Search results

The purpose of this paper is to propose that effective ethical leaders develop high quality relationships with team members; in particular, they manage their conflicts with team members cooperatively.

The authors empirically tested this hypothesis with responses from 117 managers and 302 subordinates.

Through cooperative conflict management, leaders develop trusting, mutually committed relationships. Ethical leaders and their employees avoid competitive conflict where they try to impose their ideas and resolutions on each other.

The findings suggest that ethical leaders can have a significant impact by fostering cooperative conflict management and reducing competitive conflict management. Thus, organizations are encouraged to adopt training and selection procedures to develop more ethical leaders.

This study adds to leadership research that effective leaders develop high quality relationships that help them influence employees as well as to be open and influenced by them.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between knowledge sharing and project portfolio success in Chinese construction firms. It also examines how and under what conditions knowledge sharing contributes to project portfolio success.

The authors collected questionnaire survey from 178 construction enterprises in China that manage project portfolio as a main form of their business. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the proposed framework.

The empirical results indicate that all three types of knowledge sharing (knowledge sharing within the project, knowledge sharing among projects and knowledge sharing within the organization) are positively related to project portfolio success. Portfolio management quality (PMQ) conduits the impact of knowledge sharing on project portfolio success. Furthermore, portfolio interdependency moderates the main effect.

This research is among the first to explicitly differentiate three types of knowledge sharing existing in project portfolios. Also, this research contributes to the literature on the antecedents of project portfolio success by showing the effect of knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this study empirically contributes to portfolio management research by clarifying the critical role of PMQ and portfolio interdependency in the mechanism of knowledge sharing and project portfolio success.

This study aims to identify mechanisms to manage conflicts that occur when organizations with different cultures, habits and experiences try to coordinate effectively in international joint ventures (IJV). This study proposes that partners can promote their joint venture performance to the extent that they rely on cooperative rather than competitive conflict management. This study further hypothesizes that adopting collectivist values strengthens relationships and thereby provides a foundation for cooperative conflict management.

The authors collected data for this study in Shanghai, which is currently the most attractive province in China for FDI (FDI Intelligence, 2014). In all, 75 pairs of foreign and Chinese managers at middle and senior levels, knowledgeable about the joint venture relationships, completed their respective questionnaires.

Results of the structural equation analyses support the hypotheses that collectivist values support cooperative conflict management that in turn facilitates joint venture learning and performance. In contrast, individualistic values promoted competitive conflict management which in turn frustrated IJV performance.

Results suggest that IJV managers can strengthen their venture by developing collective values and training such cooperative conflict management skills as self-expression and demonstrating understanding of opposing views.

This study directly documents that while conflicts may interfere they can also stimulate discussions and decisions that promote coordination and performance of IJVs. This study contributes to conflict management research that has largely focused on investigating the consequences of approaches by examining conditions that promote constructive conflict management approaches.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model that identifies the impact of organizational justice on work performance. The model examined the mediating role played by organizational commitment and leader‐member exchange (LMX) in linking organizational justice and work performance.

The data were collected from 793 completed questionnaires sampling employees from industries across the People's Republic of China. The questionnaire included scales to measure organizational justice, organizational commitment, LMX, and work performance. The measurement of constructs and the hypothesized relationships among variables were assessed by the use of structural equation modeling. The Baron and Kenny approach was used to test the mediating effects.

First, the relationship of organizational justice to work performance was mostly indirect, mediated by organizational commitment and LMX. Second, among the three kinds of organizational justice, interactional justice was the best predictor of performance. Lastly, organizational commitment accounted for more of the variance than LMX did in the mediating mechanism.

The model developed in this article provides important insights in the study of the relationship between organizational justice and work performance. Future research needs to examine the model using a cross‐national sample.

The link between organizational justice and work performance was mostly mediated by organizational commitment and LMX.

This study aims to study the distribution characteristics of antibiotic resistance in direct-eating food and analysis of Citrobacter freundii genome and pathogenicity. Residual antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment severely threaten human health and the ecological environment. The diseases caused by foodborne pathogenic bacteria are increasing daily, and the enhancement of antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria poses many difficulties in the treatment of disease.

In this study, six fresh fruits and vegetable samples were selected for isolation and identification of culturable bacteria and analysis of antibiotic resistance. The whole genome of Citrobacter freundii isolated from cucumber was sequenced and analyzed by Oxford Nanopore sequencing.

