Zhenhua Quan, Wenjie Qian and Jianhua Mao
The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between the attributes of Olympic mascots and their impact on sponsorship effectiveness. Based on a multiattribute model…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between the attributes of Olympic mascots and their impact on sponsorship effectiveness. Based on a multiattribute model and the introduction of engagement theory and the meaning transfer model, this article uses the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics mascot “Bing Dwen Dwen” as the research object to empirically analyze the effects and mechanisms of the mascot's attributes on preference, event engagement, sponsorship enterprise trust and sponsorship enterprise attitude, ultimately constructing a sponsorship effectiveness model.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey method was used to examine 238 respondents' emotions and attitudes towards companies participating in sponsoring Olympic mascots.
Findings
The study found that the main attributes of the mascot include visual and emotional factors, both of which have a positive impact on preference, with emotional factors having a greater influence than visual factors. Visual and emotional factors indirectly affect engagement through preference. Preference and engagement play a completely mediating role in the effect of mascot attributes on sponsorship enterprise trust and sponsorship enterprise attitude.
Practical implications
This study provides practical recommendations for managers to achieve marketing success in sports sponsorship through mascots.
Originality/value
This paper provides a measurement tool for the study of mascot attributes and important support for subsequent research in sponsorship marketing.
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Wenjie Dong, Sifeng Liu, Zhigeng Fang, Xiaoyu Yang, Qian Hu and Liangyan Tao
The purpose of this paper is to clarify several commonly used quality cost models based on Juran’s characteristic curve. Through mathematical deduction, the lowest point of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify several commonly used quality cost models based on Juran’s characteristic curve. Through mathematical deduction, the lowest point of quality cost and the lowest level of quality level (often depicted by qualification rate) can be obtained. This paper also aims to introduce a new prediction model, namely discrete grey model (DGM), to forecast the changing trend of quality cost.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper comes to the conclusion by means of mathematical deduction. To make it more clear, the authors get the lowest quality level and the lowest quality cost by taking the derivative of the equation of quality cost and quality level. By introducing the weakening buffer operator, the authors can significantly improve the prediction accuracy of DGM.
Findings
This paper demonstrates that DGM can be used to forecast quality cost based on Juran’s cost characteristic curve, especially when the authors do not have much information or the sample capacity is rather small. When operated by practical weakening buffer operator, the randomness of time series can be obviously weakened and the prediction accuracy can be significantly improved.
Practical implications
This paper uses a real case from a literature to verify the validity of discrete grey forecasting model, getting the conclusion that there is a certain degree of feasibility and rationality of DGM to forecast the variation tendency of quality cost.
Originality/value
This paper perfects the theory of quality cost based on Juran’s characteristic curve and expands the scope of application of grey system theory.
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Wenjie Bi, Yujie Wang, Yi Xiang and Feida Zhang
In this paper the authors aim to argue that the existence of a strong corporate governance mechanism (a formal credibility-enhancing mechanism) and the presence of a more…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper the authors aim to argue that the existence of a strong corporate governance mechanism (a formal credibility-enhancing mechanism) and the presence of a more trustworthy-looking CEO (an informal credibility-enhancing mechanism) are substitutes.
Design/methodology/approach
By using machine-learning-based facial-feature-point detection technique, the authors construct a proprietary facial-trustworthiness database for a large-scale of CEOs in the US listed companies. First, the authors manually search for qualifying CEO image from websites and annual reports. Second, by following the neuroscience and psychology literature, the authors use the machine-learning-based face detector to identify the facial features in the CEO photos to calculate a rich and reliable set of facial-trustworthiness measures. The authors then construct a composite facial-trustworthiness index for each CEO. After obtaining accounting data, the authors’ final sample comprises 16,201 firm-year observations for 3,186 CEOs in the sample period of 2000-2018.
Findings
The results of the authors’ regression analyses show a negative association between board monitoring intensity and CEOs' facial trustworthiness, indicating that board directors may factor CEOs' facial trustworthiness into their monitoring decisions. Moreover, the authors find that these results are mainly driven by CEOs whose tenure is below the third quartile (i.e. eight years). The authors further find stronger results for externally hired CEOs than internally promoted CEOs. Finally, the authors’ results remain robust when using change models or subsample of CEO photos in recent years.
