Shao Kai Lu and Hong Yan
The purpose of this paper is to examine the assumptions concerning how the processes that foster trust are influenced by contractual control and managers’ propensity to trust…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the assumptions concerning how the processes that foster trust are influenced by contractual control and managers’ propensity to trust. More specifically, the paper investigates the extent to which distinct types of trust (i.e. cognition- and affect-based trust) are differentially and interactively associated with contractual control and the propensity to trust.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected survey data on 260 architect–contractor project-based relationships in China.
Findings
The results of this paper show that contractual control and a project manager’s propensity to trust are positively related to the managers’ trust in their partners. However, the interaction of the propensity to trust and contractual control has a negative effect on cognition-based trust. Cognition-based trust, in turn, is linked to the unique and interactive relationships between contractual control, the propensity to trust and affect-based trust.
Research limitations/implications
While this paper adds to the literature on trust and control, future research is needed to fully understand the differences in interpersonal trust across alliances and countries.
Practical implications
These findings provide important implications for firms hoping to facilitate active trust development processes.
Originality/value
More is now known about the trust in inter-organizational settings at the individual level.
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Xiao Wang, Xuan Liang, Bo Wang, Chang-qing Guo, Shan-gui Zhang, Kai Yang, Shi-ya Shao, Yan Sun, Zheng Guo, Xue-yan Yu, Donghai Zhang, Tai-jiang Gui, Wei Lu, Ming-liang Sun and Rui Ding
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of graphene, basalt flakes and their synergy on the corrosion resistance of zinc-rich coatings. As the important heavy-duty…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of graphene, basalt flakes and their synergy on the corrosion resistance of zinc-rich coatings. As the important heavy-duty anticorrosion coatings, zinc-rich coatings provided cathodic protection for the substrate. However, to ensure cathodic protection, a large number of zinc powder made the penetration resistance known as the weakness of zinc-rich coatings. Therefore, graphene and basalt flakes were introduced into zinc-rich coatings to coordinate its cathodic protection and shielding performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Three kinds of coatings were prepared; they were graphene modified zinc-rich coatings, basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings and graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings. The anticorrosion behavior of painted steel was studied by using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique in chloride solutions. The equivalent circuit methods were used for EIS analysis to obtain the electrode process structure of the coated steel system. Simultaneously, the corrosion resistance of the three coatings was evaluated by water resistance test, salt water resistance test and salt spray test.
Findings
The study found that the addition of a small amount of graphene and basalt flakes significantly improved the anticorrosion performance of coatings by enhancing their shielding ability against corrosive media and increasing the resistance of the electrochemical reaction. The modified coatings exhibited higher water resistance, salt water resistance and salt spray resistance. The graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings demonstrated the best anticorrosion effect. The presence of basalt scales and graphene oxide in the coatings significantly reduced the water content and slowed down the water penetration rate in the coatings, thus prolonging the coating life and improving anticorrosion effects. The modification of zinc-rich coatings with graphene and basalt flakes improved the utilization rate of zinc powder and the shielding property of coatings against corrosive media, thus strengthening the protective effect on steel structures and prolonging the service life of anticorrosion coatings.
Originality/value
The significance of developing graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings lies in their potential to offer superior performance in corrosive environments, leading to prolonged service life of metallic structures, reduced maintenance costs and a safer working environment. Furthermore, such coatings can be used in various industrial applications, including bridges, pipelines and offshore structures, among others.
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Sheng Peng, Lu-jun Cai, Tian-hua Jiang and Xu Kai
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the explosive performance and explosion damage mechanism of T-beam bridge structure.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the explosive performance and explosion damage mechanism of T-beam bridge structure.
Design/methodology/approach
On the basis of the existing specification, two T-beam bridge models were designed and fabricated. Test specimens of different explosive dosage and different blast height were carried out. The mechanical process, failure mode, blast damage model, damage identification mechanism and blast evolution law and quantitative evaluation were taken into account.
Findings
The results revealed that the web plate fracture failure is the key to the unstable failure of the whole T-beam bridge. The explosion failure phenomenon and blast damage evaluation criterion of RC T-beam bridge was divided into five stages: the original cracks stage of concrete material (D = 0 ∼ 0.1), the fractures initiation stage of concrete material (D = 0.1 ∼ 0.3), the stable expansion stage of cracks in concrete material (D = 0.3 ∼ 0.55), the unstable expansion stage of cracks in concrete material (D = 0.55 ∼ 0.8), the explosion fracture of steel bars and the overall instability and damage of the bridge (D = 0.8 ∼ 1.0), which can also be described as basically intact, slight damage, moderate damage, severe damage and collapsed.
