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This study aims to empirically analyze the impact of technological innovation on the quantity and quality of employment in the hospitality industry.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically analyze the impact of technological innovation on the quantity and quality of employment in the hospitality industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the data of 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2020, this paper makes an empirical analysis through the fixed effect model.
Findings
The results show that process innovation has a significant positive impact on employment quantity, while product innovation has a significant negative impact on employment quantity. The creative effect of process innovation and the substitution effect of product innovation offset each other, so in the long run, the impact of technological innovation on employment quantity is not significant. However, technological innovation has significantly improved the employment quality of the hospitality industry.
Practical implications
Because technological innovation has replaced part of the labor force, hospitality could guide the labor force in a positive direction. To promote innovation and retain talents, hotels should train employees’ digital thinking and attract high-skilled talents.
Originality/value
This research is unique in using process innovation and product innovation as the main measurement indicators of technological innovation, unlike previous studies that often relied on technological progress to conclude.
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Keywords
Junyun Liao, Jiawen Chen and Xuebing Dong
This study aims to examine the increasingly widespread phenomenon of brand community-swinging, which refers to a user's routine use of multiple brand communities of a brand across…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the increasingly widespread phenomenon of brand community-swinging, which refers to a user's routine use of multiple brand communities of a brand across different social media. Drawing from channel complementarity theory, this study examines whether the complementarity of gratifications in four values (i.e. information value, entertainment value, social interaction value and self-presentation value) influences brand community-swinging and, in turn, cultivates brand loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was developed to collect relevant data from users of a well-known smartphone brand. The survey yielded a total of 351 useable responses, and a structural equation model approach was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that three types of gratification complementarity (information value, social interaction value and self-presentation value) have a significantly positive impact on consumers' brand community-swinging, which further fosters brand loyalty.
Originality/value
Previous research predominantly focused on the motivations and outcomes of consumers' participation within a single-brand community, but little is known about the antecedents and outcomes of brand community-swinging in a poly-social-media context. This study contributes to the brand community literature by addressing this research gap.
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Huimei Zhang, Jiawen Zhang, Yan Zhang, Xu Ye, Yuanyuan Li and Ping Wang
In this paper, a new flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor which uses non-woven fabric as the flexible substrate and sliver nanowires (AgNWs) as the conductive materials was…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, a new flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor which uses non-woven fabric as the flexible substrate and sliver nanowires (AgNWs) as the conductive materials was reported.
Design/methodology/approach
The compression test of the pressure sensors was carried out at different compression frequencies and found that the sensors had more than 5,000 times reusability at high frequency.
Findings
When pressure sensors were applied to different parts of the human body, such as fingers, elbows, knees and throat, the sensors respond differently to different degrees of movement.
Originality/value
The proposed pressure sensor has broad application prospects in the human motion detection.
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Keywords
Despite substantial research attention on the business use of social media in innovation literature, the action-based mechanisms through which social media affect firms' product…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite substantial research attention on the business use of social media in innovation literature, the action-based mechanisms through which social media affect firms' product innovation remain unclear. We address this gap by drawing on the affordance theory and examining the effects of social media applications on product innovations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on analyzing data collected through a questionnaire survey of Chinese firms. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that social media applications have a positive effect on marketing affordances (including customer behavior pattern discovery, real-time market response and marketing ambidexterity), in turn positively influencing product innovation performance. Organizational structures shape the actualization of the marketing affordance of social media; while organizational formalization positively moderates the relationships between social media application and marketing affordances, organizational centrality weakens these relationships.
Practical implications
Managers will benefit from understanding how social media can be applied to help their firms achieve product innovation. When manufacturing firms engage in social media for product innovation, they may find it worthwhile to focus on marketing actions such as customer behavior pattern discovery, real-time market response and marketing ambidexterity.
Originality/value
This study elucidates the action-based mechanism of marketing affordance by which social media usage improves product innovation performance. This study also highlights the design of organizational structure as an important approach to realizing the potential benefits of social media in product innovation.
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Keywords
Lijun Dong, Naichao Chen, Jiawen Liang, Tingting Li, Zhanlin Yan and Bing Zhang
The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth understanding about the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot, which is useful for motivating the further investigation on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth understanding about the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot, which is useful for motivating the further investigation on the inspection of electrical equipment. Currently, electric energy has a strong correlation with the economic development of the country. Intelligent substations play an important role in the transmission and distribution of the electricity; the maintenance of the substation has attracted intensive attention due to the requirement of reliability and safety. The indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot has increasingly become the main tool to realize the unmanned. Hence, a systematic review is conducted systematically reviewing the current technical status of the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot and discuss the existed problems.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the most essential achievements in the field of indoor-orbital electrical inspection robots were reported to present the current status, and the mechanical structures and key inspective technologies were also discussed.
Findings
Four recommendations are provided from the analyzed review, which have made constructive comments on the overall structural design, functionality, intelligence and future development direction of the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot, respectively.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review study on indoor-orbital electrical inspection robots; it fills the theoretical gap and proffers design ideas and directions for the development of the indoor-orbital electrical inspection robot.
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Keywords
Ying Jiang, Junyun Liao, Jiawen Chen, Yanghong Hu and Peng Du
Users' knowledge sharing provides valuable resources for brand community participants and is, therefore, critical for the viability of virtual brand communities. Drawing from both…
Abstract
Purpose
Users' knowledge sharing provides valuable resources for brand community participants and is, therefore, critical for the viability of virtual brand communities. Drawing from both self-determination theory (SDT) and psychological ownership theory, the paper aims to investigate the impact of fulfillment of three basic psychological needs on brand users' knowledge-sharing behavior and examines psychological ownership as a mediator.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data consisting of 316 valid responses were collected from users of Huawei Pollen Club Community. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the reliability and validity of measures, and hierarchical linear regression and bootstrapping were used to test all hypotheses.
