Qiao Shi, Qiankun Wang and Zeng Guo
This paper aimed to examine the role of knowledge sharing among member enterprises between collaborative innovation activities and innovation performance and between building…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aimed to examine the role of knowledge sharing among member enterprises between collaborative innovation activities and innovation performance and between building information modeling (BIM) application and innovation performance in the construction supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
The structural equation model was used in this study. First, the hypothesis of the relationship between collaborative innovation activities, BIM application, knowledge sharing and innovation performance in the construction supply chain was proposed based on experience; then, the research data were collected by investigation; finally, this hypothesis was tested through data analysis.
Findings
(1) Collaborative innovation activities in the construction supply chain had a positive impact on explicit knowledge sharing, tacit knowledge sharing and innovation performance. (2) BIM application had a positive impact on explicit knowledge sharing and innovation performance, while it had no significant impact on tacit knowledge sharing. (3) Explicit knowledge sharing had no positive effect on innovation performance, while tacit knowledge sharing had positive effect on organizational performance. (4) Tacit knowledge sharing produced partial mediating effect between collaborative innovation activities, BIM application and innovation performance, while explicit knowledge sharing produced complete mediating effect between BIM application and tacit knowledge sharing.
Originality/value
A relationship model among collaborative innovation activities, BIM application, explicit and tacit knowledge sharing and innovation performance in the construction supply chain was proposed, and the rationality of the model was verified by empirical analysis. Discovering the relationships between these factors can be not only conducive to mastering the effect of explicit and tacit knowledge sharing in the collaborative innovation process of construction supply chain, but also play a guiding role for the function development of BIM.
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Tingting Mei, Qiankun Wang, Yaping Xiao and Mi Yang
The purpose of this paper is to study the rent-seeking behavior of stakeholders in construction projects and to provide a reference for further studies on collaboration in China…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the rent-seeking behavior of stakeholders in construction projects and to provide a reference for further studies on collaboration in China, which could thus improve the collaborative management in construction and reduce the waste of resources.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors discuss and analyze the current situation of rent-seeking behavior in infrastructure construction projects, integrated project delivery (IPD), and the application of a building information model (BIM) in China. The authors analyze the collusive behavior between the supervision department and the contractor via the rent-seeking model on the basis of the game theory and present that BIM and IPD have a positive impact on rent-seeking activities of construction projects. The key factors influencing the rent-seeking activities from the perspective of the owner are studied via a questionnaire survey.
Findings
The research status of IPD in China includes the application of IPD, IPD collaborative management and the combination of lean construction (LC), IPD and BIM. The enthusiasm of the adoption of BIM and IPD is higher for design institute, construction units, research institutions and universities. The findings indicate that the owner appears to have a significant influence on stakeholders in construction projects, such as supervising efficiency, rewards and punishment. Therefore, the results also demonstrate that the construction project based on BIM and IPD can effectively avoid the rent-seeking activities of the participants.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are primarily based on questionnaire data originated from Central China; hence there are some limitations that are worth noting.
Practical implications
First, it provides compelling data evidence for the adoption of BIM and IPD in China. Second, it paves a solid foundation for the behavior of stakeholders in construction projects based on BIM and IPD.
Originality/value
In this paper, a game model of contractor, supervisor and owner is established, and a preliminary attempt is made to introduce BIM and IPD into the model for the behavioral research of participants.
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Qiankun Wang and Qiao Shi
Knowledge sharing is an important way to improve the knowledge system of industrial construction, and the supervision mechanism is an important way to improve the efficiency of…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge sharing is an important way to improve the knowledge system of industrial construction, and the supervision mechanism is an important way to improve the efficiency of knowledge sharing. However, some research works and practices indicate that the effects of applying the supervision mechanism are not obvious. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose an incentive method of knowledge sharing based on the supervision mechanism for promoting knowledge sharing among member enterprises in the industrial construction supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
A basic incentive model and an optimization model of knowledge sharing in the industrial construction supply chain based on the supervision mechanism were developed via the principal–agent theory. Weighted coefficients of explicit and implicit knowledge sharing were introduced into the basic model, while the supervision reward was added into the basic model of the optimization model. The effect of these two models was compared and analyzed via numerical simulation.
Findings
The optimal incentive coefficient and effort level of knowledge sharing can be obtained by solving the two aforementioned models. The results of the comparison between the two models indicate that the introduction of a supervisory reward improved the effort level and expected earnings produced by knowledge sharing, but reduced the confirmed equal earnings of member enterprises in the industrial construction supply chain.
Research limitations/implications
Mutual transformation between tacit and explicit knowledge was not considered, and supervisory costs were also not considered, in the estimation of the output of knowledge sharing.
Practical implications
The new models proposed by this study provide theoretical guidance for the design of knowledge sharing incentive measures in the industrial construction supply chain based on the supervision mechanism. The findings suggest that member enterprises should pay attention to the costs of knowledge sharing, in order to obtain more benefits.
