Ajai S. Gaur, Hongjia Ma and Baoshan Ge
Cross-border flow of knowledge is fraught with many challenges. The complexity associated with the organization of multinational corporations (MNCs), and the information asymmetry…
Abstract
Purpose
Cross-border flow of knowledge is fraught with many challenges. The complexity associated with the organization of multinational corporations (MNCs), and the information asymmetry in foreign locations poses particular challenges to knowledge flow. Yet, effective transfer of knowledge is critical for the survival and performance of MNCs. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive framework to understand the difficulties in the smooth flow of knowledge in MNCs.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is conceptual in nature and is based on an extensive review of the extant literature.
Findings
This review of the literature suggests that knowledge flow in MNCs is affected by country-level, firm-level and individual-level factors. The authors discuss these in the backdrop of the MNC strategy and the knowledge transfer context. The authors present their theoretical model and discuss the implications for advancing research in this domain.
Originality/value
This is one of the first papers to present a comprehensive framework to understand knowledge flows in MNCs.
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Baoshan Ge, Yaqing Sun, Yong Chen and Yang Gao
Guided by the proposed opportunity and resource integrative entrepreneurial growth model, the purpose of this paper is to explore how different opportunity type firms grow…
Abstract
Purpose
Guided by the proposed opportunity and resource integrative entrepreneurial growth model, the purpose of this paper is to explore how different opportunity type firms grow integrally and what the laws for different opportunity integration growth modes are.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study on six firms in information and communication technologies industry in China is conducted.
Findings
Three types of entrepreneurial opportunities exist. These are identification type opportunity, discovery type opportunity, and creation type opportunity. Entrepreneurship among the three types of entrepreneurial opportunities operates under different laws. For each type of entrepreneurial opportunity, firms need to balance the two growth modes, namely, the opportunity identification and assessment/resource allocation mode and the opportunity utilization and resource identification/acquisition mode, in order to achieve a leveraging effect.
Research limitations/implications
Vertical comparison is missing.
Practical implications
Firms need to balance the two growth modes, namely, opportunity identification and assessment and resource allocation mode and opportunity utilization and resource identification and acquisition mode, to achieve leverage effect.
Originality/value
This paper integrates system theory with entrepreneurship research and proposes the opportunity and resource integrative entrepreneurial growth model. This model is helpful, both in aiding firms to follow the laws for entrepreneurial opportunities and to identify entrepreneurial opportunities. The business model plays a vital role in entrepreneurship. Firms taking advantage of the Internet of Things are more likely to gain a competitive advantage and to achieve success in their entrepreneurial activities.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
Knowledge flow is key to the success of any multinational corporation. This briefing looks at some of the issues around knowledge flow and highlights areas where future research will have to investigate for the answers.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Stephanie J. Arthur, Robert D. Hisrich and Ángel Cabrera
The aim of this study was to determine what facilitators and impediments to regional and global entrepreneurship exist, as identified by the 145 industry contacts globally…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study was to determine what facilitators and impediments to regional and global entrepreneurship exist, as identified by the 145 industry contacts globally surveyed, and if education stood out as a critical factor.
Design/methodology/approach
An electronic, open‐ended survey was conducted; responses were categorized into three groups of factors – i.e. economic, social and personal – and analyzed accordingly by region and job function of respondent.
Findings
The survey revealed many similarities among responses, regardless of country of origin; although education was not the most frequently cited factor critical for successful entrepreneurship, it did rate highly in comparison to others.
Research limitations
Larger studies are needed to corroborate the findings of this initial study, particularly in some regional categories. The open‐ended question format required some subjective interpretation by the researchers; future surveys utilizing an objective answer format would be recommended.
Practical implications
The amount of consensus indicates that if entrepreneurs, academics, and others collaborated and pooled their knowledge and resources, some of the critical barriers to success could be overcome. The field could benefit by future research focusing on identifying specific collaboration strategies among regions or countries leading to the growth of entrepreneurial ventures and economic development.
Originality/value
Surveying experts regarding the facilitators and impediments to entrepreneurship (both regionally and globally) will help to bridge the gulf between theory and practical solutions to drive economic development.
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Despite the importance of demand forecasting in retail industry, its influence on supply chain agility has not been sufficiently examined. From a total information technology (IT…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the importance of demand forecasting in retail industry, its influence on supply chain agility has not been sufficiently examined. From a total information technology (IT) capability perspective, the purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedent of supply chain agility through retail demand forecasting.
Design/methodology/approach
Combining the literature reviews, the quantitative method of algorithm analysis was targeted at, and the firm data were processed on MATLAB.
Findings
This paper summarizes IT dimensions of demand forecasting in retail industry and distinguishes the relationship of supply chain agility and demand forecasting from an IT capability view.
Practical implications
Managers can derive a better understanding and measurement of operating activities that appropriately balance among supply chain agility, IT capability and demand forecast practice. Demand forecasting should be integrated into the firm operations to determine the agility level of supply chain in marketplace.
Originality/value
This paper constructs new theoretical grounds for research into the relationship of demand forecasting-supply chain agility and provides an empirical assessment of the essential components for the means to prioritize IT-supply chain.
