Jialin Song, Yiyi Su, Taoyong Su and Luyu Wang
The purpose of this paper is, from a resource accumulation and resource allocation perspective, to examine the variant effects of government subsidies among firms with varying…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is, from a resource accumulation and resource allocation perspective, to examine the variant effects of government subsidies among firms with varying levels of market power and to test how industry competition moderates the relationship between market power and allocative efficiency of government subsidies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study explores the relationship between government subsidies and firm performance from a resource-based view. The authors study the moderating role of market power and three-way interaction between subsidy, market power and industry competition on firm performance. The authors test their hypotheses using a sample of Chinese A-share manufacturing firms from 2006–2019. The authors apply firm-level panel data regressions and conduct a series of robustness tests. The marginal effect of market power and industry competition is explored via three-way moderator effect models.
Findings
This study finds that government subsidies are negatively related to firm performance. Market power, on average, strengthens the negative effect of government subsidies on performance, but such a reinforcement effect is neutralized when industry competition is intense. Government subsidies are least efficiently used when firms have market power and industry competition is low. In addition, the authors use different forms of firm performance and a various of robustness tests to verify their assumptions.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature as follows. First, the authors look into subsidy–performance problem from the perspective of the resource-based view and contribute to explaining and mitigating the divergence of current findings on the subsidy–performance relationship. Second, the authors introduce market power and industry competition as moderators to study how resource allocative efficiency affects the subsidy–performance relationship. Third, the authors propose that managerial incentives have played an important role in the allocation of government subsidies, which enriches management practices.
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Jiagui Wei, Jun Wu and Luyu Wang
The purpose of this paper is to present a new way to analyze the hairpin‐line bandpass filter and improve the stopband's attenuation of this filter.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a new way to analyze the hairpin‐line bandpass filter and improve the stopband's attenuation of this filter.
Design/methodology/approach
The even‐odd and open‐short circuit stub mode method is used to analyze the proposed filter and the simulation and optimization are done using the computer‐aided design tools. A design example of a narrowband hairpin‐line filter is provided.
Findings
This improved structure is clearly increasing the stopband's attenuation, at the same time, the bandwidth is narrower.
Originality/value
The paper presents useful analysis of the hairpin‐line bandpass filter; proposes a simple method to analyze this structure, as well as optimization for stopband's attenuation of the hairpin‐line filter.
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The purpose of this paper is to present a broadband parallel coupled‐line quadrature coupler implemented with lumped‐elements.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a broadband parallel coupled‐line quadrature coupler implemented with lumped‐elements.
Design/methodology/approach
The even‐ and odd‐mode method is used to compute the proposed coupler, and the analysis and optimization are done using the computer‐aided design tools. A design example of a broadband tunable quadrature coupler is provided.
Findings
This novel structure is clearly increasing the conductor spacing and decreasing the whole structure size, at the same time, the bandwidth is much wider.
Originality/value
This paper shows how a parallel coupled‐line quadrature coupler with lumped‐elements has been analyzed and designed, and proposes a simple and convenient method to calculate this structure. Compared with the normal parallel coupled‐line structure, the conductor spacing of this coupler is increased effectively, while the structure size is decreased. In addition, because of the tunable embedded capacitors, the bandwidth becomes much wider – a broadband up to 77 percent is achieved.
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Peng Wang, Luyu Liu, Fanghao Nan and RenQuan Dong
Assisted training using upper limb rehabilitation robots is beneficial for flaccid paralysis patients in recovering their functional abilities. In the assisted training mode, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Assisted training using upper limb rehabilitation robots is beneficial for flaccid paralysis patients in recovering their functional abilities. In the assisted training mode, the patient’s motor ability is limited by factors such as limb muscle tension, and it is prone for the rehabilitation robot to deviate from the prescribed training trajectory. A sliding mode control method based on a fixed time observer is proposed to address the problem of delayed trajectory tracking response of upper limb rehabilitation robots caused by external disturbances such as patient limbs.
Design/methodology/approach
First, aiming at the problem of estimating and compensating for external disturbances in the upper limb rehabilitation robot system, a fixed time observer was designed based on the robot’s dynamic model. Second, the composite sliding mode reaching law combining the smooth function and the power-exponential function is proposed to shorten the convergence time of system states in the startup phase, thereby reducing chattering in the control process and realizing the real-time tracking of the training trajectory by the control system.
Findings
The proposed method provides a solution for the trajectory tracking speed of upper limb rehabilitation robot controllers. In the circular trajectory tracking control, compared to the sliding-mode control method combined with the variable-exponential composite reaching law based on the fixed-time observer, the method in this paper reduces the time for the system state to reach the sliding surface by 0.89 s and improves the response speed by 0.66%.
Originality/value
The composite sliding mode approach law based on smooth function and power exponent function can reduce the time it takes for the system state to reach and remain on the sliding surface and improve the trajectory tracking speed of upper limb rehabilitation robots. This controller improves the accuracy of trajectory control and ensures the robustness of auxiliary rehabilitation training.
