The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between corporate tax aggressiveness and cash holdings and that between corporate tax aggressiveness and the value of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between corporate tax aggressiveness and cash holdings and that between corporate tax aggressiveness and the value of cash. Further, this study explores the impact of the tax enforcement level on the above associations.
Design/methodology/approach
Under a Chinese special institutional background, this study constructs tax aggressiveness and tax enforcement measures. On this basis, using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies over the period from 1990 to 2010, this study empirically tests the association between tax enforcement, corporate tax aggressiveness, and cash holdings.
Findings
By empirically testing with Chinese listed companies as the sample, this paper finds the following: with the increase in the tax avoidance level, the precautionary incentives of cash, and the level of financial constraint likewise increase, which will make the level of firm cash savings increase. Meanwhile, although tax avoidance will induce lower transparency and higher agency costs, the marginal value of the cash held by the more aggressive firms is higher due to the higher market competition effect of the cash. Additional tests suggest that, the tax enforcement level can weaken the effect of tax avoidance on the transparency and agency problem; however, because the tax enforcement level can also increase the tax risk of the firm, the positive relation between firm’s tax avoidance and cash savings is strengthened correspondingly. On the value of cash holdings, the tax enforcement level can also make the marginal value of tax aggressive firms higher.
Originality/value
First, this paper provides new evidence on the determinants of firm’s cash holdings from the perspective of cash savings. Second, this paper examines the association between Chinese firm’s tax aggressiveness and the value of cash, which not only provides evidence for the local tax literature but also has reference value for the foreign literature. Third, this paper has reference value for research on the association between corporate tax avoidance activities and other operating decisions. Finally, this paper not only provides new evidence on the association between tax enforcement and corporate governance, but also extends the prior literature on the association between corporate tax aggressiveness and cash holdings.
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Xiaohong Shi, Ziyan Wang, Runlu Zhong, Liangliang Ma, Xiangping Chen and Peng Yang
Smart contracts are written in high-level programming languages, compiled into Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) bytecode, deployed onto blockchain systems and called with the…
Abstract
Purpose
Smart contracts are written in high-level programming languages, compiled into Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) bytecode, deployed onto blockchain systems and called with the corresponding address by transactions. The deployed smart contracts are immutable, even if there are bugs or vulnerabilities. Therefore, it is critical to verify smart contracts before deployment. This paper aims to help developers effectively and efficiently locate potential defects in smart contracts.
Design/methodology/approach
GethReplayer, a smart contract testing method based on transaction replay, is proposed. It constructs a parallel transaction execution environment with two virtual machines to compare the execution results. It uses the real existing transaction data on Ethereum and the source code of the tested smart contacts as inputs, conditionally substitutes the bytecode of the tested smart contract input into the testing EVM, and then monitors the environmental information to check the correctness of the contract.
Findings
Experiments verified that the proposed method is effective in smart contract testing. Virtual environmental information has a significant effect on the success of transaction replay, which is the basis for the performance of the method. The efficiency of error locating was approximately 14 times faster with the proposed method than without. In addition, the proposed method supports gas consumption analysis.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the difficulty that developers encounter in testing smart contracts before deployment and focuses on helping develop smart contracts with as few defects as possible. GethReplayer is expected to be an alternative solution for smart contract testing and provide inspiration for further research.
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This paper aims to explore the relationship between ethical self-fashioning and citizenship practices in the ongoing revival of “Chinese Traditional Culture” pursued in tandem by…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the relationship between ethical self-fashioning and citizenship practices in the ongoing revival of “Chinese Traditional Culture” pursued in tandem by the party-state and by private actors in present-day China.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting an anthropological approach, the author draws from three sets of resources: (1) research literature on China’s political history and key texts of early Chinese thought, (2) contemporary state discourses on citizen formation, and (3) participant observation notes and interviews with organizers and followers of the Wu-Wei School (a pseudonym). The author conducts a textual analysis of primary and secondary literature and a critical discourse analysis of the ethnographic data and examines emerging themes.
Findings
Firstly, the author identifies a crucial dimension in the historical and cultural roots of Chinese citizenship practices: an enduring conception that binds individual ethical self-improvement with socio-political flourishing. Secondly, examining contemporary state discourses on “citizen quality” and “reviving China’s outstanding traditional culture”, the author showcases how party-state authorities call on individuals to self-reform for national rejuvenation. Thirdly, the author investigates how members of the Wu-Wei School construe their individual pursuits of ethical self-improvement as significant for societal progress.
Originality/value
Based on these findings, the author demonstrates the ways in which autochthonous conceptions of Chinese citizenship give a central place to private acts of self-fashioning. The author argues that the entanglement between individual ethics and citizenship practices constitutes a crucial but largely understudied dimension of Chinese citizenship.
