Search results

1 – 10 of 14
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 4 April 2020

Kai-di Liu, Duo-Gui Yang, Guoliang Yang and Zhi-Tian Zhou

This paper aims to investigate the situation and evolution of sustainability performance in China.

321

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the situation and evolution of sustainability performance in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts the global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) productivity index based on data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression for analysis.

Findings

The results indicate the following: China’s sustainability performance has been improving since 2005 and is closely related to the national development strategy and supportive policy; regional gaps in sustainability are a prominent problem represented by the fact that South Central China is becoming a sustainability collapse zone; interprovincial heterogeneity is evident with the varying development speed and conditions; and the level of sustainability performance has a significantly positive correlation with the urbanization rate, investment completed in the treatment of industrial pollution, government appropriation for education and per capita area of paved roads, but it has a negative correlation with the possession of private vehicles.

Originality/value

As an application, this study assessing the GML productivity index of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2015 and analyse the sustainability performance on three regional levels (i.e. country level, regional level and provincial level). Tobit regression is also applied to recognize the factors related to the GML index with the results taken as references for policy suggestions. The results have implications for a comprehensive understanding of China's sustainability performance and policymaking in this field.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 6 July 2015

Guoliang Yang, Alasdair Macnab, Liying Yang and Chunliang Fan

This paper aims to help research managers design the performance management process and select measures and indicators, which relate to the strategies of their organisations…

532

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to help research managers design the performance management process and select measures and indicators, which relate to the strategies of their organisations directly.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, we will propose strategy maps for national research institutes (NRIs), so that the managers can describe the strategies of their organisations more clearly, accurately and logically. Also, we will propose a new method to set targets for key performance indicators (KPIs), which is named “Forecasting-Objective Achievement System (FOAS)”.

Findings

The authors have explored the general rules of the research activity and proposed the strategic map for NRIs, so that the research managers can more clearly, accurately and logically describe the strategy for the organisational development strategy, and build the performance measurement indicators based on it. It allows the managers to transfer the strategy into clear and concrete action initiatives, and the corresponding performance evaluation indicators. Also, this paper proposed a new method for target-setting for performance indicator to drive NRIs do their best to achieve high performance.

Research limitations/implications

First, this paper proposes a framework of strategy maps for NRIs to transfer the strategy into clear and concrete action initiatives, and the corresponding performance evaluation indicators. Also, this paper gives a case study of a research institute in the field of physics to derive KPIs based on its strategy maps, which can show the effectiveness of this approach. But this institute conducts mainly the basic research, and there are other NRIs with different types of research, such as applied research, which have different characteristics with the NRI in the case study.

Originality/value

The authors propose the specific strategy maps for NRIs and a new method to set targets for KPIs. Further, the example of a national research institute is taken to analyze its strategy map and construct a performance measurement indicator system for it, so that the strategies in research management can be transferred to specific action initiatives. New ideas are provided for the performance measurement of national research institutes.

Details

Journal of Science & Technology Policy Management, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 29 August 2022

Xiaoxiao Zhang, Guoliang Shi and Qiupan Jin

The purpose is to explore the essential reasons for the differences between book awakening phenomena, to develop the critical factors in awakening the slumbering collections and…

196

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to explore the essential reasons for the differences between book awakening phenomena, to develop the critical factors in awakening the slumbering collections and to provide a reliable basis for maximizing book value and optimizing collection allocation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research employs the integrated learning algorithm XGBoost to measure driving factors. In the process of book circulation, the characteristics of collections and readers are worthy of attention. Therefore, this study also carries out feature selection and model construction from the two dimensions of books and readers.

Findings

The results show that reader features have a stronger impetus for the collection awakening phenomenon than collection features. Among reader features, education level, gender and major subject are the main factors, which are followed closely by the activity level; among collection features, publication date and price are the main driving factors. The indicators of book popularity are not significant, whose effect on the phenomenon of collection awakening is almost negligible.