The results show that 270 strains of bacteria were identified in 6 samples. From 12 samples of direct food, 2 kinds of probiotics and 10 kinds of opportunistic pathogens were screened. The proportion of Citrobacter freundii screened from cucumber was significantly higher than that from other samples, and it showed resistance to a variety of antibiotics. Whole genome sequencing showed that Citrobacter freundii was composed of a circular chromosome containing signal peptides, transmembrane proteins and transporters that could induce antibiotic efflux, indicating that Citrobacter freundii had strong adaptability to the environment. The detection of genes encoding carbohydrate active enzymes is more beneficial to the growth and reproduction of Citrobacter freundii in crops. A total of 29 kinds of ARGs were detected in Citrobacter freundii, mainly conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, carbapenem, cephalosporins and macrolides. The main mechanisms are the change in antibiotic targets and efflux pumps, the change in cell permeability and the inactivation of antibiotics and the detection of virulence factors and ARGs, further indicating the serious risk to human health.

The detection of genomic islands and prophages increases the risk of horizontal transfer of virulence factors and ARGs, which spreads the drug resistance of bacteria and pathogenic bacteria more widely.

This study explores the intricate relationship between inventory leanness, financial constraints and digital transformation in listed Chinese manufacturing firms.

Using a large panel data collected from 2,563 Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises over the period from 2012 to 2021, this research employs the instrumental variable method combined with two-stage least squares estimators to explore the U- shaped relationship between inventory leanness and financial constraints. Furthermore, the moderating role of digital transformation is demonstrated.

Contrary to traditional assumptions, our research uncovers a U-shaped relationship between inventory leanness and financial constraints, indicating that excessive inventory reduction can exacerbate financial constraints. Digital transformation plays a significant moderating role, particularly in highly digitalized environments.

Our findings have practical significance for top managers and policymakers. We advocate for a balanced approach to lean inventory management to mitigating financial constraints. The study emphasizes the pivotal role of digital transformation in alleviating the impact of inventory leanness on financial constraints, highlighting the need for digital transformation strategies.

This research provides a comprehensive analysis of inventory leanness, financial constraints and digital transformation dynamics. It challenges conventional thinking by revealing the nonlinear nature of the inventory leanness–financial constraints relationship. The concept of moderation highlights the moderating effect of digital transformation. This study offers practical guidance for practitioners and policymakers.

The aim of this study is to investigate the differential effects of pure and creative imitation on customer equity and the moderating roles of market contingency (i.e. competition intensity) and institutional contingency (i.e. enforcement inefficiency).

A lab experiment with 181 subjects and a survey of both senior and middle managers from 149 pharmaceutical firms in China were conducted.

Pure imitation decreases customer equity, but creative imitation increases it. Competition intensity attenuates the negative effect of pure imitation and the positive effect of creative imitation, whereas enforcement inefficiency only attenuates the negative effect of pure imitation.

The findings have significant implications for managers seeking to implement product imitation strategies in emerging economies. They can help managers understand the effects of two kinds of imitation strategies on customer equity. Furthermore, this shows that product imitation strategies should be aligned with various market and institutional contingencies to achieve better performance.

The authors distinguished between pure and creative imitation. Whereas previous studies have investigated the effects of pure and creative imitation on financial and market performance, the focus was on their differential effects on customer equity and the moderating roles of environmental contingencies at the market and institutional levels.

This study aims to demonstrate the simultaneous effects between inventory leanness and product innovation, with market concentration being a moderator.

Using a large panel data collected from 3071 listed manufacturing enterprises from 2004 to 2021, this research employs a simultaneous system of equations via the three-stage least square method to explore the simultaneous relationship between inventory leanness and product innovation. In addition, the moderating role of market concentration is demonstrated via one four-model system.

As its core, inventory leanness positively impacts product innovation, while product innovation negatively affects inventory leanness. Moreover, there are differential impacts of the leanness of three inventory types on product innovation. Specifically, the inventory leanness of raw material negatively affects product innovation, while the inventory leanness of work-in-process and finished goods positively affect product innovation. Further, moderation analysis highlights that market concentration is a key moderator of this relationship.

Managers should carefully gauge the tradeoffs between inventory leanness and product innovation. Concretely, managers ought to consider the connections between inventory types and product innovation. In addition, managers are suggested to emphasis on market strategy.

