Honglei Li, Qianqian Hu, Guangzhi Zhao and Bin Li
This study aims to answer the question of how business models (BMs) maintain stability while coping with environmental uncertainties. This study proposes a dynamic co-evolution of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to answer the question of how business models (BMs) maintain stability while coping with environmental uncertainties. This study proposes a dynamic co-evolution of knowledge management and business model transformation based on a comparative analysis of the focal firms’ BMs and their main partners in two e-commerce ecosystems in China.
Design/methodology/approach
The open data of listed companies regarding the introduction of emerging topics on the transformation tendency of BMs in the post-COVID-19 business world is qualitatively analysed. The theoretical foundation is based on a critical review of the literature.
Findings
Three aspects of the co-evolution between knowledge management and business model transformation are introduced. These three aspects are as follows: knowledge integration helps with multi-system business integration and decision-making collaborations; knowledge sharing helps to enhance cognitive ability and network value based on businesses; and the creation of new knowledge helps enrich the knowledge base and promote the transformation of BMs.
Research limitations/implications
Solely attributing a firm’s ability to cope with environmental uncertainties to its business model weakens the importance of its knowledge management. This study argues that the co-evolution between knowledge management and business model transformation also plays a key role in a firm’s response to issues post-COVID-19.
Originality/value
This study calls for the development of a normative theory of co-evolution between knowledge management and business model transformation, implying uncharted territories of knowledge management based on interaction with business model designs in e-business ecosystems.
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Xuejie Yang, Dongxiao Gu, Honglei Li, Changyong Liang, Hemant K. Jain and Peipei Li
This study aims to investigate the process of developing loyalty in the Chinese mobile health community from the information seeking perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the process of developing loyalty in the Chinese mobile health community from the information seeking perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A covariance-based structural equation model was developed to explore the mobile health community loyalty development process from information seeking perspective and tested with LISREL 9.30 for the 191 mobile health platform user samples.
Findings
The empirical results demonstrate that the information seeking perspective offers an interesting explanation for the mobile health community loyalty development process. All hypotheses in the proposed research model are supported except the relationship between privacy and trust. The two types of mobile health community loyalty—attitudal loyalty and behavioral loyalty are explained with 58 and 37% variance.
Originality/value
This paper has brought out the information seeking perspective in the loyalty formation process in mobile health community and identified several important constructs for this perspective for the loyalty formation process including information quality, communication with doctors and communication with patients.
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Honglei Li, Ziyu Yang, Chunhua Jin and Jinxia Wang
The purpose of this paper is to reveal the inner mechanisms of the role of industrial internet platforms in empowering the digital transformation of SMEs. This ROOTCLOUD-based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reveal the inner mechanisms of the role of industrial internet platforms in empowering the digital transformation of SMEs. This ROOTCLOUD-based case study shows that knowledge integration and knowledge sharing and driving play essential empowering roles in the impact of industrial internet platforms on the digital transformation of SMEs. The industrial internet platform promotes knowledge integration on the supply side, empowers cross-domain knowledge sharing and shapes the knowledge-driven digital supply chain system in the digital transformation processes of SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a qualitative analysis of the knowledge empowerment role played by industrial internet platforms in the digital transformation process of SMEs. Based on theoretical sampling, this paper selects ROOTCLOUD as a typical case to analyse the implementation mechanism of the industrial internet platform in solving the digital transformation problems and challenges faced by SMEs.
Findings
Knowledge management (knowledge integration, sharing and driving) plays an important intermediary role between the empowerment of industrial internet platform and the digital transformation of SMEs. Specifically, the industrial internet platform empowers SMEs with knowledge, empowers supply-side knowledge integration, empowers cross-domain knowledge sharing and facilitates the formation of knowledge-driven supply chain systems.
Research limitations/implications
This study clarifies the mechanism underlying the digital transformation of SMEs empowered by industrial internet platforms, that is, the empowerment of industrial internet platform enhances the level of knowledge integration and sharing of SMEs, thus improving the effectiveness of SMEs in achieving digital transformation. Further empirical studies should be conducted on the above mechanism.
