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The purpose of this paper is to propose a hybrid position/force control scheme using force and vision for docking task of a six degrees of freedom (6-dof) hydraulic parallel manipulator (HPM).

The vision system consisted of a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, and a laser distance sensor is used to provide globe relative position information. Also, a force plate is used to measure local contact forces. The proposed controller has an inner/outer loop structure. The inner loop takes charge of tracking command pose signals from outer loop as accurate as possible, while the outer loop generates the desired tracking trajectory according to force and vision feedback information to guarantee compliant docking. Several experiments have been performed to validate the performance of the proposed control scheme.

Experiment results show that the system has good performance of relative position tracking and compliant contact. In whole docking dynamic experiment, the amplitudes of contact forces are well controlled within 300 N, which can meet perfectly the requirement of the amplitude being not more than 1,000 N.

A hybrid position/force control scheme using force and vision is proposed to make a 6-dof HPM dock with a moving target object compliantly.

To examine the state of health of branding in China, focusing on the performance of major Chinese enterprises in creating brands (as distinct from brand names), sustaining them in the huge domestic market and expand them into global markets.

The study begins with a historical review of the development of marketing in China, discusses the transition from price competition to branding in the domestic market, and explains the role of government in the process. Thereafter, case histories describe, analyse and discuss the routes to internationalisation followed by taken by six of China's biggest brands.

Modern Chinese companies are large and successful as manufacturers, but uncertain about the relative merits of branding and global marketing versus continuation as OEMs for established global brands. If they do have international ambitions, they seem unsure about strategy, or even about where to look for precedents and advice. Many initiatives have met with comparative failure; only one, the Lemovo‐IBM merger, seems to offer a blueprint for success, but has been in operation only since 2005. Many lessons remain to be learnt, applied and tested.

Six case histories, however well chosen, cannot be considered a definitive picture of the Chinese approach to international brand marketing. The findings are nevertheless highly indicative.

International marketing strategists are obliged to have an interest in China, by virtue of the simple fact of its size and dynamism. Several of the companies discussed are the largest of their kind in the world. Despite the limitations noted, the actual and potential conclusions to be drawn from the findings reported here are therefore a significant contribution to the body of applicable knowledge.

Whereas many authors have studied Western brands in China, little has been known about the potential of Chinese brands in the West.

This paper aims to reveal the corrosion mechanism and corrosion development regulation of marine engineering structural steel in the marine environment and provide constructive suggestions for marine immersed tunnel engineering.

In this study, marine engineering structural steel’s behavior and corrosion prediction were carried out under the conditions of no cathodic protection and under-protection by artificially adding dissolved oxygen in a simulated seawater solution as a depolarizing agent.

Marine resources are rich in China. With the development of the economy and the improvement of engineering technology, marine engineering structural steel is used more and more widely. Engineering structural steel has a great risk of corrosion failure for long-term service in seawater, as seawater is a kind of corrosive medium containing various salts. At present, there are few projects and research studies available on the corrosion in the seawater environment of Q390C engineering structural steel, which is used in the Shenzhen–Zhongshan Link immersed tunnel steel shell at home and abroad. It cannot guide the corrosion of immersed tunnel steel shells in the ocean.

In this paper, the corrosion mechanism and corrosion development regulation of marine engineering structural steel in the marine environment are studied by accelerated corrosion test in the laboratory, which is of great significance to ensure the long-life durability of the immersed tunnel in marine engineering.

The purpose of this study is to assess the SERVQUAL instrument reliability and validity and apply the SERVQUAL instrument in China's mobile communication setting.

A mail survey was conducted at a major mobile communications company in mainland China. Instrument reliability and validity were examined. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted.

The adapted SERVQUAL instrument is a valid and valuable tool to measure service quality. Service convenience is an important additional dimension of service quality in China's mobile communications setting. The dimension of “empathy” may need revision.

Future research involves assessment of the service convenience dimension and examination of the relative importance of SERVQUAL dimensions in other settings.

SERVQUAL is a valid instrument to measure service quality in China's mobile communications setting. Providing convenience to customers also is critical for service quality improvement. Improvements to some SERVQUAL dimensions may be more beneficial than improvements to others.

This is a pioneer study of the SERVQUAL scale in China's mobile communications setting. This study provides useful insights and guidance for managers to measure and improve service quality.

This paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the process of standards setting based on the case of long-term evolution time division duplex (LTE TDD) deployment in China.

Using actor-network theory (ANT) as a theoretical framework, multi-level analyses are presented to explain the process of adoption of LTE TDD at a global level.

Findings identified the complex interaction between the social and technical aspects of fourth-generation (4G) by highlighting the co-evolving nature, diversity and interface that constitute the next-generation network environment.

ANT provides a framework of ideas for describing the process of technology adoption and for developing stories that explain it.

The findings shed light on a critical insight of the interrelationships between TD-SCDMA and LTE TDD and identify the policy successes and failures of 4G mobile networks.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the heat resistance and heat-resistant oxygen aging of 4-nitrophthalonitrile-etherified cardanol-phenol-formaldehyde (PPCF) to further use and develop the resin as the matrix resin of high-temperature resistant adhesives and coatings.

PPCF resin was synthesized by 4-nitrophthalonitrile and cardanol-phenol-formaldehyde (PCF). The structures of PPCF and PCF were investigated by Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry and proton nuclear magnetic resonance. In addition, the heat resistance and processability of PPCF and PCF resins were studied by dynamic mechanical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques and rheological studies.

