Jianguo Yao, Antonio Crupi, Alberto Di Minin and Xumei Zhang
This paper aims to investigate how knowledge sharing influences technological innovation capability (TIC) of the software small- and medium-sized enterprises (SSMEs).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate how knowledge sharing influences technological innovation capability (TIC) of the software small- and medium-sized enterprises (SSMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the theories regarding knowledge management, TIC, software engineering and open innovation, this paper constructed a research model comprising factors affecting knowledge sharing, knowledge sharing and TIC, and then tested the model quantitatively. The study focuses on SSMEs in China collecting 457 online questionnaires and uses a structural equation model to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The knowledge sharing culture, organizational structure, middle-level leadership and management system have significantly positive effects on tacit knowledge sharing; management system and IT support have significantly positive effects on explicit knowledge sharing; both explicit and tacit knowledge sharing have significantly positive effects on TIC.
Research limitations/implications
The study enriches the research on knowledge sharing and TIC. However, it does not consider factors affecting knowledge sharing at the non-organizational level or the interaction between explicit and tacit knowledge sharing.
Practical implications
The study offers several recommendations/suggestions for helping SSMEs to promote and implement explicit or tacit knowledge sharing and TIC.
Originality/value
This paper examines the impact of knowledge sharing on TIC from the perspective of knowledge management deconstructing knowledge sharing from the epistemological dimension and the TIC of software companies on the basis of software engineering theory. It provided a new theoretical perspective for the research of knowledge management and technological innovation management in SSMEs.
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Mengying Feng, Wantao Yu, Roberto Chavez, John Mangan and Xumei Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to extend prior supply chain research by empirically exploring the relationship among guanxi, supply chain integration (SCI), and operational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to extend prior supply chain research by empirically exploring the relationship among guanxi, supply chain integration (SCI), and operational performance. More specifically, this study investigates the mediating role of SCI.
Design/methodology/approach
Ordinary least square regression is used to analyze survey data collected from 126 automobile manufacturers in China.
Findings
The results reveal a significant positive relationship between guanxi and SCI, and that SCI is significantly and positively related to operational performance. The authors’ findings further suggest that guanxi indirectly affects operational performance through SCI.
Practical implications
The empirical findings imply that it is vital for managers to recognize the important mediating role of dynamic SCI capabilities.
Originality/value
As a fundamental Chinese cultural norm, guanxi can be critical in a supply chain context. Although previous research has identified the importance of guanxi and SCI in improving firm performance, far less attention was given to the study of the mediating effect of SCI on the guanxi-performance relationship. This study thus fulfills the research gap by providing an initial empirical examination of the mediating role of SCI in China’s automotive industry.
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Wenbo Li, Bin Dan, Xumei Zhang, Yi Liu and Ronghua Sui
With the rapid development of the sharing economy in manufacturing industries, manufacturers and the equipment suppliers frequently share capacity through the third-party…
Abstract
Purpose
With the rapid development of the sharing economy in manufacturing industries, manufacturers and the equipment suppliers frequently share capacity through the third-party platform. This paper aims to study influences of manufacturers sharing capacity on the supplier and to analyze whether the supplier shares capacity as well as its influences.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper deals with conditions that the supplier and manufacturers share capacity through the third-party platform, and the third-party platform competes with the supplier in equipment sales. Considering the heterogeneity of the manufacturer's earning of unit capacity usage and the production efficiency of manufacturer's usage strategies, this paper constructs capacity sharing game models. Then, model equilibrium results under different sharing scenarios are compared.
Findings
The results show that when the production or maintenance cost is high, manufacturers sharing capacity simultaneously benefits the supplier, the third-party platform and manufacturers with high earnings of unit capacity usage. When both the rental efficiency and the production cost are low, or both the rental efficiency and the production cost are high, the supplier simultaneously sells equipment and shares capacity. The supplier only sells equipment in other cases. When both the rental efficiency and the production cost are low, the supplier’s sharing capacity realizes the win-win-win situation for the supplier, the third-party platform and manufacturers with moderate earnings of unit capacity usage.
