), leading to stronger intentions to engage in green purchasing. Additionally, it finds that environmental knowledge and environmental concern shape perceived behavioral control, which further impacts green purchasing intention.

The study focuses on Malaysian consumers, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other cultural contexts. Future research could expand the scope to include cross-cultural comparisons to validate the model in different settings.

By providing insights into the key factors driving consumers’ intention to purchase green electronics, the study offers valuable guidance for marketers and manufacturers to develop targeted strategies that promote sustainable consumption and capitalize on the growing demand for green products in Malaysia.

This study is unique in measuring the influence of green attitude, GBT and perceived behavioral control on green purchase intention specifically within the electronics sector, offering a novel contribution to the literature on sustainable consumer behavior.

Cross-cultural cognitive paradoxes have frequently broken the existing boundaries of knowledge and stimulated demands for knowledge creation (KC), and such paradoxes have triggered and will continue to trigger novel risks in the context of international business (IB). Given the nascency of relevant issues, this study aims to develop a more comprehensive understanding of KC across cultures by proposing a Yin-Yang dialectical systems theory of KC as micro-foundation to more systematically frame the risk/paradox-resolving mechanism elicited by cultural collisions.

This paper is conceptual in nature. The authors first critically review the literature to lay a broad theoretical foundation. Integrating the philosophy- and praxis-based views, the authors reposition knowledge as a Yin-Yang dialectical system of knowing, with yin representing the tacit while yang represents the explicit. Next, the authors justify the underling logic of realising KC through a contradiction-resolving process. On this basis, the authors draw upon the Yijing’s Later Heaven Sequence (LHS) as the source domain of a heuristic metaphor to reconceptualise KC as a dynamic capability in the IB context.

Using the LHS paradigm to metaphorically map the intricate patterns of interaction and interconnectivity among the involved individuals, organisations and all related stakeholders, this research identifies and theorises the overall dynamic capability of KC in the IB context, which comprises five sets of processes: contradiction, conflict, communication, compromise and conversion.

This research highlights that KC is simultaneously activated and constrained by human actions as well as by the socially constructed context in which it emerges, which helps individuals, organisations and policy makers more clearly frame the novel risks induced by cross-cultural cognitive conflicts in the IB context.

The authors synthesise Yin-Yang dialectics with the approach of collective phronesis, proposing a novel, praxis-oriented Yin-Yang dialectical systems theory of KC. It provides a deeper understanding of the epistemological paradox inherent in all knowledge, thus enabling KC to be rationalised by a sounder logical reasoning. By fusing the macro and micro perspectives on KC, the authors also enrich existing theory and future theory building in the domain of knowledge management.

This study examines the impact of enhanced financial literacy on the allocation of risky assets within household financial portfolios, while also considering the mediating role of Taoist cultural influences.

The authors applied ordered probit models and ordinary least squares estimation to analyze a sample of 19,015 data collected from the 2019 Chinese Urban Household Consumer Finance Survey.

The results demonstrate that an improvement in financial literacy significantly contributes to an increase in residents’ allocation of risky assets. This enhancement in financial literacy, achieved through financial planning and a reduction in the influence of Taoist culture, effectively bolsters the quantity of risky financial assets held. Moreover, the impact of financial literacy on the allocation of risky financial assets is particularly pronounced among residents aged 45–55 and those aged 35–45 and older.

The practical implications suggest that policymakers and relevant departments may consider strategies to encourage greater participation in the financial market by promoting Taoist culture in an appropriate and reasonable manner while widely carrying out financial education for residents and improving their financial literacy.

While previous studies have not focused on the impact of traditional culture on financial decision-making allocations, this study investigates the significant impact of financial literacy and Taoist culture on risky asset allocations, highlighting in particular the significant impact on middle-aged residents. This provides a nuanced understanding of how financial literacy affects investment behavior and offers insights for policymakers to effectively tailor financial education programs.

This paper aims to present an unmarked method including entire two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) methods to recover absolute 3D humanoid robot poses from multiview images.

The method consists of two separate steps: estimating the 2D poses in multiview images and recovering the 3D poses from the multiview 2D heatmaps. The 2D one is conducted by High-Resolution Net with Epipolar (HRNet-Epipolar), and the Conditional Random Fields Humanoid Robot Pictorial Structure Model (CRF Robot Model) is proposed to recover 3D poses.

The performance of the algorithm is validated by experiments developed on data sets captured by four RGB cameras in Qualisys system. It illustrates that the algorithm has higher Mean Per Joint Position Error than Direct Linear Transformation and Recursive Pictorial Structure Model algorithms when estimating 14 joints of the humanoid robot.

A new unmarked method is proposed for 3D humanoid robot pose estimation. Experimental results show enhanced absolute accuracy, which holds important theoretical significance and application value for humanoid robot pose estimation and motion performance testing.

This paper aims to address the gaps in current research by exploring how blockchain technology influences corporate green innovation.

This study investigates the potential of blockchain technology to stimulate the green innovation of companies using the difference-in-difference model with a panel data set of 1,803 Chinese listed companies from 2012 to 2019.

The application of blockchain significantly increases the number of green invention patents obtained by companies but has no significant impact on green utility model patents, that is, blockchain applications improve the quality rather than the quantity of green innovation. The role of blockchain in promoting green innovation is particularly pronounced in state-owned enterprises, non-heavily polluting industries and older companies. The use of blockchain technology helps reduce sales costs and boosts research and development investments, thereby encouraging green innovation. Additionally, a company’s internal control quality plays a moderating effect.

Firstly, previous research on blockchain has primarily centered on its relationship with supply chain management. This article empirically tests the impact of blockchain applications on the green innovation of companies using the DID method. Secondly, current studies mainly explore the influencing factors on green invention patents. This article examines the impact of blockchain applications on both green invention patents and green utility model patents and identifies distinct influencing effects. Finally, this article introduces the internal control mechanism of enterprises into the DID model and explores the potential impact of the quality of internal control on the relationship between blockchain and green innovation.

Drawing upon compensatory ethics theory, this study explored the underlying mechanisms through which gossipers engaged in helping behavior as a form of compensation after initiating negative workplace gossip.

Through a two-wave field study of 394 Chinese employees, this study tests theoretical hypotheses using path analysis and bootstrapping methods.

The findings suggested that negative workplace gossip positively influenced the gossipers’ helping behavior through moral self-image and guilt. Moreover, moral reflectiveness not only positively moderated the impacts of negative workplace gossip on moral self-image and guilt but also positively moderated the mediating effects of moral self-image and guilt in the relationship between negative workplace gossip and helping behavior.

These results enrich the theoretical research on negative workplace gossip, offer new perspectives for studying this phenomenon and provide a theoretical basis and decision-making reference for management practices.

Predicting commodity futures trading volumes represents an important matter to policymakers and a wide spectrum of market participants. The purpose of this study is to concentrate on the energy sector and explore the trading volume prediction issue for the thermal coal futures traded in Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in China with daily data spanning January 2016–December 2020.

The nonlinear autoregressive neural network is adopted for this purpose and prediction performance is examined based upon a variety of settings over algorithms for model estimations, numbers of hidden neurons and delays and ratios for splitting the trading volume series into training, validation and testing phases.

A relatively simple model setting is arrived at that leads to predictions of good accuracy and stabilities and maintains small prediction errors up to the 99.273th quantile of the observed trading volume.

The results could, on one hand, serve as standalone technical trading volume predictions. They could, on the other hand, be combined with different (fundamental) prediction results for forming perspectives of trading trends and carrying out policy analysis.