Motivated by the apparent presence of the “productivity paradox” of information technology (IT) in agri-food supply chain (SC), the purpose of this paper is to explore how IT…
Abstract
Purpose
Motivated by the apparent presence of the “productivity paradox” of information technology (IT) in agri-food supply chain (SC), the purpose of this paper is to explore how IT capabilities affect agri-food supply chain performance (SCP). Specifically, this paper investigates the direct and indirect impacts of IT capabilities on agri-food SCP through interorganizational relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs the questionnaire survey method based on relevant literatures. Data are collected from Chinese 265 core firms' agri-food SC. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is mainly employed for hypothesis testing and analysis.
Findings
The main findings are as follows. First, IT capabilities have significant direct impact on agri-food SCP. Second, IT capabilities enhance interorganizational relationships in the agri-food SC. Third, interorganizational relationships positively influence agri-food SCP. Last, interorganizational relationships are important path factors and mediate the indirect impact of IT capabilities on agri-food SCP.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to a particular sample, that is, agriculture-related firms in Chinese agri-food SC. The results need to be generalized to encompass wider samples. Future research could in greater detail study the links among IT capabilities, interorganizational relationships and agri-food SCP.
Practical implications
The study's findings could provide practical reference value for agriculture-related firms to design appropriate strategies to solve the IT “productivity paradox” and improve agri-food SCP from the perspectives of IT capabilities and interorganizational relationships.
Originality/value
This paper constructs a newly developed framework based on the resource-based view (RBV) and relational view to examine the links among IT capabilities, interorganizational relationships and agri-food SCP, and innovatively verifies the mediating effect of interorganizational relationships on the impact of IT capabilities on agri-food SCP.
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Jiawei Xu, Baofeng Zhang, Jianjun Lu, Yubing Yu, Haidong Chen and Jie Zhou
The importance of the agri-food supply chain in both food production and distribution has made the issue of its development a critical concern. Based on configuration theory and…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of the agri-food supply chain in both food production and distribution has made the issue of its development a critical concern. Based on configuration theory and congruence theory, this research investigates the complex impact of supply chain concentration on financial growth in agri-food supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
The cluster analysis and response surface methodology are employed to analyse the data collected from 207 Chinese agri-food companies from 2010 to 2022.
Findings
The results indicate that different combination patterns of supply chain concentration can lead to different levels of financial growth. We discover that congruent supplier and customer concentration is beneficial for companies’ financial growth. This impact is more pronounced when the company is in the agricultural production stage of agri-food supply chains. Post-hoc analysis indicates that there exists an inverted U-shaped relationship between the overall levels of supply chain concentration and financial growth.
Practical implications
Our research uncovers the complex interplay between supply chain base and financial outcomes, thereby revealing significant ramifications for agri-food supply chain managers to optimise their strategies for exceptional financial growth.
Originality/value
This study proposes a combined approach of cluster analysis and response surface analysis for analysing configuration issues in supply chain management.
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Ming Qiu, Yanwei Miao, Yingchun Li, Long Chen, Rensong Hu and Jianjun Lu
The fabric self-lubricating liners are the key factors impacting the performances of self-lubricating spherical plain bearings. The purpose of this paper is to improve the…
Abstract
Purpose
The fabric self-lubricating liners are the key factors impacting the performances of self-lubricating spherical plain bearings. The purpose of this paper is to improve the friction and wear properties of self-lubricating radial spherical plain bearings by modification of the liners.
Design/methodology/approach
The liners of hybrid woven PTFE/Kevlar fabrics were treated respectively by the LaCl3 and CeO2 solutions. The tribological properties of self-lubricating spherical plain bearings with treated or untreated liners under continuous swaying conditions were investigated with the bearing tester at the swaying frequency of 2.5 Hz and the swaying angle of ±10°. The film formation and wear mechanisms were analyzed based on the observation of worn surfaces with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS).
Findings
Results show that the tribological properties of the bearings treated by the LaCl3 or CeO2 solution were improved compared with those of the untreated bearings. In particular, the wear resistance of bearings treated by the CeO2 solution was remarkably improved under higher swaying cycles, but the anti-friction properties and cooling effects of bearings treated by the LaCl3 solution were better under lower swaying cycles. Through SEM analysis, the reasons were analyzed. The bearings with treated liners only produced slight adhesive and abrasive wear, but the bearings with untreated liners produced more serious adhesive and abrasive wear under higher swaying cycles.
Originality/value
The paper proposed a new pretreatment process for the self-lubricating liners. The investigation on the friction and wear behaviors of the bearings is beneficial for prolonging the service lives of the radial spherical plain bearings.
