Mingjin Wu, Feng Jiang and Jingyu Jiang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of Na2SiO3 concentration on the microstructure and corrosive properties of microarc oxidation (MAO) coating on Al-Mg-Sc…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of Na2SiO3 concentration on the microstructure and corrosive properties of microarc oxidation (MAO) coating on Al-Mg-Sc alloy and explore microstructure evolution rule of Al substrate in the contact area.
Design/methodology/approach
The Na2SiO3 concentration in electrolytes influenced the microstructure and corrosion behavior of MAO coatings. Instantaneous high temperature and high pressure due to microarc discharge caused annealing treatment. The corrosive behavior of the MAO coating was featured with polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectrum in 3.5 Wt.% NaCl solution.
Findings
The substrate in the contact area existed the instantaneous annealing treatment, which caused obvious recrystallization. The coating prepared in electrolyte containing 7 g/L Na2SiO3 exhibited the highest protective properties in 3.5 Wt.% NaCl solution.
Originality/value
MAO treatment could increase the corrosion resistance by producing a protective layer on the Al-Mg-Sc alloy surface at a suitable Na2SiO3 concentration and microstructure evolution rule of Al substrate in the contact area was obtained.
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Prathamesh Kittur, Swagato Chatterjee and Amit Upadhyay
This study aims to explore the antecedents and consequences of reliance and its relationship with trust in the context of business-to-business (B2B) branding. The study also…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the antecedents and consequences of reliance and its relationship with trust in the context of business-to-business (B2B) branding. The study also explores the above relationships in various B2B contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data of 135 respondents from different B2B firms was analyzed, and the proposed theoretical model was validated using partial least square structural equation modeling technique followed by multigroup analysis.
Findings
The results suggest that commitment, management capability and innovation capability are positively related with reliance, while trust acts as mediator between commitment–reliance relationships. Moreover, while both reliance and trust lead to B2B brand image, reliance has higher relationship strength. Furthermore, reliance mediates the trust–brand image relationship too.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to the literature of reliance and its role in B2B brand image by providing newer insights about the antecedents and consequences of reliance and its relationship with trust.
Practical implications
The findings provide managers with key insights for creating B2B brand image using reliance and trust by focusing on capabilities and commitment.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the few papers in B2B marketing which focuses on the antecedents of reliance and relative importance of trust and reliance.
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This paper proposes that if a political system is more like to facilitate a unified government, to establish a strong executive body and to respond to the needs of the majority…
Abstract
This paper proposes that if a political system is more like to facilitate a unified government, to establish a strong executive body and to respond to the needs of the majority, financial reforms are more likely to emerge from the policymaking process and produce positive results. On the contrary, political systems that discourage those governing features are less likely to produce reforms. This chapter compares financial reform processes in China, Taiwan and New Zealand. All of them performed low level of financial reforms in the early 1980s but resulted in different situations later. In the mid-2000s, New Zealand heralded the most efficient and stable financial system; while Taiwan lagged behind and China performed the worst. Evidence showed that China’s authoritarian system may be the most superior in forming a unified government with a strong executive, but the policy priority often responds more to the interests of a small group of power elites; therefore the result of financial reform can be limited. Taiwan’s presidential system can produce greater financial reform when the ruling party controls both executive and legislative bodies, but legislative obstructions may occur under a divided government. New Zealand's Westminster system produces the most effective and efficient financial reform due to its unified government and a strong executive branch with consistent and stable supports from the New Zealand Parliament.
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Tiesheng Zhang, Ying Wang and Xiangfei Zeng
This paper takes Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2021 as research samples to investigate the influence of supplier concentration on debt maturity structure and its…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper takes Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2021 as research samples to investigate the influence of supplier concentration on debt maturity structure and its mechanism. It further analyzes whether the relationship between the two is different in the case of different monetary policies, collateral assets, and total debt. The research conclusion is of practical significance for enterprises to construct a balanced debt maturity structure and prevent financial risks.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts the empirical research method. The data came from the CSMAR database, which eliminated ST and *ST and companies with missing data, resulting in a sample of 20,328. Stata16 was used for statistical analysis.
