Xiaodong Wu, Junfeng Shi, Fujun Chen and Yaru Wang
The purpose of this paper is to present a new approach for selecting the good heavy oil reservoirs to develop preferentially, which can avoid the huge economical loss resulted…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a new approach for selecting the good heavy oil reservoirs to develop preferentially, which can avoid the huge economical loss resulted from wrong decision.
Design/methodology/approach
A new method of ranking the development priority of heavy oil reservoir is present, in which the neural network is applied for the first time to acquire reservoir parameters' weights through training samples and the genetic algorithm is used to optimize the joint weighs of neurons in case that neural network falling into local minimum. Additionally, the paper establishes subordinate function of every parameter. Eventually, comprehensive evaluation values of all heavy oil reservoirs are obtained.
Findings
The method can ensure the veracity and creditability of the parameters' weights, avoid the randomicity brought by experts.
Research limitations/implications
Accessibility of the data of many heavy oil reservoirs is the main limitation.
Practical implications
A very useful and new method for the decision makers of heavy oil reservoirs development.
Originality/value
The new approach of ranking the development priority of heavy oil reservoir based on the neural network and the genetic algorithm. The paper is aimed at the leaders who manage the development of heavy oil reservoirs.
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Rongrong Shi, Qiaoyi Yin, Yang Yuan, Fujun Lai and Xin (Robert) Luo
Based on signaling theory, this paper aims to explore the impact of supply chain transparency (SCT) on firms' bank loan (BL) and supply chain financing (SCF) in the context of…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on signaling theory, this paper aims to explore the impact of supply chain transparency (SCT) on firms' bank loan (BL) and supply chain financing (SCF) in the context of voluntary disclosure of supplier and customer lists.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on panel data collected from Chinese-listed firms between 2012 and 2021, fixed-effect models and a series of robustness checks are used to test the predictions.
Findings
First, improving SCT by disclosing major suppliers and customers promotes BL but inhibits SCF. Specifically, customer transparency (CT) is more influential in SCF than supplier transparency (ST). Second, supplier concentration (SC) weakens SCT’s positive impact on BL while reducing its negative impact on SCF. Third, customer concentration (CC) strengthens the positive impact of SCT on BL but intensifies its negative impact on SCF. Last, these findings are basically more pronounced in highly competitive industries.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the SCT literature by investigating the under-explored practice of supply chain list disclosure and revealing its dual impact on firms' access to financing offerings (i.e. BL and SCF) based on signaling theory. Additionally, it expands the understanding of the boundary conditions affecting the relationship between SCT and firm financing, focusing on supply chain concentration. Moreover, it advances signaling theory by exploring how financing providers interpret the SCT signal and enriches the understanding of BL and SCF antecedents from a supply chain perspective.
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Zhaofang Chu, Linlin Wang and Fujun Lai
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer pressure influences green innovation in the context of Chinese third-party logistics (3PL) providers, and especially the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer pressure influences green innovation in the context of Chinese third-party logistics (3PL) providers, and especially the role of organizational culture in moderating this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on survey data collected from 165 3PL providers in China, hierarchical moderated regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Customer pressure is an important driver of green innovation amongst 3PL providers. Flexibility-oriented organizational culture strengthens the effect of this driving force, while control-oriented organizational culture weakens this force. Green innovation significantly contributes to financial performance and flexibility orientation strengthens this contribution, while control orientation weakens it.
Research limitations/implications
This research examines the contingency effect of organizational culture in helping to resolve inconsistencies in the relationship between customer pressure and green innovation. Although the inconsistencies cannot be resolved completely, the research opens an avenue to explore other contingency factors or the possibility of a non-linear relationship.
Practical implications
3PL firms could undertake green innovation to satisfy customers’ environmental requirements. To develop their green innovation initiatives, managers should allow their employees greater autonomy and design (or re-design) operations procedures and regulations to be more flexible, thus enabling the diffusion of green innovation and avoiding or reducing the potential influence of control-oriented organization culture.
Originality/value
The study considers the conditional effect of organizational culture to reconcile the mixed results in the literature regarding the relationship between customer pressure and green innovation of logistics service providers.
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Yuangao Chen, Liyan Tao, Shuang Zheng, Shuiqing Yang and Fujun Li
The purpose of this study is to explore the factors influencing viewers’ engagement intention in travel live streaming (TLS) from a perceived value perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the factors influencing viewers’ engagement intention in travel live streaming (TLS) from a perceived value perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a mixed-methods approach. In Study 1, 48 semistructured interviews were analyzed based on grounded theory and perceived value theory, and a research framework was established to investigate the impact of viewers’ engagement intentions in TLS. In Study 2, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to empirically validate survey data from 255 TLS viewers.
