Qingting Wei, Xing Liu, Daming Xian, Jianfeng Xu, Lan Liu and Shiyang Long
The collaborative filtering algorithm is a classical and widely used approach in product recommendation systems. However, the existing algorithms rely mostly on common ratings of…
Abstract
Purpose
The collaborative filtering algorithm is a classical and widely used approach in product recommendation systems. However, the existing algorithms rely mostly on common ratings of items and do not consider temporal information about items or user interests. To solve this problem, this study proposes a new user-item composite filtering (UICF) recommendation framework by leveraging temporal semantics.
Design/methodology/approach
The UICF framework fully utilizes the time information of item ratings for measuring the similarity of items and takes into account the short-term and long-term interest decay for computing users’ latest interest degrees. For an item to be probably recommended to a user, the interest degrees of the user on all the historically rated items are weighted by their similarities with the item to be recommended and then added up to predict the recommendation degree.
Findings
Comprehensive experiments on the MovieLens and KuaiRec datasets for user movie recommendation were conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed UICF framework. Experimental results show that the UICF outperformed three well-known recommendation algorithms Item-Based Collaborative Filtering (IBCF), User-Based Collaborative Filtering (UBCF) and User-Popularity Composite Filtering (UPCF) in the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and F1 metrics, especially yielding an average decrease of 11.9% in MAE.
Originality/value
A UICF recommendation framework is proposed that combines a time-aware item similarity model and a time-wise user interest degree model. It overcomes the limitations of common rating items and utilizes temporal information in item ratings and user interests effectively, resulting in more accurate and personalized recommendations.
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Shiyang Hu, Chunyan Wei, Rui Xue, Liang Yin and Bo Zhu
This paper examines the effect of board reforms on managerial risk-taking incentive provision in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) whose managers are undue risk-averse.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the effect of board reforms on managerial risk-taking incentive provision in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) whose managers are undue risk-averse.
Design/methodology/approach
We use the staggered implementation of board reforms in Chinese central government-controlled state-owned enterprises (CSOEs) as an exogenous shock to board governance. We collect data on board reforms for a set of pilot CSOEs during the period 2005 to 2020 from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) website by hand. We use a generalized difference-in-difference (DID) design to test the effect of staggered board reform adoption on managerial risk-taking incentive provision.
Findings
We find a positive relationship between board reforms and risk-taking inventive provision, i.e. pay-performance sensitivity, promotion-performance sensitivity and performance target difficulty. The documented relationship is stronger when the value of risk-taking is higher. We also find that board reforms lead to greater risky but value-enhancing investments and that managerial risk-taking incentive provision acts as an important channel through which board reforms improve value-enhancing risk-taking.
Originality/value
Our findings suggest that board reforms that improve board governance are effective in addressing risk-related agency conflicts in emerging markets. The findings also highlight the importance of managerial risk-taking incentive provision in inducing risky but value-enhancing investments.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the understanding and application of crime of sabotaging production and operation in internet era, and, at the same time, discuss the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the understanding and application of crime of sabotaging production and operation in internet era, and, at the same time, discuss the basic position for criminal law interpretation in cyberspace.
Design/methodology/approach
Doctrinal analysis and case study.
Findings
Along with the advent of the internet era, how to apply the traditional crime of sabotaging production and operation in virtual space has attracted people’s attention. The controversy caused by the conviction of malicious application of fake transactions is a typical example. The legal interest protected here includes not only the property value of the means of production itself, but also the expectation interest that can be obtained by normal production and operation activities. There is no reliable basis to believe that overlap of articles between special provision and general laws occurs in crime of sabotaging production and operation and crime of intentional damage of property. The production and operation activities carried out online can also be covered by crime of sabotaging production and operation, without doubt. Ejusdem Generis Rule should be fully respected, but crime of sabotaging production and operation has a dual structure of means behavior and purpose behavior, where the purpose behavior, sabotaging production and operation, is the key to the conviction. However, it is not necessarily premised on physical damage and violent characteristics. The understanding and application of traditional crimes should keep pace with the times in the internet era, and we should not stick to a completely rigid subjective interpretation.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates the possible application of crime of sabotaging production and operation in cyberspace, and clarifies many misunderstandings about this crime.
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Shiyang Gong, Wanqin Wang and Qian Li
This study aims to explore the interdependent impacts of online word-of-mouth (WOM) and online ads on digital product adoptions, as well as their dynamic changes throughout the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the interdependent impacts of online word-of-mouth (WOM) and online ads on digital product adoptions, as well as their dynamic changes throughout the product life cycle.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted an empirical approach by using a unique data set of five mobile games launched between 2012 and 2014 provided by Renren Games Ltd. in China.