Originality/value
Based on the theoretical perspective of knowledge management, this paper discusses the problems and challenges faced in the digital transformation of SMEs through knowledge empowerment by the industrial internet platform ROOTCLOUD and proposes that knowledge empowerment in the industrial internet platform helps supply-side knowledge integration, promotes cross-domain knowledge sharing and contributes to forming a knowledge-driven supply chain system, thereby promoting the digital transformation of SMEs. System architects and relevant policy departments should pay attention to data-centred system construction, improve the construction of data-based collaborative application ecology and encourage industrial internet platforms to provide more targeted knowledge empowerment solutions for SMEs.
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Honglei Li, Hongyu Wang, Ziyu Yang and Changwei Guo
In the field of digital entrepreneurship, achieving high growth in digital start-ups is crucial. This paper aims to explore how causal conditions at the individual, organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
In the field of digital entrepreneurship, achieving high growth in digital start-ups is crucial. This paper aims to explore how causal conditions at the individual, organizational and environmental levels interact in the growth process of digital start-ups. Furthermore, it uses a configurational approach to conduct a holistic analysis of the cross-level interaction mechanisms that enable digital start-ups to achieve high growth.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a holistic perspective, the data collection included 57 representative cases of digital start-ups in China in the past decade (2014–2023). A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was conducted to explore the cross-level interaction mechanism of the three-dimensional causal conditions of the environment, organization and individual entrepreneurs on high growth among digital start-ups.
Findings
This study found three models for digital start-ups to achieve high growth. These models − the resource network orchestration model, the innovation resource development model and the entrepreneurial spirit coherence model, respectively, reflect the multiple paths of high growth achieved by various digital start-ups based on their entrepreneurial environment, organizational capability and the personality of the founder. This reflects that digital start-ups face different conditions and entrepreneurial situations, with differing cross-level interaction mechanisms for achieving high growth.
Practical implications
First, digital start-ups should focus on strengthening their digital resource integration capabilities to lay the foundation for their subsequent high-growth path selection. Second, entrepreneurs need to adopt a holistic perspective to change or strengthen the causal conditions required to achieve high growth. Third, emphasis should be placed on the coherence between the entrepreneur’s need for achievement and the internal entrepreneurial culture.
Originality/value
First, this study contributes to the literature on high growth among digital start-ups by introducing a cross-level interaction mechanism comprising environmental, organizational and entrepreneurial causal conditions. Second, it reveals that individual factors at the environmental, organizational and entrepreneurial levels are not necessary conditions for high entrepreneurial growth and that digital resource integration capabilities play a more universal role in achieving high digital start-up growth. Finally, the study provides a cross-level holistic explanation of how digital start-ups can achieve high growth and reveals various configuration models conducive to high growth, thus offering practical insights for businesses.
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Honglei Li and Eric W.K. See-To
This study aims at building a framework for the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) response under the social media environment. The elaboration likelihood model was adopted to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at building a framework for the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) response under the social media environment. The elaboration likelihood model was adopted to explain how message source credibility and message appeal jointly influence the eWOM response process, while source credibility provides a central route and message appeal plays a peripheral route for information processing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a scenario design to test the decision behavior in the Facebook environment through message content manipulation. A convenience sampling method was adopted in this study. We collected 203 valid questionnaires and tested this research model with LISREL 8.8. This study used a two-stage structural equation modeling data analysis method with LISREL 8.8, by which the measurement model was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis for the reliability and validity of the research model, and the causal relationship among factors was assessed through exploratory factor analysis .
Findings
The results showed that 53% variance of eWOM responses could be explained by message source credibility and emotional message appeal from the elaboration likelihood model perspective. Message source credibility plays a central role in the social media environment. The model was further tested with a demographic profile analysis for both gender and age. It is found that a female user is influenced by both source credibility and emotional appeal, but a male user is only influenced by message source credibility. The mature age group is more responsive to eWOM messages.
Research limitations/implications
The sample might not represent all social networking sites (SNS) users. The participants represent a small segment of the Facebook population around the globe. Secondly, this research design could be improved by using more recreational messages to test the effects of message appeal and message source credibility. Thirdly, the mobile phone is a type of physical product rather than an experiential product. Future studies could try to identify the same eWOM determinants with different SNS functions, for example, the inbox message function. Similarly, Facebook users are allowed to use both text and pictures to disseminate promotional messages.