Findings
There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between supplier concentration and debt maturity structure, and market position and trade credit play an intermediary role. In the case of tight monetary policy, fewer collateral assets, and higher total debt, the inverse U-shaped relationship is more significant.
Originality/value
This paper examines the relationship between supplier concentration and debt maturity structure from a non-linear perspective for the first time, providing theoretical support for enterprises to form a reasonable debt structure, and deepening the theoretical cognition of the relationship between supplier concentration and corporate debt maturity structure.
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Considering the importance of green knowledge in firms' sustainability, this study investigates the mediating mechanism of green knowledge acquisition (GKA) and the moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
Considering the importance of green knowledge in firms' sustainability, this study investigates the mediating mechanism of green knowledge acquisition (GKA) and the moderating role of resource orchestration capability (ROC) in the relationship between green entrepreneurial orientation (GEO) and corporate sustainable performance (CSP).
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 388 executives from 195 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE, this study used partial least squares structural equation modelling to examine the proposed relationships among the constructs.
Findings
The research shows that GEO affects CSP's environmental, economic, and social aspects of CSP. This study also highlights the mediating role of GKA in the relationship between GEO and CSP. The moderated mediation analysis results indicate that when ROC is elevated, GEO's indirect influence on environmental and economic performance through GKA is more pronounced.
Practical implications
This study provides useful insights and a novel approach for manufacturing industries and authoritative bodies to alleviate environmental deterioration and improve CSP by encouraging GKA through green entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This study enriches the existing literature on GEO, GKA, and CSP by focusing on environmental challenges and applying the resource-based view (RBV) framework. The study's findings broaden the theoretical basis for green entrepreneurship, provide guidance on enhancing CSP in manufacturing firms, and advance green entrepreneurship research.
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Qing (Sophie) Wang, Hamish D. Anderson and Jing Chi
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how venture capital (VC) backing influences the board size and independence and how VC backing and board structure impact firm…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how venture capital (VC) backing influences the board size and independence and how VC backing and board structure impact firm performance in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Using hand-collected data from 924 initial public offering (IPO) prospectuses covering the period from January 2004 to December 2012, the authors investigate the impact of VC backing on board size, board independence and firm market performance through regression analysis. A two-stage approach is also used to address the endogeneity issue.
Findings
The authors find robust evidence that VC-backed IPOs have more independent boards, after controlling for CEO and firm characteristics, and the potential endogeneity concerns. Furthermore, firms backed by VCs with management political ties (PTs) have more independent directors with industry relevant expertise than other firms. While no significant relationship is found between board independence and firm performance, the authors present some evidence that IPOs which have a larger percentage of independent directors with industry relevant expertise exhibit higher long-term stock returns, and VCs with management PTs also improve IPO long-run stock performance.
Research limitations/implications
Although VC is new in China and the Chinese capital market has relative poor corporate governance and weak minority shareholder protection, the authors find support in this paper that VC backing is valuable to IPO firms in China not only through providing funding but also by providing political ties and industry experience. However, Chinese regulatory and institutional settings have strong impact on test results and they change rapidly, so the results may not apply to other period in Chinese markets.
Originality/value
This paper sheds lights on the influences of VC backing on corporate governance and firm performance in a transitional and emerging economy. It discovers the value of VC investors in a transitional economy as of providing political ties and industry experience. The new definition of independent directors suggested by Suchard (2009) is first used by our paper in the Chinese context.
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This chapter critically evaluates whether football can attain recognition as a national sport in China. Article No. 11, released by the Chinese government in 2015, aimed to…
Abstract
This chapter critically evaluates whether football can attain recognition as a national sport in China. Article No. 11, released by the Chinese government in 2015, aimed to develop a new national strategy centralised on the sport of football to foster consumption and enhance national soft power. Consequently, this also means encouraging Chinese football fans to support the national football team. Comparing the significance of local football clubs and the national football team to Chinese football fans is deemed meaningless and unable to generate useful information to comprehend Chinese people's attitudes towards local and national communities. Through literature comparisons with established Chinese national sports such as Chinese martial arts, badminton and table tennis, the discussion reveals that football currently falls short of meeting the general criteria of invention and popularity to be considered a Chinese national sport. In the specific Chinese context, it also proves that football fails to meet the criterion of politics, hindering its identification as a national sport. Consequently, the chapter rebuts the assumption and advocates for the validity of comparing how fans assess their fandom for local and national football teams.
