Under the de-capacity circumstances of coal production in China, the purpose of this paper is to examine the processes underlying the association between job insecurity (JI) and…
Abstract
Purpose
Under the de-capacity circumstances of coal production in China, the purpose of this paper is to examine the processes underlying the association between job insecurity (JI) and miners’ safety performance, proposing that resource consumption is a prominent theoretical explanation for this association. By developing a mediation model, the authors examined the mediating role of emotional exhaustion (EE) between JI and miners’ safety performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the time-lagged survey method, the authors collected 349 samples from three coal mines in Shanxi Lu’an Group, the hypotheses were tested through confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation model analysis and bootstrapping in AMOS software.
Findings
Results shed light on that JI negatively predicts the safety performance subfactors, including safety compliance (SC) and safety participation (SP). EE plays a partial mediating role between JI and safety performance. In particular, the finding indicated that JI exerts a more significant impact on SP than SC, revealing that JI produces a more significant adverse effect on miners’ conscious safety behaviors than skill-based safety behaviors.
Originality/value
This study contributes to display the influence path of JI as a stressor on miners’ safety performance in the coal mine rather than a stimulus. The mediation model results not only help us understand the association between JI and safety performance but also provide a feasible way to mitigate the negative effects of JI.
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Songqing Li, Xuexi Huo, Ruishi Si, Xueqian Zhang, Yumeng Yao and Li Dong
Climatic changes caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions are an urgent challenge for all regions around the globe while the livestock sector is an important source of GHGs…
Abstract
Purpose
Climatic changes caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions are an urgent challenge for all regions around the globe while the livestock sector is an important source of GHGs emissions. The adoption of low-carbon manure treatment technology (LMTT) by farmers is emerging as an effective remedy to neutralize the carbon emissions of livestock. This paper aims to incorporate environmental literacy and social norms into the analysis framework, with the aim of exploring the impact of environmental literacy and social norms on farmers' adoption of LMTT and finally reduce GHGs emission and climate effects.
Design/methodology/approach
This research survey is conducted in Hebei, Henan and Hubei provinces of China. First, this research measures environmental literacy from environmental cognition, skill and responsibility and describes social norms from descriptive and imperative social norms. Second, this paper explores the influence of environmental literacy and social norms on the adoption of LMTT by farmers using the logit model. Third, Logit model's instrumental approach, i.e. IV-Logit, is applied to address the simultaneous biases between environmental skill and farmers’ LMTT adoption. Finally, the research used a moderating model to analyze feasible paths of environmental literacy and social norms that impact the adoption of LMTT by farmers.
Findings
The results showed that environmental literacy and social norms significantly and positively affect the adoption of LMTT by farmers. In particular, the effects of environmental literacy on the adoption of LMTT by farmers are mainly contributed by environmental skill and responsibility. The enhancement of social norms on the adoption of LMTT by farmers is mainly due to the leading role of imperative social norms. Meanwhile, if the endogeneity caused by the reverse effect between environmental skill and farmers’ LMTT adoption is dealt with, the role of environmental skill will be weakened. Additionally, LMTT technologies consist of energy and resource technologies. Compared to energy technology, social norms have a more substantial moderating effect on environmental literacy, affecting the adoption of farmer resource technology.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a novel attempt is made to examine the effects of environmental literacy and social norms on the adoption of LMTT by farmers, with the objective of identifying more effective factors to increase the intensity of LMTT adoption by farmers.
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Mehmet G. Yalcin, Koray Özpolat and Dara G. Schniederjans
More than two decades long technological improvements in information sharing have not yet ensured a flawless execution of vendor managed inventory (VMI) and left interested…
Abstract
Purpose
More than two decades long technological improvements in information sharing have not yet ensured a flawless execution of vendor managed inventory (VMI) and left interested parties wondering about the reasons of poor results. Although VMI is a collaborative tool, the relational factors in a VMI setting have not received enough attention due to challenges in obtaining relational buyer-supplier data in addition to extant focus on analytical approaches. The purpose of this paper is to investigate post-implementation relational factors in order to extract relevant insights.
Design/methodology/approach
Accounting for the duration of the VMI relationship, the authors focus on two dimensions of VMI often ignored post-implementation: dependence of the buyer on the VMI-supplier and trust of the buyer in the VMI-supplier. Cross-sectional data were collected using a survey collected from distributors mostly in auto and electrical supply industries, which have their inventories managed by manufacturers through VMI arrangements. The sample was obtained from a leading third-party VMI-platform service provider that serves thousands of distributor-manufacturer locations with billions of dollars in sales orders. Multiple ordinary least squares regression has been used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
This paper provides empirical support that in the post-implementation stage, longer VMI relationships are associated with higher distributor dependence on the manufacturer. In addition, too much dependence could actually hurt the distributor’s trust in the manufacturer.
