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The concept of experience economy states that customers seek experiences whether from products and services. Tourism is at the forefront of the experience economy because tourists are looking for staged experience encompassing the four realms (entertainment, educational, esthetic and escapism). The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the effects of the experience economy on tourists’ word-of-mouth (WOM) in Chengdu cuisine through satisfaction and memory.

In total, 397 valid data were collected from the tourists who have experienced the ethnic cuisine in Chengdu. A partial least-square structural equation modeling technique was used to examine the research model.

The empirical results indicated that esthetic is the antecedent of the other three realms of experience economy; esthetic, educational and entertainment experiences influence satisfaction; four realms of experience economy influence memory; and satisfaction and memory ultimately influence WOM.

The findings of this study provide practical implications for operators of ethnic restaurants in designing their restaurants and menus, travel agencies in planning the tour itinerary and governments in using ethnic cuisine for destination marketing.

This study is a pioneer in studying the experience economy in the ethnic cuisine. It has identified the relationships between four dimensions of experience economy of ethnic cuisine, tourist satisfaction, memory and WOM toward ethnic cuisine in a tourist destination. It has also integrated the senses of Chinese cuisine (“sight,” “smell” and “taste”) into the measures of esthetic experience for studying experience economy in ethnic cuisine.

This study aims to discuss the effect of carbon fiber on the electric-respone of shape memory epoxy property. Epoxy (EP) is a typical excellent thermosetting shape memory polymer (SMP). To enrich the shape memory epoxy (SMEP) responsive mode, the carbon fiber fabric-reinforced SMEP composites were prepared, and the mechanical properties and the electric- and light-responsive shape memory effect of the composites were investigated and confirmed.

The carbon fiber fabric/SMEP composites were prepared via a dipping method. The carbon fiber fabric was dipped into the waterborne epoxy emulsion and dried at room temperature and then post-cured in the oven at 120 °C for 2 h. The mechanical properties and the multi-responsive shape memory properties of the composites were tested and confirmed via tensile test instrument, DC electrical source and near-infrared (NIR) laser source control system.

The carbon fiber fabric/SMEP composites showed excellent electric- and light-responsive shape memory effect.

High performance and multi-responsive shape memory materials have always been the goal of the scientists. Carbon fiber fabric and SMEP both consist of a good reputation in the field of composites, and the combination of both would set a solid foundation for getting a high performance and multi-responsive shape memory effect materials, which will enrich the responsive mode and broaden the application of SMEP.

Multi-responsive SMEP composites were prepared from waterborne epoxy and carbon fiber fabric.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how the extent of religion in a firm’s social environment affects corporate innovation and innovation efficiency from the perspectives of religion-related risk aversion and religion-based social norms.

Using a sample of 8,601 Chinese firm-year observations from 2007 to 2012, this paper examines the relationship between religion and innovation intensity, as well as innovation efficiency. A battery of checks, that is, adopting Heckman selection model, using a province-level measure of religiosity and an alternative measure of innovation intensity, and taking the stochastic frontier analysis method to capture corporate innovation efficiency, are conducted to alleviate the concern of self-selection and to guarantee the robustness of the findings of this paper.

This paper finds strong evidence that firms registered in more religious regions, that is, regions with more Buddhist monasteries within a certain radius, undertake fewer innovation activities as measured by the ratio of R&D investment over total sales income but achieve higher innovation efficiency reflected by the value-relevance of R&D investment.

This paper complements the existing literature by suggesting that religion can serve as an informal social mechanism and performs a “less is more” effect in disciplining corporate innovation activities.

To predict the passenger volume reasonably and accurately, this paper fills the gap in the research of quarterly data forecast of railway passenger volume. The research results can also provide references for railway departments to plan railway operation lines reasonably and efficiently.

This paper intends to establish a seasonal cycle first order univariate grey model (GM(1,1) model) combing with a seasonal index. GM (1,1) is termed as the trend equation to fit the railway passenger volume in China from 2014 to 2018. The railway passenger volume in 2019 is used as the experimental data to verify the forecasting effect of the proposed model. The forecasting results of the seasonal cycle GM (1,1) model are compared with the traditional GM (1,1) model, seasonal grey model (SGM(1,1)), Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model, moving average method and exponential smoothing method. Finally, the authors forecast the railway passenger volume from 2020 to 2022.

The quarterly data of national railway passenger volume have a clear tendency of cyclical fluctuations and show an annual growth trend. According to the comparison of the modeling results, the authors know that the seasonal cycle GM (1,1) model has the best prediction effect with the mean absolute percentage error of 1.32%. It is much better than the other models, reflecting the feasibility of the proposed model.

As the previous grey prediction model could not solve the series prediction problem with seasonal fluctuation, and there are few research studies on quarterly railway passenger volume forecasting, GM (1,1) model is taken as the trend equation and combined with the seasonal index to construct a combination forecasting model for accurate forecasting results in this study. Besides, considering the impact of the epidemic on passenger volume, the authors introduce a disturbance factor to deal with the forecasting results in 2020, making the modeling results more scientific, practical and referential.

Epoxy (EP) and polye-caprolactone (PCL) are typical dual-shape memory polymer (DSMP). To get excellent triple-shape memory effect (TSME) polymer composites which are made from EP and PCL. Miscible PCL/EP blend composites have been investigated and compared to the TSMEs with electrospun PCL microfiber membranes/EP composites. Clay montmorillonite (MMT)-modified electrospun PCL microfiber membranes were prepared to improve the shape memory fixities of electrospun PCL microfiber membranes/EP composites.

