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1 – 10 of 11Xiaoxuan Zhai and Xiaowen Tian
This paper extends the institution theory to examine the relationship between high-performance work system (HPWS) and organizational performance (OP), and analyzes how country of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper extends the institution theory to examine the relationship between high-performance work system (HPWS) and organizational performance (OP), and analyzes how country of origin interacts with performance measures and industrial affiliation in moderating the HPWS–OP relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper collects data of 60,142 firms and establishments in 252 studies published up to December 2021 and employs meta-analysis techniques to test hypotheses on the role of country of origin in moderating the HPWS–OP relationship in conjunction with performance measures and industrial affiliation.
Findings
The paper finds that, firstly, there is a positive relationship between HPWS and OP, but the relationship is much stronger in developing than advanced countries. Secondly, the relationship is stronger when OP is measured in operational than financial term in both developing and advanced countries, but the moderating effect of performance measures is stronger in developing than advanced countries. Thirdly, the relationship is stronger in service than manufacturing industries in developing countries, but no such variation is found in advanced countries.
Originality/value
The study for the first time unveils the important role of country of origin in interacting with performance measures and industry affiliation to condition the HPWS–OP relationship, and provides a coherent explanation based on institutional theory. The study sheds fresh light on the HPWS–OP relationship, and has important implications for managers.
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Xiaoxuan Zhai and Xiaowen Tian
The purpose of this paper is to develop a resource-based framework to explain the relationship between high-performance work system (HPWS) and organizational performance (OP) and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a resource-based framework to explain the relationship between high-performance work system (HPWS) and organizational performance (OP) and the moderating role of performance measures.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes a meta-analysis approach, and tests hypotheses against data of 47,741 firms and establishments in 192 studies published by June 2016.
Findings
The paper finds that HPWS has a greater positive effect on operational than financial performance. Moreover, HPWS influences operational performance more strongly in developing than advanced countries and at the firm level than the establishment level, but such variations are not evident in the effect of HPWS on financial performance.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that managers should treat human resource management (HRM) practices as a system, and develop HPWS for operational gains which in turn lead to financial gains. Managers need to take different approaches to develop HPWS for high performance depending on the country of origin and the level of organization.
Originality/value
Based on studies of individual HRM practices, previous meta-analytical studies suggested that the HPWS-OP relationship is invariant across performance measures. Taking HRM practices as integral components of HPWS, this paper extends the resource-based theory to demonstrate that performance measures interact with country of origin and level of analysis to moderate the HPWS-OP relationship.
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Xiaowen Tian and Xiaoxuan Zhai
The purpose of this paper is to relate participative decision-making (PDM) to organizational learning, and examine the impact of PDM on organizational performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to relate participative decision-making (PDM) to organizational learning, and examine the impact of PDM on organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper integrates the resource-based theory with organizational learning theory to develop a framework, and distinguishes PDM in which decisions are jointly made by employees and managers from employee decision-making (EDM) in which decisions are completely in the hands of employees. The paper incorporates an augmented Cobb–Douglass production function into a structural equation model to estimate the performance impact of PDM and EDM.
Findings
The paper tests the framework against firm-level data form China, and finds that PDM provides an opportunity for collective learning, and has a positive relationship with productivity-based profit gains; the positive relationship is stronger in firms whose management has greater accumulated knowledge and experience; EDM fails to provide an opportunity for collective learning, and has a negative relationship with productivity-based profit gains.
Originality/value
Prior research focused on the role of PDM in enhancing the motivation and performance of individual employees, considered the degree of employee involvement as a continuum with the highest being decision-making “completely in the hands of employees,” and concluded that the more involved are employees in decision-making the better. This paper relates PDM to organizational performance, and challenges this conventional view from an organizational learning perspective.
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Xiaowen Tian and Shuanglin Lin
Using panel data of 11324 firms in China from 1996 to 1999, the study finds that FDI tends to generate positive technology spillovers to domestic firms within the same industry…
Abstract
Using panel data of 11324 firms in China from 1996 to 1999, the study finds that FDI tends to generate positive technology spillovers to domestic firms within the same industry, but adversely affect productivity of domestic firms in other industries. It is also found that both the positive and the adverse effects are more significant at the local than the national level. Evidence from China thus suggests that FDI technology spillovers are in favor of domestic firms within the same industry rather than domestic firms in other industries, and are most likely to affect domestic firms within the same locality. The finding has significant implications for the study of the interaction between MNEs and local firms in emerging markets.