Originality/value

This study aims to augment the theory of zero circulation from the theoretical level and, for the first time, seeks to define the phenomenon of collection awakening. This study attempts to present novel ideas for research in the field of libraries and to provide references for optimizing collection and maximizing the value of books.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 75 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 26 October 2020

Mengyuan Cheng, Guoliang Liu and Yongshun Xu

The role of conventional contracts in achieving sustainability goals in public–private partnership (PPP) projects has been questioned. From the multifunctional perspective of…

1028

Abstract

Purpose

The role of conventional contracts in achieving sustainability goals in public–private partnership (PPP) projects has been questioned. From the multifunctional perspective of contract theory, joint-contract functions that combine contractual control, coordination and adaptation may be a potential approach for improving PPP project sustainability performance. This research intends to investigate the link between the joint-contract functions and PPP project sustainability performance, and their underlying mechanism, by analyzing the mediating role of relationship quality and moderating roles of environmental uncertainty and behavioral uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on 170 valid survey data collected from the Chinese PPP professionals, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted to test the hypothesis.

Findings

The results reveal that joint-contract functions are positively associated with the PPP project sustainability performance. This relationship is strengthened by environmental and behavioral uncertainty. Moreover, the relationship between the joint-contract functions and PPP project sustainability performance is mediated by relationship quality.

Research limitations/implications

This research extends contract governance theory and sustainability research in PPP projects. The research implications are as follows: (1) joint-contract functions are a second-order construct consisting of three first-order dimensions: control, coordination and adaptation and are positively associated with PPP project sustainability performance; (2) joint-contract functions enhance the sustainable benefits of PPP projects during environmental uncertainty and behavioral uncertainty; (3) informal relationships are a critical bridge connecting formal institutions with the sustainability performance of PPP projects.

Practical implications

In general, these findings guide project participants who aim to achieve sustainable outcomes in PPP projects. (1) Project participants should consider the process of contract design and sign contracts that focus on joint-contract functions. (2) Project participants should investigate the degree of uncertainty of a PPP project before designing contracts, and design the contracts with corresponding complexity. (3) Project participants should work to enhance PPP sustainable benefits by improving the relationship between partners, such as encouraging mutual trust and joint problem-solving.

Originality/value

This research verifies the relationship between joint-contract functions and PPP project sustainability performance, and the boundary and intermediary conditions between them.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 28 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 3 December 2024

Mengyuan Cheng, Heap-Yih Chong, Guoliang Liu and Qian Li

Perceived justice is crucial to achieving public–private partnership (PPP) projects’ goals, but little is known about the transmission mechanism of perceived justice that affects…

26

Abstract

Purpose

Perceived justice is crucial to achieving public–private partnership (PPP) projects’ goals, but little is known about the transmission mechanism of perceived justice that affects added value in PPP projects. Therefore, this research intends to investigate the link between perceived justice and PPP projects’ added value and their underlying mechanism by analysing the mediating role of cooperative behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on 246 valid survey data collected from the Chinese PPP professionals, structural equation modelling was adopted to analyse and test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results show all three dimensions of perceived justice positively correlated with PPP projects’ added value. The influence effect from high to low was determined to be as follows: interactive, distributive and procedural justice. Moreover, both perfunctory and consummate performance were found to be positively correlated with and thus of great importance to PPP projects’ added value, but perfunctory performance was found to have a greater influence coefficient. The relationship between perceived justice and PPP projects’ added value is mediated by perfunctory and consummate performance. Therefore, the strategies of perceived justice in improving added value are verified in the context of Chinese PPP projects.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study can help realise added value in three ways. Firstly, new perspectives for PPP project added value should be proposed by combining the improvement of project basic objectives and the realisation of the participants’ implicit demands. Secondly, the effects of different perceived justice on added value should be analysed instead of a single dimension of perceived justice. Thirdly, the mediating effects of different types of cooperative behaviour that may influence the relationship between perceived justice and added value should be evaluated.

Practical implications

This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between perceived justice and PPP projects’ added value and provides a reliable reference for project managers to achieve added value outcomes in PPP projects. In addition, this study reveals the impact of perceived justice on PPP projects’ added value and the path of perceived justice transformation. This provides a useful reference for project managers to take advantage of the positive effects of distributive, interactive and procedural justice to enhance inter-organizational cooperative behaviour. This study thus helps improve the practice and value of PPP projects by using the right strategy of perceived justice.