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Weihua Jiao, Zetian Fu, Weisong Mu, Xiaoshuan Zhang, Jianjun Lu and Mark Xu
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the technical efficiency of Chinese table grape wholesalers and subsequently to examine the degree to which the calculated efficiency…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the technical efficiency of Chinese table grape wholesalers and subsequently to examine the degree to which the calculated efficiency correlates with a set of explanatory variables.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-stage procedure is applied in this paper. First, a non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique is applied to investigate the degree of technical efficiency for Chinese table grape wholesalers. Second, Tobit regression is used to analyze the factors influencing technical efficiency.
Findings
Research results reveal that the mean technical efficiency of the sample is 0.544 and 0.860 under constant returns scale (CRS) and VRS assumptions, respectively, and the scale efficiency (SE) is 0.620. The variables of experiences, number of grape varieties on sale, daily selling volumes and fixed sale ratio have a significant effect on technical efficiency, while the other exogenous variables do not affect the efficiency in any significant way.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this research are specific to table grape wholesalers in China, however, the method used in this study is transferrable and applicable to the study of similar problems in others countries.
Originality/value
This research has yielded some interesting and original insights into the efficiency level of Chinese grape wholesalers and the factors that influence the level of efficiency. The findings have practical implications for Chinese agriculture policy makers, and are able to stimulate further research of a similar type in the international agricultural research community.
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Xuepeng Zhan, Jianjun Wu, Mingzhi Wang, Yu Hui, Hongfei Wu, Qi Shang and Ruichao Guo
This paper aims to first apply more advanced anisotropic yield criterions as Yld91 and Yld2004 to spherical indentation simulations, and investigate plastic anisotropy identified…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to first apply more advanced anisotropic yield criterions as Yld91 and Yld2004 to spherical indentation simulations, and investigate plastic anisotropy identified from indentation simulations following different yield criterions (Hill48, Yld91, Yld2004) to discover laws. It also aims to compare the difference in plastic anisotropy identified from indentation on three yield criterions and evaluate the applicability of plastic anisotropy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses indentation simulations on different yield criterions to identify plastic anisotropy. First, the trust-region techniques based on the nonlinear least-squares method are used to determine anisotropy coefficients of Yld91 and Yld2004. Then, Yld91 and Yld2004 are implemented into ABAQUS software using user-defined material (UMAT) subroutines with the proposed universal structure. Finally, through considering comprehensively the key factors, the locations of the optimal data acquisition points in indentation simulations on different yield criterions are determined. And, the identified stress–strain curves are compared with experimental data.
Findings
This paper discovers that indentation on Yld2004 is able to fully identify difference in equivalent plastic strain between 0° and 90° directions when indentation depth ht is relatively smaller. And, this research demonstrates conclusively that plastic anisotropy identified from indentation on Yld2004 and Yld91 is more applicable at larger strains than that on Hill48, and that on Yld2004 is more applicable than that on Yld91, overall. In addition, the method on the determination of the locations of the optimal data acquisition points is demonstrated to be also valid for anisotropic material.
Originality/value
This paper first investigates plastic anisotropic properties and laws identified from indentation simulations following more advanced anisotropic yield criterions and provides reference for later research.
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Yanxia Liu, Zhikai Hu and JianJun Fang
The three-axis magnetic sensors are mostly calibrated by scalar method such as ellipsoid fitting and so on, but these methods cannot completely determine the 12 parameters of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The three-axis magnetic sensors are mostly calibrated by scalar method such as ellipsoid fitting and so on, but these methods cannot completely determine the 12 parameters of the error model. A two-stage calibration method based on particle swarm optimization (TSC-PSO) is proposed, which makes full use of the amplitude invariance and direction invariance of Earth’s magnetic field vector.
Design/methodology/approach
The TSC-PSO designs two-stage fitness function. Stage 1: design a fitness function of the particle swarm by the amplitude invariance of the Earth’s magnetic field to obtain a preliminary error matrix G and the bias error B. Stage 2: further design the fitness function of the particle swarm by the invariance of the Earth’s magnetic field to obtain a rotation matrix R, thereby determining the error matrix uniquely.
Findings
The proposed TSC-PSO can completely determine 12 unknown parameters in error model and further decrease the maximum fluctuation error of the Earth’s magnetic field amplitude and the absolute error of heading.
Practical implications
The proposed TSC-PSO provides an effective solution for three-axis magnetic sensor error compensation, which can greatly reduce the price of magnetic sensors and be used in the fields of Earth’s magnetic survey, drilling and Earth’s magnetic integrated navigation.
Originality/value
The proposed TSC-PSO has significantly improved the magnetic field amplitude and heading accuracy and does not require additional heading reference. In addition, the method is insensitive to noise and initialization conditions, has good robustness and can converge to a global optimum.
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Currently, for the evaluation of enterprise credit, many specific values of indexes are difficult to obtain, so decision makers tend to give a form of uncertain linguistic…
Abstract
Purpose
Currently, for the evaluation of enterprise credit, many specific values of indexes are difficult to obtain, so decision makers tend to give a form of uncertain linguistic variable. To solve this kind of problem, the purpose of this paper is to introduce an uncertain pure linguistic approach on evaluation of enterprise integrity based on grey information.
