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1 – 10 of over 1000Esther Ngan‐ling Chow and S. Michael Zhao
Facing a high birth rate, a falling mortality rate, and inconsistent policies on family planning from the 1950s to the early 1970s, the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched…
Abstract
Facing a high birth rate, a falling mortality rate, and inconsistent policies on family planning from the 1950s to the early 1970s, the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched its widely known one‐child policy in 1979. The intention was to restrict population growth by reducing fertility through family planning and thereby to conserve the nation's resources to advance economic development. The effectiveness of the one‐child policy has varied greatly because policy regulations are differentially carried out by officials of provinces, municipalities, counties, communes, and minority regions. Generally speaking, the state policy has had greater acceptance in urban areas but is far less rigidly enforced by local officials in rural areas and for certain national minorities, which can have a second child under certain circumstances (Chow and Chen, 1994).
Veronica Martinez, Michael Zhao, Ciprian Blujdea, Xia Han, Andy Neely and Pavel Albores
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Blockchain on the customer order management process and operations. There is limited understanding of the use and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Blockchain on the customer order management process and operations. There is limited understanding of the use and benefits of Blockchain on supply chains, and less so at processes level. To date, there is no research on the effects of Blockchain in the customer order management process.
Design/methodology/approach
A twofold method is followed. First, a Blockchain is programmed and implemented in a large international firm. Second, a series of simulations are built based on three scenarios: current with no-Blockchain, 1-year and 5-year Blockchain use.
Findings
Blockchain improves the efficiency of the process: it reduces the number of operations, reduces the average time of orders in the system, reduces workload, shows traceability of orders and improves visibility to various supply chain participants.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based on a single in-depth case that has the scope to be tested in other contexts in future.
Practical implications
This is the first study that demonstrates with real data from an industrial firm the effects of Blockchain on the efficiency gains, reduction on the number of operations and human-processing savings. A detailed description of the Blockchain implementation is provided. Furthermore, this research shows a list of the resources and capabilities needed for building and maintaining a Blockchain in the context of supply chains.
Originality/value
This is the first study that demonstrates with real data from an industrial firm the effects of Blockchain on the efficiency gains, the reduction in the number of operations and human-processing savings. A detailed description of the Blockchain implementation is provided. This paper contributes to the resource-based view of the firm, by demonstrating two new competitive valuable capabilities and a new dynamic capability that organisations develop when implementing and using Blockchain in a supply–demand process. It also contributes to the information processing theory by highlighting the analytics capabilities required to sustain Blockchain-related operations.
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By modelling China’s property price changes and their effect on GDP, this study aims to develop a more general model of the costs and benefits driving price bubbles.
Abstract
Purpose
By modelling China’s property price changes and their effect on GDP, this study aims to develop a more general model of the costs and benefits driving price bubbles.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop a five-sector dynamic model (using data from China and seven other comparator jurisdictions), resulting in a bubble risk factor. The authors then correlate this risk factor with changes in property prices and resulting changes in GDP.
Findings
The authors find that economic structures (the way GDP, property prices and other variables change relative to each other) can change during/after a financial crisis. The authors also find that price disequilibria can help predict the risk of a property price fall – which thus reverberates into GDP change.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no dynamic models of price bubbles exist (though many exist of financial bubbles). The authors provide both theoretical novelties (such as providing a model of risk using non-linear differential equations) and practical ones (showing when we can expect Chinese GDP to fall).
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Rehema Namono, Peter Wanyama Obanda, Dan Ayebale, Emmanuel Isiagi and Gorden Wofuma
Scholars have emphasized the antecedent role of personal factors such as creative self-efficacy (CSE) in enhancing innovative behavior in work settings. Existent studies have…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars have emphasized the antecedent role of personal factors such as creative self-efficacy (CSE) in enhancing innovative behavior in work settings. Existent studies have revealed that individuals with high CSE have the cognitive ability to resiliently exhibit innovative work behavior (IWB). Little is however known as regards the influence of CSE on innovative work behavior in service settings, more so in developing countries. This study sought to establish the antecedent role of CSE on IWB as a multistage process comprising creativity and IWB.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted a cross-sectional research design to establish the hypothetical influence of CSE on innovative work behavior and collected data at one point in time. The researchers used regression analysis to establish the influence of CSE on IWB using a sample of teaching staff selected from Ugandan public Universities.
Findings
The findings reveal that CSE has a significant effect on creativity as the first step in the innovation process. The results further revealed that CSE has a statistically significant influence on IWB.
Research limitations/implications
The researchers collected data from public Universities, and the application of the findings may fall short when applied to a setting of private universities. Therefore, future research can consider a setting of private universities to replicate the current study findings. The study was cross-sectional, and yet employees' CSE and innovation behavior may change over time. This study opens grounds for longitudinal research in the same research area.
