The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between customer’s electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) regarding their direct service experiences with firms and these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between customer’s electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) regarding their direct service experiences with firms and these firms’ company value. The authors drew on the marketing-finance interface research approach to demonstrate how interactive social media adopted by individual customer relate to important firms’ financial performances.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used seven American airline companies’ customers’ tweets collected during a 52-week observation period and paired with their corresponding financial data using stock returns and volatilities. Sentiment analysis algorithm and a vector autoregressive (VAR) model quantified the strong association between customer’s eWOM and these firms’ stock returns and volatilities.
Findings
The results show that customer’s eWOM regarding a firm positively associate with the firm’s stock return but negatively associate with its stock volatility; as negative valence of customer’s eWOM increases, the positive effect of eWOM on firm’s stock return decreases; the negative eWOM impacts on the stock market more profoundly compared with when both positive and negative sensitivities are considered; and eWOM’s wear-out effect is much shorter than that of traditional WOM.
Originality/value
The authors address a literature gap where little is known for how customer’s eWOM, that is evaluating firm services, can ultimately impact on firms’ long-term financial performances. The authors discuss how findings from this study offer implications for marketing management as well as strategic insights for practitioners and investment analysts alike.
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Hong-Sen Yan, Zhong-Tian Bi, Bo Zhou, Xiao-Qin Wan, Jiao-Jun Zhang and Guo-Biao Wang
The present study is intended to develop an effective approach to the real-time modeling of general dynamic nonlinear systems based on the multidimensional Taylor network (MTN).
Abstract
Purpose
The present study is intended to develop an effective approach to the real-time modeling of general dynamic nonlinear systems based on the multidimensional Taylor network (MTN).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors present a detailed explanation for modeling the general discrete nonlinear dynamic system by the MTN. The weight coefficients of the network can be obtained by sampling data learning. Specifically, the least square (LS) method is adopted herein due to its desirable real-time performance and robustness.
Findings
Compared with the existing mainstream nonlinear time series analysis methods, the least square method-based multidimensional Taylor network (LSMTN) features its more desirable prediction accuracy and real-time performance. Model metric results confirm the satisfaction of modeling and identification for the generalized nonlinear system. In addition, the MTN is of simpler structure and lower computational complexity than neural networks.
Research limitations/implications
Once models of general nonlinear dynamical systems are formulated based on MTNs and their weight coefficients are identified using the data from the systems of ecosystems, society, organizations, businesses or human behavior, the forecasting, optimizing and controlling of the systems can be further studied by means of the MTN analytical models.
Practical implications
MTNs can be used as controllers, identifiers, filters, predictors, compensators and equation solvers (solving nonlinear differential equations or approximating nonlinear functions) of the systems of ecosystems, society, organizations, businesses or human behavior.
Social implications
The operating efficiency and benefits of social systems can be prominently enhanced, and their operating costs can be significantly reduced.
Originality/value
Nonlinear systems are typically impacted by a variety of factors, which makes it a challenge to build correct mathematical models for various tasks. As a result, existing modeling approaches necessitate a large number of limitations as preconditions, severely limiting their applicability. The proposed MTN methodology is believed to contribute much to the data-based modeling and identification of the general nonlinear dynamical system with no need for its prior knowledge.
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Yanbing Ni, Biao Zhang, Wenxia Guo and Cuiyan Shao
The purpose of this paper is to develop a means of the kinematic calibration of a parallel manipulator with full-circle rotation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a means of the kinematic calibration of a parallel manipulator with full-circle rotation.
Design/methodology/approach
An error-mapping model based on the space vector chain is formulated and parameter identification is proposed based on double ball-bar (DBB) measurements. The measurement trajectory is determined by the motion characteristics of this mechanism and whether the error sources can be identified. Error compensation is proposed by modifying the inputs, and a two-step kinematic calibration method is implemented.
Findings
The simulation and experiment results show that this kinematic calibration method is effective. The DBB length errors and the position errors in the end-effector of the parallel manipulator with full-circle rotation are greatly reduced after error compensation.
Originality/value
By establishing the mapping relationship between measured error data and geometric error sources, the error parameters of this mechanism are identified; thus, the pose errors are unnecessary to be measured directly. The effectiveness of the kinematic calibration method is verified by computer simulation and experiment. This proposed calibration method can help the novel parallel manipulator with full-circle rotation and other similar parallel mechanisms to improve their accuracy.