Design/methodology/approach
Initial uncertain linguistic variables given by experts are transferred into interval grey numbers, and their greyness of degree is computed. Then, the greyness of degree is applied to adjust the weights of experts. Moreover, the core of each interval grey number is calculated, and through giving the positive ideal point and negative ideal point, which are binary numbers, the comprehensive grey relational grade between the linguistic number and the two points is calculated, respectively, as well to get the ranking result of projects by considering both core and greyness of degree.
Findings
The model is applied to a case, and the result verifies the validity and practicability of the model which reveals high effectiveness.
Practical implications
This model provides a new feasible method in a growing number of fuzzy evaluation schemes in the fields of enterprise integrity and contributes to getting better and more accurate results.
Originality/value
In this paper, the greyness of degree is introduced to the model to adjust the experts’ weights, and it reflects the thought of “making full use of the information” in grey system theory and further enriches the system of grey decision-making theory as well as expanding its application scope.
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Meng Lu, Yang Qiang, Du Jiangang and Dong Zerui
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction effect of innovative product category and presentation order on consumer consumer’s purchasing intention and the mediating…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction effect of innovative product category and presentation order on consumer consumer’s purchasing intention and the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examined the hypotheses in three experiment studies. In Study 1, the authors primed innovative product category and presentation order on consumer consumer’s purchasing intention. In Study 2, the authors measured the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception. In Study 3, they validated the moderating effect of picture and text consistency on the improvement of purchase preference.
Findings
The results reveal that RNP/INP and presentation order (from whole to part/from part to whole) could enhance consumers’ purchase intention and verify the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception, based on which a complete internal mechanism model is constructed. The third experiment shows the moderating effect of picture and text consistency on the improvement of purchase preference by matching the category and presentation order of innovative products.
Originality/value
Prior literature on the thinking mode of holistic and partial processing has been mostly applied to the cognitive field of reading and text labeling. In this study, using the holistic (local) processing thinking model and anchoring theory, eye movement experiments and situational experiments, the audience’s analysis framework of information processing mechanism is constructed. The unique phenomenon of product category and overall (local) presentation order coexisting in innovative product advertisement is considered comprehensively.
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Jianjun Yao, Le Zhang, Shuo Chen, Zhenshuai Wan, Tao Wang and Qingtao Niu
The paper aims to achieve translational shaking tests on a 6-DOF hydraulic parallel manipulator. Shaking tests are commonly performed on shaking tables, which are generally used…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to achieve translational shaking tests on a 6-DOF hydraulic parallel manipulator. Shaking tests are commonly performed on shaking tables, which are generally used for small motion ranges and are usually financially costly. The research is required to generate shaking motions in three translational directions for a specimen for shaking tests, but it also needs to produce 6-degree of freedom (DOF) motions with large motion ranges.
Design/methodology/approach
A hydraulic 6-DOF (degree of freedom) parallel manipulator is applied to achieve this goal. The link-space control is adopted for the manipulator, and PID controller and feed-forward controller are used for each loop of the system. A hybrid reference signal generator is proposed by using a shaking controller, which is developed to convert the shaking motion into position signal. The converted result is directly added to the pose signal. The whole real-time control system is realized by using MATLAB xPC Target.
Findings
The developed method is verified on the hydraulic 6-DOF parallel manipulator with specimen. Experiments show very promising results that the proposed technology is really applicable to perform translational shaking tests on the hydraulic parallel manipulator.
Originality/value
A simple yet efficient solution is proposed that allows shaking tests in three translational directions performed on the hydraulic 6-DOF parallel manipulator with wide motion ranges. The paper presents a state-of-the-art related to the applications of parallel robots in several fields of technology.
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Jianjun (John) Zhu, Thomas S. Gruca and Lopo L. Rego
This study examines the empirical relationship between four broad antecedents of brand equity (branding strategy, brand structure, brand positioning and target market) and two…
Abstract
This study examines the empirical relationship between four broad antecedents of brand equity (branding strategy, brand structure, brand positioning and target market) and two separate dimensions of revenue premium: price premium and volume premium. Our modeling framework aims to explain how different antecedents of brand equity influence the realized velocity and margin of branded product sales, key drivers of operating cash flow. Our generalizable empirical analyses are based on a representative dataset of over 6,500 brands, across 200 consumer-packaged goods categories, spanning three years. We find that only 20% of brands command revenue premiums, for which volume premiums are the critical determinant. Branding strategies and brand structure primarily impact volume premium. In contrast, brand positioning has little effect. Target market substantially affects both premiums. Overall, these four elements account for 73% and 69% of the explained variations in price and volume premiums, respectively. This study provides generalizable, important, and novel insights for the theory and practice of brand management regarding price positioning and extending brands into new categories.