Yaokuang Li, Li Ling, Juan Wu, Daru Zhang and Weizhong Fu
This paper aims to investigate the role of informational and relational mechanisms on equity crowdfunding investors' conformity behaviors by focusing on a relational culture of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the role of informational and relational mechanisms on equity crowdfunding investors' conformity behaviors by focusing on a relational culture of China.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of 108 financing projects and 7,688 investment records from a union of Chinese equity crowdfunding platforms are gathered. Lead investors' response to a campaign and follow-investors’ former links explain investors' conformity by social network analysis (SNA) and ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis.
Findings
The results show that informational and relational influences drive conformity in Chinese equity crowdfunding. Moreover, the informational influence weakens in a highly centralized structure of linked investors.
Research limitations/implications
The results add new knowledge to follow-investors’ conformity behaviors in equity crowdfunding and enrich the literature on conformity theory by finding the contextual effect of information-influenced conformity and the adaption of conformity theory to cultural uniqueness. Besides, this preliminary work also suggests opportunities for future research.
Practical implications
The paper inspires new consideration on a strategical use of follow-investors’ conformity mentality to promote successfully financing and reminds platform managers to be alert to the interference of small groups formed based on informal relationships to the normal financing order.
Originality/value
This is the first study that discovers the non-informational influence and the limited influence of information on equity crowdfunding conformity through contextual concerns.
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Yaokuang Li, Juan Wu, Daru Zhang and Li Ling
This paper aims to examine the contextual embeddedness of female entrepreneurship through a focus on gendered institutions. Specifically, it draws upon Scott’s (1995…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the contextual embeddedness of female entrepreneurship through a focus on gendered institutions. Specifically, it draws upon Scott’s (1995) institutional categories and explores how the three dimensions of gendered institutions combine to explain both a high level of female Total Early-stage Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA) rates and female/male TEA ratios.
Design/methodology/approach
Collecting data from the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, the World Economic Forum and the World Bank for 63 countries, this study uses the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to explore causal complexity between the regulative, normative and cognitive dimensions of gendered institutions (conditions) and the female TEA rates and the female/male TEA ratios (outcomes).
Findings
First, this study confirms the complex interactions occurring among institutional components. Second, the results highlight the key role that gender equality in entrepreneurial cognitions plays in achieving high female entrepreneurship. Third, configurations for the high female TEA rates and the female/male TEA ratios share a high similarity.
Practical implications
The study provides policymakers with a holistic viewpoint and alternate solutions with the aim of promoting female entrepreneurship in their respective countries.
Originality/value
The study highlights gendered institutions beyond general institutions, enriching the literature on the gender and institutional determinants of female entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the application of the fsQCA method in the study helps to enhance the understanding of how institutional components complexly interact to shape female entrepreneurship.
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Kasmad Ariansyah, Ahmad Budi Setiawan, Darmanto, Daru Nupikso, Syarif Budhirianto, Dayat Hidayat and Alfin Hikmaturokhman
This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the use of e-government services among male and female samples, aiming at gaining a deeper understanding of how to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the use of e-government services among male and female samples, aiming at gaining a deeper understanding of how to promote digital inclusion and maximize the benefits of digitalization.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses binomial logistic regression modeling on two data sets: a nationwide survey at the individual level of 8,854 usable samples conducted in 2019 and village potential statistics.
Findings
The survey indicates low adoption and use of e-government services among both males and females. The statistical analysis further reveals that although there might be some variations in the influencing factors between the genders, the overall patterns are similar. These findings suggest that the low adoption and use of e-government services among males and females can be attributed to factors such as misperceptions about internet-based services, resulting in low motivation to use the services, inadequate internet connectivity, affordability, limited digital skills and exposure to harmful online content.
Originality/value
This study conducts a gender-disaggregated analysis to determine whether the antecedents of males’ decisions to adopt e-government services differ from those of females. Such a study is underrepresented in the extant literature, particularly in the context of e-government service use.
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Md. Shajahan Ali, Tamanna Islam Meem, Md. Mehrab Hossain and Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad
Construction accidents cause as much harm in Bangladeshi construction as it does globally. This study examines the primary causes of accidents and undertakes an impact assessment…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction accidents cause as much harm in Bangladeshi construction as it does globally. This study examines the primary causes of accidents and undertakes an impact assessment of neglecting safety protocols in construction projects in Bangladesh, funded publicly, privately and through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
Design/methodology/approach
Research was initiated with a comprehensive questionnaire from experts, sourcing data in Bangladesh's construction sector. Data analysis utilized Cronbach's alpha, relative important index and a fishbone diagram for causal visualization.
Findings
The study identified the three major causes of safety negligence as “Poor safety culture (RII = 0.857),” “Top management's inattention (RII = 0.825)” and “Lack of personal care (RII = 0.825).” Effects: “Rising project expenses (RII = 0.88),” “Increased medical costs (RII = 0.87)” and “Worker compensation expenses (RII = 0.87).” The study also used the Ishikawa-Fishbone and effect-flow diagrams to highlight accident causes/effects and compare their primary causes in PPP, public and private projects.