Originality/value
This study introduced the weight coefficients of explicit and implicit knowledge sharing into a previous incentive model, proposed an incentive optimization model of knowledge sharing in the industrial construction supply chain based on a supervisory mechanism, and revealed the change rules of related variables that affect the model with the change in weight coefficients. The findings verify the effectiveness of introducing supervisory reward measures and extend the range of theoretical application.
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Qiankun Wang, Zeng Guo, Tingting Mei, Qianyao Li and Peng Li
Construction industrialization is emerging in the construction industry, as a result, buildings with prefabricated assemblies are gaining more and more ground. In most situations…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction industrialization is emerging in the construction industry, as a result, buildings with prefabricated assemblies are gaining more and more ground. In most situations, the prefabricated building assemblies are installed by labor crews manually. If some assemblies are ill-designed, clashes between labor crews’ workspaces and them may occur, which will have bad effect on workers’ productivity and even incur hazard. The purpose of this paper is to provide a 4D building information modeling (BIM) based approach to find potential workspace conflicts during the installation process of prefabricated building assemblies in the detailed design process so as to eliminate them in advance.
Design/methodology/approach
First, a workspace modeling method is provided; second, three kinds of workspace conflicts are analyzed; third, a 4D-BIM-based approach is established; fourth, a prototype tool based on the approach is developed; and finally, a case study is conducted to test the tool.
Findings
The result shows that the proposed tool can detect or precaution workspace conflicts and visualize them in a series of views; in doing so, valuable information can be obtained for improving the design quality of prefabricated assemblies.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed approach and tool only concern the congestions caused by ill-designed prefabricated components; the tool needed to be further optimized for speed; the tests on the tool are limited to a single case study; and more tests are needed to verify its effectiveness.
Originality/value
This research provides a 4D-BIM-based approach and a prototype tool for installation workspace analysis. It can be used to provide support for design optimization of prefabricated building assemblies.
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Guolei Wang, Qiankun Yu, Tianyu Ren, Xiaotong Hua and Ken Chen
To paint large workpieces automatically, painting manipulators with hollow wrists must be transported by mobile platforms to different positions because of their limited…
Abstract
Purpose
To paint large workpieces automatically, painting manipulators with hollow wrists must be transported by mobile platforms to different positions because of their limited workspaces. This paper aims to provide a visualization method for finding appropriate base positions (BPs) and maximum painting areas for manipulators.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper begins by analyzing the motion characteristics of manipulators possessing a spherical wrist and summarizing them into three constraints – positioning, orientation and singularity avoidance. The hollow wrist is simplified and considered as spherical by introducing the concepts of an inner wrist center and an outer wrist center. Taking the three constraints into consideration, the boundaries of the manipulating space are formulated analytically. Finally, to verify the method, the space obtained is applied to determine the maximum painting areas for flat, cylindrical and conical surfaces. Experiments of robotic painting were used to confirm the results.
Findings
Compared with previous studies, the maximum areas obtained using the proposed method increased by 17-131 per cent with an algorithm of lower complexity, and the process remained visually intuitive, thereby demonstrating that the method of manipulating space is more effective.
Originality/value
Such a method allows individuals to visualize the entire painting area at the current BP, thereby maximizing painting areas or optimizing BPs. It opens a black box that is the relationship between BPs and blocks. The method can also be used to choose the best configuration for painting manipulators, select the end-effector structure parameters, split surfaces into blocks, etc.
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Minglong Xu, Song Xue, Qionghua Wang, Shaoxiang He, Rui Deng, Zenong Li, Ying Zhang, Qiankun Li and Rongchao Li
This study aims to improve the stability and obstacle surmounting ability of the traditional wall-climbing robot on the surface of the ship, a wheel-track composite magnetic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to improve the stability and obstacle surmounting ability of the traditional wall-climbing robot on the surface of the ship, a wheel-track composite magnetic adsorption wall-climbing robot is proposed in this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
The robot adopts a front and rear obstacle-crossing mechanism to achieve a smooth crossover. The robot is composed of two passive obstacle-crossing mechanisms and a frame, which is composed of two obstacle-crossing magnetic wheels and a set of tracks. The obstacle-crossing is realized by the telescopic expansion of the obstacle-crossing mechanism. Three static failure models are established to determine the minimum adsorption force for the robot to achieve stable motion. The Halbach array is used to construct the track magnetic circuit, and the influence of gap, contact area and magnet thickness on the adsorption force is analyzed by parameter simulation.
Findings
The prototype was designed and manufactured by the authors for static failure and obstacle crossing tests. The prototype test results show that the robot can cross the obstacle of 10 mm height under the condition of 20 kg load.
Originality/value
A new structure of wall-climbing robot is proposed and verified. According to the test results, the wall-climbing robot can stably climb over the obstacle of 10 mm height under the condition of 20 kg load, which provides a new idea for future robot design.