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Tahira Probst, Alina Chizh, Sanman Hu, Lixin Jiang and Christopher Austin
Despite a large body of literature on the negative consequences of job insecurity, one outcome – job creativity – has received relatively scant attention. While initial studies…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite a large body of literature on the negative consequences of job insecurity, one outcome – job creativity – has received relatively scant attention. While initial studies established a relationship between job insecurity and creativity, the explanatory mechanisms for this relationship have yet to be fully explored. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Using threat-rigidity theory and broaden-and-build theory as a conceptual foundation, the authors implemented a two-country temporally lagged research design (the USA (n = 390); China (n = 346)) to test two potential mediating mechanisms – cognitive failures and positive job-related affect – as explanatory variables between quantitative and qualitative forms of job insecurity and self- and other-rated measures of creative performance.
Findings
Results from both countries suggest that job-related affective well-being and employee cognitive failures both explained the relationship between job insecurity and creative performance. However, affective well-being was a better explanatory variable for the relation between job insecurity and self-rated creative performance, whereas cognitive failures better accounted for the relationship between job insecurity and performance on an idea generation task.
Research limitations/implications
The authors discuss the implications of these findings from measurement, theoretical and practical perspectives.
Originality/value
The authors extend prior research on the relationship between job insecurity and creativity by: considering both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity, examining their relationships with both self- and other-rated assessments of creative job performance, and testing cognitive and affective mediating mechanisms explaining these relationships.
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Xiaowen Wei and Xiangsheng Dou
Appropriate disposal of end-of-life (EOL) electric vehicle battery (EVB) requires new method of supply chain management (SCM) toward sustainability. Sustainable supply chain…
Abstract
Purpose
Appropriate disposal of end-of-life (EOL) electric vehicle battery (EVB) requires new method of supply chain management (SCM) toward sustainability. Sustainable supply chain finance (SSCF) is an innovative managerial practice dedicated to release cash flow pressure and improve operational efficiency in supply chain, which has drawn increasing attentions from academia and industry. There has been few researches on the integration of EOL EVB management and SSCF yet. The paper aims to fulfill this research gap and lead to the conjunction of environmental management with economic and social concerns.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper conducts a systematic literature review to discuss the probable SSCF adoption on potential market of EOL EVB disposal.
Findings
The results indicate unsustainable factors and potentials to be explored in current market of EOL EVB disposal. As a solution of sustainable SCM, SSCF can ease the tension between the urgent need of EOL EVB disposal and financing problems in the supply chain, strengthening competitive advantages of EV industry.
Originality/value
The significance of this paper lies in offering an interdisciplinary view by drawing upon key perspectives from the emerging sustainable technology of EVB disposal and its underlying battery second use (B2U) market considering SSCF.
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Yi Nie, Lin Luo and Xiulin Geng
Green funds represent a hybrid approach that integrates both environmental and financial considerations. Firms also strive to balance social benefits with economic performance…
Abstract
Purpose
Green funds represent a hybrid approach that integrates both environmental and financial considerations. Firms also strive to balance social benefits with economic performance. This study aims to analyze how green fund shareholdings impact firms’ dual performance and explores the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a sample of A-share companies listed on China’s exchanges from 2008 to 2022. A fixed effects model is used to assess the dual value of green funds in enhancing both environmental and financial performance while also exploring viable pathways to achieve a “win-win” outcome.
Findings
Green fund shareholdings significantly enhance both financial and environmental performance, with corporate reputation and corporate transparency acting as mediators. Media oversight and executive compensation positively moderate the relationship between green fund shareholdings and dual performance. In competitive industries, the influence of green fund shareholdings on environmental performance is more pronounced than their effect on financial performance. In the context of politically connected firms, green fund shareholdings have a reduced impact on financial performance, with no significant difference in environmental performance. In addition, the impact of green funds on ownership structure is heterogeneous, promoting dual performance in private firms but not in state-owned enterprises.
Originality/value
This study enhances the understanding of green funds’ dual investment logic, provides deeper insights into their role in fostering sustainable corporate development and extends the application of institutional logic in enterprise management.