Practical implications
This study provides an insight for SNS administrators regarding the determinants of driving more customer responses toward a message. Message source credibility and message appeal are identified as the antecedents for eWOM responses in SNS. Companies could make use of this finding to improve their marketing communication strategy in SNS. The finding can inform administrators of the importance of focusing on both customers’ psychological state and message attributes during the dissemination of promotional messages to improve the efficiency of the promotional effort. Companies aimed at receiving different types of eWOM responses in SNS may need to consider other factors for creating their promotional messages.
Originality/value
Previous studies have mainly identified factors influencing eWOM responses from the people-centered variables such as personal traits and social relationships. This study proposes that the eWOM response is a dual information processing process that can be explained by the ELM. When a user processes information in SNS, he follows both the central route and the peripheral route (i.e. source credibility and message appeal) which can influence the eWOM response. It is the first time that the source credibility is investigated as the central route in ELM model.
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Shancang Li, Theo Tryfonas and Honglei Li
The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth overview of the security requirements and challenges for Internet of Things (IoT) and discuss security solutions for various…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth overview of the security requirements and challenges for Internet of Things (IoT) and discuss security solutions for various enabling technologies and implications to various applications.
Design/methodology/approach
Security requirements and solutions are analysed based on a four-layer framework of IoT on sensing layer, network layer, service layer, and application layer. The cross-layer threats are analysed followed by the security discussion for the enabling technologies including identification and tracking technologies, WSN and RFID, communication, networks, and service management.
Findings
IoT calls for new security infrastructure based on the new technical standards. As a consequence, new security design for IoT shall pay attention to these new standards. Security at both the physical devices and service-applications is critical to the operation of IoT, which is indispensable for the success of IoT. Open problems remain in a number of areas, such as security and privacy protection, network protocols, standardization, identity management, trusted architecture, etc.
Practical implications
The implications to various applications including supervisory control and data acquisition, enterprise systems, social IoT are discussed. The paper will serve as a starting point for future IoT security design and management. The security strategies for IoT should be carefully designed by managing the tradeoffs among security, privacy, and utility to provide security in multi-layer architecture of IoT.
Originality/value
The paper synthesizes the current security requirements for IoT and provides a clear framework of security infrastructure based on four layers. Accordingly, the security requirements and potential threats in the four-layer architecture are provided in terms of general devices security, communication security, network security, and application security.
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Alex Bradley, Haijiang Li, Honglei Qin, Wen Xi, Daniel Peel and Nicholas Nisbet
Defining building information modelling (BIM) standards for the infrastructure domain is a central issue to the successful implementation of BIM in civil engineering domains. To…
Abstract
Purpose
Defining building information modelling (BIM) standards for the infrastructure domain is a central issue to the successful implementation of BIM in civil engineering domains. To this end, this paper aims to present a requirements and process analysis for the ports and waterways domain to address the lack of BIM standards development, using the information delivery manual (IDM) approach and the ethos of openBIM standards.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses the IDM approach. This involves the definition of use cases, process maps, exchange scenarios and subsequent exchange requirements. All these developments were sourced and validated by a series of international industry consultations.
Findings
The paper identifies 30 domain relevant use cases collated from existing sources and new cases. An overview and detailed ports and waterways process map (defining actors, activities and data exchanges). The process maps highlighted 38 exchange scenarios between various activities. Various exchange requirements were defined and are discussed in the context of the required information exchange model and the extensions required to fulfil the needs of the domain. The analysis provides the core information for the next steps of development for a substantial extension to the Industry Foundation Classes and the supporting data dictionary standards.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the international scope of the research, the outcomes can be applied by any stakeholders in the domain of ports and waterways. Therefore, some variation is expected at a national and organizational level. This research has the potential to accelerate the adoption of openBIM standards within the ports and waterways domain leading to increases in efficiency, collaborative working.
Originality/value
This paper reviews the requirements of an identified gap in the provision of openBIM standards relevant and applicable to the domain of ports and waterways.