Findings
Through an analysis of the interview content, it was found that the expertise and interaction of the live streamer in TLS as well as the immersion, aesthetics and novelty of the live streaming scene are key influencing factors that affect the engagement of TLS viewers. This finding was confirmed through empirical research.
Practical implications
This research provides practical suggestions for live streamers, TLS platforms and local government to increase viewer engagement. Specifically, it provides methods and directions for the individual improvement of live streamers, further promotes the development and construction of the platform and underscores the importance of government initiatives in policy support and regulatory framework development.
Originality/value
This study focuses on the less-researched field of TLS. Using a mixed-methods approach combining interviews and PLS-SEM, this study explores the key factors that affect the engagement of TLS viewers based on the characteristics of live streamers and live streaming scenes.
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Zhongzhi Liu, Fujun Lai and Qiaoyi Yin
As the application of crowdsourcing contests grows, leveraging the participation of superstars (i.e. solvers who have outstanding performance records in a crowdsourcing platform…
Abstract
Purpose
As the application of crowdsourcing contests grows, leveraging the participation of superstars (i.e. solvers who have outstanding performance records in a crowdsourcing platform) becomes an emergent approach for managers to solve crowdsourced problems. Although much is known about superstars’ performance implications, it remains unclear whether and how their participation affects the size of a contest crowd for a crowdsourcing contest. Based on social contagion theory, this paper aims to examine the impact of superstars’ participation on the crowd size and studies how this impact varies across solvers with different heterogeneity in terms of skills, exposure and cultural proximity with superstars in crowdsourcing contests.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses secondary data from one crowdsourcing platform that includes 6,587 innovation contests to examine superstars’ main and contextual effects on the crowd size of a contest.
Findings
Our results reveal that superstars’ participation positively affects the crowd size of a contest in general. This finding suggests that social contagion is a fundamental mechanism underlying crowd formation in crowdsourcing contests. Our results also indicate that in contests that involve multiple superstars, superstars’ effect on crowd size becomes negative when we simultaneously consider other solvers’ heterogeneity in terms of skills, exposure and cultural background, and this negative effect will be intensified by increases in the skill gap, extent of exposure and cultural proximity between superstars and other solvers in the same contest.
Originality/value
Our research enhances the understanding of the influence of superstars and the mechanism underlying the emergence of contest crowds in crowdsourcing contests and contributes knowledge to better understand social contagion in a competitive setting. The results are meaningful for sourcing managers and platform supervisors to design contests and supervise crowd size in crowdsourcing contests.
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Qingyao Wan, Yang Yuan and Fujun Lai
The purpose of this paper is to explore how external pressures, internal capability and transaction attributes of logistics outsourcing synergically influence the extent of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how external pressures, internal capability and transaction attributes of logistics outsourcing synergically influence the extent of asset-based and non-asset-based logistics outsourcing.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the data surveyed from 250 manufacturing companies in China, this study employed fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to deduce multiple configurations for logistics outsourcing decisions.
Findings
The results suggest that asset-based logistics outsourcing is primarily driven by external imitation pressures or internal demands for logistics technologies, while non-asset-based logistics outsourcing is mainly driven by the demands for external management-based logistics services. Asset specificity plays a positive role in promoting both asset-based and non-asset-based logistics outsourcing. The requirement for third-party logistics (3PL) management capability depends on the outsourcing types and outsourcing causes.
Practical implications
This study provides guidance to practitioners for them to make outsourcing decisions. It suggests that asset-based logistics outsourcing is more appropriate when there are high external imitation pressures or more internal logistics demands, while non-asset-based logistics outsourcing should be used only when a firm needs management-based logistics services. Besides, 3PL users are suggested to outsource their logistics when their 3PL providers are required to make specific investments. In addition, managers should carefully evaluate firms’ capabilities in managing outsourcing relationships.
Originality/value
Previous studies largely ignored the interaction effects of a set of factors on logistics outsourcing decisions, and to date, little research empirically examined how outsourcing is driven in terms of different types of outsourcing. Drawing on the institutional theory, dynamic capability view, and transaction cost theory and overarching under the complexity theory, this study examines how institutional, organizational and transactional factors interplay with each other to influence different types of logistics outsourcing (i.e. asset based and non-asset based). Methodologically, the configural analysis (i.e. fsQCA) is applied to explore complex causal configurations that drive logistics outsourcing.
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Muhammad Junaid, Fujun Hou, Khalid Hussain and Ali Ashiq Kirmani
The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact on brand love of consumption experience at the dimensional level and to determine whether brand love mediates between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact on brand love of consumption experience at the dimensional level and to determine whether brand love mediates between consumption experience and customer engagement in the context of Generation M.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 265 Muslim smartphone users responded to a structured questionnaire adapted from existing literature. First, confirmatory factor analysis was carried out, and then data were analyzed through structural equation modeling using MPlus.