Originality/value
This paper innovatively examines supplier's selling and sharing decisions considering manufacturers sharing capacity. It extends the research on capacity sharing and is important to supplier's operational decisions.
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Xumei Zhang, Wei Chen, Jie Tong and Xiangyu Liu
The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of relational mechanisms and market contracts on cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain and to examine the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of relational mechanisms and market contracts on cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain and to examine the role of market contracts. Relational mechanism is categorized into indirect and direct relational mechanism in this paper. Cross‐enterprise knowledge trading is categorized into explicit and tacit knowledge trading. The indirect relational mechanism is mainly expressed by knowledge brokers, while the direct relational mechanism consists of shared goals and trust.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple regression analysis was performed on questionnaire data from 256 Chinese manufacturing enterprises in supply chain in order to assess the relationships between relational mechanisms, market contracts and cross‐enterprise knowledge trading.
Findings
The results show that knowledge brokers and market contracts have significant and positive effects on explicit knowledge trading, but the effects on tacit knowledge trading are not significant. Shared goals and trust have significant and positive effects not only on explicit knowledge trading but also on tacit knowledge trading, while trust has a stronger positive effect on tacit knowledge trading than explicit knowledge trading. Finally, the moderating effects of market contracts are proven in the relationships between relational mechanisms and knowledge trading, excluding the relationship between knowledge brokers and tacit knowledge trading.
Originality/value
Previous studies about the cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain focused on theoretical research which did not match with reality, especially in China, where the relational mechanism in trading activities is strong. Based on relational exchange theory and transaction cost theory, a conceptual model for the effects of relational mechanisms and market contracts on cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain is proposed in this paper, and then empirically tested using the data collected from 256 Chinese manufacturing enterprises in supply chain with multiple regression models. The findings provide a theoretical basis for knowledge trading participants selecting an appropriate governance mechanism to promote knowledge trading, and these also guide the knowledge trading among members of supply chain in practice.
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Xumei Lin, Peng Wang, Shiyuan Wang and Jiahui Shen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the accurate monitoring and assessment of steel bar corrosion in concrete based on deep learning multi-sensor information fusion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the accurate monitoring and assessment of steel bar corrosion in concrete based on deep learning multi-sensor information fusion method. The paper addresses the issue of traditional corrosion assessment models relying on sufficient data volume and low evaluation accuracy under small sample conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-sensor integrated corrosion monitoring equipment for reinforced concrete is designed to detect corrosion parameters such as corrosion potential, current, impedance, electromagnetic signal and steel bar stress, as well as environmental parameters such as internal temperature, humidity and chloride ion concentration of concrete. To overcome the small amount of monitoring data and improve the accuracy of evaluation, an improved Siamese neural network based on the attention mechanism and multi-loss fusion function is proposed to establish a corrosion evaluation model suitable for small sample data.
Findings
The corrosion assessment model has an accuracy of 98.41%, which is 20% more accurate than traditional models.
Practical implications
Timely maintenance of buildings according to corrosion evaluation results can improve maintenance efficiency and reduce maintenance costs, which is of great significance to ensure structural safety.
Originality/value
The corrosion monitoring equipment for reinforced concrete designed in this paper can realize the whole process of monitoring inside the concrete. The proposed corrosion evaluation model for reinforced concrete based on Siamese neural network has high accuracy and can provide a more accurate assessment model for structural health testing.
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Digital technology plays a vital role in empowering omnichannel integration. Research on digital technology has recently attracted attention and rapidly developed. However, a…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital technology plays a vital role in empowering omnichannel integration. Research on digital technology has recently attracted attention and rapidly developed. However, a comprehensive assessment of the research status and potential gaps is yet to be conducted. Thus, this study investigated the current research status of digital technology-empowered omnichannel integration, and future research directions are proposed.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-stage bibliometric analysis was conducted on 764 articles published from 2000 to 2023, cited in the Web of Science database. Furthermore, performance and thematic analyses were performed.
Findings
The most productive contributors and influential articles in this field were identified, and four themes of focus were discovered: service quality, o2o commerce, omnichannel retailing, and digital transformation.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first attempt to enable researchers to understand the vast body of published scholarship on digital technology-empowered omnichannel integration.