Findings
The results indicated that advertising generally has a positive impact on WOM. During the product life cycle, the influence on volume and variance gradually decreases, whereas the impact on valence increases over time. WOM (including WOM volume and WOM valence) and advertising both have positive impacts on game adoptions. They complement each other to shape adoptions throughout the product life cycle: advertising is more effective in encouraging adoptions in the early and later stages of the demand evolution process, whereas WOM has a greater impact on adoptions in the mid-stage.
Practical implications
This study provided detailed managerial recommendations on how to effectively integrate different types of marketing communication and optimize the investment strategy of online ads and online WOM in different stages of the product life cycle.
Originality/value
First, the study enriched the theory of digital marketing communication by studying the relationship between mass media (online ads), interpersonal media (online WOM) and product adoptions in the network context. Second, it provided an empirical basis for the inference of the dynamic development of media effect in the new product diffusion theory. Third, the results will be helpful to end the debate in current theoretical literature on whether there is a complementary or alternative relationship between the two effects. Last but not least, it enriched research on the antecedents and dynamic effects of online WOM.
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Xiaorui Wang and Shen Hu
This article intends to explore the sustainability accounting practices that emerge from the business of artificial forestry in the Qingshui River society of southwest China in…
Abstract
Purpose
This article intends to explore the sustainability accounting practices that emerge from the business of artificial forestry in the Qingshui River society of southwest China in the 18th-19th centuries.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a historical approach, we set out to discuss the systematic use of “folk contract” as a tool of tracing accountability in timber trading and in the collective management of community forests in this region, based on the archives of Qingshui River Manuscripts.
Findings
The findings indicate that active transactions of small forest plots facilitated by the prevalent use of folk contracts allow both the landlords and the tenants to easily acquire cashflow needed any time before the harvest, and in turn prevent premature logging and deforestation for crop farming. An “open ledger” bookkeeping system emerged from the extensive contracting practices guarantees the functioning of a dualistic accountability system, where both market value of timbers and “face” value of community members' reputation are preserved for long-term sustainability of local economy, society and ecological environment.
Originality/value
From the perspective of economic anthropology, this study forms the link between the folk contract practice in sustainable forestry of the Qingshui River society and the emancipatory accounting literature.
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ShiYang Zhao and Pu Xue
– The purpose of the paper is to improve the calculability of a continuum damage failure model of composite laminates based on Tsai-Wu criteria.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to improve the calculability of a continuum damage failure model of composite laminates based on Tsai-Wu criteria.
Design/methodology/approach
A technique based on viscous regularization, a characteristic element length and fracture energies of fiber and matrix are used in the model.
Findings
The calculability of the material model is improved. The modified model can predict the behavior of composite structure better.
Originality/value
The convergence problem and the mesh softening problem are main concern in the calculability of numerical model. In order to improve the convergence, a technique based on viscous regularization of damage variable is used. Meanwhile, characteristic element length and fracture energies of fiber and matrix are added into the damage constitutive equation to reduce the mesh sensitivity of numerical results. Finally, a laminated structure with damages is implemented using a User Material Subroutine in ABAQUS/Standard. Mesh sensitivity and value of viscosity are discussed.
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Xudong Zhu, Li Yuan and Siying Chen
This chapter uses macro policy analysis conducted at the Center for Teacher Education Research (CTER), Beijing Normal University to analyze the decision-making concerning teacher…
Abstract
This chapter uses macro policy analysis conducted at the Center for Teacher Education Research (CTER), Beijing Normal University to analyze the decision-making concerning teacher internship from the perspective of national policy. Internship, a teacher preparation policy initiative in China, is both needed to ease the teacher shortages in rural and poor areas of China and to create new models of teaching practice. Attention is then given to two aspects in policy implementation – student teachers’ learning and teachers’ multiple forms of instruction – from the perspective of teacher preparation. To conclude, the chapter offers some summary statements having to do with the policy debate and the implementation of the internship in China.
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Eva M. García-Granero, Laura Piedra-Muñoz, Emilio Galdeano-Gómez and Yolanda Sorroche-del-Rey
This study aims to propose a comprehensive framework for assessing circular economy (CE) performance in the agri-food sector. It identifies those indicators that should be used to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose a comprehensive framework for assessing circular economy (CE) performance in the agri-food sector. It identifies those indicators that should be used to measure circularity regarding CE strategies, applies them at a microeconomic level and examines the impact of key business determinants (financial, internalization, knowledge, awareness and digitalization).