Originality/value
First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that adopts a large sample to provide systematic evidence on the directors' use of facial trustworthiness. This study extends the literature by documenting the impacts of CEOs' individual characteristics on the board monitoring intensity. Second, the results of this study emphasized the important role of perceptions based on executives' facial appearance in firm valuation, executive compensation and audit fee, and by presenting empirical evidence that CEOs' facial trustworthiness affects board monitoring intensity. Third, this study responds to the call for research on personalized trust by Hsieh et al. (2020).
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Since the reform and opening‐up policy, the long‐term problem of loans became more and more serious when China's economy maintained rapid growth. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the reform and opening‐up policy, the long‐term problem of loans became more and more serious when China's economy maintained rapid growth. The purpose of this paper is to explore the profound causes of the medium‐ and long‐term problem of loans and the relationship between it and economic growth.
Design/methodology/approach
Using panel data for 28 provinces and cities of China during 1994‐2005, this paper investigates the determinants on the maturity of bank credit using threshold panel data of Hansen. In addition, using dynamics panel data, this paper investigates the effects of the maturity structure of bank credit on economic growth.
Findings
The drop of bank industry concentration tends to increase the supply of long‐term loans. The raise of economic growth and the increase of industrialization degree promote the demand of long‐term loans, significantly. Furthermore, the threshold effects of inflation exist. When the initial inflation is lower than 3.9 percent, the raise of inflation can increase the supply of long‐term loans. When the initial inflation is higher than 3.9 percent, the raise of inflation can decrease the supply of long‐term loans. The increase in the supply of long‐term loans can promote the economic growth.
Originality/value
The paper has two innovations: first, when studying the determinants on the maturity of bank credit, using the threshold panel approach takes account of the nonlinear adjustment of inflation; second, including the maturity of bank credit into the realm of financial development studies the relationship between this and economic growth.
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Yinghong Li, Wei Tan, Wenjie Pei and Guorui Zhu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of NaCl solution with different concentrations on impact-sliding fretting corrosion behavior of Inconel 690TT steam…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of NaCl solution with different concentrations on impact-sliding fretting corrosion behavior of Inconel 690TT steam generator heat transfer tubes.
Design/methodology/approach
The optical 3D profiler was used to measure the wear profile and calculated the wear volume. Corrosion behavior was studied using open circuit potential monitoring and potentiodynamic polarization testing. The morphologies and elemental distributions of wear scars were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The synergism of wear and corrosion was analyzed according to the ASTM G119 standard.
Findings
The corrosion tendency reflected by OCP and the corrosion current calculated by Tafel both increased with the increase of NaCl concentration. The total volume loss of the material increased with concentration, and it was known from the synergism that the volume loss caused by corrosion-enhanced wear accounted for the largest proportion, while the wear-enhanced corrosion also made a greater contribution to volume loss than tangential fretting corrosion. Through the analysis of the material morphologies and synergism of wear and corrosion, the damage mechanism was elucidated.
Originality/value
The research findings can provide reference for impact-sliding fretting corrosion behavior of Inconel 690TT heat transfer tubes in NaCl solution with different concentrations.
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Yongqing Ma, Yifeng Zheng, Wenjie Zhang, Baoya Wei, Ziqiong Lin, Weiqiang Liu and Zhehan Li
With the development of intelligent technology, deep learning has made significant progress and has been widely used in various fields. Deep learning is data-driven, and its…
Abstract
Purpose
With the development of intelligent technology, deep learning has made significant progress and has been widely used in various fields. Deep learning is data-driven, and its training process requires a large amount of data to improve model performance. However, labeled data is expensive and not readily available.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the above problem, researchers have integrated semi-supervised and deep learning, using a limited number of labeled data and many unlabeled data to train models. In this paper, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are analyzed as an entry point. Firstly, we discuss the current research on GANs in image super-resolution applications, including supervised, unsupervised, and semi-supervised learning approaches. Secondly, based on semi-supervised learning, different optimization methods are introduced as an example of image classification. Eventually, experimental comparisons and analyses of existing semi-supervised optimization methods based on GANs will be performed.
Findings
Following the analysis of the selected studies, we summarize the problems that existed during the research process and propose future research directions.
Originality/value
This paper reviews and analyzes research on generative adversarial networks for image super-resolution and classification from various learning approaches. The comparative analysis of experimental results on current semi-supervised GAN optimizations is performed to provide a reference for further research.
