Meng Kui Hu and Daisy Mui Hung Kee
This paper aims to deliberate the significant impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It also discusses SMEs’ practical approaches to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to deliberate the significant impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It also discusses SMEs’ practical approaches to capitalise on the renewed opportunity in the new normal by expanding their businesses regionally and globally. This paper also discusses the tactical and strategic interventions SMEs need to take to charge forward.
Design/methodology/approach
The resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991) is used to explain how SMEs develop a sustainable competitive advantage in the new normal. The resource-based view focuses on the link between strategy and firm internal resources. Drawing from the resource-based view of the firm, internal analysis of the resources that are regarded as sources of competitive advantage controlled by the SMEs is imperative in today’s business environment. Based on the resource-based view theory, this paper focuses on reinventing SME’s strategies in the new normal to foster sustainability.
Findings
Post-COVID-19 pandemic, SMEs must essentially be dynamic, forward-looking and transformational in capturing the regional and global markets’ opportunities. They need to sharpen their internal competencies and realign their effective business strategy in seizing the vast opportunities in the international markets.
Practical implications
How SMEs respond to COVID-19 has important implications for subsequent performance in the new normal. This study focuses on the different potential SMEs’ reactions to COVID-19 and how their strategy affects SMEs performance and fosters sustainability in the new normal.
Social implications
The sustainability of SMEs is critical for the nation’s socio-economy. This study offers a holistic view of how SMEs respond to their challenges and help them choose the right business options.
Originality/value
This paper’s contents are solidly based on accumulated evidence, observation and critical arguments on the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that caused numerous challenges faced by the SMEs, with a specific focus on SMEs operating in Malaysia.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. 10;
Findings
Small businesses can rebound from the impact of the global pandemic and become more sustainable. Rebuilding internal strengths and building new capabilities will enable development of relevant strategies to capitalize on future opportunities offered by international trade.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers’ hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Zongwu Xie, Xiaoyu Zhao, Yu Zhang, Qi Zhang, Haitao Yang, Kui Sun and Minghe Jin
The purpose of this paper is to develop an easily implemented and practical stabilizing strategy for the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system. As the status of HIL system in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an easily implemented and practical stabilizing strategy for the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system. As the status of HIL system in the ground verification experiment for space equipment keeps rising, the stability problems introduced by high stiffness of industrial robot and discretization of the system need to be solved ungently. Thus, the study of the system stability is essential and significant.
Design/methodology/approach
To study the system stability, a mathematical model is built on the basis of control circle. And root-locus and 3D root-locus method are applied to the model to figure out the relationship between system stability and system parameters.
Findings
The mathematical model works well in describing the HIL system in the process of capturing free-floating targets, and the stabilizing strategy can be adopted to improve the system dynamic characteristic which meets the needs of the practical application.
Originality/value
A method named 3D root-locus is extended from traditional root-locus method. And the improved method graphically displays the stability of the system under the influence of multivariable. And the strategy that stabilize the system with elastic component has a strong feasible and promotional value.
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Ruilian Han, Lu An, Wei Zhou and Gang Li
Social media platforms (SMPs) are pivotal in information dissemination and molding public opinion. Various platforms exhibit differences and characteristics. It is necessary to…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media platforms (SMPs) are pivotal in information dissemination and molding public opinion. Various platforms exhibit differences and characteristics. It is necessary to compare and analyze the roles played by different platforms in the evolution of public events.
Design/methodology/approach
This study develops a framework to evaluate the role of SMPs at different stages of public events. To calculate some of these indicators, the GPT-AP-TextRank topic model is constructed. The study further analyzes the correlation between indicators at different stages and SMP’s role and compares SMP’s different roles among the four stages.
Findings
The results reveal significant disparities in the role of different SMPs during public events. Weibo demonstrates notable performance during the outbreak, spread and recession stages of the event, exhibiting a strong influence on public event evolution. Bilibili, Douban, Zhihu and Baidu Tieba show relatively ordinary roles. In addition, compared to the spread stage, SMPs exhibit a stronger ability to influence event redirection in the initial stage, which is different from the original assumption of the study.
Practical implications
The findings expose the powerful roles of SMPs in event evolution, providing valuable insights for enhancing public event governance.
Originality/value
This study proposes an evaluation method for SMPs’ role and introduces a novel GPT-AP-TextRank topic generation model for the indicator calculation.
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Zhiwei Li, Dingding Li, Yulong Zhou, Haoping Peng, Aijun Xie and Jianhua Wang
This paper aims to contribute to the performance improvement and the broader application of hot-dip galvanized coating.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to contribute to the performance improvement and the broader application of hot-dip galvanized coating.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the ability to provide barrier protection, galvanic protection, and corrosion product protection provided by hot-dip galvanized coating is introduced. Then, according to the varying Fe content, the growth process of each sublayer within the hot-dip galvanized coating, as well as their respective microstructures and physical properties, is presented. Finally, the electrochemical corrosion behaviors of the different sublayers are analyzed.
Findings
The hot-dip galvanized coating is composed of η-Zn sublayer, ζ-FeZn13 sublayer, δ-FeZn10 sublayer, and Γ-Fe3Zn10 sublayer. Among these sublayers, with the increase in Fe content, the corrosion potential moves in a noble direction.
Research limitations/implications
There is a lack of research on the corrosion behavior of each sublayer of hot-dip galvanized coating in different electrolytes.