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Juanyan Miao, Yiwen Li, Siyu Zhang, Honglei Zhao, Wenfeng Zou, Chenhe Chang and Yunlong Chang
The purpose of this study is to optimize and improve conventional welding using EMF assisted technology. Current industrial production has put forward higher requirements for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to optimize and improve conventional welding using EMF assisted technology. Current industrial production has put forward higher requirements for welding technology, so the optimization and improvement of traditional welding methods become urgent needs.
Design/methodology/approach
External magnetic field assisted welding is an emerging technology in recent years, acting in a non-contact manner on the welding. The action of electromagnetic forces on the arc plasma leads to significant changes in the arc behavior, which affects the droplet transfer and molten pool formation and ultimately improve the weld seam formation and joint quality.
Findings
In this paper, different types of external magnetic fields are analyzed and summarized, which mainly include external transverse magnetic field, external longitudinal magnetic field and external cusp magnetic field. The research progress of welding behavior under the effect of external magnetic field is described, including the effect of external magnetic field on arc morphology, droplet transfer and weld seam formation law.
Originality/value
However, due to the extremely complex physical processes under the action of the external magnetic field, the mechanism of physical fields such as heat, force and electromagnetism in the welding has not been thoroughly analyzed, in-depth theoretical and numerical studies become urgent.
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Chang Li, Xingui Zhou, Quanchao Gu, Xingheng Yan and Honglei Wang
A continuous chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method has been used to fabricate pyro-carbon (PyC) coating on continuous silicon carbide (SiC) fibers. The paper aims to evaluate…
Abstract
Purpose
A continuous chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method has been used to fabricate pyro-carbon (PyC) coating on continuous silicon carbide (SiC) fibers. The paper aims to evaluate these coated fibers by testing filament tensile and using microstructure characterization.
Design/methodology/approach
The continuous SiC fiber-reinforced SiC matrix (SiC/SiC) composite is widely studied in aerospace and nuclear applications. The PyC is the probable option in fusion and fast reactor. However, the conventional fabrication method of PyC coating has some drawbacks influencing performance and efficiency.
Findings
The results showed that PyC-coated SiC fibers with continuous CVD method are more straight than conventional ones and residual deformations could not be observed, and these PyC coatings have complete geometry and uniform thickness. In different process conditions, the thickness of PyC coating could control from ∼100 to ∼1,000 nm.
Originality/value
The coated SiC fibers in a lower gas ratio (1:7 to 1:3), lower pressure (500–1,000 Pa) and appropriate winding speed (3 to 5 rpm) have relative high filament tensile strength (∼3.5 to ∼3.9 GPa). And the strength of coated SiC fibers has a negative correlation with the measured thickness of PyC coating. A distinctive growth process was discovered in the continuous CVD method. In a certain range, the quicker growing rate of PyC is obtained in shorter deposition time which means an efficient and quality method could be applied to fabricate coatings.
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Yuhang Gao, Xiaohong Chen, Ping Liu, Honglei Zhou, Shaoli Fu, Wei Li, Xinkuan Liu, Fengcang Ma, Yanbo Zhu and Jiayan Wu
This study aims to investigate the effect of coatings prepared by the addition of copper-aluminum alloy powder on the corrosion behavior of 90/10 copper-nickel alloy.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of coatings prepared by the addition of copper-aluminum alloy powder on the corrosion behavior of 90/10 copper-nickel alloy.
Design/methodology/approach
Coatings of copper-aluminum alloy powder at different contents (Wt.% = 50%, 60%, 70% and 80%) were prepared by the high-temperature heat treatment process. The microstructure and component of the coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical properties of the coating were explored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
Findings
The results show that the aluminized layer was successfully constructed on the surface of 90/10 copper-nickel alloy, the composition of the coating was composed of copper-aluminum phase and aluminum-nickel phase, the existence of the aluminum-nickel phase was formed by the diffusion of Ni elements within the substrate and because of the diffusion, the Al-Ni phase was distributed in the middle and bottom of the coating more. The Al-Ni phase is considered to be the enhanced phase for corrosion resistance. When the copper-aluminum alloy powder content is 70 Wt.%, the corrosion resistance is the best.
Originality/value
The enhancement of corrosion resistance of 90/10 copper-nickel alloy by the copper-aluminum alloy powder was revealed, the composition of the aluminized layer and the mechanism of corrosion resistance were discussed.