Practical implications
The authors propose that distributors maintain some of the purchasing and inventory management skills in house to limit their dependencies on the manufacturers. Manufacturers should also invest in trust-building activities, such as regular communications with distributors.
Originality/value
This is the first study providing empirical evidence on the positive association between length of VMI relationship and buyer dependence on the supplier, and curvilinear dependence-trust link in a post-implementation VMI context.
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Terence Y.M. Lam and Junjie Yan
Shanghai is currently faced with a rapid increase in the ageing population and demand for elderly homes. Continuing care retirement community (CCRC) has been emerging as a…
Abstract
Purpose
Shanghai is currently faced with a rapid increase in the ageing population and demand for elderly homes. Continuing care retirement community (CCRC) has been emerging as a high-end alternative to offer specialised accommodation to the elderly in major cities. Since the first development in 2008, the industry is now still at the infancy stage. This study aims to examine the investment barriers hindering the supply and demand of CCRCs with an aim to recommend practical and senior housing policy measures to facilitate CCRC developments.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple-case study method was used to confirm whether the literature findings on investment barriers apply to the context of Shanghai. Four representative CCRC development cases in Shanghai were examined, in which qualitative data were collected from interviews with experienced CCRC development managers and quantitative data from a questionnaire survey of the CCRC residents.
Findings
Operation management experience, financial risks and government support policy were found to be the main supply barriers. Chinese traditional family-oriented culture and affordability were not the main demand barriers of CCRCs in Shanghai. Poor quality of services and living environment were identified as the main barriers suppressing the demand for CCRC.
Research limitations/implications
Although common trends and views can be drawn from the representative cases in Shanghai to provide valid results, further research should be conducted on other major cities in China so that the results can be widely applied.
Practical implications
Successful CCRC investment strategy should focus on partnering with experienced professional eldercare management companies, provisions of high-quality medical professionals and trained care personnel and delivery of flexible care service, along with intensive capital flows for land, construction and operating costs.
Social implications
Additional senior housing policy support should be established to promote the CCRC supply to address the ageing needs, particularly granting lands for CCRC developments at Tiers 1 and 2 major cities where the land cost is high.
Originality/value
This research’s practical and policy measures can be applied to enable and promote CCRC developments in Shanghai, thus benefitting both housing investors and the government. The findings also form a baseline for CCRC developments in other major cities.
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Fang Wen, Yun Bai, Xin Zhang, Yao Chen and Ninghai Li
This study aims to improve the passenger accessibility of passenger demands in the end-of-operation period.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to improve the passenger accessibility of passenger demands in the end-of-operation period.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed integer nonlinear programming model for last train timetable optimization of the metro was proposed considering the constraints such as the maximum headway, the minimum headway and the latest end-of-operation time. The objective of the model is to maximize the number of reachable passengers in the end-of-operation period. A solution method based on a preset train service is proposed, which significantly reduces the variables of deciding train services in the original model and reformulates it into a mixed integer linear programming model.
Findings
The results of the case study of Wuhan Metro show that the solution method can obtain high-quality solutions in a shorter time; and the shorter the time interval of passenger flow data, the more obvious the advantage of solution speed; after optimization, the number of passengers reaching the destination among the passengers who need to take the last train during the end-of-operation period can be increased by 10%.
Originality/value
Existing research results only consider the passengers who take the last train. Compared with previous research, considering the overall passenger demand during the end-of-operation period can make more passengers arrive at their destination. Appropriately delaying the end-of-operation time can increase the proportion of passengers who can reach the destination in the metro network, but due to the decrease in passenger demand, postponing the end-of-operation time has a bottleneck in increasing the proportion of passengers who can reach the destination.
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Zhen Li, Dian-li Qu, Xu-dong Luo and Na Chen
The aim of this study is to report the effect of different content of calcium oxide on the process of electromelting magnesia.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to report the effect of different content of calcium oxide on the process of electromelting magnesia.
Design/methodology/approach
The process of molten magnesia was analyzed by finite element simulation and proved by scanning electron microscope.
Findings
The results show that with the increase of CaO content, the maximum temperature appreciation increases from 3,616°C To 3,729°C, showing an approximate nonlinear evolution. Low thermal conductivity and low specific heat of CaO result in higher temperature. With the increase of CaO content and temperature, the maximum flow velocity of MgO slag increases from 0.043 to 1.34 mm/s. Under different initial CaO contents, the distribution trend of CaO volume fraction is basically the same, and the CaO volume fraction is evenly distributed between 50 and 225 mm in the furnace.