The results reveal that PPCF forms a cross-linked network at a lower temperature. PPCF resin has excellent resistance under thermal aging in an air atmosphere and that it still had a certain residual weight after aging at 500°C for 2 h, whereas the PCF resin is completely decomposed.

4-Nitrophthalonitrile was introduced into PCF resin, and XRD and SEM were used to investigate the high temperature residual carbon rate and heat-resistant oxygen aging properties of PPCF and PCF resins.

The study aims to analyze the role of the Made in China 2025 (MIC2025) initiative in China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) and the factors affecting the success or failure of Chinese enterprises' OFDI from the perspectives of the heterogeneity of home country enterprises.

Based on data on China's OFDI obtained from the China Global Investment Tracker (CGIT), the study uses the difference-in-differences model to analyze 2,670 completed OFDI deals and 211 failed OFDI deals by Chinese enterprises, from 2009 to 2018.

The study found that the effect of MIC2025 on Chinese enterprises' OFDI varies according to the ownership structure of the home country's enterprises. For successful OFDI, MIC2025 significantly impacted central state-owned enterprises (CSOEs), while it did not significantly influence local SOEs and privately owned enterprises. For failed OFDI, the MIC2025 plan only increased the failure of CSOEs' OFDI for the technology-seeking motivation in high-income host countries. Further, the investment options of local SOEs differ from those of CSOEs. Considering their aim to drive the local economy and seek profits, they are more similar to those of privately owned enterprises.

This study used a new database (i.e. the CGIT) to analyze Chinese enterprises' OFDI. It discussed the role of MIC2025 for different enterprises from the perspectives of successful and failed OFDI. It thus provided a new basis for analyzing policy affecting the OFDI of Chinese enterprises.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate linkages among competitive strategy, strategic capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and organizational performance in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in China and the USA.

In China, a survey was administered to managers of SMEs in Shanghai and Guangzhou. In the USA, a survey was administered to managers of SMEs in three major cities. Competitive strategy, capabilities, uncertainty, and performance were measured by previously validated scales.

Findings support the integrity Miles and Snow generic strategic typology. Performance satisfaction was significantly lower in firms employing a reactor strategy as opposed to those employing prospector, defender, or analyzer strategies. Additional support was found for the concept of strategic clarity, as businesses reporting moderate strategic clarity had lower levels of satisfaction with performance than those reporting either a single strategy or a combination emphasis on three equal strategies.

Chinese SMEs tend to prefer cost-based approaches to their local markets. A differentiation market approach is challenging in most local Chinese economies due to the low wages of most jobs in an economy that is still largely centrally planned. In the USA, more disposable income leads to more market opportunities. While this situation is gradually changing in China, it is not at a point where SMEs feel comfortable pursuing totally differentiated strategies.

Several distinctions in competitive strategy, capabilities, and environmental uncertainty between China and the USA are recognized by analysis. Analyzers and defenders in Chinese SMEs tend to follow industry prospectors with lower prices and/or superior service. They might change strategies after gaining a foothold in the market. Performance for SMEs with low strategic clarity often depends on established guanxi with governmental agencies or stated-owned enterprises, a situation very different from that in the USA.

In this paper, the authors study the entry and outsourcing strategies of manufacturer while considering the brand spillover effect resulting from outsourcing. The supply chain comprises two manufacturers: one being the entrant with a strong brand, and the other as the incumbent with a weak brand. The entrant decides whether and how to enter the market.

Stackelberg game is applied to study the optimal strategies for the manufacturers. This paper conducts a comparative analysis on four situations, yielding conclusions and managerial insights.

The results show that, for the entrant, there is no need to worry about the brand spillover effect in the outsourcing process, which is very interesting and counterintuitive. To get further, the authors find the reason: The spillover effect causes the entrant’s equilibrium retail price to grow faster than the wholesale price. They also prove that a stronger brand effect empowers the entrant to challenge industry barriers, while the impact of the brand spillover effect is the opposite. For the incumbent who acts as the weak party in this issue, it is demonstrated that the optimal choice is to continue selling when facing the encroachment and outsourcing call from the entrant.

Differing from previous studies, the authors notice the brand spillover effect caused by outsourcing when studying company’s entry strategy. They further divide the brand effect into two parts, one of which does not exhibit a spillover.

The force sensing is used in robotic assembly tasks. The sensors developed are much advanced and costly. The force transducers are generally configured and deployed at the wrist of the robotic arm. The purpose of this paper is to describe the concept of an elastic transducer to make available cost-effective force sensor with simple construction and analysis.

The analytical formulation is developed herewith for one-, two- and three-axis elastic cantilever configuration. The force to be measured can be calculated analytically using derived strain expressions. The strains are estimated using proposed formulation, further crosschecked through FEA approach. The analytical method for strain estimation using moment equations is presented along with validation using finite element method (FEM) tool (ANSYS 15.0) with the case study.

The derivation of expressions for force components from strains is developed. The resulting formulation found to confirm the estimated strains from analytical methods closely to the FEM results. Theoretically, it is possible to find contact forces and angle of force on stationary force platform. It is found that the magnitude of estimated contact forces is within 1 per cent deviations.

The mathematical modeling and FEA simulation of the three-axis force sensor under elastic (no deformation) conditions.

These sensors are ranging from simple crossbar structure to Stewart platform type. The subsequent development in this field pertains to performance enhancement such as accuracy and cross-sensitivity. The basic structure of the sensor has not changed drastically. The major problem, as discussed by many authors, is a complex interdependence of six components and intricate geometrical structure. Derivation of expressions for force components from strains is a breakthrough contribution by the authors. The analytical treatment for finding the strains is aimed in this paper.