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Proper platform pose is important for the mobile manipulator to accomplish dexterous manipulation tasks efficiently and safely, and the evaluation criterion to qualify manipulation performance is critical to support the pose decision process. This paper aims to present a comprehensive index to evaluate the manipulator’s operation performance from various aspects.

In this research, a criterion called hybrid manipulability (HM) is proposed to assess the performance of the manipulator’s operation, considering crucial factors such as joint limits, obstacle avoidance and stability. The determination of the optimal platform pose is achieved by selecting the pose that maximizes the HM within the feasible inverse reachability map associated with the target object.

A self-built mobile manipulator is adopted as the experimental platform, and the feasibility of the proposed method is experimentally verified in the context of object-grasping tasks both in simulation and practice.

The proposed HM extends upon the conventional notion of manipulability by incorporating additional factors, including the manipulator’s joint limits, the obstacle avoidance situation during the operation and the manipulation stability when grasping the target object. The manipulator can achieve enhanced stability during grasping when positioned in the pose determined by the HM.

In order to solve the problem of how to reduce the service delay of edge computing, this paper proposes an edge cloud framework, which contains four groups under different locations between mobile edge nodes and users. A feasible cost scheme can be obtained by calculating the cost in different simulation groups. Furthermore, we give suggestions on how to deploy edge nodes at a reasonable cost for users effectively.

This paper is motivated by the IoT-Cloud framework; they are divided according to whether the nodes have templates required by users and the distance from users to distinguish various consumption levels and classify the testing result. Based on four different groups satisfying reasonable resource allocation, the cost was studied. The work focuses on the unpredictable movement within the test range. For assignment and scheduling of template tasks at each time slot, the Edge-Cloud scheme is proposed to reduce the cost.

According to the simulation results in this paper, the total cost of the four groups is lower when the closest node-set satisfies the user service directly. To improve the probability that the closest node-set can meet general requests of users and provide them with faster and more economical network services, increasing the number of edge nodes within the range of user activities is suggested.

An Edge-Cloud framework is constructed in four groups, and the conclusion of a feasible cost scheme came out.

According to reputation theory, enterprises that adopt a proactive approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) are known to actively invest in corporate innovation. However, this theory does not fully explain the mechanisms through which CSR influences corporate innovation, nor does it address how to effectively amplify CSR’s positive impact on innovation. To overcome these limitations, this research aims to incorporate the theories of innovation investment and dynamic capabilities. Innovation investment theory elucidates how CSR can attract additional financing, which can be directed toward innovation activities. Meanwhile, dynamic capabilities theory highlights how digital transformation in enterprises can enhance the positive effects of CSR on innovation, providing insights from both theoretical and empirical perspectives.

To demonstrate the mediating role of debt financing costs and the moderating role of enterprise digital transformation in the mechanism of CSR on corporate innovation, this research conducts fixes effects models by collecting 27,912 data points from 3,775A-share China-listed enterprises, ranging in period from 2010 to 2020. Empirical research once again proves that the theories of innovation investment and dynamic capabilities effectively compensates for the shortcomings of reputation theory. These three theories effectively explain that what is the effect of CSR on enterprise innovation? How does CSR influence corporate innovation? And through what mechanisms can CSR better enhance corporate innovation?

According to innovation investment theory, the cost of debt financing mediates the positive relationship between CSR and corporate innovation. This occurs because enterprises with robust CSR practices are more likely to secure external funding, thereby reducing their costs associated with external debt financing. Lower debt financing costs provide a stable source of funds for corporate innovation. Additionally, dynamic capability theory suggests that enterprise digital transformation moderates the positive relationship between CSR and corporate innovation. Building on these insights, it is recommended that enterprises, especially state-owned ones, should prioritize technological innovation to enhance their competitiveness.

This research aims to address and narrow the knowledge gap regarding the relation between CSR and corporate innovation through theoretical and empirical analyses. With respect to the influence mechanism, this research solely based on innovation investment theory and dynamic capabilities theory, focuses on the influence mechanism of CSR on corporate innovation, with the debt financing costs as the mediating variable and digital transformation as the moderating variable. However, the influence mechanism turns out to be complicated and there is room for further exploring numerous mechanisms. For example, future research can focus on identifying additional channels through which CSR exerts an influence on corporate innovation based on TOE theoretical framework.

This research presents several strategies to enhance corporate innovation based on its conclusions: First, enterprises should promptly publish social responsibility reports to build a positive industry reputation. Moreover, by actively participating in CSR activities, they can strengthen their networks and enhance their industry standing. Second, the significant mediating role of debt financing costs should not be ignored. Enterprises are encouraged to seek diverse financing channels to reduce financial pressures, address financing challenges and facilitate the coordinated development of CSR and innovation. Third, enterprise digital transformation significantly affects the impact of CSR on innovation. Therefore, enterprises should advance digital transformation initiatives that incorporate technological innovation, organizational improvements and integration with supply chain partners. Finally, it has been noted that state-owned enterprises are often less responsive to technological innovation than their non-state counterparts. SOEs could redefine the scope and priorities of their social responsibilities to prevent excessive resource consumption that could hinder innovation. For instance, integrating some of their social responsibilities with innovation projects could promote both social and technological innovation objectives. Additionally, the government could ensure fair resource distribution among different types of enterprises and provide an equitable financing platform to mitigate financial challenges for both state-owned and non-state-owned enterprises.