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Vinay Singh, Iuliia Konovalova and Arpan Kumar Kar
Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) has importance in several industrial applications. The study aims to provide a comparison of two important methods used for explainable…
Abstract
Purpose
Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) has importance in several industrial applications. The study aims to provide a comparison of two important methods used for explainable AI algorithms.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study multiple criteria has been used to compare between explainable Ranked Area Integrals (xRAI) and integrated gradient (IG) methods for the explainability of AI algorithms, based on a multimethod phase-wise analysis research design.
Findings
The theoretical part includes the comparison of frameworks of two methods. In contrast, the methods have been compared across five dimensions like functional, operational, usability, safety and validation, from a practical point of view.
Research limitations/implications
A comparison has been made by combining criteria from theoretical and practical points of view, which demonstrates tradeoffs in terms of choices for the user.
Originality/value
Our results show that the xRAI method performs better from a theoretical point of view. However, the IG method shows a good result with both model accuracy and prediction quality.
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Jun Liu, Sike Hu, Fuad Mehraliyev, Haiyue Zhou, Yunyun Yu and Luyu Yang
This study aims to establish a model for rapid and accurate emotion recognition in restaurant online reviews, thus advancing the literature and providing practical insights into…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to establish a model for rapid and accurate emotion recognition in restaurant online reviews, thus advancing the literature and providing practical insights into electronic word-of-mouth management for the industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study elaborates a hybrid model that integrates deep learning (DL) and a sentiment lexicon (SL) and compares it to five other models, including SL, random forest (RF), naïve Bayes, support vector machine (SVM) and a DL model, for the task of emotion recognition in restaurant online reviews. These models are trained and tested using 652,348 online reviews from 548 restaurants.
Findings
The hybrid approach performs well for valence-based emotion and discrete emotion recognition and is highly applicable for mining online reviews in a restaurant setting. The performances of SL and RF are inferior when it comes to recognizing discrete emotions. The DL method and SVM can perform satisfactorily in the valence-based emotion recognition.
Research limitations/implications
These findings provide methodological and theoretical implications; thus, they advance the current state of knowledge on emotion recognition in restaurant online reviews. The results also provide practical insights into intelligent service quality monitoring and electronic word-of-mouth management for the industry.
Originality/value
This study proposes a superior model for emotion recognition in restaurant online reviews. The methodological framework and steps are elucidated in detail for future research and practical application. This study also details the performances of other commonly used models to support the selection of methods in research and practical applications.
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Tingting Miao and Hao Ju
Over the past several decades, there has been an increasing trend towards inter-city cooperation, which is an efficient policy option to deal with the challenges from…
Abstract
Purpose
Over the past several decades, there has been an increasing trend towards inter-city cooperation, which is an efficient policy option to deal with the challenges from globalization, regionalization and the externalities resulting from urban entrepreneurialism. Specific to China, the city governments, which mainly refer to prefecture-level and county-level governments, have also made many attempts to cooperate with respect to their local economic development and public affairs. Nevertheless, the results of these initiations to cooperate vary to a great extent. Based on a review of regional pollution governance in the Xiaoqing River area, tourism cooperation initiatives at Weishan Lake and transport integration between Jinan and Laiwu. The findings demonstrate that China's idiosyncratic institutional background has a significant impact on the shaping of inter-city cooperation. For the most part, leading small groups (LSGs) and their leadership property tend to determine the effectiveness of inter-city cooperation.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine the effect of the LSGs, we categorize them into three types, groups with strong leadership, weak leadership and self-forming leadership. Through reviewing regional pollution governance in the Xiaoqing River area, tourism cooperation initiatives at Weishan Lake and transport integration between Jinan and Laiwu, we try to probe the role of leading groups in the settlement of cross-administrative border issues.
Findings
Based on these three cases, the conclusion can be drawn that the leadership type of the LSG can exert an important influence on the efficiency of inter-city cooperation. If there is a leader with a higher administrative rank or authority, the cooperation can be quite efficient. Otherwise, the cooperative ending might be very negative. In terms of the operation principle, we can infer that even though the cities are always self-development oriented, the leader with higher authority or a strong coordinating capacity can convince and persuade the city leaders to overcome their self-centered behavior template and boost the cooperation to March on smoothly. Also, it means that the LSG is constrained by its personalistic characteristic. Key command derives from the person who chairs the LSG other than specific rules and norms. If the lead of the LSG leaves his position, the cooperation might just become paralyzed. From this point of view, the lack of legal basis remains to be the LSGs' significant deficiency and the future reform should attach more importance to the legalization of the LSGs so the operation of LSGs can be more standard and stable.
Originality/value
Many scholars have proposed their own theoretical models to explain the reason some cities successfully and effectively form cooperative relations, while the other cities do not. However, their models do not consider the idiosyncratic context of China or, how and to which extent LSGs can promote cooperation. Therefore, this paper seeks to probe which path in the context of China cities usually follows in the formation of joint efforts, and what role LSGs play in enabling cities to cooperate.
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Start-ups in emerging markets, entrepreneurship, business models and strategy.