Social implications
The research result will provide basis for the antiknock evaluation and damage repair technical specifications of the RC T-beam bridge.
Originality/value
The research results of damage evaluation serve as a basis for damage repair and reinforcement of bridge structures after explosion.
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The rise of virtual streamers in live streaming commerce has gained momentum, driven by the increasing prevalence of human–computer interactivity and artificial intelligence…
Abstract
Purpose
The rise of virtual streamers in live streaming commerce has gained momentum, driven by the increasing prevalence of human–computer interactivity and artificial intelligence. However, achieving its broader adoption necessitates a comprehensive understanding of consumers' intention to switch from conventional human streamers to virtual streamer services as alternatives. To bridge this knowledge gap, this study endeavours to introduce and substantiate an asymmetric model incorporating innovation barriers, shopping motivations and personalities, shedding light on consumers' intention to switch.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was conducted in the United Kingdom and analysed using a comprehensive approach that integrates Necessary Conditions Analysis (NCA), Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA).
Findings
The results unveiled six configurations of arrangements, each of them characterised by a unique combination of causation.
Originality/value
In knowledge, this study presents a significant contribution by revealing both the determinants that stimulate or hamper the desire to switch based on consumer-centric perspectives. In practice, this study is critical for helping practitioners overcome difficulties related to adoption and make educated judgements when promoting virtual streamers and developing marketing strategies in live streaming commerce.
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Among developing countries, the Republic of China in Taiwan (hereinafter Taiwan) has been experiencing economic growth accompanied by improving income distribution. Between 1964…
Abstract
Among developing countries, the Republic of China in Taiwan (hereinafter Taiwan) has been experiencing economic growth accompanied by improving income distribution. Between 1964 and 1980, the average annual growth rate of the real gross national product was 9.92 per cent (Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), 1982, p. 23). In the same period, the income ratio between the top 20 per cent and the bottom 20 per cent of families dropped from 5.33 to 4.17 and the Gini coefficient decreased from 0.36 to 0.30 (CEPD, 1982, p. 54; Directorate‐General of Budget Accounting and Statistics, 1980, (DGBAS), p. 44). To put it somewhat dif‐ferently, in 1964 the lowest fifth of households received 7.71 per cent of total personal income, and the highest fifth 41.07 per cent. But in 1980, the income share of the lowest fifth increased to 8.82 per cent while that of the highest fifth decreased to 36.80 per cent. The condition of greater equality in income distribution appears more obvious in the capital city of Taipei. In 1981, for instance, its Gini coefficient was estimated to be only 0.28 (Taipei Bureau of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, 1981, (TBBAS), P. 24).
Chengxi Zhang, Peng Dong, Henry Leung, Jin Wu and Kai Shen
This paper aims to investigate the attitude regulation for spacecraft in the presence of time-varying inertia uncertainty and exogenous disturbances.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the attitude regulation for spacecraft in the presence of time-varying inertia uncertainty and exogenous disturbances.
Design/methodology/approach
The high gain approaches are typically used in existing researches for theoretical advantages, bringing better performance but sensitive to parameter selection, making the controller conservative. A reset-control policy is presented to achieve the spacecraft attitude control with easy control parameter tuning.
Findings
The reset-control policy guarantees satisfying control performance despite using performance tuning function and saturation function besides reducing the conservativeness of the controller, thus reducing the effort in tuning control parameters.
Originality/value
Notably, the adaptive function owns a reset mechanism, which is reset to a preset condition when the controlled variable crosses zero. The mathematical analysis also shows the system trajectory can converge to a set centered at the origin.
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The identification of network user relationship in Fancircle contributes to quantifying the violence index of user text, mining the internal correlation of network behaviors among…
Abstract
Purpose
The identification of network user relationship in Fancircle contributes to quantifying the violence index of user text, mining the internal correlation of network behaviors among users, which provides necessary data support for the construction of knowledge graph.
Design/methodology/approach
A correlation identification method based on sentiment analysis (CRDM-SA) is put forward by extracting user semantic information, as well as introducing violent sentiment membership. To be specific, the topic of the implementation of topology mapping in the community can be obtained based on self-built field of violent sentiment dictionary (VSD) by extracting user text information. Afterward, the violence index of the user text is calculated to quantify the fuzzy sentiment representation between the user and the topic. Finally, the multi-granularity violence association rules mining of user text is realized by constructing violence fuzzy concept lattice.