Findings
The findings indicate that hedonic pleasure and escapism directly, while flow, challenge and learning indirectly affect brand love and that brand love mediates the relationship between consumption experience and customer engagement.
Practical implications
This paper explicates Generation M’s consumption experience, ascertains ways to supplement their love for brand and engage them in gainful relationships and provides suggestions for further investigation. From a managerial perspective, the paper has implications for the management of consumer experience, identifies the most valuable dimensions of consumption experience and proposes that managers can develop customer-engagement strategies via brand love.
Originality/value
The paper validates the mediating role of brand love in the relationship between consumption experience and customer engagement; is the first to investigate the relationship between all dimensions of consumption experience and brand love; is one of few studies to investigate consumption experience, brand love and customer engagement in developing countries; and is one of first investigations to use a sample of Generation M.
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Fujun Lai, Jian Wang, Chang‐Tseh Hsieh and Jeng‐Chung (Victor) Chen
This paper seeks to investigate and provide empirical evidence of the interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption and information asymmetry.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to investigate and provide empirical evidence of the interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption and information asymmetry.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual model was proposed and tested using 307 completed interview cases selected from a database of 2,075 Chinese international trading companies published by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce for this study.
Findings
The results indicated that network externalities significantly influenced e‐business adoption and information asymmetry, and e‐business adoption influenced information asymmetry through information sharing and collection. A split sample analysis showed that cultural contexts significantly moderated the interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption, and information asymmetry.
Research limitations/implications
Data for this study were collected only from mainland China, therefore, non‐Chinese companies (foreign‐owned) operating in China may have been influenced by Chinese cultures and some of them have been localizing their operations in China. The influences of network externalities on business performance and decision making remain unclear. In addition, data were collected from self‐reported questionnaires, and thus may be subject to self‐reporting bias. Future studies should use more objective measurements to reduce the potential for self‐reporting bias.
Practical implications
This study contributes significantly to the literature by providing empirical evidence on interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption, and information asymmetry. The findings in this study also provide valuable insights for managers to better understand the influence of network externalities on e‐business adoption.
Originality/value
This study contributes significantly to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption, and information asymmetry. The findings also provide managers with valuable insight into better understanding of the nature of these interrelationships.
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Congliang Fei, Pengfei Xiahou and Fujun Wang
This study aims to focus on the grid connected inverter.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on the grid connected inverter.
Design/methodology/approach
The grid connected inverter for harmonic suppression was designed, the topological structure of the inverter and the design of LCL filter were analyzed, then a PIR controller was proposed and finally simulation and experiment were carried out.
Findings
The simulation results showed that the distortion rates of the 5th, 7th and 11th harmonics under PIR control were 0.14%, 0.13% and 0.06%, respectively, which were significantly lower than that under PI control. The system test results also showed that the current waveform under PI control was rough and total harmonic distortion (THD) content was 3.8%; under PIR control, the grid connected current waveform was relatively smooth, with fewer spikes and burrs, and the THD content was 1.9%, indicating that the harmonics were effectively suppressed.
Originality/value
The experimental results verify that the inverter and PIR controller designed in this study are effective for harmonic suppression. This work makes some contributions to the improvement of the effect of harmonic suppression and promotion of the better application of grid connected inverter.
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The purpose of this paper is to study a modified multiplicative analytic hierarchy process (MMAHP) method, which is combined with multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) and applied…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study a modified multiplicative analytic hierarchy process (MMAHP) method, which is combined with multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) and applied MMAHP model for solving green supplier selection problem.
Design/methodology/approach
Supplier selection is typically a MCDM problem including both qualitative and quantitative factors that has to be taken into consideration. To select the best green suppliers with the highest potential for meeting a firm’s needs consistently, the MMAHP is utilized in this study. Then a green supplier selection problem of a well-known automobile manufacturing company in Qingdao is investigated. The authors also make a comparison of the results with that of the traditional AHP, during which the authors observe that the MMAHP is an effective approach for the considered problem and potential rank reversals can be avoided, that is, when a new supplier is added, the ranking of suppliers does not change and maintains its original relative ratio.
Findings
A numerical example of green supplier selection is utilized to verify the proposed approach. The results show that the MMAHP is an effective approach for the considered problem and potential rank reversals can be avoided.
Practical implications
The proposed approach can be used to solving green supplier selection problems and can avoid the rank reversal.
Originality/value
The paper introduces the MMAHP method to help researchers to choose more effective approach for green supplier selection.