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Chunlan Li, Xinwu Xu, Hongyu Du, Debin Du, Walter Leal Filho, Jun Wang, Gang Bao, Xiaowen Ji, Shan Yin, Yuhai Bao and Hossein Azadi
The paper aims to investigate the possible changes in mean temperature in the Mongolian Plateau associated with the 1.5 and 2°C global warming targets and how snow changes in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the possible changes in mean temperature in the Mongolian Plateau associated with the 1.5 and 2°C global warming targets and how snow changes in the Mongolian Plateau when the mean global warming is well below 2°C or limited to 1.5°C.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 30 model simulations of consecutive temperature and precipitation days from Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) are assessed in comparison with the 111 meteorological monitoring stations from 1961–2005. Multi-model ensemble and model relative error were used to evaluate the performance of CMIP5 models. Slope and the Mann–Kendall test were used to analyze the magnitude of the trends and evaluate the significance of trends of snow depth (SD) from 1981 to 2014 in the Mongolian Plateau.
Findings
Some models perform well, even better than the majority (80%) of the models over the Mongolian Plateau, particularly HadGEM2-CC, CMCC-CM, BNU-ESM and GFDL-ESM2M, which simulate best in consecutive dry days (CDD), consecutive wet days (CWD), cold spell duration indicator (CSDI) and warm spell duration indicator (WSDI), respectively. Emphasis zones of WSDI on SD were deeply analysed in the 1.5 and 2 °C global warming period above pre-industrial conditions, because it alone has a significant negative relation with SD among the four indices. It is warmer than before in the Mongolian Plateau, particularly in the southern part of the Mongolian Plateau, indicating less SD.
Originality/value
Providing climate extremes and SD data sets with different spatial-temporal scales over the Mongolian Plateau. Zoning SD potential risk areas and proposing adaptations to promote regional sustainable development.
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Xiaowen Song, Weidong Zhou, Xingxing Pan and Kun Feng
To improve the efficiency and economy of electro-mechanical product's recycle process, this paper aims to propose a disassembly sequence planning (DSP) method to reduce additional…
Abstract
Purpose
To improve the efficiency and economy of electro-mechanical product's recycle process, this paper aims to propose a disassembly sequence planning (DSP) method to reduce additional efforts of removing extra parts in selectable disassembly.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology has three parts, which includes a disassembly hybrid graphic model to describe the product disassembly information, an object inverse-directed method to optimize the disassembly design and a model reconstruction method to achieve a better DSP.
Findings
According to the disassembly cost criteria and the parameters of disassembly tools, the disassembly efficiency increases and the disassembly cost decreases due to the use of partial destructive mode compared with non-destructive mode. The proposed partial destructive DSP is more efficient and economical.
Research limitations/implications
Partial destructive disassembly mode cannot be used for the flammable or explosive component in the procedure of the DSP optimization algorithm.
Practical implications
DSP of an electric corkscrew is analyzed to investigate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a partial destructive disassembly based DSP method for product disassembly, which provides a new approach for the disposal of end-of-life products.
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Xiaowen Chen, Wanlin Xie, Song Tang, Meng Zhang, Hao Song, Qingzheng Ran and Defen Zhang
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of MoS2 on the microstructure and characteristics of micro-arc oxidized (MAO) ceramic coatings created on ZK60 magnesium alloy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of MoS2 on the microstructure and characteristics of micro-arc oxidized (MAO) ceramic coatings created on ZK60 magnesium alloy through the addition of varying concentrations of MoS2 particles to the electrolyte, aiming to enhance the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloy.
Design/methodology/approach
The surface morphology, roughness and phase composition of the coatings were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, a hand-held roughness tester and an X-ray diffractometer, respectively, and the corrosion resistance of the MAO coatings prepared by the addition of different contents of MoS2 particles was tested and analyzed using an electrochemical workstation.