Abstract
Subject area
Start-ups in emerging markets, entrepreneurship, business models and strategy.
Study level/applicability
The case is suitable for MBA and EMBA graduate and undergraduate students in strategic management, finance and the relevant areas.
Case overview
This case provides a real-life entrepreneurial situation in agricultural industry in China. The protagonist of the case is the founder and CEO of the start-up Harvest Agricultural Technology and Development Company Limited (Harvest). From his perspective, the case depicts the current business environment for private companies in China, and presents the opportunities and challenges a new start-up faces in this environment. Agricultural industry plays an important role in the Chinese economy. Especially because in China land is owned by the state or collective, agricultural industrialization has more significance and experiences greater difficulties. The company in the case explores the situation of integrating the different stakeholders of agricultural production and delivery given the current political and economic environment. The case describes the characteristics and quality that a typical Chinese entrepreneur has and questions why such factors matter so much in China. The case emphasizes the strategic planning process of Harvest and its unprecedented business model design. The case also touches upon the growth pattern of entrepreneurial companies in China. All the above issues deserve discussion and in-depth analysis.
Expected learning outcomes
After studying this case, students should be able to: describe the business environment in China and identify the stakeholders of the agricultural industry in China; describe the process and value chain of agriculture production and delivery by adopting management models if necessary; discuss the personality and quality of the founder and CEO and compare his characteristics with that of western entrepreneurs and analyse why these characteristics are helpful (or detrimental) to the start-up company; analyse the development of business model designs, and identify the merits, drawbacks and risks of each version of business model; analyse the competitive advantages of Harvest, and identify the key resources and capacities with management models if necessary; discuss different possibilities of Harvest's future with evidence and process analysis; discuss whether the business model and the development strategy of Harvest are applicable to other companies or industries; discuss how setting the goal of going public on the first day Harvest was founded will affect the development of the company; and compare the business models of Harvest with other companies serving as a platform in a different industry (i.e. Taobao marketplace).
Supplementary materials
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Lixi Zhou, Tijun Fan, Lihao Zhang and Luyu Chang
With the development of e-commerce and mobile payment, platform sales become unstoppable, and many manufacturers also encroach on online market by establishing direct selling…
Abstract
Purpose
With the development of e-commerce and mobile payment, platform sales become unstoppable, and many manufacturers also encroach on online market by establishing direct selling channels. Channel conflict intensifies in online market and quality differentiation and is widely used in business practice as an effective way to alleviate such a competition. The authors study a retail platform's sales strategy and interactions with an upstream manufacturer's encroachment strategy in this paper. Unlike most online marketplace and encroachment research, product quality selection is also engaged in the present research to capture the motivation above.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyze a game-theoretical model that the platform as the first/second mover participates in strategic decision-making, and then jointly decides the product quality level with manufacturer.
Findings
The authors find that encroachment always profits the manufacturer and almost hurts the platform. Interestingly, the first-mover advantage can help the platform guide the manufacturer encroachment and promote a “win–win” situation when product quality level is relatively slight or obvious. Nevertheless, the second-mover advantage can help the platform alleviate the profit loss caused by encroachment when product quality level is moderate. Furthermore, suffered from encroachment loss, the platform can make a credible threat by sales termination to restrain manufacturer encroachment.
Originality/value
This paper innovatively explores the strategic interaction between manufacturer encroachment and quality differentiation in a platform supply chain, and further analyzes the first-mover advantage in this interaction, which fills the gaps of previous platform research and has great significances to enterprise production and operational decision in business practice.
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Yu Lu, Steven Cahan and Diandian Ma
This study aims to examine whether the disclosure tone in earnings announcements is related to a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether the disclosure tone in earnings announcements is related to a firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the lower likelihood of earnings management conducted by CSR-conscious firms, and the significant market impact of the tone of disclosure in the earnings announcements, the study investigates whether firms with good CSR performance attempt to influence investors’ judgements through “soft information” and, thus, produce earnings announcements with more positive tone. Specifically, it examines whether CSR performance is positively related to the optimistic disclosure tone in earnings announcements.
Findings
The study finds that more socially responsible firms exhibit a more optimistic tone in earnings announcements. The findings are robust to a variety of sensitivity tests and data from different years. Furthermore, the study finds that the positive association between CSR performance and disclosure tone in the earnings announcement is particularly apparent in the manufacturing industry.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the literature in multiple ways.
Practical implications
These findings should assist regulators in better understanding the verbal components in earnings announcements.
Social implications
It is possible that firms might opportunistically engage in CSR activities to enhance their social image to exaggerate financial performance and influence investors’ 2019 decisions.
Originality/value
These results show that CSR performance is positively associated with the optimistic tone in earnings announcements. The findings are consistent with two alternative interpretations. First, even though CSR-conscious firms are unlikely to engage in earnings management, they may engage a more subtle form of impressions/tone management. Second, firms with better CSR performance may have better financial performance, and thus are more confident and optimistic, resulting in a more positive tone in their earnings announcements. As the study controls for financial performance and find a positive relation between CSR concerns and optimism in earnings announcements, it favors the previous explanation.