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Chao Guo, Huai‐Ning Wu, Biao Luo and Lei Guo
The air‐breathing hypersonic vehicle (AHV) includes intricate inherent coupling between the propulsion system and the airframe dynamics, which results in an intractable nonlinear…
Abstract
Purpose
The air‐breathing hypersonic vehicle (AHV) includes intricate inherent coupling between the propulsion system and the airframe dynamics, which results in an intractable nonlinear system for the controller design. The purpose of this paper is to propose an H∞ control method for AHV based on the online simultaneous policy update algorithm (SPUA).
Design/methodology/approach
Initially, the H∞ state feedback control problem of the AHV is converted to the problem of solving the Hamilton‐Jacobi‐Isaacs (HJI) equation, which is notoriously difficult to solve both numerically and analytically. To overcome this difficulty, the online SPUA is introduced to solve the HJI equation without requiring the accurate knowledge of the internal system dynamics. Subsequently, the online SPUA is implemented on the basis of an actor‐critic structure, in which neural network (NN) is employed for approximating the cost function and a least‐square method is used to calculate the NN weight parameters.
Findings
Simulation study on the AHV demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed H∞ control method.
Originality/value
The paper presents an interesting method for the H∞ state feedback control design problem of the AHV based on online SPUA.
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Ray Zhong, Xun Xu and Lihui Wang
The purpose of this paper is to review the food supply chain management (FSCM) in terms of systems and implementations so that observations and lessons from this research could be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the food supply chain management (FSCM) in terms of systems and implementations so that observations and lessons from this research could be useful for academia and industrial practitioners in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematical and hierarchical framework is proposed in this paper to review the literature. Categorizations and classifications are identified to organize this paper.
Findings
This paper reviews total 192 articles related to the data-driven systems for FSCM. Currently, there is a dramatic increase of research papers related to this topic. Looking at the general interests on FSCM, research on this topic can be expected to increase in the future.
Research limitations/implications
This paper only selected limited number of papers which are published in leading journals or with high citations. For simplicity without generality, key findings and observations are significant from this research.
Practical implications
Some ideas from this paper could be expanded into other possible domains so that involved parties are able to be inspired for enriching the FSCM. Future implementations are useful for practitioners to conduct IT-based solutions for FSCM.
Social implications
As the increasing of digital devices in FSCM, large number of data will be used for decision-makings. Data-driven systems for FSCM will be the future for a more sustainable food supply chain.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive review on FSCM from the view of data-driven IT systems.
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The Internet is full of resources on China and Chinese studies. However, many new users are often overwhelmed by the vast amount of information on the Web. This paper is to offer…
Abstract
The Internet is full of resources on China and Chinese studies. However, many new users are often overwhelmed by the vast amount of information on the Web. This paper is to offer a starting point for inexperienced users interested in finding information over the Internet on Chinese culture, art, language, literature, history, philosophy and current affairs, etc. It focuses on the World Wide Web resources only, and choices of entry are selective rather than exhaustive.
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Hui-Wen Deng and Kwok Wah Cheung
The National People’s Congress (NPC) of People’s Republic of China, the highest organ of state power, is popularly seen as a rubber-stamp entity. However, it has been…
Abstract
Purpose
The National People’s Congress (NPC) of People’s Republic of China, the highest organ of state power, is popularly seen as a rubber-stamp entity. However, it has been substantially evolving its roles to accommodate the governance discourses within China’s political system over the decades. This study aims to explore the changes of governance discourse of the NPC within China’s political system through which to offer a thorough understanding of the NPC’s evolving substantial role in current China.
Design/methodology/approach
This study deploys a historical approach to explore the changes of governance discourse of the NPC that has seen a growing importance in China’s political agenda, as argued by this study.
Findings
The authors find that the NPC has been substantially evolving its role within China’s political system in which the Chinese Communist Party has created different governance discourses. Besides, the NPC and its Standing Committee have asserted its authority as a substantial actor within China’s political system. The NPC is no longer functioned as a rubber-stamp institution, though it is still popularized as a rubber stamp by many scholars.
Research limitations/implications
This study is a historical elaboration on the development of NPC under three governance discourses. It might be, to some extent, relatively descriptive in nature.
Originality/value
This study, therefore, sheds some light on a revisit on the governance discourses in current China.
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Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the mediating role of organizational entrepreneurial capability in the link between entrepreneurs’ effectuation and new venture performance, and whether entrepreneurs’ passion positively moderates this relationship in the Chinese emerging economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected survey data from 140 Chinese new ventures. Following an empirical design, hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping analysis were applied to examine six hypotheses.
Findings
Results reveal that organizational entrepreneurial capability plays a positively mediating role in the association between entrepreneurs’ effectuation and new venture performance. Moreover, the whole mediation model is positively moderated by entrepreneurs’ passion, not only the association but also between entrepreneurs’ effectuation and organizational entrepreneurial capability.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to the static relationships between key variables using the data obtained at one point in an emerging economy, which cannot investigate the dynamic evolution between variables. More longitudinal designs or cases to track the dynamic association should be considered.