Findings
The results demonstrate that MoS2/MgO composite coatings have been successfully prepared on the surface of magnesium alloys through micro-arc oxidation. Furthermore, the corrosion resistance of the ZK60 magnesium alloy prepared with the addition of 1.0 g/L MoS2 was the best compared to the other samples.
Originality/value
MoS2 particles were able to penetrate the coatings successfully during the micro-arc oxidation process, acting as a barrier in the micropores to prevent the corrosion medium from touching the surface, thus improving the corrosion resistance of the sample. The electrochemical workstation was used to study the corrosion resistance of the MoS2/MAO coating on the ZK60 magnesium alloy.
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Haijie Huang, Changjiang Lyu and Xiaowen Zhu
The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of second generation involvement on corporate innovation in Chinese family firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of second generation involvement on corporate innovation in Chinese family firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the manually collected sample of listed Chinese family firms from 2003 to 2014, the study empirically examines the impact of second generation involvement on corporate innovation. The authors apply a difference-in-differences research design and a Heckman two-stage least squares regression to relieve the endogeneity concerns.
Findings
The research finds a positive relationship between second generation involvement and corporate innovation. This effect is more pronounced among the firms appointing second generation family members with overseas training experience and firms with weak external monitoring. Further analysis shows that the curtailment of related party transactions and the improvement of accounting information quality are important channels.
Practical implications
The findings provide several practical implications for Chinese family firms to survive the succession process and maintain competitive advantages across generations.
Originality/value
First, this study is helpful to understand the strategies adopted by family firms to maintain their long-term competitiveness and pursue continuing growth across generations. Second, the findings are also consistent with the transfer cost hypothesis of Fan et al. (2012) and Bennedsen et al. (2015). Finally, the findings imply that second generation involvement has a substitutive effect for external monitoring mechanisms.
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By controlling the value of influencing factors of raglan sleeves, the authors can balance the comfort and aesthetics of raglan sleeves and get the best parameter value.
Abstract
Purpose
By controlling the value of influencing factors of raglan sleeves, the authors can balance the comfort and aesthetics of raglan sleeves and get the best parameter value.
Design/methodology/approach
Under the condition that the slope of sleeve midline is 45 and the height of sleeve mountain is 15.00 cm, different armhole depth and connection point between the body and the sleeve are combined, and the influence of these two on the comfort and aesthetics of clothing is studied by CLO software.
Findings
The relationship between sleeve fat (Y), armhole depth drop (X1) and the distance (X2) between the connection point between the body and the sleeve and the center line is Y = 12.985 + 1.240·X1 + 0.895·X2. When the armhole drop is 5.00 cm and the connection point is 1 cm closer to the center line, the comfort and aesthetics can be better balanced.
Originality/value
These data can provide reference for future research on raglan sleeves.
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Ye Yang, Hao Luan, Yaru Tian, Lina Si, Hongjuan Yan and Fengbin Liu
This study aims to develop a high-performance nanofluid that can be used in titanium alloys machining. Titanium alloys are difficult-to-cut materials and difficult to be…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a high-performance nanofluid that can be used in titanium alloys machining. Titanium alloys are difficult-to-cut materials and difficult to be lubricated. This study explored the lubrication performance of various carbon nanoparticles in water-based lubricants for titanium alloys.
Design/methodology/approach
The lubricating and antiwear properties of the developed cutting fluid were tested by a tribo-tester. The lubricant performance was evaluated through friction coefficient, wear volume and surface quality. The lubrication mechanism was analyzed through surface morphology, wettability and bonding analysis.
Findings
The lubricating performance of four kinds of carbon nanoparticles on titanium alloys was tested and the results showed that single-layer graphene had the smallest COF and wear volume. The interaction between nanoparticles and debris was an important factor that influenced the lubrication performance of nanoparticles for titanium alloy. Moreover, the hybrid nanofluid with graphene and spherical graphite in a ratio of 1:2 achieved a balance between lubricating performance and price, making it the optimal choice.
Practical implications
The developed lubricant containing carbon nanoparticles that can lubricate titanium alloys effectively has great potential in machining titanium alloy as a high-performance cutting fluid in the future.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need for water-based lubricant for titanium alloys considering the bad tribological properties.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-04-2024-0124/
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