The morphologies of electrospun PCL microfiber membranes and the cross section of PCL/EP composites were studied using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and the existence of MMT was confirmed by a transmission electron microscope. Thermal mechanical properties were observed by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a dynamic thermomechanical analysis machine, and the TSMEs were also determined through dynamic mechanical analysis.

Results indicate that the TSMEs of electrospun PCL microfiber membranes/EP composites were excellent, whereas the TSMEs of PCL/EP blend composites were poor. The TSMEs of PCL electrospun microfiber membranes/EP composites significantly improved with the addition of the PCL electrospun microfiber modified with moderate MMT.

Adding a moderate content of MMT into the electrospun PCL fibers, could improve the TSME of the PCL fiber membranes/EP composites. This study was to create a simple and effective method that can be applied to improve the performance of other SMP.

A novel triple-shape memory composite were made from dual-shape memory EP and electrospun PCL fiber membranes.

Almost every consumer has many experiences of sales promotion and different stereotypes of it. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the model of sales promotion stereotype content (model of SPSC) and its perception differences among groups.

Drawing on the methods testifying stereotype content model and mixed stereotype proposed by Fiske et al. (2002), the authors decomposed the SPSC model into two dimensions, namely, the profitability and authenticity of sales promotion, and developed a multidimensional scale for profitability and authenticity. Then a survey that examined 765 participants was conducted to test the reliability of profitability and authenticity as the two primary dimensions of the model of SPSC and perception differences among consumer groups.

The model which consists of two dimensions, authenticity and profitability, was shown to be reliable and valid. Furthermore, the authors find that the profitability and the authenticity reflect consumers' evaluation (perception) of an enterprise's intention and its ability to enact the intention of sales promotion. In addition, mixed stereotypes of promotion can also explain consumers' entanglement when making promotion decisions.

This paper fills the gap in the existing literature of which the single dimension stereotype of sales promotion by the model of SPSC. In addition, the results show that consumers' stereotype of promotion varied in demographics and psychographic characteristics. Furthermore, this paper provides a basis for exploring the social stereotypes of specific things and related marketing activities.

Self-leadership’s positive interpersonal influence is rarely considered in empirical research despite its significance to organizational social dynamics. Thus, this study aims to investigate self-leadership’s interpersonal effects and identify the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions.

The theoretical model is validated through a two-point time-lagged survey.

Coworkers’ self-leadership positively impacts employees’ knowledge sharing through admiration and relationship desire. The chain mediation effect is moderated by perceived competitive climate: the higher the perceived competitive climate, the stronger the positive indirect effect will be.

Organizations should prioritize fostering employee self-leadership to facilitate knowledge sharing, especially in highly competitive environments.

By identifying the interpersonal effects of self-leadership, this study provides a fresh perspective to the literature on self-leadership, enriching the consequences of self-leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical historical analysis of the business (mis)behaviors and influencing factors that discourage enduring cooperation between principals and agents, to introduce strategies that embrace the social values, economic motivation and institutional designs historically adopted to curtail dishonest acts in international business and to inform an improved principal–agent theory that reflects principal–agent reciprocity as shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, strategic and ideological forces

The critical historical research method is used to analyze Chinese compradors and the foreign companies they served in pre-1949 China.

Business practitioners can extend orthodox principal–agent theory by scrutinizing the complex interactions between local agents and foreign companies. Instead of agents pursuing their economic interests exclusively, as posited by principal–agent theory, they also may pursue principal-shared interests (as suggested by stewardship theory) because of social norms and cultural values that can affect business-related choices and the social bonds built between principals and agents.

The behaviors of compradors and foreign companies in pre-1949 China suggest international business practices for shaping social bonds between principals and agents and foreign principals’ creative efforts to enhance shared interests with local agents.

Understanding principal–agent theory’s limitations can help international management scholars and practitioners mitigate transaction partners’ dishonest acts.

A critical historical analysis of intermediary businesspeople’s (mis)behavior in pre-1949 (1840–1949) China can inform the generalizability of principal–agent theory and contemporary business strategies for minimizing agents’ dishonest acts.

Details a new type of screwing mechanical hand which has been developed. There are three distinguishing features on the structures and functions of the mechanical hand: it can perform both screwing and unscrewing automatically; it has no special driver for its finger grasp and release but adopts some specific mechanisms and structures for this process; and the preset screwing torque is used to control the release of the fingers. Describes the main parts and operating process of the hand; the structure and movements of the wrist and hand; and the principle behind the grasp and release mechanism.

Little attention has been given to the mental and physical health impacts of COVID-19 on the academic public health workforce. Academic public health is an important support mechanism for public health practice, providing expertise and workforce training, conducting research, disseminating evidence-based scientific information to both public health and lay audiences, and serving as a supplementary workforce when additional resources are needed. These roles become more important during a public health emergency, particularly during a prolonged public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the COVID-19 response, the roles of academic public health have expanded to include developing and implementing contact tracing, surveillance, testing, and vaccination programs for universities and their surrounding communities, all while continuing to prepare students and support the public health practice workforce in their ongoing efforts. As in other responder groups, this has resulted in significant mental health effects and burnout among public health academicians. The authors suggest important steps that can be taken to improve the resilience of the academic public health workforce and to support their contributions during prolonged public health emergencies.