Practical implications
The study shapes direction for practicing managers to resiliently strategize for enhancing creative self-efficacy of employees to promote IWB. Specifically, our study indicates that organizations must enhance positive organizational behavior like CSE to enhance employees' ability to resiliently overcome the fear of uncertainty associated with innovation. While devising the intervention strategies geared towards enhancing CSE, organizations need to consider the stage of IWB required whether at creativity or innovation stage of the innovative behavior.
Originality/value
This research is empirically and theoretically valuable. This is an original study to establish a direct causal influence of CSE on creativity and IWB using a sample drawn from public Universities in the context of a developing Country. Theoretically, the study expands on the applicability of the social cognitive theory (SCT) by revealing that the influence of an individual's personality characteristics like CSE varies with the stage of IWB because the tasks involved in the various types of IWB differ and thus the magnitude of influence varies.
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Muhammad Farrukh, Yazan Alzubi, Imran Ahmad Shahzad, Abdul Waheed and Nagina Kanwal
This study aims to inculcate personality traits in theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and analyze mediation of perceived behavior control (PBC) and attitude toward entrepreneurship.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to inculcate personality traits in theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and analyze mediation of perceived behavior control (PBC) and attitude toward entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire from students at four universities located in capital city of Pakistan. SmartPLS has been used to run structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
Findings of PLS analysis revealed that the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and personality traits was mediated by PBC and attitude toward entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This study contributes toward the understanding of EI of students in Pakistan – a developing economy. More specifically, it sheds light on the vitality of personality traits in determining the antecedents of EI. Leaning on TPB and intention models, the study incorporated personality traits to unveil a unique and testable multidimensional model of EI, which supports the notion that external factors such as personality characteristics can indirectly affect EI. This research also supports the incorporation of personality traits in TPB and suggests that these socio cognitive theories should concede the indirect effect of personality on intention and behavior.
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Building on prior literature, this paper provides an empirical analysis of the impact of the Chinese institutional environment on its globalization patterns. A framework is…
Abstract
Building on prior literature, this paper provides an empirical analysis of the impact of the Chinese institutional environment on its globalization patterns. A framework is presented through which distortive government policies act upon existing country and firm‐specific advantages, giving rise to institutional‐specific (dis)advantages. The applicability of this framework is then tested empirically through an unrestricted regression model that controls for the standard explanatory factors of inter‐country foreign direct investment (FDI) in comparing state and private sector outbound foreign direct investment (OFDI) determinants. This study concludes that institutional discrimination creates relative advantages for state‐owned firms at a cost to private enterprise, leading to divergences in IB strategies.
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The purpose of this paper is to unravel the specific service quality dimensions that significantly influence startup survival, providing actionable insights for service managers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to unravel the specific service quality dimensions that significantly influence startup survival, providing actionable insights for service managers and entrepreneurs.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data were collected from 372 service startups over a period of seven years. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The results indicate that the tangible dimension of service quality emerges as the most critical determinant of startup survival. Additionally, the reliability and responsiveness of the service also significantly affect startup survival. Furthermore, the assurance and empathy dimensions have a positive, albeit modest, influence on the survival prospects of service startups.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the service literature by investigating the relative importance of each dimension of service quality in relation to the survival of service startups.
Practical implications
The empirical findings empower service startups to make informed decisions, allocate resources judiciously and prioritize aspects of service quality that have a significant impact on their survival and success.
Social implications
The social implications indicate the significance of service quality dimensions not only for the success of service startups but also for the overall well-being of customers, local economies and the competitive landscape of the service sector.
Originality/value
This study contributes to service science by uniquely highlighting the critical role of tangibles in startup survival, challenging conventional beliefs about the primacy of service reliability.
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Xiao Fan Zhao, Andreas Wimmer and Michael F. Zaeh
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the impact of the welding sequence on the substrate plate distortion during the wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the impact of the welding sequence on the substrate plate distortion during the wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process. This paper also aims to show the capability of finite element simulations in the prediction of those thermally induced distortions.
Design/methodology/approach
An experiment was conducted in which solid aluminum blocks were manufactured using two different welding sequences. The distortion of the substrates was measured at predefined positions and converted into bending and torsion values. Subsequently, a weakly coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model was created using the Abaqus simulation software. The model was calibrated and validated with data gathered from the experiments.
Findings
The results of this paper showed that the welding sequence of a part significantly affects the formation of thermally induced distortions of the final part. The calibrated simulation model was able to capture the different distortion behavior attributed to the welding sequences.
Originality/value
Within this work, a simulation model was developed capable of predicting the distortion of WAAM parts in advance. The findings of this paper can be used to improve the design of WAAM welding sequences while avoiding high experimental efforts.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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