Zhaofang Chu, Qiang Wang and Augustine A. Lado
Drawing on the customer value-based theory and the resource dependency theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how Chinese third-party logistics (3PL) providers…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the customer value-based theory and the resource dependency theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how Chinese third-party logistics (3PL) providers leverage their customer orientation to improve operational performance directly in a stable environment or through building and maintaining high-quality 3PL relationships in an uncertain environment.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey-based approach is employed to collect data from managers at 132 3PL providers in mainland China. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to assess measures and hierarchical regression is utilized to test the hypothesized relationships.
Findings
This study documents significant positive effects of customer orientation and relationship quality on operational performance, as well as significant mediation effect of relationship quality. However, the effect of customer orientation on operational performance decreased, while the effect of relationship quality on operational performance became stronger, under high rather than low environmental uncertainty.
Practical implications
An important implication for managers based on this study is that, in order to be effective, Chinese 3PL providers would need to become more customer oriented and to continually develop and leverage high-quality 3PL relationships in order to enhance their operational performance, especially in situations of high environmental uncertainty.
Originality/value
The paper documents the importance of developing and leveraging high-quality 3PL relationships as a key mediator of the relationship between customer orientation and operational performance. It also documents how environmental uncertainty exerts a powerful moderating influence in this relationship, providing insights into understanding how customer orientation is leveraged by 3PL providers to improve their performance.
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Chieh-Peng Lin, Chu-Chun Wang, Shih-Chih Chen and Jui-Yu Chen
The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model that explains team performance based on social cognitive theory and social exchange theory. In the model, team performance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model that explains team performance based on social cognitive theory and social exchange theory. In the model, team performance indirectly relates to three kinds of leadership (i.e., charismatic, autocratic and considerate) via the full mediation of collective efficacy. At the same time, team justice as a focus in this study is examined as a moderator in the model.
Design/methodology/approach
The research hypotheses of this study were empirically tested using two-wave data collection across insurance sales teams from a leading bank holding company which is the largest bank holding company in Taiwan. In the first-wave data collection, researchers of this study surveyed six people anonymously from each sales team, including a team leader and five team members. Three months later, the researchers conducted the second-wave data collection by obtaining team performance data from the department of human resource management, which was an independent rater for each team’s performance. Two-wave data collection from 59 teams was achieved for verifying the hypothesized effects.
Findings
The team-level test results show that collective efficacy fully mediates the relationship between charismatic leadership and team performance and between considerate leadership and team performance. Justice moderates the relationship between collective efficacy and team performance and between charismatic leadership and collective efficacy.
Originality/value
This study has two major theoretical implications. First, this study conceptualized three distinct kinds of leadership as major determinants of team performance from a social exchange perspective. Such a theoretical conceptualization of leadership not only broadens the boundary of leadership beyond traditional one such as transactional leadership based on the theory of contingent reward but also closely reflects the practical status quo of leadership of teams. Second, this research incorporated social exchange theory into the framework of team performance in social cognitive theory. Specifically, this study theorized and validated justice as a moderator in the development of team performance.
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Jie Wu, Chu Wang and Zhixiang Zhou
The purpose of this paper is to improve the accuracy of evaluation efficiency by constructing parallel structures considering the main components of industrial pollutants, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to improve the accuracy of evaluation efficiency by constructing parallel structures considering the main components of industrial pollutants, and then to consider some external influence factors to eliminate random errors.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, data transformation has been used to deal with undesirable output, and a model with a parallel structure based on the three-stage data envelopment analysis model to calculate the efficiency scores of different division in pollution treatment has been composed.
Findings
The analysis shows that the external environmental factors and random factors of the economy and society greatly affect the efficiency of industrial pollutant treatment; moreover, there is an imbalance between regions in China in the treatment of industrial pollutants.
Originality/value
Optimal improvement requires each province to take targeted measures to improve its efficiency of pollutant treatment measures, which are tailored to specific situations and determined by efficiency analysis in this paper.
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Chuanzhi Sun, Yin Chu Wang, Qing Lu, Yongmeng Liu and Jiubin Tan
Aiming at the problem that the transmission mechanism of the assembly error of the multi-stage rotor with saddle surface type is not clear, the purpose of this paper is to propose…
Abstract
Purpose
Aiming at the problem that the transmission mechanism of the assembly error of the multi-stage rotor with saddle surface type is not clear, the purpose of this paper is to propose a deep belief network to realize the prediction of the coaxiality and perpendicularity of the multi-stage rotor.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the surface type of the aero-engine rotor is classified. The rotor surface profile sampling data is converted into image structure data, and a rotor surface type classifier based on convolutional neural network is established. Then, for the saddle surface rotor, a prediction model of coaxiality and perpendicularity based on deep belief network is established. To verify the effectiveness of the coaxiality and perpendicularity prediction method proposed in this paper, a multi-stage rotor coaxiality and perpendicularity assembly measurement experiment is carried out.
Findings
The results of this paper show that the accuracy rate of face type classification using convolutional neural network is 99%, which meets the requirements of subsequent assembly process. For the 80 sets of test samples, the average errors of the coaxiality and perpendicularity of the deep belief network prediction method are 0.1 and 1.6 µm, respectively.
Originality/value
Therefore, the method proposed in this paper can be used not only for rotor surface classification but also to guide the assembly of aero-engine multi-stage rotors.