Originality/value

The research clarifies the impacts of multidimensional perceived justice for added value of PPP projects throughout the implementation process. It offers a new perspective on PPP projects’ added value by combining the improvement of the realisation of participants’ implicit claims.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 28 October 2019

Xiaoqing Ni, Liang Zhang, Wenheng Wu, Dexiang Zhu, Decheng Kong, Chaofang Dong and Guoliang Zhu

Laser melting deposition (LMD) is an advanced additive manufacturing (AM) technology without powder waste, and nickel-based alloys with different Nb contents were created one-time…

426

Abstract

Purpose

Laser melting deposition (LMD) is an advanced additive manufacturing (AM) technology without powder waste, and nickel-based alloys with different Nb contents were created one-time by adjusting the ratio of mixed powders via a dual-feed system. Here, the authors provide a systematic report on the effects of the Nb content on the microstructure, Laves phase segregation and mechanical properties of as-received LMD nickel-based alloys. The effects of the Nb content on the microstructure, precipitation evolution and mechanical properties of the subsequent heat-treated LMD samples are also discussed in this paper.

Design/methodology/approach

Thus, the present research aims to obtain a better understanding of the effect of Nb content on the microstructural and mechanical properties of the as-received LMD Inconel 718 alloys through high-throughput sample fabrication. The microstructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy, electron back-scattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy methods. The mechanical properties were obtained from compressive tests and nano-indentation tests. Electrochemical tests, including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarizations, were carried out to evaluate the durability of the Inconel 718 alloys. Results can provide a factual basis for future applications of the functionally graded by AM technology.

Findings

The grain size of the as-received LMD Inconel 718 alloys decreased with the Nb content. The Laves phase distribution at the macro level was relatively uniform and the Laves phase exhibited a 1.5-fold nano-hardness compared with the matrix. The strength improvement for the as-received LMD Inconel 718 alloys with Nb content was attributed to grain refinement and enhancement of the Laves phase in terms of both hardness and content. Meanwhile, the corrosion resistance increased with the increase of the Nb content, especially for the pitting potential, which was attributed to the optimization of carbide precipitates due to the strong affinity between niobium and carbon.

Originality/value

The results provide a factual basis for the Nb content effect in LMD nickel-based alloys, and this method can greatly promote the development of new materials. The authors believe that this study makes a significant contribution to the literature and is suitable for publication.

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 67 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Guoliang Yu, Yan Dong, Qi Wang and Ran An

To improve humanized management of Chinese teachers, the aim of this study is to, first, investigate the stress of Chinese teachers, and, second, to examine the relationship of…

956

Abstract

Purpose

To improve humanized management of Chinese teachers, the aim of this study is to, first, investigate the stress of Chinese teachers, and, second, to examine the relationship of teacher stress with coping strategies and social support. Moreover, an attempt is made to examine the moderating role of coping strategies in the relationship between social support and teacher stress.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants consisted of 363 teachers from 6 public primary and secondary schools (both regular and vocational schools), who completed 3 self-report questionnaires examining teacher stress, coping strategies and social support. The methodology used was t-test, correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis.

Findings

There are more than 50 per cent of primary and secondary school teachers suffering from mild to extremely severe stress. Working environment (regular or vocational schools), gender and age affect teacher stress. Social support and passive strategies have significant relationships with teacher stress, and passive strategies moderate the relationship between social support and teacher stress.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on a sample taken from public primary and secondary schools, and the character of the research was cross-sectional. Therefore, we must be cautious in generalizing the findings. An important implication for management of the findings of this study is the importance of humanized management for teachers. To reduce teacher stress, more social support should be provided by educational administrators, and teachers should be trained to avoid using passive strategies.

Originality/value

Through the investigation into the teacher stress in both regular and vocational schools, this study provides a new point of view for human resource managers to control and reduce teacher stress in China by improved humanized management.

Details

Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8005

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 19 October 2021

Zhangxin Guo, Zhiqiang Yu, Shiyi Wei, Guoliang Qi, Yongcun Li and Yunbo Luan

The cure simulation of composite structures with arbitrary geometry can be investigated by the finite element program.

257

Abstract

Purpose

The cure simulation of composite structures with arbitrary geometry can be investigated by the finite element program.

Design/methodology/approach

Finite element method is employed in this work.

Findings

The simulated results match the experimental results well, which demonstrates the finite element analysis models are reliable. Compared with the one- and two-dimensional finite element analysis, temperature and degree of cure can be calculated at any point within composite structures in the present simulation analysis. The cure simulation of composite structures with arbitrary geometry can be investigated by the finite element program.

Originality/value

A coupled thermokinetic simulation of the liquid composite molding process based on a three-dimensional finite element method is presented. The cure simulation of composite structures with arbitrary geometry can be investigated by the finite element program.