Originality/value
Research on construction safety in Bangladesh has mainly focused on identifying factors within specific construction sectors. Since the rules and regulations vary across these three sectors, different health and safety hazards may arise. As a result, this research fills a critical gap by providing a comparative study that examines the causes and impacts of different project types in the Bangladeshi construction industry. By pinpointing the result, this research aims to enhance the safety and well-being of the construction workers sector-wise, thereby contributing to the industry's sustainable growth.
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Yang Zhang, Jianfeng Zou, Jiahua Xie, Xiaoyue Li, Zhenhai Ma and Yao Zheng
When a reflected shock interacts with the boundary layer in a shock tube, the shock bifurcation occurs near the walls. Although the study of the shock bifurcation has been carried…
Abstract
Purpose
When a reflected shock interacts with the boundary layer in a shock tube, the shock bifurcation occurs near the walls. Although the study of the shock bifurcation has been carried out by many researchers for several decades, little attention has been devoted to investigate the instability pattern of the bifurcation. This research work aims to successfully capture the asymmetry of the whole flow field, and attempt to achieve the instability mechanism of the shock bifurcation by a direct numerical simulation of the reflected shock wave/boundary layer interaction at Ma = 1.9. In addition, the reason for the formation of the bifurcated structure is also explored.
Design/methodology/approach
The spatial and temporal evolution of the shock bifurcation is obtained by solving the two-dimensional compressible Navier–Stokes equations using a seventh-order accurate weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme and a three-step Runge–Kutta time advancing approach.
Findings
The results show that the formation of shock bifurcation is mainly because of the shock/gradient field interaction, and the height of the bifurcated foot increases with the growth of the shock intensity and the gradient field. The unsteady asymmetry of the upper and bottom shock bifurcated structures is because of the vortex shedding with high frequency in the rear recirculation zone, which leads to the fluctuation of the recirculation area. The vortex shedding process behind the bifurcated structure closely resembles the Karman vortex street formed by the flow around the cylinder. The dimensionless vortex shedding frequency varies between 0.01 and 0.02. In comparison to the scenario at Ma = 1.9, the occurring time of instability is delayed and the upper and bottom bifurcated feet intersect in a relatively short time at Ma = 3.5. The region behind the bifurcated shock is a transitional flow field containing obvious cell structures and “isolated islands.”
Originality/value
This paper discovers an unsteady flow pattern of the shock bifurcation, and the mechanism of this instability in the reflected shock/boundary layer interaction is revealed in detail.
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Mahdi Zarepour, Niloufar Hojat Shemami and Soroush Avakh Darestani
In today’s world, one of the most important factors of the country’s economic development is improving the productivity of manufacturing industries. Identifying factors affecting…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s world, one of the most important factors of the country’s economic development is improving the productivity of manufacturing industries. Identifying factors affecting the productivity of manufacturing industries and prioritizing them is effective in promoting productivity and can promise to achieve organizational and national productivity. The purpose of this research is to identify the effective factors in improving the productivity of manufacturing industries.
Design/methodology/approach
The present research method is a descriptive-survey and the data collection tool is a questionnaire. In the first step, according to the studies conducted by reviewing the research literature using a comparative method, library studies and asking opinions from experts, potential factors affecting the productivity of industries were identified and analyzed. Then the factors were divided into four main categories, and the selected factors were determined by using a questionnaire and combining the opinions of experts. Then, the importance of the selected factors was determined using the Fuzzy SWARA decision-making method, and the final ranking of the selected industries of the province was done using the MOORA method.
Findings
The results of this research showed that the factors “profit margin,” “The ratio of sales on current assets” and “The ratio of exports to sales,” respectively, have the highest importance, among the pharmaceutical and household appliances industries of the province that are present in the stock exchange, Caspian Tamin Company has the highest productivity with a productivity score of 0.437.
Originality/value
Looking at the background of the research, no comprehensive research has been conducted to identify indicators that affect productivity in the manufacturing industry, and only a few studies have evaluated productivity indicators for small, specialized industries. Therefore, in the current research, considering the uncertainty in experts' opinions, a hybrid model is presented to identify and comprehensively evaluate the productivity indicators of manufacturing industries using the decision-making method of Fuzzy SWARA and MOORA, which is unique in its turn.
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Katharina Maria Hofer, Lisa Maria Niehoff and Gerhard A. Wuehrer
In this paper, we examine the elements of pricing approaches in export businesses and their performance in an international environment. The elements of pricing approaches consist…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, we examine the elements of pricing approaches in export businesses and their performance in an international environment. The elements of pricing approaches consist of cost-based, competitor-based, and value-based decisions made by different levels of management. By providing an integrated, holistic view, we investigate how different types of export-pricing strategies influence export performance, and which elements strengthen or attenuate the outcomes of strategic actions.
Methodology/approach
Using data from a survey of 172 export managers, we test our hypotheses in a two-step approach. First, we use an unsupervised approach to group the export companies and to validate the cluster solution internally and externally. Second, we test our hypotheses regarding export performance.