Reputation theory does not fully elucidate the mechanisms by which CSR influences corporate innovation or how to effectively enhance CSR’s positive impact on innovation. This research integrates the theories of innovation investment and dynamic capabilities to address these gaps. According to innovation investment theory, debt financing costs mediate the positive relationship between CSR and corporate innovation. Meanwhile, dynamic capabilities theory posits that enterprise digital transformation moderates this positive relationship, further strengthening the impact of CSR on innovation.

Owing to the dramatic rise of FinTech credit in the financial sector, this study describes its knowledge and intellectual structure and paves the way for future research.

The study employs citation analysis, keyword analysis, co-author analysis, co-citation analysis and bibliographic coupling on 268 peer-reviewed articles published during 2010–2021 and extracted from the Web of Science database.

Research on FinTech credit has picked up momentum from 2016, with majority contributions from China, followed by UK and USA. International Journal of Bank Marketing is found to be the most productive journal. Co-citation analysis reveals that past studies have focused on three dominant themes, viz. (a) factors that influence user intention to adopt technological products and services (b) borrowers' and lenders' characteristics that impact fund-raising in FinTech credit platforms and (c) evolution of FinTech market over the years. Bibliographic coupling reveals that recent trends in FinTech credit include (a) impact of emerging technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data on financial system, (b) factors that encourage consumers to adopt the FinTech products and services, (c) mechanisms by which FinTechs have transformed formal credit markets, (d) factors that lead to successful fundraising in FinTech platforms and (e) critical perspectives on digital lending platforms.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is a pioneering study undertaking an exhaustive analysis of FinTech credit as a research area. The study offers valuable insights on potential topics of research in FinTech credit domain like investigating Balance Sheet Lending Model, investigating the impact of FinTechs on financial system, and new markets by collaborating with scholars of other regions.

This study aims to examine why women transition from wage work to self-employed entrepreneurship, the seemingly insecure and unruly economic sector compared with the stable iron rice bowl and the fancy spring rice jobs.

Based on in-depth interviews in Zhejiang, the entrepreneurial hotbed in coastal China, this study examines the experiences of self-employed female entrepreneurs who used to work in the iron rice bowl and the spring rice jobs and explores their nonconventional career transition and its gendered implications.

This study finds that these women quit their previous jobs to escape from gendered suppression in wage work where their femininity was stereotyped, devalued or disciplined. By working for themselves, these women embrace a rubber rice bowl that allows them to improvise different forms of femininity that are better rewarded and recognized.

The study contributes to studies on gender and work by framing femininity as a fluid rather than a fixed set of qualities and fills the research gap by illustrating women’s agency in reacting to gender expectations in certain workplaces. The study develops a new concept of rubber rice bowl to describe how entrepreneurship, a seemingly women-unfriendly sphere, attracts women by allowing them to comply with, resist, or improvise normative gender expectations.

It is only logical that a firm aims to make a profit after entering the market. However, some firms enter the market with the goal of market expansion and even burn money to pursue market share, which is counterintuitive in practice. To explore the theoretical foundations behind this rare phenomenon, this paper focuses on discussing the impact of the market expansion entry strategy on the entrant firm and the incumbent firm.

Using a game theory model of a supply chain with an incumbent and an entrant, this paper explores the mathematical conditions for the entrant to adopt either the traditional or the market expansion entry strategy and investigates the incumbent’s benefits and losses under different entry strategies.

The results show that when the market-expansion effect and the selling price ceiling are moderate, the entrant firm always adopts the market expansion entry strategy, and the incumbent firm obtains a free ride from the entrant firm and benefits from it. The entire industry profits and the industry consumer surplus are increased. In particular, we further investigate the cases in which the incumbent firm has a first-mover advantage or there is a troublesome cost, and the results confirm the aforementioned conclusions.

By considering market share as the entrant’s goal, this paper contributes to the dual-purpose literature. Moreover, based on the model’s mathematical results, this paper offers relevant management insights for the entrant and its stakeholders in the e-commerce platform.

Based on the moral licensing theory, this study aims to reveal the mechanism of self-sacrificial leadership inducing abusive supervision from two paths of leader moral credit and leader moral credential. At the same time, it also discusses the moderating effect of leader behavioral integrity on the two paths.

In this study, 434 employees and their direct leaders from six Chinese companies were investigated in a paired survey at three time points, and the empirical data was analyzed using Mplus 7.4 software.