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Yanchao Sun, Liangliang Chen and Hongde Qin
This paper aims to investigate the distributed coordinated fuzzy tracking problems for multiple mechanical systems with nonlinear model uncertainties under a directed…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the distributed coordinated fuzzy tracking problems for multiple mechanical systems with nonlinear model uncertainties under a directed communication topology.
Design/methodology/approach
The dynamic leader case is considered while only a subset of the follower mechanical systems can obtain the leader information. First, this paper approximates the system uncertainties with finite fuzzy rules and proposes a distributed adaptive tracking control scheme. Then, this paper makes a detailed classification of the system uncertainties and uses different fuzzy systems to approximate different kinds of uncertainties. Further, an improved distributed tracking strategy is proposed. Closed-loop systems are investigated using graph theory and Lyapunov theory. Numerical simulations are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Findings
Based on fuzzy control and adaptive control theories, the desired distributed coordinated tracking control strategies for multiple uncertain mechanical systems are developed.
Originality/value
Compared with most existing literature, the proposed distributed tracking algorithms use fuzzy control and adaptive control techniques to cope with system nonlinear uncertainties of multiple mechanical systems. Moreover, the improved control strategy not only reduces fuzzy rules but also has higher control accuracy.
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Wang Xinlong and Shen Liangliang
In order to accomplish real‐time alignment of Shipborne strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) on moving bases, a novel solution method of utilizing neural networks for rapid…
Abstract
Purpose
In order to accomplish real‐time alignment of Shipborne strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) on moving bases, a novel solution method of utilizing neural networks for rapid transfer alignment of Shipborne SINS was investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
The system error state equations and measurement equations of the Shipborne transfer alignment were established. Based on the nonlinear and time‐variant SINS model on moving bases, a neural network learning algorithm based on Kalman filtering was presented, and the methods of constructing and training of neural networks input‐output sample pairs suitable for Shipborne SINS were proposed.
Findings
Velocity and attitude errors between the master and slave inertial navigation system (INS) are chosen as network's inputs, and the information of sample pairs is affluent, which can advance the stability and generalization of the neural networks. The neural networks algorithms based on Kalman filtering not only have the self‐learning ability, but also remain recursive optimal estimation capability of Kalman filtering. Through the introducing of the local level trajectory frame, the trained neural networks can be independent on a ship heading, and only dependent on the relative position errors between master with slave INS and the inertial sensor errors.
Originality/value
This article presents an innovative solution method of utilizing neural networks for rapid transfer alignment of Shipborne SINS.
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Fenglei Ni, Tianhui Li, Yiwei Liu, Hong Liu, Yang Li, Liangliang Zhao and Zhaopeng Chen
The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamic modeling and controller design for the series element actuator (SEA) joints. The robot equipped with SEA joints is a strong…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamic modeling and controller design for the series element actuator (SEA) joints. The robot equipped with SEA joints is a strong coupling, nonlinear, highly flexible system, which can prevent itself from damaging by the accidental impact and the people to be injured by the robot.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the torque source model, the authors built a dynamic model for the SEA joint. To improve the accuracy of this model, the authors designed an elastic element into the joint and implemented the vector control for the joint motor. A control method of combined PD controller and back-stepping was proposed. Moreover, the torque control could be transformed into position control by stiffness transformation.
Findings
The established model and the proposed method are verified by the position and torque control experiments. The experimental results show that the dynamic model of the SEA joint is accurate and the proposed control strategies for the SEA joint are reasonable and feasible.
Originality/value
The main contribution of the paper is as follows: designing an elastic element with high linearity to improve the model accuracy of the SEA joint. The control strategy-based back-stepping method for the SEA joint is proposed to increase the robustness of the controller.
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Qianqian Zheng, Liangliang Chen, Luyao Lu and Xuesong Ye
Olfaction plays a very important role in daily life. The olfactory system has the ability to recognize, discriminate and identify thousands of odorant compounds with extremely…
Abstract
Purpose
Olfaction plays a very important role in daily life. The olfactory system has the ability to recognize, discriminate and identify thousands of odorant compounds with extremely high sensitivity and specificity. The research on olfactory system has very important values in exploring the mechanisms of information processing in the other sensory nervous systems and brain. Recently, with the development of molecular biological and microelectronics technology research, the study of olfactory cell-based sensors has made great progress. The purpose of this paper is to provide details of recent developments in olfactory cell-based sensors.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an introduction, this paper first discusses some olfactory cell-based biosensors, which focus on the light-addressable potentiometric sensors and the microelectrode arrays. Second, surface modification, microfabrication and microfluidic technology which can improve the efficiency of cell immobilization will be summarized. The research trends of olfactory cell-based sensor in future will be proposed.