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Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce a novel approach to the fabrication of photoluminescent materials by coating rare earth aluminate luminescent materials on metallic substrates and a readily manufacturable light source with robust structure in the form of photoluminescent sphere (APS).
Design/methodology/approach
The clean and dried stainless steel sphere was sprayed with UH 2593, a white undercoat, the luminescent coating and the weather resistance coating in chronological order.
Findings
After adhered onto the stainless steel sphere, the peaks corresponding to the N-H stretching vibrations were changed. The intensity of free N-H stretching at 3,536 cm−1 dramatically decreased and the peak of hydrogen-bonded N-H stretching of PU moved to lower wavenumbers. The red shift of the infrared bands of functional groups was attributed to the strengthened hydrogen bonding. The hydrogen bonding interactions between the stainless steel substrates and the polyurethane coating endowed the APS with excellent adhesive property and also promoted the evenly distribution of the photoluminescent particles in the polymer coating matrix.
Practical implications
This approach can be applicable in the fabrication of the photoluminescent materials. The APS can be used as signs and guiding post in remote areas without sufficient electricity supply and in the seas and rivers with complicated hydrological conditions.
Originality/value
This approach has provided a method to produce tough and durable luminescent signs for remote areas and dangerous seas and explained the functional mechanism of the combined application of metallic materials and non-metallic materials.
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Expansion through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) continues to be a viable international strategy utilised by industrial firms. A striking feature of this is that global giant…
Abstract
Expansion through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) continues to be a viable international strategy utilised by industrial firms. A striking feature of this is that global giant firms lead the M&A wave and generate an unimaginable impact on relatively small and weak firms across sectors and even nations. There seems to be a kind of ‘cascade effect’ between the industrial consolidations in these areas. A combined cascade model developed in this paper explains that, the power imbalance caused by the degree of consolidation of the players within a firm's value system determines the movement and direction of the ‘cascade effect’. With the existence of such effect, M&A will be a mutually interdependent, dynamic, reversible and endless process among industries.
Hongmei Liu, Guoxiang Li and Keqiang Wang
The contradiction of construction land in economically developed regions is becoming more prominent, and the scale of construction land in some large cities is close to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The contradiction of construction land in economically developed regions is becoming more prominent, and the scale of construction land in some large cities is close to the ceiling. Therefore, China implemented the policy of construction land reduction in 2014. The main objective is to optimize the stock of homesteads and then help to realize rural revitalization by transferring land indexes across regions. Shanghai took the lead in implementing the reduction policy in 2014, for which reduction acceptance data are available. Thus, this paper evaluates the impact of homestead reduction on rural economic development based on data from towns in Shanghai.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the difference-in-difference (DID) model to analyze the policy effects of homestead reduction on rural residents' income and industrial integration development. Using economic agglomeration (EA) as a mediating variable, the authors explore how homestead reduction (HR) promotes EA to drive rural economic development and analyze the impact of geographic location and government investment.
Findings
HR significantly promotes rural economic development and shows a significant cumulative effect. In the long run, HR can improve rural residents' income and promote industrial integration by promoting EA. The positive effect of HR and EA in suburban regions on industrial integration development is gradually increasing. However, the incentive effect on rural residents' income is weakening. The positive mediating effect of EA is significantly higher in regions with low government investment than in regions with high government investment.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to testing the impact of HR policy on rural economic development and can provide a reference for other regions aiming to implement reduction policy.
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Xiaomeng Zhang, Sang Xiong, Feng Gao, Jinyuan Du and Qin-Jian Du
WO3 particles were prepared by the sol-gel method. Tetraethyl silicate (TEOS) was used to obtain a SiO2-coated WO3 nanoparticle. Quantum chemical parameters of oleic acid…
Abstract
Purpose
WO3 particles were prepared by the sol-gel method. Tetraethyl silicate (TEOS) was used to obtain a SiO2-coated WO3 nanoparticle. Quantum chemical parameters of oleic acid, triethanolamine, glycerol and methyl pentane as dispersants were theoretically calculated. Tribological properties of SiO2/WO3 nanocomposite lubricant were carried out on an MRS-10A four-ball friction and wear tester.
Design/methodology/approach
The purpose of this study is to investigate the preparation and tribological properties of SiO2/WO3 nanocomposite lubricant.
Findings
The obtained SiO2-coated WO3 nanoparticle (nano-SiO2/WO3) with a particle size of about 70 nm. The calculated adsorption energy of triethanolamine on the surface of the steel ball is 554.6 eV, and triethanolamine is selected as the dispersant. The dispersion effect of SiO2/WO3 nanocomposite lubricant is good, which shows that triethanolamine oleate plays a good dispersion role in the preparation of lubricant, which is consistent with the calculation results of the adsorption capacity of dispersant. As a good auxiliary lubricant, SiO2 can improve the tribological properties and wear resistance of WO3.
Originality/value
Nanocomposite lubricants have been the focus of research in recent years, which could greatly reduce energy consumption. And the SiO2/WO3 exhibited excellent lubrication performance as a lubricant additive. The lubrication mechanism of SiO2/WO3 nanocomposite lubricant is the synergistic lubrication mechanism of friction film lubrication and antifriction bearing. This study could provide a certain reference for the practical application of nanocomposite lubricants.