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Brad McKenna, Wenjie Cai and Hyunsun Yoon
Research into older adults' use of social media remains limited. Driven by increasing digitalisation in China, the authors focus on Chinese older adults (aged 60–75)’ use of…
Abstract
Purpose
Research into older adults' use of social media remains limited. Driven by increasing digitalisation in China, the authors focus on Chinese older adults (aged 60–75)’ use of WeChat.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a qualitative interpretive approach and interviewed Chinese older adults to uncover their social practices of WeChat use in everyday life.
Findings
By using social practice theory (SPT), the paper unfolds Chinese older adults' social practices of WeChat use in everyday life and reveals how they adopt and resist the drastic changes in Chinese society.
Originality/value
The study contributes to new understandings of SPT from technology use by emphasising the dynamic characteristics of its three elements. The authors synthesise both adoptions and resistance in SPT and highlight the importance of understanding three elements interdependently within specific contexts, which are conditioned by structure and agency.
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Nikolaos Galanos, Evangelos Papoutsis-Kiachagias and Kyriakos Giannakoglou
This paper aims to present a topology optimization (TopO) method for designing heat exchangers (HEx) with two working fluids to be kept apart. The introduction of cut–cells gives…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a topology optimization (TopO) method for designing heat exchangers (HEx) with two working fluids to be kept apart. The introduction of cut–cells gives rise to the cut-cell TopO method, which computes the optimal distribution of an artificial impermeability field and successfully overcomes the weaknesses of the standard density-based TopO (denTopO) by computing the fluid–solid interface (FSI) at each cycle. This allows to accurately solve the flow and conjugate heat transfer (CHT) problem by imposing exact boundary conditions on the computed FSI and results to correct performances computed without the need to re-evaluate the optimized solutions on a body-fitted grid.
Design/methodology/approach
The elements of an artificial impermeability distribution field defined on a background grid act as the design variables and allow topological changes to take place. Post-processing them yields two fields indicating the location of the two flow streams inside the HEx. At each TopO cycle, the FSIs computed based on these two fields are used as the cutting surfaces of the cut-cell grid. On the so-computed grid, the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, coupled with the Spalart–Allmaras turbulence model, and the temperature equation are solved. The derivatives of the objective and constraint functions with respect to the design variables of TopO are computed by the continuous adjoint method, using consistent discretization schemes devised thanks to the “Think Discrete – Do Continuous” (TDDC) adjoint methodology.
Findings
The effectiveness of the cut-cell–based TopO method for designing HEx is demonstrated in 2D parallel/counter flow and 3D counter flow HEx operating under both laminar and turbulent flow conditions. Compared to the standard denTopO, its ability to compute FSIs along which accurate boundary conditions are imposed, increases the accuracy of the flow solver, which usually leads to optimal, rather than sub-optimal, solutions that truly satisfy the imposed constraints.
Originality/value
This work proposes a new/complete methodology for the TopO of two-fluid systems including CHT that relies on the cut-cell method. This successfully combines aspects from both TopO and Shape Optimization (ShpO) in a single framework thus overcoming the well-known downsides of standard denTopO regarding its accuracy or the need for a follow-up ShpO after TopO. Instead of adding the well-known Brinkman penalization terms into the flow equations, it computes the FSIs at each optimization cycle allowing the solution of the CHT problem on a cut-cell grid.
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Juan Sebastian Gomez Bonilla, Maximilian Alexander Dechet, Jochen Schmidt, Wolfgang Peukert and Andreas Bück
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of different heating approaches during thermal rounding of polymer powders on powder bulk properties such as particle size…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of different heating approaches during thermal rounding of polymer powders on powder bulk properties such as particle size, shape and flowability, as well as on the yield of process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on the rounding of commercial high-density polyethylene polymer particles in two different downer reactor designs using heated walls (indirect heating) and preheated carrier gas (direct heating). Powder bulk properties of the product obtained from both designs are characterized and compared.
Findings
Particle rounding with direct heating leads to a considerable increase in process yield and a reduction in powder agglomeration compared to the design with indirect heating. This subsequently leads to higher powder flowability. In terms of shape, indirect heating yields not only particles with higher sphericity but also entails substantial agglomeration of the rounded particles.
Originality/value
Shape modification via thermal rounding is the decisive step for the success of a top-down process chain for selective laser sintering powders with excellent flowability, starting with polymer particles from comminution. This report provides new information on the influence of the heating mode (direct/indirect) on the performance of the rounding process and particle properties.