Practical implications
It provides theoretical guidance for the microstructure control and performance improvement of hot-dip galvanized coatings.
Originality/value
The formation mechanism, coating properties, and corrosion behavior of different sublayers in hot-dip galvanized coating are expounded, which offers novel insights and directions for future research.
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Vigneshkumar Chellappa, Vasundhara Srivastava and Urmi Ravindra Salve
Construction workers’ health and safety (CWHS) research in India has not gained much attention among researchers. This study aims to review articles related to CWHS research in…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction workers’ health and safety (CWHS) research in India has not gained much attention among researchers. This study aims to review articles related to CWHS research in India using a science mapping approach.
Design/methodology/approach
A total number of 64 journal articles published between 2004 and 2019 were extracted from the Scopus database using keywords including “construction safety,” “occupational health,” “ergonomics in construction,” etc. VOSviewer software was used to examine the influential keywords, documents, sources and authors in the field of CWHS.
Findings
The study found that most of the current work focuses on safety management, safety climate, safety performance, musculoskeletal disorders and behavior-based safety. The result indicates no theoretical basis for the theories and learning methods for the existing studies.
Practical implications
The findings open up a research gap that researchers explore to enhance workers’ health and safety within the Indian construction environment.
Originality/value
The paper is the first article to provide a better understanding of current research in the field of CWHS in India by analyzing its growth through the science mapping approach.
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Ye Chen, Lei Shen, Xi Zhang and Yutao Chen
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to present a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review of industry convergence and value innovation to understand the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to present a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review of industry convergence and value innovation to understand the current research status; second, to provide a coherent theoretical research framework for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a two-step analysis approach by combining bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review to explore the research topic of industry convergence and value innovation. Besides, two bibliometric tools, HistCite and VOSviewer, were applied to this study.
Findings
This study found that Stefanie Bröring and Fredrik Hacklin are the top two most influential authors among all authors in the sample publications. Technological Forecasting and Social Change is one of the top-ranking journal that often publishes this topic of articles. Germany and the University of Munster are the most influential country and institutions, respectively. Besides, five core research themes were identified based on keywords co-occurrence map, theoretical lenses, factors promoting industry convergence, indicators of industry convergence, the impact of industry convergence and emerging research directions. Based on the above analysis, this paper constructed a theoretical research framework of industry convergence and value innovation.
Research limitations/implications
This paper only draw data from one database – Web of Science – which cannot provide broad coverage of the research topic. Besides, the bibliometric method of this paper is based on high local citation score and high-frequency words, articles in the skirting subjects’ area may not be analyzed.
Practical implications
With the rapid development of technology, such as nanotechnology, radio - frequency identification (RFID), etc., the iterative upgrading of products also comes. As a result, the boundary between industries is gradually blurred, and the phenomenon of industry convergence appears. Therefore, managerial decision-makers are facing challenges of how to respond to the convergence phenomena. From the firm level, firms are facing the problem of value innovation of the existing product, new product development and core competence improvement. Industries are facing the problem of transformation and upgrading. This paper provides certain theoretical insights for both firms and industries to guide the practice accordingly.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to use a bibliometric method to examine the topic of industry convergence and value innovation. In addition, this paper presents an in-depth analysis of this topic and provides a comprehensive theoretical research framework for future study.
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Irem Kose and Gulden Gumusburun Ayalp
This study aims to outline the transformative impacts of technological developments (TD) on architectural education (AE). The focus is on studying the dynamics of convergence and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to outline the transformative impacts of technological developments (TD) on architectural education (AE). The focus is on studying the dynamics of convergence and erosion, aiming to understand the impact of current digital transformations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainability considerations and technology integration on AE.
Design/methodology/approach
A scientometric analysis and bibliometric search were performed to understand the current knowledge in the field. The Web of Science (WoS) was selected for its comprehensive collection of significant research articles and integrated analytical tools for generating representative data. The study involved an extensive bibliometric analysis of 131 journal articles on TD in AE from 2000 to 2023. Subsequently, the VOSviewer software was employed to illuminate the transformative impacts of technological advancements on AE. Robust methodologies, including citation analysis and co-citation networks, unravel quantitative dimensions such as publication trends, influential authors, prolific journals, geographic distribution and prevalent themes or technological domains within the discourse.
Findings
The findings reveal significant evolution in AE due to TD, with notable shifts influenced by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainability concerns and the integration of modern technologies. Key findings include the increasing adoption of online platforms and technologies like Building Information Modeling (BIM), the crucial role of design thinking methodologies and the recognition of innovative modules such as architectural photogrammetry and augmented reality (AR) applications. Furthermore, keyword clusters were classified into six groups: “AE pedagogy and curriculum development,” “Development of architectural design process and studio,” “Educational approaches and digitalization in architectural design,” “Transition to online AE,” “Development/emergence of photogrammetry at architectural education” and “use of AR.”
Originality/value
Although several studies have addressed TD in AE from various perspectives and methods, they have yet to investigate the subject using scientometric analysis from a holistic perspective. A holistic exploration of TD in AE still needs to be improved in the existing literature. In contrast to previous investigations, this study is the first to leverage the quantitative analytical capabilities of VOSviewer. The originality lies in uncovering quantitative dimensions such as publication trends, influential authors and prevalent themes, providing a comprehensive understanding of the nuanced dimensions of this evolving intersection.