This paper not only contributes to the current understanding of inventory leanness by verifying the impact of inventory leanness on product innovation but also investigates the simultaneous relationship between various inventory types and product innovation. Furthermore, it empirically demonstrates the moderating effect of market concentration on the relationship between inventory leanness and product innovation.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between inventory flexibility, digital transformation, supply chain concentration, and productivity in the context of Chinese manufacturing enterprises.

Empirical analysis was conducted using data from listed Chinese manufacturing firms spanning from 2013 to 2022. The study employs a moderated model to examine how digital transformation influences the connection between inventory flexibility and productivity. Additionally, a moderated moderation model is utilized to explore the role of supply chain concentration in moderating the relationship among inventory flexibility, digital transformation, and productivity.

The study reveals a significant positive correlation between inventory flexibility and productivity, underlining the importance of flexible inventory management. Digital transformation moderates this relationship, with digital transformation enhancing the impact of inventory flexibility on productivity. Supplier and customer concentration also positively moderate this connection, suggesting a complementary relationship with digital transformation.

These findings offer valuable insights for managers and policymakers, emphasizing the need for a flexible approach to inventory management that considers the evolving digital landscape and supply chain dynamics.

This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the nuanced relationship between inventory flexibility, digital transformation, supply chain concentration, and productivity in Chinese manufacturing enterprises. It underscores the importance of integrating digital transformation and supply chain concentration initiatives with flexible inventory management to optimize productivity in the business landscape.

This study aims to shed new light on the effect of gift packaging shape, specifically the distinction between horizontal and vertical orientations, on the face consciousness of both gift givers and recipients. The underlying mechanism of the main effect is examined, focusing on the perception of social status symbols. In addition, downstream outcome variables were included in the study to explore the effects of gift package shape on willingness to buy (WTB) and word-of-mouth (WOM) in the giver and receiver contexts, respectively. Furthermore, these effects were repeatedly verified in both China and the USA, revealing the significance of cultural differences. The study also investigated the moderating effects of an individual’s power state (low or high power) on the giver’s face consciousness.

Six studies were conducted to address the research objectives. Study 1 compared the gift givers’ face consciousness of a gift when presented with vertical package shapes versus horizontal. Subsequently, Study 2 investigated whether consumers’ perception of social status symbols mediates the effect of gift package shape on gift givers’ face consciousness. Study 3a expanded the conceptual model to include the downstream outcome variable of WTB in the context of gift-giving. Study 3b was validated with American participants, revealing the influence of cultural background differences on face consciousness. Study 4 introduced a gift-receiving context to investigate the chain-mediated effects of gift package shapes on consumer WOM. Lastly, Study 5 critically examined the boundary effect of personal power states on the interaction between the gift givers’ face consciousness and WTB.

The results indicate that gift givers and recipients attribute higher face consciousness to gifts with vertical package shapes compared to horizontal ones. In addition, consumers’ perception of gifts as status symbols was the underlying mechanism driving the impact of gift packaging shape on face consciousness. Furthermore, the face consciousness for gift packages of vertical shape was enhanced when people were in lower-power states as opposed to higher-power states, subsequently leading to an increase in the WTB.

The research is limited to an online virtual brand study; future field studies could be conducted to enhance the authenticity of the participants’ gift-giving experience and the overall external validity of the studies. In addition, gender-based stereotypes and the relationship between the giver and the receiver (transactional or intimate) may also influence the relationship between gift package shapes and face consciousness.

The practical implications of this research focus on three points. First, gift brand managers should strategically employ vertical package shapes to signal high-end attributes and evoke face consciousness among consumers, aligning with the psychology of both givers and recipients. Second, managers must consider consumers’ power states in gift-giving scenarios, tailoring packaging recommendations to the dynamics between givers and recipients to maximize market share. Last, cultural differences in face consciousness, particularly between Asian and Western cultures, necessitate that managers adapt packaging designs to respect and enhance the social status of both givers and recipients in culturally sensitive ways. These findings underscore the importance of understanding and integrating consumer psychology, power dynamics, and cultural nuances into gift packaging strategies to boost market share.

The research contributes to understanding the impact of gift packaging shape on the perception of face consciousness among both gift givers and recipients. It highlights the mediating role of social status symbols and extends its scope by examining downstream effects such as WTB and WOM. It explores individual power states as a moderating factor, revealing how personal dynamics influence perceptions of face-saving consciousness. Also, the cross-cultural validation of these effects in China and the USA underscores the importance of considering cultural differences.