Findings
Fulfillment of the need for autonomy, relatedness and competence in a virtual brand community boosts users' psychological ownership and has a positive influence on their knowledge-sharing behavior. Furthermore, psychological ownership partially mediates the relationships between the fulfillment of psychological needs and knowledge-sharing behavior. In addition, the authors found that when users participate in more offline brand activities, the positive impact of the fulfillment of the need for relatedness on psychological ownership is strengthened, while the positive impact of the fulfillment of the need for autonomy on psychological ownership is weakened.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the existing literature by exploring the relationships between fulfilling users' three basic psychological needs and their knowledge-sharing behavior through the mediating role of psychological ownership. The authors also provide insight into how offline brand activities interact with the fulfillment of psychological needs in virtual brand communities.
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Keywords
Lizhu Liu, Guangkai Hu, Xiaorui Zhang, Weng Ling and Jiawen Zhang
The effects of ultrasonication on the epoxy resin and its emulsion were investigated to find out the changes in the Mη and molecular structure of epoxy, as well as its room…
Abstract
Purpose
The effects of ultrasonication on the epoxy resin and its emulsion were investigated to find out the changes in the Mη and molecular structure of epoxy, as well as its room temperature storage stability, centrifugal stability, particle size and its distribution and particle morphology more importantly with the influence of different ultrasonic irradiation time, power and temperature.
Design/methodology/approach
The emulsion was prepared using an emulsifier with epoxy resin and by using phase inversion after subjecting to ultrasound irradiation with a power of 200 W at 50°C for 60 min. The changes in the epoxy resin and its emulsion induced by ultrasound were characterized by Ubbelohde viscometer, FT-IR, 13C-NMR, high-speed desktop centrifuge, laser particle size analyzer and transmission electron microscope.
Findings
The molecular weight of the epoxy resin was initially decreased and then stabilized by the increasing of ultrasonic irradiation time. The mole rate of the epoxy groups in epoxy molecular were decreased by about 14 per cent, resulting from ultrasonic irradiation. The particle size of the emulsion was decreased, while the particle size distribution became uniform in a certain time. The narrow distribution, stable and uniform of waterborne epoxy resin emulsion with more than 60 days room temperature storage period, 80 per cent of the supernatant volume, about 220 nm average particle size was gained with a power of 200 W at 50°C for 60 min.
Research limitations/implications
To overcome the problems commonly encountered with an epoxy emulsion, for example, short storage period and wider particle size, which limit its practical application, the effects of ultrasonic irradiation on the epoxy resin and its emulsion, were investigated. As the stability of emulsion was improved with the introduction of ultrasonic irradiation, the application of epoxy emulsion was improved.
Originality/value
The room temperature storage stability and centrifugal stability of the emulsion were decreased by the mechanical method, and thus, the benefit of an in-depth understanding of the influence of ultrasonic treatment on epoxy resin and its emulsion could further promote the development of water-based coatings.
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Merlina A. Navarro Villanueva, Luis A. Soto Hernández, Melquisedec Vicente Mendoza, Ángel de J. Morales Ramírez and Fernando Juárez López
This paper aims to study the microstructural hot corrosion behaviour of the sintered Y2SiO5 ceramic silicate under a Na2SO4 + V2O5 mixture at an engine representative temperature…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the microstructural hot corrosion behaviour of the sintered Y2SiO5 ceramic silicate under a Na2SO4 + V2O5 mixture at an engine representative temperature of 1150°C. Y2SiO5 is a promising candidate for thermal barrier coatings (TBC) due to its excellent chemical stability at high temperatures. As a continuous source of Y3+, it is expected that Y2SiO5 environmental barrier coating may prolong the lifetime of TBC systems by stopping the degradation caused by the loss of the Y2O3 stabilizer.
Design/methodology/approach
Two routes were chosen for the yttria silicate powder synthesis by sol-gel from TEOS and APTES precursors as the difference in Si source changed the ratio of Y2SiO5/Y2Si2O7 phases. Hot corrosion studies using Na2SO4 and V2O5 mixtures were conducted on both surfaces of APTES and TEOS tablets at 1150°C for 8 h in atmospheric air. The morphology and microstructure analyses of the silicate samples after hot corrosion tests were carried out using a SEM and X-ray diffraction analyse techniques.
Findings
Based on the degradation, the general status of the APTES tablet after hot corrosion presents a better hot corrosion resistance at a temperature of 1150°C than does that of the TEOS tablet. In the TEOS tablet, the crystal morphology of NaY9Si60O26 woodchip shapes with a size of 60 µm is developed on the surface for finally initiating some cracks. In the APTES case, the crystal morphology of rod-like shapes with a size of 100 µm is developed; hence, a dense thick layer predominately postpones the reaction of V2O5 and Na2SO4 with yttria silicate, and consequently, less damage is observed.
Originality/value
Coating yttria silicate preparation is very complicated; the problems of a high synthesis temperature, long production period and low yield still need to be solved. Under these perspectives, ceramics prepared via spark plasma sintering (SPS) can reach theoretical high densities and a fine grain size can be retained after the SPS process; hence, well resistance to the corrosion in molten salts is expected to obtain for the sintered yttria silicate tablets.
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