Details

Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1573-6105

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 6 December 2019

Guoliang Li, Yanran Fang, Yifan Song, Jingqiu Chen and Mo Wang

Given migrant workers’ critical role in the Chinese economy, the increasing number of migrant workers who leave their organizations and return to their hometown has caused severe…

588

Abstract

Purpose

Given migrant workers’ critical role in the Chinese economy, the increasing number of migrant workers who leave their organizations and return to their hometown has caused severe socioeconomic issues in China. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to migrant worker literature by revealing the micro-mechanism underlying migrant workers’ return-to-hometown intention and turnover.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a convenience sample from seven Chinese companies that employed migrant workers (n=147). The authors used path analysis to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Migrant workers’ family encouragement of returning to hometown was positively related to their return-to-hometown intention, which subsequently predicted their turnover decision in six months. Further, migrant workers’ perceived career sacrifice associated with returning to hometown weakened the effect of family encouragement to return.

Practical implications

For organizations that need to retain migrant workers, the findings indicate that it is particularly important to take migrant workers’ family needs and their career-related concerns into account. For migrant workers, the study highlights the importance of assessing gains and losses in the process of making turnover-related decisions.

Originality/value

This study contributes to migrant worker literature by investigating psychological processes underlying migrant workers return-to-hometown intention and the subsequent turnover from a micro perspective.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 18 July 2024

Sheng Liu, Xiao Lin and Xiuying Chen

This paper aims to reveal the green governance role played by stock connect in transition economies from the perspective of corporates’ environmental violations and provides…

42

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to reveal the green governance role played by stock connect in transition economies from the perspective of corporates’ environmental violations and provides implications for the coordination and optimization of subsequent stock market liberalization and green transformation policies in pursuit of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.

Design/methodology/approach

With the data of Chinese listed enterprises, this paper takes the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect or Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in China as a quasi-natural experiment and applies the multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) model to identify the impact of stock market liberalization on the corporates’ environmental violations.

Findings

The findings reveal that the stock market liberalization significantly restrains the corporates’ environmental violations. These findings are robust to a series of sensitivity tests, including excluding two-way effects, adjusting the year of policy implementation, replacing the core variables, introducing the regional fixed effects and excluding the interference effect of other relevant policies during the sample period. Furthermore, the stock market liberalization is beneficial for upgrading information disclosure quality, improving internal governance capability, strengthening environmental protection incentives, and thus restrains corporates’ environmental violations. Meanwhile, heterogeneity tests show that the inhibitory effects are more significant in those grouped samples which is large scale, state-owned nature, located in eastern region, with poor evaluation performances and heavy tax burden.

Originality/value

We make two marginal contributions to the current literature. First, this paper enriches the literature on the factors influencing corporate environmental violations by focusing on how the macro-level financial policy influences the micro-level corporate environmental violations. One the one hand, prior studies mainly focused on the consequences of corporate environmental violations; however, there is still a puzzle that the effect of stock market liberalization cannot be fully justified to influence corporate environmental violations. The findings help explain this puzzle by examining that stock market liberalization can restrain corporate environmental violations. Moreover, prior studies mainly focused on corporate share price (Yunsen Chen et al., 2022), market liquidity (Han Kim and Singal, 2000), information disclosure (Liang, Lin, and Chin 2012), corporate governance (Bae and Goyal, 2010) and corporate violations (Lingyun Xiong et al., 2021), but not on corporate environmental violations. We assume that the suppression effect of stock market liberalization on corporate environmental violations can help reduce corporate environmental violations, improve corporates’ awareness of environmental compliance. Second, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the literature on stock market liberalization by investigating the restraining effect of Stock Connect on corporate environmental violations from the perspective of information channel, corporate governance channel and motivation channel, which is of practical significance. Moreover, we investigate the differences in the inhibitory effects of stock market liberalization on different enterprises' environmental violations, from firm size, property rights, enterprise assessment results, tax burden to geographical location, which is conducive to the construction of a green financial system and the promotion of sustainable economic development. Our results show that firms which are large scale, state-owned nature, located in eastern region, with poor evaluation performances and heavy tax burden tend to compliance with environmental laws. These findings emphasize the importance and benefits of Stock Connect.

Details

Nankai Business Review International, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8749

Keywords

1 – 10 of 14
Per page
102050