Findings
It is helpful to reveal the internal relationship of online violence under complex network environment. In that case, the sentiment dependence of users can be characterized from a granular perspective.
Originality/value
The membership degree of violent sentiment into user relationship recognition in Fancircle community is introduced, and a text sentiment association recognition method based on VSD is proposed. By calculating the value of violent sentiment in the user text, the annotation of violent sentiment in the topic dimension of the text is achieved, and the partial order relation between fuzzy concepts of violence under the effective confidence threshold is utilized to obtain the association relation.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical review of China’s anti-corruption efforts, from the ancient period of Chinese slavery societies to the late 1970s before China…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical review of China’s anti-corruption efforts, from the ancient period of Chinese slavery societies to the late 1970s before China launched its profound economic reform, under the current status of the harsh crusade against corruption that the Chinese new leadership initiated.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is mainly based on a great deal of historical literature and empirical findings, with relevant comparative analysis on policies and regulations between various periods of China.
Findings
The phenomenon of corruption has existed in Chinese history for thousands of years, throughout Chinese slavery societies, feudal societies, republic period and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Anti-corruption laws formed an important part of ancient Chinese legal system, and each dynasty has made continuous and commendable progress on fighting such misconduct. Innumerable initiatives have also been taken by the ruling party Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since the founding of the PRC. The PRC government created various specially designed government organizations and a series of updated regulations for preventing economic crimes. They have realized that periodic movements against corruption would no longer be helpful, and the paramount issue nowadays is indeed how bold the leaders are in striking out those unhealthy tendencies.
Originality/value
This paper fills in the blanks in the Western world with a comprehensive description of, and comments on, the historical efforts on China’s corruption and economic crime prevention. It also, in various ways, provides meaningful information that links to China’s current furious war against corruption.
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Lu Yingjie, Shasha Deng and Taotao Pan
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the usage of enterprise social media (ESM) affects eventual employee turnover.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the usage of enterprise social media (ESM) affects eventual employee turnover.
Design/methodology/approach
This study developed a theoretical model based on the proposition that different ESM usage behaviors (utilitarian use, hedonic use and social use) have different effects on employee turnover, and job type and job level can moderate the effect of ESM usage on turnover. The model was examined empirically using 1,791 employee samples from a large high-tech manufacturing enterprise deploying ESM.
Findings
The results indicate that the utilitarian and social use of ESM has negative effects on turnover, but the hedonic use of ESM has positive effects on turnover. Furthermore, for employees working in different job types and job levels, there are significant differences concerning the effect of ESM usage on their turnover.
Practical implications
ESM managers should encourage employees to use ESM for utilitarian needs and social support but restrict excessive use of ESM for leisure. In addition, different ESM use policies depending upon job types and job levels could be adopted to retain valuable employees.
Originality/value
Few studies have focused on how usage of ESM affects eventual employee turnover. Given the lack of theoretical research and empirical evidence, the authors developed a theoretical model and conducted an empirical study to fill the research gap.
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Yuzhong Lu and Yanqi Sun
This study examined the influence of corporate governance (CG) in relation to venture capital (VC) investment on invested firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the influence of corporate governance (CG) in relation to venture capital (VC) investment on invested firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance in the Chinese context. More specifically, this paper examined the mediation of the proportion of independent directors (INDD), management shareholding (MSH) and executives' political connections (POLC) in the above-mentioned relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This empirical study performed multiple mediation testing and bootstrap mediation robustness test on data from Chinese A-class shares IPO companies between 2010 and 2018.
Findings
The results of direct relationship analysis showed that VC support is detrimental to firm' CSR performance, consistent with previous research studies. The indirect effect analysis showed that VC reduced firm' CSR through reduction of INDD on board and increased MSH. Conversely, VC contributed to firm's CSR through higher POLC, which confirmed the significance of the joint mediation model.
Practical implications
This study offers stakeholders the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the role of VC institutions, independent directors and executives, in terms of firm's CSR, as well as provides insights on control rights allocation and policy drafting on independent directors when considering accessing VC support.
Originality/value
By analyzing the mediation model of the VC–CSR relationship, this paper provides evidence to enrich the debate on the role of CG in the relation between VC and firm's CSR.