Findings
The results show that the types of export-pricing strategies are unequally distributed, and the elements of the strategies have different complexities. Export performance varies significantly by type of pricing orientation used.
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Maayan Zhitomirsky-Geffet, Inna Kizhner and Sara Minster
Large cultural heritage datasets from museum collections tend to be biased and demonstrate omissions that result from a series of decisions at various stages of the collection…
Abstract
Purpose
Large cultural heritage datasets from museum collections tend to be biased and demonstrate omissions that result from a series of decisions at various stages of the collection construction. The purpose of this study is to apply a set of ethical criteria to compare the level of bias of six online databases produced by two major art museums, identifying the most biased and the least biased databases.
Design/methodology/approach
At the first stage, the relevant data have been automatically extracted from all six databases and mapped to a unified ontological scheme based on Wikidata. Then, the authors applied ethical criteria to the results of the geographical distribution of records provided by two major art museums as online databases accessed via museums' websites, API datasets and datasets submitted to Wikidata.
Findings
The authors show that the museums use different artworks in each of its online databases and each data-base has different types of bias reflected by the study variables, such as artworks' country of origin or the creator's nationality. For most variables, the database behind the online search system on the museum's website is more balanced and ethical than the API dataset and Wikidata databases of the two museums.
Originality/value
By applying ethical criteria to the analysis of cultural bias in various museum databases aimed at different audiences including end users, researchers and commercial institutions, this paper shows the importance of explicating bias and maintaining integrity in cultural heritage representation through different channels that potentially have high impact on how culture is perceived, disseminated, contextualized and transformed.
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Seyed Mohammad Hadi Baghdadi, Ehsan Dehghani, Mohammad Hossein Dehghani Sadrabadi, Mahdi Heydari and Maryam Nili
Spurred by the high turnover in the pharmaceutical industry, locating pharmacies inside urban areas along with the high product perishability in this industry, the pharmaceutical…
Abstract
Purpose
Spurred by the high turnover in the pharmaceutical industry, locating pharmacies inside urban areas along with the high product perishability in this industry, the pharmaceutical supply chain management has recently gained increasing attention. Accordingly, this paper unveils an inventory-routing problem for designing a pharmaceutical supply chain with perishable products and time-dependent travel time in an uncertain environment.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, mathematical programming is employed to formulate a multi-graph network affected by the traffic volume in order to adapt to real-world situations. Likewise, by transforming the travel speed function to the travel time function using a step-by-step algorithm, the first-in-first-out property is warranted. Moreover, the Box–Jenkins forecasting method is employed to diminish the demand uncertainty.
Findings
An appealing result is that the delivery horizon constraint in the under-study multi-graph network may eventuate in selecting a longer path. Our analysis also indicates that the customers located in the busy places in the city are not predominantly visited in the initial and last delivery horizon, which are the rush times. Moreover, it is concluded that integrating disruption management, routing planning and inventory management in the studied network leads to a reduction of costs in the long term.
Originality/value
Applying the time-dependent travel time with a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles on the multi-graph network, considering perishability in the products for reducing inventory costs, considering multiple trips of transfer fleet, considering disruption impacts on supply chain components and utilizing the Box–Jenkins method to reduce uncertainty are the contributions of the present study.
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Yong Lin Chan, Nurul Aini Jamalullail, Chin Ping Tan, Mohd Yazid Abdul Manap and O.M. Lai
This paper aims to discuss the limitations surrounding the yoghurt industry and challenges to producing a bio-yoghurt tablet. The paper looks into challenge facing the yoghurt…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the limitations surrounding the yoghurt industry and challenges to producing a bio-yoghurt tablet. The paper looks into challenge facing the yoghurt industry, such as manufacturing and distribution, its short shelf life, heat-sensitivity and relatively heavy weight. It further looks into the selection of strains, excipients and storage conditions with special consideration towards maintaining the viability of the probiotics inside bio-yoghurt tablets. The paper also discusses yoghurt standards and definitions across various countries and suggests a more uniform standard be embraced across countries for ease of categorization and production.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is divided into a few major sections; each exploring various aspects of the yoghurt industry. Topics discussed include challenges in yoghurt production and storage; processes involved in bio-yoghurt tablet production, e.g. maximising viability, choice of excipients and more; market trends of yoghurt consumption and potential; and various food standards in countries around the world with a focus on yoghurt.
Findings
The review finds that yoghurt is a segment of the food industry with big growth potential. Most of the problems associated with yoghurt, i.e. poor shelf life, and heavy weight, can be circumvented by transforming it into a bio-yoghurt tablet. The paper further identifies food standard variations among different countries around the world which could impede yoghurt manufacture and acceptance.
Originality/value
This paper looks the various challenges surrounding the increased uptake of yoghurt, specifically in the Asian markets and suggests a viable option to overcome this problem, i.e. the use of a bio-yoghurt tablet. Should the worldwide bodies come together and agree to a universal standard involving yoghurt, the industry may see an even bigger expansion.