Findings
This paper shows that the biosensors’ performance is expected to be greatly improved due to the fast development of nanotechnology, optical technology and microelectronics. More and more emerging intelligent olfactory sensors will have a promising prospect in many application fields, including food quality and safety assessment, environmental monitor and human diseases detection.
Originality/value
This paper provides a detailed and timely review of the rapidly growing research in the olfactory cell-based sensors.
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Lin Yang, Jingyi Yang, Liangliang Lu and Shouming Chen
In today's complex and rapidly changing business environment, cross-boundary growth is increasingly critical to the survival or even success of organizations. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
In today's complex and rapidly changing business environment, cross-boundary growth is increasingly critical to the survival or even success of organizations. The purpose of this study is to examine the forming mechanism of firm’s cross-boundary growth by integrating the two important antecedent factors of performance pressure and managerial discretion into a united framework and theoretically analyze the direct role of performance pressure on firm’s cross-boundary growth as well as reveal the moderating role of managerial discretion. Also, the authors select listed manufacturing companies in China as samples to empirically test the research hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors design a multiple regression model to perform empirical analysis by using a panel of 4,002 year-observations in 1,334 listed manufacturing companies between 2013 and 2016. The sample data sources mainly come from the Wind Database, which is mainland China's leading financial database and software services provider. The hypotheses proposed are tested by adopting a panel data set of the listed manufacturing companies of China.
Findings
Empirical results show that performance pressure has a positive effect on the cross-industry growth and cross-domestic regional growth but a negative effect on the cross-international regional growth, and managerial discretion has a different moderating effect. Specifically, capital intensity strengthens the positive effect of performance pressure on cross-industry growth but weakens the negative effect of performance pressure on cross-international regional growth. State ownership enhances the positive effect of performance pressure on cross-domestic regional growth but decreases the negative effect of performance pressure on cross-international regional growth. CEO duality increases the negative impact of performance pressure on cross-international regional growth.
Practical implications
This study provides several implications for top executives, including how to dialectically consider the double-edged effect of performance pressure on cross-boundary growth of firms, create an appropriate environments of managerial discretion and design the types of cross-boundary growth strategies that top executives can follow in the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity era.
Originality/value
Although the relevant literature highlights the importance of performance pressure, it has not been related to the cross-boundary growth of firms. This paper makes an incremental contribution to the literature on the forming mechanisms of firm’s cross-boundary growth by providing an important perspective of performance pressure to firm growth determinants and taking into account the moderating role of managerial discretion.
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Liangliang Liu, Miaomiao Lv and Wenqing Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether and how intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IFTs) affect technological innovation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether and how intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IFTs) affect technological innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
China’s provincial panel data from 2007 to 2019 are used in an empirical study to examine the effect of IFTs on technological innovation and the role of fiscal spending policy in the relationship between the two by using the spatial Durbin model.
Findings
Results show an evident spatial correlation for the effect of IFTs on technological innovation, indicating that IFTs have a significant negative influence on technological innovation in local and surrounding regions. IFTs also inhibit technological innovation by negatively affecting science and technology spending and education spending.
Research limitations/implications
These findings can aid policymakers in advancing technological innovation by improving the system of fiscal transfers and optimizing the structure of fiscal spending.
Originality/value
Although the determinants of technological innovation have been analyzed, no studies have investigated the effect of IFTs on technological innovation. Thus, this paper aims to address this gap.
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Malin Song, Xiaowei Ma, Xin Zhao and Liangliang Zhang
Logistics capability is an important enabler of supply chain resilience (SCR). However, few studies have analyzed the underlying influence mechanism of logistics capability on SCR…
Abstract
Purpose
Logistics capability is an important enabler of supply chain resilience (SCR). However, few studies have analyzed the underlying influence mechanism of logistics capability on SCR in extreme conditions, such as those of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to increase understanding of the role of logistics capabilities in constituting a resilient supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon the dynamic capability perspective and contingency theory, the proposed conceptual framework aims to demonstrate the relationship between a firm's logistics capabilities and SCR. Furthermore, the conceptual framework is illustrated by empirical evidence from a case study of a Chinese manufacturing company, which focuses on extracting practical lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
The findings suggest that digitalization, innovativeness, and modularization comprise potential mediating pathways for firm logistics capability to affect SCR and government policies, risk management culture, trust and cooperation moderate the effect positively. The potential associations are identified and elucidated by detecting the corresponding strategies and practices of a Chinese manufacturer that performed well amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Practical implications
This study provides specific guidelines for logistics managers to enhance SCR during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeing SCR as a dynamic capability, the framework is also instructive for manufacturers, supply chain members, and policymakers to achieve the sustained competitive advantage of supply chains.
Originality/value
The findings expand the understanding of enhancing SCR in a logistics approach. The empirical validation of propositions in the case study reveals a new vista for research on SCR.