Originality/value
The influence of different contents of impurity calcium oxide on the process of electromelting magnesia was analyzed and a theoretical system was established.
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Barin Nag, Chaodong Han and Dong-qing Yao
In manufacturing industries, the levels of inventories at all stages (i.e. raw material, work-in-process and finished goods inventories) indicate the firm's competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
In manufacturing industries, the levels of inventories at all stages (i.e. raw material, work-in-process and finished goods inventories) indicate the firm's competitive positioning, strategies, internal processes and relationships with suppliers and downstream customers. The authors identify patterns of manufacturing industries based on levels of raw material and finished goods inventories to classify inbound and outbound supply chain strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review literature on supply chain inventory strategy and perform cluster analysis to analyze patterns of manufacturing industries based on manufacturing industry data collected from US Census of Bureau. Following Porter's Five Forces Model, the authors perform in-depth case studies of four representative industries to analyze factors driving supply chain strategies, including industry intensity of rivalry, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers, and bargaining power of buyers.
Findings
This study identifies three streams of research on supply chain strategy: Fisher's model and its variations, lean and agile paradigms, and push/pull systems. It finds that whether an industry shows low or high raw materials or finished goods inventories depending on its products, processes, and the dynamics of all forces described in the Five Forces Model.
Research limitations/implications
This study is not able to include supplier selection, production strategies, warehousing and distribution, and even product design into the analysis of supply chain strategy due to data limitation. This study classifies industries based on average inventory levels of raw materials and finished goods, while inventory levels and supply chain strategies for specific firms may vary significantly within each industry.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the supply chain management literature by providing a parsimonious framework of mapping inbound and outbound supply chain inventory strategies, and the results based on the analyses of all US manufacturing industries provide a baseline picture for supply chain management professionals with manufacturing firms.
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Tian Wang, Yunan Duan and Yangyang Liang
The authors address a two-dimensional (both customer acquisition and retention) incentive in a decentralized service chain consisting of a risk-neutral brand and agent (or…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors address a two-dimensional (both customer acquisition and retention) incentive in a decentralized service chain consisting of a risk-neutral brand and agent (or averse).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors focus on the relationship between acquisition and retention, that is, retained customers (repeated purchases) are based on and come from the acquired (new) customers in the former period. The authors also design a two-period separate incentive on both dimensions.
Findings
The authors found that a targeted incentive strategy should be applied for achieving more revenue when the incentive intensities are relatively small. Otherwise, the brand needs to adjust the targeted incentive strategy into incentivizing the opposite dimension, particularly on acquisition. Under the optimal contract, the brand needs to be very careful with deciding the fixed part of the incentive salary and the incentive intensities on both dimensions. For example, the fixed salary initially decreases and then increases in the incentive intensities. For the optimal incentive policies, the brand should incentivize acquisition but outsource retention if the agent is risk-neutral. When the agent is becoming risk-averse, the brand should lower its incentive intensity as the risk degree and variances become larger. Interestingly, the brand may benefit from introducing risks.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature by considering the following points. First, the authors extend the principal-agent incentive model by considering two-period decisions of customer acquisition and retention. Second, based on the two-period principal-agent problem, the authors design separate incentive intensities on acquisition and retention, respectively. While, most of the literature focused on acquisition incentives. Third, different from other works focusing on either risk-neutral or risk-averse environments, the authors consider both and compare the cases of risk-neutral and risk-averse to analyze the impact of risk on the optimal decisions and the brand's expected profit.
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Omid Rafieian and Hema Yoganarasimhan
This chapter reviews the recent developments at the intersection of personalization and AI in marketing and related fields. We provide a formal definition of personalized policy…
Abstract
This chapter reviews the recent developments at the intersection of personalization and AI in marketing and related fields. We provide a formal definition of personalized policy and review the methodological approaches available for personalization. We discuss scalability, generalizability, and counterfactual validity issues and briefly touch upon advanced methods for online/interactive/dynamic settings. We then summarize the three evaluation approaches for static policies – the Direct method, the Inverse Propensity Score (IPS) estimator, and the Doubly Robust (DR) method. Next, we present a summary of the evaluation approaches for special cases such as continuous actions and dynamic settings. We then summarize the findings on the returns to personalization across various domains, including content recommendation, advertising, and promotions. Next, we discuss the work on the intersection between personalization and welfare. We focus on four of these welfare notions that have been studied in the literature: (1) search costs, (2) privacy, (3) fairness, and (4) polarization. We conclude with a discussion of the remaining challenges and some directions for future research.