Self-sacrificial leadership has a positive effect on leader abusive supervision through the mediating role of leader moral credit and leader moral credential. In addition, this study also finds that leader behavioral integrity is the “gate” for self-sacrificial leadership to promote abusive supervision, and the leader behavioral integrity has a moderating effect on the process of self-sacrificial leadership influencing on leader moral credit and leader moral credential.

This study explores the evolution of self-sacrificial leadership from “good” to “bad” from the perspective of moral licensing and broadens the research on the mechanism and boundary conditions of self-sacrificial leadership. At the same time, it also provides important reference value for preventing the negative effects of self-sacrificial leadership in organizations.

Based on the Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Stress, this study aims to reveal the mechanism of peer abusive supervision on bystander proactive behavior through two different paths: bystander assertive impression management motivation and bystander defensive impression management motivation. Besides, the moderating effects of bystander uncertainty tolerance on the two paths are also explored.

In this study, 438 employees and their direct leaders from eight Chinese companies were surveyed in a paired survey at three time points, and the empirical data was analyzed using Mplus 7.4 software.

Peer abusive supervision leads bystanders to develop assertive impression management motivation and, thus, to exhibit more proactive behaviors. At the same time, peer abusive supervision also causes bystanders to develop defensive impression management motivation, which reduces the frequency of performing proactive behaviors. In addition, this study finds that bystander uncertainty tolerance plays a moderating role in influencing bystander assertive impression management motivation and bystander defensive impression management motivation in response to peer abusive supervision.

Starting from the bystander perspective, this study verifies the double-edged sword effect of peer abusive supervision on bystander proactive behavior as well as the mechanism of differentiated effects through cognitive appraisal, which broadens the scope of the research on abusive supervision, and deepens the academic understanding and development of the Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Stress. At the same time, it also provides new ideas for organizations to reduce the negative effects of workplace abusive behavior.

As productions show characteristics of multi-varieties and small batch in a recent new product system, it is more difficult to acquire its failure rate data. With the help of expert experience information, the authors can get the interval estimation of failure rate data under different methods, so how to make the interval convergence with the new information is an important problem to be solved. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

In this paper, the concept of generalized standard grey number is used to characterize the multi-source heterogeneous uncertainty failure rate data into a unified framework. Then, the engineering construction method is used to calculate the average failure rate and build the grey exponential distribution reliability function, whose image is presented as the possible region of the two-curve envelope.

Further, according to the normal distribution assumption of the regional convergence based on the information supplement, the convergence problem of the reliability function is transformed into the convergence of the area of the curve envelope region, and construct the multi-objective programming model with the minimum envelope area and the lowest total cost of information acquisition, acquire the conclusion that the failure rate is equal to the nuclear of the average failure rate when the envelope region converges.

Through the case analysis of the equipment ejection system of the Harbinger system, five groups of results are obtained by Matlab simulation, which verify the rationality and feasibility of the model described in this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to find the key influence factors of executive compensation within China ports and listed shipping companies and provide some reasonable suggestions. Eventually, help to perfect the executive compensation evaluation mechanism against the background of new area.

Grey correlation analysis is an important part of grey system theory. Professor Liu Sifeng further studies the relationship between two sequences absolute increment on the basis of Deng’s degree and put forward the “Grey absolute correlation degree,” which is widely used in practice. In the study, on the basis of the area of the line between sequences size, it measures the correlation degrees of firm performance, executive stock holding, continuous growth capacity and other relevant factors of executive payment in China ports and listed shipping companies.

The paper concludes that the main factors influence CEO salary in China ports and listed shipping companies are return on equity and growth rate of fixed assets. However, the authors consider the frequent occurrence of executives’ corruption in China listed state-owned enterprise under the environment of financial and economic crisis, the authors argue that the significant influence of net assets attributed to shareholders cannot be ignored. In addition, cash flow in operating activities and executive stock holding both have relatively important effect on executive compensation.

This paper still has some limitations. First, it merely takes into account the financial indicators and ignores the influence of non-financial indicators to the performance evaluation of listed companies, such as: innovation ability, human capital and goodwill. Second, it has not considered the power consumption and other types of “invisible income” in the executive compensation structure, neither the influence of investing and financing activities on corporate performance. Consequently, these are likely to cause a certain deviation to the results of the study.

The outcome obtained in this paper can be provided for China ports and listed shipping companies to establish a reasonable executive compensation evaluation and incentive mechanism under the background of depressed shipping market.

This paper intends to use correlation analysis between firm performance, executive stock holding, sustainability and executive compensation in the new area of time, tries to make a greater contribution to the major component of salary policy and then make some suggestions on incentive supervising and restraining mechanisms for the ports and listed shipping firms in China.

Although scholars have done many studies about the association analysis of executive compensation and firm performance, they neglect the economic environment of industry. Meanwhile, considering the non-financial indicators and incomplete information, this paper studies the grey correlation analysis of executive compensation and influence factors in China ports and listed shipping firms under the background of the Chinese flagging shipping industry.