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Zhaofei Wang, Zihao Weng, Jing Wang and Qiuping Wang
COVID-19 has aggregated the need for a non-contact medical logistic system. A non-contact robot with self-navigation ability has greatly enhanced the efficiency of the medical…
Abstract
Purpose
COVID-19 has aggregated the need for a non-contact medical logistic system. A non-contact robot with self-navigation ability has greatly enhanced the efficiency of the medical logistic system. This paper aims to design a new medical logistics robot system for the complex environment of hospitals with dynamic obstacles.
Design/methodology/approach
Targeting a medical logistics robot system for a large-scale hospital environment, this study proposed a dynamic obstacle avoidance system to reduce the robot’s delay time as well as frequent route switching. In the algorithm, this study proposed a new loop closure detection with an artificial correction factor. Moreover, this study presented enhanced 3D object detection, improving detection accuracy in hospital environments.
Findings
Experimental results confirm that the robot can move along its global path and reach its destination without colliding with stationary or moving obstacles.
Originality/value
The medical logistics robot system has safe and stable performance in real hospital scenarios. The implementation verifies that the robot has effectiveness and reliability in both hardware and software design.
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Ayca Kubra Hizarci-Payne and Ozge Ozgen
The present chapter aims to provide a holistic perspective by investigating how passion types can have a role on entrepreneurs’ target of passion with the integration of…
Abstract
The present chapter aims to provide a holistic perspective by investigating how passion types can have a role on entrepreneurs’ target of passion with the integration of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. A conceptual framework was administered in order to build the association between passion types and targets of passion in the light of the literature by which harmonious and obsessive passions are proposed to be the determinants of different targets of entrepreneurs’ passion. Additionally, based on the extant literature, the role of culture in shaping the entrepreneurs’ target of passion is addressed by utilizing Hofstede’s cultural approach. Seven major propositions were discussed to provide a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurial passion and targets of passion.
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Abstract
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Gizem Kaya Aydın, Denizhan Guven and M. Ozgur Kayalica
This study aims to empirically verify that gender equality, one of the indicators of equitable development in countries, has a positive effect on reducing CO2 emissions per capita…
Abstract
This study aims to empirically verify that gender equality, one of the indicators of equitable development in countries, has a positive effect on reducing CO2 emissions per capita in emerging markets economies. It also aims to determine and rank the countries that are inefficient in terms of CO2 emissions per capita (metric tons). For this purpose, the panel data stochastic frontier model is estimated. The Global Gender Gap Index, which measures gender equality, primary energy consumption per capita (gigajoule), and GDP per capita (constant 2010 US$) are used as independent variables of 24 countries from 2006 to 2018. The authors test the negative impact of gender equity on CO2 emissions. The results of the model support this hypothesis. This study indicates that gender equity can be suggested both as a driving force for economic development and sustainable environmental efficiency in which growth can be linked to lower emissions of CO2.
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Outsourcing of business-logistics services is a well-established business practice that allows an outsourcer to obtain the services or products from a logistics-service provider…
Abstract
Outsourcing of business-logistics services is a well-established business practice that allows an outsourcer to obtain the services or products from a logistics-service provider (LSP). The outsourcer can order a range of logistics services, including but not limited to warehousing, transportation, and forwarding. The outsourcers had traditionally focused on service-provider selection criteria such as costs, quality, and responsiveness while having devoted considerably less attention to how sustainably the practices are carried out. Past research identified different external and internal motivators that facilitate consideration of sustainability in selection of the service providers, whereas the current study investigates the outsourcers’ perception of importance of environmental sustainability in adoption of green logistics practices and selection of LSPs. We use a vantage point of outsourcers (“buyers”) to conduct the quantitative research based on a survey conducted on large manufacturing companies. The findings reveal a (mis)match between the perception of importance and realized inclusion of environmental-sustainability criteria. Ultimately, this study finds a link between the levels of perception and rate of adoption, and provides recommendations for the future adoption of environmental-sustainability criteria in the selection of the LSPs.
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Today’s China has striven to exclude street vendors through political campaigns such as “National Sanitary City” and “National Civilized City.” Such campaigns pursue modernity and…
Abstract
Purpose
Today’s China has striven to exclude street vendors through political campaigns such as “National Sanitary City” and “National Civilized City.” Such campaigns pursue modernity and beautiful urban spaces by deeming street vendors to be disorderly, unsanitary, and obsolete. Taking a single Chinese city as a case study, this research analyzes why and how local bureaucratic apparatuses apply rapidly-changing and ambiguous political treatment to street vendors. This research also examines street vendors’ struggles and coping strategies with these ever-changing politics.
Methodology/approach
The data for this study were obtained during a total of ten months of fieldwork, beginning in 2013 and ending in 2016. In-depth interviews were conducted with fifty-one street vendors and six government officials; additionally, the researcher consulted newspaper reports, archives, and relevant official publications.
Findings
First, regarding the governance of street vendors, the local administration has shifted their stance between two distinct patterns – suppression and tolerance – depending on the timing of certain political campaigns. Second, the corruption and laziness of government officials has provided niches for the revival of street vending after campaigns are over, though with limitations. Third, street vendors in China tend to be passive recipients of government suppression, unable to forge effective resistance because of a lack of strong leadership and general organization.
Originality/value
This research will add to the general understanding of the government-vendor relationship by revealing the complexity, uncertainty, and flexibility inherent in interactions between these two groups.