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was conducted with a focus on CE strategies and related indicators. The framework obtained is applied on a Spanish agri-food sector survey to provide an empirical CE analysis at firm level. A partial least squares based-structural equation modelling method is applied.
Findings
The research suggests a set of circularity indicators to assess CE strategies at micro level. The findings reveal the heterogeneity of CE sub-indicators related to narrowing, slowing, closing and regenerating strategies. It also highlights the strong effects that the drivers tested have on CE, especially awareness and knowledge.
Practical implications
This study provides a framework that can guide public policies and business decisions in sectors with significant environmental impacts. It provides a conceptual framework that explains which CE indicators should be considered by governments and regulators when developing policies that seek to promote circular strategies.
Social implications
In the case of companies, the results show that acquiring more environmental awareness and knowledge is essential for promoting more sustainable work habits that enhance CE.
Originality/value
The paper offers a novel contribution to the CE literature by introducing a multidimensional indicator framework comprehensively applied to the agri-food sector, integrating miscellaneous pillars of circular strategies and business determinants.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the development of the processed feed industry in China through the lens of one of its most successful and earliest entrants, the Hope…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the development of the processed feed industry in China through the lens of one of its most successful and earliest entrants, the Hope Group's “New Hope” enterprise. With the feed industry in China now facing a transition phase, the paper looks at the root causes of the problems facing China's feed industry, analyzes the transition strategy undertaken by New Hope and others, and discusses the opportunities for industry growth in the world's most populous country, where urbanization and standards of living are still on the rise and per capita use of feeds is still low by world standards (e.g. one‐fifth of that in the USA). The case also addresses the potential industry impact of mandates outlined in China's Twelfth Five‐Year Plan, such as the imperative to modernize agriculture and improve peasants’ economic well‐being.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on expert knowledge of the CEO of New Hope Group's sister agribusiness company, West Hope Group, as well as New Hope Group annual reports and global economic data.
Findings
The study reveals future challenges to China's processed feed industry as being price of labor, raw materials, and energy rises; companies undergoing integration; and established companies shifting from product marketing to service marketing models.
Practical implications
This paper is useful for academics interested in industry perspectives, policymakers, practitioners, and business people considering investment in China.
Social implications
How China's processed feed and breeding industries modernize will impact the economic well‐being of each link in the nation's agribusiness chain (from small producers to conglomerates), the cost and quality of animal‐based proteins, and the world's “food vs. fuel” conflicts.
Originality/value
The paper offers a rare insider's look at one of China's largest private companies and a global player in agribusiness.
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The purpose of studying the impact of crude oil and natural gas prices on the Vietnamese stock market is to understand the relationship between energy prices and the overall…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of studying the impact of crude oil and natural gas prices on the Vietnamese stock market is to understand the relationship between energy prices and the overall performance of the financial markets. As Vietnam is an energy-dependent country, fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas prices can significantly affect various industries, including manufacturing, inflation, transportation, energy production and economic growth. These sectors are often sensitive to changes in energy costs, which can lead to shifts in corporate profitability and investor sentiment. By analyzing how crude oil and natural gas prices influence the Vietnamese stock market, policymakers and investors can provide deeper insights into the economic risks and opportunities related to energy price volatility. This paper can also provide valuable information for decision-making in sectors such as economic forecasting, risk management and investment strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Using monthly data from January 2006 to March 2024, data were collected from the Vietnamese stock market and the OPEC organization for oil prices, while data on natural gas were obtained from the EIA. The data were analyzed using vector error correction (VEC) model, impulse response function, variance decomposition test and asymmetric reactions method; the study tries to ascertain the short-term and long-term dynamic relationships between the shocks of the crude oil price and natural gas prices and their effects on the movement of the stock price. In addition, the GARCH model is applied to measure the volatility of crude oil and natural gas prices.
Findings
Crude oil price shocks have a statistically significant impact on most Vietnamese real stock market indices, except for the utility and consumer indices and some energy companies. Conversely, natural gas price shocks do not significantly affect on Vietnamese stock market indices, except for the energy index and some energy companies. Some “important” of both crude oil price and natural gas price shocks tend to depress the stock returns of energy companies. An increase in both crude oil and natural gas volatility can lead to heightened speculation in certain indices, particularly the energy and industrial indices, as well as in some energy companies. This heightened speculation often results in elevated of their stock returns.
Originality/value
This study provides valuable insights into the field of study examining how fluctuations in the prices of oil and gas, particularly during major crisis periods such as global financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War, affect financial markets.