Practical implications
The findings provide useful suggestions for entrepreneurs to enhance their effectual logic and entrepreneurs’ passion to better perceive and exploit opportunities and further improve new venture performance. The results also provide guidance for other groups, such as angel investors and policymakers, regarding how to use effectuation logic as an evaluation criterion to judge whether a new venture or program has investment potential.
Originality/value
These findings enrich the effectuation theory by providing the empirical evidence of the effect of entrepreneurs’ effectuation on new venture performance in an emerging economy. They also provide deeper insights into opportunity research by uncovering the mediating role of organizational entrepreneurial capability in the relationship between entrepreneurs’ effectuation and new venture performance.
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Xun Zhang, Jun Wu, Ning Zhang and Biao Xu
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of inter-group conflicts on the trust toward the acquirer and then further on cooperation intention after acquisitions in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of inter-group conflicts on the trust toward the acquirer and then further on cooperation intention after acquisitions in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As), in the lens of the social classification theory. Two types of conflicts (realistic conflicts and symbolic conflicts) and a mediating mechanism (trust toward the acquirer) exhibit different effects on cooperation intention. The research further examines two moderating coping strategies (localizing management and assigning trustworthy expatriate managers) and tests their effectiveness in promoting trust toward the acquirer and increasing cooperation intention in cross-border M&As.
Design/methodology/approach
The research hypotheses were empirically tested in the context of post-acquisition of Chinese companies' cross-border M&As. In total, 600 questionnaires were provided to the research participants of 37 acquired firms/units from advanced economies of 12 Chinese companies, and 209 valid questionnaires were collected (the response rate is 34.83%). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify data validity and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to test relational and moderating effects.
Findings
This research demonstrates that both realistic and symbolic conflicts can reduce the intention to cooperate, but the latter does not have a significant influence. The results also uncover that whether employees from acquired firms trust in their acquirers mediates the relationship between realistic conflicts and cooperation intention. Moreover, management localization (a measurement of whether local/original managers are retained with a high degree of freedom and autonomy after M&As) and trustworthiness of expatriate managers (a measurement of whether the assigned expatriate managers is trustworthy) positively moderate the relation between realistic conflicts and trust toward the acquirer. In addition, trust toward the acquirer mediates the interaction of realistic conflicts and management localization on the cooperation intention of the acquirers' employees.
Originality/value
This study examines how inter-organizational conflicts influence trust toward the acquirer and then cooperation intentions in the context of Chinese companies' M&A behavior of targets from developed countries and gain supportive evidence, which enriches the literature on the management of international M&As. By introducing two management localization and trustworthiness of expatriate managers into the model, the research deepens our knowledge of how to build trust toward the acquirer in cross-border M&As.
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Yingxiang Zhao, Junde Guo, Xiaoni Yan, Shan Du, Min Gong, Biao Sun, Junwen Shi and Wen Deng
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the friction and wear mechanisms in copper-based self-lubricating composites with MoS2 as the lubricating phase, which provides a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the friction and wear mechanisms in copper-based self-lubricating composites with MoS2 as the lubricating phase, which provides a theoretical basis for subsequent research on high-performance copper-based self-lubricating materials.
Design/methodology/approach
Friction tests were performed at a speed of 100 r/min, a load of 10 N, a friction radius of 5 mm and a sliding speed of 30 min. Friction experiments were carried out at RT-500°C. The phase composition of the samples was characterized by X-ray diffraction of Cu Ka radiation, and the microstructure, morphology and elemental distribution were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Reactants and valences formed during the wear process were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
Findings
The addition of MoS2 can effectively improve friction-reducing and anti-wear action of the matrix, which is beneficial to form a lubricating film on the sliding track. After analyzing different changing mechanism of the sliding tracks, the oxides and sulfides of MoS2, MoO2, Cu2O, CuO and Ni(OH)2 were detected to form a synergetic lubricating film on the sliding track, which is responsible for the excellent tribological properties from room to elevated temperature.
Research limitations/implications
For self-lubrication Cu–Sn–Ni–MoS2 material in engineering field, there are still few available references on high-temperature application.
Practical implications
This paper provides a theoretical basis for the following research on copper-based self-lubricating materials with high performance.
Originality/value
With this statement, the authors hereby certify that the manuscript is the results of their own effort and ability. They have indicated all quotes, citations and references. Furthermore, the authors have not submitted any essay, paper or thesis with similar content elsewhere. No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript.