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The purpose of this paper is to address two major challenges faced by robotic fish when operating in underwater environments: insufficient path planning capabilities and difficulties in avoiding dynamic obstacles. To achieve this, a method is proposed that combines the Improved Rapid Randomized Tree Star (IRRT*) with the dynamic window approach (DWA).

The RRT-connect algorithm is used to determine an initial feasible path quickly. The quality of sampling points is then improved by dividing the regions and selecting each region’s probability based on its fitness value. The fitness function and roulette wheel method are introduced for region selection. Subtarget points of the DWA algorithm are extracted from the IRRT* algorithm to achieve real-time dynamic path planning.

In various maps, the iteration count for the IRRT* algorithm decreased by 61%, 35% and 51% respectively, compared to the RRT* algorithm, whereas the iteration time was reduced by 75%, 34% and 57%, respectively. In addition, the IRRT*-DWA algorithm can successfully navigate through multiple dynamic obstacles, and the average time, path length, etc. do not change much when parameters change, and the stability is high.

A novel IRRT*-DWA algorithm is proposed, which, by refining the sampling strategy and updating sub-target points in real time, not only addresses the limitations of existing algorithms in terms of path planning efficiency in complex environments but also enhances their capability to avoid dynamic obstacles. Ultimately, experimental results indicate a high level of similarity between the actual and ideal paths.

Knowledge sharing (KS) and innovation are generally believed as the antecedents of key outcomes that help firms to attain and sustain competitive advantage in long term. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the mechanism of how interpersonal trust and leader support affect KS and improve firm’s innovation capabilities.

This is a research paper which is built using empirical data collected from 68 manufacturing and service firms in China.

First, the findings show that leader supports moderate the correlation between interpersonal trust and KS. Second, KS serves as mediator in the relationship between interpersonal trust and firm’s innovation capabilities.

KS plays a crucial role in stimulating innovation capabilities for both manufacturing and service firms. Future research should explore the effects of the motivational factors (such as positive psychological state, perceived benefits and costs) on KS and firm’s innovation capabilities.

The paper provides the evidence for the positive effects of interpersonal trust on KS, which in turn is significantly associated with product innovation and process innovation. It highlights the important role of leader supports in promoting the degree of sharing knowledge among individuals to enhance innovation capabilities for firms.

This study puts the theory of innovation forward based on exploring the key factors that have potential and positive impacts on two specific types of innovation capability, namely, product innovation and process innovation, for both manufacturing and service firms.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of surface topography, including surface roughness, circumferential waviness and radial taper, on hydrodynamic performance of liquid film seals considering cavitation.

A mathematical model of liquid film seals with surface topography was established based on the mass-conservative algorithm. Liquid film governing equation was discretized by the finite control volume method and solved by the Gauss–Seidel relaxation iterative algorithm, and the hydrodynamic performance parameters of liquid film seals were obtained considering surface roughness, circumferential waviness and radial taper separately.

The results indicate that the values of load-carrying capacity and frication torque are affected by the surface topography in varying degrees, but the effect is limited.

The results presented in the study are expected to aid in determining the optimum value of structural parameters for the optimum seal performance because of the realistic model which considers both surface topography and cavitation.

The emergence of consumerism has led to regulatory measures being integrated into business practices, but the influence of consumers in developing countries remains limited, resulting in businesses being less responsive. The digital retail landscape is undergoing a transformative revolution, driven by Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 technological advancements such as artificial intelligence (AI), wearables, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and blockchain technology. This development focuses on convenience, personalisation, and emotional connections. Companies are adapting to modern consumer behaviour through various strategies, including online shopping, mobile commerce, data analytics, technology integration, user reviews, and contactless payments. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this seismic shift in the retail industry, and online retail is expected to continue to grow post-pandemic, driven by these technologies. AI enhances the customer experience, wearables provide interactive engagement, VR offers immersive shopping, AR merges online and physical shopping, and blockchain ensures secure transactions in the emerging metaverse. As retail converges with the metaverse, the potential for borderless and personalised shopping experiences is enormous. Advances in VR technology could lead to interconnected virtual spaces that seamlessly connect physical and digital retail, providing immersive and personalised shopping experiences. However, challenges such as cost, learning curves, digital security, legal ambiguity, data privacy, financial risk, and ethical considerations need to be addressed through vigilant and informed consumer engagement in this evolving digital landscape.

Rotary disc is a key component in the compact spherical pump, connecting shaft and piston, bearing hydraulic force conformally and constituting dynamic working chambers alternatively. Motion of rotary disc comprises two components. One is rotating around its own axis and the other is sliding on a cone surface. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the friction and wear mechanism between rotary disc and cylinder under a complicated operation condition.

Structural properties of rotary disc are analyzed first. Frictional moment of rotary disc is modeled based on its structural characteristics and working mechanism, and the constraints of the structural parameters are considered. Besides, the concept of dimensionless contact area is proposed. Comparison is performed between the proposed concept and the frictional moment to determine an optimized beginning angle for spherical pump with a given displacement. The wear model of rotary disc is also established based on its kinematic property, a velocity coefficient is proposed and its common values are presented.

Effects of structural parameters, i.e. beginning angle and ending angle on the frictional moment, are obtained quantitatively. The frictional moment increases with beginning and ending angle with different rates. While the dimensionless contact area decreases with beginning angle. The larger the piston angle, the larger the velocity coefficient will be. The rotary disc wears severely with a larger beginning angle and smaller ending angle, while it has the smallest wear rate under a smaller beginning angle and a larger ending angle.

The originality lies in modeling the complex contact force of rotary disc based on its specific structure. These conclusions can be used to optimize the structural parameters of rotary disc.

This study seeks to examine the managerial behavior of Chinese managers, as observed by their superiors, subordinates, and peers in a state‐owned enterprise in China. Specifically, this study aims to explore two questions. First, what managerial behaviors are perceived as being effective in the Chinese state‐owned enterprise? Second, what managerial behaviors are perceived as being least effective or ineffective in the Chinese state‐owned enterprise?

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted using critical incident (CI) interview techniques. From 35 managers of one large state‐owned telecommunication company in Western China, 230 usable CIs were collected. In total, 31 themes were identified from the thematic analysis, of which 14 related to effective managerial behaviors and 17 related to ineffective behaviors.

An effective Chinese manager is perceived as being supportive, caring, fair, engaging, self‐disciplined, unselfish, responsible, and knowledgeable. While findings of the study highlight the continuing influence of the traditional Chinese culture on the perceived effectiveness of managerial behaviors, they also suggest a clear shift from traditional values that emphasize authoritarian management to Western values that encourage participative management.

While the small sample may limit the generalizability of the study, findings expand the current knowledge base of Chinese management and can be useful for further empirical testing.

This study provides some parameters for benchmarking and evaluating Chinese managerial practices. The identified indicators of effective and ineffective managerial behaviors can be incorporated into the development of a Chinese management competency model or instrument, and a more targeted management development intervention.

This study taps an under‐explored research territory – China, and is one of the first attempts at identifying effective managerial behavior indicators of Chinese managers using the CI technique. By adopting an inductive approach this study provides rich qualitative data that can be useful for developing an indigenous tool appropriate in the Chinese context.

This study investigates information quality, information security technology and information sharing with moderation by information security culture and information leakage and how they all play out to influence supply chain performance for contract suppliers (Contract), noncontract suppliers (Noncontract) and pooled suppliers (Contract and Noncontract combined).

Multigroup analysis was deployed to compare the impact on Contract and Noncontract.

The finding on pooled suppliers confirmed the hypothesis that, in the multigroup analysis, information security culture negatively impacted the information quality–information sharing relationship of Contract.

The practical learning point is that Noncontract could still share information and perform and in some instances better than Contract. Noncontract suppliers are still workable.

Information security culture motivated Noncontract to share and perform better than Contract. This result presents a dilemma.

This paper aims to examine the impact of interest rate liberalisation on the constancy of mean interest rates in China to test the effect of financial reforms and provide strategies for future practices.

Bai and Perron’s (1998, 2003) methodology is used to test for structural breaks in the mean of different interest rates using Chinese data, and break dates are measured against the exact dates of the interest rate liberalisation. The performance of mean interest rates across the regimes defined by liberalisation dates is also investigated.

The main results show that interest rates generally increase (decrease) after deregulations on lending (deposit) rates, but these changes are not significant to induce a negative impact on the domestic economy. Instead, the infrequent but important shifts (structural breaks) in mean interest rates are caused by factors other than liberalisation such as economic shocks, inflationary expectation and liquidity crunch in China.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper provides unprecedented evidence on significant changes in interest rates attributable to the liberalisation within the Chinese context.

A new approach is proposed toward accurately matching any given realistic hardening and softening data from uniaxial tensile test up to failure and moreover, toward bypassing usual tedious implicit trial-and-error iterative procedures in identifying numerous unknown parameters.

Finite strain response features of metals with realistic hardening-to-softening transition effects up to eventual failure are studied for the first time based on the self-consistent elastoplastic J₂-flow model with the logarithmic stress rate. As contrasted with usual approximate and incomplete treatments merely considering certain particular types of hardening effects such as power type hardening, here a novel and explicit approach is proposed to obtain a complete form of the plastic-work-dependent yield strength over the whole hardening and softening range.

A new multi-axial evolution equation for both hardening and softening effects is established in an explicit form. Complete results for the purpose of model validation and prediction are presented for the finite strain responses of monotonic uniaxial stretching up to failure.

New finite strain elastoplastic equations are established with a new history-dependent variable equivalently in place of the usual plastic work. With these equations, a unified and accurate simulation of both gardening and softening effects up to failure is achieved for the first time in an explicit sense without involving usual tedious implicit trial-and-error iterative procedures.

This paper explores the impact of China’s growing prominence in global and regional foreign direct investment (FDI) fl ows on the Southeast Asian countries as investment locations. Providing internal social and economic cohesion is maintained, China is likely to exert a greater pull on regional FDI after WTO accession. To benefit from China’s success, the Southeast Asian countries will need to replace deteriorating individual locational advantages relative to China with a superior regional one. The ASEAN Free Trade Agreement or the Asian Investment Area or both are likely to be important policy solutions.