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Yufei Xiu, Qiankun Shen, Fei Fan and Chaoxia Wang
A disperse fluorescent yellow paste was mixed with a dispersant naphthalene sulfonic derivative via wet grinding process to prepare thermal transfer ink with good fluorescence…
Abstract
Purpose
A disperse fluorescent yellow paste was mixed with a dispersant naphthalene sulfonic derivative via wet grinding process to prepare thermal transfer ink with good fluorescence. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The surface tension, viscosity, pH value, zeta potential, stability and the morphology of ink samples were tested after the storing process.
Findings
The morphology of paste was homogeneous nearly spherical nanoparticles and the particle size was about 100 nm from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which was similar to the average particle size obtained from the particle size analyser.
Research limitations/implications
The paste particle size was 126.8 nm after storing at 50°C for one week. The addition of diethylene glycol was conducive to high fluorescent reflectivity and gave good line image quality both in warp and weft directions due to the low viscosity. Inkjet printed polyester fabrics achieved excellent rubbing, laundering and thermal subliming fastnesses.
Originality/value
The polyester fabrics thermal transferred with the ink contained diethylene glycol represented higher fluorescent reflectivity and gave better line image quality both in warp and weft directions. The inkjet printed polyester fabrics showed excellent colour reproducibility and all the fastnesses, including rubbing, laundering and thermal subliming, were higher than Grade 4.
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Yupei Liu, Weian Li and Qiankun Meng
This study aims to explore whether investors’ inattention is associated with firms’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) decoupling, which is defined as the misalignment…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore whether investors’ inattention is associated with firms’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) decoupling, which is defined as the misalignment between the implementation and incorporation of ESG policies.
Design/methodology/approach
Focusing on a sample of the components of ESG ratings for China Securities Index (CSI) 300 companies between 2017 and 2019, the authors test the relationship between firms’ ESG decoupling level and mutual fund investors’ distraction by applying exogenous shocks to their portfolios.
Findings
The results show that firms with distracted mutual fund investors engage in more external than internal ESG actions, leading to a high ESG decoupling level. Mutual fund investors use “threat of exit” rather than “voice” as a governance mechanism to influence corporate ESG decoupling. While external ESG actions mitigate stock price crash risk, internal ESG actions increase firm value; firms with a high ESG decoupling level suffer lower valuations.
Practical implications
This study has implications for increasing the congruence between firms’ external and internal ESG actions, thereby improving firms’ ESG performance and long-term economic outcomes.
Social implications
This paper helps policy-makers and regulators to reassess how ESG policies can be implemented to be consistent with organizations’ core business activities.
Originality/value
Contributing to prior studies of greenwashing and corporate social responsibility decoupling, this paper extends decoupling literature by revisiting ESG impacts in an integrated framework and explores the antecedents of corporate ESG decoupling from the perspective of institutional investor monitoring.
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Cheng Hsiao, Yan Shen and Qiankun Zhou
Panel data provide the possibilities of estimating individual treatment effects for multiple individuals. Two issues are considered: (1) differences in the estimated individual…
Abstract
Panel data provide the possibilities of estimating individual treatment effects for multiple individuals. Two issues are considered: (1) differences in the estimated individual treatment effects are due to heterogeneity or a chance mechanism? (2) what is the best way to estimate the average treatment effects? Testing and aggregation methods are suggested. Monte Carlo simulations are also conducted to shed light on these two issues. An empirical analysis on the involvement of underground organization in China’s Peer-to-Peer (P2P) activities through the “anti-gang” campaign is also provided.
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Ming Gao, Qiankun Gu, Shijun He and Dongmin Kong
Does the history of the bureaucratic system, along with the establishment of the Great Wall during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911), affect firm behavior across the…
Abstract
Purpose
Does the history of the bureaucratic system, along with the establishment of the Great Wall during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911), affect firm behavior across the borderlands of the Great Wall?
Design/methodology/approach
The Ming and Qing dynasties built a centralized administrative system in the borderlands on the south side of the Great Wall, in contrast to the “feudal lordship” system on the north side. Employing a regression discontinuity analysis framework with the Great Wall as a geographical discontinuity, we examine the long-run effects of the Great Wall on firms’ earnings management.
Findings
Using a large sample of nonlisted firms in the central core frontier region, we show that the earnings management of firms in the region south of the Great Wall is significantly curtailed compared with firms in the north of it, and this effect is more pronounced for non-SOEs. Our findings are robust to a battery of tests to account for alternative explanations.
Practical implications
Overall, by emphasizing the role of institutions, like legal system, shaped in history on firms’ earnings management, this study sheds new light on institutional determinants of firms’ behaviors in earnings information disclosure.
Originality/value
First, we enrich our understanding of the institutional determinants of firms’ financial reporting outcomes. Second, our findings shed new light on the long-term effects of historical ruling styles on modern corporate behavior.